Registration for 2020-21 school year is now closed.
What’s new for 2020-21
- All classes will be online for the entire school year. CMSJ has standardized on Webex as the platform to conduct all classes. Please read this for information on getting ready for classes: https://www.cmsj.org/webex-information/
- Bala Vihar, Hindi language and Cognitive Math textbooks can be purchased online at https://bookstore.cmsj.org/collections/bala-vihar-text-books-1. Please choose the pickup location when placing your order. The CMSJ Bookstore team will contact you with a pickup time window.
- In consideration of economic hardships related to COVID-19, we are making a one-time reduction of the annual membership fee for 2020-21. Our community has always supported us well, and we are reducing our fees this year to support our community. The fee has been reduced to $450 for this year. The annual fee for a class e.g. Bala Vihar or Hindi, stays at $35 per child per class for the entire year. We expect we will increase our fees again only in 2021-22, provided economic conditions improve. Please reach out privately to the Bala Vihar coordinator of the location closest to you if you have any circumstances that need financial accommodation.
- Only parents or legal guardians can register a child e.g. you cannot register your niece or nephew or a family friend. This has always been the policy, but this year this will be enforced more strictly. You may be asked to provide documentation in case there are questions about registration. Refer to the Chinmaya Mission San Jose Bala Vihar Terms and Conditions for more details.
- Live discourses for adults: We are blessed to have a resident spiritual teacher at CMSJ, Brahmachari Soham Chaitanya. Soham ji will conduct live discourses for adults Saturday and Sunday mornings. As always adult classes are free and open to all. See Discourses for more details.
- Webex links are sent with registration emails since Sep 10th 4pm. If your child(ren) are already registered find your class links here: Bala Vihar Transaction Summary
- Please send an email to helpdesk@cmsj.org if you have any questions regarding Bala Vihar and other children’s classes.
CMSJ Bala Vihar Calendar 2020-21
The 2020-21 calendar below applies to all schedules.
Please note that the schedule is subject to change
| Month | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2020 | 12th, 19th, 26th | 13th, 20th, 27th |
| Oct 2020 | 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, 31st | 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th |
| Nov 2020 | 7th, 21st 14th Closed for Diwali, 28th for Thanksgiving | 1st, 8th, 22nd 15th Closed for Diwali, 29th for Thanksgiving |
| Dec 2020 | 5th, 12th, 19th 26th closed for Winter break | 6th, 13th, 20th 27th closed for Winter break |
| Jan 2021 | 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th 2nd closed for Winter break | 10th, 17th, 24th, 31st 3rd closed for Winter break |
| Feb 2021 | 6th, 20th, 27th 13th closed for President’s Day | 7th, 21st, 28th 14th closed for President’s Day |
| Mar 2021 | 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th | 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th |
| Apr 2021 | 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th | 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th |
| May 2021 | 1st, 8th, 15th 22nd Bala Utsav | 2nd, 9th, 16th 23rd Bala Utsav |
Bala Vihar in the Bay Area was started in 1981 by our dear Uma Auntie under the guidance of Pujya Gurudev. It has grown from a humble beginning of 6 children to over 2150 students spread across five locations today. For 2020-21, all classes will be conducted online.
The classes are arranged according to the school system – Kindergarten through High School (K-12). We do not place children in class by age. The grade in which the child is enrolled in school is the consideration for admission to Chinmaya Bala Vihar/Yuva Kendra.
About Shishu Vihar (Bala Vihar for PreKG)
Shishu Vihar is a parent-and-toddler style class for 3 and 4 year olds. Children attend with their parents and get familiar with basic concepts in Hinduism (gods and their characteristics, names of holidays) in a fun and engaging way through song, stories, arts and crafts appropriate to their age and development.
Swamini Supriyananda (a child psychologist before she turned to the Vedantic path) conceptualized Shishu Vihar and first implemented it in Hong Kong years ago. She has trained all of CMSJ’s Shishu Vihar teachers in the style and preparatory materials for this class. If you have any further questions, please reach out to the co-ordinator of the location nearest to you.
Languages
Several Indian languages are also taught as part of this program.
Please note, however, that registration to just language classes is not supported. Students have to be enrolled in and attend Chinmaya Bala Vihar/Yuva Kendra classes to be eligible for language class. In other words, to register for language classes, students must first register in Chinmaya Bala Vihar/Yuva Kendra classes and attend them.
- San Mateo: Hindi
- San Jose: Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi, Sanskrit, Tamil and Telugu
- Fremont: Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Sanskrit and Telugu
- San Ramon: Sanskrit, Hindi, Malayalam and Telugu
Note: The languages offered may change from year to year.
