Morning Prayers Recited:
• Om Saha naavatu (My Prayers, page 6)
• Karagre Vaasate (My Prayers, page 43)
• Sarasvati Namastubhyam (My Prayers, page 44)
• Guru Brahma (My Prayers, page 9, third shloka)
Vedic Chanting:
• Praarthanaa (Chinmaya Book of Vedic Chants, page 3)
• Medha Sukhtam (Chinmaya Book of Vedic Chants, page 35)
• Gayatri Mantra (Chinmaya Book of Vedic Chants, page 5)
• Mantra Pushpam (Chinmaya Book of Vedic Chants, page 170)
Bhajans:
Storytime with Swamiji: We had another technical difficulty today. We will resume our Vishnu Puran tomorrow. The aunties think they've figured out the problem ... :-)
Art Projects: Bead Weaving
Shaanti Circle Discussion: After our prayers this morning, we spent a few minutes talking about the day's activities that were planned ... and how we can remain cool on such a hot, humid day. We did not play our concentration and time game -- but we will do it tomorrow. If all goes well, we will accomplish the 5 minute mark, which will put us in tie with Week 5 Campers!
End of Class Prayers: Poornamadah, Chinmaya Pledge
Photo Gallery: July 30 (click here to view)
Comments: Nirmala Auntie led us through the entire Mantra Pushpam this morning -- and the kids did great!! They very enthusiastically chanted the 3 vedic chants we have been working on all summer, and then repeated the Mantra Pushpam two times -- nice going everyone!
Because we knew that our pooja thalis were going to still be somewhat damp today, we promised the campers that if they did their morning disciplines (with gusto and enthusiasm) we would treat them to a "cinematic experience" of Wall-E. After lunch, and the release of our ashram pets (the Painted Lady Butterflies), we piled into the air-conditioned room, pulled out some comfy chairs, distributed some popcorn, turned off the lights, and watched the fun and adverturous tale of a little robot on the planet Earth. Afterwards, we sat in circle time and shared our thoughts about what we thought this movie was about. Everyone agreed that they understood this movie to be about taking care of the planet earth, and how people can make a difference once they become determined to do so. We unanimously voted that this was a film to recommend to our friends!
For the campers who wanted to work on their bead looms, we set them up in a quiet (air-conditioned) space so they could continue making progress on their projects.
Tomorrow is the day that we will be painting and decorating our thalis. We plan to do all of this work in the morning, after our prayers, vedic chanting and yoga. That way everything should be dried by the end of the camp day. The weather prediction is for thunder storms and hot, sticky temperatures. So, if we are not able to go outside and play for awhile (which is pretty likely), we promised the children another indoor movie for the afternoon. This time we will watch a short documentary on Kanha National Park (in Madhya Pradesh) where Rudyard Kippling's "Jungle Book" was conceived. And after our tour of the National Park -- we will then put on the Disney Classic, with yet more popcorn and chips!
