Maha Kirtan for Kids Photos

We had a parallel program for children during yesterday's Maha Kirtan.

Organisation and execution was headed by Tulasi devi dasi, Krishnapada's wife.

It started at 1pm with an outdoor picnic for the kids. At this point there were not so many. However, those who were there had something to eat, and their parents could attend the kirtan from the beginning.

In December 2006 I visited my mother back in Auckland, New Zealand. Prahlad and I went to church with her on Sunday morning. After the worship (singing) part of the service, all the kids went to Sunday School. I took Prahlad there, and observed that the first thing they did was give the kids a biscuit and something to drink. It ensures that you don't have to deal with empty stomachs and disturbed minds. If they are not hungry, they won't eat. If they are hungry, you'll be glad they ate...

Mother Tulasi and helpers. Bhakticandrika and Caru Mukhi did face painting for the children through the afternoon.

The children did a different activity every 30 minutes. One of the activities was "cooking" - mixing up the ingredients for muffins (which were then taken away and baked) and decorating some cookies. The baked muffins were then offered and returned for another prasadam slot later in the afternoon.

There was a balance between indoor, sedentary activities, such as this art and craft session; and outdoor activities. Variety stimulates interest.

In this shot local Tae Kwon Do instructor Jaya Vijaya gives a 30 minute self defense lesson to the kids. A former Australian Tae Kwon Do champion, Jaya Vijaya's Hanuman Self Defense school is covered in a feature article in the current issue of "Back to Godhead" magazine (Do or Die with Jaya Vijaya).

The kids also had a singing / music workshop with local pandit Diwakar; a treasure hunt; and races (sack race, three-legged race, potato and spoon race)

At various times the children joined the kirtan party for 20 minutes. Whether you're leading the kirtan, giving a class, or organising a kids program - the principle is the same: "Always leave 'em wanting more". Generally speaking, it's better to give measured small doses that inspire and increase enthusiasm than to put out a flame by pouring a whole bucket on it at once.

Bhakticandrika designed this certificate, and each child was given a certificate for attendance. The blank space is for placing stickers and stamps that they get for each activity. The idea is to make the experience as memorable and engaging as possible.

Just as facilitating the sound experience requires advance planning and preparation, to run an effective engaging kids program requires advance planning and coordinated effort:

Preparation for this program began two weeks beforehand, and many hours (and dollars) were spent in the days leading up to, and on the day itself, to prepare environments and experiences.

The more effort you put into preparation, the better able you are to facilitate an engaging experience transparently.

There are many great photos of the maha kirtan too. I'll do another post later, highlighting the different kirtans that took place on the day.

The photos above (with the blurry exception of the one of Jaya Vijaya, taken with my cellphone camera) were taken by Krishnapada and Ananta Vrndavan, and are hosted in their facebook accounts.