May

May 16

Hari Om We started the class with 3 Oms and the chanting of the Shlokas. All the children shared their favorite festivals. We covered W for Work and Worship. We saw the story of Varadaraja - who realized that hard work can help him become more intelligent. We also saw the story of Pundallika- how doing service to one's parents is a form of worship of God. We had a 2 minute meditation , a game of hangman and completed the class with 3 Oms

May 9

Hari Om We started the class with 3 Oms and the chanting of the prayers. We covered T for Tilak and Theerthas, We also covered U for Uma- antoher name for Parvati and U for Utsav- celebrations. We looked at V for Veda and Vishnu. The homework for this week is to come with what is your favorite festival and why. We had a meditation session. We went over the story of Ahimsa of how Parvati is the mother of the Universe and hurting any living being is hurting Parvati as Bhagavan lives in all of us. We completed the class with 3 Oms

May 2

Hari Om We started the class with 3 Oms and the chanting of the shlokas. We had a presentation about Hanuman Jayanthi. We had our annual presentation. I am very proud of all our kids who were very nicely dressed up and presented about their ishta devata and also presented a shloka. We ended the class with a game of hangman and 3 Oms.

April

April 25

Hari Om We started the class with chanting 3 Oms and chanting of the shlokas. We saw the presentation of swami Mahavir for Mahavir Jayanti. We did a rehearsal for the annual presentation. I am very proud of all our kids who did a great job. We covered S for Sanskrit, Satya and Svarga. We saw the story of the boy who told lies. We completed the class with a session of meditation and 3 Oms.

April 18

Hari Om. We started the class with 3 Oms and the chanting of the prayers. We had a presentation about Chaitra Navratri and Rama navami. We covered S for Shiva, Sarasvati and Seva. We discussed how we treat books as a form of Sarasvati and how we should take good care of our books. We also saw the story of Krishna doing seva of cleaning dirty dishes. Many kids are not yet prepared for the upcoming annual presentation on May 2nd. The childrent who are prepared recited their lines. We finished the class with a game of hangman and 3 Oms

April 11

Namaste Parents! Today we started class by talking about spring break and doing our prayers. Then we talked about the letter Q for Quiet and the letter R for Respect, Rama, Rishi. The homework is to find the names of two Rishis and if they want they can color the picture on page 71. We finished class with a game of hangman.

March

March 28

Hari Om. We started the class with 3 Oms and chanted with assembly shlokas. We discussed the festival of Holi- Different stories behind the festival and the different ways it is celebrated. We looked at P for Puja, Paapa, Punya and Patience. We covered the story of the Mongoose and the Brahmana. The children came up with different ideas to be patient while waiting in queues to play on Rides. We completed the class with a meditation session, a game of hangman and 3 Oms. All the kids have picked the ishta Devata for the annual presentation. I am sharing the list with the information. Please help your child come up with 2-3 facts about the chosen deity and to pick a related shloka to recite. We will start the practice from next class. The children who were not present today can come up the name the the facts in next class.

March 21

Hari Om We started the class with 3 Oms and chanted the assembly sholakas. Many kids shared the homework from last week. There a few kids who chose to write Om in Chinese , Jain, Tamil and Devanagari script. We looked at P for Pitaa- Father and P for Parvati. We went over the story of how Parvati married Shiva and it is celebrated as Shivaraatri. We completed the class with a meditation session, a game of hangman and 3 Oms. The homework for next week is to come up with your ishta devata, 2-3 facts about the ishta devata and select a shloka for reciting for annual presentation on May 2nd.

March 14

Hari Om. We started the class with 3 Oms and the Assembly Shlokas. We discussed the homework from last week. A few of the children shared what they did on Shivaraatri .We covered N for Narayana- anotther name for Vishnu. We saw the story of Gajendra Moksham. We also covered O for Om and O for Obedience. The homework for this week is to pick Om in any language as given in page 63 and write it 11 times. We finished the class with a meditation session, hangman's game and chanting of 3 Oms.

March 7

Hari Om. We started the class with 3 Oms and the Assembly Shlokas. We had a presentation about MahaShivarathri. In the presentation we saw the significance of God Shiva and the various ways the festival is celebrated. Thank you to all the children who made a art project for Shivarathri and sent it to the Hats admin. These art works were shared as part of the presentation. There were many other children who had made art for Shivarathri which was not sent to the Hats admin. These artworks were shared in the class. We finished the class with meditation session, hangman's game and chanting of 3 Oms. The homework is for the children to share how they celebrated Maha Shivarathri on March 11th. The kids can chant the Shiva shlokas, or chant Om Nama Shivaya 11 times or meditate on Shiva for a few minutes or just visit the temple. Please note this homework is not compulsory as this is a weekday. It is just a way for the children to be more aware of the Hindu rituals that are done on this day.

February

February 28

Hari Om. We started the class with chanting OM 3 times and the assembly shlokas. We covered M for Murugan, another name for God Kartikeyan. We also looked at N for Namaste - this is a form of greeting by which we show respect to the Bhagawan present in others. We looked at N for Naraka. Bhagawan sends people who have done bad karma to Naraka- Hell where there are various punishments. We also looked at N for Nataraja. This is the dancing pose of God Shiva. Shiva is worshipped in this form in a few temples. We had a meditation session, a game of hangman and chanted Om 3 times to end the class

February 21

Hari Om. We started the class with the chanting of Om 3 times and the assembly Shlokas. We covered M for murti and discussed how we have to do the darshan of the Murtis of Bhagavan as the temple with devotion. We also covered M for Mantra. We saw the story of Gayatri Mantra. The Gayatri Mantra was given to the human kind by the Rishi Vishwamitra after doing tapas for many years. We saw the yogic pose in which the tapas is done. The homework is for the kids to see how many minutes they are able to maintain the tapas pose. We had a meditation session, a game of hangman and chanting of Om 3 times to end the class

February 14

Namaste Parents! Today in class we finished the letter L for Lobha and we talked about the story of the greedy traveler. After that we started M for Mandir and Ma. We looked at good and bad habits while in the Mandir. Then we did our prayers and learned a little bit about Vasant Panchami. We finished class with a game of hangman and some trivia. There is no homework this week!

February 7

Hari Om . We started the class with 3 Oms and the chanting of the shlokas. The children shared examples of how they share with siblings/friends/cousins. We covered L for Lotus. The lotus grows in muddy waters but does not allow the dirty to enter it. Similarly when we should keep our chitta clean when we are surrounded by people with bad habits. We looked at L for Linga- this is one of the forms of Shiva. We also looked at L for Lakshmi who is the Goddess of Prosperity. We saw that riches comes in many forms like having cash, land, homes, animals, having children and being brave. We saw the Ashta Lakshmis where Lakshmi is worshiped for different forms of riches. The fun activity for next week is to show or share a picture of a piggy bank if you have one.We finished the class with a meditation session , hangman game and chanting of 3 Oms

January

January 31

Hari Om. We started the class with 3 Oms and the chanting of the shlokas. The children shared the written japa of Rama and how they calmed themselves when they get angry. We covered K for Krishna and Karthikeya. Krishna is an avatar of Vishnu and Karthikeya is the name of the son of Shiva and Parvati. He is the younger brother of Ganesha. We discussed the story of the competition between Ganesha and Karthikeya for the Mango that Sage Narada brings to Kailasha. Ganesha wins the competition by going around his parents as his parents represent the 3 worlds. The homework this week is to come up with examples of how the kids share things with their siblings. We finished the class with a session of meditation, hangman game and chanting of 3 Oms. We did have a shorter session today.

January 24

Hari Om. We started the class with 3 Oms and the chanting of the shlokas. Many kids shared the homework done via the camera.The remaining kids can share their written chanting of Rama next week. We went over Japa malaa- a chain of beads that is used to keep count while doing Japa. We covered K for Karma- how there are different types of karma- physical, verbal and mental karma. Bhagavan becomes happy when we do good karma. We went over the story of King Pareekshit - how he did bad karma when he became angry (Krodha). We discussed the different ways of calming ourselves when we become angry. The homework is for the children to come with an example of a time when they became angry- what made them angry and how they calmed down. We finished the class with a session of meditation, hangman game and chanting of 3 Oms.

January 17

We started the class with 3 Oms and the chanting of the shlokas. We wanted to thank all the parents for participating and giving feedback during the conference. We will include all the ideas/suggestions as much as possible. We discussed the homework from last regular class. All the kids shared the name of their Ishta Devata and one fact about the chosen Deity. We covered J for japa. Japa means repeated chanting, thinking or writing of a name of God or mantra. Homework is for the children to write Rama 18 times in the lines provided on page 18. We finished the class with a game of hangman and 3 Oms.

January 10

We started the class with 3 Oms and the chanting of the shlokas. he children had a meditation session with Ashwini aunty. The kids discussed the benefits of a calm body and also saw a story about seeing our inner light with help of meditation.

December

December 20

Hari On. We started the class with 3 Oms and the shlokas.We saw the presentation about Gita Jayanthi. The kids shared the heavy weights they had lifted and many also shared their Hanuman pictures. We discussed I for Ishvar . Ishvar is one of the many names of Bhagavan. We also saw the story of Narahari whose Ishta Devata was Shiva. He wore a blindfold to measure the waist of Vithoba (Vishnu) but felt the statue of Shiva. He finally realized that Shiva had done this to teach him a lesson that Shiva and Vishnu are one and the same. The homework for next week is to state the name and 1 fact about his/her Ishta Devata. We finished the class with a meditation session and a game of hangman.

December 13

Hari Om We started the class with 3 Oms and chanting of Shlokas. Many children shared the pictures of Hanuman or Gadha they made. We covered H for Humility. We talked about how we should not be proud and a show off. We should be humble because Bhagavan is the most beautiful, powerful and knowledgeable . We covered the story of Ravana. He was very proud of his strength. When his route to Lanka was blocked by Mount Kailasha, he decided to uproot the mountain rather than take a detour. When he had uprooted the mountain and lifted it on his shoulders, Lord Shiva gently pressed the mountain with the little toe of his right feet. The mountain crushed Ravana. Ravana realized his mistake and apologized to Shiva. We talked about I for Ishvara. Ishvara is one of many names of Bhagavan.

The homework is for the kids to see what heavy thing they can lift safely - for example the basket of their toys, 1 pound of sugar etc. The kids who missed today can share their Hanuman picture next week.

We finished the class with a meditation session and a game of hangman.

December 6

Hari Om We started the class with 3 Oms and chanting of the Shlokas. We discussed the homework from last week- names of the rivers in Minnesota. We saw that there are many rivers in Minnesota. We covered H for Hindu. We are all Hindus and follow the Hindu Dharma. There are other religions where people pray to other Gods. We should respect everyone. We also talked about H for Holi. We went over the story of Holika and Prahalad on why we cerebrate Holi. We talked about how we celebrate Holi. We finished with H for Hanuman. We covered the story of how Hanuman searched for Sita in Lanka. How he was captured by Ravana and how he burnt the city of Lanka. Hanuman has many powers- being able to fly, being able to change his size, being very strong etc.

The homework for this week is for the kids to draw and color a picture of Hanuman. The parents can also download a picture from the internet and have the kids color it. The kids can also just draw and color a picture of a Gadha - (Hanuman's Weapon). We finished the class with a meditation session and a game of hangman.

November

November 22

Hari On. We started with chanting the shlokas. The kids took turns giving examples of how they had helped their friends. We covered G for Guru. We discussed how anyone we learn anything new from should be respected as a Guru. We talked about G for Gayatri mantra. Chanting Gayatri regularly helps keeping our Chitta clean. We covered G for Gita the divine song given by Lord Krishna to Arjuna. We also covered G for Ganesha and Ganges river. We saw the story how Ganges river came to earth from Heaven with the help of Lord Shiva. The homework for next class is to come up with the name of a river flowing in Minnesota- other than Mississippi River. Please note, there is no class next week due to Thanksgiving.

November 8

Advance Diwali Wishes to all. Today we covered the presentation about Diwali and chanted the shlokas. We discussed about how we should take care of mother Earth by saving water, taking care of plants and saving electricity. We talked about F for faith and F for friendship. We went over the story of Krishna and Sudama. How Krishna helped his friend even though Sudama did not ask him. This week's homework is to give an example of how the kids helped their friend and how they celebrated Diwali. Please note there is no class on November 15th due to Diwali.

November 1

The class has meditation session this week

October

October 25

Happy Dussehra We started with Chanting of Shlokas . We talked about the different reasons to celebrate Dussehra. We also saw the different creations of Ravana . A lot of creativity. All the children shared the data of how long they could stand on one leg. Mahishasura stood on one leg for many years praying to Brahma . We finished D with D for Dayaa. We covered the story of Prince Siddarth who saved the injured bird. It is the Hindu Dharma to show Dayaa or kindness to everyone around us.We started E for Ek - One. Even though Bhagavan has many names, all the names are parts of One Bhagavan. Ekta means unity. We saw the story of how Asuras learnt that Devatas think of others first and so are able to win against the asuras. We finished the class with the meditation session and a game of hangman. The homework for this week is for the kids to color the pictures on page 27.

October 18

We started the class with the shlokas and 3 Oms. We discussed the festival of Navaratri .The Kids took turns to state the cleaning chores they do at home(homework from last week). We covered D for Dharma. Doing our duty and good things is doing Dharma. We discussed examples of the duties of the students- studying, doing homework, eating healthy etc. We discussed D for Durga . We covered the story of Mahisha Asura- who got a boon from Brahma that he would be killed only by a woman. All the Gods vested their powers in Durga who then defeated Mahishasura after a 10 day battle. D for Diwali- We discussed different ways of celebrating Diwali. Finally we went through the story of king Sveta and learnt the importance of Daanam of Food. We should Do Daanam (sharing ) of what we have especially food. We completed the class with meditation of 2 minutes and 3 Oms. The homework for this week is to see how long each one can stand on one leg. Mahishasura stood one one leg and prayed to get boon from Brahma. Just a fun activity.

October 11

We started the class with chanting the shlokas and 3 Oms. Everyone took turns to state how the helped their parents that week. We covered B for Buddhi. Buddhi means intelligence and saw examples of good behavior of Intelligent kids. We also talked about C for Cow. We saw how cows teach us Ahimsa and why we should avoid eating beef. Next we took a look at C for Chakra and Conch shells held by Vishnu. We saw the story of kids of King Ambarish being protected by Vishnu from Rishi Durvasa. We also saw C for Chitta - heart where the Atma resides. As Bhagawan resides in everyone's Atma, we should not hurt anyone. Lastly we finished with C for Clean. Goddess Lakshmi likes cleanliness. The homework is for the kids to state who they share their room with and how they share the responsibility of keeping their room clean. The class was concluded with a meditation session and a game of Hangman.

October 4

Hari Om. We started the class with chanting the shlokas. We talked a little about Gandhiji for the Gandhi Jayanthi. We also talked about the opportunity to participate in the Diwali Talent Show. Everyone had fun sharing the names and meaning of the names of their family members - homework from last week.We covered B for Bhakti which means love for Bhagavan. We covered the story of Prahalad who was a bhakta of Lord Vishnu. And how Vishnu always protected Prahalad from the attempts of his father the evil King Hiranyakashipu and evil aunt Hollika. We saw how Bhagavan Vishnu came in the form of Narasimha to kill Hiranyakashipu. We talked about the 9 forms of showing our love for Bhagavan. Helping parents is one form of showing love for our parents.

The homework for this week is for the kids to come up with 2 examples of how they helped their parents with household chores this coming week. We finished the class with a small meditation session ,a game of hangman and 3 Oms.

September

September 27

Hari Om. We started the class with 3 Oms and chanted the shlokas. We covered A for Avatara and Atma. Avatara is when Bhagavan takes a form to defeat evil people. We talked about a few Avatars and the asuras killed by the Avatars. A for Atma. All living things have Atma inside them. We talked about the difference between living and non living things. We covered B for Bhagavan and Brahma. We talked about the different names of Bhagavan. Many of the kids already knew the meaning of their names. The homework for the week is to get to know the names of the parents and siblings if any. The children had a game of hangman with words covered during the session. We concluded the class with a meditation session and 3 Oms.

September 20

Hari Om.

We had a great first class. We started the session with chanting the sholkas.

We had a brief introduction session and started the Dharma with A for Aum and Ahimsa. We looked at the 3 main Deities Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. We discussed the story of how Parvaty taught Ganesha the lesson of Ahimsa.

There is no homework for today.