Denver, Colorado, USA
By Mahajyoti Glassman
As we honor the 20th anniversary of Gurukul, here at MorningStar we also find ourselves reflecting upon our 2 decades plus 2 years at 1224 Washington Street. We have grown from a licensed day-care of 6 children to a full preschool with approximately 30 families, operating over 10 hours, 5 days a week, all year round.
Today we have the highest early childhood rating (4 stars) in Colorado. Located in an 1898 Victorian house, the school occupies the entire first floor of the house for women which is owned by Ananda Marga in the very center of Denver Colorado.
Once a year we sponsor a Back to School Nite for the parents of our 2 ½-5 year old children, including a pizza dinner and childcare while the staff introduce the parents to our program. Defining Neohumanist Education has been quite the evolutionary process for all of us in Ananda Marga across the globe. Taking P.R. Sarkar’s discourses and bringing them into daily practice has been an enlightening adventure for all who embark on this journey!
So what is a yoga-based preschool our parents ask?
We offer active learning experiences that engage both hemispheres of the brain. For an education which is primarily academic in nature activates predominantly one hemisphere of the brain, activates only 50% of who we are. It is like a bird with one wing trying to fly.
In a yoga-based preschool we strive to extend “full brain” active experiences that nurture the fullness of who we are and who we can become.
Here we explore pre-writing, pre-reading, language and literacy through playful, fun and interesting discoveries. Through experimentation with various communication techniques, students learn the repercussions of cause and effect. With a little coaching from teachers and puppets, they learn to “speak out for justice” and to give kindness to others in words and deeds.
Math and science activities are interwoven into the fabric of daily adventures of delightful exploration and inquiry.
Yoga movement and breathing bring our peaceful natures bubbling to the surface and promote the development of confidence, inner courage, and positive self-image. These tools “iron out the wrinkles” of frustration, disappointment, and selfishness as well as addressing the needs of the body-mind for those who have “busy hands”, “busy legs”, or other sensory and gross motor demands. Asana and breath prepare the mind/body for better focus, learning, and emotional balance.
Daily meditation and kiirtan maximize our personal and spiritual potentiality , deepening the relationship with the Inner Divine Friend.
We honor all religions, cultures, and ethnicities.
Socio-emotional activities and games strengthen our foundation for living cooperatively in the world, guiding our interactions w
ith members of our Earth family and friends with love, understanding, kindness, and selflessness, cultivating spiritual kinship with all Living Beings. Music and other opportunities for creative expression encourage a very satisfying happiness of more subtler pursuits which hold the mind on a steady course toward harmony and homeostasis.
Frequent excursions outside and in nature remind us of our connection with the Creator and all things Beautiful.
The tender, loving and sweet caring of the teachers continuously embraces the children, letting them know that they are never alone, that they have nothing to fear, and they are always loved unconditionally and without judgment.
Laughter, tears, love and devotion. It is all as it should be for our MorningStar family – constantly feeling supported by Divine Love, constantly feeling Divine Presence… Baba Nam Kevalam.