The purpose of this exercise is to teach the children all the basic stotras for the day with an age appropriate level / version of the meaning. The Stotra segment in each class begins with a discussion of which Stotra they will learn or say and why. The Stotras have been arranged in the order that they are said during the day so that the children understand the logical progression.
Suggested Discussions:
The very first Stotra we learn is a prayer to Ganesha. This Stotra is Vakrathunda mahakaya. Karagre vasathe Lakshmi is the first prayer of the day. You say it sitting in bed as soon as you wake up. What do you do after waking up? Play at home? Go to day-care? What do you do there? Read a story? Play? Even playing is learning because your body is learning. So we should pray to Guru who teaches us everything and to Saraswathi who blesses us while we learn. The Stotras are Guru Brahma and Saraswathi Namasthubhyam. What do you do after playing? Eat lunch? You have to say Brahmarpanam before eating. The light comes on in the evening. You have to say Deepa Jyothi. Do you feel scared when it starts getting dark? Do you know that next year, you will be going to Kindergarten? It will be so exciting to go on the bus all by yourself. But it is OK to be a little scared. If you are scared, you can say Buddhir Balam. Hanuman is so strong, he will help you feel better. Before sleeping, you have to say the sleeping prayer.
1. Recite the stotra one word at a time and ask the children to repeat. Follow this by stringing 2 and 3 words and finally recite the whole line. While breaking the Sanskrit sentence to form single words, please ensure that the meaning of the broken phrase is appropriate.
2. Some children may not recite the words as asked. Do not force the child to recite. The child will continue to learn as long as he is attending the class.
3. Draw the children's attention to key words and names in the stotra and tell the meaning of the stotra. It will be necessary to simplify the meaning of the stotra to suit the vocabulary and understanding level of the small children. We have found that we can succesfully communicate to the children when we use the vocabulary of the children in the class.
4. Please take care to pronounce each word correctly. Practice prior to class, preferably with the Sanskrit teacher. Emphasize sounds such as visarga so that the child hears the correct pronuciation. However, do not insist that the child pronounces it correctly. Many of the children at this age will still have a lisp. They are often aware of the lisp and feel humiliated if it is pointed out. It is sufficient that they are mentally learning the correct sound which they will use later.
5. This exercise must not take more than 8 to 10 minutes depending on the interest level of the children.
Suggested Discussions:
The very first Stotra we learn is a prayer to Ganesha. This Stotra is Vakrathunda mahakaya. Karagre vasathe Lakshmi is the first prayer of the day. You say it sitting in bed as soon as you wake up. What do you do after waking up? Play at home? Go to day-care? What do you do there? Read a story? Play? Even playing is learning because your body is learning. So we should pray to Guru who teaches us everything and to Saraswathi who blesses us while we learn. The Stotras are Guru Brahma and Saraswathi Namasthubhyam. What do you do after playing? Eat lunch? You have to say Brahmarpanam before eating. The light comes on in the evening. You have to say Deepa Jyothi. Do you feel scared when it starts getting dark? Do you know that next year, you will be going to Kindergarten? It will be so exciting to go on the bus all by yourself. But it is OK to be a little scared. If you are scared, you can say Buddhir Balam. Hanuman is so strong, he will help you feel better. Before sleeping, you have to say the sleeping prayer.
1. Recite the stotra one word at a time and ask the children to repeat. Follow this by stringing 2 and 3 words and finally recite the whole line. While breaking the Sanskrit sentence to form single words, please ensure that the meaning of the broken phrase is appropriate.
2. Some children may not recite the words as asked. Do not force the child to recite. The child will continue to learn as long as he is attending the class.
3. Draw the children's attention to key words and names in the stotra and tell the meaning of the stotra. It will be necessary to simplify the meaning of the stotra to suit the vocabulary and understanding level of the small children. We have found that we can succesfully communicate to the children when we use the vocabulary of the children in the class.
4. Please take care to pronounce each word correctly. Practice prior to class, preferably with the Sanskrit teacher. Emphasize sounds such as visarga so that the child hears the correct pronuciation. However, do not insist that the child pronounces it correctly. Many of the children at this age will still have a lisp. They are often aware of the lisp and feel humiliated if it is pointed out. It is sufficient that they are mentally learning the correct sound which they will use later.
5. This exercise must not take more than 8 to 10 minutes depending on the interest level of the children.
