Bhakti Bhavan October Newsletter
Friday, October 19, 2012 at 9:04AM Dear Families,
Hare Krishna! Autumn is upon us and the changing of the seasons has brought welcome relief from the Florida heat with cooler days and nights. We have been very busy throughout this last month with many different activities and events.
Safety First!- October is safety month! We started the month in our class by reading books and discussing what a community worker is and the different jobs they do. We had some local community helpers come to the school the other day to talk about fire safety- firemen and their fire truck. The firemen gave a talk for the children highlighting basic fire safety awareness tips; they tried on their gear, and gave us a tour of their truck, tools and equipment. They completed the visit by sounding the truck’s sirens and turning on the lights. Needless to say, all of the students were fascinated and have a newfound appreciation for firefighters. We are anticipating a visit from our local police officers at the end of this month.
Fall Garden- Most of you have probably noticed our beautiful new garden boxes right next to the lunch area. With the help of Tapasvini, an experienced gardener, teacher, and BANA board member, our class planted different seeds and starter plants for our fall garden. We are growing broccoli, cauliflower, kale, tomatoes, mint, lettuce, radishes, peppers, and flowers and the children delight in daily watering and observing the ongoing progress of their little garden.
Music and Movement- As part of our class group time on Friday mornings we incorporate music and movement. The children have a great time getting active and moving to the music. We explore different types of music and use various props such as beanbags, dancing scarves, rhythm sticks, and, led by Mother Karuna, we even do ballet (sh, don’t tell the boys that’s what we’ve been doing!) These activities are great for developing the children’s overall motor coordination, learning about rhythm and are just plain fun.
Spiritual Studies- In our spiritual studies we have been learning about Lord Krishna’s childhood pastimes. The children are really enjoying hearing stories, flannel boards, and singing songs about Krishna’s pastimes with his family and friends in Vrindavana. We have also begun practicing for the play we will perform at the temple for the Govardhana Puja festival. The play is accompanied by Mrigaksi’s ‘Makhanataskara’- butter thief- song and the children will enact this story on stage. I know the first thing that comes to your minds may be, ‘what costume will my child need?’ Well, if your child is a boy, he will be a monkey- please plan on him wearing solid, brown colored pants and shirt. Averie’s mother, Sandy, a skilled costume designer, has agreed to help out and sew monkey ‘hats’ and tails for all of the boys- thank you, Sandy! If your child is a girl, she will be a gopi and I know all of your girls have some pretty fantastically fancy gopi outfits! Stay tuned for more information about the performance.
North America, Spanish and More- In other unit studies, we are learning about the continent of North America, its basic geography, people, culture, and animals. In our class we study a different continent each month and infuse this study into all areas of learning. It provides a good foundation for the children to learn about being citizens of the world, promoting awareness, acceptance, and understanding of other countries and cultures. In science, we are learning about magnetism using hands on materials, classifying magnetic and non magnetic and in biology we are talking about which living beings are vertebrates and invertebrates. Did I mention that the kids are learning Spanish? On Monday afternoons we have Spanish class with Mother Radha. So far we have been learning greeting phrases; hola, como estas, buenos dias, etc.
Bhakti Bhavan Family News- We celebrated a couple of our classmates’ birthdays this month with our youngest and oldest students; Srinath turned 3 and Surya is now 6 years old. Happy birthday to them! I’d also like to congratulate Mahima’s family on the birth of their new baby, a little girl they’ve named Rucira.
As you can see, we’ve had a lot to keep us busy! Looking forward to sharing more with you as our school year unfolds.
Yours in the service of your children,
Vrinda
