• Play sand
• Paper plates and paint brushes for all participants
• A large roasting pan or an open box with low sides

• Obtain play sand or art sand. The Leader Resources section suggests some sources.
• Place paint brushes on work tables.

Invite children to sit at work tables. Give each child a paper plate and pour enough sand on each plate to cover the bottom. Ask the children to take a paint brush and experiment with writing in the sand by writing their names. Suggest they try first the brush end and then the wooden end of the paint brush.

As they are experimenting, tell them:

You are going to have a chance now to write about a memory that bothers you Think of a time when someone was not nice or not fair to you. Or it could be a time when you were not nice, or not fair, and then felt bad about what happened.

You can write or draw something about it in the sand, and then we'll erase those memories together. This will be like what Mussa did in the story, after Nagib slapped him.

As children work, encourage them to share about the memories they are drawing or writing. Invite them, as they finish writing/drawing, to carefully carry their paper plate to the roasting pan or box and blow the sand off.

If you like, have the rest of the group say "For forgiveness" as each child blows their sand away.

At this age, children vary widely in writing ability and confidence. Offer to write what a child wants to say on a piece of paper, and encourage the child to copy it so they have the experience of writing in the sand.

If a child has limited mobility, you may bring the roasting pan or box to the child, or ask them to choose another child to carry the plate of sand and blow the sand away.