Weekly Schedule 2011

Weekly Schedule:

Week 1 June 20 to June 24
Meenakshi Temple
Brahadeeshwara Temple
Srirangam Temple
Arunachaleswara Temple
Palani Temple

Week 2 June 27 to July 1
Udupi Temple
Mookambika Temple
Sravanabelagola Temple
Halebid Temple
Tirupathi Temple

Simhachala Temple

Week 3 July 5 to July 8 
Pandharpur Temple
Tryambakeswar Temple

Ashtavinayak Temples
Shirdi Sai Temple
Guruvayoor Temple

Sabarimala Temple

Week 4 July 11 to July 15
Kamarup Kamkhya Temple
Puri Jagannath Temple
Sun Temple Konark
Golden Temple Amritsar


Week 5 July 18 to July 22 Somnath Temple
Srinath Temple

Dwarka Temple
Ram Janmabhoomi Ayodhya
Krishna Janmabhoomi Mathura
Kashi Vishwanath Temple

Week 6 July 25 to July 29 Bodh Gaya Temple
Kedar Nath
Vaishnodevi Temple
Badrinath Temple
Ujjain Mahakal Temple

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 ...

Coloring and Activity Sheets

Click here for pages from the Arts and Craft Blog.

These include:
• coloring pages of Gurudev and Guruji
• "Color by number" pages in Sanskrit

Likhita Japa (and Charkha Spinning)

Summer Camp 2010 (Grades 4 and up)
This week we will introduce the importance of keeping a journal for likhita japa. The children will be encouraged to express their japa in a very personal and creative way,  using color and spontaneous writing on the page. The goal is to encourage the child to connect with their mantra while enjoying the process.

For older children (grades 4 and up): Please note that after Week 1 we will continue to set aside the first 30 minutes of every art class (each week) for Likhita Japa or Book Charkha spinning  (click here to view info on the charkha.) The child can decide on each day which they prefer to do, but they must choose one!

We will start our Week 1 with a challenge:  The children will each be given 3 different colored pens and told to choose only one to begin their writing with. However, once their mind begins to wander from their mantra, they must put that pen down and pick up another color to continue writing with. This process will be repeated until our pre-determined time has ended.  Our goal is for each of us to end up with only one color on the page by the end of the week! 

To view any of the photographs enlarged, click on the picture.

Photographs are copyrighted. 2010

Color Study

Summer Camp 2010 (Grades 4 and up)
This week we will be learning about colors and how they communicate with each other. We will begin our lessons by creating a simple color wheel and discussing all of its different components. The children will be exploring color "moods" as well as primary, secondary, tertiary, complimentary and analogous colors. The children (grades 4 and above) will be working with water-soluble color pencils and gouache paints.

Bookbinding

Summer Camp 2010 (Grades 4 and up)
This week the children will learn about the anatomy of a book and some different structures. We will focus our studio efforts on creating two completely different styles of books: 1) the Japanese accordian and 2) a traditional European Pamphlet Binding with Boards. If time permits, we will will encourage the children to illustrate their pages — either using a favorite quote from Gurudev, likhita japa, or a poem.

Printmaking

Summer Camp 2010 (Grades 4 and up)

Our project this week is making a Sanskrit Animal Book with a really fun printmaking technique. By using only one oval sized sponge and some tempera paint, the children will create 13 different animal pictures. Once all of the prints have been made (and the details drawn,) the kids will then mount their images into a hand-sewn book, along with writing the name of each animal (in Sanskrit) on each page. By the end of the week each child will have made their very own unique Sanskrit Animal Book — from creating the individual art work to binding the pages!

Thanjavur Art

Summer Camp 2010
On Weeks 6 and 7 (Jul 26 through August 6) Meena Ajith will be teaching Thanjavur art techniques from the state of Tamil Nadu. This class is being conducted for both age groups. More information will be posted shortly.

Mosaics with Paper

Summer Camp 2010 (Grades 4 and up)

Now that the children have learned about colors and their "personalities," we will expand our exploration into the world of paper and mosaics. This week the children will start off by designing "color moods" with 1 inch square pieces of decorative paper — using their experience with color theory from the week prior. If time permits, we will end this art session by making a rangoli pattern.