TKG Academy

Focus on the Letter K

K for Kangaroo, Koala Bears, Kings, Kites.

And of course K for KRISHNA!! :D  Inspiration for one day’s class all the way from Vrindavan..

We talked about Australia, showed it on the map, hopped around like Kangaroos and watched videos on little joeys (baby Roos) in their mommy’s pouches.  We played cuddly Koala Bears and watched these sleepy animals that are not actually bears and discussed what they like to eat.

As with each week, these extra Letter activities, go side by side with their usual Reading, Writing, Spelling, and Math activities.  The themes make learning the usual subjects so much more fun!

Here is a personal blog that Gopi Gita wrote regarding teaching the Letter K one day.

This morning, as I'm leaving my 2nd grade class early, cuz we got the work done early; I'm rushing home to give my husband his breakfast - he had a fall and cant move, but yes yes, he's okay, albeit in a lot of pain, but yes, he's doing okay... my cell phone rings and its those blessed numbers.. the ones to which there is noo end. 91 456 789 98 76 492 8495 8384.... sooo much longer than a usual local phone call and I know, ooohh!! That's my sister Gaura calling!!
What a treat. Right in the middle of my day, in the middle of my busy schedule. I go ahead and pick it up on my cell phone - even though I know that Rupa's probably gonna get annoyed because it might be super expensive to take a call from India on my cell phone. Oh well. I only have about five minutes to talk anyways, before I rush to my preschool-Kindergarten class. So how much can it actually cost to talk to her for five minutes? And I really haven't talked to her in soo long. How nice it would be to hear her voice.
Hello? Gauurruu!!! :D I proceed to vent to her about our hectic busy life and how Rupa Prabhu's been working pretty hard and how its been a couple of bad days for him. About our wonderful Gurukula Meeting with HH Giriraj Maharaj and how inspiring that was.

But her news from Vrindavan is soo much more transcendental! Today is Akshaya Tritiya she says. Thousands of pilgrims are walking on the parikrama path around Vrindavan from the early morning hours.. all day. Its already soo packed here in the month of Kartik, but how much more today. Do u know what Akshaya Tritiya is? (No, ummm... sorry.. umm.. I dont remmber). Its when Krishna has to leave Vrindavan to go to Mathura to kill Kamsa. Its when Akrura brings his chariot and Krishna and Balaram and so many Vrajavasis go with him to Mathura, except the gopis who cry and physically stop Krishna's chariot.
Ooohh my!! Wow! This very same day? Wow.

"and yesterday," she continues. "was Gopastami. You know, when all the gopis dressed up as cowherd boys. So Radhe, next to Shyam, was dressed as a cowherd boys. Go online and you can see the pictures! Her lotus feet are showing too!"
Woooww...

How lucky lucky lucky my little sister is. Living right in Sri Vrindavan Dham, the spiritual world, where Sri Krishna's pastimes come to life, each and every day.
How happy I am that I answered the phone to get so many drops of nectar and remember Krishna's pastimes.

As I'm headed back to the Gurukula, it hits me. Hey! This week we're studying the letter K. for Kangaroo, and Koala Bears, and Kites, and Krishna (of course) and Kings and Kwanzaa, if we have time.

Let me also tell them this whole story. The kids already know about the demons that Kamsa has been sending to try and kill Krishna. Sooo many demons. Wouldn't it be nice to tell them the story of Krishna leaving his home, to go to Mathura to kill Kamsa. And how perfect, to teach them that on the exact day of Akshaya Tritiya.

So off to the school I go... Our other teacher (today its Gopi Krishna substituting, but usually the main teacher is her mom, M. Lakshmipriya ) is perfectly fine with putting the regular curriculum on hold for a couple of hours.
We get out the Krishna book and start story telling time. The kids are riveted. They already know the song "Kamsa was an evil evil king" by Asta Sakhi.. We discuss all the scary demons that Kamsa had sent, and act out the different animals. We talk about how Krishna had to leave to get rid of this evil Kamsa and how his mommy and daddy and aaalll his friends, even the birds, the deer, the cows, even the leaves and rocks of Vrindavan looved Krishna sooo much that they crried and cried to hear that He had to go.

We asked them; Do you ever miss someone? One by one, the kids told about how they do miss their mommies sometimes.. or their mommies miss them.
And then we started on the part of Krishna getting ready to kill the evil evil Kamsa! How Kuvalayapida, the crazy mad elephant was at the gate, ready to trample him. (Look! Another K word! heehee) How this elephant was soo ferocious. But Krishna eeasily killed him.

And then the wrestlers. We talked about muscles and strength and how no matter hoow strong anyone is, Krishna is stronger. Even though He looks like a beautiful little boy, He is the source of aall the strength in the world and even all the superheroes, which are the favorites of some of these kids, get their strength from Krishna, God. We told them to go home and ask their daddies to show off their muscles...

And then the finale. Krishna Killing Kamsa. How the crowd cheered as Krishna pulled Kamsa by his hair and we grabbed each other's hair to get a feel for it... lol even my tough friend Gopi Krishna grabbed my hair haha.. As I'm describing Krishna grabbing Kamsas hair and dragging him aalll around for the citizens to see, my face is in a ugly grimace and Gopi K pipes in, Well, when Krishna did it, he didn't look quite so ugly. He still looked beautiful, like a young lil gorgeous little boy. lol, laughs all around.

After storytelling, was writing words from the story for the Kindergarteners and practicing the letter Kk for the preschoolers. (The beauty of working in a multi level class room, as we have in our Gurukula, is the older kids learn how to help the younger kids, and the younger kids learn to assimilate more knowledge and practice by striving to be just like their older counterparts.)
And then discussing what a good king is and what a bad king is and making a

King K craft.

 
All in all, a wonderful morning, meditating on Sri Krishna's pastimes with our students. How lucky I am.
Just wanted to share...
Lots of love and Hari bolos,
Gopi gita