Bal 1 - It May Work!

This Sunday, Bal 1, guest speaker, topic: I Will Not!

I had no idea from the title what that was about, after reading the presentation it turns out it is about niyams with prasang from Gunatitanand Swami's haribhakto.

We have started requesting SUS from guest speakers and this is what we received for this talk.

---
Simple:
Niyams help us

Unexpected:
1. I will not game
Kids say I will not or I will based on what we say.
Example
We say Do puja, They say I will
We say Eat eggs, they say I will not

If this gets too loud, then we will have them stand for will not and
sit and fold hand for will.

2. Story review
For review we are going to have each balak act out one line from the story.

3. Ask each Balak favorite niyam, one new niyam they will take.

Story
Abhesinh Darbar (say this with emotion) for review act out.
---

I think this Will Work! It really depends on execution. The ideas are good. Interactive, well thought out games. Not using every single prasang in the syllabus. And lastly reviewing the entire story in a different way. The acting out was a creativity tip right from the presentation. We don't do much (read we NEVER) act things out. The change of pace should be good. May update with a picture or two on Monday.

Update.

As promised pictures below.

We added the make a gesture when I say this name to the story. Finger in the air for Abhesinh Darbar, two hand in on head in a crown for the king, thumb in mouth for drinking, and an X with both arms for no. We thought this would help the kids with acting.

Did it work? It Mostly Worked!

They kids loved it. Maybe too much. There was so much interaction that the kids enjoyed but seem to only focus on that. In review when asked about the story one response was - "Did he do a story?"

Basically too much unexpected AND not enough story and repetition on the simple made it less sticky - but fun none the less.

Bal 1 - It Worked!

As a group we have been experimenting with an ending song for sabha before going to Shri Harim. Coming from Shishu Mandal, many of these kids were used to having some kind of song to signal different parts of the sabha. They are now getting attuned to dhoon and prarthna signifying the beginning of sabha, but the ending seems to take them by surprise. It is a good surprise since they get snack and get to play afterwards.

We have mentioned Kirtan For Kids before. I bought a copy and at home the kids have taken to it. I really think that this is a very good way to mix the different sensibilities that our kids are growing up with - a blend of both East and West. So we took a page from the CD, a track called Namaste and changed the words to Bolo Jai and have used this as our ending song. It Worked! Actually this is a work in progress. The kids like it, it helps them get refocused before Shri Harim and snack and play time. Results below.

If you like this whole east meets west sensibility check out the Darohar Project by Laura Marling and Mumford and Son.

If you think we could make our own version of Kirtan for Kids with an east meets west sensibility, email the site we want to help.

Bal 1 - It Worked!

We have kishores who help out in Bal sabha. This is a blessing since to do a bal mandal talk requires a great deal of energy. If it does not then you are probably doing it wrong. Look around how many kids are not looking at you, picking lint off the carpet, doing summersaults - if the answer is greater than 10%, you probably need to increase your energy level.

One kishore in particular has been working really hard to use objects in telling a story. He has settled on two characters represented by stuffed animals that he has been bringing back every week. While he is finding his voice, this unexpected idea of using the toys to represent characters, well It Worked! The kids got a bit rowdy, but he had a tough slot - just a little after the half way point. Also our room is now super cramped, we cannot really do activities like coloring since there is not enough room for each kid to put down a piece of paper and color. The AC was also spotty so it got stuffy in our small room. All this led to a some restlessness. However you will notice that the rowdiness was concomitant with the kids being engaged. Trust us - It Worked! Better yet see for yourself.