Online Children Dharma Class – Learning About the Mind of Chan and Celebrating the Mooncake Festival
On the 19th of September, the YAD resumed the 5th online children dharma class. The children were well adapted to this online learning mode and enjoyed themselves. 13 children aged between 5 and 11 attended the course. It was a lively and engaging class despite the lockdown.
The class was led by Sakya, Jane and Lisa, while Thomas was helping as technical support. The class started with the chanting of Xi Fa Pu Ti Xin（悉发菩提心）, which has been a regular activity done in every children dharma class since the beginning of this year to implant Bodhi seeds and faith in these young children. Sakya then carried on the class by guiding through Bodhi Light Tales 28: The Mind of Chan by Venerable Miao Guang. This podcast emphasised the importance of adapting to the different situations around us despite the changing environments. This lesson is undoubtedly vital to young children and adults, as it can train them to realise the need to be flexible when needed and not have a fixed mindset. By utilising online interactive tools such as Kahoot!, the children felt excited and engaged, which helped them to understand Buddhism values in a fun way. "It was so great. It was really fun. I hope other kids would also like it. I like playing Kahoot games and the chanting." Emmeline, a student, added.
Following that, a fun and engaging memory game was led by Jane. This activity allowed students to be interactive while training their focus and memory in a fun and interactive manner. Afterwards, Lisa shared a video of the upcoming mooncake festival and prompted the students to answer some of the questions about this festival. This was especially meaningful as the students got to learn more about the festival. The lantern making session was one of the highlights of the class, and students were able to make their lanterns at home with simple crafts. "The class was great. I like making the lantern. The teachers were brilliant!" shared Zoey. This was a great success, capturing the children's attention while getting them to learn more about these occasions and the meaning behind why we celebrate them.
Children's dharma class is an essential platform for both children and teachers. It instils positive values in children and helping youths to grow by spreading Buddhism knowledge for young children to develop better personalities to help them in the future. "I am happy that I decorated my lantern. After I decorated my lantern, it looked adorable. The teachers were nice, kind and cheerful," added Emmeline. On the other side, Jane felt that it was nice to see the class being so engaging and enjoyable for the children despite our online circumstances. "I liked how the teachers created a friendly environment for the children to share their ideas and interact with each other. The teachers were being very supportive of each other and also helped to share ideas and thoughts."