FAITHFUL JOURNEYS
A Tapestry of Faith Program for Children
SESSION 15: PROTECT THE EARTH
BY BY ALICE ANACHEKA-NASEMANN AND LYNN UNGAR SUSAN DANA LAWRENCE, DEVELOPMENTAL EDITOR JUDITH A. FREDIANI, DIRECTOR OF LIFESPAN FAITH DEVELOPMENT
© Copyright 2009 Unitarian Universalist Association.
Published to the Web on 11/7/2014 5:02:53 PM PST.
This program and additional resources are available on the UUA.org web site at
www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith.
SESSION OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
In this session, participants hear about the Change the World Kids, an action club started by children of the North Universalist Chapel Society congregation in Vermont . They learn about the club's work to rehabilitate a bird migratory channel in Costa Rica — an example of action to promote the seventh Unitarian Universalist Principle, respect for the interdependent web of life of all existence of which we are a part. Participants decorate reusable cloth bags and make posters that offer simple ways people can protect the Earth in their homes and in your congregation. We add the signpost "Protect the Earth" to the Faithful Journeys Path.
You may wish to use Alternate Activity 1, a game with a ball of yarn, to tangibly demonstrate the concept of the interdependent web of life.
GOALS
This session will:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will:
SESSION-AT-A-GLANCE
Activity | Minutes |
Opening | 2 |
Activity 1: Faithful Footprints | 5 |
Activity 2: Move It! Penguins and Icebergs | 8 |
Activity 3: Story Basket and Centering | 5 |
Activity 4: Story — The Change the World Kids | 10 |
Activity 5: Creative Exploration — Make a Difference Posters and Reusable Cloth Bags | 25 |
Faith in Action: It's Easy to Be Green: Sale and Fundraiser | |
Closing | 5 |
Alternate Activity 1: Interdependent Web Game with Yarn | 8 |
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION
Spend a few minutes sitting quietly in a natural setting or, a quiet indoor spot. Light a candle or chalice if it would be helpful in creating sacred space. Visualize a web connecting all living things and imagine yourself as part of it. Now imagine places where the web has been torn, stretched, or broken. Visualize yourself gently pulling the strands together and mending the web. Make a promise to do something to protect nonhuman life on the Earth.
SESSION PLAN
OPENING (2 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the children in a circle. Light the chalice. Point out the chalice-lighting words on the newsprint and invite the group to read together:
We light this flame for the light of truth, the warmth of love, and the energy of action.
Indicate the poster(s) of the Unitarian Universalist Principles. Or, give each child a copy of the handout. Ask a volunteer to read the seventh Principle in the adult language. Ask a second volunteer to read the children's version of the seventh Principle. Then, say:
Today we will learn about this Unitarian Universalist Principle — what it means, and what kinds of actions show it. Let's get started.
Collect handouts for reuse.
Including All Participants
If not all participants are fluent readers, take the time to teach the group to say the opening words from memory.
If the group has children who are sensitive to perfumes or other chemicals, use unscented candles or an electric or battery-operated flame. An electric flame is also recommended if you may not use open flames or if any participants are afraid of fire.
ACTIVITY 1: FAITHFUL FOOTPRINTS (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Push pins, glue stick or tape
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity reinforces children's learning as they model translating faith into action for one another. To strengthen children's Unitarian Universalist identity, help participants see how their own behavior demonstrates specific Principles.
Gather in a circle. Point to the Faithful Journeys Path and say:
Together we are taking a journey to learn what it means to live as Unitarian Universalists. Each time we meet, we have a chance to talk about ways our actions show our beliefs about what is right and good. This is called "putting our faith into action."
When you share about something you have done that shows what you believe, you can choose a footprint or tracks for us to put on our Faithful Journeys Path.
Hold up the footprint you made of your own faithful action. Tell what you did and how it represents your Unitarian Universalist beliefs. If you can connect your action to a Principle, briefly explain. For example:
Ask the children to think of an act they have done, since you met last, that reflects Unitarian Universalism. You may wish to prompt:
As participants name their actions, write a word or phrase describing the action on a footprint or wheelchair cutout. Invite children to write their names on their cutouts and post them along the edge of the Faithful Journeys Path. Have them progress along the path over the course of the program.
To stay within the time frame for this activity, use these guidelines:
It is very important to avoid judging participants, either with criticism or praise. Avoid phrases like "Great job!" or "You're fantastic!" which might suggest that acts of faith vary in their value or encourage children to compete to share the "best" act.
You should, however, respond to each child's contribution. Listen carefully to what a child tells you. After each child shares, say something like, "Thank you for sharing," followed by a summarizing sentence, such as:
Identify the Unitarian Universalist Principles each act represents; refer to the Principles poster if the room has one or indicate a relevant signpost on the Faithful Journeys Path. By responding specifically to each child's faithful actions, you will help them feel pride, a sense of accomplishment, and their own empowerment as agents whose actions and choices reflect Unitarian Universalist beliefs and values.
Including All Participants
Along with cut-out footprints (Session 1, Handout 3, Faithful Footprints), provide wheelchairs (Session 1, Handout 4, Making Tracks for Faith) in the same colors of paper. Encourage all the children — not just those who use wheelchairs for mobility — to sometimes use a wheelchair instead of footprints to represent their faithful actions.
ACTIVITY 2: MOVE IT! PENGUINS AND ICEBERGS (8 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Tell the children they are penguins and the sheets of newsprint on the floor are icebergs. Explain that penguins go fishing in the ocean and can swim for long distances, but they need the icebergs to stay safe from orca whales and to rest when they are tired. Also, some of the fish they eat live beneath icebergs. With the Earth's climate getting warmer, icebergs are melting. This is causing problems for the penguins.
Explain that this game is like musical chairs. When the music is on, the penguins can swim in the ocean and look for fish to eat. When the music stops, the penguins have to get on an iceberg. But as the icebergs melt, there will be fewer and fewer for the penguins. Tell the group that instead of having some children become "out," this is a cooperative game. The goal is to work together to keep all the penguins alive.
For the first round, leave one sheet of newsprint on the floor for each participant. Start the music. Then, turn the music off. Remind the penguins to find safety on the icebergs.
Start the music again. This time, remove a sheet of newsprint before stopping the music.
Repeat this process until only one sheet of newsprint remains for all the penguins to share. End the game and briefly ask the children what they did in order to save everybody.
To conclude, say:
In this game, the penguins could work together to survive. Sadly, real penguins may run out of icebergs completely. Humans have learned that we have to work together, too, to help keep planet Earth safe for all the animals and plants that are part of the web of all existence, including humans ... and penguins. Working together, we might be able to help the real penguins.
ACTIVITY 3: STORY BASKET AND CENTERING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the children in a circle in your storytelling area. Show them the story basket. Say something like, "Let's see what's in our story basket today."
Tell the group the items in the story basket will be placed on the altar or table after the children have passed them around the circle. Take the items from the basket, one at a time, and pass them around. Briefly name the various objects and tell where they come from. Objects that are fragile or should not be passed around for any reason can be held up for all to see and then placed directly on the altar.
Show the picture of the Change the World Kids. Explain that these children belong to an action club that started at a congregation like yours. You might say:
Though they live in Vermont , these children do faithful acts to try to make a difference in many places around the Earth.
Now remove the sound instrument from the story basket. Tell the children that every time you tell a story in Faithful Journeys, you will first use the instrument to help them get their ears, their minds, and their bodies ready to listen. Invite them to sit comfortably and close their eyes (if they are comfortable doing so). You may tell them that closing their eyes can help them focus on just listening.
In a calm voice, say, in your own words:
As you breathe in, feel your body opening up with air. As you breathe out, feel yourself relaxing.
Repeat this once or twice and then say:
Now you are ready to listen. When I hit the chime (turn the rain stick over), listen as carefully as you can. See how long you can hear its sound. When you can no longer hear it, open your eyes and you will know it is time for the story to begin.
Sound the chime or other instrument. When the sound has gone, begin telling the story.
Including All Participants
If anyone in the group is unable to hold or pass items, or cannot see the items, make sure you or a child in the group offers the person a chance to see and touch each object, as needed.
Some people do not feel safe closing their eyes when they are in a group. If any children resist, respect their resistance and suggest that they find a single point of focus to look at instead.
If you have a basket of fidget objects for children who may listen and learn more effectively with something in their hands, make it available. Remind children where it is before you begin the "centering" part of this activity. For a full description and guidance on using fidget objects, see Session 2, Leader Resource 2.
ACTIVITY 4: STORY — THE CHANGE THE WORLD KIDS (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
In this activity you will tell the story "The Change the World Kids," about contemporary Unitarian Universalist children in Vermont who formed a group for action based on our seventh Unitarian Universalist Principle, respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. You might say:
Unitarian Universalists believe our world is like one big web we share with all the plants and animals and people that live on Earth. If the web is so big, how can one child or even a group of children help take care of it? That's what our story is about.
Before you begin, look around the room and make eye contact with each person. Read or tell the story.
Sound the instrument to indicate that the story is over.
Ask children to describe the projects mentioned in the story. Hold up the globe or world map and point out Vermont, Costa Rica and Rwanda . Then ask:
Allow discussion. One way to describe the web of life would be to show a picture or toy spider web and say:
When a spider makes a web, every part is connected to another part. If you pull one part of the web, that pulls the whole web. Nature is like that. If you do something that affects one part of nature, it can affect all of nature.
Continue discussion with these questions:
Say:
Phebe and Nika in this story realized that children can make a difference. Do you believe kids' actions can start a ripple effect for positive change? I wonder, what ideas do you have for ways children can help protect the Earth? I wonder, what things could we do in our congregation to help protect the Earth?
Indicate the newsprint. Tell the children you will list their ideas for how children can help protect the Earth and the living beings that share our interconnected web. Allow the children to respond without adult input, at first. As concrete ideas emerge for protecting the Earth, briefly note them on the newsprint. Use phrasing the children can copy on their "Make a Difference" posters in the next activity. If needed, prompt:
Thank all the children for their ideas. Reinforce that there are indeed many things children can do to help protect the Earth.
ACTIVITY 5: CREATIVE EXPLORATION — MAKE A DIFFERENCE POSTERS AND REUSABLE CLOTH BAGS (25 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Tell the children they can choose to do either or both activities: decorate a cloth bag and/or make a poster.
Explain that cloth bags can be used over and over again, which helps people use and discard fewer plastic bags. Invite children to think of times they might use a cloth bag; affirm grocery shopping, collecting shells at a beach, bringing lunch to school, or carrying extra clothes to school or to sleep over at a friend's house. Tell them they may decorate bags any way they like. If you plan to offer cloth bags at an It's Easy to Be Green sale and fundraiser (Faith in Action), invite children to decorate some to sell.
Explain that the "Make a Difference" posters will share ideas for protecting the Earth. Children may write or draw about an idea from the group discussion (indicate the newsprint with the list, from Activity 4), an idea from the handout they will find on the work table, or another idea they think of for protecting the Earth. Tell them they may take their posters home. Or, if you have arranged to display the posters in the congregation or at community venues, tell children the plan and how many posters you hope they will make today.
Ask children to select an activity and move to the appropriate table. Explain that they can leave that table when they are done and work on the other project also. Or, you might form two groups, one for each activity, and invite children to switch to the other activity after 10 minutes.
Have children put on smocks to decorate cloth bags. If you are using fabric paint, set completed bags aside to dry.
Extension Activity: Displaying "Make a Difference" Posters
During coffee hour, help children post their "Make a Difference" posters at pre-arranged places in the congregational building. You might announce the poster display at coffee hour so members will be sure to notice the messages.
Have children bring "Make a Difference" posters to community venues as a group or in small, adult-led groups — ideally, immediately after the session or on another day soon afterward. Invite a representative at each venue to tell the children about their establishment's environmentally friendly practices.
CLOSING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity helps children practice a closing ritual as a way of affirming their belonging in the faith community.
Gather the group in a circle. Thank the children for participating and sharing their stories and ideas in this session. Tell them something you liked about the way they worked together as a community.
Point out the Faithful Journeys Path. Say, in your own words:
Our Faithful Journeys Path shows our journey to live our lives and act in ways that reflect our Unitarian Universalist beliefs and faith. The signposts direct us by reminding us about our Principles.
Today's signpost is "Protect the Earth." It is for our seventh Unitarian Universalist Principle, that we respect the interdependent web of all life of which we are a part. It means we believe we should take care of the Earth so the Earth is a healthy, safe place for humans and all other living beings.
Attach the signpost to the Faithful Journeys Path.
Remind the children they will have a chance to add Faithful Footprints to the Faithful Journeys Path the next time they meet. Encourage them to try to do an action that protects the Earth before the next meeting. Refer to the ideas children generated in Activity 4; suggest they present ideas to their parents and/or post their "Make a Difference" posters at home.
Point out the words to the UU Principles Song. Tell the children it is sung to the tune of "Old McDonald Had a Farm." If the group has completed at least one session about each of the Principles, congratulate the children on having learned about all seven Unitarian Universalist Principles. Lead them in singing all the verses of the song.
Distribute the Taking It Home handout. Thank the children, tell them you look forward to seeing them next time, and dismiss the group.
FAITH IN ACTION: IT'S EASY TO BE GREEN — SALE AND FUNDRAISER
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Run this event as you would a yard sale. You may wish to present sale items on three separate tables: "Reduce," "Reuse," and "Recycle." Make signs for each table. On the "Reduce" table, display and sell energy-saving devices. On the "Reuse" table, display and sell tote bags. On the "Recycle" table, display and sell gently used donated items. Teach the children about the different categories by engaging them to sort the donated items before the sale.
This event may be a good project for the group's Faithful Journeys Action Club. Involve the children in publicity (making posters before the event), setup, running the event, and cleanup. They can price items, make signs, sell raffle tickets, give buyers change, bag purchases and help pack up unsold items to donate to an appropriate organization.
Keep track of individual children's specific tasks and accomplishments. Next time the group meets, help them articulate their contributions as Faithful Footsteps that affirm our seventh Principle.
After the event, tell the group how much the event earned and where the money will go. If you receive a thank-you or learn something about the donation's impact, be sure to tell the children. Even if the Faithful Journeys program has ended, let the parents and the entire congregation know the ripple effect of these children's actions.
Including All Participants
Offer children tasks that fit their skills and abilities. If any in the group have special learning needs, talk with their parents or your director of religious education about how to best activate their individual strengths and interests. Some children may thrive sorting items, others counting money and giving change, still others talking with buyers about environmental issues. Be creative. Invent tasks, if necessary, to help all children contribute meaningfully.
LEADER REFLECTION AND PLANNING
Take a few minutes to evaluate the session with your co-leader immediately afterward, while it is fresh. Share your thoughts with any other team co-leaders and your director of religious education. You might consider:
TAKING IT HOME
No one can do everything, but everyone can do something. — The Change the World Kids
When we see what others are doing to change the world, when we affirm each other's longing for a healthier future, when we join hands to work together to make a difference, we are choosing hope instead of despair. — Rev. Katherine Jesch, UU Ministry for Earth
IN TODAY'S SESSION... We learned about our responsibility and ability to protect the Earth. Children heard the story of the Change the World Kids from Vermont and some global and local efforts they have made. We began to put in action the seventh Unitarian Universalist Principle, respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part, by decorating reusable cloth bags and creating "Make a Difference" posters. Our signpost to help guide us in faithful action was "Protect the Earth."
EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Talk about... Ask to see and display your child's "Make a Difference" poster and/or use the cloth bag they decorated. Talk about ways your family members work to protect the Earth in your home.
EXTEND THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Try... Pay extra attention to your child's actions that help protect the Earth and reflect our seventh Principle. Enact energy-saving and other Earth-friendly practices in your home. Find suggestions on your child's "Make a Difference" poster or ask them about new ideas they would like your family to try. Your child will have the opportunity to share their actions with the group next time we meet.
FAMILY ADVENTURE
Make "Make a Difference" posters as a family and bring them on a "Green Tour" of your community. Visit restaurants, libraries, schools, supermarkets, toy stores, and other community facilities. Be on the lookout for green practices, such as recycling projects and use of alternative energy sources, energy-efficient light bulbs, Earth-friendly cleaning products or recycled papers. Ask merchants or community workers about green policies they have adopted. Ask permission to post a "Make a Difference" poster on their site.
A FAMILY RITUAL
Our "daily bread" is a constant reminder that the interdependent web of life ensures our survival. Take a moment at mealtime to acknowledge the journey your food made to arrive on your plates. Thank the people who planted and harvested crops; the animals that gave their lives for your meat or fish; the insects that pollinated; the rain that helped crops grow; the people who packaged, transported, and labeled the food, stocked the grocery shelves and sold the food, and prepared and served the meal. Point out that we need all the Earth's life to survive. Ask each family member to name one way they took care of the Earth that day or will do so in the future.
A FAMILY GAME
Form two teams for a friendly green competition. Set a timer for a half hour and then race to list all the environmentally friendly items or practices you can find in your home. You may also want to search for non-environmentally friendly items or practices. Or, work as one team to beat the clock and find at least ten items for each list before the timer goes off.
FAMILY DISCOVERY
Borrow library books about global warming and ways children can work to protect the Earth, and read them as a family. Commit to an action you will take together to care for the Earth.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 1: INTERDEPENDENT WEB GAME WITH YARN (8 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Description of Activity
Creating their own web of yarn makes the notion of interconnectedness tangible for a group of seven-, eight- and nine-year-olds. Invite the children to sit in a circle. When everyone is settled, hold the ball of yarn in your hand and say:
We are going to make a web to represent the interdependent web of life. Each of us will choose an animal or plant to be in our web.
Hold one end of the yarn. Choose an animal or plant that exists in the real interdependent web — for example, an oak tree, a frog, a honeybee, seaweed, a tiger. Tell the children what you are in the web, hold your end of the yarn, and toss the ball to someone else in the circle. Prompt that person to select a living being to be in the web. Instruct them to hold their piece of the yarn, name an animal or plant, and toss the ball of yarn to someone else. Encourage children to gently toss the yarn across the circle; if the yarn is only passed and never tossed, a web cannot form.
When all participants have joined the web, ask the last person to toss the yarn back to you. Invite everyone to stand up, still holding the yarn, and gently pull the web taut.
Tug on the yarn you are holding. Ask the group:
If I pull on my yarn, who here can feel it?
You may wish to address children by the animal or plant they chose to represent: "If Maya, the dolphin, tugs on our web, can Elias, the coyote, feel her tug?"
Then, drop the yarn you are holding. Ask:
When I drop my yarn, what happens to the web? What would happen if more people dropped their yarn?
Choose a few volunteers to drop their yarn to see what happens. After the children have offered a few observations, tell the group in your own words:
The Earth is a lot like this web. We are connected to everything in our world by a web just like this one. We are connected to ... (mention some animals and plants the children have named). In real life, you can't see the web. Even so, when we pull on it or if we break it, all the other animals and plants can feel it. Just as you could all feel it when I pulled on the yarn. Just as our web of yarn fell apart as some of us began to let go.
Our seventh Unitarian Universalist Principle reminds us we are all part of the interdependent web of all life. When we do faithful actions that follow our seventh Principle, we are respecting the web of life and helping protect everything that lives on the Earth we all share.
Ask two or three volunteers to untangle the web and roll up the ball of yarn.
Including All Participants
Invite the group to stand to form the web only if all participants are able to do so.
FAITHFUL JOURNEYS: SESSION 15:
STORY: THE CHANGE THE WORLD KIDS
Thanks to the Change the World Kids, Meg Miller and Phyllis Arata-Meyers for information and permission to tell their story.
Place a large, shallow dish filled with water in front of you, where children can see it. Place a globe or world map within your reach.
Phebe and Nika were two girls, both eight years old. Sometimes they heard about bad things going on around them in the world – things like terrible wars where people would die, or earthquakes that would shake the ground and destroy people’s homes. They wanted to help. But they weren’t sure what kids could do.
They decided to talk to the kids in their congregation, the North Universalist Chapel Society in Woodstock, Vermont. This was the beginning of the Change the World Kids – a group of children who work together to protect many different parts of the interconnected web of all life. When they learn about problems in the world, the Change the World Kids think of ways they can act to make a difference. They learned there is plenty kids can do to help.
The Change the World Kids are an action club. Their motto is: “No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.”
Repeat the motto, slowly, so children can listen carefully to it: No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.
Nika, Phebe, and all the other Change the World Kids learned about the ripple effect. They learned when one person takes action, even in one small way, that action can send ripples into the world around us, just as water ripples in a lake.
Indicate the dish filled with water.
Watch the surface of the water. When I poke my finger in it, you can see the ripples all around.
Demonstrate this. Pause and let the water settle. Repeat until all children have seen the ripples.
In Vermont, where the Change the World Kids live, many had birdfeeders in their backyards. The birdfeeders attracted beautiful songbirds. When Vermont got very cold, birds migrated south, to warmer places for winter. One springtime, a couple of Change the World Kids noticed fewer birds came back to their birdfeeders after the winter. They wanted to know: What had happened to the birds?
A scientist told the Change the World Kids about endangered species – animals that might become extinct if nobody helped save the natural woods and forests and oceans the animals needed to live. The children learned that the birds they saw in Vermont in the spring and summer were losing their winter homes in Costa Rica, because people were cutting down trees. People in Costa Rica wanted the wood to build new homes. Or, sometimes they wanted to cut the forest to make more pastureland to feed beef cattle or to grow crops. But the trees were already being used as homes – by the birds. The children learned that tropical birds, like the three-wattled bell bird, will not even fly over land that has no trees, and when northern birds migrate for food in the winter and find none, they die.
What could the kids do? The problem was happening thousands of miles away, in Costa Rica.
Point out Costa Rica on the globe or world map. Point out Vermont.
How could the kids help? Vermont was so far away from Costa Rica, and the kids were just kids!
I will give you a hint. Watch the water again.
Indicate the dish filled with water. Poke the water surface. Repeat until all children have seen the ripples.
The Change the World Kids remembered the ripple effect. Maybe they couldn’t do everything to save the bell birds, but they could do something! They raised money to help start a tree nursery, Bosque para Siempre – that means “forest forever” in Spanish. They used some of the money they raised to buy land for a new habitat for the migratory birds. Some of the kids took trips to Costa Rica to help plant trees. They have replenished the forest with more than forty thousand trees that provide fruit and shade for many species of birds.
One time in Costa Rica, the Change the World Kids helped put tags on birds. Tags help scientists keep track of the birds and learn more about them. The Change the World Kids got to hold a red-breasted grosbeak and a wood thrush – both birds that spend part of the year in Vermont. In time, as the effects of their actions in Costa Rica are felt all around the world, like the ripple effect, the Change the World Kids know they will begin to hear and see more birds in Vermont again!
Nika and Phebe grew older. New children joined the Change the World Kids. Now the action club has teenagers and middle-schoolers from many different religions. They know that every action, no matter how small, can have ripples that spread around them. To help protect the Earth, the Change the World Kids designed and sold reusable shopping bags. They made clotheslines so people could use the power of the sun, instead of electricity, to dry their clothes. The Change the World Kids do projects as simple as shoveling snow for an elderly person in their community and as complicated as raising money for children’s schools and health care in Rwanda, where communities have suffered from war.
Point out Rwanda on the globe or world map.
With every action, big or small, the Change the World Kids prove what Phebe and Nika learned: No, nobody can do everything, but yes, each person can do something to protect the Earth and all life on it. Each action makes a ripple, and the ripples change the world.
FAITHFUL JOURNEYS: SESSION 15:
HANDOUT 1: POSTER — BRIGHT IDEAS TO PROTECT THE WEB
Turn off lights when you leave a room. | Recycle paper, bottles, and cans. |
Unplug your charger after your cell phone is charged. | Turn off water in the sink while you brush your teeth. |
Change to energy-efficient light bulbs. | Bike, walk, or take a bus instead of driving a car. |
Dry your clothes outside in the sunshine, not in a dryer. | Reuse your grocery bags. |
FAITHFUL JOURNEYS: SESSION 15:
LEADER RESOURCE 1: PICTURE OF THE CHANGE THE WORLD KIDS IN VERMONT
Photo courtesy of the Change the World Kids.
The Change the World Kids helped a woman in Vermont who could not afford to repair her house. These two girls learned how to install a new membrane to fix the roof. Others helped fix the plumbing, insulation, and electrical wiring in the house and build a new bathroom, with the help of adult donations and supervision.
FAITHFUL JOURNEYS: SESSION 15:
LEADER RESOURCE 2: PICTURE OF THE CHANGE THE WORLD KIDS IN COSTA RICA
Photo courtesy of the Change the World Kids.
The Change the World Kids purchased a parcel of land to help reforest a migratory corridor in Costa Rica used by many species of birds. Here, a group from Vermont fills sleeves of dirt to plant fruit trees, at the Change the World Kids Vivero (tree nursery).
FAITHFUL JOURNEYS: SESSION 15:
LEADER RESOURCE 3: SIGNPOST FOR SESSION 15
Cut out the signpost and attach to the Faithful Journeys Path.
FIND OUT MORE
The Change the World Kids
Started by children in the religious education program of North Universalist Chapel Society (Woodstock, Vermont), the Change the World Kids (at www.changetheworldkids.org/)is now a self-governing, 501(c)3-incorporated action club of middle- and high-school-age youth in Vermont's Upper Valley region. The group meets regularly to choose and implement projects, both local and international. Their ad in a local paper ("Kids can help!") brought requests from community members for help stacking wood, shoveling snow, renovating substandard housing, and more. Visit the website and contact the group to learn more about their projects or find out how to start a local chapter such as the Island Chapter (Maine) and chapters in Westhampton, Massachusetts, and Little Rock, Arkansas.
UU Ministry for Earth
UU Ministry for Earth has developed many resources for action to protect the Earth, including the Green Sanctuary (at www.uuministryforearth.org/grs_overview.htm)process, which helps congregations and their members adopt environment-friendly practices.
Environmental Projects for Children
The book, Earth Child 2000: Earth Science for Young Children: Games, Stories, Activities and Experiments, by Kathryn Sheehan and Mary Waidner, provides active ways to introduce children to nature and earth sciences, divided by age categories and topic.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (at www.epa.gov/kids)website has games, activities, and more for children, presented in categories including "Garbage & Recycling," "Plants & Animals," "Got a Question?" and "You & Your Environment," plus resources for teachers.