Spirit Play (4-5 year olds)
This week’s story is “The Rooster Who Learned to
Crow,” a Yellow promise story, which is our 5th principle – yearn to
accept and learn about ourselves and others. In this story, a young rooster
grows up on a farm that is always late because it had no rooster to crow early
in the morning. All the animals are excited for the rooster to be old enough to
crow, but the rooster is fearful that it doesn’t know how to crow and that his
friends won’t like him anymore. He does crow, of course, and the other animals
give him the open acceptance and love he is yearning for.
Wondering Questions:
I wonder which
part of this story is the most important?
I wonder which
part you like the best?
I wonder where
you are in this story?
I wonder how a
rooster knows how to be a rooster?
I wonder how a
pig knows how to be a pig?
I wonder how you
know how to be yourself?
I wonder if you
have learned anything new this year?
I wonder if
learning new things is hard for everyone?
I wonder if you
have ever been afraid to try something new?
I wonder if Mrs.
Chicken was proud of her son, young Mr. Rooster?
I wonder where
the Spirit of Love and Mystery is in this story?
General Promise Questions:
I wonder if you have ever
made a promise?
I wonder which promise you
like the best?
I wonder how it feels when we
keep a promise?
I wonder what happens when we
keep a promise?
I wonder if it is easy or
hard to keep a promise?
I wonder what happens when a
promise is broken?
I wonder what here is most
important?
I wonder how it feels to be
on this rainbow path?
Grades K-2: Wonderful Welcome
Taking It Home, Session 6: The Gift Of Friends
A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
Hold a true friend with both your hands.
— Nigerian proverb
IN TODAY'S SESSION...
When the children opened the Wonder Box today, they found a friendship bracelet. We talked about the intangible gift of friendship. Friends can be people we have known a long time or people we just met.
In the story, How Coyote Lost His Songs, Music and Dance, a coyote decides that he doesn't want to be around his friends. As he abandons his friends to go off and be alone, he loses his ability to sing, dance and make music. Through a dream, he learns how his friends enrich his life in such a way that they inspire his music, song and dance. The children made "friendship flowers" to share with someone special. They also sang the song, "Make New Friends."
EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Talk about...
How do you make friends as a family? Have you vacationed and met people whom you have kept in touch with? Even if you don't see friends you meet on vacation again, recall how they made the vacation more fun by sharing experiences. Think about the friends you have made in your life, and talk about why it is important to have friends.
EXTEND THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Try...
... reaching out to an old friend you have not spoken to in a long time. Talk as a family about someone you all remember, perhaps from an old neighborhood, a previous school or job, or another congregation. Contact them and ask how they are doing. You can have your child draw a picture to send to that friend.
Grades 3-5: Love Will Guide Us
Taking It Home, Session 2: Awesome Love
I want to be a dogfish
and catch a leaping catfish
with whiskers as long as the stream.
And I want to be
the rain trinkling down on the world
telling it it's springtime.
— Noah Frank, Grade 2, Lakeshore Elementary School, California
IN TODAY'S SESSION... Children listened to a magical, bedtime story by Kim Stafford, "We All Got Here Together," which offers a mystery-filled explanation for beginnings. Drawing on the story's bubble and rain themes, the children imagined their own story and made rain sticks. The children learned about our first Unitarian Universalist Source—in child-friendly words, "The sense of wonder we all share."
When you read the Source, it is easy to see why it needs simplification:
Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life.
Children heard these words:
Today we talked about things we see, hear, or touch in nature that can make us feel awe and wonder. Our own, personal feeling inside of awe and wonder is one of our Unitarian Universalist Sources that points us to love.
And we read together:
Our Unitarian Universalist beliefs come from the sense of wonder we all share.
By opening children's minds to spirituality, we hope they will develop spiritual traits we cultivate in ourselves: love, compassion, and service; connection with the earth; and a sense of purpose and place in the universe.
EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER. We used the word "awesome" to suggest the transcendence of life and how nature's wonders sometimes strike us. Consider using the word "awesome" as you share moments of awe with your child. You might ask:
- Did anything awesome and wonderful happen at school today? Something that took you by surprise and made you glad?
- Are you ever just amazed at how leaves come out on a tree every spring? Do you think that's awesome? (Of course, you may get a very practical and scientific response to this.)
A Family Game. Play "I Spy" outdoors: One player says "I spy, with my little eye, something... (say the color of the item you are looking at).". The others guess the item. If you live in an urban setting, go to a park and try to spy items from nature as well as human-made items. If you have a backyard, try to spy items that are not usually noticed, such as a small bird—even a squirrel, a nut, or something else seen so constantly that you may take it for granted. Perhaps try to find a nest or a small hole in the ground that might be used as a burrow for a small animal. Use this game to promote awareness of awesome nature around us.
A Family Ritual. If you do not already do so, light a chalice (which can be as simple as a votive glass) before your family dinner. Use simple words to set a theme for each meal. "Give thanks and praises" (Bob Marley) is a good example. Or, have children write their own.
Taking It Home, Session 2: Awesome Love
I want to be a dogfish
and catch a leaping catfish
with whiskers as long as the stream.
And I want to be
the rain trinkling down on the world
telling it it's springtime.
— Noah Frank, Grade 2, Lakeshore Elementary School, California
IN TODAY'S SESSION... Children listened to a magical, bedtime story by Kim Stafford, "We All Got Here Together," which offers a mystery-filled explanation for beginnings. Drawing on the story's bubble and rain themes, the children imagined their own story and made rain sticks. The children learned about our first Unitarian Universalist Source—in child-friendly words, "The sense of wonder we all share."
When you read the Source, it is easy to see why it needs simplification:
Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life.
Children heard these words:
Today we talked about things we see, hear, or touch in nature that can make us feel awe and wonder. Our own, personal feeling inside of awe and wonder is one of our Unitarian Universalist Sources that points us to love.
And we read together:
Our Unitarian Universalist beliefs come from the sense of wonder we all share.
By opening children's minds to spirituality, we hope they will develop spiritual traits we cultivate in ourselves: love, compassion, and service; connection with the earth; and a sense of purpose and place in the universe.
EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER. We used the word "awesome" to suggest the transcendence of life and how nature's wonders sometimes strike us. Consider using the word "awesome" as you share moments of awe with your child. You might ask:
- Did anything awesome and wonderful happen at school today? Something that took you by surprise and made you glad?
- Are you ever just amazed at how leaves come out on a tree every spring? Do you think that's awesome? (Of course, you may get a very practical and scientific response to this.)
A Family Game. Play "I Spy" outdoors: One player says "I spy, with my little eye, something... (say the color of the item you are looking at).". The others guess the item. If you live in an urban setting, go to a park and try to spy items from nature as well as human-made items. If you have a backyard, try to spy items that are not usually noticed, such as a small bird—even a squirrel, a nut, or something else seen so constantly that you may take it for granted. Perhaps try to find a nest or a small hole in the ground that might be used as a burrow for a small animal. Use this game to promote awareness of awesome nature around us.
A Family Ritual. If you do not already do so, light a chalice (which can be as simple as a votive glass) before your family dinner. Use simple words to set a theme for each meal. "Give thanks and praises" (Bob Marley) is a good example. Or, have children write their own.
Middle School: Riddle and Mystery
Taking It Home, Planning Session
Ask about the social justice project the middle school class planned, and what upcoming events they want to schedule for the middle school youth group!
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