Thank you for joining us for camp this year. We had a great time — and hope that your kids did, too!


Next year's summer Camp details will be posted sometime in Spring 2011. Please revisit this blog to learn more about the classes we will be offering. On-line registration information can also be found here.

Hope everyone has a great Balavihar year ... and we look forward to meeting you all back at the ashram in June for another summer of fun learning!


Hari OM!

Cultural Summary for Week 3

Week July 6^th – 9^th

Week of Blistering heat, soaring high temperatures and humidity. Reminds us of our own home towns in India. Our Camp day begins with the melodious and synchronous chanting of the ‘Kanakadhara Stotram’ by Adi Shankaracharya. Though we have new campers joining us every week, the kids quickly join in the rhythm of the chanting. We’re almost half way through the Stotram!

After almost an hour of focusing and following through the Samskritam words in the stotram, our children especially the younger “Keshava group”, can’t wait to get up and jump about. Great timing for some Yoga and Stretching! They eagerly lay down their colorful yoga mats or towels and are ready for their Asanas, almost always beginning with “Surya Namaskaram” and ending with the calming down of ‘Shavasana’. Their favorite parts are the creative games, which utilize Asanas and Poses. Make sure to check out the pictures of the ‘Log and Wave’ game. Our youth volunteers, whom the kids lovingly call ‘bhaiya’ or ‘didi’ take active part and are often the ‘Logs’ that the little campers ‘Wave’ on.

Snack Time!! This week the hungry kids were treated to water melon along with their regular snacks, much needed to cool them down and get hydrated. By this time, the campers know well to wait to chant ‘Brahmarpanam’, before eating, thanking the lord for our food.

Time for the younger “Keshava Group” and older “Balarama Group” to split and go to their respective study rooms. This week’s focus was Uttar Pradesh and the Saints that hail from UP, one of the largest states of India. Chat with your kids about “Ganga”, “Kashi”, and “Sankat Mochan” temple, they witnessed a special presentation from a guest from Varanasi. The children were taken back in time, about 500 years ago, to the times and lives of the great saints of UP, Sant Kabir Das, Sant Tulsi Das and Sant Sur Das. After having listened, sometimes with open mouths, to the miracles and stories about our Saints, they had a ‘Likhita Jhapa”, a quiz , jumble and various other activities.

Morning Session concludes at about 1pm after Lunch.

Hari Om!

Please click on the links above to view current photographs of the children's activities. (Grades 1-3 are in the Keshava group and grades 4 and up are in the Balarama group.) We try to update our photographs daily —so be sure to check back often!

Hari Om!

We can hardly believe that Summer is nearly here — boy, the year passed quickly ...

In just a few months, our summer camp will be in full-swing. And, once again we are planning lots of fun, creative activities and learning for your children!

Please continue to visit this blog regularly for details and information. We will be constantly updating it as June approaches. If you are planning to enroll your child this summer, we urge you to subscribe to this blog. You will instantly receive any and all new postings. And, once camp begins we will be using this blog as an on-line journal of the day's activities so you can read up on all the stuff your child is doing throughout the day. Definitely take some time to familiarize yourself with this site and click through the different links.

Camp registration can easily be accessed by clicking on the corresponding link in the upper left side of this page. Also, please note that all of our Class Schedules/Outlines, Medical Release Forms, Camp Guidelines and "Things to Bring" list are also posted here. In short, we are trying to make this blog serve as a "One-Stop Shop" for camp.

We are looking forward to spending a very fun and spiritually enriching summer with your children! Just a few more months to go ...