Bala Bhavan 2016
Vedic Cultural and
Spiritual Center of San Diego
http://www.vcscsd.com/balabhavan
9252 Miramar Road, San Diego, CA 92126
Page 1 of 10
Welcome to Bala Bhavan
It is our honor and privilege to welcome all the members of the Bala Bhavan family to the 2016 Bala Bhavan Program!
The Bala Bhavan Program was conceived and initiated 15 years ago to help disseminate and inculcate Vedic values among our young children to better prepare them for the challenges and possibilities of the future. The program is 100% volunteer-based, drawing from the incredible dedication, strengths and talents of a vibrant and highly involved Bala Bhavan parent community. Through this program, we hope to bring the rich mosaic of Vedic Indian culture, traditions and values to the tender minds of our Bala Bhavan children through stories, shlokas, bhajans, debate, arts and crafts. We hope to keep the incomparable diversity of the Indian culture and the simplicity of the Indian lifestyle awake and alive into the next generation and beyond.
This document is required reading for Bala Bhavan parents – it provides information for both Bala Bhavan Students, as well as Bala Bhavan Volunteers. Volunteers will be provided more specific information regarding volunteering for specific duties through the Program Coordinators, and the Mentoring Team relevant to the volunteering area. This document is intended to provide the new and returning families of the Bala Bhavan students information on the following:
Useful Resources Page 3
General Guidelines Page 3
Contact Information Page 5
Syllabus outline Page 6
Frequently Asked Questions Page 8
FAQs for Volunteers Page 9
Page 2 of 10
Useful Resources
All the following information can be found online at http://vcscsd.com/balabhavan.html.
Calendar with syllabus, class schedules, volunteer, and student assignments, resource links for books and websites etc. Audio recordings of many bhajans and slokas Bhajan and sloka handouts Newsletters Bala Bhavan Guidelines Contact Information Balabhavan library - List of available books Helpful Hints and Recommendations for Volunteers – in the Resources Section
General Guidelines
ATTENDANCE: Any child that misses more than two classes in a semester (not necessarily consecutive) will be removed from Bala Bhavan and that place will be allocated to the next child in the waiting list. The Bala Bhavan calendar year is divided into two semesters. The first semester runs from beginning of the year until the summer break. The second semester runs after the summer session until end of the year. This rule will be strictly enforced as there is always demand for new children to be admitted at all levels, and we are under severe space/class-size restrictions. Please note the following exceptions to the above "miss two classes rule":
Parents must notify (via e-mail) - in advance to the respective Class Coordinators in writing, if their child will not be able to attend a class, and specify the period (e.g. vacations). Emergencies/sickness - in such a case, please make an effort to let the Class and Bala Bhavan coordinators know at the earliest possible opportunity (via e-mail).
Repeated missing of classes or irregular attendance (except due to emergencies or extended vacation) will result in the removal of the child from Bala Bhavan Program.
Volunteers are assigned specific duties and the calendar is published at the beginning of the year. Unless there is an unavoidable circumstance volunteers must volunteer on the pre-decided date. If there is an unavoidable circumstance the volunteer must notify
Page 3 of 10
the respective Class Coordinator and the Program Coordinators in advance. They should also reach out to another volunteer on the calendar to make sure that they are able to switch out their turn with another person. Please note that it is the responsibility of the volunteer themselves to find out an alternative person and not the duty of the Class or Program Coordinator.
TARDINESS: Parents need to make sure that children are seated in the class before 5PM. Please be sensitive to the fact that late arrivals not only disrupt the class, but also makes the kid lose out on continuity and completeness of the program.
PARENTS PRESENCE AT THE TEMPLE: Parents presence at the temple during the session of the Bala Bhavan classes is mandatory. Please do not drop off your kids at the temple to run other errands. Your participation in this program is equally valuable to your children.
PLACEMENT OF SHOES/SLIPPERS: Children and parents must keep their shoes/slippers in an orderly fashion in the shoe rack provided outside the temple. Please do not leave them lying around in a haphazard manner. We request that parents be responsible for this and help/instruct their child(ren) accordingly. If a volunteer is there to enforce it, please respect their requests.
CONDUCT: Please read the Guidelines at http://vcscsd.com/balabhavan.html?section=guidelines.
Parents are requested to monitor and maintain orderly behavior of their children at all times: Please do not encourage running around in or outside the temple premises as this may result in an injury to your child. No child is allowed into the Temple Office room. Any violation will result in a warning, and repeated violators will be asked to leave the Bala Bhavan program. Kindly refrain from feeding your children in the main temple praharam/hall, so that the sanctity and cleanliness of the temple is maintained Please strongly encourage your children to clean up after themselves when using the temple restrooms. Please remember that Bala Bhavan is a program entirely dependent on dedicated volunteers who are also working parents. We have to enforce the rules in order to respect their hard work, the time they volunteer and their efforts in educating our children. We sincerely request your cooperation and understanding.
Page 4 of 10
VOLUNTEERING: This being a 100% volunteer run program, it is mandatory that for each child enrolled in Bala Bhavan, at least one parent should be volunteering in some capacity. Prior to the start of the program year, the Bala Bhavan Calendar and Syllabus is published and mailed to all Bala Bhavan families. It is the responsibility of each Bala Bhavan parent to critically review these documents so that they are aware of the dates and specific assignments given to them, so that they may be well prepared for their duties. Additionally, Assignment Reminders (name of volunteer, details of assignment) are sent out along with Weekly Class reminders. Volunteers are also strongly urged to contact their Program Coordinators or Class Coordinators to get more details about volunteering. For each area regularly covered in Bala Bhavan (Story, Shloka, Bhajan) there are individual Mentoring Teams (consisting of experienced, helpful, and seasoned volunteers) which can help and guide newer volunteers appropriately. Please see pg 10 of this document for more details. Training Sessions for Bhajan Volunteers: Saturdays 4-5PM Training Sessions for Shloka Volunteers: Saturdays 5-6PM
PARENT MEETING We will be holding a parent meeting on two Saturdays at the temple (date will be announced later; generally it will be held towards end of the year). We require at least one parent to attend either one of the meetings.
Contact Information Bala Bhavan Program Coordinators
Sangeetha Prahalad, Vidhya Raghunathan , Shankar Parasaram, Sridhar Seshagiri Email: [email protected] Class Coordinators Level Coordinators Email Toddler Anupama Rajagopalan, Shiva Ram Chandrashekar [email protected]
Junior Rajashree Balaji, Ashvini Yoganarasimha [email protected]
Senior Archana Sampath, Sushma Natarajan [email protected]
Super Senior Lavanya Kadiyala [email protected]
Page 5 of 10
Syllabus Outline
In 2016 we will be covering these different subjects for the children (and parents) to ponder about. We encourage both children and parents to do additional research into these topics if interested. Please refer to the calendar to find out more.
Stories
Toddler Junior Senior Super Senior
The Panchatantra Avatara-s Veda-s, Vedanga-s, Itihasa Veda-s and Purana-s
Student Presentations Presentations are based on the Values book. Copies of the book are available at the library. In addition to the assigned topic, all students must read the chapter: Introduction to values and do the exercises in pages 10 and 11. The children may not be able to read and understand their assigned topics by themselves. We request the parents to read to/with the children. At the same time, we request the parents to only assist the children and not do the writing work themselves. Please ensure that the presentation is short (less than 5 minutes).
Junior Senior Truthfulness Truthfulness Desire Friendship Friendship Straightforwardness Anger Anger Accommodation Greed Purity Firmness in resolve Jealousy Jealousy Pride Attitude towards food Attitude towards food Attitude towards money Non Injury Non Injury Respect
Newsletter topics Senior Guru-s
Page 6 of 10
Bhajans
Toddler Junior Senior Super Senior STARTING & Gauri Nandana Gowri Nandana Gowri Nandana FINISHING Gajavadana, Dhimika Gajavadana, Shambho Gajavadana, Ekadantam PRAYERS; Dhimika Dhim, Shankara Saamba Umasutam, Ganesha Sharanam, Shaila Girishwara Uma Sadashiva, Manasa Bhajare Guru Ganga Jatadhara, Maheshwara; Ram Dhimika Dhimika Charanam, Bhajamana Rama Nama Tarakam Ram Bhajo Mana, Dheem, Ram Ram Bhajo Raamam Sriramam, Chandrashekaraya Shivaya Mana, AnantaKalyana Shankara Nama Om Parameshwaraya, Gunabhirama, Chandrasekhara, Atma Rama Ananda Rama Nama Tarakam; Chandrashekaraya Raghunandana, Ramana Jagadhodharini Maata Nama Om, Rama Namo Shri Ramachandra Radhey Govinda Durga, Prathama Rama Namo, Prathama Kripalu, Gajanana He Bhajo Ganapathi Ganapathi Shubhanana, Gowri Nandana Pranamamyaham, Pranamamyaham, Madhusudhana Hare Gajanana, Vanamali Radha Radhe Govinda Bhajo, Madhava, Govinda Krishna Krishna Ramana, Krishna Krishna Madhava, Mukunda, Mahalakshmi Mukunda Janardhana, Varade Vina, Sharadhe Sharadhe, Jaganmatha Sharanam Siddhi Shri Jagadeeshwari Devi Lakshmi Madhusudhanapriya, Vinayaka, Jaya Jaya Jaya Durga, Prabho Mampahi Krishna Krishna Maa Sarasvati Ganapate, He Govind Radhika Manohara Mukunda, Radhey REVIEW of Vinayaka, He Gopal, Govinda Madanagopala Govinda Bhajo Krishna & Devi Bhajans Radhe Krishna
Slokas Toddler Junior Senior Super Senior Shuklaambaradharam VishNum, Ganesha Stotram Shivamaanasapuja Dakshinamurthi- VakratunDamahaakaaya, (Ajam Nirvikalpam) varnamaala-stotram Naamaramayana Gururbrahma GururvishnuH, Shiva Panchakshara, - Baalakanda Kanakadhaarastotram Shuddasphatika Sankaasham, Raamaaya Raamabhadraaya, Naamaramayana - Ganesha SriRaama Raama Raameti Ganesha Baalakanda Pancharatnam Stotra, Ganesha Revise Ganesha Vasudevasutam Devam, Pancharatnam Stotram Krishnaaya Vaasudevaaya, Mookam Revise Ganesha Sharada Karoti Vaacaalam Stotram & Ganesha Bhujangam Shantaakaaram Bhujagashayanam, Pancharatnam Sarasvati Namastubhyam, Vishnushatpadi Sarvamangalamaangalye, Sharada Bhujangam, Stotram Annapoorne Sadaapoorne, Revise all Shlokas Revise all Shlokas
Page 7 of 10
Frequently Asked Questions Here are some of the FAQs asked by many parents: Please bookmark the link(s) and refer to them frequently.
Q. What is Bala Bhavan’s URL ? A: http://vcscsd.com/balabhavan.html
Q. Does Bala Bhavan follow any Guidelines? A: http://vcscsd.com/balabhavan.html?section=guidelines For Guidelines pertinent to the Bala Bhavan students, please read the document in its entirety! For Guidelines, Recommendations, and Helpful Hints for Bala Bhavan Volunteers, please contact the Bala Bhavan Program Coordinators, and the individual Mentoring Teams for Story Telling, Bhajans, or Shlokas.
Q. Where do I find the Calendar document ? A http://vcscsd.com/balabhavan.html?section=calendar Click on “In HTML” or “In MS EXCEL” to view the complete year’s syllabus. Volunteers’ names can be found here. They are assigned at the beginning of the year in a round-robin fashion.
Q. Where do I find the Bhajan document & bhajans audio ? A: http://vcscsd.com/balabhavan.html?section=bhajans Click on “Bhajan document” above Shiva Bhajans. Click on individual bhajans for audio recording. Additional bhajans are currently being added to the website, hence in the interim, audio CDs of some of these bhajans will be made available through the Program Coordinators.
Q. Where do I find the Shlokas document and shlokas audio? A: http://vcscsd.com/balabhavan.html?section=slokas A large number of shlokas are compiled into a s single document; to access this document, click on the Shloka PDF format or Word document format to download all these Shlokas. For audio recordings, click on the individual shlokas (below Shiva shlokas PDF and Vishnu Shlokas PDF).
Q. How do I order shloka books ? A: Some additional shlokas not currently covered in the above link are available through published books. To order Shloka books call Arsha Vidya Gurukulam at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam is 570.992.2339. Bookstore contact information is [email protected] and telephone extension is 567. More information at http://books.arshavidya.org/
Order the Puja and Prayers book from the Vedic Heritage Program set. If you need
Page 8 of 10 audio tapes please buy them with the book. Details of Vedic Heritage Program can be found at http://books.arshavidya.org/. (Scroll down to Vedic Heritage program).
Q: What other books do I need? The following set is recommended for interested parents: Vedic Heritage Teaching Programme (Complete Set); Ramaswamy, Sunita & Sundar Set Includes Vol. 1 thru 3 (Teacher's Manuals) + 7 Workbooks + Puja & Prayers book w/ 3 cassettes covering all 36 prayers. Available at http://books.arshavidya.org/ under the category: Arsha Vidya Books, Audio & Video. Format: PB 1637 Pages + 3 Tapes Publication Date: 2/1/2000 If you are ordering for yourself please check if anyone is interested and share the shipping costs.
Q: What books are available in the Bala Bhavan library? The following link has the list of library books. http://vcscsd.com/balabhavan.html?section=library The link also enables you to see a digital image of the book cover. Each child is allowed to borrow 2 books at a time and please browse through the list of available library books and bring in the numbers of the required books. Your cooperation is appreciated.
Page 9 of 10
Frequently Asked Questions for Volunteers:
Q: Who do I contact if I wish to volunteer in Bala Bhavan ? Thank you for your interest! Please enquire with the Program Coordinators.
Q: What kind of volunteering opportunities are available in Bala Bhavan ? We are always looking for more dedicated and motivated volunteers for the following: (1) Bhajans (teaching Toddler/Junior/Senior/ Super Senior classes), updating and editing of Bhajan Document, updating website with newer bhajans (2) Shlokas (teaching Toddler/Junior/Senior/ Super Senior classes) (3) Story Telling (for the Toddler/Junior/Senior/ Super Senior classes) (4) Coordination of Summer activities such as Summer Camps, Picnic, Field Trips, for coordination of Pujas, Registration of new and existing students, Photography, Videography (for Annual Talent Day), to name just a few.
Q: Is there a Calendar which gives me information on Dates and types of volunteering I have been assigned for? Yes, please comprehensively review the Bala Bhavan Calendar.
Q: How can I access help or training material for my volunteering duties at Bala Bhavan ? For each area regularly covered in Bala Bhavan classes (Story, Shloka, Bhajan), individual Mentoring Teams are available to help and guide newer volunteers as needed. Please feel free to contact your Bala Bhavan Program Coordinators ([email protected]) or your appropriate Mentoring team as necessary. Story Mentoring Team: [email protected] Bhajan Mentoring Team: [email protected] Shloka Mentoring Team: [email protected] Training material (recommendations, helpful hints, etc.) will be uploaded onto the “resources” section of the Bala Bhavan website shortly.
Additionally, the Mentoring Team is available on site to help volunteers: Training Sessions for Bhajan Volunteers: Saturdays 4-5PM Training Sessions for Shloka Volunteers: Saturdays 5-6PM
Volunteers are requested to be prepared for their assignment well ahead of time – it is recommended that shloka and bhajan volunteers start training with the Mentoring Team at least three weeks ahead of their assigned date/s of volunteering.
Page 10 of 10