LMOS & Value Based Spiritual Education (VBSE)

Intro to Set 1

2007-11-02T13:52:00.000-07:00

Words and Statements highlighted in color are by the author of the Blog: (Class I, IX and X completed)

Words in GREEN= Grammar, syntax or spelling error

Words, phrases and sentences in PURPLE= Questionable and/or inaccurate statement (theology, philosophy, ethics, morality, scientific)

Statements in BLUE= Statements that SRCM (Chennai) does not seem to practice

AN INTRODUCTION TO VALUE BASED SPIRITUAL EDUCATION

Why Value Education

Values bring quality and meaning to life and give a person his identity and character. Children imbibe values all the time from their parents, teachers and peers. But it is also necessary that we deliberately teach them the right values right from their childhood. What they learn at this tender age stays with them all through their life. Hence importance should be given to imparting a value-based spiritual education in schools.

Many values are taught unconsciously. Whatever is done or not done, whatever is said or not said, gives a message to the child. Sometimes these messages are positive and he learns a good value system. Often negative values are also imparted unintentionally. Since children learn through imitation, they imbibe values that the teacher consciously or unconsciously holds. Therefore the teachers themselves must have a good basic value system and impart the right training to children. Emotional maturity is developed when there is a positive relationship based on trust, respect and love between the teacher and the students.

Some suggestions

 Ensure that each class is stimulating, interesting, fun-filled, and absorbing, with practical activities.
 Devise ways and means to develop sensitivity, sympathy and empathy in the students.
 At the end of each term, take stock of what has been taught and how this has changed the habits and attitudes in the students.
 The ten maxims of the mission are very useful and hence, include them wherever possible.
 Try to bring the children closer to Nature by making a reference to it wherever possible.
 Keep a record of what happens in the classroom to help tackle the topics in a better way.
 Try to integrate less fortunate and disabled children into the mainstream.

In the Class

 Begin with recitation of the Mission prayer followed by five minutes of meditation. The meditation technique is not taught but the students are asked to sit quietly with their eyes closed. This enables them to be calm and composed and sharpens their intellect.
 Be clear about what is the objective in teaching a particular value or what we aim to do in the class.
 Capture the attention of the children by using AV aids, cassettes or by telling a story. Children love stories and remember them for a long time. Let them elicit the moral of the story themselves.
 Follow up with discussions and encourage all the children (giving more attention to the shy ones) to take part in it. Use thought provoking, open-ended questions, which do not have readymade answers.
 Activities in the classroom help the children understand and remember better. Let them be actively involved in doing something with all the Hs. (Head, Heart and Hand)
 Recapitulate whatever has been taught in the classroom. Sometimes some relevant values other than what had been intended may have been discussed as the lesson was taught. Ensure the role and responsibility of a student in upholding values for the sake of the individual, family and society.
 Conclude with prayer or quiet meditation.
 Make a collection of quotations, sayings etc. These can be used as starting points for discussions.

Some practical activities that can be done in the classroom

 Story telling –enliven it with actions, pictures etc.
 Drawing and colouring, poster making
 Learning poems and songs
 Solving riddles and puzzles
 Role play and dramatization
 Comprehension exercises with picture cards, newspaper cuttings etc.
 Word squares and crossword puzzles
 Games such as snakes and ladders, lotto, 10 questions
 Discussions and debates
 Group activities

Follow up the activities with reflection and let the children think about the values being discussed.

How to use the teachers’ guide book

 This is an idea book and not a substitute for a textbook. It is hoped that those who use this book, will be able to take the ideas given therein and use them in the way they prefer.
 There are five sections, each suitable for one class. There are ten topics which have been graded to suit the children’s abilities.
 Each topic in the Guide book has
 Objectives (to give a definite direction to what is to be achieved in the classroom)
 A way to begin (describes one way to motivate the children before starting the topic. Teachers may be aware of many more)
 Stories (there are two or three stories given under each topic. This is to enable the teachers to have a choice. The teacher has the preference to choose any story that she/ he finds relevant)
 Points for discussion (offers many starting points for discussion. Ideally the children should have the freedom to express their ideas and opinions freely. This will lead to trust, love and respect between the teacher and the taught.)
 Activities (suggestions are given for doing some activities in the classroom and at home.)

We would welcome suggestions from you for improving the book.

Class I

2007-11-02T13:51:00.004-07:00

Words and Statements highlighted in color are by the author of the Blog:

Words in GREEN= Grammar, syntax or spelling error

Words, phrases and sentences in PURPLE= Questionable and/or inaccurate statement (theology, philosophy, ethics, morality, scientific)

Statements in BLUE= Statements that SRCM (Chennai) does not seem to practice

Chapter I - God And Guru 1

Start The Day With A Prayer 1

Chapter II - Healthy Living 3
Keep Healthy 3

Chapter III - Greetings 5
Use The Magic Words! 6

Chapter IV - Love 8
Love Begins At Home 8

Chapter V - Happiness 10
Be Happy, Make Others Happy 11

Chapter VI - Nature 13
A. Plants Are Our Friends 13

Chapter VI - Nature 16
B. Animals Are Our Friends 16

Chapter VII - Discipline 18
Discipline Starts At Home 19

Chapter VIII - Work And Perseverance 21
Work Is Fun! 21

Chapter IX - Time Management 23
Take Care Of Today! 24

Chapter X - Courage 26
Courage Is Being Fearless 26

CHAPTER I - GOD AND GURU

START THE DAY WITH A PRAYER

Objectives

 God is the creator of everything. He gives us everything.
 Prayer is a means of talking with God. We can pray anyway, any time and anywhere.
 It is good to start and end the day with a prayer.

Introduction

When we look at this wonderful world of ours with its amazing variety of creations, when we gaze awe struck at the play of Nature, we can see the hand of a super power that we call ‘God’. Pass on this feeling of wonderment at God’s creations to the children. Everything we see around us is the handiwork of God. All these creations depend on each other in some way or the other, for survival. A feeling of love holds them together.
Prayer is a way of talking to God and conveying our feelings to Him. Children should understand that prayers could be said any time, in any way and by anybody. It is good to start and end the day with prayer.

A way to begin

 Ask the children to name some things that they can see being created around them. For example, mother cooks food, the tailor stitches a new shirt, masons build a new building etc.
 Ask them, ‘Who has created the moon and the sun and many other things that we see around us?’ Ask the children to name from Nature, things that are living or non living, tiny or big, moving or not moving etc,. ‘Who has made all these things?’ (God)
 With the help of children, compile a list of useful things from Nature. ‘How do we thank God for giving us all these things?’ (We thank Him in our prayers.)
 Ask, ‘What is a good time to pray? Should we pray only when we are in difficulty?’ (Any time is a good time to pray. We should thank God when we are happy too.)
 Ask, ‘Why is it good to start the day with a prayer?’ (It is the best time of the day and God’s presence & help is felt throughout the day) ‘Why should they end the day with a prayer?’ (To thank Him for the day).
 Ask them, ‘What is a good way to pray?’ Elicit that prayers can be said in silence too.
 Tell them to sit silently with eyes closed for two minutes. Ask, ‘How do they feel after this silent prayer or meditation?’ (Encourage them to say in their own words).
 Inform them that you would start all the Value Education classes in the same way with meditation, from now on.

Story Time

Story 1 - Maya’s mother always told Maya what was the right thing to do. One day she told her that she should always thank whoever gave her something and made her happy. That night Maya had a dream. In her dream, she saw a tree full of fruits. She took one, ate it and said ‘Thank you, tree, for giving me the fruit’. The tree shook its head and said, “Don’t thank me, Thank God for making me”. Next Maya saw a beautiful flower. She liked it so much that she said, ‘Thank you, flower. I am so happy to see you’. The flower said, “Don’t thank me, thank God who has made me”. (Continue the story in the same way). The next day morning Maya told her mother about her dream. Maya’s mother said, “That was such a good dream, Maya. What happened in the end?” “Oh, I got so tired thanking this and thanking that!” said Maya, “Then I thought I will need the whole day if I had to thank everybody. So I just sat down and thanked God for everything. Wasn’t that okay?” What do YOU think, Wasn’t Maya correct?

Story 2 - Ram had gone to his cousin Rani’s house for the holidays. Early in the morning, Rani woke him up. Ram, who was still sleepy, begged her to let him sleep for some more time but she dragged him out and said, “Look at the sunrise and listen to the birds singing. Can you get these in your city? Enjoy this morning freshness. It won’t last!” Ram asked Rani how long had she been up and what had she done. She replied that she had said her prayers and she was ready for the day. Ram was surprised. “Have you had your bath? I didn’t hear the sound of any puja, how did you say your prayers?” Rani laughed and said, “I say my prayers first thing in the morning. I don’t need to get ready for that! I talk to God the way I would talk to any of my friends. But I do that silently, that is why you did not hear any sound. My parents tell me that God is everywhere and I can pray to Him from anywhere in any way! Isn’t that the best way to do it?” Ram was happy he had learnt something from her.

Points to Discuss

 Encourage children to name some small or big things in Nature that impressed them. (You could bring samples of shells, flowers, stones etc. to the class). Discuss how perfectly they are made. Who could have made them with such precision? They are but some examples of divine handiwork!
 Remember that God loves children and listens to their prayers. You can talk to him as you would talk to your friend. What will you tell Him?

Activities

 Develop the habit of saying a prayer of thanks to God before you start eating food.
 Learn a prayer that you can say at the beginning and at the end of the day and remember to say it everyday.

When you wake at break of day
Just lift your heart and to Him say
'I don’t know what this day will bring
But Lord I offer you everything.'
When you are happy and things are fine
Just sing to Him this little rhyme
'O! Thank you Lord, you are so good
Help me love you, as I should.'

 Go for a nature walk and ask them to pick up something they liked and make a class collection.

CHAPTER II - HEALTHY LIVING

KEEP HEALTHY

Objectives

 Keep yourself clean and remain healthy.
 Take a balanced meal with fruits, vegetables and milk included in the diet.
 Be regular in doing daily ablutions. (Keep the stomach clean)
 Play outdoor games to make the body stronger.

Introduction

Children must understand that nutritious food, cleanliness, exercise and healthy habits keep them healthy. It is very important to get rid of the waste matter from the body and if there is any problem in this, they must inform their parents. This body of ours is a gift from God and we have to take good care of it.

A way to begin

 Teach the children this action song
These are my fingers, these are my toes,
Two little eyes, and one little nose.
A nice straight back, to keep me tall,
Ears to listen to when teacher calls.
Hands to move and feet to walk,
A little mouth, to make me talk.
I’ll jump up high, then bend down low,
Watch me as I start to grow, up, up, up on my toes,
That is how my body grows!

 Tell them how they will become taller and bigger as they grow up. Then they can do many things that they are not able to do now (ask for examples). Emphasise the need to have good and healthy food to grow up properly.
 Tell them how they will remain strong if they keep healthy. Elicit what are some healthy habits they should have (keeping themselves and their surroundings clean, eating food at regular times, exercise or playing outdoors, going to bed early etc.)
 Ask them if they pay attention to getting rid of the waste matter from their bodies. Discuss what problems could arise if the waste matter remains in their bodies.
 Ask them, if they get a special gift, don’t they keep it well and take good care of it? Let them understand how this body is a gift from God and how we should take good and proper care of it.

Story Time

Story 1 - Cheeku hated to eat fruits and vegetables. “How I wish I could eat only the things I want to eat!” he said aloud. Suddenly a fairy appeared before him and asked him which food did he love to eat. “Chocolates and Ice cream all the time,” he said, “ I can never get tired of them!” The fairy granted him his wish. Cheeku was thrilled! Whenever he wanted food, bars of chocolate and cups filled with ice cream started to appear. What fun it was! He had chocolates and ice cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner too. The next day it was the same story. More chocolates and ice cream for breakfast, for lunch and ugh! for dinner too! Would YOU like it if you had only chocolates and ice cream all the time?
How would you end this story?

Story 2 - Mona and Sona were sisters. Sona liked to go out and play with her friends but Mona always stayed home and watched TV or read storybooks. She grew plump and fat! Once Mona fell sick. She was tired and could not do anything. She was taken to a doctor. He told her that she fell ill because her body could not fight the germs. She had to make herself healthy and strong. She could do this by doing exercises or by playing outdoors in the fresh air. Mona started doing that. Soon she became quite healthy. It made her feel so good that now she never misses her play outside!

Story 3 - Asha was the first one to catch a cold or get sick in the family. She wondered how her grandfather even though quite old, always remained healthy and active. Once she asked him and he told her how his life as a young boy made him build up his body. There was no school near his village and he had to compulsorily walk a few miles everyday. There was no TV or any other form of entertainment and he and his friends used to spend hours playing in the open fields. He helped his parents in milking the cows and getting vegetables from the garden. He enjoyed eating them! His food was very simple but complete. There was no eating out at restaurants at all! No wonder he was so healthy!

Points to Discuss

 Discuss who is doing the right thing and who is not. Do YOU do the right things?
 Gagan brushes his teeth in the morning as well as at night.
 Hira gets rid of the waste matter from his body daily.
 Shibi doesn’t like to bathe everyday. On some days, he doesn’t bathe at all!
 Nina’s dress is never clean.
 Bina plays outside in the evenings.
 Baba keeps his hair clean and shiny by combing it daily.
 Why must you do these things?
 Keep a separate comb for yourself.
 Keep your tooth brush in a clean place.
 Wash your hands with soap after using the toilet.
 Go out and play in the evenings.

Activities

 Draw and colour your favourite fruits.
 Look at all these fruits. Circle those items that are good for your health. (make a collection of pictures showing various kinds of food items)
 Which is better?
 Plain ice cream or fruit salad? Why?
 Real orange juice or the flavoured drink? Why?
 Plain bread or a sandwich with butter tomatoes and cucumbers? Why?
 Mime some outdoor games and ask the children to guess what they are. Let them mime and show what games they like best.
 Learn this saying
Early to bed and early to rise,
Makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
 Take a paper and tear it into 14 pieces. Write one word from the above saying in each one of the bits. Ask the children to arrange the bits of paper to get the saying correctly.

CHAPTER III - GREETINGS

USE THE MAGIC WORDS!

Objectives

 Everyone likes a person who is well behaved and polite.
 Learn to use the words ‘please’, ‘sorry’, ‘thank you’ and ‘excuse me’.
 Avoid talking back and being rude. Be pleasant and give respect to others.

Introduction

Politeness and good manners are always appreciated and so great pains are taken at school and at home to teach children these social skills. However one must not forget that politeness should not end with just mouthing these words. Good manners should be combined with respect that comes from the HEART. Respect means really caring about other people. It is the basic foundation for other basic values of life. Children who learn this will be better friends, better leaders and better members of society.

A way to begin

 Talk to the children about any magic shows they have been to. Then tell them that you could also show them some magic. Hold an object in your hand and tell them that they can get it easily from you if they know some magic words. Make them come out with the word ‘Please’ and ‘Thank You’. Tell them how these and the words ‘Sorry’ and ‘Excuse me’ are magic words because they help you to get along with everyone.
 Tell them that these words acquire more power only if a thing called RESPECT backs them. Whom do they respect? (Elders?). How do they show their respect? Not enough if they say just Sir or Madam. They must FEEL this respect for them.
 Ask—who else should be respected? Through discussion derive the point that we should respect EVERYONE! Even our friends and juniors. Respect means caring for them and thinking about their feelings and not hurting them.

Story Time

Story 1 - A few children were playing with a ball on the street when it went over the hedge and fell inside a house. The children didn’t know what to do since they knew that an old man well known for his ill temper lived there. Now who would have the courage to go in and retrieve the ball? A small boy offered to bell the cat. His friends tried to dissuade him and warned him that he might not be the right one for the task. May be a bigger and stronger boy should go. But the little boy went courageously and knocked at the door. When the children heard the gruff voice of the old man they ran away. When they peeped out from their hiding places, they saw the little boy come out with the ball. Not only that, they saw the grumpy old man wave in a friendly way at him!
What did the boy do to win over the old man? He was polite and used the magic words. He said Excuse me when the man opened the door and expressed his regret for the mishap. He said ‘please can I have the ball?’ and remembered to say thank you when it was given. He also realised that the old man was lonely and so spent some time talking to him. No wonder he achieved what might not have been possible for someone stronger.

Points to Discuss

 Given below are some situations. Act them out using the appropriate ‘magic’ words.
 A waiter brings food in the restaurant.
 You are asking the shopkeeper to show you something.
 You are going in a bus when the driver applies the brake and you fall over someone.
 You have too many boxes to carry and ask for help.
 You are waiting at the bus stop and your neighbour gives you a lift home.
 Your mother is on the phone. You want to ask her permission to go out and play.

 Fill up the blanks with the right words.
 You say ----------- when you meet someone in the afternoon.
 You say ----------- when you meet someone in the evening or night.
 When you take leave of someone, you say -------.
 If someone thanks you, you say --------.
 If you want to draw someone’s attention, you say -------.
 When you want to request something you say ------.
 When you want to apologize for your mistake, you say ---------.

Activities

 What gestures are shown with the following greetings? 'Namaste', 'How do you do?' 'Vanakkam', 'Bye bye'.
 Say Namaste with a smile and then say it frowning. Which is better?
 Tell two children to have an imaginary conversation. Tell them how they should say sorry even when they commit a mistake unintentionally, for example when they trip someone and he falls. Make one of them yawn or sneeze and show how they should close their mouth and say ‘Excuse me’. When they ask for a pencil or something from their friends, they should not demand but request. They should always say, ’please’ or ‘may I have’ and when they have got it they must not forget to say ‘Thank you’.

 Learn this song (based on ‘When you are happy and you know it, clap your hands!)
When you meet your friends in school what do you say? Hello! Hello!
When you are happy and you know it and you really want to show it
When you are happy and you know it, shake your hands (action- shaking hands)
When you pack your bags and leave for home, what do you say? Bye, bye!
When you go to bed at night what do you say? Good night!
When you are happy and you know it and really want to show it,
When you are happy and you know it, give a smile! (Smile)

CHAPTER IV - LOVE

LOVE BEGINS AT HOME

Objectives

 Love begins at home. Our parents (and other family members) love us. They take care of us and help us.
 We can show our love for them by helping and caring for them and by sharing whatever we get. We can help them by doing our work ourselves.
 People who love us, correct us, when we do something wrong.

Introduction

A child begins its life on this earth with the loving care of its mother. As it grows older, it begins to experience the love that exists in the family and learns to play its part in the process of receiving and giving love. Hence the saying, 'Love begins at home' is true. It must be kept in mind that children should be supported with love. It is better to avoid the policy of Reward and Punishment to make the children do what we would like them to. In the early stages of schooling, the school becomes an extension of home and the child gets more opportunities to love and care for others. Since love is the basic feeling in all our relationships, we must create an atmosphere that is conducive to this learning.
It is never too early to learn that giving is more important than receiving and what we do for others is more important than what they do for ourselves.

A way to begin

 Discuss about the love that exists in a family. Ask--What does your family do for you? Let the children talk about how each member of the family does something for the child. Ask-What makes them do things for you? (Because they love you and care for you.)
 Find out whether their grandparents are staying with them. Discuss how they should love and respect their grandparents. Encourage them to talk to these elders and share their daily experiences with them. Discuss how they can help their grandparents by doing small chores for them.
 Discuss how they will show their love for their parents. By giving them a hug? By listening to them and obeying them? By not disturbing them when they are busy or when they are sick? Or by crying when they leave them and go somewhere?
 Sometimes the parents scold the children for doing something wrong. (Ex. When the child throws its books around and makes a mess) Does this mean they love them less?
 Sometimes parents do not allow the child to do certain things. (Ex. Not letting it eat junk food). Is it because they do not love the child? Is it right for the child to get angry with its parents? Through discussion, let the children understand why their parents deny them certain things.

Story Time

Story 1 - “ Wake up, Maya,” said Anand. “ Remember today is mummy’s birthday! Get up, lets go and wish her.” Their mother was in the kitchen. They ran and hugged her and sang “ Happy Birthday to you!” Maya gave her a bunch of lovely flowers that she had picked up from the garden. Anand gave her a card that he had made. Their mother was very happy. “Thank you, dear children. That was very nice of you” she said. “Wait, mummy we have something more for you,” said the children. Maya gave her a penholder, which was made out of an empty container. She had pasted some pictures on it. Anand had made a small notebook for writing down her shopping list. He had made it out of used paper. Wasn’t their mother very happy!

Story 2 - There was a small baby at home! It was a sweet little thing and everybody just adored it. Mala watched as her parents fussed over the baby. Her mother had no time for Mala now. All day long she was taking care of the baby, sometimes feeding her, sometimes rocking her to sleep and often just holding her. Mala wanted to sit on her mother’s lap but the baby was always there! Mala felt her parents did not love her any more. All they cared for was the baby! One-day Mala’s aunt came to see the baby. She looked at her and said, “Why, the baby looks exactly like Mala! Is she as good as Mala was?” Mala’s mother said, “ Oh, Mala was such a good baby. I had no trouble with her at all. But this baby cries more and I have to hold her for a longer time. I am waiting for the baby to grow up. Then Mala can help me in taking care of her sister. Do you know she stops crying and gives a special smile when Mala comes near her? I think she already loves Mala and will listen to her!” Mala looked at her tiny sister with new understanding. Now Mala spends most of her time by the side of her sister just waiting for her to grow up!

Points to Discuss

 Talk about the following with the children.

Here is an easy way to show your love for your parents. DO something for them. When your father or mother comes home from work, get them a glass of water. Help them to put their things away. Help them lay the table and after dinner do your bit in carrying things back to the kitchen. Eat in a neat way without spilling food. Before you leave for school, look for small jobs that you can do. Maybe you can help to water the plants, fill up the water bottles, or help in dusting. Maybe you can even fold clothes or help in putting the things away. Put away your toys and books as soon as you are done with them. You can also help in taking care of the guests who visit you, by serving them water or soft drinks or coffee or tea. Whatever it is, do it cheerfully and willingly.
 You can even help by trying to do your work yourself. Are you able to brush your teeth, take a bath, wear your uniform, polish your shoes, pack your schoolbag and do your homework all by yourself? If you can, that is really very good. If you can’t, try and keep trying. One day you will, and that will be a good gift for your parents!
 Let them talk about instances when their parents denied them something or corrected them. Why did they do it? Did it help the children to correct their behaviour?

Activities

 Giving gifts is one way to show love for others. The gifts need not be expensive. It is the thought behind the gift that counts. The children can make your gift using odds and ends in an imaginative way. Bookmarks, penholders, paperweights and note pads are very easy to make and can be done by small children with some help from adults.
 Children are very happy when their birthdays are celebrated. Ask them to make note of the birthdays of their family members and wish them on that day. This will surely make them happy.

CHAPTER V - HAPPINESS

BE HAPPY, MAKE OTHERS HAPPY

Objectives

 God has given us many things to make us happy.
 Everyone likes a person who is happy.
 Spread your happiness around. Make others happy by being happy yourself.

Introduction

Though happiness is associated with receiving things or with success or being with our loved ones, it need not always be so. There is happiness when there is enthusiasm and a positive outlook in life. If we look around, we can see many things that God has given us that can make us happy. Happiness can be found in simple things of life. A colourful rainbow, cool breeze or the innocent laughter of children can bring a smile to our faces. We must always treasure these moments and be thankful to the almighty for this.
A happy person is liked by all. By having a friendly disposition and being happy ourselves, we can make others also happy. When you smile, the world smiles with you. Happiness increases when you share your happiness with others and add value to their lives.

A way to begin

 Let the children have a smiling contest. Ask, ‘Whose smile is the biggest? Look at your partner and smile. Remember, be happy and make others happy!’

 Teach the following song to the class

Smile a while
And while you smile
Another smiled
And soon there are miles and miles of smiles
Just because YOU smiled!

 Let the children name some things that make them happy. By giving examples, guide them to name some simple inexpensive things and things in Nature and help them to think of God and thank Him for giving us so many things.

Story Time

Story 1 - There was a boy who was always cross and grumpy. No one wanted to play with him because he was always complaining. He was very unhappy. One day he went to a party where every one had to wear a mask. He was given a mask with a laughing face. (put on a mask of a laughing face yourself) Soon he found that every one was laughing and joking with him. He became the most popular boy in the room. He wondered what brought about this sudden change. Do you know the reason?

Story 2 –Mona was unhappy because she was not rich and did not have jewels like her friends. Her sister Sona promised to show better jewels than what her friends had. She took Mona to watch the rising sun (gold ), dewdrops (diamond ), red kundumani seeds ( coral ) etc. Think of similar things like this. Point out how the beautiful things seen in nature are even better than the best of artificial things.

Story 3 - A little monkey in the zoo complained to its mother that no one was coming to see it. They were flocking to see the big elephant or the fierce lion. It sat in a corner, unhappy and sad. Its mother told the monkey not to do that. If it kept a long and sad face no one would come near it. It told the little monkey to forget its complaints. There were so many things it could do to make itself happy. There were trees to climb and playthings to play with and many friends to run around and chase! Then all of them could have a good time. The little monkey did just that. Its friends were happy to have it with them and soon every one of them was having a wonderful time chasing each other and playing. Imagine its surprise when it found all the people crowding around it, watching its antics happily! What fun the little monkey had as it jumped and clowned and made all of them laugh! (Can use a hand puppet of a monkey to make it more interesting)

Points to Discuss

 Find out how a smile or a laugh can make us happy. Even when we don’t feel very happy, if we smile or laugh, it makes us feel happy. Try it and see!
 When we are happy we smile and laugh. The others also feel happy when they see how happy we are.
 You see a friend who is grumpy. How can you make him happy? (Smile, pat him on the back, tell a joke or a funny incident and make him smile).
 A happy family does many things together. What are the things your family does together? (Show some pictures to elicit answers --pray, eat, play games, visit friends, go shopping, go for a picnic, listen to music, sing songs, sit in the garden, watch birds, watch TV, share jokes, solve puzzles, go to the park, travel, watch the sunset, go for a walk.) Can you think of anymore?

Activities

 Teach the action song ‘ If you are happy and you know it, clap your hands ( repeat the line 3 times)
If you are happy and you know it and you really want to show it
If you are happy and you know it, clap your hands’
Repeat the lines while changing the actions.
 Show them pictures of a grumpy face and a smiling face. Which one do they like? Discuss why. Show the children how to draw a grumpy face and how it can be changed into a smiling one ( )
 Help them make masks with happy faces, clown faces etc.
 Give each child a cut strip of paper. Show them how to draw a smiley face on it. (). Write underneath ‘keep smiling’. This can be used as a bookmark. Tell the children to gift the bookmark to another child.

CHAPTER VI - NATURE

a. PLANTS ARE OUR FRIENDS

Objectives

 Plants and trees are God’s gifts to us. They help every one of us.
 Plants are like our friends. They give us many useful things.
 We should take care of the plants and trees around us and not destroy them.

Introduction

God has blessed us with the gift of plant life. Let’s not take them for granted. Let children look at the plants around them as their friends and learn their names. This will help them to learn about plants in a more personal way and they will be eager to take care of the plants. They should learn to play their part in the protection and preservation of the environment.

A way to begin

 Through dramatisation, the need to take care of plants can be effectively brought out. Let some children act as plants which are wilting and drooping due to lack of water. What should be done to revive them? Let some other children pretend to water them and make them bloom.

 Show the children trees and plants in the school garden and tell them to think of these as their friends. The class can be divided into groups and each group can ‘Adopt’ one tree as their own. Let them get to know their friends by touching them and feeling their texture. Ask some children to identify these plants by touching them while blindfolded.

Story Time

Story 1- an abridged version of Whose Garden? By Marilyn Kratz: This story talks about how the animals and insects in a garden think of the garden as their own. The brown earthworm thinks it is his garden because he lives there. He wriggles his way through the rich black earth, leaving it richer and softer. The Robin thinks it is her garden. She sings her morning song there and has her breakfast. The yellow butterfly is sure, the garden belongs to him. The ladybird decided this was the perfect garden in which to raise her family. Now she has lots of little ladybird babies and teaches them to look after the garden. The bumblebee comes to the garden on business. She is so busy gathering honey from the flowers that she scarcely has time to see how pretty they are. Whose garden is it?

You’d almost think the big bright sun owned the garden. The garden wouldn’t grow without the sun’s warm golden smile and the garden seems to smile right back up at him. But the garden needs rain, too. The rain makes it stand tall and smell fresh. The others leave when the rain visits the garden as if the garden belonged only to the rain.

A small girl planted the seeds. She pulled the weeds and watered the seeds when the rain disn’t have time. If you‘d ask her, she would say it was her garden. Whose garden is it?

Story 2 - Once a king was going by and he saw a very old man planting mango seeds. The king started laughing and asked the old man why he was planting the seeds. They would take such a long time to grow and surely the old man would not live that long to enjoy them. The old man looked at the king and said with a smile that he was aware of that. But the tree did not give fruits only to the man who planted it. It would give fruits to his children and grand children and maybe even the to the children of the king. It was for them that he was planting the seeds.

Story 3 - Manu read a story about a man who could understand what the animals spoke. ‘If I could do that!’ thought little Manu. One day he was standing near a plant which had lovely flowers. Manu started to break the twig which had the flowers and leaves. Suddenly he heard a voice. It was the plant speaking! “ Manu, look at what you are doing! You are taking away my leaves. Do you know that these leaves make my food and I will starve without their help? Look at the flowers you have plucked. Do you know that many people come here to look at these flowers and feel happy? The bees also come for their food and nectar from the flowers. Now they will feel hungry too! I wish you would not hurt me by breaking my branches. The birds love to sit on them. Will you help me and take care of me, Manu?” said the plant. How do you think Manu felt?

Points to Discuss

 When we love someone, we make him or her happy by giving gifts. God loves us so much that He has given us the gift of plants and trees. Discuss this.
 List ways by which YOU can help to take care of plants and trees.
 How, a small plant like grass is helpful? Can you think of tiny tots like you being helpful to others?
 Do you know that you can help plants grow well by singing to them and talking to them lovingly? Try it with the plants you have at home!

Activities

 Learn the names of common plants and trees that you can see around you.
 Find out the names of eight trees that are hidden in this given word square.

Mango, Teak, Gulmohar, Neem, Peepal, Guava, Banyan, Apple

S T E A K L G P
A P P L E N U E
O N F F D K L E
Q A X M G W M P
F Y F A U N O A
J N T N A E H L
J A D G V E A Q
S B S O A M R S

 Read this poem to the children and explain its meaning.

Trees are the kindest things I know
They do no harm, they simply grow
And spread a shade for sleepy cows
And gather birds among their boughs
They give us fruit in leaves above
And wood to make our houses of
They are the first when day’s begun
To touch the beams of the morning sun
They are the last to hold the light
When evening changes into night.

 Make a class collage to show the use of plants and trees.
 Learn to do bark rubbing of tree trunks and leaf rubbings. Use these as well as dry leaves to make different shapes.
 It is a fascinating experience to put some seeds in a small container of soil and watch the new plants germinating from them. Children could be told to take care of these plants as well as plants near their classrooms. This will help them to inculcate love for nature.

CHAPTER VI - NATURE

b. ANIMALS ARE OUR FRIENDS

Objectives

 Animals give us a lot without asking for anything in return. They do not grumble but show their love and gratitude.
 We should be kind to animals and take care of them.

Introduction

We can learn many things from animals -- their non-grumbling nature, their love, gratitude and faithfulness and the way they co-exist with other animals and use their resources as per their needs.
Young children are fascinated by animals and pets but they need to learn how best to take care of them and when to leave them alone. Being kind to animals is an age-old concept. ‘Ahimsa paramo dharma’ says the vedas. We also belong to the animal kingdom but there is one big difference. God has given us the power to think. We can use this power to protect the animals. We should not needlessly destroy what God has created.

A way to begin

 Ask riddles about animals and let the children identify them. Ex “I am very big. I have a trunk and tusks. Who am I?” When the children identify it as an elephant, talk to them about its good qualities, the way it takes care of its herd, specially the young ones. Likewise highlight the social nature of ants, the faithfulness of a dog and the gentleness of a cow.
 Let children mime the movement of some animals and talk about them. Help them to think of these animals with love.
 It is very easy to make animal masks. Draw animal faces on large sheets of paper, cut them and let the children colour them. Children would love to put these masks that they make!

Story Time

Story 1 - Mira had come to her uncle’s village for her holidays. One day he told her to come with him to see Gowri and Lakshmi . Mira wondered who they were. They were two new calves! Mira was thrilled. She ran to pat and cuddle them.
Mira now had two dogs, two cats, a rabbit, and an aquarium full of lovely fish to keep her busy! And the two little calves too. She helped in feeding the calves, taking the dogs for a walk and in keeping the aquarium clean.
She asked her uncle why they had so many animals at home. “We love them; that’s why!” said her uncle. “And we get much more love in return.”
Mira had to agree. She had seen how the dogs showed their happiness when he came back home. They wagged their tail, jumped at him and licked his face and hands!
Mira’s uncle told her that the animals never complained or grumbled but gave generously. They got milk and milk products from the cows, the bulls helped in the field and the dogs guarded the house and farm. What more could they ask for?
Mira’s uncle talked to her about how some people do not treat the animals well. They forget that God creates the animals too. The animals have feelings and suffer just as we do. Unfortunately they cannot talk to us and tell us how they feel! God has given us the capacity to love them and take care of them. We should do that but if we cannot, at least let’s not do things that will hurt them. Do you agree with this?

Story 2 - This story happened a long time ago in a place called Rome. The rich people of Rome had many slaves who worked for them. The slaves were not treated well. A poor slave called Androcles ran away from his master and hid himself in a forest. One day he saw a lion in the forest. He was about to run away when he saw the lion lifting its paw, showing a huge thorn stuck there and begging him to help him. Slowly he went near the lion and removed the thorn.
Androcles could not be free for a long time. He was caught and put in jail. His punishment was that he had to face a hungry lion. If he escaped from it, then he would be set free but so far no one had escaped. As he stood shivering with fear, the lion was let in and it came charging at him. But suddenly it stopped. As everybody watched it slowly came near Androcles and started to lick his feet. Yes, it was the same lion Androcles had helped earlier!

Points to Discuss

 Just like us, God has created all the animals in this world. Your parents want you to live with love with your siblings and not hurt each other. What do our parents want from us? What does God want from us? Will He like it if His children hurt each other?
 God has given us a very good gift, the ability to think. How can we use this ability in taking care of animals which cannot talk and express their feelings?
 How are pet animals useful? How will you take care of your pets? Why should we not hurt them? Do you think animals also feel the pain?
 Which of these people are taking care of the animals?
 Ashish keeps his dog tied up all the time because he is scared it might bite someone. Since he doesn’t have the time, he does not take it out for its walks either.
 Rita always makes sure, the aquarium is kept clean. She feeds the fish regularly.
 Ram loses his patience when he has to drive the bullock carts and whips them hard.
 Shyam teases the monkeys in the zoo. He laughs when they get angry with him.
 Manoj has kept a table in the garden with pieces of bread or seeds for the birds on it.
 Asha was walking down the street with her elder sister. They saw a dog that had been hit by a speeding car. The dog was bleeding and was in pain. Asha’s sister immediately rang up the Blue cross and made sure that the wounded dog was taken care of.

Activities

 The Blue cross is an organization that cares for animals. Find out more about it.
 What are doctors who treat sick animals called? Is there a hospital for animals in your city? Which animals are treated there? Ask people who have pets for information.
 Spot the animals in this forest. (draw a picture of a forest with animals hidden in it)
 Learn this poem

My Dog

His nose is short and shiny, his ears hang rather low
He always brings the stick back, no matter how far you throw
He sits and begs, he gives a paw, he is you can see,
The finest dog you saw and he belongs to ME!

 Make models of animals using dried leaves or other waste materials. For example, you can make a tortoise by using half a coconut shell and four ice cream spoons.

CHAPTER VII - DISCIPLINE

DISCIPLINE STARTS AT HOME

Objectives

 Obedience to parents helps us develop discipline.
 There is no chaos when things are kept in order.

Introduction

Discipline for the child starts very early, at home. What is taught at that age is never forgotten! A right mixture of love and discipline helps them to have a healthy attitude towards discipline. Often children become rebellious against discipline because it is imposed on them and they do not like it. Still, childhood is the right time to learn certain rules that will help them grow into matured adults.
One of the earliest rules that children can learn is to put back their things in their place and to keep their things in order.

A way to begin

 The game of ‘Simon says’ (or ‘Mother says / Father says’) can be played in the class. In this game certain commands are given which the children have to obey ONLY if they are preceded by the words ‘Mother says / Father says’. When a command is given without these words they should not do them. Lead them to infer how they should be disciplined and obedient at home too.
 Act out the following story with the children’s help “ Bear’s house was in a mess. He decided to put things in their places. He opened the fridge and found a book there. Where should he keep it? (let the children answer) He put the book in the bookshelf but found a bottle of honey there. Where should he keep it? He put the bottle in the kitchen shelf but found a soapbox there. Where should he put it? (Every time let the children answer. You can keep this game going as long as the children are interested in it! Keep changing the things and places)

Story Time

Story 1 - Babu’s parents had given him strict orders not to buy and eat anything that was sold in the open. Everyday Babu saw a sweet vendor selling candyfloss near his school and he was tempted. One day he happened to have some money with him for buying a notebook and he spent it on the candyfloss. It tasted good but Babu was not feeling very happy even though he had what he had wanted for a long time. That evening he had a severe stomach ache and had to be taken to a doctor. The doctor rightly diagnosed it to something that Babu had eaten. Babu had to admit what he had done. His stomach ache taught him a lesson! Now he listens to his parents and does what they tell him to do because he has realised that they do it for his good.

Story 2 - Renu did not bother to keep her things in order. Her mother had to help her every time. One day her mother told Renu that she had to learn to take care of her things herself and that she would not help. Renu had great difficulty in getting ready and she often forgot to take her things to school. Her teacher noticed this. A talk with Renu’s mother gave her an idea. The next day she brought different kinds of seeds to school. She put them on the table and told Renu to separate them. Renu did it with difficulty. But as Renu was going back to her seat her teacher mixed up the seeds again and called her back to separate them. Every time Renu completed the task, she was asked to do it again. Renu was getting upset and angry. The teacher told Renu to imagine herself as the mother and the teacher as Renu. Didn’t Renu behave in the same way at home? Renu thought about it and made up her mind to change! (Can be done as a practical activity in the class)

Points to Discuss

 What are some rules imposed by your parents? Which of these rules do you feel are unjustified? Which do you think are for your good? Discuss. Has there been a change in your view after discussion?
 Do you do the following things?
 Keep your shoes in the shoe rack
 Put your toys away after playing
 Keep your books in one place
 Do not mess up any room
 It helps to keep things in their proper places. Think what would happen in the following situations when things are not in their places--
 The lights go off and you have to look for the candle in the dark.
 You took the scissors but forgot to put them back. Now you need them urgently.
 By mistake someone has kept the shaving cream where the tooth brush should be.
 Someone has kept the medicines where a small child can reach them.

Activities

 Divide the class into groups and give each group a jigsaw puzzle to make. Make the pieces fairly large and uncomplicated. Keep away one piece with you so that the children cannot complete it. Let them get frustrated a little bit before handing over the missing piece. Use this opportunity to make them think how it is when they don’t put away toys properly after playing with them.
 Leela and her mother went shopping and bought a lot of things. Help them to put them away in their proper places. (pictures of things like soap, tooth paste, dals, books, shoes, milk etc )
 Enact the story of Babu. Encourage them to come up with similar stories.
 Look at this picture of a kitchen. Can you spot the things that do not belong to this room? (You can draw a room with things that do not belong there. Get this sheet copied and give it to the children as an individual activity)

CHAPTER VIII - WORK AND PERSEVERANCE

WORK IS FUN !

Objectives

 Those who work hard, always do better than those who don’t.
 We should do all our work with care.
 We should be regular in our work.

Introduction

Children love to put in hard work while playing but do not have the same interest when it comes to studying or doing some other chore. Guide them to look at work as a challenge. Help them to develop enthusiasm for all kinds of work. Point out how work gets done faster and better when it is done willingly. Children should learn to do any work with full attention and not half-heartedly. Everyday they should assign some time, to do their job, whether it is schoolwork or any other kind of work. This habit of regularity will help them a lot in life.

A way to begin

 Draw a grid with 9 or 16 squares (1”x1”) on a sheet of paper and make copies. Give each child one sheet. On the blackboard draw a similar grid. Draw a picture within the grid. The children will have to follow what you have drawn on the board by paying attention to the squares they have on their sheets. Ask them if they found this work hard to do. (they would say 'No' because they would have found it interesting). Through questions, elicit the fact that when it is interesting and enjoyable, one does not mind doing hard work.( For ex. while playing) Would they have liked it as much if they had to do a page of writing? Why not? Let them name some people who have to work very hard. What would happen if they all decided that the work was not interesting and stopped working?
 Work does not necessarily mean only schoolwork. Children should be trained to help in household work too. If appreciated, they would enjoy doing some small jobs at home and not look at it as a chore. Through discussion, guide them to make a list of all the jobs they could do at home to help the family.
 Children should be made to understand that it is all right to play, watch TV or sleep, but these things should not be done at the cost of some work that needs to be attended to. Some parents have a hard time disciplining children who would rather indulge in such activities. Through discussion, let the children understand how doing the work allotted to them with attention and care is very important.

Story Time

Story 1 - A grasshopper saw some ants carrying away food grains and called them to play with him. They refused saying they had a lot of work to do. The grasshopper went away laughing at their foolishness in working so hard. Soon it was the rainy season and the grasshopper found it very hard to get any food. The ants that had slogged away were happily eating their stored food and it was their turn to laugh.

Story 2 - Take two puppets or cut outs to the class. Name these puppets and make them react to some given situations. Make one of them a worker, always willing to do a good job and the other one a shirker, always trying to wriggle out of work. Let the children realise how it is better to be a good worker and get satisfaction out of a job done well.
With the help of the same puppets, let the children understand how one should pay attention to the work we do and how one should be regular in one's work. Improvise situations to bring home these points.

Story 3 - Guru Drona who was the guru of the Pandavas and the Kauravas once wanted to find out how attentive his pupils were. He kept a toy bird on the branch of a tree and asked them to take aim to shoot it in its left eye. The guru asked each one what they saw. They answered that they saw the tree or the branch or the leaves. Arjun alone answered that he saw only the bird. When questioned further he said that he saw only the bird’s head and later, only its left eye. He was ordered to shoot and he shot the bird exactly in the centre of its left eye. His one-pointedness alone helped him to become the best archer of his time.

Points to Discuss

 Show the class two pieces of writing, one done shabbily and the other done very neatly and legibly. Which one did they like? Why? Let them compare it with their own work. Encourage them to try every day so that they could also do as well.
 Ask the children--Are you attentive? When you pay attention and listen, you are able to understand better. You are able to remember better. You are able to perform better. When you let your thoughts wander and do not pay attention, you find it difficult to do well.
 Ask--What do your parents say when
 You watch TV while doing your homework.
 Your parents tell you to bring four things from a room and you bring only two.

Activities

 Let them know that they have to pay attention not only in the classroom but in other places too. Ask them (or show them pictures and ask) why they must be attentive at these places? What could happen if they are not attentive? [examples--- crossing the road, in a doctor’s clinic, taking change back from a shopkeeper, cutting things with a knife in the kitchen]. Let them give more such examples.
 With the help of the students, prepare a timetable of activities for the day using colourful pictures to illustrate. See that there is time set aside for work as well as play. Find out how useful this timetable was.
 Sing the song to the tune of ‘ Here we go round the mulberry bush’
This is the way we do our work, do our work, do our work
This is the way we do our work,
With care every morning.
This is the way we dust and mop, dust and mop, dust and mop.
This is the way we dust and mop,
With care every morning.
(change the activities to include other things that the children could do with attention)
Here we go round the Banyan tree, early in the morning
This is the way we sweep and dust, early in the morning

Sing with - Mop the floor, dust our things, wash our clothes, cook our food, polish our shoes, and water the plants Etc

CHAPTER IX - TIME MANAGEMENT

TAKE CARE OF TODAY!

Objectives

 We must make good use of the time available.
 It is good to get up early in the morning.

Introduction

Out of the twenty-four hours in a day, we get only about ten hours to do our work, the rest being used up in sleeping, eating, getting ready etc. We must use this time effectively to get the maximum out of it. One way to do it is to get up early and start the day early. The other way is to do any work with proper attention so that time does not get wasted.

A way to begin

Discuss the benefits of getting up early. (Not hot, pleasant, feel fresh and active, more time to do work etc.) Tell them--- You can do so many things if you wake up early.You can go for a walk with your parents (this will also give some time to interact with their parents). You can learn your lessons. You can help your parents. You can get ready without hurrying. Can you do these things if you wake up late?
 At what time do you get up everyday? On which day did you get up the earliest? Were you able to get ready for school without hurrying up on that day? When you try to get up early in the morning, on some days, you may feel very sleepy. You may feel like going back to bed. Is it good to do so? Think about it.
 What is the right time to do these activities—playing, watching TV, eating food, getting ready to go out, etc. Through discussion let the children understand that there is a proper time for doing everything.

Story Time

Story 1 - A rich man (call him THE FATRICHSICKMAN to make it interesting) was all the time feeling sick. Actually he didn’t have enough work and was lazy. So no doctor could cure him. A wise man who came to him realized this and told the rich man that he would get better if he followed a simple rule. Every morning he should start the day with a small cup of water collected as dewdrops from the plants. He should collect the water himself. Soon the FATRICHSICKMAN became THE THINRICHFITMAN! How? Clue- when do we see dew drops on plants?

Story 2 - One night an angel took Anjali to the Topsy turvy world. Anjali saw that the people in this world slept all through the day. They got up in the evening and had their breakfast. When they went to school, it was night time. The children stayed inside all the time because it was too dark to go out and play! Anjali felt tired and sleepy but found the people there running around and doing all their work under artificial lights. When it was getting to be day light they went to bed. (Think of some funny situations or ask the children to improvise) Anjali was getting more and more confused! Thankfully, she got up and realised it was only a dream!

Points to Discuss

 God has given all of us the same number of hours in a day. How we use them is up to us! Discuss how we can use time in the proper way.
 Ask--What is the best way to start the day? (Start with a prayer). What are the activities one should do in the morning? In the evening? What will happen if you behave like you are in the Topsy Turvy world and start playing in the mornings?
 Ask--Do you do the following on time? Tick the correct answer

Task Always sometimes never
I get up when the alarm clock rings

I get ready for school on time

I reach school on time

I eat my food on time

I don’t make my friend wait for me

 Talk about how it is at home in the mornings when everybody is getting ready to go out. Is there a lot of confusion? Does every one run around? Or do they get ready quickly because they have already prepared for the day?

Activities

 Read this poem. Do YOU feel like this?
I wake up in the morning early
And always the first thing I do
I poke my head and sit up in bed
And I sing and I sing and I sing!
(Rose Fyleman)
 Here is another poem to read and enjoy!
Don’t be late in the morning
Is my advice to you
Though you’re feeling dead
Jump right out of bed
Don’t be late in the morning
Do what the birdies do
Get up, get up, get up you sleepy head!
When you hear the rooster calling you
Cock a doodle, doodle, doodle do
So don’t be late in the morning
Remember mother’s words
Just be one of the early birds.

 Draw and colour a picture of the sun to show how it looks early in the morning.
 The words of a popular saying are jumbled up. Put them in order to find out what the saying is. (bed , early, and, to, early, rise, to, man , a, wise, makes, healthy ,and, wealthy)
 Give them a sheet of paper with clock faces drawn on it and ask them to draw pictures to show what they do during the day. Specify the time to get up (6 am) and go to bed (9 pm).

CHAPTER X - COURAGE

COURAGE IS BEING FEARLESS

Objectives

 Courage is being fearless. One needs courage to face any new situation.
 God helps us and gives us the courage to face any situation.

Introduction

Fear is one of the basic feelings of man. Courage is being able to overcome these fears but it is not easy to be courageous. A person who is courageous is fearless and he is able to face any situation.
Often, children develop fear for all kinds of things. It takes courage to try any new activity and sometimes children are afraid and draw back. Encourage them to overcome their fears, and when they take their first step and try, praise them for their effort, whether they succeed or not.
To develop courage, one must have belief in oneself. Belief in God and His support gives invincible courage. One who has the faith that God is always there with him is fearless and courageous.

A way to begin

 Some children may not do things boldly because they are shy by nature and not because they are afraid. Such children will do very well with some encouragement. But some children really feel scared. Such children need help. They may be guided to see how their fears are baseless. Ask the children—‘Do you feel scared sometimes? What makes you feel scared? If you think about them you will know why these fears are baseless and how you can get rid of them.
 Are you afraid of the dark? Remember that darkness is a part of nature and it doesn’t last forever. Day follows the dark night. Say a prayer before going to bed. Keep a night lamp if necessary.
Are you afraid of insects? Insects and other smaller animals must be more afraid of us because of our size.
Are you afraid of being reprimanded? Isn’t it better not to do anything that will get you into trouble? Understand that rules are for your own good. Only a person who cares for you will reprimand you because they want you to become better.

Story Time

Story 1 - A king had two wives. The first wife’s son, Dhruv, was denied the love of his father by his stepmother and was not allowed to sit on his father’s lap. When a sorrowful Dhruv went to his mother she consoled him by saying that he should not worry about such small things and to pray to God to help him. Dhruv decided to pray till he met God Himself. He asked someone where he could go to do intense prayer or tapasya and he was told to go to the forest. Dhruv did just that. He was not afraid of anything. The loneliness, the wild animals, the dark night, nothing scared him. He stood steadfast in prayer and God appeared before him and made Dhruv sit on his lap. The intense tapasya that Dhruv did with determination earned him a place in the Stellar System. The unmoving, unwavering North Star is known even today as the Dhruv star.

Story 2 - There was a lion in a forest and it used to hunt the animals and kill them. The animals could not even go out for grazing. So they were getting weaker and weaker without food. A bold rabbit suggested a plan. He said that he would go to the lion and request it to stay in one place and not hunt them. Instead everyday one animal would be sent to him as his food. The animals liked this plan and the lion also agreed to it. So turn by turn, each day one animal would go to the lion to be killed. One day it was the turn of the rabbit. It did not want to die and thought of a plan. It went very slowly and reached the lion’s den quite late. The lion was very hungry and angry. It roared and demanded why the rabbit was late. The rabbit pretended to be scared and said that another lion, which wanted to kill him, delayed it. The rabbit could escape only after it had promised that it would go back to this new lion after informing the older one. The lion did not believe this. The rabbit agreed to take him to the new lion’s den. It took the lion to an old well and said that the other lion lived there. The lion peeped in and saw its own reflection. It foolishly mistook it for another lion and jumped into the well to kill itself and that was the end of it. The brave rabbit thus succeeded in getting rid of the lion and all the animals were very happy.

Points to Discuss

 Think about this—Dhruv was able to see God and talk to Him. We are not able to do so now. But that does not mean that God’s help is not there. When we need it, He always helps.
 Were you scared when you came to the school the first time? Share your experiences with others.
 How do you feel when you are very scared? Does your heart go pounding? What else do you feel? How does it feel when you get over the fear and go ahead? Remember how good it felt when you went ahead with courage. Whenever you feel scared, think of that time and you will be filled with courage!

Activities

 Teach the song
We shall overcome
We shall overcome
We shall overcome some day
Oh, deep in my heart
I do believe that we shall overcome some day

 Role-play some of the things that make us feel scared and how we can get rid of them.
 Answer these riddles – Sometimes you are scared of me- who am I?
 From a cat I run and hide
 On me, Ganesha gets a ride! ( a mouse )
 When I come, I chase the evening away.
 But the day chases me away! ( night)
 On a rainy night I rumble.
 Hearing me how you tremble! ( thunder )
 Do you see the warning sign about me on the front gate?
 But don’t forget I am your most loyal mate! ( a dog )

Class II

2007-11-02T13:51:00.003-07:00

Words and Statements highlighted in color are by the author of the Blog:

Words in GREEN= Grammar, syntax or spelling error

Words, phrases and sentences in PURPLE= Questionable and/or inaccurate statement (theology, philosophy, ethics, morality, scientific)

Statements in BLUE= Statements that SRCM (Chennai) does not seem to practice

Chapter I - God And Guru 31
God Is Your Friend 31

Chapter II - Healthy Living 34
Do Not Waste Food 34

Chapter III - Greetings 37
Hello! Vanakkam!! Namaste!!! 37

Chapter IV - Love 39
I Love My Friends! 39

Chapter V - Happiness 43
Be Content, Be Happy 43

Chapter VI - Nature 45
Be In Tune With Nature 45

Chapter VII - Discipline 47
Take Care On The Road 48

Chapter VIII - Work And Perseverance 50
Unity Is Strength 50

Chapter IX - Time Management 53
Do It Now!! 53

Chapter X - Courage 55
Speak The Truth 55

CHAPTER I - GOD AND GURU

GOD IS YOUR FRIEND

Objectives

 God is the best friend we can have. We can depend on Him at all times.
 Prayer helps us to feel His presence. Group prayer is very beneficial.
 The guru helps us to learn a lot of new things easily. We must respect our teachers.

Introduction

It is never too early to learn that God is not sitting separately somewhere but is very much with us. He is the best friend we can have. He loves us and takes care of us in every way. We are able to withstand adversities and pull on through life when we believe in God and in His help. He gives us the strength to overcome obstacles. Prayer is a link that helps us to reach God.
Guru helps us to learn new things easily. If we had to learn on our own, it would be very difficult and it would be a slow process. Showing respect for the one who teaches us is one of the most important principles in our culture. This value seems to be slowly getting eroded. It becomes imperative therefore, to instil this in early childhood itself so that it stays with them all through their life.

A way to begin

 Ask the children how would it be if they had a friend who was invisible. Tell them that they can think of God as their invisible friend who is always there with them.

 Tell them—“Make it a habit to say a prayer and talk to God everyday. How does this help? When you are in school, you like to be with your friends and play with them. You don’t feel the same way with strangers. When you think of God everyday, He becomes your friend. He is not a stranger to you anymore. When you can spend so much time with your friends, is it not possible to spend some time with someone who can be the best friend you can ever have?” Ask them to think about this.

 Ask them—“Are you afraid of your friends or do you love them? Do your friends help you or leave you when you are in trouble? If you think of God as your friend, will you be afraid of Him or will you love Him? As your friend, will He help you or leave you? What will you do to show your love for Him?” Discuss this point.
 Tell them that teachers are our Gurus at school. Without their help it will be difficult to learn things. We will learn better if we respect and love our Gurus. Parents act as Gurus at home.

Story Time

Story 1 - Ranjan’s mother was surprised when she saw him getting up very early in the morning on a holiday. He was going out with his friend to watch some birds, which came to the park at dawn. When he came back, he told his mother all about the wonderful birds he had seen and the good time he had had with his friends. His mother listened to him and then told him,” Ranjan, you were amazed to see the birds. How much more amazing is God who has created them! You are willing to get up early to spend time with your friends. How about getting up early so that you can spend time with God in prayer? God is the best friend you can have. He is always there with you, ready to help you. Don’t you think you should spend at least some minutes with Him? And the best time to do so is when you begin the day. Then you can go through the whole day with His help. Think about it.” Ranjan understood what his mother was telling him. The next day she was happy when she saw him getting up early and praying!

Story 2 - Do you know that in the olden days there were no schools as we have them today? There were teachers who lived in their ashrams. They were highly respected and students would go to them, stay with them for a few years, serve them in every way and learn from them. At the end of their study period they would offer something as their Guru Dakshina. The following story is about a boy who was eager to learn from a guru.
Jathila was the son of a poor widow. He wanted to study with a guru who lived across the forest but he was scared to go alone. His mother told him not to be scared and to call out for brother Gopal. Jathila believed in her and called out Gopal’s name when he went into the forest. Soon a cowherd appeared before him and asked him what he wanted. When he learnt about Jathila’s fears he told him not to be afraid and that he would help him. Everyday Jathila would call out to Gopal and with his escort, cross the forest. Soon the school term came to an end and Jathila was in a fix what to give his teacher as Guru dakshina. Gopal solved this problem by giving him a pot of curd. When the teacher tasted the curd, he found it so sweet and tasty that he wanted to know from where Jathila had got it. When Jathila narrated who had been helping him all these days, the teacher realized that innocent Jathila’s escort was no one else but God himself!

Story 3 - Here is a small story to show how God is always there with us and takes care of us. Once a man happened to be able to talk to God. “ Where have you been all these years?” he asked God, “ I never saw you!” “ I have always been with you, my son, I never left you” said God. To prove this, God gave the man the capacity to look back into his life. The man saw his life unfold before him. He saw all through his life there were two pairs of footsteps. “ See the second pair of footsteps? Those are mine. Now do you believe that I was always there with you?” asked God. “ Wait a minute,” said the man, “ At some places I can see only one pair of footsteps and those were the times when I was in great trouble! You left me at those times. You left me when I needed you the most!” accused the man.
God smiled gently at him. “Look again, my son” He said with love, “The footsteps you see were mine. When you were in trouble, I did not leave you. But I carried you in my arms!”

Points to Discuss

 Prayer is a link with God. Have you learnt any prayer from your parents? Share it with the class. Is everybody saying the same prayer? What do you learn from this? (Prayers can be in any language. Let the children understand that they can communicate with God in any way. Prayers can be silent too.)

 When we pray to Him in a group, it is very effective. For example, when a teacher enters the class, if all the students get up together and wish the teacher, the effect is wonderful and the teacher responds. Likewise, when we pray together, the effect is greater.

 Teachers are our gurus at school. What work do they do? Who are our teachers at home? Do you have teachers for teaching you something else other than studies? (eg. music, dance, etc.) Tell your friends about these teachers and why you like them.

 Teachers feel happy when you are able to follow their guidance and do well and benefit. Have you played the game of being a teacher with your friends? Did you like it? Would you like to take up teaching as a profession? What benefits will be there? What problems will you have to face?

Activities

 Read these poems to the children and let them think about their meanings
One Little Candle
It is better to light one little candle
Than to stumble in the dark
Better far to light just one little candle
All you need is a tiny spark
If we all said a prayer that the world would be free
What a wonderful dawn of a new day it would be
And if everyone lit just one little candle
What a bright world this would be!

 God’s love
God’s love is so wonderful, O, wonderful love!
It is so high—you can’t get over it!
It is so deep—you can’t go under it!
It is so wide—you can’t go around it!
O, wonderful love!
 Help the children make cards for their teachers to wish them or to thank them. Make sure that ALL the teachers who come to teach them get these cards!

CHAPTER II - HEALTHY LIVING (stopped here)

DO NOT WASTE FOOD

Objectives

 Pay attention to the daily routine of cleanliness.
 Eat clean and healthy food and avoid junk food.
 Do not waste any food. Help your parents in serving food.

Introduction

Apart from learning habits of healthy living, one should also pay attention to not wasting food. Many children tend to leave things on their plates and this habit should be curbed at the earliest. Periodic checking of nails, hair and teeth of the children in the class will ensure that they learn the importance of personal hygiene. It is necessary for children to develop a daily routine of cleanliness, paying attention to also keeping their nails and hair clean.

A way to begin

 Talk to the children about the food they eat. What food do they like? Do they eat everything or do they waste food? Tell them that whenever they feel like leaving some food on the plate, they should think of their parents who have spent time and money to get it for them and think of those people who are not getting enough to eat.

 Bring to their notice how a lot of food gets wasted when there are parties. Many people take more than what they can eat and waste this food. In some places the extra food is collected and given to those who do not get enough to eat. Will it not be better to take just enough so that more people can benefit? Let the children resolve never to take more than what they can eat.

 Ask them to think of food as a gift from God. We should thank Him for it before we start eating. There are many people responsible for bringing the food to our table but we cannot thank each one of them individually. So we thank God who ultimately is the one who has given us this food. Prayer is a link with God.

Story Time

Story 1 - Little Hari hated to brush his teeth, wash his hands or comb his hair. His mother had to remind him every time. He just wouldn’t bother!
One night he had a dream. He saw a shabby man dressed in dirty clothes with unkempt hair and foul smelling mouth come near him. He was so smelly, Hari couldn’t even stand near him. But the man would not leave Hari and asked him if he knew the boy in the address slip he had with him. “ Hello, my name is Mr.Dirty. I have been looking for a place to stay, it is very difficult in this city! Everybody is chasing me away. I was told that this boy would let us stay there”, he said. “ Us? Who else is there with you?” asked Hari. The shabby man pointed to four people in the distance. “ There, you can see Mr. Tooth ache, Mr. Stomach ache and Mr. Fever. The one who is very important is Mr. Lazy. He helps us a lot. Now, I have to find a place to stay. Do you know where this boy lives?” Hari was aghast to find his name on the slip! “ No,” he said hurriedly, “ this boy also will not let you stay with him!” Saying this he quickly ran home and shut the door firmly. He was still shaking with the thought of the dirty man when he found his mother shaking him to wake him up. He jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom to brush his teeth and have his bath. His mother couldn’t believe her eyes and wondered what had happened. But you know, don’t you?

Story 2 - Ravi could never eat without wasting something. Once Ravi’s uncle came on a visit and when he saw the way Ravi was wasting his food, he decided to teach him a lesson. He took Ravi to a cafeteria and ordered Pizza, pastry and ice cream for him. Ravi was thrilled! When they arrived, he started to eat the pizza. Just as he was half way through, his uncle just took it from him and threw it in the waste bin. Ravi was surprised and wanted to ask his uncle but his uncle was busy talking to somebody. A bit puzzled, Ravi started to eat the pastry and in between he would scoop a spoon of ice cream. They were so delicious and Ravi was having a very good time. But before he could finish them, his uncle again took them away and threw them in the waste bin. Ravi was angry and with tears in his eyes he looked at the half-eaten pieces longingly. “Why, Ravi, why are you crying,” asked his uncle, “ I thought you never liked to eat anything fully. Yesterday I saw you biting into a biscuit and you left it there. Then you took a banana but didn’t eat it fully. Your mother told me that you always did that. So I was just helping you to waste food. Did I do something wrong?” He knew his uncle was telling the truth. He also realized his mistake and made up his mind to be careful with his food.

Points to Discuss

Ask--What does your mother say or do when you forget to brush your teeth at night, let the tap run while you are brushing your teeth or you let the soap float on water. Do you think she is right? Or, do you get upset with her? Just wash your hands quickly with water. Then with soap. Rub your hands well. Do you see the black dirt being washed away? You were going to eat that entire dirt too! Also check up to see if your nails are clean and not dirty. If you don’t cut your nails regularly, dirt will hide in them. What will happen if you bite those dirty nails?

 Think of the following situation ---Anand reaches for more food. “Not so fast, Anand. You still have food on your plate. Eat slowly. Chew your food well. Take only as much as you can eat. Remember, Anand, you should not waste any food” says his mother. What are the four instructions she gave him?

 We should eat only the right amount of food. What will happen to a plant if it gets too much of water or sunlight ? It will wither due to excess water and heat.Take only as much as you can eat. Think of children who do not get enough to eat at all.

Activities

 Complete this crossword. (crossword given)
 Fill up the blanks using - always /never /sometimes.
I ___ brush my teeth at night. I___ like to eat chocolates. I___ like to eat green vegetables. I___ forget to close the tap. I am ___ careful with my soap. I___ wear a clean dress.
 Let’s play word antakshari! Fill up the blanks with words which start with the last letter of the previous underlined word. The first word is done for you.
a) Chew your food well.
b) Do not waste any food.
c) Do not e___t your food in a hurry.
d) T______g with food in your mouth is not polite.
e) Eat g______ n vegetables everyday.
f) N______r eat spoilt food.
g) Always r______e your mouth with water after eating.
h) E______y what you eat.

 Ten good things to eat and drink are hidden in this word square. Can you spot them? (apple, orange, cheese, eggs, dals, curd, beans, tomatoes, carrot, milk)

T O M A T O E S
Q S I Z C U R D
D A L Q S G G E
Z P K B E A N S
C A R R O T Q E
P N D X W V C E
O R A N G E S H
A P P L E D X C

CHAPTER III - GREETINGS

HELLO! VANAKKAM!! NAMASTE!!!

Objectives

 Greeting varies from place to place but the feelings expressed are the same.
 We express our feelings of love, care, friendship and respect to others through our greetings.
 We greet to express joy, to show our concern for the welfare of the person, to spread goodwill, as thanks giving.

Introduction

We exchange greetings to communicate and to begin a relationship. It is a way to express our good wishes for the person we meet or talk to. We can communicate a lot in one word of greeting than anyone can in a whole sentence. We always greet with a smile to express our warmth. People of different regions greet in different ways but the feelings expressed are the same.

A way to begin

 Ask the students to think of a situation where some guests come home while the parents are there and when they are away. What will they say and do? Let them enact this scene. (You can be the guest!) Ask the other students to comment on the scene and offer suggestions for improvement. (Make sure the children offered some water to the guests, made them feel comfortable and after they had left, made a note of their names and the time of their visit to inform their parents. Also warn the students NEVER to let anybody unknown come inside the house when they are alone!)

 If there are students from other states of India, ask them how greetings differ in their states.

 Explain to the children how people greet and show their respect to the elders in different parts of our country—touching the feet of the elders and then touching their own forehead (charan sparsh) in the North, doing namaskaram by kneeling and bending in front of the elders (done by women) or falling at their feet and letting all eight parts of the body touch the floor (sashtanga namaskaram by men). Unfortunately these forms of greeting as well as showing respect to elders is fast disappearing from India! Let the children at least know about these customs.

Story Time

Story 1- Mr & Mrs Parekh and their two children Prakash & Sandhya lived in Delhi. Every time a visitor came home, Prakash would run happily towards the visitor and greet them. Sandhya would sit aside silently even without looking at the visitors. Every time her mother had to remind Sandhya to greet the visitors. One day Sandhya asked her mother why nobody brought her sweets or talked to her. Her mother told her that she always got back what she gave. If she greeted them happily, so would they. Sandhya tried this next time and found that what her mother told her was quite true. Now she has many friends too!

Story 2 : Uma went with her father to an international conference. She saw people from various parts of the world and from India. Uma looked around to see what people were doing. She saw two people folding their hands and saying “Namaste” to each other. She had heard her mother using the same words when her aunt had come to see them. Then somewhere around she saw two people hugging each other and talking. Everybody was smiling when they greeted each other. Then she spotted two people rubbing their noses! “What is that?” she asked her father. ”Oh! They are Eskimos and this is the way they greet each other.”
Now look at those two ladies! Hugging and kissing on both cheeks-“They are French and this is how they greet ”, said her dad. Uma kept on observing people around. All looked different and they talked also in different languages but when they saw each other they all smiled and looked happy. When her father’s friend asked her what she had learnt, she said, “I learnt that people from various parts of the world have come here. I noticed that all of them had a smile on their faces when they met each other. They spoke different languages but seemed to understand when greeted in different ways. I have picked up a few words, which my father helped me to understand.They are, Namaste as said in Hindi, Kunichua -as said in Japanese, Hello, Hi - in English, Vanakkam in Tamil ……My father told me that people had different gestures but they all meant to make the other person warm. Tomorrow when I go to school, I will tell my teacher about what I had learnt in this International Conference.”

Points to Discuss

 Below are given some greetings. Match them with the given situations

Greetings—

You say you are sorry to hear that ….
You congratulate him happily
You run and give him a hug
You say Namaste and ask them to sit down
You wish her Happy Birthday!
You say “ Excuse Me”

Situations

Some guests have come home
It’s your friend’s birthday!
Your friend, who was absent for a long time, comes to the class again.
A classmate wins a prize.
Two people are talking and you want to cut across and go to the other side.
Your friend has lost his pet dog.
 Your friend had a fight with you and now he wants to make up. What will you say?

Activities

 Teach the children different ways of making greeting cards. Emphasise the need to conserve paper by using once used paper.
 Let them think of sending cards to those who never get them, for example, inmates in an old age home or orphanage or even those who work for them.

CHAPTER IV - LOVE

I LOVE MY FRIENDS!

Objectives

 Be friendly and not quarrelsome.
 Show your love for your friends by sharing in their joys and sorrows.
 Only people who love us and care for us criticize us by pointing out our mistakes. We must take the criticisms in the right spirit.

Introduction

Friends make our day, friendship lightens the way! School life without friends is unimaginable. Most children make friends naturally without thinking about love and friendship etc. Love in friendship develops the qualities of tolerance, patience and sharing. By focussing their attention on the need to love others, it is hoped that they will be able to increase the circle of their friends and spread their love to more people. Encourage them to extend their friendliness and love to children who are shy and have difficulties in making friends easily. Most often these children get sidetracked and find it even more difficult to open up.

A way to begin

 Tell them the story of Krishna and his friend Sudama. Since most of the children may be familiar with this story, ask them questions in between or deliberately make a mistake to see how attentive they are!

 Tell them the story of how Krishna helped Arjun fight the Kurukshetra war. When Arjun declined from fighting the war because all his relatives were lined up against him. Krishna, who was Arjun’s best friend, advised Arjun and reminded him of his duties. This was how the immortal verses of Gita were born.

 The two stories show what a good friend Krishna was. He helped when it was necessary but also criticized when it was needed. Let the children understand that God, who is our best friend, does the same way. He helps us when we need his help. When we do something wrong, He reminds us of it too!

Story Time (stopped here)

Story 1 - (from Panchatantra) A crow called Laghupatanaka, a rat named Hiranyaka and a turtle known as Manthara became good friends. Once, they found a deer trembling with fright in a forest. When they asked him the reason, he introduced himself as Chitranga and said that a hunter was chasing him and that was why he was scared. The three friends felt sorry for him. Chitranga said he wanted their assistance. “How can tiny creatures like us help you?” asked the three. In reply, Chitranga told the story of how some rats that lived in a forest were once trampled by a herd of elephants. (In Panchatantra, one story always leads to another) The king of the rats went to the king of the elephants and told him to spare their tribe and that they would help them in need. Even though amused, the elephant king agreed. Shortly thereafter, the elephants were caught in a trap. The elephant king called out to the tiny rats who came and freed the elephants by biting away the net. “Didn’t this story show how friends can always help each other?” asked Chitranga. After hearing this story, the three friends took the deer also as their friend.

Once Chitranga was caught by the hunter and tied to a tree. His friends rushed to help him. The rat bit away the rope and just as the deer was set free, the hunter came there. The deer ran fast, the crow flew and the rat hid itself. But the hunter caught Manthara, the slow turtle. How to free him? The friends thought of a plan. Suddenly the hunter saw a dead deer lying on the ground with a crow pecking at it. He threw the turtle down and went to get the deer. Meanwhile, the rat ran to the turtle and helped it to jump into a lake. Just as the hunter came near, Chitranga, which had pretended to be dead, ran away and Laghupatanaka flew away. The hunter was totally perplexed to see how his prey, the deer and the turtle, had escaped.

Story 2 - When Lord Krishna was studying with a guru his best friend was a brahmin called Sudama. After school, the friends separated and went their ways. Krishna became the king of Dwaraka. Sudama got married and had many children. He had become very poor by now and could hardly feed his family. His wife urged him to go to Krishna and request him for help. Sudama postponed it for as long as he could since he didn’t want to go to his friend’s place with a begging bowl. Ultimately however he was forced to take this step. His wife gave him a small bag of puffed rice to give to Krishna.
When Sudama reached the magnificent door of the palace, the guards stopped him. Quite ashamed of himself, he told the guard to inform Krishna that his friend Sudama was at the door. The guard did not believe that this man wearing such tattered clothes could be the king’s friend. Nevertheless he took pity on the poor fellow and went in to announce to the king. Imagine his surprise when Lord Krishna rushed out to greet his friend. He hugged him with happiness and led him inside. Both the friends were very happy to see each other. After making him comfortable, Krishna asked his friend what had he brought for him. Sudama tried to hide his bag but Krishna quickly snatched it and found the rice inside. This was his favorite dish and he ate it with relish. He made Sudama stay there for a couple of days but Sudama never got to tell his friend why he had come. A few days later Sudama was sent home with all honours. As he came near his house, Sudama wondered what he would tell his wife. How could he tell her he had not got any money from his friend? But imagine his bewilderment when he saw a huge mansion where his house had been. As he stood wondering, out came his wife and family, all dressed in fine clothes! Sudama understood that his friend had done the needful even without his telling him anything. He had done what a good friend would do.

Story 3 - A long time ago, a king named Athiyaman lived in Tamil Nadu. The saint poetess, Avvai, famed for her lyrical verses, lived in his kingdom and became the king’s good friend. One day, a seer came to the king and gifted him with a rare fruit saying that it was one of its kind and that it would grant him immortal life. The king took it and thanked him but did not eat it himself. He rushed to his friend, the poetess and gave it to her. She was more deserving, he said, because her long life would benefit many more people. With tears in her eyes, the poetess immortalized this gift by a song!

Story 4 - Lakshmi and Ramaa learnt music from the same teacher. Lakshmi enjoyed learning music and practiced diligently. Ramaa could sing well but she was quite lazy! She often came to the class without practicing her lessons and the teacher would scold her. Lakshmi did not like this and decided to help her friend. So everyday she would go to Ramaa’s house and make sure she learnt her lessons. She would criticize if Ramaa didn’t sing well. In the beginning Ramaa did not like it at all! She would even fight with Lakshmi. But slowly her singing improved and her teacher praised her. Now, Ramaa is very grateful to her friend who took the trouble to criticize her.

Points to Discuss

 How was Krishna able to know what Sudama needed without being told?
 Why was Sudama ashamed to ask his friend for help? Was he right?
 How can you help your friends in school? Sometimes you don’t even have to do something. If you smile and let the smile spread to the other person, you have made him happier!
 Sometimes friends and family criticize us. Why do they do this? How does criticism make you feel? Do you realize that it is for your own good? Remember it is only a person who is interested in you and loves you, will help you by criticizing you.
 How do you feel when
 Both you and your friend enter some competition. He wins an award and you don’t.
 You tell your friend to pay attention to his work since he is not doing it well and he gets angry with you.
 You get a whole bar of chocolate when your classmate is sitting next to you.
 A new student has come to the class and your friend ignores you and tries to be friendly with him/her.
 You haven’t done your homework and are reluctant to go to school. Your friend finds out and helps you to complete the work.

Activities

 Match the following emotions with the situations. Remember that there is no one right answer and one emotion can be applicable for more than one situation.

1. Happy 1. When Sudama met the guards at the gate
2. Reluctant 2. When Krishna met his old friend
3. Bewildered 3. When Krishna took the puffed rice from Sudama
4. Astonished 4. When Sudama saw a mansion instead of his hut
5. Unhappy 5. When Sudama had to go and ask his friend for help
6. Ashamed 6. When Sudama could not take care of his children well

 Who is your best friend in the class? Write a few sentences about him/her and say why you like your friend.

 Talk about how you felt when you came to the school as a new student. Did the first person who talked to you become your friend?

 Do a ‘Secret Friend’ Activity. Write the names of all the children in the class on slips of paper and put them in a container. Pick up one slip but do not tell others whose name it was. Do something for that secret friend that day, like helping him/her, giving a small gift - for eg. a flower.

 Make and give a card or a gift to your friend on his/her birthday. Find out the dates of birth of your classmates and wish them on that day.

 Learn this song ---The More We Get Together
The more we get together
Together, together
The more we get together
The happier we'll be

For your friends are my friends
And my friends are your friends.
The more we get together
The happier we'll be.

CHAPTER V - HAPPINESS

BE CONTENT, BE HAPPY

Objectives

 Happiness does not depend on expensive and costly things but on contentment.
 Happiness lies in not being greedy.
 Be happy with the special things that God has given us, namely, our body and mind.

Introduction

We often think that the more we have, the more expensive the things are, the happier we will be. Children sometimes throw tantrums to acquire more things. But happiness does not automatically follow acquisition of these things. Only contentment gives us true happiness.
Greediness and desire for things that others possess also leads to unhappiness. We should learn to be happy with whatever we have. God has given us many things that we take for granted, for example, the body that we have. We must be thankful to Him for that.

A way to begin

 Here is a story that can be dramatised in the class.
Story - A cat once found a pot with kheer. It licked the kheer on the rim but found there was more inside. It was greedy and wanted to have more. It put its head inside the pot to drink that. But its head got stuck in the pot and the poor cat could not take its head out. Imagine the greedy but foolish cat running around with its head stuck inside the pot!

The story could be illustrated by using a vessel with a narrow mouth. Put some small things in it and ask a child to take out as much as he can from the vessel. The mouth of the vessel should be such that one cannot bring the hand out if it is full of things. Alternately use a picture of a hand stuck inside a vessel. Ask questions and elicit the moral of the story.

Story Time

Story 1 - King Midas was so greedy that he wanted everything he touched to turn into gold. An angel granted him his wish. At first the king was very happy. But soon the king discovered how foolish he had been when he found out that he could not eat or drink because the food too turned into gold. When his daughter came near him, he hugged her and she too became a statue of gold! Poor king Midas had to beg to get rid of his boon.
Elicit the moral of the story.

Story 2 - A man was always complaining because he did not have much money. He would look at others who were wealthier than him and think, ‘if only I had that much money, how happy I would be’. One day, he said these same words to a wise man. The wise man thought about it for a while and then said “ I know something that will help you to get enormous wealth, but there is just one condition. You will have to give a part of your body in exchange. Will you give me your hands?” The man immediately said “ How can I give you my hands? Without them I will not be able to do any work, even eat my food?” In the same way, whichever part of the body the wise man asked him to give, he started to say how important that part was. (Make the children say what he would have said). In the end, the wise man asked him, “ When you have a treasure already with you, why do you want more? Would you rather have the wealth than this wealth that God has given you?” The man went away much wiser.

Points to Discuss

 Discuss how greediness ended with unhappiness giving examples from the stories.

 Show the children some pictures(advertisements) of expensive and unnecessary things. How many of these things are absolutely necessary to have? Do they pester their parents to buy them these things? Do they think that they will be happy once they get them?

 Let the children understand that we should not covet what others have but be content with what God has given us. It is natural to have a desire for what others have. But it will only lead to discontent and unhappiness.

 We also have many things that are special to us. Think of those who do not have the things we take for granted ( handicapped, blind, deaf etc) Learn to be satisfied with what you have.

Activities

 Dramatise the story of King Midas or the story from Panchtantra.

 Which story did you like best? Draw some pictures to illustrate the story.

 Make a list of things which God has given us (for eg.) health, legs to run, eyes to see etc. Write these on small slips of paper and put them in a box. Let each child pick up one piece of paper and talk about it.

 Try these activities – trying to eat or pick up something with your hands tied at the back, walking on a straight line blindfolded. See how difficult it is? Think about those who are not able to do things because of their handicap.

CHAPTER VI - NATURE

BE IN TUNE WITH NATURE

Objectives

 God is the creator of all Nature and man is part of nature.
 We should remain in contact with nature.
 We should be simple and natural.

Introduction

It is not just the physical part of the world with its flora and fauna and hills and valleys that constitutes nature. This can be said to be the external part of nature. We have to seek the real Nature inside. Man is also very much part of nature and there is even a saying, 'God created man in His own image.' When we do good things in life, we come closer to this ideal. Living the way God created us to live, is the one way to thank Him. Children who live in the urban cities, miss out being in contact with nature. Many of them sit glued to their TV sets and get second hand information. Encourage them to be out in the open and enjoy what nature has to offer. Be simple and natural and avoid things that are artificial.

A way to begin

 Ask them whether they have been to a place rich in Natural beauty and how they felt then. Does it feel good just to see hills and rivers on the TV or would they prefer to see them in real? How does it feel when they let the light rain drops fall on them? Can they get this experience sitting inside the house?

 Tell them how we should emulate Nature and remain simple and natural. Give examples and show how being artificial and exhibiting one’s wealth should be avoided.

 Talk to them about people who are simple and in tune with Nature. Babuji, the founder of Shri Ram Chandra Mission at Shahjahanpur was a living example of simple living. When Babuji started the mission, there were very few people with him. But as word spread about him, many more people started to come to his place to listen to him. He told them about the need to bring in divinity into their lives. He told them how they should become natural and lead a simple life. He himself set an example. He gave very simple but wholesome food to the people who came to visit him. There was just minimum comfort available. People who were used to a very comfortable lifestyle came to Shahjahanpur and had to eat this simple food and sleep on the floor. But no one suffered any discomfort and no one complained!

Story Time

Story 1 - One day a man came with two identical bunches of flowers to King Solomon and asked him to find which was real and which was fake. It was very difficult because they looked exactly similar. The king thought just for a minute and then asked the windows to be opened. Soon a few bees came inside the room and they went and settled down on one bunch. 'Those are the real flowers' said the king.

Story 2 - Once a king came across a very wise shepherd. He liked him so much that he made him his minister. The minister did very well and became quite popular. Some people did not like this and kept talking against him to the king. They told the king that this man kept a room in his big mansion always locked and no one was allowed to go inside that room. He spent an hour in that room alone. Surely he must be engaged in some secret activity against the king? The curiosity of the king was aroused and he demanded that he be shown that room. The minister did not want to do it in the beginning. Then he opened the room and took the king inside. There was nothing in the room except an old dhoti and a stick. What was the meaning of this, asked the king. ''O, king!’, said the man, 'I keep these things to remind me of the past. I was a very happy shepherd and enjoyed being out in the open with my sheep. I lived a simple life. So I come here everyday and think of my past. I know I can go back to these things when my duties here are over.” The king realized his mistake and apologized profusely to the wise man.

Story 3 - Helen Keller was a famous American woman who was blind and deaf. Yet, she learnt about many things and lectured about them. Once she asked her friend who had been for a walk through the woods, what she saw. The friend replied that she saw nothing in particular. Helen was aghast. How could a person who was able to see, see nothing? She took her friend back to the forest and made her touch the softness of the leaves, the hard trunk of a tree and made her run her fingers through the waters of a brook and told her friend to describe these for her. The friend SAW these things now with a new interest and realised how much she had missed. Blind Helen had opened her eyes. This story illustrates how we take Nature for granted and fail to observe the beauty around us.

Points to Discuss

 Which is better and why?
 Going to the movie or going to the zoo or the park?
 Drinking Pepsi or drinking coconut water?
 Having artificial plants inside the house or having real plants?
 Using a cotton bag or using a plastic one? (Actually plastic may be better for some things. Let the children think and discuss)
 Eating sweets or eating fruits? In the story of King Solomon, if the bees could reject the artificial and choose the real one, why are we not able to do so? Why do we run after things that are artificial? Think.
 It is very difficult to imagine life without TV or fridge or a car now. Yet your grand parents lived a happy and healthy life without any of these. Talk to them and find out about their life when they were young.
 Have you seen a waterfall or a tall mountain? How did you feel? Talk about it.
 Given a choice, would you like to live away from a city? Why? If not, why not?
 Gandhiji was a great leader and yet he lived a very simple life. Do you know that he always wore only a dhoti and went to UK in it even when it was freezingly cold!

Activities
 Show pictures of Natural beauty and encourage the children to appreciate them.
 Let them paint some scene in Nature and talk about it.
 Teach them to make simple things using coconut shells, palm leaves, coir and jute.
 Go for a morning walk and look with attention at the beautiful things nature has given us. Make a scrapbook of things collected during the walk.
 Nowadays many people use natural medicines. Find out the names of some medicinal plants and how they are useful.
 Make a list of trees/ birds you can find in your neighbourhood.

CHAPTER VII - DISCIPLINE

TAKE CARE ON THE ROAD

Objectives

 We must follow rules because they are for our good.
 Discipline on the road is very important.
 A queue helps in many ways.

Introduction

Discipline and rules, though not liked generally, are absolutely necessary for the smooth functioning of life. Without them, daily life can get chaotic.

With the increasing number of vehicles on the road, children have to learn the safety rules of the roads. There can be no two opinions on this. It must be made clear that rules are made to help everyone to live in safety.

We lack the discipline in public places. Nowhere is it more obvious than when we rush to get into buses. We don’t think twice about jumping queues. Let us hope that atleast the future generation behaves in a better way!

A way to begin

 Get children to talk about how they come to school and what road safety rules they follow.
 Show them pictures of road signs and ask them what they indicate.
 Show them a picture which has eight mistakes that they should not commit while on the road and ask them to spot these. (1. A child running across the road 2. Not crossing at the zebra crossing 3. The walk signal is red and people are crossing 4. No queue at the bus stops 5. People on the footboard of buses 6. Children playing on the side of a busy road 7. Banana peel on the road 8. A blind man trying to cross a road but no one is helping.)
 Ask them what they would do in the following situations:
 You see some children playing very close to the main road.
 You see an old man trying to cross the road.
 You find a banana peel on the roadside.
 Get them to talk about Rules in general. (see more in the 'Points to discuss' part )

Story Time

Story 1 - I am Shyam’s new bike. Would you like to hear my story?
I was given to Shyam on his birthday. How happy he was! He kept polishing me till I shone. He showed me off to all his friends. I think he even dreamt of me when he slept. His father told him never to take me out on the main road. He wanted Shyam to learn how to ride me well and know all the road rules before he did that.
One day when his father was away, Shyam took me out on the busy road. I was so scared! I shouted to Shyam not to do it, but he did not hear me at all. He drove off happily. We had gone only a short distance. Some children were crossing the road at the zebra crossing. Maybe Shyam did not see them. He drove on. I screeched and told him to stop! Atlast he heard me but it was too late. He turned quickly, hit a lamp post and fell down on me. He was badly hurt but I was in a worse shape. Look at me now! Do I look like a new bike? Now I sit in the garage, crying all the time. Won't you come and take me away?

Story 2 – In Indian mythology, we read about Devas and Asuras. The devas were good but the asuras always troubled the people. Once both the devas and the asuras tried to take out nectar from the ocean of milk, which would give them everlasting life. They had to churn the ocean patiently before they got it. The Gods did not want the asuras to get the nectar. So when the nectar came, God Vishnu took the form of a beautiful girl, Mohini, and came there offering to distribute the nectar. She told them to sit in an orderly way. The devas did so immediately and she distributed all the nectar to them. The asuras were fighting among themselves, trying to get close to her. Mohini took advantage of the chaos and pretended to serve them and in the confusion, the asuras did not even notice that they did not get even one drop of nectar!

Points to Discuss

 Do you think rules are a bore? Would you rather not have any rules to follow? Is it good to do so?
 What are some rules in the school that you don’t like? Why do you think these rules are there?
 Sometimes you have to stand in a queue when there are many people waiting for the same thing. Is it good to push some one and try to get in? Would you like it if you were pushed? Will you like to lose your place in the queue to someone? Isn’t it always better to wait patiently for your turn?

 Discuss the following:
 People are in a queue, waiting for the bus. When it comes, they break the line and try to get in.
 All are in a queue. A man comes and joins the line in the middle.
 People are waiting near the door waiting for the office to open. As soon as the door opens, they push each other and rush in.
 What is the advantage of standing in a queue? Name seven places where a queue system will be very helpful.
 What do you understand by the saying, ''Always alert, accidents avert''?

Activities

 Learn this poem:
Red light, red light, what do you say?
I say stop, stop right away!
Yellow light, yellow light, what do you mean?
I mean wait, wait till the light is green!
Green light, green light, what do you say?
I say go, go right away!
 Dramatise a scene where people are in a queue waiting for a bus. Show what happens when someone comes and tries to join in the middle, when an old man or a woman with a child in arms comes there, when a bus comes and stops a little distance away.
 Draw pictures to show a road scene where people are following the rules of the road.

CHAPTER VIII - WORK AND PERSEVERANCE

UNITY IS STRENGTH

Objectives

 Work in amity and co-operation with others.
 Unity is strength, division and disharmony bring failure.
 In a group, every part of work, however small, is important. Do your part of work well.

Introduction

There are many jobs that can be done only when people work together as a group or a team. A group works best when the participants are motivated and involved. If each person pulls in a different direction and if there are ego clashes, then the group cannot work as a unit. Working together teaches one to think of the larger unit and how they can contribute to it. Making the children work as a group teaches them social skills which are very necessary for them to get along in life. The spirit of teamwork needs to be there both in the classroom as well as in the play field.

A way to begin

 Organize some group games where children have to play together in a co-operative manner.
For eg. "Tug of War", where all the members of a team have to pull together to succeed. Another game could be played thus -- Draw a big circle. Draw four smaller ones at four places around the first circle. Let the children stand on the circle holding their hands. When the whistle blows, they must run and get into one of the smaller circles, without letting go of their hands. Any child can try to pull the other children to the circle nearest to them. When the game starts there will be pulling in all directions and there will be chaos. Now tell them that when the whistle blows they should let one-person pull and no one should resist. They will see for themselves how effective it is when they do not pull in different directions.

 The following story can easily be demonstrated. Take a few sticks to the class. Tell the following story and show how difficult it is to break the sticks if they are bound.

Story: Four sons of a father were fighting among themselves. The father called them and gave each of them a twig to break. They did this easily. Next he gave them a bundle of twigs tied together and told them to break it together. They couldn’t do it, however hard they tried. They decided to stick together and not fight among themselves.

Story Time

Story 1 - ( From Panchatantra) Once a group of pigeons were flying when they saw grains scattered on the ground. What they didn’t see was a net spread there to catch them. They happily settled down to eat the grains and when they tried to fly away, they found themselves caught in the net. They didn’t know what to do. The leader of the pigeons told them a trick. He said that they should pretend to be dead and then all should fly together when he gave the signal. Soon the hunter came there. When he saw the dead birds, he untied the strings. The old bird gave a signal and all the birds started to fly at the same time. Their unity helped them to escape.

Story 2 - Once there was a fighting amongst the fingers about who was the most important. The thumb said, “ I am the fattest. So I am important”. The index finger said it was the most used, the middle finger said it was the tallest and the ring finger said it was the one to wear a ring. The little one said, “ When the hands are folded in prayer, I am the closest to God”. When they were fighting like this, a man tripped and fell down. Each of the fingers tried to lift him up alone. They could not do it. What did they have to do before they could help him? What does this teach us?

Story 3 - It was just before the war between Rama and Ravana. Rama was trying to reach the island of Lanka to fight with Ravana and rescue his wife Sita. The ocean stood between them and had to be crossed. Rama prayed to the king of the ocean who parted and left a path for Rama. The monkeys in the vanara sena got busy carrying huge stones and boulders, building a bridge to Lanka. A small squirrel was watching all this. He too wanted to help Rama. He did not think about his size. He did not wonder whether he could do anything. He just started doing whatever he could. All that he could carry were small stones. And he did this with all his might. Rama was moved to see the tiny squirrel scurrying to and fro trying his best to help. He lifted the helpful squirrel in his hands and very lovingly and gently he stroked it. Do you know that the squirrel did not have any lines on his body till then? The three lines you see on his back now, are the loving marks left by Rama!

Points to Discuss

 Ask--Do you like doing group work? What are the advantages of doing the work as a group? What are the disadvantages? (Not being able to do individual work. No credit for individual effort etc. )

 What is the meaning of the saying ‘ the chain is as strong as its weakest link’?

 What will happen if everyone in the group starts to feel that his/ her work is the most important? ( discuss for and against )

 How do you co-operate in the work in the family? Is any special duty assigned to you? How does your duty and work help in the smooth running of family chores? Do you always do your work properly without complaining?

 Discuss how working in co-operation and amity is important for doing efficient work in the neighbourhood, city, state and country?

Activities

 Let the children do some activity such as helping to make a salad, gardening, or putting together pieces of a puzzle. Let them realize how the work gets done faster when many hands work together.

Divide the class into groups and let them make picture collages by assigning topics (eg. working together on big projects on the National level, working together in the family, in the school, in the entertainment field, in the sports field etc.) to each group. Let each child bring some pictures or draw something on the topic and this can be stuck in an interesting way to make a collage.

 On a large sheet of paper made by sticking together a few sheets of paper or charts (can use the backside of used paper), let the children draw and colour something as a joint effort. Compare this to work done by an individual child and let them discover how efficient it is to work together.

 Teach them some songs which extol the virtues of working together. One such example is the song from the film Naya Daur, “Saathi haath badhaana”.

 Put up a play, which brings out the importance of doing their bit in any given job without worrying about its significance. (For example, in the story of Ramayana, the part of Manthara is quite small and she appears only for a very short while. But her role in the unfolding of the story is very important!)

CHAPTER IX - TIME MANAGEMENT

DO IT NOW!!

Objectives

 Do not postpone doing things. Do today’s work today itself.
 Be punctual.

Introduction

We should learn not to postpone doing things. Kabir said that what needs to be done tomorrow, do it today and what has to be done today, do it now. We cannot take for granted that things will wait till we are ready. We trouble others and we miss opportunities when we are not on time. A person who is a stickler for time and is punctual is respected as being dependable. Insist on the children being punctual with everything they do whether they are at school or elsewhere. Let them realise that time lost can never be regained.

A way to begin

 Take two puppets to the class. Call one of them 'Mr. On time' and the other 'Mr. No time.' Think of situations like going to school or to the office, missing the bus and its consequences etc. Let them act as their name implies.

 Talk to them about how many of us have this habit of postponing things waiting for the best time. We do not realise that NOW is the best time. Whatever has to be done, should be DONE NOW! Ask them if they want to give up the bad habit of throwing things around? Tell them--- Start right NOW! You want to develop the habit of reading books? Read a good book TODAY! Do it everyday till it becomes a habit. Your father tells you to go to the market and buy something. Do it now, don’t postpone it till he decides to go himself! You would have missed an opportunity to be of help.

Story Time

Story 1 - Here is a story about the hare and the tortoise. Once the animals decided to have a fair in the forest. There were going to be lots of attractions and prizes! There was a big prize to be won for cake-baking and both the hare and the tortoise wanted to enter that contest. The next day the hare saw the tortoise going to the library. “Why are you going there?” asked the hare. “I want to get a recipe book for cakes”’ said the tortoise. The hare burst out laughing. It couldn’t understand why the tortoise should start thinking about the cake so soon. There was plenty of time! But the tortoise didn’t believe in postponing anything. It chose a good recipe, made a list of things needed, bought them from the market and baked the cake well in advance. Then it set about decorating the cake and it did a very good job since there was plenty of time. What about the hare? It spent its time playing with its friends. Suddenly just two days before the contest, it woke up. There was so much to do! Quickly it ran to the market to get the things. But there was no flour and no sugar in the shop! The hare begged the fox, which was in charge of the shop to somehow get these things. The next day it got them but at a higher price! Then it had to think of a recipe for a quick and easy cake. The hare somehow managed to bake the cake but it was not fluffy but flat and lumpy! It had forgotten to add something in the hurry. There was no time to bake another cake. All that the hare could do was to sit and cry. The tortoise’s cake was declared the best. The sad and disappointed hare watched the tortoise carry away the prize proudly!

Story 2 - A king was being attacked by his neighbour. He wanted to call his friend for help and sent a messenger by horse. The man travelled as fast as he could but suddenly he found that the shoe of the horse was not all right as a nail had come off. He didn’t want to waste time fixing it and just hurried. But later the horse just fell down as it couldn’t move any further and the man didn’t reach his destination in time. This story is given in the form of a verse below.
For want of a nail, a kingdom was lost!
For want of a nail, a shoe was lost;
For want of a shoe, a horse was lost;
For want of a horse, a rider was lost;
For want of a rider, a battle was lost;
For want of a battle, a kingdom was lost;
And all for want of a horse shoe nail!

Points to Discuss

 Discuss the following pictures. The first set should show the situation as it is at present. The second set should show the result of procrastination.
1st-- Milk kept outside, a small tear in a shirt, toys not kept inside after playing, getting up late
2nd-- a big tear in the shirt, cat drinking milk, boy tripping and falling on the toys, missing the bus.

 Look at the given pictures. (Pictures of a railway station, airport, school, cinema hall, bus stop etc.). Discuss what will happen if you are not punctual here?

Activities

 POSTPONE means to delay doing things and PROCRASTINATE means putting off things, maybe due to laziness! Both mean, not doing things on time. How many small words can you make from these two big words? Eg. post, pot etc. from 'postpone' and cast, nation, etc. from 'procrastinate' (Make as many words as you can).
 Complete this word antakshari
 Get u___ early in the morning.
 Whatever needs to be done, do it n___w.
 Do not w______e time.
 For being punctual, you must be able to read the clock. Match what Anjali is saying and the time the clock shows (clock faces with time marked on it.)
“ I will meet you at 3 o’ clock.” “ I always get up at 6 o’ clock” “ My bus comes to my stop at 8.30 a.m.” “ It is 4. 30! Time to go out and play”.

 Read this poem

If you have something to give, give it now
If you can make someone glad or another less sad, do it now
If you’ve a kind word to say, say it now, do it now, do it now, do it now
Now, before it’s too late, now is the time for every good deed
Do not wait until tomorrow, for it may be just too late
If there’s good news to give, give it now, if there’s friendship to show, show it now
If there’s hope you can raise or someone you can praise
Do it now, do it now, do it now.

CHAPTER X - COURAGE

SPEAK THE TRUTH

Objective

 Courage helps you to always speak the truth.
 Courage helps you to admit your mistakes.

Introduction

Sometimes we are afraid of speaking the truth because of the consequences. It may seem easier to tell some convenient lie and escape. But when you tell the truth, you don’t have any conflicts in your mind and you feel peaceful. Being truthful gives you mental strength and confidence. When you tell a lie you are always afraid that you will be found out. People who tell the truth are respected and trusted.
It requires courage to admit your mistakes and to say that you are sorry. But when you repent, your sense of guilt is removed and you feel relieved.

A way to begin

 Talk to the children about bravery and courage and ask them who in their opinion are brave people. Tell them that the really brave ones are those who always speak the truth. Do they agree with this? It requires courage to speak the truth and admit one’s mistakes.

 Discuss what are the benefits of telling the truth. Ask them for examples from personal experiences.

? Tell them how important it is to tell the truth to their parents. Usually parents can easily find out when the children are lying. It is better that children confide in their parents. Only then can the parents help if they have any problems. This is a good opportunity to find out what kind of relationship exists at home and whether the children feel comfortable telling the truth.

Story Time

Story 1 - Once when Gandhiji was in school, an inspector came to his class to assess the teacher’s work. A dictation test was given and the teacher found Gandhi had written the wrong spelling. He came near Gandhi and quietly asked him to copy the correct spelling of the word from the boy sitting next to him. Gandhiji refused saying he would never do such a thing.

Story 2 - Once when Gandhiji was young, he got into bad company. To get money for smoking, he stole some gold ornament from home. But he felt very troubled by what he had done. Though he was scared of what his father would say, he wrote about it on a piece of paper and gave it to his father. His father read the note and just shed tears. Gandhiji wrote later that his father’s silent tears made him take a vow that he would never steal in future.

Points to Discuss

 Can you think of an instance when you had to tell a lie. How did you feel? Unhappy that you had lied or happy that you had escaped? ? What would have happened if you had told the truth?

 Discuss how a lie makes you feel guilty. You try to hide from others because you are afraid your lie will be found out. Sometimes you may have to tell more lies to cover up the first one. You may even forget which lie you told whom!

Compare this with telling the truth. Truth helps you to be bold because you don’t have to hide anything and from anybody. So when you tell the truth, however unpleasant it is, you feel much better.

 Look at the following situations. What is wrong here? What should have they done?
a. Nina spills some water on the floor by mistake. Her brother slips on it and has a fall. When he asks if she has spilt the water, she says no.
b. Varun finds his teacher has given him extra marks. When the teacher asks everyone if their marks are correct, he keeps quiet.
c. Charan’s brother gives him an important letter to post and Charan forgets to do it. But when his brother asks him, he says he has posted it.

Activities

 Find out what our national motto ‘Satyemevae jayate’ means.
 Tell one of the stories you have just heard in your own words.
 Below are given some words. Which of them are associated with ‘truth’ and which with ‘untruth’?
Happy, hide, calm, afraid, strong, reliable, worried, sorry, scared

Class III

2007-11-02T13:51:00.001-07:00

Words and Statements highlighted in color are by the author of the Blog:

Words in GREEN= Grammar, syntax or spelling error

Words, phrases and sentences in PURPLE= Questionable and/or inaccurate statement (theology, philosophy, ethics, morality, scientific)

Statements in BLUE= Statements that SRCM (Chennai) does not seem to practice

Chapter I God And Guru 61
Love All Whom He Loves 61

Chapter II - Healthy Living 63
Get Fit In Five Easy Steps 63

Chapter III - Greetings 66
Be Courteous, Respect Others 66

Chapter IV – Love 70
Love Thy Neighbours 70

Chapter V - Happiness 72
There Is More Joy In Giving 72

Chapter VI - Nature 75
Nature Our Teacher 75

Chapter VII - Discipline 77
Think Of Others And Be Disciplined 77

Chapter VIII - Work And Perseverance 79
Practice Makes Perfect 80

Chapter IX - Time Management 82
Time And Tide Wait For No Man 82

Chapter X - Courage 84
Have Moral Courage 84

CHAPTER I GOD AND GURU

LOVE ALL WHOM HE LOVES

Objectives

 God loves all creatures of the world. He loves all equally.
 He is in every act of love and kindness.
 The guru helps us to improve. We benefit when we follow his teachings.

Introduction

God is the personification of love. This concept is easy for children to understand if conveyed in the right way. One way is to equate God with Mother. God loves all His creations just as a mother loves all her children. This feeling will help us to develop a feeling of love for all. Let us not think of God as a separate entity, away from us. Let us think of him as one who resides in our hearts. Then we can see His hand in every act of kindness and love.
Just as our parents guide us, our teachers and gurus guide and help us. They correct us when necessary and may even be strict with us. We improve if we take their advice in the right spirit and follow their teachings.

A way to begin

 Tell the children that God loves them the same way their parents love them all equally. (Some children may complain that their parents love their brothers or sisters more. Solve this problem with understanding.) God loves us in the same way. He loves each and every one of His creations equally.
 Tell them how it is important to develop feelings of love, understanding and kindness in our hearts since they are associated with Godliness. Ask them “How do you feel when you love someone and show them kindness and understanding? Don’t you feel happy inside? How do you feel when you get angry with someone and fight? Do you feel the same kind of happiness inside? Love for all God’s creations makes you feel happy.”
 Tell them how their parents and teachers want them to improve. Sometimes they may scold and correct the children. Why do they do it? Is it because they don’t love the children or is it because they love them? Is it right to get angry with them when they correct the children?
 Ask them to think of a school with no teachers, just computers! Will they like that? Can computers replace teachers?

Story Time

Story 1 – (adapted from the story of the Good Samaritan) There was a famous temple in a city and people from far and near came there to pray. One day an old and sick man fell down on the way and got hurt. He lay on the side of the street with nobody to help him. Just then a priest passed by. He was in a hurry to reach the temple and ignored the old man. A rich devotee who had given a lot of money to the temple passed by next. He also went away withouts helping the poor man. The next to go by was a very learned man who preached the word of God. People from far and near flocked to listen to his discourses. He was in hurry as it was getting late for the discourse. Then came a poor man who was also going to the temple. When he saw the old man lying unattended on the ground, he immediately went there, picked him up on his shoulders and took him to a doctor. He gave the doctor all the money he had as fees. Then he fed the old man with whatever he had at home and made him comfortable.
That night all the three who had thought of themselves as devotees of God had a dream and God showed them who the real Devotee was. It was the man who had not gone to the temple to pray to God but had helped the old man.

Story 2 - The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde—This is the story of a swallow, which stopped in a city while migrating. His companions had flown away and the bird was alone. That night it took shelter at the feet of a statue known as the statue of the Happy Prince. The statue was covered with gold leaves and it had rubies and emeralds embedded in it. At night teardrops that fell on it awakened the bird. It awoke and saw that the prince was crying. He spoke and begged the bird to pluck away the ruby from his sword and give it to a poor woman who was suffering. The bird did that. The next night as the bird was getting ready to fly away, the prince asked it to pluck one of his emerald eyes and give it to a poor poet. The bird did so. The next night he asked the bird to take away the other eye and give it to a poor girl. Now the prince could not see at all. The bird decided to stay with him and be his eyes. Every night it would take away a piece of gold covering the statue and give it away to some poor person. It was getting very cold and the bird could not live. It died at the feet of its dear prince. The town people found that the statue had lost all its gold and was looking shabby. They took it away and melted it. They found that its heart was broken and it wouldn’t melt. They threw away the heart along with the dead bird. God sent his angels to bring something very precious from the earth. The angels brought Him these two things from the waste bin. God was happy and said that they had brought the right things.
Story 3 - Varun’s class teacher gave the class one piece of work that they had to do everyday. They had to choose a small paragraph from some good book and copy it down in their best handwriting. He rarely praised anyone but whenever they did some good work he would appreciate their work and congratulate them! More often he would say either they could have chosen a better passage or that their handwriting could have been better! It became a challenge for the children. They loved this teacher and wanted to do their best for his sake. In that process, unknowingly, they not only improved their handwriting but also started to read good books.
Points to Discuss
 What is the common factor in the first two stories? How did the people in the stories show their love for God?
 The statue of the prince was hard as stone but how was its heart?
 Why was the Prince crying? Was it because he was affected by the misery of the people? Or was it because he could not help them, as he was just a statue? Or both?
 Was it a coincidence that the bird happened to be there at the right time? Or did the cry from the heart of the Prince bring him there?
 Was it only the prince who was showing his love for the poor? What was the part of the bird in it? Why did it stay back instead of flying away?
The Prince gave away something but did he get back something too?
What was it? Was he able to live up to his name of The Happy Prince?
 What did the samaritan do which others had not done? What does the word ‘good’ signify?
 Talk about a teacher who made you work harder and better. Did you like the teacher? Did you think he/she was doing it for your good?

Activities
 Extend your love and caring to people who are disabled and less fortunate than you. Start a toy bank by collecting toys from other children. Then these can be given away to children who cannot afford to buy them. You can even start a story books bank or clothes bank. Think of all those children who do not have these things and how your gifts will make them happy! You will be even happier than they will!

CHAPTER II - HEALTHY LIVING

GET FIT IN FIVE EASY STEPS

Objectives
 Remain healthy by having good food, regular exercise and adequate rest.
 Pay attention to personal hygiene.

Introduction
Staying fit is easy if we follow certain rules. Since children love to emulate sportsmen, they have been taken as role models for health conscious adults. Just a word of caution, it is the rules they follow that are highlighted here, not the products they sponsor for Advertisements!

A way to begin
 Show them the pictures of some famous players. Continue the topic by asking questions as given under ‘Story time’. Emphasize the five principles of good health—Good food, enough exercise, adequate rest, clean body and a clean mind with good thoughts.
 Talk to them about simple but important rules of hygiene—wearing footwear while going out, washing feet after coming from outside, washing hands before eating anything, covering the mouth and nose before sneezing, not licking things like pages of their notebooks etc. These are rules that one may often forget to follow and the consequences can be bad.

Tips for Healthy Life
Don’t you wish you could be a famous cricketeer or a tennis player? Don’t you want to see your photographs in every newspaper and be mobbed by autograph hunters? Before you answer yes, think about these.
The players are successful because they work hard and are very regular in their habits and routine. And most important of all, they are careful about their food, exercise and rest.
They eat good nutritious food with plenty of fruits and vegetables. This makes them strong and healthy. They do not skip meals and take care to eat at regular intervals. They avoid eating junk food because it is not good for them. Are you prepared to do all these?
They are very regular with their exercise. They are not lazy! Exercise helps them to build strong muscles. It helps them to be alert and quick. Are you prepared to do regular exercises?
They take enough rest. It helps them to get back their energy. Without proper rest they will feel very tired. Are you prepared to go to bed early and rise early? Do you think these rules apply only to players?
No, it applies to every one of us too. We have to take good care of ourselves if we want to remain healthy and not fall sick. Good food, regular exercise and adequate rest will help us. Add to these, the daily routine of cleanliness. We must pay attention to the way we clean ourselves.
A healthy body and a healthy mind go together. It doesn’t help if you just end up with a beautiful body, without beautiful thoughts in your mind. Scientists have found out that the body reacts to your mind. Anger, for example can cause ulcers in your stomach. When you are happy and cheerful, you feel healthy too.
God has gifted this body and mind to us. Let us feel responsible and concerned about this wonderful gift and take good care of it.

Story Time
When Nitin’s parents took him to their village for the holidays he did not like it at all! He wanted to be in the city, watch all the cricket matches and then join the school cricket team.
Nitin sulked the first few days. Nobody paid any attention. Out of boredom, he went out to explore the village. When he saw a few boys playing he was shy at first but soon joined the game. Nitin had never had so much fun! His appetite improved and he ate all the food put before him! At night, he did not even miss TV! He was so tired that he fell asleep quickly. Soon it was time to go back. Nitin made up his mind to come back to the village in the next holidays too!.
When he went back to school, he found that he had grown much taller and healthier than his friends! He was now the best runner of the class. No wonder he made it to the school team!

Points to Discuss
 Do you know that the junk foods you want to eat may taste good but they are not good for your body? They contain too much salt and chemicals in them that can be harmful? So the next time you feel like having some junk food, THINK!
 Scientists have found out what happens when we don’t get enough sleep. After two nights we become tired and find it difficult to stay awake. We make mistakes, forget things and get cross with everybody. Finally we can’t stay awake any longer. We need sleep in order to work well. Next time you stay awake late, to study or watch TV, THINK!
 Why is playtime important? Would you like it if you had to sit down all the time?

Activities
 Abu and Babu are two friends. Abu has healthy habits and takes care of himself while Babu is just the opposite.
Below are listed a few things that they do. Can you find out which sentences point out to Abu and which to Babu?
1. Eats a good breakfast
2. Goes to bed late
3. Watches TV all the time
4. Goes out to play
5. Gets up early in the morning
6. Likes to eat fresh vegetables and fruits
7. Eats uncovered things from the roadside vendor
8. Gets angry very quickly
9. Likes to help others
10. Always ready for a fight
 Do this activity with the help of your friend.
Imagine you have to interview a famous sports personality to find out the secret of his success. What questions will you ask? What answers will he/she give?
 Salads are good for you. They are very easy to make too. Learn to make a salad and share it with your friends.
 Mime some games. Can your friends guess what they are?
 Paste pictures of junk food. Put a huge cross across it and write ‘No more junk food for me!’
 Read this poem. You can sing it too! Change the food items to suit the local conditions.
Eat good food, don’t eat junk,
Eat good food, don’t eat junk,
Crunchy granola, yoghurt and cheese,
Cracked wheat, eat cereal, more milk please!
Eat good food, don’t eat junk,
Eat good food, don’t eat junk,
Lettuce is good, celery too,
Meat and potatoes, but don’t eat goo!
Eat good food, don’t eat junk,
Eat good food, don’t eat junk,
No more doughnuts, pies or cakes,
No more chocolate bars, for your health’s sake
Eat good food, don’t eat junk,
Eat good food, don’t eat junk,
NO MORE JUNK!

CHAPTER III - GREETINGS

BE COURTEOUS, RESPECT OTHERS

Objectives
 Be courteous and show respect to everybody, especially to elders.
 When we greet others we show how we would like to be treated in return.

Introduction
Respect and consideration for the feelings of others helps one to develop the quality of courtesy. It is often said that respect should be commanded, not demanded. When respect is given, irrespective of age, it is easy to get it back. Children respect people who do not belittle them. Giving respect begins at home. It is not something you put on only when you go out or when there are strangers / guests. In the Indian tradition, respect for elders has always been given importance. Nowadays there is a lot of talk about generation gaps. This can be overcome if children are taught to respect elders and to listen to what they say.

A way to begin
Tell them the story of a king who asked his minister to name the best part in the human body. The minister said ‘The tongue’. When asked why, he said it is the part that can bring so much happiness to other people by its sweet talk. When the king asked him to name the worst part, again he named the tongue, because it can hurt and make others unhappy when it is used for saying angry and hurtful words. Ask the children if they use their tongue to be polite and courteous.
Discuss with them about politeness. What is politeness and courtesy? Is it just saying Please and Thank you and Sorry?
 Politeness and courtesy also mean not being rude, not using abusive language but talking in a pleasant way. Not interrupting while others talk. Not shouting and disturbing others.
 It means being respectful towards elders. Greeting them. Giving them a place to sit, even if it means vacating your seat. Listening to them and not dismissing them as not being in your age group!
 It means taking care of small things and treating others' property with care. Like wiping your feet before you enter and shutting the door as you leave a place. Not littering any place.
 It means being considerate and courteous to others, even if you don’t like them or agree with them. Not hurting them by saying harsh things. Not being unnecessarily critical. Understanding the point of view of others and looking at things in a different angle.
 It means treating others, as you want to be treated. If you want to be treated nicely and fairly, you must treat them the same way too.

Story Time
Story 1 - Aruna took Lata to her house to meet her grandparents. Aruna’s grandmother opened the door and gave a hug to Aruna and welcomed Lata with a smile. She gave them delicious samosas and they thanked her happily. Grandfather wanted to go to the library. Aruna made sure that he did not have any trouble on the way. She held his hand when the ground was uneven and walked slowly at his speed. When he was ready to leave, Aruna took the books from him and gave him his walking stick. After making sure that her grandparents were both settled, Aruna went with Lata to the park. “Don’t you get bored taking care of your old grandparents?” asked Lata. “No, not at all,” said Aruna “ I have such a good time with them. They love me so much! My grandmother makes such delicious food! She is always there when I come home. She knows so many things. She helped me to knit a dress for my doll. My grandfather helps me with my schoolwork and reads stories for me. They give me good advice when I have problems. After all they have so much more experience! Sometimes they keep repeating things and I get irritated but my father tells me that many old people do this and that I should not mind that. They say things and repeat them for our good. I am so happy they are there.”

Story 2 - “ Today my teacher told us to find out more about courtesy. If I say Thank you, please, excuse me and sorry, am I not being courteous? What else is there to know?” asked Vivek.
His father said he would give him a practical lesson in courtesy. He asked Vivek to watch what he did. First he told Vivek’s mother where they were going and asked her if she wanted anything. (Why is it courteous to tell someone where you are going? Do you do it?) They went to the bus stop and took their place in the queue. “Vivek, when we stand in a queue, we are not only being disciplined but show our courtesy to the others,” said his father. They got seats to sit down. In the next stop, a lady got in and as there was no place for her to sit, Vivek’s father got up and gave her his place. They went to the ticket booking counter and Vivek’s father took time to neatly fill up the form. “ I am being considerate, Vivek, because if I scribble illegibly, I will be causing trouble to the person who issues the tickets. Courtesy makes you think of the other person,” he explained. Courtesy and consideration for others go together.
They went to the market to buy vegetables. While waiting for their turn, an old man came there and Vivek’s father let the man buy before him. He was being courteous again. “ Now it is my turn to show courtesy,” Vivek told his father. “Please, let me carry the bag for you!”

Points to Discuss
 Look at the following situations. Who was being polite and who was not?
 Babu’s mother told him to go to the market to get something. He yelled, “I won’t!”.
 When her aunt came visiting, Nalini wished her and held the front door open for her.
 Ram borrowed a toy but left it in the open in the rain. He didn’t apologise.
 Leela asked permission from her neighbour before plucking flowers from her garden.
 Nita listened to her grandmother when she was talking and didn’t run away to play.
 Are you being courteous when you do the following?
 Push others when you are standing in a line. Talk when the teacher is explaining something. Take somebody else’s pencil without asking permission. Call some elderly person by his/her name.
 Do your grandparents stay with you? Tell the other children in the class about them.

Activities
 This game gives small children some grasp of why respect should be given. You play the role of the child and let the child play the other role. Act out the roles and ask the child how it felt.
 Child (played by you) thanks the father (played by the child) when it gets some biscuits.
 Child is making a lot of noise when the teacher is writing something on the board.
 Child pushes an old lady and goes to the front of the queue.
 Child keeps interrupting when his mother is talking to someone.
 Child throws the bag and runs away even as his father is calling him back.
 What is wrong here? What should you have done?
 Your friend says he can’t understand cricket at all! You call him a stupid fool and make fun of him in front of others.
 Your grandfather is telling you to do something. You are in a hurry to go out and rush off.
 When your friend is narrating something, you ask so many questions in between that he loses track of what he is saying.
 You are playing with your friends when your teacher passes by. You pretend you haven’t seen her and turn your face away.
 Choose about 10- 12 children to act out the story of Vivek going out with his father. Divide the rest of the class into groups with 4-5 children in each group. Tell them that the play is about courtesy. Whenever they find courtesy being shown to others in the play, they should raise their hand. The first one to do so will be called to explain and if he/ she is right, marks will be given to that team. At the end of the play, the groups could give suggestions for extending the play further to reinforce the concept of courtesy.
CHAPTER IV – LOVE

LOVE THY NEIGHBOURS

Objectives
 We have to develop tolerance and love to adjust and live with our neighbours.
 When our neighbours need help, we should be ready to help them.
 Love for our country helps us to grow into good citizens.

Introduction
These days, sharing the available small space with neighbours in flats has become a harsh reality. One needs to be friendly and helpful, sharing in the joys and sorrows of those who live in such proximity. Sometimes we find it hard to do so and petty squabbles become part of life. Little children are able to overcome social barriers and make friends easily. We only need to strengthen and maintain these admirable qualities of friendliness in them and maybe learn from them! Children should be helped to develop love and concern for others through some community work.
Love for the country surfaces only during the time of war. If we can retain it all the time, we can make this a better place to live.

A way to begin
Talk to the children about their neighbours and ask questions to find out what kind of relationship they have with them. Do they have friends among the neighbours? Are any of their neighbours old or sick? Do the children know if they need any help? Can they think of ways to help their neighbours? Do the neighbours keep the common passages clean? Have they organised any common celebration? Do they know to which states the neighbours belong? Give ideas to the children as to how they could bring harmony into their neighbourhood. Often it is through the children that the adults develop interaction.

Story Time
Story 1 - Daya’s family had to move to a small flat from a big house. In the beginning they had many problems. The flat was small and Daya had to share her room with her sister. There was no privacy and it seemed as if the neighbours knew all that was going on in the flat. Soon, however, Daya’s mother found, it was good to have people around. Once when she was sick, it was her neighbours who helped her family. Daya too discovered that it was wonderful having so many friends with whom she could play. Yes, Daya still feels as if she is living in a glass house and feels sad when she thinks of her big, old room with all her toys and the wonderful garden. She misses her dog most of all. But ask her if she wants to go back? She gives an emphatic No!
Points to Discuss
Do you love your family? Do you love your parents, brothers and sisters, and your grandparents? Do you want to make them happy and not hurt them in any way? Do you love your home? Do you want everyone to say what a beautiful house you live in? What a lovely garden you have? Do you want to keep your house in a very good condition without dirty things lying around everywhere?
Maybe you think what ridiculous questions to ask! Doesn’t everyone love their family, their home and their garden? But before you discuss these questions, wait a while and think.
 Does home mean only your small home? Isn’t this planet Earth your home?
 Does garden mean only your tiny garden? Don’t these mountains and plains, rivers and lakes belong to your homeland?
 Does family mean just your own family? Aren’t all the people of this Earth one family?
If we do not want to destroy this home, this garden and this family, then we have to take some positive steps. You might ask, what can you, small children do, which has not been done by the elders. Remember that every action of yours, however small, has a positive effect and can make a big difference. When we love something, we take proper care of it, don’t we? If we love this world, we must take proper care of it too. When you take pains to keep your environment clean, it has a collective effect. Soon you will find that your colony and then your city and then this huge land of ours getting a facelift. Only then can you say with pride that this land is yours and you are happy to belong to it. Remember this world is our home, the forests our garden and the people our family. We should not dirty this home, nor make our garden bare, nor fight with the members of our family.
 Discuss with them how this whole world is like their flat complex. If we can think of the countries as flats, it is easy to see how all of us belong to one big complex! We are all children of the same God and it is foolish to fight amongst ourselves.
 Talk to the children about how this world has become smaller. What happens in one place affects everybody elsewhere too. We have to develop a feeling of love for all the inhabitants of this planet. Ask them what they can do to make this Earth a better place to live in.

Activities
 What are some things that we can do to help our neighbours?
 Keep the common property clean so that no one is put to any hardship.
 You can ask your neighbours if they want anything when you go shopping.
 Visit the sick and the elderly and cheer them up.
 You can offer to do some errands like posting the letters for them, watering their plants or taking their dog (if you like looking after dogs) for a walk.

 What more can we do?
 You can begin by keeping your immediate environment clean and tidy. Take care that you don’t litter things around. Do not add to the junk. Avoid using plastic and paper unnecessarily. This will not only reduce the amount of garbage but will also help in saving our precious trees.
 Take care of public property like parks, roads, buses and other such things. Do not dirty them or destroy them.

CHAPTER V - HAPPINESS

THERE IS MORE JOY IN GIVING

Objectives
 Making others happy is the best way to be happy.
 There is more joy in giving than in receiving.

Introduction
We find that we are happier when we do things for others, when we care for them and help them. It is difficult to be happy when we are thinking only of ourselves, when we are selfish and greedy. We must co-operate with others and not fight with them if we want to be happy.

A way to begin
 Make up a small story about a person who always complained about his ill health. (act as if he is complaining to the doctor that he has so much pain that he can’t even move his arms or legs). The doctor said that nothing was wrong with him, he needed to go out and think of something else.(act the part of the Dr) So unhappily (keep a long face) he went out. Soon he reached a circus ground and he went in out of curiosity. He saw the dress of a clown with a mask and just tried it on (if you can, make a clown mask and take it to the class). As he put this on, a few children came there and started to laugh when they saw the clown. The man was trying to move his arms and legs (act as if he was in pain) and the children laughed more. Soon there was a small crowd of children laughing at his antics and the man found that whatever he did, they laughed and had fun. Soon he forgot his pain and had a good time himself. Now the man had even forgotten that he was a sick man!
 How did he get well? Elicit the answer that he was cured when he became happy. What made him happy? Making others happy made him happy too! Elaborate this point more.
 Ask the children whether they felt happy when they received gifts. How did they feel when they gave gifts themselves? Didn’t it make them feel happier? Discuss how there is more joy in giving. When they see another person happy with what they have given him / her, their own joy doubles. Let children narrate instances when they have given something to another person to make them happy.
 Just like the parents feel happy when the children in a family play happily together and not fight with each other, so also, we make God happy when we are united and make others happy.

Story Time
Story 1 - ‘A Christmas carol’ by Charles Dickens. This is the story of a miser who refuses to be happy even when it is Christmas time. He does not want to help others or spend his money. That night he is taken on a tour by an angel and his eyes are opened when he gets to see how people with very little money are happy because they spread their love around.

Story 2 - The story of the ‘Selfish Giant’ by Oscar Wilde.
This is the story of a giant who has a big garden. In his neighbourhood there are a lot of children who come to the garden and play happily. One day he gets angry with them and decides to close the entry. Now the children can no longer play in his garden. They look longingly at the garden but the giant chases them away. It is winter and he keeps waiting for spring so that he can enjoy his garden in peace. But he finds that in his garden things do not change and it still remains covered with snow while everywhere else ice has melted. He is puzzled.
One day he finds that in one part of his garden there is now snow, the trees have flowers blossoming and the birds are singing. He runs there to investigate and finds a child playing there. The giant realises that it is God himself who has come there to teach him a lesson. He breaks the fence surrounding his garden. The children rush in and so does the spring!

Points to Discuss
Answer the following questions from the story of the Selfish giant :
 Which of the following statements are true—think and answer!
 The giant had always been selfish.
 He was happier when he was unselfish rather than when he was selfish.
 He chased away the children because he wanted the garden all to himself.
 The giant knew why his garden was always covered with snow.
 The snow covering his garden was just like the unselfishness covering his heart.
 Sometimes we behave like the giant and close our hearts to others. What are some reasons for doing so? What happens as a result?
 Tell the children how they must be alert to others needs. Find out who needs help and how to help them. What kind of help can they do at home? How can they help their friends in school? How can they help in the society? Discuss how they should do it - with a happy smile or with a glum and grumpy face?
 When you help someone how do they feel? (Happy). How do you feel? (Happier!)
 Sometimes you don’t even have to do something. If you smile and let the smile spread to the other person, you have made him happier!
 Give some examples of simple gestures that can make another person happy – giving a flower as a gift, sitting and listening patiently to someone, sharing one’s lunch, helping a blind man cross a street, playing with a child etc. Get more such examples from the children.
 Look at the following situations. Who was doing the right thing and who wasn’t?
 Sarah kept a long face because she did not get the gift she wanted for Christmas.
 Arun saw that his cousin had not bought a new shirt for the festival and gave him one of his.
 Sheela found her grandmother could not read because her glasses were broken. She offered to read for her.
 Govind snatched away the toy car from his brother and made him cry.
 Nina saw Lata looking at her cake with longing and gave her the cake with a smile.
 Hari hid the toffees he had got as a gift because his cousins were coming home.

Activities
 Use coloured pictures from old magazines to make collages. Draw two pictures, one showing how the garden is pretty and green with all kinds of flowers with children playing there and the giant watching them. Draw another picture of the garden covered with white snow and the giant watching in a puzzled way. Draw a basic picture with simple outlines. Tear small bits of paper in the appropriate colours and fill up the picture.
 Talk about your picture when it is completed. What will you compare the garden to? When does it bloom? When does it remain cold and colourless?
 Make a gift for some one you care for. It can be a drawing or a painting, a bookmark or a penholder. Surprise your friend by giving him / her with some gift you have made!
 Volunteer to help someone who needs help in the class.
 Learn this poem
The time to be happy is now,
The place to be happy is here,
The way to be happy is to make some one happy
And you have the heaven right here.
CHAPTER VI - NATURE

NATURE OUR TEACHER

Objectives
 Nature was worshipped earlier.
 We can learn many things from Nature.

Introduction
The vedic concept of Nature says that it is made of five elements, namely, earth (Prithvi), water (Jal), air (Vayu) , fire (Agni) and sky or ether or space (Akasha). All living and non-living things are made from one or more of these elements. Explain this concept and tell the children how the ancient people worshipped nature.
We learn many things from Nature. Even a single blade of grass has a message to impart. In Nature, everything has some use and nothing gets wasted. Children can be trained to look at things in nature and say what we can learn from them. The results can be quite amazing!

A way to begin
 Tell them about how people in our country worshipped the aspects of Nature because they knew how important Nature was. Thus the sun was worshipped as Surya, the wind as Vayu, the rain as Varun and the earth as Bhoomi. There was great reverence for Nature. For example, before any hole was dug on the earth, prayers were said and permission sought from the Earth Goddess for harming her. Contrast this with what is happening nowadays.
 Let the children know about the vedic concept of Nature and how people at that time thought of Nature as having been made of the five elements.
 Talk to them about one aspect of Nature, namely the sun. It shines on every one with impartiality, as its nature is to shine and give warmth. Whoever opens the window gets its light and whoever keeps the window shut lives in darkness. It is the same with divinity too. The divine is there to give us love and become a part of us. It is up to us to let that divinity into our hearts and illumine it.
 Tell them the story from Bhagavatam given under Story time. Ask them what they can add to what has been said.

Story Time
Story 1 - Story from Srimad Bhagavatam. King Yadu met an ascetic who lived in a forest and found him to be very wise and learned. The king wondered how this man who lived alone had learnt so much. When asked, the ascetic said that he had 24 teachers who taught him everything. So many teachers in the forest! The king wondered and asked who they were. The ascetic named the things in Nature and explained how each one of them had taught him something. For eg.
Air just like it remains unaffected by good and bad odours, a wise man should be unaffected by good and bad objects.
Mountain like mountain one should rise above all evils and stand straight and tall.
Water like water, we should be pure, clean, sweet and soothing.
Tree it teaches one to be always generous and to give without expecting anything in return.
The moon teaches one to keep watch on the needs of friends even in the darkest of times.
Fire teaches one to be fearless and self controlled and to take away all evil.
The ocean one should be calm and poised in knowledge and not overflow, nor dry up.
The mud teaches us to absorb good things and to keep our mind open.
The star be able to aspire for higher things and be able to shine even when it is dark.
The bee like it gathers honey from flowers, we should accept the essence from everyone.
The ascetic said that God had created all these things in Nature but was not satisfied. So He created Man who could use his intelligence to learn from them.

Story 2 - Do you know that there is a Queen who has hundreds of children? Who will take care of them and feed them? So she employs hundreds of workers but doesn’t pay them anything. They have to feed the babies, groom them and take care of them. She also has an army to protect her territory. Sometimes, these soldiers go to another queendom and carry away the slaves to work for their Queen. There is fierce fighting and many die. Well, all these things happen in the Bee Queendom! The bees are highly organized and can put our planning to shame. Their life can teach us many things. Find out more about them and their cousins, the ants.

Points to Discuss
 Think of the examples given for learning from nature and add your own thoughts to them.
 Discuss what we can learn from bees and ants.
 Discuss why the earth is called as Mother Earth. Do we take care of this mother?
 We can learn many things from flowers. Look at what the flowers are saying .
 The Sun flower - Be bright and cheerful like me.
 The Jasmine - Just like I spread my fragrance around, spread your love and concern.
 A bunch of flowers - We are all different but look beautiful together! No fights amongst us.
 Can you think what we can learn from these - the sun, a stone, a blade of grass etc.
 All things in Nature follow the laws of nature and are disciplined. What would be the result if they were not so?
Activities
 There are many books in the library, which tell you about the incredible behaviour of animals. Find out some information from them and tell your friends.
 Assume the role of some thing in nature and say what you can teach others.
 Make riddles or play the game of 10 questions. Think yourself as somebody and let others find out who you are by asking questions.
 Make cards naming animals and distribute them among the children. Explain to them about food chain and ask the ‘animals’ to run around and catch their prey. The one who makes a mistake is out. The one who doesn’t get caught is the winner.
 We can learn many things from animals. This poem by Walt Whitman says it well:
I think I could turn and live with animals. They are so placid and self contained
I stand and look at them long and long.
They do not sweat and whine about their condition
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God.
Not one is dissatisfied; not one is demented with the mania of owning things
Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago.

CHAPTER VII - DISCIPLINE

THINK OF OTHERS AND BE DISCIPLINED

Objectives
 Discipline means not doing as we like.
 Our not being disciplined will affect others.
 Total discipline means total obedience.

Introduction
Being disciplined is not only for our sake but it is for the benefit of others too. If one person is not disciplined and does whatever he feels like doing, it is going to affect others too. For example, if discipline is not there on roads, it can lead to many accidents. Likewise in other areas too. A person who is disciplined takes care of his well being as well as of others.

A way to begin
 The story of the nine planets given under Story time could be done as a starter activity. However this may involve some running around by children and that by itself should not become a discipline problem!
 Examples from their lives can be given to illustrate the need for discipline. They have to sit on chairs in their places in the class. What will be the result if they decided to sit on the floor or on the table? What will happen if they all rushed out of the class at the same time when the bell rang or did not throw the waste paper in the bins? Won’t the whole class be affected?
 Discuss--All of us have to obey some rules in our lives. We cannot say we will do as we please and not obey these rules, which are made for our benefit. Think of the following examples.
 The rule of the road says to keep to the left. What will happen if we decide to go on the right?
 The safety rule says to be careful when lighting a fire. What will be the result if we disobey and light the fire in a careless manner?
 The health rule says to drink clean water. What will happen if we disobey and drink water which is not very clean?
 The school rule says to go quietly when you go from one class to another. What will happen if you disobey and run and shout as you move along the corridors?
 The family rule says that all the members of the family should eat at the same time. What will be the result if everyone decides to eat whenever they want to?

Story Time
Story 1 - Mrs. Rao made the children in her class play the game of the planets. She drew nine orbits around a circle in the middle, which denoted the sun. Nine children ran around the sun as the nine planets. Their orbits were well defined and they were told to obey the laws of Nature and run only in their orbits. There was no problem as long as they did this. Then she told them that they could now run as they pleased. As soon as they started doing this, there was utter chaos. The planets bumped into each other and fell down. Imagine what would be the result if this happened in real life!

Story 2 - Two teams were playing cricket. One team was well disciplined and the team members did as they were told. But the players in the other team did not believe in being disciplined. They wanted to break records for their own individual benefit. As a result their team did badly as a whole and lost the match even though some of them played very well. It is not only in cricket that discipline is needed. In any field, unless there is discipline, not only the individual but the whole team will suffer.

Story 3 - Raju was tired of driving the rail engine day after day. So one day he just decided to take off from his duties. He did not even inform any one and went off somewhere. The authorities waited for him to come. But when he did not turn up, they had to make other arrangements and this took time. The train was late and as a result many other trains had to get late too. People who had to get into connecting trains could not do so. Some important materials that were urgently needed by a company could not reach on time and this resulted in a huge loss for the whole country. All because of one person who did not think discipline was important.

Points to Discuss
 We have to follow rules and be disciplined in many public places. Look at the given examples. (Pictures of some sign boards given). What will happen if we do not pay heed?
 Red light on zebra crossing
 No entry sign on the operation theatre in a hospital
 No entry signs on a one way street.
 No smoking sign on a petrol bunk.
 Silence please sign in the library.
 Every family has some rules that are made for the benefit of all. For example, in some families children have to go to bed early and wake up early. Mention three rules followed in your family.
 Schools insist on your obeying some rules. Why do they do so? What will happen if there are no rules and regulations? Name three rules, which you have to obey in school.

Activities
 Think of some rules you should have in the class. Choose one of them and make a poster (picture with a sentence) to put up on the bulletin board.
 As a group, think of a small skit to show how it is important to obey rules and be disciplined.
 Have you come across a person who is very disciplined and insists on your being disciplined too! Tell the class about such a person and say what was your reaction to him/her.

CHAPTER VIII - WORK AND PERSEVERANCE

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

Objectives
 We have to work hard everyday and not put off things.
 Practice is necessary to improve any skill.
 It is necessary to have patience and perseverance.

Introduction
Often we tend to give up a job if we do not succeed in it the first time. But if we practise with persistence and patience, it is possible to sharpen our skills and do better. To get the best results, we should be prepared to work hard everyday without putting off the daily tasks.

A way to begin
 Talk to the children about the need for practice. Ask one child to act as a baby who is learning to walk. The child will have to show how the baby doesn’t start walking immediately. It takes time before it can perfect that act. Ask them “Have you seen babies when they try to crawl or walk? Are they able to do it the first time? They cry with frustration and fall down many times. But they don’t give up at all. Why? What can we learn from them?”
 Ask them whether they are able to hit a sixer the first time they hold the bat? What helps them to develop into a good player? Talk about how they can do any given job, however difficult it may seem to be, in a better way by making use of the same technique.
 Give them a set of five difficult words that are new to them. Ask them their spellings immediately. Most of them will not be able to do it. Make a game of it and show how this difficult task becomes easier with practice.

Story Time
Story 1 - Robert Bruce was a king of Scotland whose kingdom was taken away by his enemies. Bruce fought hard and tried to win back his kingdom but didn’t succeed. In despair he was hiding away in a cave when he saw a spider spinning a web. The spider tried thirteen times to spin a line from one end of the cave to the other but failed every time. As the king watched with growing interest, the spider succeeded the fourteenth time. This was a lesson for the king who was about to give up his struggle. He decided to try again and this time he succeeded, thanks to the tiny spider!
Story 2 - Thomas Alva Edison was a poor boy who could not even complete his school education. When he took up the job of selling paper in a train, his overwhelming interest in science made him do experiments in the train with disastrous results. But he did not give up. Doggedly he pursued his ambition to discover new things. He toiled very hard and tried again and again till he found the ideal solution. One of the classic examples to prove this is the discovery of the ordinary bulb. He tried the filament with hundreds of things before he hit upon the right one.

Story 3 - Sudha Chandran is a renowned dancer. Fate intervened in her career when she lost her leg in a bus accident. She was fitted with an artificial leg. The doctors did not think it would be possible for her to dance again. But she wouldn’t give up. With perseverance she practised everyday till she regained her ability to dance.

Points to Discuss
 Discuss whether it is possible to develop good habits like getting up early, being neat and clean, being organised and good attitudes like being polite and helpful by consciously practicing them. What difficulties may be there? How can we overcome them?
 Discuss whether you did the right thing in the following:
 Your music teacher tells you to practise everyday but either you 'forget’ or don’t have the time.
 You want to win the race but the first time you try, you don’t win. So you give up.
 You know that you haven’t done the Home work with attention. So you try to slip in the work when the teacher is not looking.
 You want to help your mother in folding the clothes. The first time you try, you are not able to do it as neatly as she does. So you tell her, you cannot do it.
 Every time you try to learn the multiplication table, you get distracted and make mistakes. So you decide not to learn them at all!

Activities
 Let the children practice one page of handwriting everyday and see their improvement.
 Even memory gets better with practice. Play a game where the first child says 'practice helps us to improve' and mentions some activity. The second child repeats the sentence, mentioning what the first one had said and adds one more thing of his own. The third one has to repeat whatever the other two had said and add his own and so it continues. If a child mentions something which is not related or cannot remember what has been said before he is out of the game.

CHAPTER IX - TIME MANAGEMENT

TIME AND TIDE WAIT FOR NO MAN

Objectives
 Time lost cannot be recovered. It is the most valuable resource of any person.
 Make good use of time. Do not waste it.

Introduction
As the title indicates, time just goes on. We cannot hold it back. What is gone is gone forever. Therefore it becomes vital to make good use of the time available, without wasting it on unproductive work. Proper planning of the work to be completed plus doing it with attention will help save time. We also must find time to think of others and be of help to them.

A way to begin
 Ask them how they spend their day. Was it possible for them to squeeze in a few more activities? Give them examples of people who are able to achieve so much. (magazines always have stories about people who have been successful not only in their jobs but do many other things besides).
 Tell them how God has been very impartial in giving us all, the same number of hours in a day. The best way to thank Him is to use His gift of Time properly and purposefully. We can achieve a lot, if we plan ahead, do our work with attention and do not waste any time. In the case of small children, planning could just mean doing their school work on time instead of postponing it, getting ready for the next day by keeping their books ready, keeping some time in the day to help in the chores of the family and not wasting time watching too much of TV.

Story Time
Story 1 - Rita knew that it was the last day to complete her homework but there were so many distractions—the programs on TV, the storybooks, playing with her friends, etc. By the time Rita really sat down to work, it was quite dark. She was confident she would be able to complete the work. May be she would have to work till late at night, though she didn’t like being awake when the others were sleeping. So she decided to do her work quickly. It wouldn’t be very good work, she knew, but well… She had just started when, phut! the lights went off! Rita ran to the kitchen to take the candles out but found her mother had already taken the last one! “Aren’t there any more?” asked Rita. “Yes,” said her mother, “but in the shop! Remember you promised to get them last week? You also promised to give the emergency light to the electrician who is on the way to your school? Well, no lights now. Seems like it is a power cut. Wonder when it will come back? Anyway, all you can do is wait.” Poor Rita, how she wished she hadn’t thought that time would be always there for her. Has this kind of a thing happened with you also?
Story 2 - The Head Master said that he needed some students to help clean up the library and the art room, some to go round the classrooms and collect old clothes and toys to be given to the needy children and he wanted some volunteers to go to the blind school nearby and read for them. Sameer raised his hand for all the jobs! His friends teased him and warned him “Are you mad? How will you have the time to do everything? You have to study for the exams, take part in the school cricket matches and also practice your part in the annual day play! And you have to help your parents too; they both go off for work. How can you do everything?” Sameer just smiled. Soon he proved that he could not only do everything but do it well too. What was the secret, his friends wanted to know. Do YOU know? His secret was quite simple—he planned all the activities for the day, he did his work with full attention and he did not waste any time in useless ‘Time pass’ activities. No wonder he was so successful! How about YOU?
Story 3 - Once a man found an empty bottle with its mouth closed with a cork, lying on the ground. Out of curiosity he uncorked the bottle and to his astonishment, out popped a genie. “I am your slave, my master, order me and I will do anything for you,” it said. “but you have to give me work and keep me busy. Otherwise I will make you my slave!”. The man was happy in the beginning and asked for food. And there it was. He asked that he should have a palace to live and there was a palace for him. Soon, however, he didn’t know what to ask. Then he had a brilliant idea. He told the genie “Time troubles me. I want you to catch hold of Time and hold it and not let it move”. The foolish genie started to run after time to stop it. They say it is still running!
Points to Discuss
 Can you think of three differences between Time and Money?
 Keep track of what you did in one day. Did you feel you had missed something? Did you feel like going back in time? Or where you satisfied with your day? A famous author, H.G Wells wrote a science fiction book about a time machine which took one back into time. Do you think it would be possible to go back into time? If you did so, what would you see?
 What do you understand by the statement Time and tide wait for no man?
Activities
 Make posters telling people the value time.
 Puzzle these out. All words are related to ‘Time’. Clues–I run with my two hands-clock)
1. I sound like a part of your body --------(year)
2. The more you spend me, the longer I get----(time)
3. I wake you up in the mornings------ (alarm bell)
4. I keep running but you tie me to your body/wrist-----(wrist watch)
 Read this poem. Do you feel like this sometimes?
THERE ISN’T TIME By (WILLIAM JAY SMITH)
There isn’t time, there isn’t time
To do the things I want to do,
With all the mountain tops to climb,
And all the woods to wander through
And all the seas to sail upon,
And everywhere there is to go,
And all the people, every one
Who lives upon the earth, to know.
There’s only time, there’s only time
To know a few and do a few,
And then sit down and make a rhyme
About the rest I want to do!

CHAPTER X - COURAGE

HAVE MORAL COURAGE

Objective
 To differentiate between physical and moral courage.
 To understand that moral courage comes out of knowing that God is within and that it gives limitless inner strength.

Introduction
It is necessary to understand how physical and moral strength differs. A physically strong person may bully others and intimidate them. He may appear courageous just because he looks stronger and does tough things. But real courage does not depend on physical strength alone. It is more dependent on moral strength, which is a result of knowing that God is within us and is giving His support and strength to us. This feeling makes even the puniest one stand up against a giant. It makes them unafraid and helps them to face any situation. In the olden days, the rishis were able to go to a forest and live amongst the wild animals because they were in the thought of God. Even today, prayer to the almighty gives us courage to face the challenges of life.

A way to begin
 Give examples of handicapped people who are able to achieve a lot in life. They may not appear strong and yet they have some kind of inner strength, which makes them courageous, and they are able to tackle problems that an ordinary person cannot. God gives them this strength.
 Help children discriminate between foolishness and real bravery. Trying to jump into or out of a moving bus, running across the street when there is no ‘Walk’ signal, teasing a dog, are all acts of foolishness, not courage. Ask them for more such examples.
 Tell them how when they have inner courage, they are not afraid of new people or new situations. Ask them to think about how they can be strong from inside. When they know they have not done anything wrong and are in the right, they don’t have to be afraid. So it is better to do things which are right. Thinking of God as a friend who stands by you makes you feel stronger.

Story Time
Story 1 - In Ramayana, there is a story of how Hanuman was able to achieve the impossible task of crossing the ocean which separated India and Sri Lanka. He was asked to cross over to Lanka and find out if Sita was there. He was only a small monkey and as he stood at the shores of the sea, he wondered how he would be able to do it. His friends told him that he was the only one who could accomplish this task. He thought of the deceitful act that Ravana had done and indignation filled his heart with anger and gave him courage. He remembered Rama whom he loved with all his heart and he saw himself grow much bigger with the image of the lord within him. Thus a giant Hanuman leapt across the vast sea in one leap and reached Lanka and later punished Ravana in his own way.

Story 2 - Story of Tiruppur Kumaran – to save the honour of India’s national flag, Kumaran took a lot of beatings from the physically strong British soldiers. He finally saved the flag at the cost of his life. His moral courage, his inner strength derived from the love for his country and its flag made him defy the soldiers.

Story 3 - Once when Swami Vivekananda was touring through India, he came across a tiger in a forest. He put his faith in his Master and Guru and thought that if his destiny was to survive, he would do so with his Master’s grace. The tiger ran away from him. Real faith is an expression of courage too.

Points to Discuss
 Britain ruled over India for more than a hundred years with the help of its strong army. Yet the Rani of Jhansi who fought against the British and Gandhiji who led the country to freedom were frail and puny. What gave them the strength to stand up to the British?
 Look at the following situations. Which one shows physical strength and which one shows courage?
 an older boy snatches away things from his little sister.
 a hunter goes to the forest and shoots a bird.
 a young boy jumps into a swirling river to save somebody.
 a girl tries to stop a man running away with somebody’s purse.
 a boy tries to burst the crackers on his hand.
 a boy ties an empty can to the tail of a dog.
 What would you do or whom would you inform in the following situations which require quick thinking and courage:
 You discover that due to short circuit there is a fire in your house.
 You see a child drowning in the river (you don’t know swimming).
 You see a car speeding away after hitting a pedestrian.
 You see a child running after its ball in a busy street.

Activities

 Draw pictures to illustrate one of the stories:
 Find out more about the struggle for Independence in India. It was a moral victory for India and was fought without weapons.
 Have a debate in the class ‘moral strength is more powerful than physical strength’. Have two teams, one for and one against the topic.

Enduring Struggles

Does there seem to be an inordinate degree of struggle
in your life or others that you know at this time?
Many, who seek to express the highest within themselves,
are experiencing a great struggle right now.
It does not matter the form it takes, the essence behind it
is the same for all who would bear the light and
show the way in humble service to others.
That essence is the birth pangs of our true spirit
rising into a New World that as yet can only be imagined.
And yet, the first signs of its manifestation is already moving from the ethereal into the more dense vibrations
that can be seen by all.

Therefore, let us take heart and know that the struggle
we are enduring has a deep and meaningful purpose

Class IV

2007-11-02T13:50:00.001-07:00

Words and Statements highlighted in color are by the author of the Blog:

Words in GREEN= Grammar, syntax or spelling error

Words, phrases and sentences in PURPLE= Questionable and/or inaccurate statement (theology, philosophy, ethics, morality, scientific)

Statements in BLUE= Statements that SRCM (Chennai) does not seem to practice

Chapter I - God And Guru 89
God Is Everywhere 89

Chapter II - Healthy Living 91
Don’t Be A Litterbug! 91

Chapter III - Greetings 94
Greetings From Heart To Heart! 94

Chapter IV - Love 96
Love Is Caring And Sharing 96

Chapter V - Happiness 100
Happiness Is A State Of Mind 100

Chapter VI - Nature 102
Stop This Pollution 102

Chapter VII - Discipline 105
Self Discipline Is The Best Discipline 105

Chapter VIII - Work And Perseverance 108
When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going 108

Chapter IX - Time Management 111
Patience Pays 111

Chapter X - Courage 113
Be Courageous. Be A Leader 113
CHAPTER I - GOD AND GURU

GOD IS EVERYWHERE

Objectives
 Think of God being everywhere and in everything.
 To feel God’s presence in our hearts, we must keep our mind and heart pure.
 The guru is like our guardian. He helps us to grow into good human beings.

Introduction
The hand of the divine is seen in everything around us and He resides in everything that He has created. He takes residence in our hearts and this is where we have to seek him. This is possible when we remove negative thoughts from our minds and keep it pure. Only then can we feel His presence in our hearts. God has gifted us with this most precious gift of Human life and the best way to thank Him is to develop into good human beings.
The guru helps us by helping us to grow in the right way. A teacher is often a role model to emulate. Children especially, not only listen to their teachers but also imitate them in many ways. It becomes very important for the teacher to act as a good role model.

A way to begin
 Tell them the well-known story of Prahalad, the son of the Asura king Hiranyakashyap, who believed that God was everywhere and defied his father who wanted him to believe only in him. Hiranyakashyap tried in every way to make Prahalad give up his faith but instead it only increased it. In the end, Hiranyakashyap pointed at a pillar and asked his young son, "If he thought God was everywhere, would He be in that pillar too?" Yes, said the faithful Prahalad. At this, the angry father hit the pillar with all his might and to His amazement, God emerged from it in the form of a man with a lion’s head and to save His devotee, put an end to the arrogant Hiranyakashyap. (Hiranyakashyap was given a boon that a man or a beast would not kill him. Hence God had to assume the form of a man beast (Narasimha).
 Give them an example of a child who is gentle and loving and helps everyone. Compare this with another who is harsh and doesn’t miss a chance to scold or hurt others. Which of them must be feeling happy and good? Which of them must be feeling guilty and restless? Why?
 Have your friends hurt you? Have they apologized? How did it feel? Have you said sorry to others? Is it easy to admit your mistake and say sorry? How did you feel afterwards? Did you make up your mind not to repeat that mistake again?
 Through examples, tell them how feelings of love, kindness, purity and such allied feelings are an expression of the divine. They help us to feel closer to Him because we are doing what He wants us to do, to evolve into better human beings.
Story Time
Story 1 - A guru had a few disciples studying with him. The guru was very fond of one disciple and the others grew jealous of him. The guru decided to show them why he liked this particular disciple more. One day he called all of them and gave them a banana each and told them to eat it in such a place where God would not see them. The disciples looked around, found some hiding place and ate their bananas. The only one who did not eat the banana was the disciple whom the guru liked. When asked, he replied that he was unable to eat his fruit because he could find no place where God was not there!

Story 2 - Once a man called his sons and asked them whether they had done some good deed for God. The first one had given food to a poor family and the second one had helped a blind man. The third one said that he helped a man who was sleeping by the edge of a rock. He noticed that the man would have fallen into a deep gorge even if he had moved a little bit in his sleep. He ran to him, woke him up and saved his life. In fact this was the man who had robbed him of all his wealth. The father happily said that was the best thing anybody could have done. In helping his enemy, he had removed the hatred and now could feel God’s presence in his heart.

Story 3 - Lord Rama had many noble qualities, one of them being respect and love for his Guru or teacher. One-day sage Vishwamitra asked King Dasaratha to send Rama with him to kill the asuras who were disturbing his yagna. The king was aghast! But the king’s guru, Sage Vasishta advised him that when one listened to a guru of calibre, no harm would come. Rama and Lakshmana went with guru Vishwamitra to the forest where they helped him complete his yagna. They listened to the guru and learnt many things from him. Later they were taken to Mithila where a swayamvar was being held for King Janaka’s daughter, Sita. Whoever lifted a heavy bow could marry her. Many kings tried but failed. Vishwamitra told Rama to try. Everyone thought how could Rama, a slender boy, do what even mighty kings had not been able to achieve? But Rama did not hesitate or question his teacher. He bowed before him, took his blessings and with faith in his heart, went near the bow. To everyone’s amazement, he stringed the bow and married Sita. The guru had helped Rama to grow from a boy into a strong man and this was made possible because Rama had immense faith in his guru.

Points to Discuss
 Discuss the moral of the following short story—once all the sense organs of the body had a discussion among themselves as to which one of them was the most important. The ears, the eyes, the tongue, the nose and the skin stalked their claims. The breath, which is the life or the prana, was listening to all this quietly. Now it got up and said maybe it was time for it to leave the body. When the organs heard this, they suddenly realized who was the most important. Without the breath of life, they would cease to exist. God has gifted this Prana, which is the most important aspect of our life, to us.
 What is the best way to repay Him for this gift?
 There is a saying "As you sow, so you reap”. Discuss this. What will happen if instead of hurting others, you love others?
 Think about the relationship that Rama had with his guru. How did it help him?
 Do you want to be a teacher when you grow up? What qualities should you have?
 Can computers completely replace teachers? Discuss.

Activities
 Do you know why we celebrate 5th Sept. as Teachers’ day? How about giving a small gift to your teacher on this day? Do something with your hand. You can draw a picture or write a letter or you can make some small gift for your teacher. But remember this, it is not the gift itself that is important, it is the thought behind it! What is the best gift you can give to your teachers?
 Write the dialogues and act out one of the given stories in the class.

CHAPTER II - HEALTHY LIVING

DON’T BE A LITTERBUG!

Objectives
 Keep your immediate environment clean.
 Do not let garbage accumulate.
 Diseases spread due to unhygienic conditions.So keep clean and remain healthy.

Introduction
We, as citizens, lack civic awareness and cleanliness. This should not be the case with the next generation. In the classrooms, the first lessons in civic awareness can be given. If we do not keep our immediate environment clean, it snowballs into collection of garbage everywhere. We should enlist the help of students in keeping the classrooms and the school premises clean and then hopefully, this training will become a habit.

A way to begin
 For a dramatic effect, you could try this. Take a small object and gift-wrap it many times with plenty of paper. Take this packet to the class and unwrap it. Let the children comment on the excessive wastage of paper. Let them understand that if less paper was used there would be less garbage to dispose off.
 Talk to them about how all of us have to strive to keep our environment clean. If they ask what they, as small children, can do which the elders have not done, tell them to remember that every action of theirs, however small, has a positive effect and can make a big difference. Here is a list of things they can do—
 Let them keep their immediate environment clean and tidy by not littering things.
 Make sure, the garbage gets thrown only in the bin and not around it.
 Reduce the litter caused by plastic bags by carrying their own bags made of cloth.
 Find ways and means to use less paper. This will help to save trees.
 Not throw any waste on the road but carry it with them till they find a bin.
Tell them how keeping their own environment has a snowballing effect. It ultimately leads to the whole country getting a facelift and making them proud to be its citizens.

Story Time
Story 1 - The new ruler of the city thought too much money was being spent on the people who removed garbage and so he terminated their services. The garbage started piling up. The waste bins became full and started overflowing. Soon the pavements were full of garbage and there was no space for the pedestrians to walk and they began to use the roads. The vehicles on the roads had to slow down. Soon no vehicle could move on the roads. Very soon even walking became impossible and the people became prisoners in their own houses! The stink everywhere was overpowering. Rats that had a field day overran the city. People fell sick but they could not access medical help. Soon the city became a ghost city with no people! Does it sound like a story from Science Fiction? Actually it is quite a possibility. If it were not for the people who do the dirty job of removing garbage, this could happen anywhere. So, next time you see a worker who is doing the dirty job, don’t look down upon him, but feel grateful to him.

Story 2 - This is a real life story. About a hundred years ago hospitals were very dirty. The doctors touched wounds that were bleeding but did not bother to clean themselves. Most of the patients died but no one knew why. But one doctor, named Dr. Semmelweis wondered. He heard that some scientists had discovered that germs caused diseases. These germs travel from one person to another. The doctor saw how the patients were treated. Maybe the doctors transferred the germs! He decided to make them wash their hands with a germ killing soap before they touched another patient. Remember that at this time people thought that they became sick because God punished them. Not everybody was aware of the role of germs. The doctors and nurses did not want to wash their hands with a soap that made their hands rough and dry. The doctor did not give up though people called him names and even labeled him as a mad man. But there was a miracle! Suddenly the death rate came down drastically in this mad doctor’s ward. This was the beginning of a new set of rules for good health. Now you know that dirt can cause diseases. That is why you are told to keep your whole body, specially the nails, clean.

Story 3 (True fact) - A long time ago, thousands of people in London died due to Bubonic Plague, a disease spread by rats. The country was so horrified that it decided to eradicate this disease completely by enforcing stringent laws of cleanliness. In our own country, a few years back, hundreds died in Surat due to plague. Insanitary conditions helped rats to multiply in large numbers and the disease spread everywhere. Some remedial steps were taken but it is not enough. Still we have not woken up to the fact that health and hygiene go hand in hand.

Points to Discuss
 Do you know that all garbage is not the same? The things that had originally come from nature can go back to it as the earth absorbs them. The earth assimilates paper, things made of clay, cotton material and all the vegetable peel. But plastic remains the same and it does not disintegrate. Things made of plastic ultimately spoil the earth and choke it. Unless you remove them and recycle them, you cannot help in the proper disposal of garbage. Sort it into things that will not disintegrate (things made of plastic), things that can be recycled (paper and plastic) and things that are biodegradable (vegetable peels etc). Vegetable matter can be used to make very good manure.
 Give reasons why
 We should not litter things around.
 We should carry our own bags to the shop.
 We should not use too many plastic bags.
 We should not cut too many trees.
 If you are a resident of Chennai, you would have come across the name ‘EXNORA’ on the name boards at some street corners. Exnora is a voluntary organization that helps the residents of a particular street get rid of their garbage by employing their own workers. This helps them to keep their street clean at all times. Now Exnora also organizes programmes in schools where children participate in environmental awareness activities. Find out more about this organization. Are there such voluntary organizations in other cities as well?

Activities
 Learn a new word - Litterbug. It means a person who litters or strews around waste paper etc. Do not be a litterbug, keep your place clean and tidy. LITTERBUG is a big word. How many smaller words can you make using the letters in that word?

 Learn this popular rhyme
Bits of paper, bits of paper
Lying on the ground, lying on the ground
Make the room untidy
Pick them up, pick them up
 It was the day after Girija’s birthday party. Look at this collection of things that Girija’s mother was going to throw in the garbage can. Help Girija sort them out into biodegradable and non biodegradable before it gets thrown into the can.
Paper plates, plastic cups, leftover food, plastic spoons, wrapping papers, cardboard cartons, plastic bags, fruit peel, coconut shell, tin juice can, cardboard milk cartons.
 The slogan coined by environmentalists is- REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE.
What does this mean to you?

CHAPTER III - GREETINGS

GREETINGS FROM HEART TO HEART!

Objectives
 Our hearts make the first contact with each other through greetings. Greetings help to make friends even among strangers.
 Greetings should be heartfelt and must come from the heart.
 We bow to the God who resides in other hearts when we bow and greet them.

Introduction
We communicate our feelings through greetings. It is not necessary to greet only with cards though they do come in handy. We can greet and show our respect, affection, concern and happiness in many other ways. When greetings come from the heart, they find an immediate response. Our aim is to link the hearts through greetings and bow to the divinity that resides in every heart.

A way to begin
 Greet the children in the Indian way and ask what is the reason behind the similarity between the Indian way of greeting and the way we join our palms together when we pray? Tell them that when we greet the Indian way, we are bowing to the divinity inside us. Now we may not be able to feel the divinity in the person before us (Just as we know that air is inside a balloon, though it is not visible.) but we can feel his goodness and love. When the heart of a person is filled with these divine qualities, we feel as if we are in the presence of God. So instead of just saying Namaste or Vanakkam, try to bow to the Godly feelings in the other person.
 Discuss why we greet others. One reason is we want to share our joy and happiness with others. We greet to congratulate others, to wish them luck, to wish them speedy recovery etc. Discuss greetings for special occasions like festivals, and anniversaries. Emphasise the need to greet in a heartfelt way since our hearts make the contact when we greet others. Remember that sincere greetings can turn strangers into friends.

Story Time
Story 1 - It was a bad day for Nitya at school. When the teacher asked a simple question, she gave such a silly answer that the whole class had burst out laughing and Nitya felt humiliated. She could not even eat and felt tired and hungry. It was her teacher who discovered that Nitya had fever. She was soon at home and in bed. When she woke up she felt better but when she remembered how she had made a fool of herself. She didn’t even feel like seeing her friends again. The next day Nitya couldn’t go to school. In the evening, imagine her surprise when she found her friends trooping in to wish her quick recovery. Some had made cards and sent them. They said they wanted her back soon!. When she came to the last card she burst out laughing—it showed Nitya giving a silly answer to the teacher and her friend had written, “ When are you coming back to give such stupid answers? We miss you!” Nitya felt on top of the world again!
Story 2 - Amit was lost in the fair and felt tears pricking his eyes. How was he going to find his parents in the big crowd? He stood bewildered not knowing what to do and where to go. He felt like breaking into loud sobs. He could not spot even one friendly face amongst the milling crowd. Dejected, he sat down on the ground. Then he heard a sweet voice calling out a greeting to him. “ Hello,” said a little girl who was not much older than him. She came and sat down next to him and said, “ Hello! Are you all right? Is there any problem? Can I help you?” Amit felt like hugging her. He felt so happy that there was somebody to help him. Amit told her about losing his parents and her father took him to the announcement counter. Soon Amit’s name was being announced all over the exhibition ground and a few minutes later he was in his father’s arms. Today, Amit is a very popular singer. When anybody asks him which is the sweetest voice he has heard, he says it was the girl’s voice in the exhibition ground that he had heard years ago. Nothing or nobody has ever equalled the greeting that had come from her heart!
Story 3 - The founder of Shri Ram Chandra Mission was affectionately called Babuji. Once a man well known for his misdeeds came to him asking for a meditation sitting and Babuji obliged. After he had left, some people asked Babuji how he could give a meditation sitting to such a person. The answer Babuji gave was typical of his depth of understanding. “ I didn’t look at the man. I looked at his heart and I found divinity there and so I gave him a Sitting,” he said.
Points to Discuss
 Discuss the various ways of greeting, verbal (face to face, telephone), written (letters, cards) physical (hugs, handshakes, touching others' feet, doing pranams) and by sending presents.
 Discuss how you feel
 When your friend calls out a hello to you with a wave and a smile.
 When you are sick and your friend comes home with flowers to see you.
 When you have fallen down and somebody helps you to get up and asks how you are.
 When your friend apologizes to you and says sorry for some mistake he had done.
 When you are in a strange and new place and somebody smiles at you.
 Tell the class about occasions when you have been greeted by strangers who later became your friends, for eg. your first day in school, when you had to travel alone etc.

Activities
 Make greeting cards for different occasions.
 Used greeting cards can be reused in innovative ways. Here are some suggestions.
 Cut pictures from the cards and reuse them to make new cards, decorate your books with them, make labels or use the pictures to make flaps for phone books or note pads.

CHAPTER IV - LOVE

LOVE IS CARING AND SHARING

Objectives
 We must learn to care for others.
 We are able to share our things with others when we care for them.
 The person who cares for others and shares his things is twice blessed.

Introduction
For young children who are still very possessive about their belongings, sharing takes a little longer to understand, though some are able to do this easily and naturally. When the attitude of caring is developed, sharing follows automatically. Often in the race to ‘finish’ the syllabus, the vital human qualities of love, caring and sharing take a back seat. All the more reason for us to consciously seek opportunities to develop these qualities in the classroom situations. It is never too early to understand that the receiver is, no doubt, blessed by the gift of love, but the giver is even more blessed!
A way to begin
 Talk to them about how a devastating earthquake hit the state of Gujarat and destroyed the life of thousands of people. Many collected money to help them. Some children in Delhi decided to collect the money that their parents would have spent on buying crackers for Deepavali and gave this to the Gujarat fund. Let the children talk about what they could do to help.
 Ask them to think of the statement—"The more you give, the more you will get". Has it happened in their case? Have they received more than what they had given?
 Sharing need not be only in things. You could share your time, energy and thoughts with others. For example :
 If you are stronger, help someone in moving and lifting things.
 If you are able to understand your lessons better, help someone who has difficulties.
 If you have good ideas about how to do something, share them with others.
 If you have the time, spend it in helping others.
 If you love animals, help in taking care of them.
 If you love children, play with them and make them happy!

Story Time
Story 1 - A Marathi folk Tale - Two sisters Ekki, who had one hair and Dokki, who had two hairs lived near a forest with their parents. Dokki was so proud of herself that she used to tease Ekki endlessly. One day Ekki ran away to the forest to get away from her sister. As she went deeper and deeper into the forest she heard a mehndi bush asking for water and an old cow asking for grass. Kind hearted Ekki sprinkled some water on the bush and fed some grass to the cow before untying its rope and setting it free. Then she found an old lady in a hut who was very happy to see Ekki. She asked her to have a bath and to wash her head with some special powder. Imagine Ekki’s surprise when she found beautiful silky tresses falling down her head after her bath. Happily she ran home to show her lovely hair to her family. Dokki felt so jealous of her that she decided to go to the old lady herself. She ran into the forest. The Mehndi bush called out to her to give it water, the old cow called out to her to give it some grass but Dokki didn’t bother and just ran on. When she found the old lady she asked Dokki to have a bath just as she had asked Ekki. But imagine Dokki’s dismay when she found that even her two hairs had vanished and she was completely bald! She had learnt her lesson and went home wiser.

Story 2 - Duryodhana wanted to know why everybody was praising the charity of Karna and not his. To show him the difference between the two, Krishna assumed the role of an old brahmin and went to Duryodhana and asked him for some firewood for the wedding of his daughter. Duryodhana asked him to come the next day but it rained so much that night that all the firewood became wet and he couldn’t give any dry wood to the brahmin. Then the brahmin went to Karna and made the same request. The firewood at his place was wet too. But Karna did not send him empty-handed. He looked around and found the wood used for building the ceiling. He took away the wood from there and gave it to the brahmin even though his roof was leaking now!

Story 3 - Nisha Narayanan is a ten-year-old girl who lives in Toronto, Canada. She lived in India for two years with her parents. Here is an article written by her about her stay in Delhi.
Helping the poor
What is it like to be poor? Not having all of your toys, going on without food for many days, having no home, and having to beg for money. Living on the streets, and waking up in the morning smelling gasoline. Walking bare foot on rough stones and taking no notice of all the scrapes you get. Waiting for something to happen, something that will change your life forever. Do we give a thought to the poor? Do we realise how lucky we are to have a nice house, nice clothes to wear and a comfortable bed to sleep in? Do we appreciate the food that is laid down on the table in front of us?
My father’s company sent our family for two years to New Delhi, the capital of India. There, I went to a wonderful school called the American Embassy School. It was a very, very, big school, and there were many different buildings there. To get to the music room or the theatre from my class, I had to walk a long way. It had 3 swimming pools.
On one day of every week after school, the school staff would open the gates for the poor people to come in and enjoy themselves. They took baths, played games with volunteers from high school, learnt new things, and they got medical attention. I often used to watch them. What amazed me was the smile on everybody’s faces--the volunteers, the children, and the adults. Everybody was having such a good time. I’ll bet you anything that when the volunteers first volunteered, some of them thought that volunteering for helping the poor was like a chore you did not have to do. They thought that they were just being nice. After a while on the job, it was obvious that they were having fun. They just loved it. A high school student playing soccer with a little poor kid. Another one holding his hand. It is wonderful to see something like that. If all the people in the world were like that, it would be the perfect place to live. That is something that could change a person’s life forever.
Points to Discuss
 Think about what Nisha had written about the children in her school volunteering to help others. Why did Nisha think they were happier than those who came in to enjoy the benefits of the school?
 What should you do in the following situations?
 You have just enough food for self and you notice that another child hasn’t brought any.
 You have just one pencil and the child next to you hasn’t brought his/her pencil.
 You have just a few minutes to spare and someone asks for your help.
 You are tired and are sitting on the only chair in the room when an elderly person walks in looking for a place to sit.
 You are in a hurry to reach your class when you see a child falling down.
 Talk about a time you had helped someone. How did it make you feel?

Activities
 Extend your love to elderly people at home. Sometimes they may feel lonely. So share your day’s activities with them.
 Look around you and see if you can help someone less fortunate than you. As a beginning, you could talk kindly to the people who work in your house instead of ordering them around, you could teach a poor child to read and write and you could read to children who are blind. How about spending your birthday in a different way? Instead of the usual birthday party, you and your friends could visit some place where you could be of help. Maybe share your ice cream with children who do not have the means to buy them!
 Read this poem and think about it.
If you were busy being kind,
Before you knew it, you would find,
You’d soon forget to think ‘t was true
That someone was unkind to you
 If you were busy being glad,
And cheering people who were sad,
Although your heart might ache a bit,
You’d soon forget to notice it.

CHAPTER V - HAPPINESS

HAPPINESS IS A STATE OF MIND

Objectives
 Jealousy, negative thoughts and desires are some things that make us unhappy.
 There is a difference between wants and needs.
 We must count our blessings and be happy with what we have.

Introduction
Often we are unhappy because we think we don’t have enough. We are jealous of others and want to have what they possess. Negative thoughts make us feel dejected.
The way to be happy is to count our blessings. Then we will find how God has given us so many things and how we should be grateful to Him for that. Contentment helps to get rid of our jealousy and be truly happy. We will also learn to differentiate between our wants and needs and not crave for unnecessary things.

A way to begin
 Ask them to make a list of Feelings and then list them under Positive and Negative feelings.
 Ask them how does it feel when they have positive thoughts. Do they feel the same happiness when they have negative thoughts like anger and jealousy? Is it good to have these feelings? What should they do to get rid of them? (fill their heart with love)
 It does not take much to make one happy. Ask them whether they have noticed how very young children are happy to play with the container in which an expensive gift has come rather than with the gift itself. Have they felt that way too sometimes? Why is it so? What does this teach us?
 There are many things we want to have. But how many of these are essential things without which we cannot live and how many are things, which we want to just possess? Make a list of things under the headings ‘I need these things’ and ‘ I want these things but I can do without them’
 Ask them to sit quietly and think of the many things that the God has given us. What is the best way to thank Him?

Story Time
Story 1 - Once a fisherman caught a fish after waiting for a long time. As he was about to put it in his bag, the fish started to speak. It begged him to let it go and in return it promised to give him whatever he wanted. The fisherman took pity on it and let it go without asking for anything. He was content with what he had. Not so his wife. When she knew about the fish she scolded her husband and asked him to go back and ask the fish for a house and servants just like the rich neighbour. The fisherman asked the fish and wish was granted. But the wife did not stop with that. Once she became rich, she wanted power, and wanted to be the Mayor. One day she saw the queen going on the road and people bowing to her and she wanted to be the queen herself. The poor fisherman had to go and beg the fish each time. One morning the wife was sleeping when the sun’s rays fell on her face and woke her. It angered her so much that she wanted to become God so that she could order the sun! When the fisherman went with this foolish request, the fish was so angry that it took back everything it had given and the poor fisherman found himself back in his old hut.

Story 2 - Pandora’s box –this is a Greek mythological story. When the world was created, it was a very happy place with no sorrow and people were pure and good. Then the Gods created a beautiful and graceful girl whom they called Pandora and gave her a locked box and told her to keep it very safe and never to open it. In the beginning Pandora did as she was told. But as time went by, she became more and more curious and one day, very slowly and cautiously she opened it just a little bit. But the lid just flew open and out came the devils Gods had locked inside—anger and jealousy, sorrow and misery, greed and hatred! Pandora could do nothing; she just watched in horror the damage she had done. The world was never the same again. It had become a very unhappy place. How is the story relevant to us? The devils that Pandora released are always trying to enter our hearts and once we give them a place, we can never be happy.

Story 3 - (From Panchtantra) Once four friends decided to travel to distant lands to seek their fortune. On the way they met an ascetic. They sought his blessings and he gave them each a feather. He told them that at whichever place the feather fell, they would find a treasure if they dug at that place. Happily they set out. Soon, one man’s feather fell on the ground. They dug at that place and found a pot full of copper coins. The man said that he was happy with what he had got and did not want to go any further. Sometime later the second man’s feather fell down. When he dug, he found silver under the ground. He also decided to stay on with whatever he had got. He asked his friends to stay on but they wanted to go further. Soon, the third man found gold. Now he decided to stay there and told the fourth to stay and share the gold with him. But the fourth man was greedy and wanted to go further. He thought he would find something even more precious. He walked on and on and reached a desert. The hot sun made him very thirsty and he kept wandering around looking for precious water. He saw a man with a big wheel rotating on his head and asked him for water. No sooner had he said this, he found the same wheel whirling on his head now! Bewildered, he asked what had happened. The man explained that it was the punishment for having been greedy. He had also come there in greed, searching for something more precious than gold and this wheel which was on the head of another man had come on to him. Now he was free, as he had found another person as greedy as him!
The story ends with the fourth man still with the wheel rotating on his head!
Points to Discuss
 Why was the fisherman’s wife never happy? Was she right in expecting more?
 Which of the following might have escaped from Pandora’s box?
Peace, anger, kindness, jealousy, love, selfishness, hatred, poverty, hunger, honesty, unselfishness, laughter
Think of the 7 things in the given list that did not come out of the box. What would have been the result if these things had escaped?
 Buddha was a prince who lived a long time ago. The misery and unhappiness he saw around him troubled him. He gave up his princely life to meditate and find out the cause for unhappiness. He found out that our desires make us unhappy. If we give up our desires we can be content and happy. Do you agree with this?

Activities
 Draw some pictures to illustrate the stories.
 Dramatise one of the stories. Write your own dialogues.
 Play a game. A student has to say I want or I need followed by some articles. As long as he names the right things, he is in the game. As soon as he mentions something wrong, he quits the game.
 Enact the following situations. How will you react? How will you give it a happy ending?
 You go to the shop with your parents. You like some toy there and ask your parents to buy it for you. They tell you that it is too expensive and they cannot afford it.
 You want to go to a theatre and watch a movie but your parents take you to a park.
 Your friend shows off his latest fancy watch and brags about it.
 Your sister has accidentally broken your favorite toy car.

CHAPTER VI - NATURE

STOP THIS POLLUTION

Objectives
 Pollution has increased manifold over the years. It is causing destructive changes in the environment and this affects every one of us.
 Collective action is necessary to stop pollution.
 We should not destroy what God has given us.

Introduction
Over the last two or three centuries, an explosion in human population coupled with rapid technological progress has resulted in destruction, the delicate balance in nature. Though resources are available in plenty, man in his greed and selfishness has depleted these without thinking about its repercussions.Thus a crisis is fast approaching. Growing pollution is threatening mankind itself.
Children can contribute to putting a stop to this rapidly deteriorating state by being aware of the dangers of pollution, its causes and how to reduce them. Though most of the theory part is being taught as part of science, the human angle to it, the way it affects individuals, can be discussed in the value education classes. God has given us the privilege to live in this wonderful planet. We, as temporary residents here, must take care to see that we do not spoil or destroy it. We should make this planet, this gift of God, a better place to live in. If we cannot do that effectively, at least let’s not make it worse.

A way to begin
 Visualize this—You want to select a very good gift for a friend. So you take a lot of trouble -- go to many shops, spends many hours and find a wonderful book with beautiful illustrations. It is very expensive, but you buy it because you love your friend. You give it to him hoping that he will enjoy going through the book. The next time you go to his place, you look for the book. You find it—but in the rubbish bin! Its pages are torn, the pictures disfigured and the whole book is in tatters! How will you feel? Think. Are we not treating this earth, this wonderful gift that God has given us, in the same manner?
 The earth has become so polluted that in every field its destructive hand is felt. But many of us have no other choice but to live with it. As an example, take a glass of water and put some mud, chalk powder, a few drops of ink and some dead insects in it and ask them if they would drink that water. Then tell them how many people in our country have to be content with polluted water like this. (The only difference is that sometimes the pollutants are not as clearly visible). Tell the children how our rivers have got totally polluted now. Cite the case of river Ganga and talk to them about Project Ganga and tell them how many problems it faces. Discuss ways by which children add to this pollution and how they could reduce that.
 Let them realize the value of SILENCE. Make them sit quietly and listen to all the sounds nearby. Let them find out how silence rejuvenates them.
 Talk about the more serious problem of pollution of the mind and the importance of keeping it clean. Discuss the role of the media and how it affects one’s state of mind.

Story Time
True Fact 1 - This is a true story. On 29 June 1974, fishermen in UP noticed that, Gori, a small rivulet that joined the river Gomti, had suddenly turned black. Soon people in Lucknow saw that the river Gomti had become black too. It was discovered that a sugar factory near the river had discharged huge amounts of untreated effluents into the river. That had flown down the river. The people could not use that water at all and the city went dry. All the fish in the river died. The loss at that time was estimated to be Rs. 5,50,000. Twelve years later just as the fish population in the river had grown, the same thing happened again. When this disaster happened, the fish had just laid their eggs. So the fish at that time plus the future generation was entirely wiped out.

Fact 2 - In December 1984, the worst industrial disaster in the world occurred in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, when the deadly chemical methyl isocynate leaked out of a storage tank in the Union Carbide pesticide factory. More than 2,500 in the city died and thousands got sick due to the exposure to this poisonous gas. The full impact of this disaster is yet to be gauged, as no one knows what will be the long-term consequences of this exposure to the fumes.

Fact 3 - Thousands of people in our country are becoming deaf due to noise pollution. It is not just the workers who have to work with noisy machines, but ordinary citizens like us too have felt the impact of increasing noise levels. Many are having serious problems with their eyes due to the enormous pollution in the air. Talk about how pollution in every field has made life so difficult to live.

Points to Discuss
 It is not adults alone who cause pollution, even children do it. How? ( by keeping their surroundings dirty, by throwing things in water which is to be used by others, causing noise pollution, by using too many things made of non biodegradable stuff like plastic, by insisting on going by car to some place etc.).
 How can you help in reducing pollution? Have a discussion on the following:
 Keep your immediate environment clean.
 Before the waste matter is thrown outside, sort the garbage into bio degradable and not degradable and make sure the garbage does not end up littering the street.
 Do not add to the junk. Do not use too much of anything, especially plastic things.
 Help in reducing noise pollution. What must you do or not do for this? (Keep the volume of the TV and stereo low for a start).
 Help in reducing air pollution (Keep the vehicles in a good condition, use carpools).

Activities
Make posters with the following sayings –
 Dirt and disease go together.
 Don’t shout! We are not deaf yet!
 Don’t choke Mother Earth. She is the only one we have.
 Live and let live. Don’t pollute.
 Yes, we want to reach the stars. But, first we want to SEE them!
 Make a list of pollution you see around you.
 Complete this crossword (prepare a crossword on pollution)
 Give reason why
 we should not litter things around.
 we should carry our own bags to the shop.
 we should not use too many plastic bags.
 we should not cut too many trees.

CHAPTER VII - DISCIPLINE

SELF DISCIPLINE IS THE BEST DISCIPLINE

Objectives
 Will power helps us to develop discipline.
 Self discipline is the best form of discipline.
 Discipline gives us freedom.

Introduction
Self-discipline yields better results than discipline imposed from outside. When discipline comes from within, it helps in the development of character. The success stories of famous people indicate how self-discipline helped them rise up in their lives.
Freedom and discipline are inter-linked. The more discipline one has, the more freedom it gives him to attend to other things in life.

A way to begin
Tell them a story about an imaginary country which was very rich in its natural resources but the people were lazy and not disciplined. So they remained poor. But they did nothing to improve themselves, as they did not want to work. A new ruler came to power. He decided to impose many rules and regulations and punished all those who did not obey the rules. In the beginning the people did not like this discipline, as they could not do whatever they wanted to. But slowly they saw how good their lives were getting. The city was clean as nobody could dirty it. Things happened faster as there were orderly lines. There were no accidents, as every one had to drive carefully. In a while, all of them became disciplined by themselves as they realised that only discipline could guarantee good living. This may be an imaginary story but there are countries in the world where there is very great discipline. In Singapore one can be fined heavily if one threw even a chocolate wrapper on the ground. As a result, it is one of the cleanest countries. In USA if you did not follow traffic rules, you could be fined. Three offences and you can even lose your license. As a result there is good discipline on the roads. Many such examples can be given.
That was an example of discipline, which started as imposed discipline but ended as an inner, self-discipline because people found how beneficial it was to be disciplined. Which is better? Self-discipline or imposed discipline? Discuss why.
 Look at the rules given below and check to see how many of them you follow:
 Do you get up on your own, early in the morning?
 Do you avoid eating junk food even when you are on your own?
 Do you tell yourself, you will not watch TV till you finish your work?
 Do you limit your playtime yourself when there is work to be done?
 Do you keep things in their place without anyone telling you to?
 Do you remain honest even if no one is watching?

Story Time
Story 1 - The young boy Milka Singh, was a natural runner. He could run miles without getting tired and he could run fast. His teachers in school predicted that one-day he would even win the Olympic medal. He came first in the school races but one-day he lost to another boy and he was very upset. His coach called him and told him that he was losing because he was not practising enough. The boy decided to improve himself. From the next day onwards, he got up very early in the morning even though he liked to sleep late. Without anybody telling him to, he started to run for hours on end. He avoided food, which he should not eat, slept early and got up early and concentrated wholly on his improving his skill. Soon he became the fastest runner in India.
It is not just in athletics but in every field, if you want to do better, you have to discipline yourself and do the things that will help you to win. You cannot win if you depend on others to tell you what to do.

Story 2 - A man was marooned on an island for a year before he was picked up. He was hale and healthy and when asked for the secret he said one word -- Discipline. He said that he disciplined himself to a life where he had to do certain things and he did them regularly everyday. This kept him so busy that he had no time to think about his condition and that kept him sane and happy!

Story 3 - Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin were the first men on the moon. They had to undergo rigorous training. When they travelled on the rocket, they had very little freedom to do what they wanted. They had to obey every single thing the ground control asked them to. But no one was as free as they were as they got away from the earth and reached the moon itself! This is how discipline and freedom are inter-linked. A person who is walking has the freedom to go in any direction he pleases. When he travels by car, his freedom gets a little restricted, as he has to obey the rules of the road. When he travels by air, he has to be more disciplined though it gives him more freedom. And one who travels by the rocket has the most freedom but the most discipline too!

Points to Discuss
 Nature works under a law. Seasons follow each other. The spinning of the earth does not stop even for a minute. Things happen in an orderly manner because the rules are obeyed. Can you imagine what will happen if the Earth stopped spinning even for a minute?

Activities
 Imagine yourself as the Principal of the school for a day. What rules will you impose? Which ones will you get rid of? Give a talk on this topic.
 Improvise a game with its own set of rules.
 Write a few sentences on what your ambition in life is and how you will work towards achieving it.
 Have a debate on the following topics :
 Which is better-- self-discipline or imposed discipline?
 What helps us to develop discipline -- will power or punishment?
 Does discipline give us freedom or does it restrict us?

CHAPTER VIII - WORK AND PERSEVERANCE

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET GOING

Objectives
 Be proud of the work you do.
 Set high standards for yourself and do not be satisfied with low quality work.
 Be persistent and not give up when there are obstacles and things become difficult.

Introduction
For young children even small difficulties may get magnified into big problems. To encourage them gain confidence, stories of people who surmounted obstacles with will power, persistence and hard work should be told. These role models may inspire them to set up high goals for themselves. It is important to stay focussed and keep working when one is facing difficulties. Help them to see the obstacles and difficulties as challenges that they should look forward to conquering. Encourage them to talk about the challenges they have had to face.

A way to begin
 To instil dignity of labour, assign work like cleaning the blackboard, sweeping the classroom, picking up rubbish and throwing it in the waste bin, collecting notebooks etc. to the children. Remember to praise them when the job has been done well. Make the children feel pride in their job, however menial it is. It always helps to pay attention to the work (the room looks so clean!) rather than the worker, (you have cleaned well!) Tell them how Birbal, the famous courtier of King Akbar, started work in the cow shed. He did his job so well that he was given work in the library. He caught the attention of the emperor by his diligent work and intelligence and ended up as his prized courtier.
 Ask the children what they want to do in life - Do they have a goal? Do they want to join IIT, become a doctor or a cricketeer? What must they do to achieve their goal? Is it enough if they are smart and intelligent? Do they have the desire to work hard? Do they feel motivated? They must WANT to do well. Then they will willingly work hard and do their best.
 More important goals are to develop into a good, loving and caring human being, overcoming undesirable qualities like jealousy, anger etc. Let them not look down upon goals such as becoming a good parent and a homemaker.
 Bring in the importance of prayer and meditation in achieving their goals. Train them to sit in quiet prayerful meditation for a short while everyday.

Story Time
Story 1 - Helen Keller was born in 1880. When she was 19 months old, due to illness, she became deaf and blind. Into this dark and silent world came her teacher, Anne Sullivan. In the beginning Helen refused to learn anything from her. One day the teacher made Helen touch water and at the same time traced the letters on her hand. Suddenly, Helen made the connection between what was written on her palm and what she was touching. This was the beginning of an endless journey of discovery for her. She learnt to make sounds by touching the lips and throat of the speaker. With undaunted effort she taught herself to read, write and speak. She had to work very hard but she never gave up. Her story is an example for not only the handicapped but for all of us.

Story 2 - Madam Marie Curie, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for the discovery of Radium, was born in Poland. Her parents were not very rich but they gave their children good education. Marie studied well and married Professor Curie whom she met in the university. Both the Curies shared a passionate enthusiasm for research and a passionate dislike for fame and fortune. They had found out that there were some unknown radioactive elements which were there along with a known element, Uranium, but how to isolate it? All that they could afford was the residue after the extraction of Uranium. In an icy cold shed, because they did not even have a lab, they kept burning the residue for four long years. They forgot to eat and sleep on many occasions and worked like labourers, inhaling the poisonous fumes, before they could present the world with the wonder element, Radium.

Story 3 - Kutraleeswaran, the young swimming champion, comes from a middle class family in Chennai. When he was very young, his father took him for some swimming lessons. He was so good that he was given special training. With grit and determination he practised and became a good long distance swimmer. Once he tried to swim the Palk straits between India and Sri Lanka. He was only 8 years old at that time. It took more time than he imagined and it got dark. Still he swam without stopping and created a record. Find out the names of some more child achievers like this who can inspire the children to do their best with perseverance.

Points to Discuss
 What jobs do you find difficult to do? What are some difficulties you have in a particular job? Let the children in the class offer practical solutions.
 Here is another way to tackle the problem
 Stating the difficult task or the difficulties in a task.
 Dividing the task into smaller components.
 Solving the components one by one.
 Resulting in solving the problem.
 Think whether you did the right thing in the following situations:
 You have to learn decimals but you find it very hard. You tell yourself you can’t do it and start watching TV.
 You have an important test the next day. Instead of doing your work, you postpone studying till the end and when you sit to do it, the lights go off!
 Your father tells you to learn to polish your shoes yourself. You don’t want to do it and do a sloppy job of it

Activities
 Divide the class into groups. Let each group enact or mime the story of a person who overcame obstacles to reach his goal (one person reads out the episode and others show silently what is being read).
 Choose a student to run the race and reach the goal at the other end of the room. Let some other children stand in the way as obstacles. To make it more interesting blindfold the student. Now make him go through the room overcoming the obstacles in the way. Discuss highlighting how the obstacles were overcome. The same attitude should be there in life too.
 Read this poem--Look Up To The Sky
Look up to the sky, when all you see is rain
But when the clouds have blown away, the sky is blue again.
So when you're lonely and afraid
And life is hard to understand, remember
Happiness is waiting near
And peace will take you by the hand.
Look up to the hills, they seem to touch the sky
But when at last you reach the top, they aren't so very high.
Look across the fields, the earth is bare and cold
But when the summer comes, the corn will turn the fields to gold.
Look into the dark, the night hides everything
But then at last the dawn appears and birds begin to sing.

CHAPTER IX - TIME MANAGEMENT

PATIENCE PAYS

Objectives
 Learn to use the time properly without wasting it in useless activities.
 Be patient. Learn to wait for things to happen.

Introduction
One of the important lessons to learn is that we should not fritter away time in useless activities. People who succeed are those who don’t let time slip by but learn to use every minute of it profitably.
One has to learn to be patient. Many things happen at their own time, so there is no point in losing patience. Work done in a hurry, without patience is never done well.

A way to begin
Take a beaker, some stones, sand and water to the class. First put the stones in the beaker and ask the children if it was full. Now put in as much sand as can go between the stones. Again ask the same question. Lastly pour in the water and show how something, which appears to be full, can take in more things. This is the same with our time also- we may feel we don’t have any time but it is always possible to squeeze in something more. This example can also be used to illustrate how we must take care of important things first. If the beaker had been filled with water, it would not be possible to put in anything more.
Ask the children how they spend their time. Do they have a timetable of activities to do in a day? Do they follow it? Is it possible for them to do something more? This is the time in their life when they can learn many more things and widen their horizon.
Tell them--Don’t they feel happy when a gift they have given is used well? If we take Time as a gift from God, should we not do our best to utilize it to the maximum?

Story Time
Story 1 - It was a new experience for Arun, who had come from a small place, to be in Mumbai. He found that he had to travel nearly an hour to reach his college. He said he didn’t have any time to study as the travel took so much time. His uncle told him he was very lucky, he could at least sit in the train. He told him to look at his fellow passengers and see what they were doing. Arun was surprised to see how the travellers used the time. Some students were reading their textbooks, some were working with their files, some were sewing and some were even chopping vegetables! Arun had learnt his lesson. From the next day he started looking forward to going by train.
Story 2 - The King of Puri wanted to build a temple and he wanted the sculptors to make an image that would be incomparable. Many came with their work but the king was not satisfied. One day a sculptor came to the king and convinced him that he would do such work that no one would be able to find a parallel to it. He putforth one condition. He should be given a room where he would work but no one should disturb him. When the work was over he would come out himself. The king readily agreed. The man shut himself inside the room. Days went by but there was no sign of any work being done. The king knew the man was still inside as it was well guarded.
The king was getting impatient. One day he broke open the door to see what was happening. To his surprise, he found that the room was empty! He could see three exquisite statues but they had no arms and legs. As he stood perplexed, he heard a voice. “ O, King, why were you not patient? Why did you break your promise? Now these statues will never be completed.”
The king realised that God himself had come as the sculptor. Even today we can see the incomplete statues of Puri Jagannath in the Puri temple.

Points to Discuss
 A person who is patient is calm, cool-headed, does not get angry or upset while waiting and uses his time profitably. What kind of a person are you? Do you get angry and impatient when you have to wait for something? If you learn to use your time profitably, then you will not even know how the time passes! Look at the following examples and see how the people are using the waiting time profitably. Think of more examples.
 Rahul’s teacher is delayed in coming to the class. Rahul has to paste some pictures in the project file and uses the time to do it.
 Arvind’s family is at the station waiting for the train, which is late. His father uses the time to teach his children how to use the Railway timetable.
 There is a long line at the milk booth. Sita uses the time to remember her Multiplication table.
 Lakshmi’s mother knits or sews while watching TV.
 Her father does not wait for the bus. He walks to the office uses this time to do his daily exercise

Activities
 Write and act out a play about a person who is very impatient. Think of some funny situations.
 Look around you when you are travelling or standing in queue waiting for something. How many people stand with a bored expression? How many are just talking away? How many are reading a good book or the newspaper? What would YOU do?
Sit quietly with your eyes closed for a few minutes. In the beginning this may be difficult to do but with practice you will be able to sit quietly in a meditative mood with patience. This exercise helps you to develop inner calm and peace.

CHAPTER X - COURAGE

BE COURAGEOUS, BE A LEADER

Objectives
 Courage helps us to explore and reach out and learn new things. It helps us to progress and evolve.
 Fear cannot be overcome by running away from it but by facing it and overcoming it.

Introduction
It takes courage to venture into the unknown. Those who are brave discover new things, find new places or break away from the old path to establish a new order. They meet obstacles and oppositions with courage and faith. One does not have to do heroic things to be called brave. Even in our daily life we often need courage to overcome opposition to do what we believe in. We need courage to overcome our fears. Fear of the unknown, of consequences and negative thoughts are barriers to our progress. If we try to run away from fears, they grow bigger and it will be difficult to get rid of them.

A way to begin
Ask them how they felt when they went to any new place (even their new class) or when they had to face some fearful situations. What bodily changes took place? (Heart beating fast, face becoming pale etc.) How would they have felt if they had somebody with them? Would they have felt stronger and less afraid? Tell them to think that their friend, God was there with them, as an invisible presence. This will make them feel courageous at all times.
Let them think of people who need a lot of courage (soldiers, war photographers, policemen, doctors etc. let the children expand the list) Would there be any progress if everybody gave up when they had to face some fearful situations? Think about what gave them courage.

Story Time
Story 1 - This is the story of two men who initiated a silent revolution in the field of religion and spirituality.
Both men shared a few things—their name, Ramchandra, both belonged to the state of Uttar Pradesh in India and both had faith in God realisation through meditation. The elder Ramachandra(Lalaji) who hailed from Fatehgarh had rediscovered and modified the old Raja Yoga system of meditation. This was a simple but effective system of meditation, which led one to God realization. He believed that meditation could be done by anyone who was willing to try it and is above 18 years of age. He found an ardent disciple in Ramachandra(Babuji) who came from Shahjahanpur. He taught his disciple how through this method of meditation he could evolve. When his guru passed away, Babuji himself became a guru. He wanted to spread far and wide what he had learnt from his guru and started an organisation in his Guruji’s name and called it Shri Ram Chandra Mission. He gave the name Sahaj Marg to this system of meditation. In this system there are no religious practices and no rituals. Many people were skeptical and in the beginning and there were only a few who wanted to break away from their traditional practices. But Babuji, as Ramchandra was known by then, did not give up what he had started. With immense courage, which came from total faith in his Master, Babuji travelled all over the world spreading his Master’s message. Slowly, the organisation became bigger and bigger as more people realised how good the system is. Today it is one of the leading spiritual organisations in the world.

Story 2 - Stories of fearless explorers like Megallan, Columbus etc. who bravely went where others had not stepped before.

Story 3 - Shalu was afraid of water. She would sit on the riverbed and watch her friends swim but she herself would not even go near the water, she was so scared of it! One day she was early at the meeting place and sat down to wait for her friends. She looked around and saw a boy playing alone near the water. His parents were a little distance away, talking to someone. As she watched, the child waded into the river. There was too much water and he started to drown. Soon only his head could be seen above the water. Shalu watched horror struck. Without even being aware of it, she plunged into the river. Somehow at that time she didn’t think of her fears or of her inability to swim. She caught hold of the boy and pulled him to safety. Only later did she realise how she had not been scared of water at all!

Points to Discuss

 Talk about things that frighten you and then ask the children about their fears. Some fears may sound silly to others but are real to the person who has them. Try not to make fun of others who are afraid of somethings. Discuss how these fears can be removed.
 Talk about heroes and heroines and martyrs who have died for a noble cause.
 Talk about common people like the handicapped, poor or under-privilegd ones, who have to overcome obstacles with courage.

Activities

 Talk to older people to find out about the changes in the society. Can they talk about a person who was courageous enough to go against the trend and bring in some changes?
 Find out the names of children who got awards for bravery this year. What did they do to win the award?

Learn this prayer

Dear God, give us courage
Courage to go on in difficulty
Courage to face all our problems with cheerfulness.
Courage to stand up for what is right
Courage to be true to our beliefs
At all times when we need that extra courage
Dear God, grant us your help

If we had no winter,
the spring would not be so pleasant.
If we did not sometimes taste of adversity,
prosperity would not be so welcome.
If you want the rainbow,
you have to put up with the rain.
Rainbows are beautiful, it takes
both rain and sunshine to create one.
It's the same with life.
In most lives there are dark and bright spots;
there's joy and sorrow.
The few people who have never known adversity
invariably don't have lives that are
as rich and satisfying as those who have.
If you can handle it, adversity makes you stronger.
It also makes you a kinder and more empathetic person.
At the end of a life without adversity,
it's hard to find a rainbow.

Class V

2007-11-02T13:49:00.000-07:00

Words and Statements highlighted in color are by the author of the Blog:

Words in GREEN= Grammar, syntax or spelling error

Words, phrases and sentences in PURPLE= Questionable and/or inaccurate statement (theology, philosophy, ethics, morality, scientific)

Statements in BLUE= Statements that SRCM (Chennai) does not seem to practice

Chapter I - Divine Relationship 119
A. Ask For Him, Not His Powers 119

Chapter I - Divine Relationship 122
B. Guru Vandana 122

Chapter II - Healthy Living 125
A Healthy Mind In A Healthy Body 125

Chapter III - Greetings 127
Ready To Reach Out 127

Chapter IV - Love 130
God Is Love, Love Is God 130

Chapter V - Happiness 133
Inner Happiness Is True Happiness 133

Chapter VI - Nature 136
Lets Take Care Of Our Mother Earth 136

Chapter VII - Duty And Responsibility 139
Take Responsibility For Your Actions 139

Chapter VIII - Work And Perseverance 142
Do Your Best 142

Chapter IX - Time Management 145
Have A Goal And A Time Table 145

Chapter X - Courage 148
Courage Helps You To Be Firm And Strong 148
CHAPTER I - DIVINE RELATIONSHIP

A. ASK FOR HIM, NOT HIS POWERS

Objectives
 God is close to us. He is in everyone of us.
 We must do our work in His remembrance and love Him.
 God is one though He may be given different forms.
 Ask for Him, not His powers.

Introduction
It is foolish to ask for things that God can give you when it is possible to have HIM! For little children, this mayC be a difficult concept, (for that matter, even some adults have problems!) but if they are given this thought, it may open their eyes sometime. It is love that makes it possible to have Him with you all the time. One should not have fear but fill the hearts with love so that God can reside there.

A way to begin
 You could begin with this story which answers some questions about God. A king who wanted to know about God, asked his ministers three questions. If God was everywhere, why couldn't he see Him? In which direction could he feel God's presence? What was God doing?
The minister couldn’t answer these questions and was worried. His servant who was a wise man found out the cause for his worry and offered to help. He went to the king and said he would answer his questions. But first the king had to give his place to him since he was going to be the guru for the king. So the king had to vacate his seat for the servant and stand before him. First, the servant asked for a cup of milk. When it was brought, he asked the king whether it had butter in it? "Yes", said the king. "Show me the butter now" said the servant. The king said that it was not possible. The servant immediately stated, that likewise, though God is everywhere, we cannot see Him. For the next question, he lit a candle and asked the king to tell him where the light was going? 'Everywhere' was the answer. In the same way God’s presence was not felt in just one direction but felt everywhere he said. Then he called his master to come and take the seat of the king and told the king to take the seat of the minister. In the same way, God kept changing the positions of the people, he said. One who was rich today became poor and vice versa.
 It is people who have given God his human form and they worship Him in different forms. But just as water by any name is just water, God in any form is the same.
 Ask the children what they ask for when they pray. The best way is to ask for Him to be with us. Then we get everything else too !
Story Time
Story 1 - Once a woodcutter got delayed in the forest. It was getting dark and he felt scared. He called out to God and prayed for His help. As he started to leave, he heard some footsteps. He got even more scared and started to hurry. The footsteps hurried too. He started to run in fear. Soon he got exhausted and sat down and cried out to God asking him where He was. “ I am here my son,” came the reply. “I have been trying to catch you and you are running away from me!”

Story 2- Sage Narada was very proud of his devotion to God Narayana. But when he asked God who was His best devotee, He showed him a farmer. Narada found that the man prayed just for a few minutes every morning and then got busy with his own work. What was so great about the devotion of the farmer? To explain, the lord gave him a cup full of milk and told Narada to go round the world without spilling even one drop. The sage had to concentrate so completely on the task that he didn’t remember the lord even once! He realized how the farmer who started the day with the thought of God was a better devotee.

Story 3 - Both Arjun and Duryodhan came to Krishna’s palace to ask for His help in the Mahabharata war. Seeing Krishna asleep, Arjun stood respectfully at his bedside while Duryodhan sat down arrogantly near Krishna’s head. Krishna who was pretending to be asleep got up slowly. He saw Arjun first and then Duryodhan and greeted them. When he found out that both of them had come with the same purpose, he told them that he had decided not to fight. He could only be a charioteer. Did they want Him or his huge army? Arjun had the first choice as Krishna saw him first. Arjun did not hesitate even for a moment. “ I want you and only you”, he said with total conviction. Duryodhan was quite happy at this ‘foolish’ request of Arjun. Was he right? Ultimately who won the war?

Story 4 - Kabir is one of the famous saint poets of India. His songs, and his two line poems called Dohe are very well known. He was one of the earliest of reformers and boldly preached about the futility of religions as they were practised then.
His early childhood is shrouded in mystery. Nobody knows to which community he belonged. The only known fact is that he was abandoned as a baby. A kind Muslim weaver took care of the child as his own and taught him his trade.
The young weaver Kabir was drawn to spirituality and looked around for a guru. He found his mentor in Swami Ramananda who influenced him greatly. Kabir realized that religions divided humanity and he saw the vision of the Ultimate that went beyond any religion. He told people to give up their empty rituals and urged them to develop Love for God. His songs, steeped in love, became very famous. Though initially the religious fanatics persecuted him, soon he won over the hearts of all. So much so that when he died, both the Muslims and the Hindus wanted to perform his last rites according to their faiths. It is said that Kabir appeared in their dreams and told them to have a look at his body. When the sheet was removed, there was no body-- all they saw there was just a heap of flowers !
Kabir wrote about the futility of seeking the God in temples and mosques.
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage, then who is there to know what happens without?
Hari is in the East: Allah is in the West.
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
All the men and women of the world are His living forms,
Kabir is the child of Allah and Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.

Points to Discuss
 What does the story of the woodcutter tell us? Is it true that we often fail to see God and His help?
 Discuss how doing any work in His remembrance is a kind of prayer too.
 What should we think when He does not give us something we had prayed for?
 Below are given some statements. Which of them are true?
a. We should start to pray and worship only when we are old.
b. There is no age for starting our worship of our God and creator.
c. We can be happy only when we get everything we want.
d. When God is in our hearts, we can be happy all the time.
e. We can worship the God only in a temple.
f. God is in our hearts, we do not need a temple to worship Him.
g. God takes care of every one of us.

Activities
 Learn this prayer song
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace,
Where there is hatred, let me bring peace,
Where there is hurt, let me bring pardon,
Where there is no belief, let me bring faith,
Where there is no trust, let me bring hope,
Where there is darkness, let me bring light,
Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.
 Like Kabir who preached about the universality of religions, there have been other people too who have known that all religions talk about the same God, though in different forms. King Akbar founded a new religion, which was an amalgamation of many religions and called it Deen Ilahi. Find out more about it.

CHAPTER I - DIVINE RELATIONSHIP

B. GURU VANDANA

Objectives
 A teacher acts as a leader. We need teachers to help us to learn faster.
 He is concerned about our welfare and may find it necessary to correct us.
 A guru is a role model for us to emulate. He guides us towards our goal.

Introduction
Guru vandana does not mean just wishing the teachers as we do in schools. It means respecting the teachers, listening to them and learning from them because they are concerned about our welfare. Love and respect for the teacher helps us to obey them. Like the guide helps us to climb mountains, the gurus help us in reaching our goals in life. With their help and able guidance, we are able to trace our way to the ultimate.
We have the light inside us in the form of God but we are not able to see or feel His presence. We go about like a man with an unlit lantern going out in the dark and feeling scared. It takes an able guru to show us the light inside us.

A way to begin
 Have you heard the following sloka?
Gurur Brahma, gurur Vishnu, gurur devo Maheshwarah
Guru sakshat parabrahma tasmai sri guruveh namah
This sloka explains how important teachers are.
Like Brahma, the gurus or teachers give new life to the students. Like Vishnu, they take care of them. Like Shiva they destroy the unwanted things in them. In fact, says the sloka, for the students, the gurus are even greater than these Gods.
 Ask the children the following questions and make them think
 What is the most important work of a teacher? (guide us to be better human beings)
 Who are the teachers at home? Do they tell you to do / not do something? Do you get irritated with them for this? Do you think you should be left alone?
 Why do teachers correct you? (because they love you and want to guide you properly)
 Your music or dance teachers may make you work hard and tell you to practise everyday. Do you like it? Why do they push you into doing your best?

Story Time
Story 1 - Swami Vivekananda was one of the greatest men of India. Naren as he was known earlier, was influenced by the west but he respected the philosophies of the east and had a spiritual inclination. His search for truth brought him to Sri Ramakrishna, about whom he had been told. When Sri Ramakrishna saw Naren, he ran to him and hugged him and said that he had been waiting for him for so long. Naren was taken aback as he did not think too highly of this simple man. But soon he had to change his first impressions and he became an ardent devotee of his guru. His life changed completely and he became a monk. He was now called Swami Vivekananda. He travelled far and wide and it was due to his untiring efforts that the west came to know about the greatness of our country. Once he went to Chicago to give a talk about Hinduism. He started his speech with these simple words, “Brothers and sisters of America,” These words, straight from his heart touched the thousands of people sitting there and there was a thunderous applause and standing ovation from the audience and it lasted for two full minutes! The Swamiji had not even begun his speech! This was quite unusual. His sincerity and simplicity captivated them. Wherever he went, he was lionized! Swamiji talked about universal brotherhood. He explained how Hinduism believed in different paths leading to the same God. On his return to India, Swamiji started the Ramakrishna Mission. The mission’s aim is to help the poor and work for spiritual upliftment of the masses.

Story 2 - Valmiki was a robber in his early life. One day he tried to rob some rishis. When they asked him why he was robbing them, he said, “I do it for my family”. “The result of these bad actions will be bad. Will your family take part of the result also?’ asked the sages. The robber rushed to his family to find out. He was shocked when they said they did not want any part of the result and he asked the rishis to help him. They told him to pray and chant the name of Rama. He tried but all he could say was 'Mara'. He sat in meditation chanting 'Mara, Mara'. Soon it changed into Rama, Rama . He sat like this for many years and the white ants built a hill around him. One day when the sages were passing through the forest again, they heard the name of Rama coming from an anthill. They broke it open and saw the robber in meditation. He was a changed man. He was called Valmiki because he came out of an anthill or valmika. The story goes that one-day Valmiki saw a hunter trying to kill a bird when it was with its mate. The man who had killed people earlier was so sad to see this that his feelings came out in the form of a verse. That was the beginning of Ramayana.

Story 3 - This is a story about a modern teacher in America. A college professor asked his class of Sociology students to go to a slum in Baltimore and take the case histories of 200 young boys and write an evaluation of their future. The students wrote in every case that there was no chance of them coming up in life. 25 years later another professor followed up this project and found to his astonishment that 176 of the 180 who were alive were doing very well as doctors, lawyers and successful businessmen. His students visited these people to find out what was the driving force behind their success stories. Each one of them replied, “a teacher!” Fortunately this teacher was also alive and the professor visited her to ask her what magic formula she had used to pull them out of their slums into successful achievements. The teacher’s eyes sparkled as she replied with a gentle smile,“ I loved those boys!”

Points to Discuss
 Teachers serve as leaders when a group is working under them. Imagine two groups working on building a wall. One works without a leader and the workers place the bricks haphazardly. A leader directs the other group. Whose work will be better?
 Sometimes books can give you the guidance, which you get from a guru. Have you come across any such book? Ask your parents if they have read any such book.
 Guru Dronacharya was the teacher to the five Pandava princes and the hundred Kaurava princes. Do you know that he once picked up a ball, which had fallen into the well by shooting a string of arrows at it? Which of his students could equal him in this art of archery?
 Naren was a modern young man interested in the western culture. He changed completely under the guidance of his guru and later he became famous as Swami Vivekananda.
Do you know the name of his guru?
 Lord Krishna became the teacher of Arjun and taught him about his duty as a king. With his help Arjun emerged victorious. When was this? What is the name of the book, which contains the teachings of Lord Krishna?
What helped these students to learn so well from their teachers? Think about it.

Activities
 There are many passages from Swami Vivekananda’s writings which you could learn by heart and have an elocution session with them.
 We still remember and respect Swami Vivekanand because of his moral strength. His belief in God gave him the strength to achieve impossible things. It made him fearless, bold and confident. He believed that the best way to serve God was to serve the poor and the needy. Find out more about him.
 Learn a passage from Gita with its meaning. See how it is relevant to our lives even today.
 Make a gift for your teachers. It doesn’t have to be anything expensive. It could be just a drawing, a card or a flower. It is the thought behind the gift that counts. But remember that the best gift you can give to your teacher or guru is not something material. What will please a teacher most? Think about it.
 Why is Teachers' day celebrated on September 5th? Whose birthday was it?
CHAPTER II - HEALTHY LIVING

A HEALTHY MIND IN A HEALTHY BODY

Objectives
 To have a healthy body, we must keep our minds healthy.
 Think positive, think clean thoughts.
 Remove negative thoughts from your mind.

Introduction
It is not enough to have a strong and a beautiful body but it must also be filled with positive thoughts. So one must learn to keep one’s mind free of unpleasant and negative thoughts. When the mind is filled with positive feelings of optimism and love, it influences the body too. It has been found that people who tend to get angry and upset easily, have a tendency for stomach ulcers. When a person is depressed with negative thoughts, he feels tired and dispirited. So fill up your mind with happy, pleasant and positive thoughts and feel the difference!

A way to begin
 Read the following poem and talk about what it says.
Hold fast your dreams by Louise Driscoll
Hold fast your dreams !
Within your heart
Keep one still secret spot
Where dreams may go,
And sheltered so,
May thrive and grow.
Where doubt and fear are not,
Oh, keep a place apart,
Within your heart,
For little dreams to go.
 The poem talks about keeping a place in your heart for dreams. Why is there no place for fear and doubt there?
 A man had a lamp but complained that it did not give enough light. His wife took a piece of cloth and cleaned the glass. The lamp shone with a bright light. When our hearts and minds are covered with feelings of anger and jealousy, they are like the soot which covers the lamp. The lamp cannot work to its full potential. In the same way when our minds and hearts are covered with negative thoughts, the body cannot work well.
 Ask the children to talk about situations, which can be viewed in both ways. eg. Exams. How many of them approach these in the negative way? Are those the ones who fall sick during exams?

Story Time
Story 1 - This story illustrates the power of thoughts. There was a man who sat on the seashore and meditated everyday. He was a very gentle and noble man and the shy seagulls did not fear him and would come very close to him as he sat in meditation. One day a boy asked him a favour. “The gulls come so near to you. Will you please catch a bird and give it to me?” The man agreed. But, the next day when he sat there, not a single bird came near him! All of them flew far away from him. How did they know what was in his mind?

Story 2 - One day, a man called his three sons to him and showing them three empty rooms, told them to fill it up completely with something without leaving any vacant space. The three sons thought for a while and then got to work. The next day, the father came to inspect the rooms. The first one opened the room proudly. The room was filled completely with hay. It was dark and no one could get in.
The second son had filled his room with bricks. This room was also dark and dingy. The third son opened the room and it was absolutely clean and empty. As the father stood wondering, the son went inside and lit a lamp. Immediately, every corner of the room was illumined with bright light. It was a wonderful sight to see.
Think of the empty room as your mind. You have a choice to fill it up with anything you want. You could fill it up with negative thoughts like anger, jealousy and hatred. Or positive thoughts like love, hope and confidence could find a place there. Which one is preferable to have?

Story 3 - The film ‘Anand’ was about a man whose days were numbered. Yet his heart was filled with positive thoughts and he spread cheer all around him and lived up to his name. Think of more such stories where handicapped people have surmounted their problems and done some excellent work. Ex. Stephen Hawking who is confined to a wheel chair. He cannot even speak. Yet he has done extensive research and written a best seller named ‘ A brief history of time’.

Points to Discuss
 Below are given some common place occurrences. How should you react if you want to keep your mind healthy?
 Suppose someone bumps into you by mistake. You fall down. The books that the other person is carrying get scattered all over the place. He apologises for the mistake. How will you respond to the above incident?
a. Know that is was not done deliberately.
b. Accept his apology.
c. Help him to pick up the books.

 Imagine this. You are planning a cricket game in the evening and the teacher gives your class extra homework to do. Will you complain,” This teacher always gives me more work. She does not want me to play. Nobody wants me to go out and play with my friends.” Or will you think,” Let me do the work quickly. It is easy to do. I can always go out and play after I complete my work.” Which of these thoughts will make you angry? Which will not?
 You are sitting on a chair. A lady comes there with a child. There are no more chairs. Will you get up and offer her the chair willingly or will you grudgingly do it? Which action will fill up your mind with feelings of brotherhood?
 One child in the class has not brought her food to eat in the class. You have brought food that you like very much. Will you offer her food or pretend you haven’t seen her? What will you do?

Activities
 Collect more information on how the body gets affected by the mind.
 All of you must have had felt the tension just before the question paper is distributed in the examination. Also, a sense of fear when you have to go to some unknown place and the anger you feel when you find things spoilt by someone. How does your body react? On the other hand how do you feel when you are happy? Do you feel filled with energy? Share your experiences with others.
 Make someone happy by gifting him or her with a surprise gift!

CHAPTER III - GREETINGS

READY TO REACH OUT

Objectives
 Communication helps us to get along with other people.
 Communication need not always be verbal. Our love for others can be communicated by doing things for them.
 Good listening precedes good communication.
Introduction
Living things communicate with each other. It has been found that even plants have some means of communication! Communication helps us to get along with people and to do this effectively, one needs to learn some 'do's and don’ts'.

Communication does not necessarily have to be only verbal. We can communicate our positive feelings of love and concern by being friendly and by doing things for others.
To develop good communicative skills, one needs to listen with attention too. To gather information and process it before communicating it to others, we have to use our ears as much as we use our tongue!

A way to begin
Talk to the children about how they should follow some rules if they want to communicate properly. Do an activity in the class and let two children pretend to talk on the telephone.
What rules of courtesy will they have to follow?
 Your sister is sick and you are calling the doctor.
 Your parents ask you to order a pizza for dinner.
 You want to know what time the movie starts.
 Your house is on fire.
 Your friend has broken his leg and you need an ambulance.
 Communication need not always be verbal. What other ways are there? Let children come out with their ideas.

Story Time
Story 1- King Akbar was famous for his council of nine ministers who were known as the Navratna. The best among them was clever Birbal. Some of the ministers were jealous of the attention that Birbal was getting and they complained of partiality. Akbar decided to show them why he liked Birbal. One day when the king was going round the city with his ministers. He saw a crowd of people listening to a man who was giving a discourse. Akbar told one of his ministers to go and find out who the man was. The man went and found out his name. Akbar asked him to find out what he was doing. So he went to find out. Akbar sent him to find out whether he had written any books. He went again! Akbar seemed to have so many questions. Each time the minister had to make a trip to get the information. He soon got very tired of it. Meanwhile Birbal came there. Akbar pointed the man out to Birbal and told him to find out about him. Birbal went. He came back after a few minutes. He said “ That man is Swami Ramananda, from Benaras, who is the author of the famous book Veda Ratnavali. He is giving a discourse about that now. He came to the city only two days back and he will remain here for another ten days. He is staying at the temple. I asked him if you could pay your respects to him now and if he could come to the palace for a longer time. He has agreed. So you can go and meet him now.” Akbar looked at his ministers. They hung their heads in shame!

Story 2 - Once a man came to King Akbar with three dolls and asked Akbar to find out one difference between them. It was very difficult since the dolls were identical in every way. Akbar gave the dolls to Birbal who looked at them closely for a while. Then he asked for a piece of thin wire. He inserted this into the ear of one doll and the wire came out through the other ear. He did the same with the second doll and this time the wire came out through its mouth. When he inserted the wire into the ear of the third doll, it didn’t come out at all. Birbal explained how these dolls represented three types of people. The first kind forgot the secrets they listened to, the second told it to everyone but the third type of people kept it in their hearts and never gave it away.
For children, however, instead of secrets, one could say how children differed in their listening skills. Some of them heard something but it went out through their other ear. Some remembered it and told it once but the best were those who internalised the good things they had heard and this was the best form of listening.

Story 3 - Do you know how the peacocks got their harsh voice? A long, long time ago all the birds had the same voice. It was very confusing! So Nature God called all of them to come and choose a voice for themselves. The birds got ready to go but the peacock was not in a hurry. It spread its tail and started to dance. “Hey, peacock!” called out the cuckoo bird. “Aren’t you coming? You have to choose a voice.” “ Why should I hurry?” asked the arrogant peacock. “ I am not ugly like you. I am the most beautiful bird and the sweetest voice will be given to me. I pity you. What kind of a voice will you get? You have a problem, not me!” it boasted. The cuckoo bird was feeling sad. “ Don’t worry,” said the wise owl. “ Your voice can be the sweetest when you talk kindly and pleasantly. So, be good to all, talk sweetly and see what happens!” That was just what the cuckoo bird did. It tried to talk lovingly to all and soon everyone said that the cuckoo bird’s voice was the sweetest in the whole world. What about the peacock? Nature gave it a good voice too but the peacock was bragging and boasting so much that its voice became harsh and unpleasant! Now no one wants to hear the peacock at all!

Points to Discuss
 Communicative skills are needed in everyday life too. When we talk to someone, there are some rules we must follow.
 Show respect and be courteous to the other person even if you don’t agree with him.
 Listen attentively to what the person is saying. Don’t let your attention wander.
 Do not interrupt while someone is talking. Wait for your turn.
 Give your answers correctly and clearly. Do not mumble your words.
 Think what you have to say before you answer.
 Don’t brag and boast about your achievements.
 Don’t belittle what others say. Don’t embarrass anyone.
 Always mind your language. Do not use abusive or foul words.

 What information will you find out in each case:
 Your aunt sends you to find out more about a dance performance from a poster.
 You want to tell your mother about some yoga classes to be held in your school.
 Your school is arranging a trip to Jaipur and you have to get your parents' permission.

Activities
 Pretend that you have to give a speech in the school assembly. Write three things that you will take care of, to make it effective.
 Give directions to somebody how to reach your school (with clarity, please. They should not get lost!). Mention any landmark nearby.
 Pretend that you are explaining the game of cricket to someone who doesn’t know anything about it. How will you make it interesting and clear?
 Read this poem
Speak gently, it is better far to rule by love than fear.
Speak gently, let no harsh word mar the good we might do here.
Speak gently, it is a little thing dropped in the hearts deep well.
The good, the joy that it might bring, Eternity shall tell.

CHAPTER IV - LOVE

GOD IS LOVE, LOVE IS GOD

Objectives
 We should love God from our hearts.
 Remove hatred and let love reside there. When love fills the heart, God is there.
 Love all God’s creations, including the ones who are less fortunate than us.

Introduction
God, in His abundant love, created this world and we feel His presence pervading everything. In fact, He resides within each one of us. It may be easier to understand this concept if we think of it this way—why do we feel ennobled when we do something good and why do we feel unhappy and restless when we do something that is wrong? Love Kindness, Friendliness and Tolerance make us feel good because they make us see God in them and take us closer to Him. Anger, dishonesty, lies and intolerance are qualities that go against our heart where He resides and against what God intended us to be. Hence the truth of the saying, God is Love and Love is God. The only way to reach Him is through love. Love Him, who loves all. When you love God, you show your love for everything that He has created. By the same token, when you love all that He loves, you come closer to Him. This also means that you extend your circle of love to include the poor and the disabled and also the plants and animals.

A way to begin
Talk to the children about Baba Amte and Mother Theresa, who loved and served God by loving and serving humanity. Talk to them about Shri Ram Chandraji of Shajahanpur who was lovingly called Babuji. He was the personification of love. Often he would know, without anybody telling him, which one of his disciples was feeling cold and he would go and gently cover the sleeping disciple with his blanket. Even if one disciple was hungry, he would know without anybody telling him and he would give food to him. Once he gave two glasses of milk to two of his disciples who had only milk at night. When asked whether he would also have milk, he said he couldn’t afford milk for himself! He earned very little but somehow managed to feed all those who came to him for spiritual guidance, even if it meant that he would not have enough for himself. He was like the sun, which shines because it is its nature to do so.

Story Time
Story 1 - In the city of Madurai, a merchant, who was an ardent devotee of God, once got the idea that he should give a bunch of 108 bananas to the temple as an offering to God. He was not very rich and with difficulty he bought the bananas. Happily he started on his journey in a bullock cart. He must have dozed off for a while. When he opened his eyes he was aghast to see the bullock cart driver eating one of the prized bananas. He was furious and scolded the driver soundly. The driver had tears in his eyes and confessed that he had not eaten for two days. The merchant was very unhappy because he could not give an incomplete gift to God. Sadly he told the driver to turn the cart back home. As they were trudging along slowly, the merchant saw some children hungrily eyeing the bananas. On an impulse, he got down from the cart and gave the sweet bananas to them. He spotted a group of old people, too old to even get up, and gave them some fruit. His next bananas went to some disabled who were trudging along. Now he had very few fruits left with him. He gave some to the driver and the rest he gave to the monkeys and cows he saw on the way. Though he was happy he had given the fruits away, yet the broken deal with God bothered him. He would have to start his collection for the offering again! That night he had a dream. He saw God appearing before him. The unhappy merchant started to weep. But God just smiled and said “ Get up and wipe your tears. You have already given me all the fruits!” The merchant now understood the true meaning of an offering to God and got up happily.

Story 2 - The visitor to the school was talking to the principal when he happened to glance outside the window. What he saw there made him sit up. A girl who was lame was having difficulty in walking. A few of her friends were helping her to walk with ease. Then he saw a blind boy walking with a stick. He was about to trip and fall down when two of his friends, who were watching him, rushed to his aid. The visitor was taken aback as more and more lame and blind children came into his view. Unable to contain his curiosity he asked the principal if he was running a school for the disabled. The principal just laughed in reply. He called a lame girl to him and told her to come running. Imagine the visitor’s surprise when she did so. The principal explained that in his school every week on one day, some children were made to act as their unfortunate disabled brothers and sisters. This gave them an insight for understanding their difficulties.

Points to Discuss
 How do you think prayers should be said? Does it have to be broadcast through loudspeakers? Can it be said in silence?
 Helping the poor is one way to show your love for God. They do not have as much as we do and when we serve them and share our things with them, we not only help them but they help us to grow into better people. Can you think of some things that you can do to help the poor and the needy?

Activities
 Start a club in your class to help the poor and the needy.
 Read these poems :
God’s love is so wonderful O! Wonderful love.
It’s so high – you can’t go over it,
It’s so deep – you can’t go under it,
It’s so wide – you can’t go around it, O! Wonderful love.
 This my prayer to thee, my Lord !
Strike, strike at the root of penury in my heart.
Give me the strength lightly to bear my joys and sorrows.
Give me the strength to make my love fruitful in service
Give me the strength never to disown the poor or bend my knees before insolent might
Give me the strength to raise my mind high above daily trifles
Give me the strength to surrender my strength to Thy will with love. (Rabindranath Tagore)
CHAPTER V - HAPPINESS

INNER HAPPINESS IS TRUE HAPPINESS

Objectives
 One who is happy under all circumstances is a happy man.
 Inner happiness is true happiness. This is possible as divinity is within us.
 We must be able to develop a good sense of humour.

Introduction
We have already discussed in the earlier classes how happiness is not in acquiring things but in making others happy. True happiness is beyond even that. It is a state of mind. True happiness is in being happy all the time, unperturbed and calm under all circumstances, not being affected by whatever is happening around us and being able to do the right things. This Ananda or bliss is possible only when we give divinity a place in our hearts. When God is inside us, our minds and hearts are filled with good and clean thoughts and we are able to do the right things. A good sense of humour helps us to laugh at ourselves. Let’s develop it!

A way to begin
 Have a Laughter club in the class and encourage all children to laugh out loud. Ask them how they felt. Tell them to remember that Laughter is the best medicine! It is good if they can maintain a cheerful attitude all the time.
 Ask them to define True happiness. Does this depend on the things one gets?
 Lord Krishna defines a yogi as one who is unaffected by sadness or happiness. Do they know someone who can fit this description?
 Let them give instances when they were criticized. How did they feel? Ask them to laugh at themselves next time and see the difference. It is a pity that only a few of us are able to have this sense of humour and laugh at ourselves. It needs to be given more importance.

Story Time
Story 1 - Once there was a king who was always unhappy. He had everything, but he always complained and felt sick all the time. So he went to consult a sage. The wise man could see what the problem was. He told the king that he would be cured of his illness if he would borrow and wear the shirt of a man who never complained and was happy all the time. The king thought it was such an easy thing to do and asked his ministers who seemed to be happy, if they could give their shirts. To his surprise he found that they also had something or the other to complain. He sent his men all over the kingdom to find a happy man. Again he drew a blank. He was frustrated and himself set out in search of a man who could cure him. One day after a long search he found a man who was working in a field. He was happily singing. When the king asked him if he had any complaints, the man was surprised. “ Why should I complain?” he asked. “ My mother, the earth, gives me food and my father, the sky, gives me shelter. I have everything I want. I am healthy and I am happy.” he said. The king was happy too. At last he had found a happy man! He asked the man to lend him his shirt for a while. “I can’t” said the man. The king was disappointed. “I will give you a lot of money” promised the king, “ anything you ask for”. The man looked at the king with pity. “ I can’t give you my shirt” he said “ because I don’t have any! All I have is this piece of cloth,” he said pointing to his torn dhoti.

Story 2 - Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism was born in a princely family in the Old Kingdom of Magadh. An astrologer told the king, who was overjoyed at the birth of the royal prince, that Gautama would renounce the kingdom and would become an ascetic if he came to know about the unhappiness in the world. As a result, Gautama was never allowed to be unhappy and he led a protected life. But one day, he happened to go outside the palace and he was shocked to see the misery brought about by poverty, old age, sickness and death. That night he quietly left his wife and young son and became an ascetic. He wandered in search of truth for many years and ultimately discovered that unhappiness is a result of desire. A person who gave up desires and led a balanced and righteous life was truly happy all the time.

Story 3 - A king had a barber who was happy all the time. He would be smiling, joking and laughing and never had a frown on his face. The king asked his minister how was it possible for him to be so happy. The minister thought for a while and said he was not yet bothered with the fever of ninety-nine. What was that? asked the king. The minister said he would show and asked the king for a bag with ninety-nine gold coins. He dropped this bag in the barber’s house. When the barber came back, he saw this bag, took out the money and counted it. From that moment his happiness was gone! Now he wanted to earn one more gold coin to make it a round number of a hundred! When he got the hundred, he wanted to start on the next hundred and that was the end of his happy days! The poor barber now had the fever of ninety-nine !

Points to Discuss
 The king who had everything was unhappy but the man who did not have even a shirt, was very happy. How was this possible? Discuss.
 Why did the poor man call the earth as his mother and the sky as his father? Would you like to live like him and be in tune with Nature? What would be the benefits of such a life style?
 How serious is the Fever of ninety nine? Why are people who get their fever always anxious and not happy?

 Think and answer — what will you do? What will make you happy?
a. You see something you always wanted to have, lying on the floor. And there is nobody.
b. You are very angry and feel like shouting at somebody.
c. You find your friend is not able to write well as he doesn’t have a good pencil.
d. Your friends want you to come with them for a movie. At home your mother is unwell and needs help.
e. You are in a hurry. You see a dog hurt and limping.
f. You do not know the answer to a question. You have to go to the library to find the answer. Your friend has already done the work.
 We say that a person has a good sense of humour when he can laugh AT himself and not get upset when others tease him.
 How good is your sense of humour? Can you laugh?
a. When your friend calls you a fool?
b. When you see that you have made a silly mistake?
c. When someone has fooled you?
d. When everybody is having a good laugh at your expense?
e. When you think something is serious but others do not?

Activities
 Make a small booklet with pictures to show what makes you happy. Think of things that make you happy. Include in it people, feelings, occasions, surroundings, colours, plus any other thing that has made you happy. End with a page, which shows what is True Happiness.
 Read the following poem and reflect on its meaning.
The Most Vital Thing In Life
When you feel like saying something
That you know you will regret
Or keenly feel an insult
Not quite easy to forget.
That’s the time to curb resentment
And maintain a mental peace,
For when your mind is tranquil
All your ill thoughts simply cease.
It is easy to be angry
When defrauded or defied,
To be peeved or disappointed
If your wishes are denied;
But to win a worthwhile battle
Over selfishness and spite,
You must learn to keep strict silence
Though you know you are in the right.

So keep your mental balance
And when confronted by a foe,
Be it an enemy in ambush
Or some danger that you know,
If you are poised and tranquil
When all around you is strife,
Be assured that you have mastered
The most vital thing in life.
- Greenville Kleiser

CHAPTER VI - NATURE

LET US TAKE CARE OF OUR MOTHER EARTH

Objectives
 We need to be aware of how Nature operates.
 The balance in Nature must not be disturbed by our actions.
 It is necessary to conserve Nature and we must help in conservation efforts.

Introduction
In the present day context of environmental pollution and extinction of wild life, it has become necessary to device ways and means to at least contain, if not prevent the damage caused by pollution and other factors. It has now become important to lead a life with environmental awareness. Voluntary organizations like the WWF, Green Peace etc. are directing their efforts towards containing pollution and conserving wildlife.
What can children do to help in this important and vital project? A lot. As a starter, they can reduce their consumption of paper. Refer to the statistics given elsewhere in the chapter. They can help in saving energy and water. Inspire and motivate them to think of what else they can do to conserve the earth’s depleting resources.

A way to begin
 If possible, take four one-litre bottles filled with water to the class. Keep aside 3 bottles and tell them that this water is unpotable because it is seawater and salty. Out of the remaining one litre, most of it is as glaciers (pour most of the water out. To ensure that the children get the message that no water should be wasted, pour this water later in the garden to benefit the plants) or as deep underground water (pour the rest of the water). Do you know how much potable water we get from the entire water on this earth? (put one drop on the table)
Just ONE DROP! Yes, just one drop of water is readily available for use. So think before using water.
 Ask the children to think about how they are depleting the resources in Nature. Do they know how much paper gets wasted in schoolwork? With a little effort they can help in avoiding this. The facts given below bear this out. Information taken from a book—Towards a cleaner Greener Delhi by Maneka Gandhi
Total number of students in Delhi--- 2,226,000
If every child saves one sheet of paper per day--- 2,226,000 sheets can be saved. This means 11,896 tonnes of paper saved per day. This means 33,308 tonnes of wood saved per day. This means the students of Delhi alone per day can save 40,000 trees if they save just one paper! These figures were taken a few years back. Now the population has increased in the country and in schools. You can work out how much we can save if we take into account these factors! So think before you use paper.
 Life on earth is like a spider’s web. Can you think why? All the threads in a spider’s web are connected. If you touch a thread, the whole web shakes and if you pull even one thread out, the web will get distorted or break. In the same way, our actions, which affect Nature, have a far-reaching effect and the delicate balance is destroyed. For example, what happens when more tigers are killed? When forests are wiped out? When insecticides kill too many insects? To understand this web better, play the Web game. Make the children sit in a circle. Give each one of them a placard with something in nature- sun, grass etc. Take a spool of thread and give it to the ‘Sun’. Ask him to give it to an aspect of nature that is dependent on the sun. Eg. grass. Now grass passes the thread to another aspect connected with it. This will develop into a tight web. Now remove one thing from the web and see how the web sags as the things connected with it get affected. This game shows how everything in Nature is connected and a vital balance is maintained.

Story Time
True facts 1 - The Bishnoi community in Rajasthan, consider all living things as sacred. They worship the trees in their village. Once, a long time ago, the king of that place needed wood to build some buildings. He sent his men to cut some trees in the Bishnoi village to get this wood. The menfolk of the village had gone out to work. When the women found that their sacred trees were being felled, they first pleaded with the woodcutters to spare their trees. But when they found that the men were not listening to them, they decided to protect the trees with their lives. They put their arms around the trees and dared the men to cut them. Unfortunately, the men decided to go ahead and this resulted in the death of the women. When the king came to know of this, he was mortified and decreed that no tree should be felled in any of the places where the Bishnoi community lives. Later, some women in Uttarkhand in UP, used this same method to save their trees which were being cut by greedy contractors. This way of hugging trees to save them came to be known as the Chipko movement. An activist, Mr. Sundarlal Bahaguna is responsible for popularizing this movement now.
True fact 2 - There was a forest fire in the North west of the United States of America in the year 1891. The entire forest was completely wiped out. Nothing but a few charred tree remains could be seen. A long time passed. Suddenly, in 1919, the forest began to revive! Tender shoots began to spring from the Earth. Every body was amazed. No efforts had been taken to reclaim the forest. There was no means by which seeds could have come to the forest. Everybody was puzzled. What do you think had happened? Scientists found out that the trees came from the seeds the squirrels had stored under the ground. They had chosen the best seeds and they revived!
True fact 3 - The children of a primary school in Gujarat earned money for themselves by working for the forest department. The department gave them polythene bags, seeds and seedlings to start their own nurseries. The children looked after the plants. When the saplings were as tall as the children, the department bought them back. The school earned about Rs. 1500, by raising 10,000 saplings. The children used the money for an excursion. It was an exciting trip since they had never gone out of their village. What is more, they started a book bank for the poorest children of the school.

Points to Discuss
 Discuss how children can help in conserving the resources of Nature, just like the tiny squirrel helped Lord Rama! So let them resolve to do their best.
 Here are some things that can be easily done even by tiny tots.
 Use less paper. List ways of using once used paper (Making small notepads, as rough note book etc.)
 Use less water. List ways of using once used, or Grey water.
 Use less Gas. List ways of saving gas (By eating together and eating when the food is hot)
 Use less Energy. List ways of saving energy (By switching off unnecessary lights. Remember SOS - Switch Off Something)
 Use less petrol. List ways of saving petrol ( By walking to nearby areas, by using car pools)
 What else can you do to conserve these resources?
 Organise debates on some relevant topics. Topics for debate—Too many cars, boon or bane? Should the cost of petrol be increased further? Technology has done more harm than good.
Activities
 Find out about alternate sources of energy ( solar, wind, tidal, biogas etc.).
 Find out how much water gets wasted from a leaky tap, how many unnecessary kilometers you travel in a day and how many units of electricity is consumed in your house per month. Make posters to show how this wastage can be stopped.
 Read this poem and think about it :
I think I shall never see
A poem as lovely as a tree
A tree whose happy mouth is pressed
Against the Earth’s sweet flowering breast
A tree that looks at God all day
And lifts her leafy arms to pray
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of Robins in her hair
Upon whose bosom snow has lain
Who intimately lives with rain
Poems are made by fools like me
But ONLY GOD can make a tree.

CHAPTER VII - DUTY AND RESPONSIBILITY

TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR ACTIONS

Objectives
 Before you act, think what the result will be and how it will affect the others.
 If you have caused a problem with your decisions or actions, solve it yourself.
 Be responsible for your words and actions. Do not give excuses. Accept criticisms as well.

Introduction
A child has to be guided to take responsibilities and execute them satisfactorily. When very young, it could just be the completion of a daily chore. Later he has to learn to shoulder bigger responsibilities. To be responsible means he is answerable for his own words and actions. So before acting and taking decisions he must consider how it will affect him and others. He must have the courage to admit his mistake if something goes wrong and correct the mistake. A responsible person is trustworthy and dependable and people count on him.

A way to begin
 Find out what kind of responsibilities each one of the family members has. What kind of responsibilities do the children have? How many of them enjoy doing their work?
 Do the children work in groups? How do they choose the group leader? What qualities do they look for in a group leader? How does he assign work to the group? How does he ensure co-operation in the group? Does he give excuses? Does he take criticism well?
 Let the children talk about mistakes they committed when they took some decision. Did they find it hard to apologize? Did they take this as a learning experience or did they brood about it?

Story Time
Story 1- When Lord Krishna was in Brindavan as a young boy, the Yadava tribe used to have a big celebration in the honour of God Indra, whom they worshipped. One year, Krishna urged them to give up this practise. He told them that they should worship their cows instead as they gave the tribe milk and sustained them. His people listened to him and gave up the worship of Indra. Krishna knew what would be the result of his action and as expected, Indra got angry and punished the people by sending down torrential rain. They ran to Krishna in panic as the sky opened up. Krishna told them not to worry and with his little finger lifted up the Govardhan hills. They took shelter under its huge canopy. Indra realized his folly and begged forgiveness from Krishna.

Story 2 - Bhasma was an asura who got a boon for himself from Lord Shiva after a long tapasya. According to the boon, he could kill people by just placing his hand on their head. He wanted to test the boon on Lord Shiva himself! Shiva ran to Vishnu and asked him to save him. Lord Vishnu took the form of a very pretty woman by name Mohini and went near the asura. Bhasma was enamoured by her beauty. She started to dance and urged him to follow her steps. The asura did not think of the consequences and did as she bid him to. As a part of her dance, Mohini kept her hand on her head. Bhasma did the same and was instantly destroyed!

Story 3 - A father was very much worried that his young son was being irresponsible and whiling away his time doing nothing. To teach him to take up responsibility for his life, he told him that from the next day onwards, he would be given food only if he worked and earned some money, even if it was only a rupee. The first day, the boy begged his mother to give him a rupee and this he gave to his father when he came home. His father took the money and promptly threw it into the well. The boy was puzzled but said nothing. The following days too he somehow managed to get a rupee from his mother, which was again thrown into the well by his father. On the fourth day, his mother said she had no money to give him and that he would have to earn it himself. The boy went forth seeking employment. After a long and hard search, he could just earn 50 paise. He proudly gave this meagre earning to his father. His father took the coin and went near the well to throw it in. At this, the boy came running and caught hold of his hand. “How can you throw away this money? Do you know how hard I had to work to earn it?” he asked angrily. To his surprise, his father hugged him and said, “Today I know you have really earned this money! Do you realize now how I felt every time you wasted the money that I had earned with such hard labour? Now you have learnt your responsibility.”

Points to Discuss
 Discuss the following situations :
 You promised your mother you would go to the shop and get her some things. Your friend invited you to go and play with her and you did that instead. Was it right?
 You had to find the books you had lost. So you looked in the bookshelf by taking out all the books. When you found what you were looking for, you just rushed away and left everything where you had thrown them. Was it right?
 You missed the school picnic because you did not arrive on time. You got angry with your friends for going off without you. Was it right?
 What should you do to set things right in the following situations?
 You borrowed a classmate’s book and lost it.
 You bumped into someone and knocked that person’s books on the floor.
 You spilled something on the library book and spoilt its pages.
 Your friend was working on a model and accidentally you pushed it off the table.

Activities
 Give a list of activities that the children should be able to perform on their own with responsibility ,such as doing their best even when somebody is not supervising them, returning their library books on time, studying on their own etc. Find out how many of these jobs they do sincerely.
 Students to discuss in a group and make a list of what their responsibilities are – as a member of a family, as a student of a school and as a citizen of India.
 Read this poem and think about it.
This is a story about four people named
EVERYBODY, SOMEBODY, ANYBODY and NOBODY
There was an important job to be done
And EVERYBODY was sure
That SOMEBODY would do it.
ANYBODY could have done it
But NOBODY did it.
SOMBODY got angry about it
Because it was EVERYBODY’S job.
EVERYBODY thought
That ANYBODY could do it.
But NOBODY realized
That EVERYBODY wouldn’t do it.
It ended up that
EVERYBODY blamed SOMEBODY
When NOBODY did
What ANYBODY could have done!

CHAPTER VIII - WORK AND PERSEVERANCE

DO YOUR BEST

Objectives
 Do your best in any job. Set high standards for yourself and do not settle for sub standard work.
 Be willing to work hard at whatever you have to accomplish without complaining.
 Do not postpone any work. Do it yourself without waiting for someone else to do it.

Introduction
Persistence, perseverance and patience are the hallmark of a person who is hardworking. Intelligence and smartness alone will not take a person very far unless it is backed by hard work. Children should understand that they cannot and should not get away with half-baked jobs and there has to be commitment in whatever they do. Let them understand that hard work means setting their goals high, staying focussed on them and doing their best to achieve them.

A way to begin
 You can start with the story of Birbal given in story time. The question that was asked by Akbar could be asked as a puzzle and the children asked to solve it. Use it as an example to drive home the point how we should always try to do better than before. Tell them how athletes always try to better the previous records. Ask them to think of the motto of the Olympic games.
 They should try to do their best in every field, not just in atheletics or studies. Tell them that they could improve even the way they cover their notebooks! Any job should be done with the idea of doing it well. A job worth doing, is worth doing well! Give them the example of Edison who invented scores of things. He said that Genius is one- percent inspiration and ninety nine percent perspiration! There is absolutely no substitute for hard work.
 Make them understand how important it is to set up high standards and tell them never to be satisfied with half-baked jobs. Tell them about how Japan had risen from the ashes. It was devastated in the Second World War when atom bombs were dropped on it. It could achieve its dramatic recovery because, not only did the people work very hard but also because they insisted on quality and produced the best. Now a small country like Japan is able to corner a major share of world trade. Our country with such immense potentials is not able to do this for the simple reason that we have the ‘Chalta Hai’ attitude and get satisfied with sub standard work.

Story Time
Story 1- Michael Faraday was one of the greatest scientists of this century. When he was a young boy his family was so poor that all he got to eat as food for a week was just one loaf of bread! Michael divided it into fourteen parts so that he never went hungry but he never had a full meal either. His schooling had to be stopped midway. He took up a job as a paper vendor and did his work so well that he was soon promoted to being a binder. It was here that he read voraciously and developed an avid interest in science. He wanted to be a scientist and worked hard for achieving it. He seized opportunities and worked hard to achieve his goal. Once he heard the lectures of another great scientist, Sir Humphry Davy. This inspired him so much that he spent hours copying the lectures in a very neat hand, bound them and gave it to the scientist. This resulted in his getting a job as a cleaner in Sir Davy’s lab. But soon, Michael’s keen perception, hard work and diligence made him become an assistant and there was no looking back after that. He went on to discover many things which have made his name immortal.

Story 2 - Once, King Akbar posed a problem to his courtiers. He drew a line on the floor and asked them to shorten it without touching it in anyway. His ministers thought about it for a long while and then accepted defeat. Birbal came in just then and Akbar asked him the same question. Birbal immediately solved the problem by drawing a longer line next to the first line, thus making it shorter.

Story 3 - The children in the class did not like the new class teacher because she was very strict. She insisted on many rules—their notebooks had to be always neat and tidy, their work had to be done on time, their handwriting had to be perfect etc. In short, they had to pay attention to whatever they did and they had to do it well! She even insisted that they should do well in their music class! In the beginning the children resented this ‘quality control’ but as time went by, they discovered that their work was being appreciated by all. It became a challenge to excel and do well in every field. The teacher whom they didn’t like earlier was their favourite teacher now.

Story 4 - A king liked one particular mason. One day the mason told the king that he wanted to retire. The king did not agree immediately, but later said that he would let him go but before his retirement he should build a house for the king. The mason reluctantly agreed and did his work half-heartedly. Imagine his surprise when the king presented him with the same shoddily built house!

Points to Discuss
 Who is doing it right here and who is doing it wrong? What would YOU do?
 Nita saw some water spilt on the floor. She didn’t want to wipe it and went away.
 Arun never does his homework until his mother finds out and tells him to do it.
 Lakshmi polishes her shoes till they shine! Hers are the best in the class.
 When Ram’s father gives him some work to do, he always starts to complain.
 The teacher gave a surprise test. Babu could not answer any question!
 When Niru folds the clothes she does it very carefully and stacks them in a neat pile. Hina doesn’t even try to fold the towels well.
 Part of being a hard worker is jumping in and doing a job that needs to be done. If you see a toy lying on the table at home and you know it needs to be put away. Which of the following should you do?
 Leave it where it is.
 Wait for someone else to put it away.
 Push it off the table and go away.
 Shout at the person who left it there.
 Put it away after your parents tell you to.
 Put it away yourself.
 Doing more than what is expected of you is a sure way to win. Are you willing to go that extra mile? Whatever you do, however small it is, try to do better than the best. Give examples of some things that you do which can be improved. Work does not mean just schoolwork!
 What do the following statements mean to you? What do they say about hard work?
 Whiners cannot be winners.
 Thomas Edison said “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety nine percent perspiration”

Activities
 Look up the following words in the dictionary.
Persevere, procrastinate, diligent, dawdle, determined, prompt, zealous, and lethargic
Which of them describe a hard worker?
 Have you worked very hard to achieve something? Was it easy? Did you lose your patience sometimes? How did you feel when you succeeded in it? Tell your friends about it.

CHAPTER IX - TIME MANAGEMENT

HAVE A GOAL AND A TIME TABLE

Objectives
 It is impossible to make good use of time without a goal and a timetable.
 We must be ready and alert to use time properly.
 Live in the present and stop worrying about the past or the future.

Introduction
A goal helps us to have a focus and a timetable gives us the means to reach that goal. Without these it is difficult to plan and utilise the time available. Children make a timetable to study and revise but only during exams! Encourage them to extend it to other days and other activities too. Planning helps one to manage time well and to the fullest extent.
Alertness helps one to seize opportunities. We do not have unlimited time at our disposal. Time that is gone can never come back. So, one needs to develop this skill and be alert. At the same time it is useless to dwell in the past, lamenting about lost opportunities. We must learn to live in the present and use whatever time is available, in the most efficient way.

A way to begin
 Do the children have a timetable for study during the exams? Ask them to extend it to their day to day activities also. When they have a timetable, it is easier to do things. More important than that is to have a goal. Let them think about the goals that they can have. A long-term goal can be about what they want to achieve in life. A short-term goal can be what they want to achieve in this class and an immediate goal can be what they want to accomplish today. Whatever it is, they have to plan and work towards achieving their goal and they have to find the means and the time to do it.
It is also time to think of the highest goal that they can have and that is to become a good human being and reach the kind of perfection that our creator wants us to have.
 Talk to the children about finding time to do things. Tell them how they will never FIND time for anything. If they want time, they must make it with a positive attitude. Any problem can be converted into an opportunity. Supposing their parents want them to help them at home, doing things like going to the market or taking care of their siblings, they may consider them as difficult tasks and complain or take them up willingly. There are two benefits in taking up household chores willingly; one is that they are being given an opportunity to help and secondly, it is helping them to develop certain skills, which will come in handy. They should remember that work is the key to success and happiness.

Story Time
Story 1 - You must have heard about Bill Gates. He is one of the richest men in the world and owns the biggest Computer Company called Microsoft. He was a boy from a lower middle class family. He was so interested in learning about computers that he used to even pick up pamphlets from the dustbin, which had information about them. He worked hard without wasting even a minute. When he was just a teenager, he started writing computer software programs with a team of people. Within a short period of time he had started his own company, Microsoft. This is the top most company in the world now and is doing very well.

Story 2 - A businessman had a pet parrot in his house. Once he had to go on a long trip and he asked his pet what should he bring for it. The parrot asked him to meet his relatives and find out how to get his freedom. The man found the relative and asked the question which his pet had asked. As soon as he asked this question, the parrot fell down dead. He was puzzled. When he reached home, he told his pet, what had happened. Immediately, this parrot also fell down dead! The man felt sorry for it and opened the cage to take it out. To his astonishment, the bird flew away. It had waited for the right answer, which was that the only way to escape was by pretending to be dead. It used the trick at the right time and escaped.

Story 3 - Crying over what has gone in the past is as bad as making wild castles in the air without doing anything. There was a man who was given a pot of flour. He imagined how he would use it to make rotis which he would sell to get money with which he would buy hens, then goat, then cow and he would marry a girl who might not listen to him and then he would give her a kick. He actually gave a kick and broke the pot of flour! If he had lived in the present, he would have been careful.

Points to Discuss
 Discuss who is doing the right thing and who isn’t. Give reasons for your answers.
 Ramani is still upset with the money he lost five years ago.
 Seema has to take care of her little brother when her mother is busy. Still she always completes her work on time.
 Daya watches TV programs till late at night.
 Suman learns music, dance and gymnastics apart from her studies.
 Kusum complains that she has so much homework that she does not have time to learn anything more.
 Dheer lags behind in his studies. All his spare time is spent in playing computer games.
 Talk about your professional goals. Discuss what more goals should you have in life?
 How well you use today can determine how good tomorrow will be. So far you have read about how not to waste time but to use it properly. The present should also be used in an effective way to develop the qualities that will make you a better human being.
 Read the following poem to see what can be done for personal growth.

Let me be a little kinder,
Let me be a little blinder
To the faults of those about me.
Let me praise a little more.

Let me be, when I am weary,
Just a little bit more cheery;
Let me serve a little better
Those whom I am working for.

Let me be a little braver
When temptation makes me waver;
Let me strive a little harder
To be all that I should be.

Let me be a little meeker
With the person who is weaker;
Let me think more of my neighbour
And a little less of me.

Activities
 Look at the given examples of children using their spare time profitably. What they want to become is given in the bracket below. Match them both.
 Sheela visits buildings under construction to see how they are being built.
 Ravi watches his mother while she cooks and helps her.
 Meena practices her dance steps whenever she if free.
 Ram reads good books and writes articles after he does his homework.
 Renu uses the computer in her spare time and helps her mother with her accounts.
 When he is free, Sethu is always taking things apart and putting them together again. (Chef, computer programmer, writer, dancer, mechanic, architect)
 Draw up a timetable for a week, putting in all that you want to achieve in that week.

CHAPTER X - COURAGE

COURAGE HELPS YOU TO BE FIRM AND STRONG

Objectives
 Courage is the ability to pursue legitimate actions against oppositions.
 It gives strength to stand on our own set of values, even if the majority is against us.
 It helps us to act intelligently in changed circumstances instead of accepting the fate meekly.

Introduction

Courageous people are able to stand by their convictions and by their own set of values. They don’t succumb to temptations, nor get intimidated by opposition. They are able to take appropriate action against opposition and if the circumstances change, they are able to make it to their advantage and act intelligently.
How do these qualities become relevant to children? All of us, even children, need to have some basic values such as honesty and truthfulness, respect for others and their property, having good and healthy habits, being aware of duties and responsibilities etc. One needs courage to uphold and carry on these values irrespective of temptations and oppositions.
Courage is generally thought of as analogous to fearlessness. There is a subtle difference though. We can think of courage as being the drive to carry on a task inspite of being aware of the dangers involved in the job (eg. a soldier going into the battlefield to fight). Fearlessness does not consider the impending dangers (eg. a child of two pulls the tail of a dog since he/she is not aware that the dog might bite).

A way to begin

 Talk to the children about the fears they have. Ask them what do they do when they have such fears? One way to get rid of them is to find out the cause for the fears. For eg. if they have not prepared well for the examinations, they feel scared to face them. If they have done some mistake, they are scared to face their parents. Once the reasons are identified, they should try to set them right. When their minds are clear, they can get rid of these fears.
 The second way is to believe in the divine help. If they can feel that God is there to help them, they can draw strength from Him and face the world with courage.
 Another way is to read about people who have faced challenges with courage and keeping them as a role model, try to emulate them. As courage is very essential for life, all efforts should be taken to instil it in children. Also it is necessary to distinguish between foolishness and real courage.

Story Time
Story 1 - Gandhiji wanted the Hindus and Muslims to live in peace with each other. Unfortunately, after the partition of the country into India and Pakistan there was a large-scale migration of people across the borders of the two countries.
This brought in a lot of tension between the two communities. One of the worst hit was a place called Naokhali in Bengal where many people were killed. Against the advice given to him by his friends and followers, Gandhiji proceeded to Naokhali, listening only to his inner voice. He knew his life was in danger but he went there boldly. His only concern was to somehow calm down the people and bring peace to the strife torn place. People respected his courage and the fighting stopped. Later however, he had to pay with his life for having stood by his values. But still, his moral courage has earned him a place in History.

Story 2 - Martin Luther King was a black man who was influenced by Gandhiji’s philosophy of non-violence. About fifty years back, black people in America were treated very badly. Mr. King was instrumental in elevating their status and in bringing in more benefits for them. He decided to use only non-violent methods to achieve this. Many were not in favour of his philosophy and violent fights erupted quite often. Mr. King however did not give up his beliefs and in the end he succeeded in changing the minds of the people.

Story 3 - There are many stories in Panchatantra which tell us how one can take advantage of any circumstance. The story of the monkey and the crocodile is one such story. A crocodile befriended a monkey who used to give him tasty wood apples from a tree. Once the crocodile took a fruit to his wife. She liked it so much that she wanted to eat the monkey whose stomach must be full of the fruits. The crocodile invited the monkey for dinner to his house. Midway through the journey he couldn’t hold back the reason for taking him home. The monkey was shocked as he could not jump into the water and escape. He decided to make the crocodile take him back to the shore. So he told the crocodile how sorry he was that he had not been told earlier because he had left his stomach on the tree. The foolish crocodile believed him and took him back to the tree and the clever and bold monkey escaped.

Points to Discuss

 Consider the following situations and discuss them :
a. Two teams are playing a game. A boy notices one of the players in his team cheating but the opposite team doesn’t know about it. He stops the game and tells the boy not to cheat. Did he do the right thing?
b. You have to study for an important exam. Your friend has tickets for a movie and asks you to come with him. He says you can study later but you refuse to go with him and this makes him angry. Who was in the right?
c. There is an emergency and the parents have to go to another city for a couple of days. Their two children are unhappy at being left alone. But after a little while, one of the boys cries and says not to leave him and go; the other one rings up his friend to find out if they could stay in their house during their parents’ absence. Who was bolder? Who had the presence of mind?

Activities

 Think of a person whom you admire for his/ her courage. Tell the class about him/ her and what he /she did.
 There are many interesting stories in the Panchatantra tales. Try to read some stories from it.
 Play the game of ten questions. This is how you play it. Think of yourself as a famous person who acted with courage. Don’t tell the others whom you have thought of. By asking questions, your friends have to guess who you thought you were. You can only answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the questions. They have to guess within ten questions!

What Is Success

What is Success?
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics

Intro to Set 2

2007-11-02T13:37:00.002-07:00

VALUE BASED SPIRITUAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM
FOR CLASSES VI to X

A TEACHERS' MANUAL

What is this Manual for?

This book - The Teachers' Manual - extends a helping hand to teachers at all levels to call out and inculcate values for life in students. It is to be taught as an independent subject by alloting slots in the school timetable. It is our hope that the values identified in this book can as well be incorporated in all the subjects.
This manual is a ideal comprehensive study material to give first hand information to the teachers about - "What to teach?, How to teach?, When to teach? And how long to teach?

What does this Manual contain?

It is to be borne in our mind that "Education is for Life and Life is for Evolution." In fact having taken this as the base this book has been designed.

Life is nothing but a series of experiences between a subject and an object. Naturally the subject indicates "you" and the objects are identified as the world around you.

Each of the classes contain ten chapters and they are as follows:

1. Nature - The first chapter is nature, with its splendour and wonder. We feel the nature balancing through the contribution of life force, stressing life of life.
2. Who am I - This topic highlights the individual - "To be what he should be", breaking the barriers to his power packed personality.
3. After the question "Who am I?" We have to focus our thought on our Body, Keep fit your body with highlighted perceptions and actions, leading to perfect action and energy conservation, desisting from depletion.
4 & 5 Mind is the connecting link between the spirit within and the world outside. Our Mind, full of thoughts and impression, longs for cleaning process or else you cannot mind your emotions and feelings. When you regulate your mind, you achieve the power of positive thinking and your reactions and responses are balanced. Two chapters have been allotted for this most important topic.
6. Intellect - With your intellect and intuition you are always disciplined and obedient. Because of this goal-oriented nature, you evolve solutions for your problems, which results in success shattering your failures.
7. Life is the next chapter. Your question "What is Life?" is answered here. In this journey of our life we have to realise our creator and His creation and also know the way to lead a perfect Life.
8. Prayer creates a link between God our Creator and ourselves. We appeal to God Himself and our Prayer for Universal Brotherhood leads us towards Self realisation.
9. Guru is our guide and we enjoy the electrifying experience in Guru, because, He is the God manifestation in the form of friend and philosopher.
10. In the last chapter we are approaching the Powerless power, the Highlest Self, the Creator of creation and one who is beyond Religion and Spirituality. "God is Love and Love is God".

The topics have been graded from Class 6 to Class 10. A minimum of 20 periods in a year must be alloted in each class to complete the syllabus effectively. The key points have been given with brief explanations, giving a lot of scope to the teachers to elaborate it, depending on the nature of students, their intelligence, their family background, environment, interest etc. Activities, stories and experiments have been included to make the topics interesting and simple.

Teachers must realize that in each and every topic the spiritual aspect is most important and emphasis to be laid on it. The aim of this curriculum and syllabus is to ensure that by the time a student completes Class 10, he/she must understand the purpose and higher goal of life and be prepared to take up Meditation which is the only panacea for all evils.

Let us all remember that Spirituality is the basis of existence and that -

"We are not Human Beings having a Divine Experience,
But Divine Beings having a Human experience."

May Master's will prevail and help us to start this endeavour with Love and Devotion.

Class VI

2007-11-02T13:37:00.001-07:00

Class VII

2007-11-02T13:36:00.001-07:00