Tapestry of Faith: Love Will Guide Us: A Program for Grades 2-3 that Applies the Wisdom of the Six Sources to the Big Questions

Alternate Activity 3: Circle of Life Walk

Activity time: 20 minutes

Preparation for Activity

  • Select a fully accessible outdoor location for your walk, preferably on your congregation's grounds.
  • Optional: If leaving the grounds, make necessary transportation arrangements and obtain parents' permission.

Description of Activity

Go for a walk in your designated location. Look for signs of decaying life that feeds other life, such as rotting logs or fallen leaves. Look for creatures that help with decomposition, such as insects. Explain that the minerals, energy, and nutrients in the dead plant and animal life get recycled back into the Earth. They create rich soil that other life needs to grow and thrive.

Gather in a circle to debrief, with questions such as:

  • What would happen if nothing ever died? (Suggest that predators and scavenger animals might starve; the Earth would pretty quickly run out of room for all the living creatures.)
  • What would happen if there were no decomposers-creatures that recycle things that have died back into the Earth? (Suggest we would end up with a big mess.)
  • I wonder what nature teaches us about death?

Including All Participants

Choose a walk site that is accessible to everyone who might be part of the group.