Primary Schools:
Most of these modules are applicable for primary and secondary students. We cater for KS1 and KS2 children and SEN students. For modules on other R.E. topics please visit our other website at www.hinduismworkshops.com
Children love getting dressed up and seeing their teachers getting dressed up too. They enjoy varieties of
wisdom filled stories during the workshops.
Buddha's story of the mustard seeds is a great way to explain that how sharing big problems with others makes them seem much smaller.
The Buddhist Calendar module presents the twelve animals of the Chinese Year. The story goes that one day the Buddha called all the animals of the forest to come for a meeting. Only twelve turned up and they became the Buddhist calendar animals.
Time is set aside for studying Buddha's life and teachings. This includes some history, the law of karma, ahimsa or nonviolence, reincarnation and nirvana or freedom from the three fold material sufferings.
Traditional dance plays a big part of Buddhist culture. We include these exciting and dynamic items within the workshop. They are a lot of fun and are quite a good work out for anyone needing it!
The drama workshop is most popular in all schools. The children get to dress up and act out the life story of Buddha. Some children take the part of Siddhartha's royal parents, wife, friends and many followers. Even Hindu gods like Brahma and Sarasvati are depicted in the life of Buddha.
Sitting quietly is often the most difficult thing for any child to do. A meditiation session has such an effect on both staff and pupils that teachers continue with meditation and mind-fulness sessions long after our visit. This is one of the only educ-ational websites dedi- cated to teaching INDICA RE in schools.
Young minds are naturally inquisitive about life and as the workshops progress children begin to ask more questions. This educational opportunity invites them them to ask as many questions as possible and find out more about India and its history and spiritual culture. Even the teachers ask more questions and there is a great sense of sharing for all.
Children and teaching staff both enjoy face painting sessions. We use high quality face paint from Hobby- craft and high quality Henna paste for Mehndi art. All the children get to keep the face paint on during the day and some go home to show their parents how nice they looked during our Buddhism workshop.
This workshop edu- cates the students about how vast the Buddhist vegetarian quisine actually is. When we visit some schools and present the non-meat diet, teaching staff and students may be discouraged because they think there is no variety in this food and they would probably have to live on salads and fruits for the rest of their lives. This brilliant workshop puts an end to the myth that a life without meat, fish and eggs is not nutritious and satisfying.
We ensure that all our artefacts and props are of the highest quality. This brings everything to life and no doubt the children are fascinated by all the things we bring into the school. We have several large boxes of costumes and related items making BHS Work-shops the best value for your schools budget.
This session includes dressing up in bright majestic costumes and enacting the life of Buddha. It also covers his teachings and the history of how and when Buddhism spread from India and split into 18 factions. We provide an impressive wardrobe of colourful, majestic and exciting clothing for children of all ages, shapes and sizes.
We take about an hour to set up the three tierd displays which produce an authentic Buddhist Temple (Vihara), in your hall or classroom. There are many artefacts the the children may use, en-abling all the pupils and staff to experience what it is like to be in a real temple right there in your school.
Musical instruments are very important in the Buddhist path of enlightenment. Tibetan gong, drums, singing bowls and other subtle sound play a big part in the soothing sounds that accompany prayers and mantra chanting.