Dear Families,
This month has gone by in a great flurry of events and celebrations: Open House, Harvest Festival, Govardhana Puja celebration and performance, Thanksgiving feast, Kartika observations, whew!
Kartika and More- This month has been rich in spiritual events and participating in the ongoing observance of Kartika with the children has been an inspiration. Reading about Krishna’s butter thief pastimes, learning the Makhanatasara song and practicing for and performing the play has really brought this story to life for the kids. This month we also read and talked about the appearance of Radha Kunda, a very special and holy lake in Vrindavana, India. Additionally, we honored the disappearance day of Srila Prabhupada, the founder of the Hare Krishna movement, and discussed his life and the significance of his unique accomplishments in bringing Krishna consciousness to the west.
Harvest Festival- Unlimited thanks to all of the PTO members, along with the additional volunteers, for putting on a super fun and engaging Harvest Festival. The day after the event I asked the children what was their favorite part and every child reported a different activity that they liked the best. (Ok, I must admit, the bounce house had a lot of votes with the boys!) Way to go, PTO! Circumambulating the Govardhana Hill made of sweets was a perfect end to the day.
Garden Update- We are so happy with our raised bed garden boxes and the children carefully water the vegetables and flowers every day after lunch. They will often take the time to carefully examine any changes in the plants and are very excited when we get to harvest them. Going through the process of preparing the soil, sowing the seeds, watering, waiting, and watching has proven to be a wonderful real life lesson in nurturing, tending to, and being caretakers. We harvested many radishes over the month and were able to offer and taste them along with lettuce and green beans. Many of the children eat a bit of mint every day after lunch, as well; fun to pick and freshens the breath!
Babies, Babies- Congrats to Ashley and Abhay on the birth of their newest little girl, Kishori Vallabha. Sundari, who turned 4 this month, is a very proud big sister. Any day now we also anticipate the arrival of Govinda and Saradiya’s little baby boy. Big sister Gita can’t wait!
Thanksgiving- Last but not least, we celebrated Thanksgiving this month and gathered with the whole school on this beautiful sunny day to share a circle of thanks and a delicious meal, provided by all of you. In the thanks circle we all stood in a big circle, and took turns sharing what we were thankful for. At the top of the list that the kids were grateful for were their families, Krishna and their school. (Pause to share a collective heartfelt moment!)
Thanks to all of you for your generous contributions and participation during this month and for providing us with such wonderful people, your children, to work with. Every day I feel blessed that I get to spend my time with your little ones and am honored to be a part of their lives during these formative years.
Yours in the service of your children,
Vrinda