Hari Om,
Welcome to Grade 7 Ramayana!
It was super exciting to meet our students, and they were happy to be back at the ashram after summer break. We missed the few who were unable to make it to our first class. As many of you already know, we had a shortened class on Sunday following the introduction assembly, but the kids were active and engaged throughout.
After introducing ourselves, we spent some time getting to know the children and understanding their exposure to and familiarity with the Ramayana. They introduced themselves, shared their interests, and talked about their favorite parts of the Ramayana and their favorite characters. We then had a quiz to recap some of the main events of the Ramayana and found that most of our children have a pretty good understanding of the sequence of events.
Ramayana
As we begin our journey this year, we started exploring the Ramayana through some fundamental questions:
Who is the author of the Ramayana?
How did the Ramayana begin?
We will explore the Ramayana as an Itihasa (epic) in much greater detail throughout the year, going beyond simply understanding the sequence of events. We will take a deeper dive into the characters, their choices and relationships, and how Dharma plays a central role in the Ramayana. Most importantly, we will explore what lessons and takeaways from this great Itihasa we can incorporate into our own lives.
Key to Success
The other central theme for our class this year is The Key to Success, with the text being the Vibheeshana Geetha.
We will use stories, discussions, and real-life scenarios to encourage the children to reflect on what success really means, how our attitude and choices shape our lives, and how knowledge, contentment, happiness, and wisdom can serve as our own "keys to success."
Reference Book
Our reference book for the year will be Ramayana by C. Rajagopalachari. It is not mandatory, and you can purchase it on Amazon if you would like to. Most of the kids mentioned that they love to read! The children do not need to purchase the book for class, but they are certainly welcome to read it and bring their insights and questions to our class discussions.
A Few More Details
For those of you who missed it, our assigned classroom this year is Vasudeva. Make a right into the corridor, and we are the second room on the left from the main entrance.
Thank you to the parents who came down to class for a brief introduction. We have also sent out an invite to join our class WhatsApp group, which will be our main mode of communication for quick updates.
Our class will be responsible for the Thanksgiving Gift Baskets Project this year. We will send out more details regarding that soon.
Please mark your calendars and save the date for our class stage performance on Sunday, May 2, 2027.
We are looking forward to a wonderful year of learning, discovery, and fun together. Please feel free to reach out at any time if you have any questions.
Warm regards,
Rahul and Keerthi
