FAITHFUL JOURNEYS
A Tapestry of Faith Program for Children
SESSION 3: WELCOMING SUPERMAN
BY BY ALICE ANACHEKA-NASEMANN AND LYNN UNGAR SUSAN DANA LAWRENCE, DEVELOPMENTAL EDITOR JUDITH A. FREDIANI, DIRECTOR OF LIFESPAN FAITH DEVELOPMENT
© Copyright 2009 Unitarian Universalist Association.
Published to the Web on 11/7/2014 2:05:57 PM PST.
This program and additional resources are available on the UUA.org web site at
www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith.
SESSION OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
One's life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, indignation and compassion. — Simone de Beauvoir, 20th-century French author
A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. — Christopher Reeve (1952-2004), actor, director and advocate for people with disabilities
This session uses the story of Unitarian Universalist Christopher Reeve to examine our first Unitarian Universalist Principle, the inherent worth and dignity of every person. After a fall from a horse, Reeve went from being an active, athletic man who portrayed Superman on-screen to losing the ability to move his body below the neck. Reeve went on to live a different kind of heroism as an advocate for research and support to help people with spinal cord injuries. He spoke to Congress and many other audiences. He founded the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, which funds research on spinal cord injuries and offers grants to improve the lives of people who have become disabled.
Christopher Reeve's story serves as a springboard to issues of inclusion as children are guided to reflect on the ways we affirm the worth and dignity of every person. They learn how our congregations affirm our first Principle when we provide accessibility to people of differing abilities, and they consider what it means when we fail to provide such a welcome. Participants explore what they can accomplish without using physical abilities they ordinarily rely on. As they broaden their thinking about what constitutes "ability" or "disability," children also learn that each of us has the capacity to use our personal agency to do good in the world — no matter how we are "abled."
When the group conducts an accessibility audit of your congregational facility (Activity 6), use the perspective of whether we would be able to welcome Superman. This activity will be most effective using a wheelchair or a large stroller to test surfaces, thresholds, and inclines for accessibility.
GOALS
This session will:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will:
SESSION-AT-A-GLANCE
Activity | Minutes |
Opening | 2 |
Activity 1: Faithful Footprints | 5 |
Activity 2: Move It! Another Way Relay | 7 |
Activity 3: Story Basket and Centering | 5 |
Activity 4: Story — A Different Kind of Superhero: Christopher Reeve | 8 |
Activity 5: Guided Meditation and Shared Reflection | 6 |
Activity 6: Accessibility Audit | 20 |
Faith in Action: Report on Accessibility Audit | 15 |
Closing | 7 |
Alternate Activity 1: Design a Superhero | 20 |
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION
If it would be helpful in creating sacred space, light a candle or chalice. Read through the story "A Different Kind of Superhero: Christopher Reeve," and familiarize yourself with its language and content. In silent meditation or in conversation with a co-leader or trusted friend, consider your own assumptions about physical abilities and people or experiences that have challenged them. Do you or a loved one have limited mobility or another physical disability? Have you ever temporarily lost physical ability due to injury? Can you recall any ways your own long-term or temporary limitations have affected your relationships with others? Have you ever experienced being excluded from an activity in which you needed or wanted to participate, because of physical limitations? If so, how did that feel? How did you handle the situation? Have you ever experienced being excluded from an activity for reasons other than physical limitations? If so, how did that feel?
Imagine your congregation as people enter for worship or other activities. What kind of welcome do people receive? Is the welcome different for newcomers vs. long-time members? How are children welcomed? Teens? Young adults? Elderly people? Imagine walking through your congregation's building(s). What do you see that conveys welcome? What do you see that might exclude some individuals?
Consider how you, as a leader, provide welcome to the children in the group. Is your time together inclusive of different learning styles? Different personalities and energy levels? Different levels of ability? If ideas occur to you about making religious education sessions more welcoming of different styles and abilities, note these for future use.
SESSION PLAN
OPENING (2 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the children in a circle. Light the chalice. Point out the chalice-lighting words on the newsprint and invite the group to read together:
We light this flame for the light of truth, the warmth of love, and the energy of action.
Indicate the poster(s) of the Unitarian Universalist Principles. Or, give each child a copy of the handout. Ask a volunteer to read the first Principle in the adult language. Ask a second volunteer to read the children's version of the first Principle. Then, say:
Today we will learn about this Unitarian Universalist Principle — what it means, and what kinds of actions show it. Let's get started.
Collect handouts for reuse.
Including All Participants
If not all participants are fluent readers, take the time to teach the group to say the opening words from memory.
If the group has children who are sensitive to perfumes or other chemicals, use unscented candles or an electric or battery-operated flame. An electric flame is also recommended if you may not use open flames or if any participants are afraid of fire.
ACTIVITY 1: FAITHFUL FOOTPRINTS (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity reinforces children's learning as they model translating faith into action for one another. To strengthen children's Unitarian Universalist identity, help participants see how their own behavior demonstrates specific Principles.
Gather in a circle. Point to the Faithful Journeys Path and say:
Together we are taking a journey to learn what it means to live as Unitarian Universalists. Each time we meet, we have a chance to talk about ways our actions show our beliefs about what is right and good. This is called "putting our faith into action."
When you share about something you have done that shows what you believe, you can choose a footprint or tracks for us to put on our Faithful Journeys Path.
Hold up the footprint you made of your own faithful action. Tell what you did and how it represents your Unitarian Universalist beliefs. If you can connect your action to a Principle, briefly explain. For example:
Ask the children to think of an act they have done, since you met last, that reflects Unitarian Universalism. You may wish to prompt:
As participants name their actions, write a word or phrase describing the action on a footprint or wheelchair tracks cutout. Invite children to write their names on their cutouts and post them along the edge of the Faithful Journeys Path. In early sessions, post cutouts near the start of the path. Have them progress along the path over the course of the program.
To stay within the time frame for this activity, use these guidelines:
It is very important to avoid judging participants, either with criticism or praise. Avoid phrases like "Great job!" or "You're fantastic!" which might suggest that acts of faith vary in their value or encourage children to compete to share the "best" act.
You should, however, respond to each child's contribution. Listen carefully to what a child tells you. After each child shares, say something like, "Thank you for sharing," followed by a summarizing sentence, such as:
Identify the Unitarian Universalist Principles each act represents; refer to the Principles poster if the room has one or indicate a relevant signpost on the Faithful Journeys Path. By responding specifically to each child's faithful actions, you will help them feel pride, a sense of accomplishment, and their own empowerment as agents whose actions and choices reflect Unitarian Universalist beliefs and values.
Including All Participants
Along with cut-out footprints (Session 1, Handout 3, Faithful Footprints), provide wheelchairs (Session 1, Handout 4, Making Tracks for Faith) in the same colors of paper. Encourage all the children — not just those who use wheelchairs for mobility — to sometimes use a wheelchair instead of footprints to represent their faithful actions.
ACTIVITY 2: MOVE IT! ANOTHER WAY RELAY (7 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Children stretch mentally and physically to complete tasks without using the abilities they would ordinarily employ to accomplish these tasks.
Invite children to count off by threes to form teams. If any teams have only two members, ask a few "ones" to volunteer to be "threes" on another team after their job on the first team is complete. (This is a good assignment for children who have abundant energy and can multitask.) Tell the children:
The first member of your team must cross the room without using their feet, pick up the slip of paper they will find there without using their hands, and return to their group without using their feet.
Then, the second member of the team takes the slip of paper from the first person and reads it to themselves. Team member 2 must communicate these instructions to team member 3 without using their voice.
The third member of the team must figure out what the second member is telling them to do, complete the task, and return to tag team member 1.
The team that finishes first is the winner and has one minute to make up a victory cheer that has no words.
Including All Participants
Not all children this age are fluent readers; be alert and ready to assist any "twos" who need to read and act out written instructions.
Tailor the instructions in this activity to make sure the assigned task is both possible and a meaningful stretch for each child. For example, if a child with limited mobility is a "one," you might ask them to cross the room slowly, stopping completely each time they need to take a breath, instead of not using their feet or hands.
ACTIVITY 3: STORY BASKET AND CENTERING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the children in a circle in your storytelling area. Show them the storytelling basket. Say something like, "Let's see what's in our story basket this week."
Tell the group the items in the story basket will be placed on this altar or table after the children have passed them around the circle. Take the story-related items from the basket, one at a time, and pass them around. Objects that are fragile or should not be passed around for any reason can be held up for all to see and then placed directly on the altar.
Briefly name the various objects. Show the picture of Christopher Reeve and explain that he was an actor who spoke out for the rights of disabled people after he was injured in an accident.
As the items come back to you, display them on the altar for children to look at as they listen to the story.
Now remove the sound instrument from the story basket. Tell the children that every time you tell a story in Faithful Journeys, you will first use the instrument to help them get their ears, minds, and bodies ready to listen. Invite them to sit comfortably and close their eyes (if they are comfortable doing so). You may tell them that closing their eyes can help them focus on just listening.
In a calm voice, say:
As you breathe in, feel your body opening up with air. As you breathe out, feel yourself relaxing.
Repeat this once or twice. Then, say:
Now you are ready to listen. When I hit the chime (turn the rain stick over), listen as carefully as you can. See how long you can hear its sound. When you can no longer hear it, open your eyes and you will know it is time for the story to begin.
Sound the chime or other instrument. When the sound has gone, begin telling the story.
Including All Participants
If anyone in the group is unable to hold or pass items, or cannot see the items, make sure you or a child in the group offers the person a chance to see and touch each object, as needed.
Some people do not feel safe closing their eyes when they are in a group. If any children resist, respect their resistance and suggest that they find a single point of focus to look at instead.
If you have a basket of fidget objects for children who may listen and learn more effectively with something in their hands, make the fidget object basket available during this activity. Remind children where it is before you begin the "centering" part of this activity. For a full description of fidget objects and guidance on using them, see Session 2, Leader Resource 2, Fidget Objects.
ACTIVITY 4: STORY — A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUPERHERO — CHRISTOPHER REEVE (8 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
The story presents an example of someone acting based on our first Unitarian Universalist Principle, the inherent worth and dignity of all people. Christopher Reeve not only rediscovered his own inherent worth and dignity after becoming a quadriplegic in a devastating accident, he also worked tirelessly for others with spinal cord injuries, reminding both the general public and lawmakers that people with disabilities have no less worth and dignity than anyone else.
Before you begin, look around the room and make eye contact with each person. Read or tell the story.
Sound the instrument to indicate that the story is over. Take a few minutes to guide the children in a brief discussion, using these questions:
ACTIVITY 5: GUIDED MEDITATION AND SHARED REFLECTION (6 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
If there is room, you may wish to invite children to lie on the floor in a comfortable position where none are touching another. Or, they can sit at work tables and rest their heads on their arms. Ask them to close their eyes and let the sound of the chime, bell, or rain stick lead them into relaxing. Read aloud the meditation, with appropriate pauses.
When you are done, say:
Gently wiggle your fingers and toes, bringing yourself back into your body as it is today. You may open your eyes and sit up.
Lead children to share their responses to the meditation. What did they think of that they could still do, with some of their abilities gone? If necessary, suggest: You could stick out your tongue; imagine; roll your eyes; do math problems. Affirm responses.
Including All Participants
If you have a child in your group who is, in fact, a quadriplegic, you might want to omit this meditation; it may make that child feel on the spot and uncomfortable. Children with most physical limitations, however, can imagine lesser physical capability than they have.
Children who have great difficulty remaining still may benefit from access to fidget objects (Session 2, Leader Resource 2).
ACTIVITY 6: ACCESSIBILITY AUDIT (20 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Explain to participants that you will do an accessibility audit of your congregation. You may say:
An audit is like a check-up. Our accessibility audit will look at how well our congregation is doing at welcoming people with different abilities and disabilities. A disability might include loss of mobility, as for Christopher Reeve or a person who is using crutches. It could also include hearing loss, loss of vision, loss of balance, and more.
Ask the children to brainstorm some disabilities people might have. Then, brainstorm some clues the children might look for to find out how welcoming your congregation is for people with disabilities. If you have posted newsprint, write down the clues. You may suggest: stairs; bathrooms too small for a wheelchair to enter; light switches and drinking fountains too high to reach from a wheelchair; high door thresholds; small print on orders of service and hymnbooks; or loud conditions in a social hall that prevent people using hearing aids from holding conversations.
Explain to the group that you will be taking a tour of your congregation's building(s) to look for ways that full participation in your congregation is and is not available to people with disabilities. Show the sticky notes and notebooks. Say:
If we see something that shows our congregation has made an effort to fully include people with disabilities, mark it with a green (or other designated color) sticky note — for example, a wheel chair lift, an assistive listening device, a ramp, or an accessible bathroom. (You may need to explain briefly what some of these devices are.)
If we see something that might keep someone from fully participating in our congregation, we will mark it with a red (or other designated color) sticky note.
Everything we mark with a sticky note, we also will write down in a notebook. Then we will share our audit with (name of person, if someone from congregational leadership is joining you), someone who can help us make a difference.
Ask for volunteers to carry sticky notes, one or more notebooks, and pencils or pens. Gather the group and tour the congregational facility together.
It will be helpful if someone in the group takes part in the audit from a wheelchair. If a wheelchair is not available, you can have a group member push a full-sized stroller; any threshold, curb, or stair that requires picking up a stroller to proceed would probably be inaccessible to a person in a wheelchair.
Your experience will be most meaningful if, after the group has completed the audit, a member of your congregation's board of trustees, or another congregational leader, such as the minister or head of the building and grounds committee, walks the route again, with the group. Allow children to point out the issues they have noted. Collect the sticky notes and provide these with the audit notes to share with an adult committee. If possible, invite the adult to return to the group another time and report on action the children's audit has sparked.
Including All Participants
Participants who have disabilities or have a family member with a disability may have extra insight into accessibility issues. However, do not put any child on the spot. Besides putting a child in a potentially awkward position, electing a "disability spokesperson" simplifies the fact that disabilities vary widely, and diminishes the responsibility each person in a community has to use their empathy to make sure all are welcomed.
CLOSING (7 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity helps children get used to practicing a closing ritual as a way of affirming their belonging in the faith community.
Gather the group in a circle. Thank the children for participating and sharing their stories and ideas in this session. Tell them something you liked about the way they worked together as a community.
Point out the Faithful Journeys Path. Say, in your own words:
Our Faithful Journeys Path shows our journey to live our lives and act in ways that reflect our Unitarian Universalist beliefs and faith. The signposts direct us by reminding us about our Principles.
Today's signpost is "Include Everyone." It is for our first Unitarian Universalist Principle, the inherent worth and dignity of every person. It means we treat all other people as if they are important.
Attach the signpost to the Faithful Journeys Path.
Remind the children that the next time they meet they will have a chance to add Faithful Footprints to the Faithful Journeys Path. Encourage them to do an action during the week that shows inclusion of others. Brainstorm together what sorts of action might reflect inclusion. You might suggest including someone in your game, making a new friend, changing the rules of a game or choosing another activity to allow someone with a disability to participate, or being patient with a friend who has difficulty reading.
Point out the words to the UU Principles Song. Tell the children it is sung to the tune of "Old McDonald Had a Farm." Lead the children in singing the verse about the first Principle. Then, sing the entire song together. Explain that you will learn about all of the Principles during your time together in Faithful Journeys.
Distribute the Taking It Home handout. Thank the children, tell them you look forward to seeing them next time, and dismiss the group.
FAITH IN ACTION: REPORT ON ACCESSIBILITY AUDIT (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
An accessibility audit will be truly useful and compelling to participants if the audit results are shared with congregational leaders — the adults who have the power to make changes that would increase the congregation's level of accessibility. After doing the accessibility audit, participants can gather up the sticky notes that marked accessibility efforts and deficits, and review these and their notebook comments to prepare a report for the congregation's board of trustees. This could be a written report you create, based on information the children gathered, or an oral report presented by the children to an adult committee.
Participants might also do a project to make the congregation more accessible, such as creating a sign to direct people who need one to an assistive listening device.
Including All Participants
Shy members of the group may be happier with the role of writing down the audit results. More outgoing participants may seek the opportunity to speak in public. Affirm the value of each child's agency in this project, whatever their contribution.
LEADER REFLECTION AND PLANNING
Take a few minutes to evaluate the session with your co-leader immediately afterward, while it is fresh. Share your thoughts with any other team co-leaders and your director of religious education. You might find it helpful to consider these questions:
TAKING IT HOME
One's life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, indignation and compassion. — Simone de Beauvoir, 20th-century French author
A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. — Christopher Reeve (1952-2004), actor, director and advocate for people with disabilities
IN TODAY'S SESSION... We focused on the Unitarian Universalist actor, director and activist Christopher Reeve, who died in 2004. We talked about how many people thought of Christopher Reeve as a superhero because he played Superman on the big screen. However, Reeve became a different kind of superhero after a riding accident left him a quadriplegic. His loss of mobility became the springboard for his activism. He spoke out in favor of stem cell research and created a nonprofit research and advocacy foundation. The children played a game that helped them think about how they might complete a task without the abilities that ordinarily help them do it. They did an accessibility audit of our congregation to see how our facility welcomes, or fails to welcome, people with disabilities. Our signpost to help guide us was "Include Everyone."
EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Talk about... Do members of your immediate or extended family have disabilities? To include them fully, what actions do you or could you take? For instance, have you built a ramp so a wheelchair-user can visit your home? Are there people to whom children may need to talk more loudly or clearly? Do you need to make sure you are facing people who are hard of hearing when you talk with them? Identify the personal agency each of your family members does or could use to honor the inherent worth and dignity of every person through inclusion.
EXTEND THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Try... There are many kinds of abilities and disabilities. Explore together the particular gifts members of your family may have, such as being good at music or sports, or being good with language or writing stories. How do you share these gifts with the world? Everyone also has areas in which they struggle, from a poor sense of direction or a tendency to misplace items to learning disabilities that make it difficult to read or do math. How does your family help each other overcome or live with your limitations?
FAMILY ADVENTURE
Watch the 1978 film, Superman: The Movie, starring Christopher Reeve, as a family.
A FAMILY GAME
In today's session, an "Another Way Relay" asked participants to do tasks without using abilities they usually rely on. Some had to cross the room without using their feet, pick up a slip of paper without using their hands, and return to their team without using their feet. Other children took the slip of paper from their teammate without using their hands, and communicated the instructions printed on the slip to a third teammate without using their voices. The third child had to figure out what the task was and complete it, which also involved using different abilities than the child would usually depend on (such as turning on a light switch without using their hands). At home, adapt this game by asking each family member to come up with a task for another family member to complete without using the ability that would first come to mind. For instance, pass a ball from person to person without using hands, cross the living room without using feet, or use pictures rather than words to convey an idea.
FAMILY DISCOVERY
See an online list of books for children that deal with disabilities (at www.best-childrens-books.com/childrens-books-about-disabilities.html).
The Able Crew (at www.theablecrew.org/)is a website for children with stories and activities about disabilities.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 1: DESIGN A SUPERHERO (20 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
In the movies, Christopher Reeve portrayed Superman, a superhero who was "Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound." There are dozens of superheroes in popular culture, with a variety of superpowers. Ask the children to name aloud some superheroes and their powers. Then say:
Of course, Christopher Reeve wasn't really a superhero. In real life, he was just a person like you or me, who chose to use his human powers to make the world a better place.
If you were going to design your own comic book superhero who would make the world a better place, what would that hero be like?
Allow some responses. Then say:
Most comic book superheroes have powers that help them win at fighting. Perhaps our superheroes could have super powers that could make the world a better place without fighting. What sort of actions might make the world a better place, without involving physically fighting?
Invite the children to draw pictures of their own imagined superheroes. Ask them to include information about the powers they use to make the world better. If you have time, ask for some volunteers to show and tell about their superheroes.
FAITHFUL JOURNEYS: SESSION 3:
STORY: A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUPERHERO — CHRISTOPHER REEVE
It was a hot, muggy morning. Christopher was not sure he really wanted to be out riding in a competition. His thoroughbred horse, Eastern Express, seemed a bit off, as if maybe he would rather be grazing in the field than doing the demanding work of running and jumping with a big, muscular man on his back. Maybe, Christopher thought, it would be nicer to take the kids sailing today, where there would be a cool breeze. "Well," he thought, "I'm a lucky man to be able to choose between riding and sailing."
In fact, plenty of people watching Christopher that day thought the same thing. He was many people's idea of a superhero. He was the actor who played Superman in the movies and, in real life, he fit the part: handsome, strong, always striving toward a goal, chasing his best time, or learning a new skill.
And then, in an instant, everything changed. Eastern Express balked at a jump, sending Christopher crashing to the ground. When he woke up in the hospital, Christopher couldn't move his hands or feet. He couldn't even breathe without the help of a machine. Although doctors could repair his neck, they could not fix the injury to his spinal cord. Now Christopher's brain was unable to communicate with most of his body. Even though he still had all his strength, intelligence, and will power, there was simply no way for him to move any part of his body below his head.
Despair washed over Christopher. If he could not do anything, could not be useful to anyone, why not put him out of his misery, like they did with horses that were injured too badly to walk again? "Maybe," he said to his wife, Dana, "we should just let me go."
But Dana spoke words that helped start him on the road toward his new life: "But you're still you. And I love you."
Of course, Christopher Reeve had never actually been able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but he had been a tremendous athlete. He had always liked a goal, a challenge, something to work for. Before his accident, Christopher's challenges involved acting, directing, and sports. Now his challenges were different. Now it took all his strength and determination to sit up in a wheelchair and steer it by puffing on a straw.
His heart ached with all he had lost. He might never again be able to hug his wife and sons, or ride a horse or sail. But he realized he still had a lot — the love of his family, and money and fame from his career. Christopher decided to use everything he still had to work for a new goal.
As always, Christopher Reeve dreamed big. He hoped there might be a cure for spinal cord injuries, not just for himself, but also for many thousands of others whose lives had changed when their backs or necks were broken. He and his wife set up the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. They asked people for money to help pay scientists to research a cure. Then, Dana realized how lucky they were to be able to afford a ramp into their home and a big van that could fit Christopher's wheelchair. They collected money to help pay for ramps and other helpful things, so more people with spinal cord injuries could also have them.
Christopher realized that, even though he could no longer use his arms and legs, he had a power that many people do not. He was famous. People thought of him as Superman. Now he could really be a hero, not by flying through the air to rescue people, but by speaking up. Because he was famous, people would pay attention. They would listen, and they would want to help.
It wasn't easy. Christopher didn't want people to feel sorry for him. He didn't want to be embarrassed if he could not use his mouth to speak well, or if his body, as sometimes happened, jerked around without his control. But he knew this was a special chance to use the power he had and make the world a better place. So Christopher started speaking. He asked Congress to support stem cell research that might lead to a cure for spinal cord injuries. He asked groups of people to get involved and donate money. He talked with others who had experienced injuries like his. He even spoke, on television, to millions of people during the Academy Awards, showing everyone that, although his abilities had changed, his heart and his soul were strong and capable.
A writer for Reader's Digest magazine interviewed Christopher Reeve near the end of his life, in 2004, and asked him why he had joined a Unitarian church. He answered, "It gives me a moral compass. I often refer to Abe Lincoln, who said, 'When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. And that is my religion.' I think we all have a little voice inside us that will guide us. It may be God, I don't know. But I think that if we shut out all the noise and clutter from our lives and listen to that voice, it will tell us the right thing to do."
Christopher Reeve showed what a real-life hero is: a person who listens to the voice inside them, and acts when that voice tells them the right thing to do.
FAITHFUL JOURNEYS: SESSION 3:
LEADER RESOURCE 1: ANOTHER WAY RELAY
To conduct the Another Way Relay, form teams of three. The "ones" must cross the room without using their feet, pick up a slip of paper with one of the instructions on it without using their hands, and return to their group without using their feet. The "twos" then take the slip of paper from the first person. The slip of paper contains brief instructions for a simple task. The "twos" communicate these instructions to the "threes" without using their voices. The "threes" must figure out what the task is, complete it, and return to their team. Possible tasks to provide on slips of paper include:
____________________________________________________________
Cross the room, walking backward, to get a pencil. Pick it up without using your hands and bring it back.
____________________________________________________________
Close your eyes. With your eyes closed, cross the room, touch the far wall, and come back again.
____________________________________________________________
Make your hands into fists. Cross the room, find something to wear as a scarf, and put it on while keeping your hands in fists the whole time.
____________________________________________________________
Put your hands on your head. Turn a light switch off and then back on without taking your hands off your head.
FAITHFUL JOURNEYS: SESSION 3:
LEADER RESOURCE 2: GUIDED MEDITATION
Use a chime, bell or rain stick to begin and end this meditation.
Tighten your toes, and then relax them. Let your feet become still and quiet. Tighten your leg muscles, and then relax them. Let your legs become still and quiet. Tighten your tummy muscles, and then relax them. Let your middle become still and quiet. Tighten your hands into fists, and then relax them. Let your hands become still and quiet. Tighten your arms and shoulders, and then relax them. Let your arms and shoulders become still and quiet. Let your whole body become still and quiet, so still that it seems like it might not be there at all. Keep your whole body still, except for your breathing.
What would it be like if you couldn't move your body below your neck? There are probably lots of things you do now that you couldn't do. But there are probably lots of other things that you could still do.
Think for a moment about what things you would be able to do if you couldn't move your body below the neck.
In a moment I will sound the chime/bell/rain stick, and we will come back together. After the sound, you can share something you've thought of that you could do without moving your body below your neck.
Pause, then sound the chime, bell, or rain stick and gather the group for discussion.
FAITHFUL JOURNEYS: SESSION 3:
LEADER RESOURCE 3: SIGNPOST FOR SESSION 3
Cut out the signpost. During your closing circle, show it to the children and attach it to your Faithful Journeys Path.
FIND OUT MORE
Teaching Children about Disability
In the picture book, Dewey Doo-It Helps Owlie Fly Again by Brahm Wenger, Alan Green, and Jean Gillmore (The Helpful Doo-its Project, 2005), a group of animal friends devise some news ways to fly for a friend who can no longer use his wings. Find a list of books that help children explore disability (at www.best-childrens-books.com/childrens-books-about-disabilities.html) online.
Christopher Reeve
Explore the website of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation (at www.christopherreeve.org/site/c.geIMLPOpGjF/b.899265/).
Read a memorial piece about Christopher Reeve (at uuwestport.org/Frankssermons/sr103104.htm)by his minister, Rev. Frank Hall of the Unitarian Church in Westport, Connecticut.
Children's Different Learning Styles and Intelligences
The Association for Childhood Education International has posted "Multiple Intelligences: Different Ways of Learning," by Judith C. Reiff, a guide sheet for parents (at teacherweb.com/CA/LosCoyotesElementarySchool/Zaret/DifWaysofLrngSuggestionsParents.pdf)to recognize and encourage their children's individual learning styles (e.g., visual, physical, logical, introvert, extrovert).