Bal Vihar

Greater Baltimore Hindu-Jain Temple

P.O. Box 690, 2909 Bloom Road, Finksburg, MD 21048
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Bal Vihar

What is Bal Vihar

Bal Vihar is an academic program that is made up of a vibrant group of children and parents with an ever evolving curriculum that varies according to age. It includes Shlokas and prayers, an introduction to Gods, meaning of Hindu symbols, the history of India through the stories of saints and leaders, the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, and the overarching Vedic values, principles, and practices of the Hindu religion.
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Why Bal Vihar

Our 21 years of valued dedication to children so they can learn and enjoy performing pujas, celebrating festivals such as Diwali, Holi, Vasant Panchami and many more. This inculcates them with the pride & joy of celebrating Hindu festivals, and gives them a meaningful and religious perspective behind them. Bal-Vihar program also offers learning opportunity for various Indian languages such as Hindi, Guajarati, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi.

What we offer

Religious
Language
Yoga
Our curriculum runs academic calendar, same as Maryland State School Board. Bal Vihar classes start at 10 AM and end at 12:30 PM. Our course curriculum is divided based on age group.
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Timing 4-6 Kindergatern 7-10 Elementary 10-14 Middle
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM Prayers Prayers Prayers
10:30 AM - 11:20 AM Religious Classes Religious Classes Religious Classes
11:20 AM - 11:30 AM Snacks break Snacks break Snacks break
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM Language Class Language Class Language Class

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We created some golden memories

FAQ

For more details see our program details below.

GBT Bal Vihar is a volunteer run program, driven by successful working professionals & entrepreneurs in various industries. Teachers are none other than the parents of the registered students. We are always looking for backup teachers, recruiting new teachers (as parents of graduating children leaving the program due to other commitments) and volunteers to help out on special events like Diwali, Holi etc. If interested, kindly reach out to the organisers and they will introduce you to respective committee members. This is not just a religious learning opportunity for our next generation but also learning through examples of volunteering & helping us progress on a spiritual path. High school children who finished the program can seek this volunteering opportunity to gather the school volunteer hours.

GBT Members - $175 per child Non Members - $200 per child
No additional costs, unless someone wants to voluntarily sponsor snacks and help Temple kitchen.

As the expectations range is wide, I don't have any thoughts on this other than asking the parents to stay with the child. Open to ideas and suggestions here.

In this country with the busy lives we live, it is a great challenge for parents to propagate & teach about Indian culture. Even if time permits, these values are better learnt & inculcated when learnt & experienced as a group or dedicated curriculum. So this is a great forum to Learn religion, awaken spirituality in young minds and inculcate good moral values.

Diwali, Holi, Vasant Panchami and many more.

GBT Kitchen provides Indian snacks (ex: Upma, Poha) during the snack break between 11:30am to 11:40am, which is also a volunteer driven Non profit initiative. Lunch is available for purchase at nominal rate after the BV class is over. If interested in sponsoring other snacks, reach out to organisers.

Program

Bal Vihar program are designed for kids fun way learning.

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Class Content Key Objectives Prerequisites Recommend Age/Grade
Pre-School Students will get an intro to Hindu religion through stories, fun activities, interactive games, arts and crafts. Intro to Hindu Gods & Festivals Intro to Basic Slokas 1. Create curiosity and enthusiasm about Hinduism and Indian culture None 4-6 years (Pre-K to K)
Jr. Elementary (Dashaavatara) Students will learn about the 10 Avatars of Lord Vishnu (Dashaavatara). They will also learn about the reason for each of the Avatars and How Lord Visnhu saves people from demons every time. 1. Awareness of how Lord Vishnu saved the world in every Avatar.
2. Key morals of the story
2 yrs of Preschool 1st Grade
Sr. Elementary (Ramayana, Gods & Goddesses) Students will learn the story of Rama & Sita and their battle with demons. Rama's brother's & guru's are also discussed in detail. They will also learn about sub stories involving Shravan Kumar, Vaali, Sugreeva & Hanuman. 1. Students should be able to identify and remember the key characters in the story and the role in the story
2. Understand the qualities of key characters
2nd Grade
A1 (Mahabaratha) Students will learn the story of Mahabharatha. Students will also learn the story of Lord Krishna and learn about Shrinathji 1. Students will get familiar with this important epic and key characters.
2. Through these stories, they will learn morals and values that they can incorporate and apply in their daily lives.
3rd Grade
A2 (Festivals of India, Religions of the world) 4th Grade
B1 (Values) In this class, Children will learn about the concept of values. The differences between universal and cultural values. They will learn how to identify & manage six fold enemies such as Desire, Anger, Greed, Delusion, Pride and Jealousy. They will work on a project to learn about values from people around them and apply it in their day to day life. 1. Understand the concept of values and why it's important.
2. Learn techniques to identify negative values/thoughts within oneself and manage it.
3. Apply learnings to day to day use
5th Grade
B2 (Why do we do what we do? What do you believe? 6th Grade
C1 (Bhagavadgita - Primary) Students will learn from the Bhagvadgita and try to absorb the Gita to apply in their real life situation. Introduction to the Gita. Understand how the teachings of the Gita apply to the real world. Engage students in discussions about each topic in a relatable way. 7th Grade
C2 (Bhagavadgita - Advanced) 8th Grade
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CONTACT US

(We will get back to you within 24 hours to 48 hours)

Temple Schedule
Weekdays:
Morning: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Evening: 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM to 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM
On January 1st and major religious holidays, the temple will be open all day from 9am to 8pm.
(Priest services are not available from 12:30 pm to 5:00 pm)

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Contact Us
P.O. Box 690,
2909 Bloom Road,
Finksburg, MD 21048
Phone: 410-861-8387
E-mail: info@baltimoretemple.org

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