• Familiarize yourself with the games and songs. Display any posters you have made.
• Two new songs and games-Five Little Flowers and Ring Around the Rosy-appear in this session in honor of the flower ceremony. You could research additional circle games or songs connected to this special worship service, or make up your own flower-related words to a common tune.

Gather in a circle on the floor.

Play the games and sing the songs and games. Keep the pace brisk to help the children stay focused.

Welcome, Chalice Children

Ask children to stand, as they are able, in their places. Sing "Welcome, Chalice Children" to the tune of "Little Rabbit Foo-Foo":

Welcome, Chalice Children,

We are Unitarians.

Jump into the circle,

Jump, jump, jump.

Welcome, Chalice Children,

We are Universalists.

Jump into the circle,

Jump, jump, jump.

Welcome, Chalice Children,

My name is [leaders' and children's names, in turn].

Jump into the circle,

Jump, jump, jump.

Alternate verses:

We are Chalice Children!

Welcome to our circle!

We are Chalice Children!

Clap, clap, clap!

We are Unitarians!

We are Universalists!

Welcome to our circle!

Clap, clap, clap!

We are Chalice Children!

Let's all welcome [a name of a child in the group]

Welcome to our circle!

Clap, clap, clap!

Five Little Flowers

Teach the children this finger play in honor of today's Flower Ceremony:

Five little flowers standing in the sun. [hold up five fingers]

See their heads nodding, bowing one by one? [bend fingers several times]

Down, down, down comes the gentle rain, [raise hands, wiggle fingers, and lower arms to simulate falling rain]

And the five little flowers lift their heads up again! [hold up five fingers]

Ring Around the Rosy

Ring around the rosy, a pocket full of posies.

Ashes, ashes, we all fall down!

Ring around the rosy, the vase is full of posies.

Ashes, ashes, we all fall down!

Ring around the rosy, we share our pretty posies.

Ashes, ashes, we all fall down!

Find a Friend at Church

"Find a Friend at Church" is sung to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell." Have the children gather in a circle. Have one child walk around the outside of the circle while the first two lines of the song are sung. The child then chooses a friend. The two friends hold hands and skip around the circle while the remainder of the verse is sung. The first child returns to the circle, and the game is repeated with a second child walking outside the circle. Continue until all have had a turn to choose a friend.

I'll find a friend at church.

I'll find a friend at church.

Heigh ho, the derry oh,

I'll find a friend at church.

We'll skip around the room.

We'll skip around the room.

Heigh ho, the derry oh,

We'll skip around the room.

Variation: Instead of "skip," ask each child to choose an action, such as run, walk, hop, or jump.

If any child might find jumping and standing difficult, substitute other actions, such as clapping, stepping, or wiggling, or sing the songs from a seated position.