Children’s Land

We have really worked on ourselves while disciplining the child. We always noticed that he is not behaving properly when we are not meditating or behaving properly.

And one more thing we realised that if we keep on doing the wrong behaviour or wrong actions in front of him he picks them up like pointing finger, showing eyes, saying “no” for wrong things etc. So, we stopped doing such things in front of him. We tell him in a positive manner that “the thing is wrong to touch it” rather than saying “don’t touch this”. Also, if he is repeating mistakes, we ask him (though he is very young) that “what do you think, will Shri Mataji like it?”, and in many cases he would slowly slowly stop doing those wrong actions.

…And then there is a way of correcting children. I mean, I don’t like that punishment, you can correct the children, never. But by telling them stories, by telling them, talking to them, by sorting out with them, you can work it out very well. And if you talk with them, I tell you, these days the children are so wise, that they immediately take to wisdom, immediately. When they talk, they talk wisdom. I mean all of them sometimes, if you talk to them, you feel you are amongst grandparents or great-grandparents, the way they are talking about things. So, you have to understand that these are special children, are to be treated with respect and to be brought up with respect and instill in their mind that: “You are special children,” that “You are children who have to change the world. You have come on this earth for a very great purpose and that’s why you have to be brought up like that.”

“And then the disciplining also comes in children when they understand that they are …, they themselves discipline. So, the first thing is to instill in them the sense of security and a sense of self-respect. I think this is the most important thing we have to do….” (Shri Mataji, Children, Parents, Schools, 1985)

An example:

We both had a bad habit Read the rest of this entry »

As a former teacher, a Sahaja yogini working in non-Sahaj schools, what I appreciated most were the parents who invested themselves in their child’s education from the start. Those who were always interested, who didn’t just drop off and pick up, those who lingered to ask about the day, saw how the children got along in the school, who advocated for certain things that their child and other children needed. Some of the parents were even willing to help out in the classroom, occasionally assisting at special functions, such as hosting a table with a special activity, or preparing materials for birthdays or other special days.

That brings love and vibrations into the school. Certainly the children are blessed with resilience and every child is protected by the Divine. But not every child will automatically thrive, even in the most wonderful of schools. It is the partnership between a parent and a teacher that allows adjustments to be made so that the child feels at home at school, safe and understood, able to mature nicely.

Parents can share with the teachers the small, small insights about that child and the family’s culture and traditions. Teachers may not be able to understand the child without a parents’ guidance. Truly, most teachers stick with it out of compassion more than ego - it is tiring and hard work, and will push out those who are not truly dedicated to children. Still, even a teacher who has taught hundreds of children may not understand your child, even when they want to, they will need the friends and family of a child to be advocates, to share stories about how that child learns and expresses him/herself, and a teacher, even the most perfectly loving and wise teacher in the world, also needs your respect and support …

With affection,

Elizabeth

The first term in the Russian Sahaja kindergarten “Cool breeze” has come to an end. Little children were being taught to walk, they were taking the first steps. As they are glad, so their mothers are glad, too. Among teachers and aunties the belief even appeared that the kindergarten is a place where pure desires are fulfilled. Because if you want something, everything is solved, everything is organized.

This is really a Russian project in which the efforts and vibrations of the teachers, tutors and parents of various Russian cities were combined. In the first term 18 children (6 of which came from other cities of Russia) lived in the kindergarten. First it was rather difficult, because this project differs from all the others which we had had in Togliatty. We learned all together.

And collective aspiration for developing this project has worked out! Teaching activity was filled with various lessons according to the pre-school curriculum. We began to coach children of the preparatory group for school. This work will be continued in the second term.

At Sahaja lessons and daily meditations children learned to balance themselves using various cleaning techniques, to conduct meditation and to sing bhajans.

At weekends various trips were organized: to the forest, to the city Philarmonic Society, to the winter-field, along the Volga (we went along the river by yacht).

In the second term, we are going to add visits to the theatre and staging stories to our leisure activities. We plan to introduce lessons of English as well.

We would like to tell you about the final holiday. We have worked with children for about 12 years, we have never had such a balanced holiday before. Everybody just dissolved. The aim of the festive occasion was to sum up the term, to consolidate the knowledge received by the children and, which is more important - an ability to put this knowledge to life. In general, only adults were preparing the holiday, so the scenario of it was composed in the form of a theatre - impromptu. We made up rather vital situations (those we watched in the kindergarten during the term) which the kids should have overcome using the knowledge and experience received. The examination was passed.

With respect,

The organizing committee

At the last program we talked about Mother Kundalini and the Mother principle in general, explaining it with the Mother Earth and how she cares and nurtures us. Then the fruits and vegetables came in. For this we brought some fruit and vegetables to the class. I made 3,5 kg of red, green and blue play dough and we tried to recreate the fruits and veg with the play dough. Just simple, like banana, apple, broccoli, grapes etc.

The veggie play dough worked brilliant!

Sia

Question:

What is your advice or experience in integrating a one year old in morning meditation???

Do you meditate separately and then with the child do a small meditation?.. Because before our son was walking, he would sit quite some time and we would sing… But now he just wants to walk around… and also for songs he has no “time” since it is so much more interesting to explore all the surroundings, emptying the dustbins while I am not looking etc…. also now he sleeps longer in the morning approx. until seven and until that time me and my husband have already meditated because he needs to go to work…

Answers:

When our son started walking at about 14m of age, there has been challenging moments in making him sit down in meditation. But the truth is Read the rest of this entry »

An article with a lot of nice points about natural and simple toys for children.

http://www.thestar.com/living/article/278256

This incident occurred when Gandhiji was practising law in the city of Johannesburg in South Africa. His office was three miles from his house. One day a colleague of his, Mr Polak, asked Gandhiji’s thirteen-year old son, Manilal to fetch a book from the office. But Manilal completely forgot till Mr Polak reminded him that evening.

Gandhiji heard about it and sent for Manilal. He said, “Son, I know the night is dark and the way is long and lonely. You will have to walk nearly six miles but you gave your word to Mr Polak. You promised to fetch his book. Go and fetch it now.”

Ba and the family were upset when they heard of Gandhiji’s decision. The punishment seemed far too severe. Manilal was only a child, the night was dark and the way lonely. Read the rest of this entry »

In South Africa Gandhiji set up an ashram at Phoenix, where he started a school for children. Gandhiji had his own ideas about how children should be taught. He disliked the examination system. In his school he wanted to teach the boys true knowledge—knowledge that would improve both their minds and their hearts.

Gandhiji had his own way of judging students. All the students in the class were asked the same question. But often Gandhiji praised the boy with low marks and scolded the one who had high marks. This puzzled the children.

When questioned on this unusual practice, Gandhiji one day explained, “I am not trying to show that Shyam is cleverer than Ram. So I don’t give marks on that basis. I want to see how far each boy has progressed, how much he has learnt. If a clever student competes with a stupid one and begins to think no end of himself, he is likely to grow dull. Sure of his own cleverness, he’ll stop working. The boy who does his best and works hard will always do well and so I praise him.”

Gandhiji kept a close watch on the boys who did well. Were they still working hard? What would they learn if their high marks filled them with conceit? Gandhiji continually stressed this to his students. If a boy who was not very clever worked hard and did well, Gandhiji was full of praise for him.

by Uma Shankar Joshi

In the picture: Gandhi in South Africa, 1895 

You can read more on Gandhi here

And a woman who held a baby against her bosom said, “Speak to us of Children.”

And he said:

“Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts.

For they have their own thoughts. Read the rest of this entry »

Life is unpredictable. Before the start of the summer, I had no idea that I would be a YMCA summer camp counselor. Now, here I am near the end of the summer, finishing up camp. I can’t say it’s been easy, but it was undoubtedly a beneficial, enjoyable experience for me.

The children I helped take care of were very energetic. They were so playful. I found out that kids never run out of energy. We could come back from a full day of swimming at Rockland Pool, and they’d still want to play dodge ball. It took a lot of strength and effort on my part to keep up with them. Sure, camp was meant for the kids to have fun, but the YMCA camp went beyond that and instilled values in the kids. This was a process I enjoyed implementing. Children need values in life and the YMCA promoted four main values. They were respect, responsibility, honesty, and caring.

I remember a time I tested the honesty of the kids. At camp, we had gone over each of the four values. I knew the kids knew them, but would they practice them? Once a girl in my group found a quarter. Read the rest of this entry »