Today we had our second Baha'i Toddler Devotional and Playgroup (Baha'i Children Classes for little ones of 1 to 4 yr old).
We decided on a name for our Baha'i Toddler Devotional and Playgroup and it is now going to be called "Tender Seedlings"
Don't you just love this name??? We do!! It's really cute and it's just exactly what our brilliant toddlers are.... tender seedlings of God!

The theme of today was "The world is full of colours".
We all got comfortably seated on the big purple rug and lots of comfortable cushions in the playroom and we started with prayers, we sang "Blessed is the spot" and said a Writing from Baha'u'llah.
The children present (Mona and Aryan) were more cooperative than at the previous class.
After the devotional it was time for 'Story Time" and the little tots were so excited when I took out my 'Story Time Box' (which is basically a toy box filled with toys, puppets, books, pictures, material etc that i would need for the specific story).
The story today was about the world being one big beautiful garden with lots of different things and colors that make it so beautiful. I explained with the help of toys and pictures how we are all different but at the same time we are one big family and also shared the quotation from Baha'u'llah "The earth is but one country and mankind it's citizen."
Then I told the children that i had a big problem and they both had very concerned looks on their faces. I told them that I had those beautiful drawings of children from around the world, but that there wasn't any colors on them and that I needed their help to put colors and make the drawings more beautiful. So they sat down at the table and started coloring the pictures with beautiful colors. After helping them a little bit, the two mums and 1 grandma present, moved to the big table where we had refreshments and discussed about the responsibilities of the spiritual education imposed upon us as is mentioned in the Baha'i Writings.
It was very inspiring for us and we shared a few examples as well.
The children came to joined us for refreshments and of course it wasn't without any mess.
But it was once more a very exciting and wonderful time for us all, the children really enjoyed it and so did the parents and we can't wait for the next 'Tender Seedlings' Playgroup!
For pictures click here

Tonight was the Baha'i 19 Day Feast of Nur, which means 'Light'.

It was a longer feast than usual and i must admit that Mona was pretty much well-behaved for 3/4 of the time. She was talking in her low voice like we told her to, whispering, even though we had to remind her to keep her voice down, but she did a good job at it. We kept her busy with a drawing book and colored pencils and some snacks. After 1 hour though, she started acting up and didn't want to stay quiet, so I took her out for a bit and she ran and jump around for a bit till she got tired i think, then we went back inside and she was good again and when she saw the oranges on the refreshment table, she couldn't wait anymore... 'Mona hungry' she said when she saw the food on the table! lol...

During the feast, we remembered the dear friends in Iran who are prison because of their Faith and belief, and organised a special devotional meeting for them in our community. We read and discuss the message of Ridvan from the Universal House of Justice, shared news of activities that are happening in our community and I got to shared a bit about our first Baha'i Toddler Devotional and Playgroup, among other things.

So about the lemons you ask, well, we have a lemon tree in our backyard and it has been giving lots and lots of yummy lemons lately, so much that I didn't know what to do with them.
We gave lemons to our family members each week, but there are still plenty left and too much for me to use in daily cooking (all of my cooking now contains lemon juice! lol).
I wanted to prepare some lemon biscuits or lemon bars to bring to the feast, but i didn't have enough time to do it, so I though i will just bring the lemons to the feast for people who want to take some home.
The lemons went like hot cakes!! I was happy and so were the friends!!

For pics click here.

Today we had our first Baha'i Toddler Devotional and Playgroup. It's like a small Baha'i Children Classes but for toddlers.
We start with prayers, then a little animated story with puppets and toys, then it's refreshments and snack time and then playtime.
There were 3 toddlers, 2 girls aged 2 years old (Mona and Ashi) and 1 boy aged 3 year old (Aryan).
We are expecting more toddlers to join in at the next classes and it sounds very exciting.

Today, as it was our very first time, we started with devotions. When we told the tots that we are going to do prayers and gave them each a prayer board book, they started to refuse to say prayers, Aryan started to run away and Mona started to throw the prayers books on the floor. We quickly distracted them and started to sing 'Blessed is the Spot", while we were singing all the kids kept quiet and listened attentively to the moms singing.
After the devotions, we let the kids go play and have some snacks while we discussed on the details and programs of the future Baha'i Toddler Devotional and Playgroup.
We decided to have the classes every Saturday afternoon at our house and we would used the stories I have found. Our goal is to get the children to learn some short Baha'i Prayers and how to behave when prayers are being said. We also want to teach them spiritual virtues and stories of the Faith with the help of puppets and toys. The only thing we forgot to talk about was a name for the class.

So after the break, I gathered the kids around Mona's red table to tell them the story of Noah's Arch. I used Mona's puppets and animal toys and a boat and a little man to illustrate the story.
The kids participated by making the sounds of the animals. They really enjoyed the story and even clapped hands when it was done. After the story, they were invited to come and play with the animals.

The children really had a great time, specially Mona. They need to get used to this new routine and new friends and I am sure our Baha'i Toddler Devotional and Playgroup will become a success.

Here are some pics of the children playing with the animals after the story and some pics of Mona playing after everyone had left.

Click here for pictures