The purpose of this exercise is to teach the children several short stotras covering the different deities.
1. Teach the stotra holding a picture of the deity in order to build a clear link between the deity and the stotra in the childs mind.
2. Recite the stotra one word at a time and ask the parents and 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.
3. Most of the children may not recite the words as asked. It is very important that the child is not forced to recite. Even coaxing may make the class unpleasant for the child. Instead the parents must recite. The child will continue to learn as long as they are attending the class.
4. Draw the children's attention to key words and names in the stotra and tell the meaning of the stotra. At Toddler level, it may be necessary to describe only concrete terms such as Vakra thunda or Mahakaaya. Phrases such as 'nirvighnyam kurume deva' will have to be simplified to 'bless us'.
5. 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. Most of the children at this age will still have a lisp but will be mentally learning the correct sound which they will use later.
