Balabharati Updates - March 2017

Namaste ji 

Balabharati team shares with you the updates of the month.

April Magazine and Yojana :   

The 53rd edition of BB Magazine and the corresponding Yojana soft copy for April 2017 is updated in the resources blog home page ( right side ). Visit http://balbharati-resources.blogspot.in/  Hope centers have contacted nearest Balabharati Pramukh and collected the hard copies for the kids. 

Special activity in last week of the month ( April ) :  

Hindu New year and calendar - an introduction to children from elders. Please see yojana for further notes on how this can be conducted. 

News and events from centers:   

• VM Serenity Balabharati in Horamavu celebrated Holi with nice participation from people in the apartment. Around 50 kids participated.  A recent center, they are happy to share with us that the response from residents to Balabharati activities is very positive. 

• Klassic Benchmark apartment BB in Gottigere valay conducted a special event called Matru Bharati. It was an event conducted by the BB Kids for their parents. Kids took guidance from the shikshika and conducted the whole event themselves. Compering was done in Hindi by two balikas. The song 'chandan hai' was sung by the kids with parents repeating in a lead and follow mode. Kids took yoga ( one each) - with the parents themselves performing the yogasan under the instruction of the baal shikshak. There was also a memory game for parents. In the end, kids served refreshments to all. All minute details and arrangements were planned by the kids and executed well. The objective of the program was to give an opportunity for parents to really come and feel how the Balabharati is done and what all kids have learnt. The quiz conducted by kids for parents was also received very well. Mothers and fathers both participated actively in a baithak ( discussion ) with Sri Suresh ji on the importance of parents' involvement in sanskar-imparting activities for children, and also encouraged them to conduct Kishore and Kishori Bharati in their apartment.

• NGV BB and ST Bed BB in Koramangala valay had shikshika team baithaks. They reviewed the activities thus far, and also planned for upcoming month. They also decided to conducted this "once in a month baithak"  in the house of one new shikshika every month. In ST Bed BB, kids from a neighbouring seva basti ( kids of construction workers ) also participate with regular kids in the BB.

• Purva skywood BB had conducted Sankranti festival in January in a special way by inviting a kole basava group ( “Kole Basava” is an adorned bull with his multi-coloured embellishments accompanying his master. They are nomads who go from house to house, playing music and blessing people in exchange for clothes or food. ). They conducted Sita Ram Vivah and played music for the kids and also explained their art. The shikshika team arranged this to sensitize kids to the plight of such persons who actually preserve certain aspects of our culture, but themselves are not taken care by the society and live in less privileged conditions. 

• Acas Crescent Balabharati in Gottigere valay did the story for March in an innovative way by having the kids enact the whole story. Kids were dressed in various birds' faces, and used domestically available items to enact it. 

• Concorde Manhattans BB team did a quickly arranged Bhajan program on Ram Navami day, with quite a few shikshikas and kids participating. 

• Many centers are also beginning to organize the monthly shikshika/parents meeting session to review the activities of the month and also plan for coming month. Such meetings are felt to be very helpful in consolidating the shikshika / shikshak team which will further make the Balabharati activity more effective. 

• Parents of Ittina and Sarovar Balbharati have been continuing to conduct quiz based on BB magazines post Balasangama. 

Summer camps:   

• Centers such as Sarovar, Meenakshi Classic and Suraksha Fair View have already planned for summer camp, in various forms including activities such as daily habits, swachata, practising to keep one's things organized, health awareness, Craft, Yoga, etc. Meenakshi classic team intends to do it as a 2 hour per day activity for 6 days. Suraksha Fairview are planning 2 days activity.  

• The google form for summer camp idea collection (   https://docs.google.com/forms/d/12A4iBH-aFePHBBJ9Uvgknn9k1iDNV9nrmtqn6yfEyew/edit?usp=sharing  )  shall be open for ideas sharing till April 9th. After that, Balabharati team shall try to compile the ideas and send suggested models for summer camp activities. Any center willing to conduct the camp for their kids may contact nearest BB pramukh for further support. 

Shubham

Balabharati Team.