Sports Day 2009

Every year, we always had the opportunity to let our students play as well as their parents. So, last September 10, 2009 we had our Sports Day 2009. Our objective for this activity is to allow our students to learn about sportsmanship and at the same time have fun. Well, it was indeed fun as all our students enjoyed the activity. Not just the kids but also their parents. Below are the photos of the said event.

Spending Family Time Together

By: Diane Ryals, M.S.
University of Illinois Extension


Healthy active families enjoy being together. Family time doesn’t have to be elaborate or expensive. Often, the simplest activities contribute to important family bonding and long-term memories.

When children are asked, “What makes a happy family?” they respond “Doing things together!” It may seem so obvious that it gets overlooked, but doing things together as a family builds family strengths. People sometimes say that it’s not the quantity of time that is important but the quality of time. However, it is difficult to have a relationship with someone you do not spend much time with on a regular basis.

Here are ideas for busy parents on how to turn everyday activities into family time:

Play games or dance as you cook, shop, clean, or take care of pets or farm animals.

Expand healthy ideas into everyday family life…

Sing or listen to music together.

Exercise together.

Cuddle together with a good book. Make it a part of your everyday routine, perhaps each night before bed.

Sit down next to your child to pay the bills, and go through the mail as he colors a picture.

Limit TV time. Some TV time together might be worthwhile in strengthening families, but there are better ways families could be spending time together.

Plan to use car travel time as a special “together time.”
Sing together.

Talk about your day and ask your child to talk about hers.
Tell stories about your childhood.

Have children tell you a story; identify colors, shapes, or objects along the road.

Plan a special night, perhaps each week, when the family eats the child’s favorite food.

Give your children a responsibility in the grocery store. Ask them to:

Match the coupons with the labels.

Point out or find where the items are.

Play games such as “I see something” and have the children guess what you see.

Along with a goodnight hug and kiss, tell your child how much you appreciate all the good things he did that day.

Be specific.

Don’t feel guilty. Family time may not always end up “greeting card” happy.

Quality time is simply the things we remember, that we hold on to at the end of the day.

Christmas Party

My students are excited about the upcoming activity, ou Christmas Party. This is a fun activity where kids will sing Christmas tunes and at the same recieve gifts from their parents. Parents have thier exchange of gifts activity. I hope our Christmas Party will be a happy one.

Got to go now, as I will still have to buy toys for the kids.

Why is Teaching Music So Important?

In all ages the thoughtful have called music "the celestial Art". Artists have pictured the angels playing on harps, and this teaches us that the soul comes on earth with the love of music. It is not after being born on earth that man learns to love music; the soul was already enthralled by music before it came to earth. . . . music is the first and the last thing to appeal to every soul.

Music is the most wonderful way to spiritual realization; there is no quicker and no surer way of attaining spiritual perfection than through music. . . . In golden age(s) there was the music of the soul, a music that appealed to the soul itself and that raised it to cosmic consciousness, the music of the angels, the music that was healing and soothing.

(Hazrat Inayat Khan gave a warning from an old Hindu story that tells how a musician invented a new way of composing music.)

". . . When this man sang his new compositions, he won the admiration and praise of everyone at the court. But one of the old musicians who was present said, "If Your Majesty will pardon me, I would like to say a word. There is no doubt that this is most beautiful music, and it has won the admiration of all those present, and also my own. But I must tell you that from this day the music of the country, instead of going upward, will go downward. . . .And so it happened; step by step after that, that music was brought down.

Music should be healing; music should uplift the soul; music should inspire. There is no better way of getting closer to God, of rising higher towards the spirit, of attaining spiritual perfection than music, if only it is rightly understood.

Excerpts from the Music of Life
by Hazrat Inayat Khan