We started the class with reading Chapter 12. We had no time to do dictation today.
During the spoken Hindi session, Kids enjoyed telling the story to class, listening to other kids story and sometimes raising hand  if they did not understand a word. .

Culture Section
In the cultural hour we first went through the Indian musical instruments homework that everyone was supposed to have done. Only 5-6 kids did theirs. The rest should focus on getting that done this week. As a reminder the homework was to pick an Indian musical instrument, find out interesting facts and information about it and write 5-6 hindi sentences on it. We also watched another Panchatantra short story from YouTube and discussed it. This exercise has become quite an interesting and fun way to engage the kids in hindi speaking, listening and understanding.

We then turned our attention to practicing speaking in front of a group. We had Akshay and Tushar taking a turn to make statements to convince the class on their topic of argument. We then discussed the key concepts of speaking in front of a group and what to look out for, for example, where and how to place your hands, how to use pursuasive communicative language as well as gestures to get your point across and how to slow down and use pause to your advantage. The kids really like the exercise. We will continue to do this for the next few classes because the idea is for everyone to have a speaking part in the annual day play and everyone needs to practice speaking effectively in front of their peer group.

Kids found some really interesting and useful words as part of their homework. So using some of these words and using Sangya, Sarvnaam and Visheshan, we made sentences and wrote them in notebook and whiteboard. As part of conversation, Some kids told story that they read as part of bonus homework. Kids get to ask words that they did not understand.

In the culture section we watched a Panchatantra video from YouTube about the clever fox who was trying to preseve his prized catch (that of a dead elephant which would be his food for days) against much bigger, stronger predators. These videos are a good fun way to listen, talk and discuss topics in Hindi and they are no more than 3-4 minutes long.
We then discussed various Indian music instruments including but not limited to sitar, tabla, dhol and damroo. There is homework related to this topic - see below.
We then turned our attention to the play - we focused on speaking and engaging the audience. Everyone is going to have a part and will need to practice their speaking and command skills in front of people. Both Himani and Kashish wanted to be the story tellers in the background for the play so we had them read a few lines of a story in class to practice how to do an effective job.

The culture homework is to pick an Indian musical instrument, write at least 5 sentences in Hindi about it. Research it and find interesting facts about it like when it was invented, who the maestro is for that instrument, how it is made, what is its history, etc.
The second homework is related to the one Monaji has given for the Hindi section. Read the story that you pick for Hindi homework and then read it out loud to someone in the house. Focus on making a good impression with command of the "podium" and also the use of emotion when telling the story - don't just read it in a monotone and be done. Come prepared to discuss this next week in class.Parent Teacher

We started reading chapter 12 and then moved on dictation. Kids gave words which included half letters (Sanyukt Akshar) such as ‘Gussa’ or “Ganna” or “Chammamch”. We also made three teams in class to encourage kids to speak in hindi (The more you speak English, you get points and end goal is to get least amount of points.) Kids were creative in explaining things in Hindi but we will probably continue this game (and I will bring prizes for winner team)

We watched a Panchatantra story from YouTube. We mostly discussed the story, key words and moral of the story. The kids then wrote some of the words from the story along with sentences they made with those words. We then moved on to Chapter 10 from the book and read the poem ‘Gudiya’

We started with dictation for words such as ‘Maa’ or “Prarthana” and then we read lesson 8 ‘Mera Mitra’.

Every kid had opportunity to say one word and class had to write that word. Kids loved this activity but it took whole class time so we could not do reading in this class. Kids used easy as well as difficult words like “Swasth” or “Subah” or “Pooja”.

We started with dictation of sentences to make up a story featuring Bandar and Raja. We practices words like Poonchh, Chashmaa. We read the chapter 5 again (Dadijii). Please send notebook, pencil, eraser and sharpener for dictation in class. Notebook helps kids to review the work.

We had no parent volunteer in class today (or parent has signed up for next week) so we spoke few sentences about animals in zoo. We also discussed role each kid will play in Harry Potter or Cinderella play. The discussion around play was mostly in English but kids made suggestion/agreement etc. It is really fun to watch kids handling the group scenario.

Culture Section
In the culture section we talked about trade, traders and their place in Indian history. We talked about why trade was important and how trade has led to capture of land and people at various points in Indian history. We also discussed the possibility of us playing a trade game in class next time. This will be after the thanksgiving break and there is no homework associated with this activity.

We started with dictation of words involving half letters. Such as pakkaa, nanha etc and then we worked on reading chapter 5 in small group.
During the spoken Hindi session
We divided class in three different groups and mostly discussed nouns that we encounter.
Culture Section
Today in class we continued our "Panchayat" activity. The group that won the debate last week got to be the wise people who were to decide between building a mall or building a Post Office in the village for limited amount of money. The two sides presented their arguments (mostly in Hindi) and there was some debate about the pros and cons of each. At the end the unanimous vote from the Panchayat was to go for building the post office. The kids provided some great responses on each side. The idea of these exercises is to not only have the kids collaborate, plan and then talk in Hindi about a topic but also the topic itself - this is a good way for some cultural exposure of how disputes used to (and to some extent still today) be handled locally in the Indian villages. Next week, of course there is no class because of the Diwali celebration - hopefully everyone can make it - there are very few things that come close to a cultural experience than such festivals and occasions.

Class Review
We worked on dictation for words like Chidiya, Thali, Khidaki, gaureya and sentences like “Phir man ne kah, subah ho gayee” or “Itani badi sone ki thaali” (mostly based on words used in chapter 3).  We also discussed how some of the words can be written differently and still both version will be right (Sunder with half n or un). We wrote the words on whiteboard, I used different color markers to point out letters from Matras.
During the spoken Hindi session
We divided class in three different groups. We discussed the hindi for word “broken”. So for Car, it is “Car kharab ho gayee”, where as for window glass, “ Sheeshaa toot gaya”. To extend this, we added that “Sheeshee toot gayee”….For this class, we will keep working on vocabulary, sentence formation and striling/pulling.
Culture Section
In the culture section we discussed the importance of history and how it helps us shape our actions in the future.  We talked about learning about the history of India, its famous people and how that relates to present day.  Mihir has volunteered to have a presentation ready next class on a famous singer from India's past.  That will be a great way to get the kids involved in the cultural experience rather than just talk about it.  We also talked about the three states on the map of India and details about them that the kids had come prepared for.  We then did a couple of activities all revolving around Diwali - we made decorative votives, rangoli map that kids can color at home and a word quiz on the Diwali celebration theme.

Class Review
We read and worked on dictation for words from chapter 4. I introduced “Sangya” (Noun) and we briefly discussed noun.
During the spoken Hindi session
We divided class in three different groups and mostly discussed nouns that we encounter.
Culture Section
In Culture section we had an interactive demonstration of the dandiya raas dance. Kids really got into the dance and did the basic steps including going around in a circle and twirling. Dandiya is an involved fun and uplifting dance and it was great to see everyone getting into it. I believe next week we might be doing that again for the culture hour. After the dandiya dance we came back to the classroom and held a "Panchayat" meeting where five members of the wise village seniors had to hear two sides of a dispute and pass a judgment. There was one team who were pushing and lobbying for building a new improved bigger school building whereas the other team was lobbying for using that money instead to improve the roads. It was a fun yet a good team building and presentation exercise which judging by their responses I think we will do more of in the coming weeks and talk about the ways Indian villages did in the past and to some extent still conduct local business.

Parents, if you have any input or ideas for this Panchayat format please do let me know - I want to use this activity to focus on modern India more so than India of old but at the same time expose the values of the local system from India's past to today's minds.

We spent first 20 minutes on test. After that, kids started reading chapter 3. We will work on words used in this chapter during next class.
During the spoken Hindi session, We made two groups and each group asked a question and the other team answered. All of this conversation happened in hindi and we talked about “Bharate Ke Rashtrpati” (Man) or “bharat ki Rashtrapati”(woman) or “bharat ka Rashtrapati” (someone younger). During future classes, we will have smaller group so that we can work more one-on-one with kids.

Culture Section
In the culture section we had a demo from a renowned Sitar artist Pandit Debi Prasad Chatterjee.  He discussed the various aspects of Sitar, its brief history, its uses in both traditional and contemporary music including fusion which he has done with other western artists.  The performances were great and it was great to see the kids enjoying them and paying attention.  Afterwards we had a brief conversation about the Sitar and the performance - the kids on their own divided up into two groups and asked each other questions from the demo.

We started the class with dictation of sentence. Most kids got the chance to write on whiteboard and we all as class verified correct spelling. We worked on words like Pratah (ah) or Relgaadi, or chhuk-chhuk etc. We worked with kids on reading the the words from "aao paden aur seekhen" from Chapter 1 (Prayer).
 
During the spoken Hindi session, we worked on "Inka, Inki, aapka, Aapki, Unka, Unki". For example, "Aapki kiani bahane hain?"
Please practice sentences with these words with your children at home.
 
Culture Section
In the culture section some students who had prepared a few sentences on an Indian festival presented and it was great to see the participation and engagement in the class.  We talked not only about the festival but also presenting in Hindi and how to be effective at presenting in general.  We then switched to Indus Valley Civilization and related activity.  All students were very keen on and involved in creating a colorful necklace from the materials they were provided.  Alongside I played a video on Indus Valley Civilization which some students found interesting.  I encourage you to check out the video at the link below and play it for your child.  There are a few historical facts in this video that since then have come into question and are being re-examined but overall it is a good one to watch to get a sense of the history and culture of India.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMRfJfMnRmo&feature=related 

Today's Class Review
We started the class with writing all Swar on whiteboard, then pointing out the words starting with that Swar. After that, we listed some words using each Matras, such as for Ai, we had the word as Sainik. After this, we divided teh class in three groups and we worked with kids on reading the the words from "aao paden aur seekhen" from page 9 to 20.
 
We are constantly working on vocabulary to ensure that everyone understands meanings of word as well.
 
During the spoken Hindi session, we performed chain drills and practiced introduction in Hindi as "Mera Naam ... hai, Aapka kya naam hai? " in addition to new new words like "Main(I) and Tum (You)" as well as "Haan (Yes) and Na (No)" and "Yeh/Veh".Please practice sentences with these words with your children at home.
 
Culture Section
In the culture section we first did a review of the festivals and why we have them.  Then we focused on the calendar itself - we talked about how our ancestors probably looked at the solar and lunar cycles, and the frequency and predictability of their cyclical nature and came up with calendars, a way to describe and measure cyclical time.  We talked about the Roman calendar we all follow which is based on the solar cycle and the Indian calendar (both Hindu and Muslim) based on the lunar cycles.
We also talked about a busy time for festivals in India during the months between late August, September and October.  There are about 40 festivals during this period.  Then some kids did a Kathakali mask activity while others did a word scramble exercise based on the festivals.

We did reading and dictation today (words/letters from our book, Pages 2 to 8). During the spoken Hindi session, children shared what they did over summer. Most kids spoke in Hindi and we learned about fun activities they participated over the holidays

We did a review of the Indian culture lessons from last year.  I was pleasantly surprised to see almost everyone remembered almost everything they learned even after a summer break.  The kids were very interested and engaged in the overall semi-free form cultural and historical tour of India we went on.  The other thing we did in the culture section was to start a story entirely in Hindi where each student took turns to contribute a sentence to it.  At the end we had a very funny whacky story that everyone enjoyed creating on the fly.  It was a great conversational Hindi exercise.