Faith Curriculum Library: Tapestry of Faith: Chalice Children: A Program about Our Unitarian Universalist Community for Preschoolers

Activity 3: Circle Time

Activity time: 5 minutes

Materials for Activity

  • Chalice-lighting words, written on newsprint
  • Chalice with tea light flame or other preschool chalice option
  • Feelings Chart or Feelings Flashcards by Todd Parr
  • A bright work lamp or flashlight

Preparation for Activity

  • Post the chalice-lighting words on the wall near the Circle Time area.

Description of Activity

Bring the chalice into the circle, either on the floor or on a small table or stand. Say, in these words or your own:

Welcome to Circle Time! First we light our chalice.

Point out where your chalice-lighting words are displayed. Say your chalice-lighting words as you "light" the chalice:

We light this chalice for the warmth of love, the light of truth, and the energy of action.

Say, in these words or your own:

Now we share our names and feelings. How are each of you feeling today? We will go around the circle and each say our name and point to how we're feeling today on the Feelings Chart [Feelings Flashcard]. If you would rather not share today, you may say, "No, thank you."

Once everyone who wishes to has shared, say, in these words or your own:

For all the feelings that we feel today, we know that we have our friends, our families, and our church [congregational] family to share them with.

Introduce today's theme, in these words or your own:

Today we are talking about community. A community is a place where people live, work, and play together. It can also be a group of people who come together for the same purpose, even if they don't live near one another. What are some communities that you are part of? [family, school, neighborhood, this congregation] What are some things that you might find in a community? It's important for a community to have things like heat, water, food, bathrooms. It's also important for the people in a community to be good friends and to help one another. Today we will build a whole community out of blocks. But before we start, let's read a story about building a block community.

Including All Participants

If any child has mobility challenges, hold your circle activities in a circle of chairs to make it easier to include a wheelchair or for a child to sit while wearing leg braces.