Will you be there for me, comfort me tenderly? — from "When I Am Frightened," Hymn 1012 in Singing the Journey

The theme of this session is "Caring for one another when we feel sick." Teddy Bear Month uses a third party, teddy bears, to gently introduce potentially scary concepts, such as being sick.

Preschool children vary greatly in their social development. The youngest children may still engage in parallel play; four-year-olds may be learning to express their feelings; kindergarteners may be more willing to conform to the goals and norms established by parents, teachers, our congregation, and society.

Before the session, remind families to have their children bring a favorite bear or stuffed animal (see Session 25, Leader Resource 1). If children made bear beds (Session 25), contact parents whose child missed that session but may be attending today. Suggest they help their child make a bear bed at home to bring with them. You can send parents the instructions from Session 25, Activity 5, Bear Beds.

Goals

This session will help preschoolers:

• Learn how to make the Chalice Children group feel like a caring place
• Experience caring as a way of affirming themselves and others
• Feel a growing sense of belonging to and identity with a Unitarian Universalist congregation.

Learning Objectives

Participants will:

• Feel empowered to care for others
• Practice the skills of helping someone who is sick to feel better.