Bala Vihar
Children are not pots to be filled, but lamps to be lit.
What is Balavihar?
The rich cultural & spritual heritage of India, including its teachings on moral values, is taught to children and youth at different levels, using the medium of stories, drama, arts, crafts, and discussion.
Balavihar classes have become models for teaching the fundamentals of Vedanta to the next generation.
Kids 9th grade & up become part of the Junior CHYK (Chinmaya Yuva Kendra), the Chinmaya Youth program. The JCHYKs under the guidance of the adult coordinators carry out activities like seva projects, workshops, fundraisers and many other initiatives that augment and strengthen their bala vihar learning.
"By improving oneself can only one hope to improve others around him."
The aim of Chinmaya Mission's program is to generate dynamic individuals inspired to make the world a better place.
Currently for our Balavihar and adult classes, we congregate at two locations
Location 1 :
Every Sunday 11:00 am - 12:30 pm at South Forsyth Middle School
2865 Old Atlanta Rd.
Cumming, GA 30041
Map/Directions South Forsyth Middle School
Location 2 :
Every Sunday 4:00 - 5:30 pm at Powers Ferry Elementary School
403 Powers Ferry Rd SE,
Marietta, GA 30067
Map/Directions to Powers Ferry Elementary School
Chinmaya Bala vihar program highlights:
- Learn Hindu culture & spiritual philosophy in a fun manner through stories, discussions, games, arts & more
- Build the understanding of Vedanta in structured and systematic manner as guided by spiritual masters
- Provide an enriching environment for children to meet, share a common value system and feel a sense of identity with the Hindu Culture & their spiritual traditions.
- Enforce building of character, strength & confidence needed for a positive & happy future
- Give a solid foundation of the Vedantic values needed for success in a multi-racial community
These classes are optional and fees for these classes are charged separately.
They are offered at 2 locations - South Forsyth middle school location and at our ashram
Enrichment Classes at the South Forsyth school location (SFMS)
Language Classes for Bala Vihar kids
CMA offers languages classes for Hindi, Telugu, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, and Sanskrit to registered bala vihar kids. Registration for language classes can be done along with the bala vihar registration. Fees covers books etc.
Kathak Classes (for kids (9+) & adults):
Sundays 9:45 - 10:45 am at the SFMS gym.
Teacher - Leera Rawal Leeraji having trained under Kumudiben Lakhia & Birju Maharaj has been practicing and performing for over 30 years. Leeraji is a long time CM devotee and sevak.
Contact Leera Rawal at leera.rawal@gmail.com for all details.
Enrichment Classes at Chinmaya Gurukul, 4980 Pittman rd, Cumming, GA
Kids swaranjali (bhajan classes for kids):- Saturdays 6-7 pm
- Fee - No charge
- Teachers - Rani Acharya and Haritha Badri
- Sat 8:30 am - Kids class 1
- Sat 9:40 am - Adults class
- Sat 10:45 am - Kids class 2
- Date - Sat, Sept 22nd, 2018
- Time - 9:30 - 12:30 pm
- Fee: $40
- Venue - Chinmaya Gurukul, 4980 Pittman rd, Cumming
Balavihar Competitions
CMA Balavihar conducts various competitions for all kids:
Gita Chanting Competition:Every year a specific chapter of Bhagavad Gita is chosen. Each participant is given the shloka sheets along with the learning audio CD. Different number of shlokas based on age of kids are decided upon along with other rules. Help and training sessions several months prior to the competition are given.The competition usually takes place sometime mid to end of March. Results of this year's competitions are posted here.
Writing, Elocution & Art Competitions:Every year CMA celebrates Republic Day of India by having writing & art competitions for kids 3rd grade & up. Speech competition is also held for kids in 5th gr and up. For details of this year's competitions see here. Results of this year's competitions are posted here.
Likhit Japa Competition:Likhit Japa competition takes place as part of the Mahashivratri celebrations. Kids are encouraged to write in languages other than English.
Bala Vihar service projects
CMA provides ample opportunity for bala vihar kids to do selfless service. Kids can serve every Sunday at the bala vihar location helping in tasks like parking, setup, cleanup, bookstore, ticket sales, food sales etc. based on their age. There are also opportunities to help at the ashram doing various tasks like cleanup, organizing, gardening etc. In addition to this, there are several service projects that are coordinated by CMA to help the outside community like MedShare, lunchbags for the homeless, Soup kitchens etc. as well as participating in toy & food drives that are conducted every year during Thanksgiving.
Balavihar classes at Marietta
Chinmaya Mission Alpharetta offers Balavihar and adult classes at Marietta. Classes are from Aug 2019 to May 2020. Currently Enrichment & language classes are not offered at this location.Location Powers Ferry Elementary school, 403 Powers ferry road, Marietta, GA - 30067
Timings Sundays 4-5:30 pm
Schedule:
- 4:00 - 4:30 pm - Assembly (prayers, pledge, Gita chanting, aarti & announcements)
- 4:30 - 5:30 pm - BV classes for kids; Vedanta class for adults
Fees for Aug 2019-May 2020 is:
- $150 for family with no kids
- $300 for family with 1 kid
- $450 for family with 2 or more kid
- $75 for family with no kids
- $150 for family with 1 kid
- $225 for family with 2 or more kid
- There will be a one-time fee of $50 for new families joining to cover material cost
If you are interested in registering your family, please do so here: MariettaRegistration
SFMS Balavihar Teachers classlist
| Class | Teacher Name | Room Number |
|---|---|---|
| Prek - all_Marietta | ||
| PreK - Ganesha | ||
| KG - Saraswati | ||
| 1st grd - Vasistha | ||
| 1st grd - Vishwamitra | ||
| 2nd grd - Hanuman | ||
| 2nd grd - Sita | ||
| 3rd grd - Balarama | ||
| 3rd grd - Devaki | ||
| 3rd grd - Yashoda | ||
| 4th grd - Parashurama | ||
| 4th grd - Prahlad | ||
| 4th grd - Vamana | ||
| 5th grd - Abhimanyu | ||
| 5th grd - Arjuna | ||
| 5th grd - Sanjaya | ||
| 6th grd - Chanakya | ||
| 6th grd - Laxmibai | ||
| 6th grd - Vikramaditya | ||
| 7th grd - Aryabhatta | ||
| 7th grd - Panini | ||
| 7th grd - Patanjali | ||
| 8th grd - Sushruta | ||
| 8th grd - Vyasa | ||
| 9th grd - Chinmaya | ||
| 9th grd - Tejomaya | ||
| 10th grd - Sivananda | ||
| 10th grd - Tapovan | ||
| 11th grd - nameTBD | ||
| 11th grd - Shankara | ||
| Gauri Mhaskar | 12th grd - Omkara |
Toddler-KG - Neha Pandya - Rm 308
1st & 2nd grade - Nithya Vaidyanathan & Vandna Pandya - Rm 310
3rd & 4th grade - Mahalakshmi Kumar - Rm 312
5th & 6th grade - Seetha Sarangpani - Rm 314
7+ - Bhavana Subramanian - Rm 314
Upcoming events
SFMS Balavihar Open house at Ashram
August 3 @ 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Balavihar Open House: August 3rd, 5 PM @4980 Pittman Rd, Cumming
Read more
Swaroopanandaji Lectures (Aug 10th (Sat) thru Aug 12th (Mon)
August 10 @ 7:30 pm - August 12 @ 9:00 pm
The fundamental truth of life - and all of us are aware of it, though we conveniently keep forgetting it…
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