activity - Blog - ISKCON Desire Tree | IDT2024-03-29T08:30:26Zhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/activityActivities and stories about Lord Balarama for children aged 2-18https://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/activities-and-stories-about-lord-balarama-for-children-aged-2-182022-08-11T10:30:00.000Z2022-08-11T10:30:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><center>
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<p><strong>By Urmila Devi Dasi</strong></p>
<p>Activities and stories about Lord Balarama! Lots of fun things to do for children aged 2-18.</p>
<p>Here are many stories about Balarama, along with activities about the stories. The story activities were created by the Hare Krishna School in Auckland, New Zealand, under the direction of Prana dasa. There are also dozens of Balarama-centered activities in the areas of scripture, Deity worship, devotee association, holy places, and Balarama’s holy name. Have some transcendental fun!</p>
<p><a title="View Balaram Activity Book 1 on Scribd" href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/4612529/Balaram-Activity-Book-1">Balaram Activity Book 1</a> by <a title="View Citraka dasa's profile on Scribd" href="https://www.scribd.com/Citraka%20dasa">Citraka dasa</a></p>
<p><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=6201">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=6201</a></p></div>Krishna conscious activities for children aged 2-6https://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/krishna-conscious-activities-for-children-aged-2-62020-10-20T11:12:43.000Z2020-10-20T11:12:43.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8054000464,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8054000464,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="430" alt="8054000464?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></a></strong></p>
<p><strong>By Mira Rose-Dewil</strong></p>
<p>Here are some practical ideas for creating a Krishna conscious environment for kids at home, many based on Montessori principles that I have found successful in my school. They are geared toward the 2-6 age group. I would love to hear from anyone who might have more ideas for this age group or for older children.</p>
<p>1. Organize the physical environment so that all devotional items and activities are easily within reach for children to access independently. Have a specific place for each item so that children know where to find things and how to pack away when they are done. This can make a huge difference to how often your child spontaneously engages in KC activities. For example:</p>
<p>Put your Bhagavatams and other books on a low shelf so that kids can take them out and look at the fascinating pictures whenever they want.</p>
<p>Have a kids’ altar at kids level so that they can offer things whenever they want, clean, or just hang out in front of the altar.</p>
<p>Have a low shelf nearby with a child-size offering set, cleaning cloths (spray bottles are fun), a basket for picking flowers, a child-size arati set.</p>
<p>Have musical instruments in a basket right near the altar so they can do kirtan whenever they want.</p>
<p>Make your kitchen child-friendly by having a step ladder so that they can reach the taps and counters. Have a low table for them to work at with a child-safe chopper, chopping board, bowls, peeler.</p>
<p>2. Children of this age love to be engaged in practical activities and thrive on doing such work. There are so many possibilities for age-appropriate practical activities. For example:</p>
<p>Have a little tray set up for brass polishing with cotton wool, a dropper bottle with Brasso, and polishing cloths.</p>
<p>Pouring. Have a little jug and tiny cups that your child can pour water into to offer to the deity pictures on their altar.</p>
<p>Threading. Have a tray with string and beads for making bead garlands. (Very small children can use chunky beads and older children can use quite tiny beads.) Have drawing pins or hooks in the back of the picture frames and show your child how to hang the garland on the picture. Older children can use a blunt needle and thread and make flower garlands.</p>
<p>Dish-washing. Show your child how to wash Krishna’s dishes after making an offering.</p>
<p>Food preparation. Have a child-friendly set-up as described above. Potato and carrot peeling are popular, as is chopping. We have a serrated child’s chopper and the children are always very proud to identify the bits of vegetables or fruits that they have chopped in the prasada. The possibilities are endless – baking, pancakes, sandwiches . . .</p>
<p>Cleaning. Show your child how to carefully remove everything from the altar and wipe the altar and all pictures before replacing everything.</p>
<p>3. Teach by teaching and not by correcting. Many children are very sensitive to being corrected or scolded for mistakes, and this can dent a child’s confidence or sap enthusiasm for an activity. So make sure you anticipate possible challenges and demonstrate everything in a clear and logical way to avert unnecessary difficulties.</p>
<p>For example, rather than having a situation where you end up scolding a child for putting a sacred book on the floor, show the child: “This is how you carefully take the Bhagavatam off the shelf. This is how you carry it to the table or the cloth that you have laid on the floor. This is how you open it. This is how you carefully turn the pages holding onto the corner of the page, until you find the pictures. This is how you close it and carefully put it back when you are finished.” The same careful demonstration applies for every activity.</p>
<p>Accept mistakes and accidents calmly and matter-of-factly. Show kids how to carry things with two hands. Show kids how to wipe up spills and clean up after accidents.</p>
<p>Don’t be hung up about rules and regulations and worried about children making “offenses.” Krishna should feel like an all-loving friend to them and they should not have to tiptoe around Him or be scared of doing something wrong. If a toddler pulls himself up at the altar and offers Krishna a sticky sweet that he has held in his hand for half an hour and dropped on the floor several times, we should be delighted by his impulse to offer something precious to Krishna.</p>
<p>4. Independence and free will. Kids of this age are really striving to learn to do things by themselves. We should facilitate by allowing them to do things without undue interference, advice, and hovering. Also, children should never feel forced to engage in some kind of devotional activity. If they are not interested in something because it does not serve some meaningful inner purpose for them, coercion may kill any likelihood of their natural interest in the activity arising at a future time. As soon as we try to force small children to do some devotional activity as a matter of routine, it could become a chore. Also, we deprive ourselves and them of the joy that arises when they spontaneously decide to decorate the altar with flowers, or take their deities (pictures) on an outing to a nice spot with a cool breeze and sing bhajans, or take out all the Bhagavatams and “read” them all in one go, etc., etc.</p>
<p>5. Don’t over-praise. Of course we want to encourage our children and express our satisfaction when they do something devotional nicely. But excessive praise may make children dependent on outside approval and validation for their activities, rather than wanting to do something for its own sake, and feeling satisfied by their own evaluation of what they have done. Simple observations can be very effective e.g. “I saw how carefully you chose only the perfect flowers to offer to the Lord.” Or “Look how shiny the acamana cup is now!”</p>
<p>Here are a few other ideas that I have found quite successful:</p>
<p>Have a set chanting time during the day. From early on begin training your kids that “Now is my chanting time. You may be here if you want to chant or if you are silent. Otherwise you may play anywhere else in the house.” Gradually the period of time during which they can adhere to your request extends.</p>
<p>Get kids counter beads to chant on. It is very exciting for them to finish a “round” quickly.</p>
<p>Get squares of felt in 3 different colours (I used pink for “Hare,” blue for “Krishna,” and green for “Rama”) and lay them out on a carpet to make chanting stepping stones. This is a great way for them to chant when they don’t want to be still. Also good for introducing other kids who don’t know the mantra.</p>
<p>Have festivals at home. Even if you live close to a temple, there are benefits to having festivals at home specially for small children as temple festivals may not always be geared for them. We have “birthday parties” for appearance days, and it’s something the kids can really relate to. We invite all the neighborhood kids and they come and bring or make presents. We cook a simple prep like biscuits or halava, get flowers for offering and decorating, chant, dance and have stories and maybe a puppet show. There has to be a cake with candles and preferably balloons. They LOVE the festivals.</p>
<p>Sing songs together. You can make up long epic songs about pastimes, which can be useful for entertaining kids while you are doing something else like cooking or driving. If you sing it the same way each time they will quickly learn the words. Teach them traditional bhajans. I first realized how easily kids learn songs in other languages by seeing how effortlessly our 3- and 5-year-old learned “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika,” our national anthem. If you choose a song and sing it repeatedly over a period of time, they will soon pick it up and sing it again and again.</p>
<p>So many crafts can be done. For example:<br /> Make hand puppets or finger puppets. Kids can glue on eyes and jewels or flowers.<br /> Get cardboard and make beautiful jeweled picture frames for deity pictures.<br /> Make bows and arrows and shields (and clubs and swords!) to offer to Lord Rama.<br /> Make a picture book of your child’s trip to Ratha-yatra or India or some other spiritual occasion. These can be really simple with a photo and one or two sentences per page. Kids love to re-live their experiences in this way.</p>
<p>Have a “special night” regularly or occasionally where the whole family does something fun together e.g. a play where you all dress up and Mom is Sita, Dad is Ravana, kids are Rama and Hanuman and Lakshman, or a puppet show or story-telling.<br /> <br /> <strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=9108">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=9108</a></p></div>11 Stay-At-Home Krishna Conscious Activities To Do With Your Kidshttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/11-stay-at-home-krishna-conscious-activities-to-do-with-your-kids2020-08-19T10:01:55.000Z2020-08-19T10:01:55.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><div id="article_image">
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<div><strong>By Madhava Smullen <br /><br /></strong></div>
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<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has been tough for parents and kids, as they try to find engagement while staying at home. Here are eleven tried-and-true Krishna conscious activities, as shared by devotee parents themselves!</p>
<p>1. Holding a Backyard Ratha Yatra for Lord Jagannatha</p>
<p>“Mata, what does Jagannatha like to eat the most?” asked my 7-year old Murari. My quick response was “Kaja!” That’s when we decided that we will make kajas and offer to Jagannatha for the first time ever. Another quick thought zoomed into our minds – “Why don’t we have our own Ratha Yatra this year as our Ratha Yatra in San Antonio, Texas is canceled due to COVID? Both Murari and my toddler Vibhavari, 2 years old, had a gala time decorating the cart. They were excited to help pass the tape and scissors and flower petals. We offered the Lord’s favorite Kaja, sang and danced while pulling the Ratha outside our home. It’s one of the fun activities we did during the pandemic! – Nityakishori Dasi</p>
<p>2. Bathing and Dressing Your Deities</p>
<p>My 6-year-old daughter, Ambika, loves to bathe and dress our small Laddhu-Gopal deity. She feels very motherly towards Him, and is always concerned with whether He needs a change of clothes, fresh water or a flower. She polishes him with a Tilak/lemon juice mixture, bathes Him in water, and picks out new outfits and jewelry. My 2-year-old son Nakula wants to get involved as well, so I help him bathe our Nrsimha and Prahlad deities. It’s a very simple, peaceful and grounding activity that keeps them connected to Krsna. – Manjari Smullen</p>
<p>3. Cooking for Krishna</p>
<p>Ever since my boys were 4 and 2, more than a decade ago, they were my companions in the kitchen. Their “TV time” consisted primarily of reruns of Kuma’s Cooking Show. They began even instructing me – “Mommy, you’re not supposed to cut the cauliflower like that. Kurma Prabhu says take it apart with your fingers – don’t cut it all the way through!”</p>
<p>While I was at school, I depended on them for meals once a week to save some of my time for work. During COVID, they’ve begun cooking twice weekly. Ekadasis are the responsibility of Vraja Kishor, 18, with mashed potatoes, broccoli, tomato carrot soup, and sabudana khichadi. Nitai, 16, has mastered stuffed shells and tacos. <br /> <br /> <strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://iskconnews.org/11-stay-at-home-krishna-conscious-activities-to-do-with-your-kids,7466/">https://iskconnews.org/11-stay-at-home-krishna-conscious-activities-to-do-with-your-kids,7466/</a></p>
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<p> </p></div>Radha Giridhari Home School (RGHS) – A unique initiative by devotees at ISKCON Mira Road, Mumbaihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/radha-giridhari-home-school-rghs-a-unique-initiative-by-devotees-2020-08-18T13:05:26.000Z2020-08-18T13:05:26.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7514017056,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="500" alt="7514017056?profile=RESIZE_584x" /><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7514026475,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="500" alt="7514026475?profile=RESIZE_584x" /><br /><br />Hare Krishna,</p>
<p>Please accept my humble obeisances.</p>
<p>All glories to Srila Prabhupada!</p>
<p>With the increasing interest arising in the devotee communities worldwide for alternative children education programs that not only nurture the children in well rounded academics but also deep spiritual values, some of us at Sri Sri Radha Giridhari Mandira, ISKCON Mira Road, Mumbai felt an urgent need to bring up a very balanced model for the children connected to our community.</p>
<p>HG Kamala Locana Prabhu, the Temple President, then came across the concept of NIOS central education program in India and found it quite suitable for what we were looking for. After a couple years of strong and dedicated team building and a concrete structure of the desired education program, we have now launched our official website.</p>
<p>We call our project RGHS – Radha Giridhari Home School. It is clustered home-schooling model, an alternative to modern schools and also a good replacement for the Gurukula model for the devotees who live in big cities.</p>
<p>This project is our humble offering at the divine lotus feet of our beloved founder-acarya, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada on his 124th Appearance Day.</p>
<p>We will be more than happy to share our concept and future plans with others who are interested in starting similar projects for their communities, especially in India and we also seek your support in terms of prayers and blessings for the team, the children and the project so that we can make it better and better for the pleasure of our Acharyas and the devotee society at large.</p>
<p>Many more details about this growing and promising project can be found here at our website: <a href="http://www.giridharihomeschool.org.in/">www.giridharihomeschool.org.in</a></p>
<p>Do write to us or contact us at rghs@outlook.in or + 91 99873 18251.</p>
<p>Warm regards,</p>
<p>Madhusudana Visnu Das</p>
<p>(Academic Head, RGHS)</p>
<div><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=88500">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=88500</a></div></div>Activities for Permanent Benefit by Damodar dashttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/activities-for-permanent-benefit-by-damodar-das2020-06-01T12:23:15.000Z2020-06-01T12:23:15.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><a href="http://girirajswami.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/santi_nrsimha.jpg"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}5489520498,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="350" alt="5489520498?profile=RESIZE_400x" />“</a>Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita (13.9) that the real sufferings of the material world are four—janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi (birth, death, old age and disease). In the history of the world, no one has been successful in conquering these miseries imposed by material nature. Prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah. Nature (prakrti) is so strong that no one can overcome her stringent laws. So-called scientists, philosophers, religionists and politicians should therefore conclude that they cannot offer facilities to the people in general. They should make vigorous propaganda to awaken the populace and raise them to the platform of Krishna consciousness. Our humble attempt to propagate the Krishna consciousness movement all over the world is the only remedy that can bring about a peaceful and happy life.” —Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.19 purport.</p>
<p><a href="http://girirajswami.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/05.29.20_SB-7.9.19_Zoom_PA_Carp.mp3">Reading, Pennsylvania, Nama Hatta</a> (Right click to download)<br /> <br /> <strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://www.girirajswami.com/?p=15897">http://www.girirajswami.com/?p=15897</a></p></div>