Tapestry of Faith: Wonderful Welcome: A Program for Children Grades K-1

Activity 2: Story - Leila Raises A Puppy

Activity time: 10 minutes

Materials for Activity

Preparation for Activity

  • Read the story and prepare to tell it.
  • Optional: Print the coloring sheet and copy for all participants. Place coloring sheets and crayons where children can use them when invited but will not be distracted beforehand.

Description of Activity

Ask the children how they would feel about raising a puppy they would have to give away. The children may talk about their own pets and they may say they would never give away their pet. Affirm this decision. Then say:

This story is about a family that decided to raise a puppy they knew they would have to give away.

Read or tell the story.

Then, ask the children why they think a family would want to raise a puppy that would then go live with someone else. Affirm answers that touch on the importance of the job the puppy will have when it grows up. You might ask:

  • Do you think it was hard for Leila to say goodbye to the puppy?
  • Leila gave the puppy away. Does that mean she did not love the puppy? Does that mean the puppy stopped loving her? (No!)

Show the children any materials you have brought in about how guide dogs help people with disabilities lead independent lives. You may like to discuss these points:

  • Some guide dogs wear a sign that says "Please Do Not Pet Me." Why do you think this is? Why do you think it is important to respect this?
  • Some guide dogs help a person who cannot hear by letting them know when a doorbell rings, when a phone rings, when a car is coming, or when something falls to the ground. How could the dog let the person know?

Including All Participants

Offer children the opportunity to color the illustration provided for “Leila Raises a Puppy” to engage different learning styles and to help children focus on or relate to the story. A coloring activity can be a "preview" of a story. It can work as a quiet activity to help children physically settle. You might use it afterward to help the group recall and respond to the story.