Session 8: Hare's Gifts Part of Creating Home, Kindergarten-1st Grade In This Section Introduction From Creating Home The religious community is essential, for alone our vision is too narrow to see all that must be seen. Together, our vision widens and strength is renewed. — Mark Morrison-Reed This session explores how people co-create our community homes together. The central story is an African folktale of how... Session-at-a-Glance From Creating Home ACTIVITY MINUTES Opening 5 Activity 1: Animal Charades 10 Activity 2: Story — Hare's Gifts 15 Activity 3: Creating Our Own Community 5 Activity 4: Making a Log Drum 15 Activity 5: Sound and Motion 5 Faith In Action: Distributing Congregational Member Directories — Short-term 20 Faith In Action:... Spiritual Preparation From Creating Home The two animals in this session's central story made different decisions about where to build their homes. Hyena built his home in isolation, Hare in community. Just as we struggle as a society with balancing the rights of the individual with the needs of the group, many of us struggle personally... Opening From Creating Home Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Chalice candle or LED/battery-operated candle Lighter and extinguisher, if needed Labyrinth Basket or bowl of name stones Newsprint, markers, and tape Preparation for Activity Write the chalice-lighting words on newsprint, and post. Memorize the... Activity 1: Animal Charades From Creating Home Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity... Activity 2: Story - Hare's Gifts From Creating Home Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Copies of story, "Hare's Gifts" for all reader/actors Optional: "Hare's Gifts" coloring sheet, and crayons Preparation for Activity Review the story, "Hare's Gifts." The story is provided in three different versions: one for an adult to read aloud ... Activity 3: Creating Our Own Community From Creating Home Activity time: 5 minutes Description of Activity This activity nicely follows Activity 2: Story - Hare's Gifts. If the children are not in a circle, gather them together to sit with you at the labyrinth. Say in your own words: In bringing friends together to form a community, it helped that Hare... Activity 4: Making a Log Drum From Creating Home Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Empty aluminum cans - two equal size cans to make each drum Large roll of plain paper Clear packing tape to secure paper to cans Scissors Crayons, markers, and/or paint and brushes Sticks Optional: Newspaper Preparation for Activity Collect empty... Activity 5: Sound And Motion From Creating Home Activity time: 5 minutes Description of Activity This game strengthens community by helping children remember each other's names. Gather children in a circle. Going around the circle, ask each child to think of a gesture they can do while saying their first name.... Closing From Creating Home Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Chalice candle or LED/battery-operated candle Lighter and extinguisher, if needed Labyrinth, with participants' name stones placed on it Basket for name stones Optional: Index cards or post-its, bold markers, and tape Optional: One copy of Singing t... Leader Reflection and Planning From Creating Home Today's session included a few games or other activities to encourage children to play together. Did you feel they played well together? Is the group feeling like a community, a family? If not, what seems to be missing? If so, do the children recognize themselves to be a community? How can you be... Faith In Action: Distributing Congregational Member Directories - Short-term From Creating Home Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Copies of your congregation's current member directory for participants to distribute Optional: Poster board and markers Preparation for Activity Decide when and where the group can hand member directories to a good number of congregants.... Faith In Action: Showing Our Appreciation - Long-Term From Creating Home Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Copies of parent permission form for all participants. Customize your congregation’s standard form to provide day, date, start and end times, and locations for both of this project’s activities. Preparation for Activity Read the Description of... Alternate Activity 1: Freeze Dance From Creating Home Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Drums the children made in Activity 4: Making a Log Drum, or music to play and pause on a CD or tape player Preparation for Activity Make sure you have enough room for children to spread out and "freeze dance" safely. Decide in advance how you will... Taking It Home: Hare's Gifts From Creating Home The religious community is essential, for alone our vision is too narrow to see all that must be seen. Together, our vision widens and strength is renewed. – Mark Morrison-Reed IN TODAY’S SESSION… Our focus this week has been on community, and the gifts that each of us bring when we come... Hare's Gifts From Creating Home Adapted from a West African folktale. Note: The one-reader version uses masculine pronouns for Hyena and Hare and female pronouns for Butterfly. In the multiple-reader versions, all the characters are gender neutral.... Leader Resource 1: Member Directory Distribution Notice to Parents From Creating Home Dear Families: On [day, date, time] the Creating Home program will be talking about being part of a community. As part of this session, the children and leaders will hand out congregational directories to members who need them.... Find Out More From Creating Home When Africans were brought to this country, their stories came with them. Hare became Brer Rabbit and Hyena morphed into Brer Fox. Their escapades are still being shared today.... PREVIOUS: Find Out More UP: Creating Home NEXT: Introduction Download all of Creating Home (Word) (PDF) to edit or print.