Grade School News

The 5th Grade study of India filled minds and hearts with the wonderful stories of the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita, and the lives of Buddha and Krishna. The children looked at actual adult-level poetic versions of the epics, as well, marveling at the meter, length and complexity of the thousands of rhyming couplets. As they learned about the gods, goddesses, and demons, the caste system, and the four stages of life, they struggled to understand the deepest beliefs of this ancient civilization, including reincarnation and rebirth, and how the material world could be considered false and illusory while only the spiritual world was true and real. Hauntingly beautiful music, poetry and recitations accompanied the making of lesson books filled with long story summaries and lovely illustrations.

With deep gratitude to Singh family, who helped adorn our classroom with beautiful and meaningful decorative items from India, the children were able to model and paint clay likenesses of a beautiful merchant seal dating from 4000 B.C. in the Indus Valley. They also designed and painted royal elephants, after having studied regional patterns and colors; this project was done on black foam board using acrylic paints. And lastly, for the Indian festival of lights, Divali, Mrs. Singh guided us in making a beautiful floor design (rangoli) out of rice powder, with small oil bowls (diyas) made from flour and water, and ghee spooned onto simple wicks rolled in cotton balls. With the depth and breadth of this block, a wonderful tone has certainly been set for Ancient Civilization studies yet to come.