Kids Club Committee By Maulee Shah

Kids Club Committee

By Maulee Shah, Huntingdon Valley, PA

Maulee Shah is a software engineer at one of the largest US law firms. She is a singer, dancer, choreographer, and mother of two beautiful children. She is a volunteer with many non-profit organizations including JAINA. Maulee has taught at pathshala and teaches sutras to the young generation. She enjoys making delish Jain and Vegan dishes and creates kids friendly Ayambil recipes. She loves to travel and hike.

Committee Members: Maulee Shah - Committee Chair, Dimple Shah - Co-Chair, Deesha Ajmera

Like many unexpected journeys, the idea of an interactive virtual Kid’s Club for JAINA 2021 started out as a chat in the hallway of the South New Jersey Jain Sangh Derasar. We were all just so happy to see one another after a year-long quarantine! The excitement was in the air and the enthusiasm to spread the joy of Jainism was irresistible.

Traditionally, the in-person JAINA Kid’s Club was for ages 6-12 and was mostly a “drop-off” area so parents could attend sessions while their children were entertained and cared for. The idea of a scheduled online curriculum with education tailored for different age groups was novel. After many email and phone conversations with JAINA leadership and prior Kid’s Club Chairs, I determined the right age groups to split the audience and found thematic elements that would be intriguing to each group.

I had attended JAINA conventions in the past, but this was my first time participating in the planning process. I was a bit nervous and concerned about the output; but my experience as a Pathshala teacher and proud mother of 2 reminded me that I know what kids will respond to. In this global online forum, we needed to teach children with activities in addition to didactic lectures.

For our 6-8 year old audience, goal was to keep them occupied in a peaceful and introspective way. Their activities were: Coloring and connect-the-dots of 14 dreams, Bhagwan’s Lanchhans, Daily Niyams game, Stories of Shalibhadra, Meghkumar, Hemchandracharya, Young Jain Minds magazine and games like I-spy, crossword puzzle, word scramble, word search, “know your Tirth” and many more. This would allow their parents to attend JAINA sessions without needing to provide regular I.T. support or worry about hours of screen time. There was also one live session for 6-8 year olds and they truly enjoyed learning Tirthankars’ names and Lanchhan with a rap song while dancing and singing.

For our 9-12 year old audience, I had a structured program with three to four sessions per day with an hour break in between sessions to help them recover from screen fatigue. For this age group, we took full advantage of the online platform and had a lot of assistance from YJA leadership. I asked myself, what would my kids want from this convention. My son, Rikin, loves stories and he is a foodie. My daughter, Jasmine, loves Harry Potter and exercise. I thought about all my nieces and nephews. While it is easy to come up with fun and creative ideas, the implementation for each session was the biggest achievement for Kid’s Club. Our final lineup consisted of live workshops like Sathiyo, Jain cooking, Ahimsa Art, Astaprakari Bhav Puja.

One of the speaker’s was able to tie-in Harry Potter with Jain principles. ABCJ - American Born Confused Jain was among the best sessions which emphasized Jainism as a lifestyle. It guided the youth on how to be a better Jain while raised outside of India.

As with any ambitious plan, there were challenges. Coming up with titles that enticed the audience was a minor hurdle. Our speakers fit into the plan like pieces of a puzzle, but it took a long time to realize there are more volunteers needed. There were I.T. needs, promotion assistance and generalized organization that were not easy to find. Deesha was a lifesaver and played a key role before and during the Kids Club sessions.

No Stove - Live Jain Cooking

Storytime

If I were to improve only one aspect of the 2021 Kid’s Club, it would be global marketing. Our sessions were designed for a global audience with capacity for hundreds of participants. We fell short of that mark, but I hope the ondemand sessions are viewed by all! Other lessons learned: provide clear guidance of what level of commitment a team member or a volunteer will need to provide, keep ancillary volunteers for unexpected needs, and always have a backup plan for technology issues.

My support system - my husband, kids and both sets of parents are my biggest motivation. That made the 2021 JAINA Kid’s Club experience incredible! It was a lot of work and I appreciate all the faith JAINA leadership put in me.. I also want to thank all my friends and relatives that gave me their support and time!

Sathiyo Workshop

Yoga for fun!