Faith Curriculum Library: Tapestry of Faith: Love Will Guide Us: A Program for Grades 2-3 that Applies the Wisdom of the Six Sources to the Big Questions

Closing

Activity time: 10 minutes

Materials for Activity

Preparation for Activity

  • Print out Session 2, Leader Resource 2, Source Star - Our Sense of Wonder. Copy for all participants, plus one to place on the Night Sky display. Cut out the stars.
  • Download, adapt, and copy Taking It Home for all participants (or plan to email it to all families after the session).
  • Write the words for the first UU Source on newsprint, and post:

Our Unitarian Universalist beliefs come from the sense of wonder we all share.

  • Optional: Prepare to teach and lead the song "Our Sources."
    • Copy Session 1, Handout 3, Our Sources Lyrics, or write the words on newsprint, and post. Plan to store handouts or newsprint for re-use.
    • Learn the song so you can teach it to the group. Listen to the song online to familiarize yourself with it. You might invite a member of the choir or someone in the congregation comfortable leading songs to learn the song with you and help you.

Description of Activity

Gather participants at work tables. Invite them to decorate a Source Star to take home and share with their family. Suggest they draw a heart to symbolize the sense of wonder awesome things can make our hearts feel, or something awesome they have experienced that made their heart go "Wow!" As children work, attach a Source Star that says "We learn from our Sense of Wonder" to the Night Sky.

When participants finish, invite them to bring their decorated treasure boxes and gather in a circle, preferably seated near the chalice table. Invite each child in turn to point out how they turned an imperfection in the wood into something beautiful. Affirm each child, with words like:

Wow! It's awesome that you were able to turn that knot (or crack or smudge) into a beautiful ... (describe the design the child created.)

Ask participants what Unitarian Universalist Source they discovered today. Indicate the first Source words you have posted on newsprint. Invite the children to follow along quietly as you read aloud:

Our Unitarian Universalist beliefs come from the sense of wonder we all share.

Take a moment to reinforce what the Source means: feeling a moment of "wow" in your heart. Invite volunteers to give an example. Say, in your own words:

Today we learned ways a flaw can be awesomely beautiful. As Unitarian Universalists, we learn from our own sense of wonder when things make us feel a "wow!" This Source says our own feelings of wonder can point us to love. Whenever we feel that sense of wonder, we can let that "wow" feeling guide us to love.

If you wish to sing "Our Sources," distribute Session 1, Handout 3 or indicate the newsprint where you have posted the lyrics. Teach/lead the song, with a musical volunteer if you have invited someone to help. You might play the music clip of "Our Sources" for the children to sing along.

Distribute Taking It Home and thank participants.

Save the Night Sky display and the handouts/newsprint to use next time.

Including All Participants

At this age, children have a wide range of reading ability. Do not put individual children on the spot to read aloud.