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)
• Gayanti Mantra (Chinmaya Book of Vedic Chants, page 5)
• Medha Sukhtam (Chinmaya Book of Vedic Chants, page 35)
• Mantra Pushpam (Chinmaya Book of Vedic Chants, page 170)
Bhajans:
Storytime: We watched Vishnu Puran with Swamiji today. Lord Ram was born in this show. The children begged to watch the next episode, but we convinced them that they had to eat lunch and we will pick up the story again tomorrow :-)
Art Projects: Everyone worked on their bead looms, friendship bracelets and lego building.
Shaanti Circle Discussion: We attempted six minutes of silence after our morning prayers. The kids made a valiant effort, but we decided that we needed to work with five minutes a little longer. The leap from five to six minutes is definitely a big one. We are indeed very proud of the campers this week -- they are the winning group of the whole summer -- thus far! Good going kids!!!
After our Vedic Chanting with Swamiji, there was a question and answer period. One of our campers had asked the aunties a question yesterday about why Lord Shiva is represented in a human form in some temples, and as a Shiva Lingam in other temples. What is the difference? An absolutely fantastic question! Swamiji explained to us that Lord Shiva represented as a human form is the image we meditate and contemplate upon. And when we perform worship (puja) it is done with Shiva Lingam. The Lingam represents Lord Shiva as "One without form." He also went on to explain that the top of the Lingam is Lord Shiva. The sides are Lord Vishnu and the base is Lord Brahma. Swamiji also answered other questions like "how do we know that the Gods and Goddesses like certain colors?" It was very interesting session -- and we look forward to more question and answer time with Swamiji. Good questions, kids -- the aunties learned a lot!
During our afternoon discussion time we showed some videos and animations. Please click on the titles below to view the videos.
Chanda Mama -- Folk Song from Chennai (music video with artists from all over the world)
One Love (music video with artists from all over the world)
Pot of Gold (animation)
Farmer and the Goat (animation)
Kiwi
Tirupati
Nalanda University
Before showing the videos, we spent a few minutes touring the Summer Camp blog and showed the children where to find the videos, etc. We also shared with them the "Chinmaya Kids" website (located in the announcement section of this blog.) Their homework assignment is to explore the Chinmaya Kids website and share what they learned in Circle Time tomorrow.
After the videos, we spent some time talking about our thoughts on of what we watched. A lot of the kids wanted to comment on "The Farmer and the Goat." We all agreed that it was a fabulous animation -- which made us proud to be vegetarians. And to think that this film was made without any words whatsoever! The Music videos were a big hit, also. We were pretty amazed that these songs were recorded by musicians from all over the world (who have never even met one another) -- an inspiring message of different cultures being united through the power and beauty of music!
End of Class Prayers: Poornamadah, Chinmaya Pledge
Photo Gallery: Forgot the camera today -- sorry.
Comments: We were truly blessed with some lovely weather today. After our morning activities, we hit the outdoors for some good old fashioned play. We have been stuck indoors for the past week, so this was a real breath of fresh air for us.
Parents: just a quick reminder about our quesadilla party tomorrow. Please don't send in lunch with your child (unless they don't eat quesadillas.) A healthy mid-morning snack is all they will need. Ashvith's mother will be celebrating his birthday with an ice-cream cake in the afternoon. So, the kids will be well-fed tomorrow.
