LOVE SURROUNDS US
A Tapestry of Faith Program for Children
SESSION 1: LOVE SURROUNDS US
BY LYNN KERR AND CHRISTY OLSON
© Copyright 2010 Unitarian Universalist Association.
Published to the Web on 11/8/2014 5:19:00 AM PST.
This program and additional resources are available on the UUA.org web site at
www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith.
SESSION OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love. — Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Catholic nun and missionary
This first session makes kindergarteners and first graders aware of their capacity to "do small things with great love." They learn that they are each an instrument of love in the world as they get to know each other and discover the strength of the word "love" in this beloved community.
Love Surrounds Us connects the love inside the Unitarian Universalist Principles with the love children can find and create in their beloved communities. Through story, activities, and relationships, children come to understand how they are uniquely fashioned to feel loved, as well as to surround others with love.
GOALS
This session will:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will:
SESSION-AT-A-GLANCE
Activity | Minutes |
Welcoming and Entering | 0 |
Opening | 10 |
Activity 1: Love Surrounds Us Song | 10 |
Activity 2: Story — The Wise Sailimai, A Muslim Tale from China | 20 |
Activity 3: The Love Bowl | 15 |
Faith in Action: Love Notes | 20 |
Closing | 5 |
Alternate Activity 1: Mapping the Community | 15 |
Alternate Activity 2: Love Is... | 15 |
Alternate Activity 3: Helping Hands Chart | 15 |
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION
"Love" is a word that surrounds adults in both joy and pain. Think about your journey with the word love. Write the word in both cursive and print on a piece of paper. Center your mind on places where love has caused pain in your life. Center your mind on places where love has brought joy to your life. Through all these times, love remains strong.
SESSION PLAN
WELCOMING AND ENTERING
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Welcome each child as they enter. Help them find a ribbon stick or wrist ribbon and write their name on it. Ask them to sit in the large group area and hold their ribbons carefully. While they are waiting, invite them to look at each color and name it or turn to a friend and match the colors on their two ribbon sticks.
Including All Participants
When participants are new or arrive late, be sure to include them. Give each new child or visitor a ribbon stick and write their name on it.
OPENING (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Welcome all in love and acceptance, center around the chalice, and begin to form community.
Explain that the children will use ribbon sticks each time they meet. Give each participant a ribbon stick and help them name the colors on the sticks. Tell them they will learn all the UU Principles and that each Principle will have a different color. Have each child say their name and wave their ribbon stick above their head. Teach this opening chant and do it together while waving ribbon sticks.
Group chants "Love surrounds us everyday. The Principles show us the way."
Leader says "______ please, put your ribbons away." (Child named returns their ribbon stick.)
Guide each participant, as they are named, to return their ribbon stick to the container and then return to the circle. This is a way to acknowledge the presence of each child. If the group is large, say only several names, then direct the others to put away their ribbon sticks all together.
When all ribbon sticks are returned and children are in the circle, light the chalice. Lead the group to say together:
Love surrounds the chalice and we are included by the light of the chalice.
Including All Participants
Provide wrist ribbons for children who are physically unable to wave a ribbon stick. Help attach wrist ribbons to wrists, legs, or fingers according to the mobility of the child.
ACTIVITY 1: LOVE SURROUNDS US SONG (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Participants learn the theme song to Love Surrounds Us called "Love Surrounds Me."
Have the children stand, if all are able. Guide them to begin with their palms together, centered at their hearts. Ask them to take a deep breath and circle their arms straight up over their heads with hands together. Arms will then separate and circle out to shoulders and around their bodies. Explain that love surrounds us just like our arms stretch and surround us. Say:
We will learn a song that tells us how the spirit surrounds us with a message of love.
Teach the song, using the rote teaching method:
Love surrounds us this I know
For my spirit tells me so
All of us to love belong
Fill our hearts and make us strong.
Yes, love surrounds us
Yes, love surrounds us.
Yes, love surrounds us,
My spirit tells me so.
After teaching the song, process the meaning of the words:
Including All Participants
Make sure to give children with mobility or other physical challenges their own way of stretching or singing. They can stretch while sitting or use one hand or their fingers to stretch and move. For very active participants, add a second deep breath and stretch to bring calm and focus.
ACTIVITY 2: STORY, THE WISE SAILIMAI, A MUSLIM TALE FROM CHINA (20 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the children to hear a story. Pass out props, taking each out of the basket, one at a time, and saying:
This is a ______. We will hear about this in the story. Who would like to hold this carefully?
Take out the four number signs. Offer each to a volunteer, saying:
There are four important questions and answers in our story. Who would like to hold each number sign?
Then, introduce the story:
We will now read this story about a special girl named Sailimai. If you hear me say the prop you are holding, stand up and show everyone what you have. If you hear the question or the answer with the same number as your sign, stand up and show us your number.
Read/tell the story.
Afterward, ask each child to tell how their story prop was part of the story. Collect the props in the basket. Finish by asking the participants what is the strongest thing in the world (the answer is "love").
Process the story using these questions.
Including All Participants
If any participants have physical challenges, form pairs to hold up props together.
ACTIVITY 3: THE LOVE BOWL (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity helps participants think about the love in our world and in our lives that surrounds them and which they surround.
Gather children in a circle, on the floor or in chairs. Look into the bowl and say:
This bowl needs some love. I think I will put in all the love I feel for my _____ (e.g. parents, the world, animals).
Hold the bowl for a child next to you and ask "What's in your love bowl?" Encourage each child to pretend to place in the bowl something for which they feel love. Model that the bowl is getting heavier and heavier with all the love in it. When all participants have put their love into the love bowl, process together, using these wondering questions.
Have participants pass the love-filled bowl and take out love for themselves that they will continue to share when they leave the group. Say something like:
Now we are going to go around and share the love we each put in the bowl and take some out to give away to our family, our friends, our pets, the earth, and whoever and whatever else is important to us. As Unitarian Universalists, we remember that love surrounds us and we can surround others with love, too.
CLOSING (5 MINUTES)
Description of Activity
Invite everyone to gather in a circle and hold hands. Start by squeezing the hand to your right and saying: "Today I found love, today I gave love." Lead the group to move the hand squeeze around the circle until everyone has had a chance to say the words.
Then, invite the group to unclasp hands lead them to say the closing words in unison:
Be good to yourself.
Be excellent to others.
Do everything with love.
Including All Participants
If participants do not want to hold hands, invite them to just say the words to the person to their right. If needed, repeat the words aloud with each child.
FAITH IN ACTION: LOVE NOTES (20 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Participants identify feelings associated with giving and receiving words of love.
Help participants write "love" and their names on as many pieces of construction paper as they wish. Younger children can trace the word and write their own interpretation of their name. Encourage them to decorate the notes with stickers. Help children hang the love notes along the clothesline with clothes pins.
Invite children to think about people they see in their daily lives who need love. Engage them to think and talk about this as they make love notes. Help children see both people they know and people they do not know as possible recipients of love.
Invite participants to look, in the weeks to come, for people who need a little love. Give each participant several love notes to take home in an envelope to deliver to people in their community. Invite the minister, or a lay visitation person, to take Love Notes off the clothesline to give to people who receive pastoral care, so they will have a physical note to hold with a participant's message of love.
Next time the group meets, be sure to follow up with participants about how they felt when passing out love notes. Ask if participants received love notes, and how that felt. Talk about the good feelings brought about by both sending and receiving written messages of love.
LEADER REFLECTION AND PLANNING
Think about the participants who participated in the session today. How did they grow in knowledge of one another? Which participants will need more help? Which participants can work independently? Reflect on your effectiveness in presenting this week.
TAKING IT HOME
We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love. — Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Catholic nun and missionary
IN TODAY'S SESSION... The participants talked about how love surrounds them and how, as Unitarian Universalists, they are instruments of giving love in the world. In the story "The Wise Sailimai: A Muslim Tale from China" participants heard about a young girl who answered four questions for the king to save the life of her father-in-law. One of the questions was "What is stronger than steel?" The answer was love. Participants learned the song "Love Surrounds Me."
EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Talk about...
EXTEND THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Try...
A Family Adventure. Take a family walk. Bring along a notebook and pencil. Observe ways nature surrounds us with love. Draw pictures to remind you of all the ways that nature brings themes of love into our lives. Take your nature book home and place it on the family dining table. Look through your pictures each night or at the dinner table.
Family Discovery. Books to read:
A Family Ritual. Family Love Notes: Invite everyone to use sticky notes to write notes of love to other family members. Put the notes on the refrigerator, the bathroom mirror, or a door. Find creative places to leave unsigned love notes for others every day.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 1: MAPPING THE COMMUNITY (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity helps participants identify beloved community as it relates to their group.
Show participants the map and point out where each of them lives. Show the location of the congregation you all share. Engage the children to discover together:
Affirm that the beloved community is a group connected not only by the roads and activities we share but also, and more importantly, by our hearts and by the relationships we build.
Including All Participants
This activity will unfold differently depending on whether the group lives in a concentrated area or more spread out. If your congregation serves a wide geographical area, obtain an adequate map to ensure all participants are included in the activity. If participants live very far from the congregation, talk about what reasons families might have for coming so far to be together with this faith community.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 2: LOVE IS... (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Participants will identify a worldwide community and opportunities for love. Show pictures of people from all parts of the world. Discuss with participants how you can tell that people are surrounded in love. Emphasize facial expressions and body language. Pass out paper and crayons/markers and invite children to illustrate their completion of the statement, "Love is... "
Provide an opportunity for participants to share their illustrations.
Including All Participants
A child who is unable to draw on their own can dictate words to you. Write the words "_________ (child's name) says" above "Love is..." and then write what the child tells you.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 3: HELPING HANDS CHART (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Participants will help with chores in their meeting room.
Invite the children to help you fill in the chores on the sign. For each chore, use a short phrase (e.g., "clean up") and a symbol (e.g., a picture of a broom). This will allow participants to read the Helping Hands sign in word or symbol.
List four to six jobs on the chart. Then have participants write their names in a hand print of their choice. Explain how the chart will work; you might say:
Each time we meet, some of your hand prints will be next to jobs. If your handprint is on the sign, you will help with that chore.
Depending on the size of the group, rotate assignments each time you meet, or monthly. The chores might include:
Including All Participants
If a participant cannot write their name on hand prints, use dots to outline the name so the child can write it by connecting the dots. If a participant cannot write, write their name for them while saying aloud each letter as you write it.
LOVE SURROUNDS US: SESSION 1:
STORY: THE WISE SAILIMAI, A MUSLIM TALE FROM CHINA
A Muslim folk tale from Ayat Jamilah: Beautiful Signs, A Treasury of Islamic Wisdom for Children and Parents collected and adapted by Sarah Conover and Freda Crane (Spokane: Eastern Washington University Press, 2004); originally from Mythology and Folklore of the Hui, A Muslim Chinese People collected by Shujiang Li and Karl W. Luckert. Used with permission.
Begin by saying, "Today we will hear a story about a wise young girl. She will teach us how love surrounds us in many ways." Note: "Sailimai" is pronounced SAIL-ee-my. "Hui" is pronounced 'Whee.
Long, long ago in the country of China, lived a young woman of the Muslim Hui people whose name was Sailimai. Although she was a farm girl, too poor to attend school, Sailimai nonetheless paid close attention to life around her. When an old woman in the village needed help, but was too proud to ask for it, Sailimai would know just the right time to visit. When children scraped their knees, Sailimai arrived to assist, even if they were not her own children. She may have been poor and unschooled, but Sailimai possessed a wise and deep heart.
Once, her father-in-law, a carpenter...
(Leader: Who has the hammer that the carpenter used? Please stand.)
...named Ali, was ordered by the emperor to make some repairs in his palace. Fearful of doing less than his best for the emperor, Ali pushed himself to work his very hardest, working both day and night. Yet, as it sometimes happens, the time came when Ali went beyond his limits. Dizzy with fatigue, hands shaking, momentarily careless, Ali tipped over the emperor's most precious vase. The pieces shattered—all too loudly—in the great hall. Servants came running.
Soon enough the emperor heard the story of his ruined, priceless vase.
"Bring this carpenter...
(Leader: Who has the hammer that the carpenter used?)
...to me at once," he demanded.
Handcuffed and escorted by three guards, Ali, trembling, stood speechless before the emperor. The emperor drew his sword. As it hovered over Ali's head, Ali at last spoke up; "Forgive me your worship! I did not mean to break the vase. I promise to pay for it. I promise to pay!"
The emperor lowered his sword just a bit. "A poor, old Hui like yourself could never replace such a treasure. Do not jest with me!"
"Have mercy on me," Ali begged. "I will pay."
The emperor re-sheathed his sword with a sly smile. "Very well old Hui, I do not expect you to replace my vase. Instead, I will give you ten days to find me four things." The emperor hesitated in thought, tugging lightly on his beard. "The first thing you must get me...
(Leader: Who has the "Number 1" sign?)
"...is something more black than the bottom of a pan."
(Leader: Who has the pan?)
"Second: ...
(Leader: Who has the "Number 2" sign?)
"...You must find me something clearer than a mirror."
(Leader: Who has the mirror?)
The emperor waited a moment, watching Ali's reactions, but Ali stared blankly at the floor. The emperor continued. "The third:...
(Leader: Who has the "Number 3" sign?)
"...Something stronger than steel."
(Leader: Who has our strong metal?)
The emperor smirked. "And lastly,...
(Leader: Here is the fourth thing. Who has the "Number 4" sign?)
"...find me something as vast as the sea.
(Leader: Who has the picture of the vast sea?)
"...If you fail at any of these, I will chop off your head." Finished, the emperor smiled broadly, quite pleased with himself.
Ali looked stricken. "How," he wondered, "could I achieve these impossible tasks? Does the emperor simply wish to torture me for the last ten days of my life?" Sick with dread, he hung his head, turned away and headed home.
For the next week he could neither eat nor sleep. His family knew that something was terribly amiss, but Ali would not discuss it. "Please father," Sailimai said, calling her father-in-law by the customary term of respect. "What is the trouble? Perhaps we can help?" Begging and pleading, Sailimai at last coaxed Ali into talking. He cradled his head between his hands and wept as he named the emperor's four impossible tasks.
But Sailimai responded as if these were everyday requests. "This isn't a problem! Father, don't worry. I will have all these things when the emperor comes tomorrow. I shall present them to him myself."
Ali assumed that Sailimai was trying only to comfort him. He didn't want her to get in trouble with the emperor too. "Don't be foolish, Sailimai," he warned. These four things do not exist. The emperor just wanted to make me suffer further before killing me."
Sailimai persisted. "Father, I really do have these things. I know you don't believe me now. But wait until tomorrow. I will show them to both you and the emperor!"
And so it was that the very next day, the tenth day since the broken vase, the emperor appeared—surrounded by troops—at Ali's door. "Old Hui! Come forward and give to me the four things you owe me," bellowed the emperor.
Ali came outside with Sailimai by his side. They both bowed humbly, never daring to meet the emperor's gaze. Sailimai then stepped forward. "Your majesty," she said, "The four things you requested are ready to be presented. Please name them one by one."
"The first thing I must have, "said the emperor, "is that which is more black than the bottom of a pan."
(Leader: Who has our "Number 1" sign?)
He touched the sheath of his sword with a glint in his eye.
Sailimai answered, "This, your majesty, can be found in the bottomless, greedy heart."
The emperor hid his surprise. This girl, he reassured himself, cannot be so smart. She is a farm girl. He nodded briefly, "The next thing you must present is something more clear than a mirror. Do you have that?" he asked.
(Leader: Who has our "Number 2" sign?)
Sailimai answered: "Yes, knowledge offers a clarity greater than any mirror."
The emperor looked dumbstruck. "Well," he stammered, " Do you have something stronger than steel to give me?"
(Leader: Who has our "Number 3" sign?)
"Love," said Sailimai, "is the strongest thing in the world."
Knowing he had been bested, the emperor stood speechless. Ali glanced at Sailimai, and stood a little taller. At last the emperor cleared his throat and made his last request.
(Leader: Who has the "Number 4" sign?)
"And what do you have, that could possibly be as vast as the sea?" he asked.
"A virtuous heart is as vast as the sea, your majesty." Her head lowered, Sailimai smiled and said not more.
Flustered and humbled, the emperor sputtered, "It's time to leave. Old Hui, you are hereby pardoned!" He turned to his troops and shouted, "March!"
As the Emperor of China distanced himself, Sailimai held her father-in-law's hand. Together, she and Ali bowed in relief and gratitude to Allah. Because of Sailimai's wise heart, Ali could now live a long and happy life.
LOVE SURROUNDS US: SESSION 1:
LEADER RESOURCE 1: ROTE TEACHING, LOVE SURROUNDS US SONG
To the tune of "Jesus Loves Me, This I Know." Lyrics by Ruth Gibson, in Treasure Hunting Take Two, self-published by Gaia Brown and Ellen W. Schneider.
The rote teaching method for singing involves these steps:
Love surrounds us this I know
For my spirit tells me so
All of us to love belong
Fill our hearts and make us strong.
Yes, love surrounds us
Yes, love surrounds us.
Yes, love surrounds us,
My spirit tells me so.
LOVE SURROUNDS US: SESSION 1:
LEADER RESOURCE 2: OCEAN PICTURE FOR STORY
Photo by Christy Olson.
Print the picture to use as a prop for the story.
FIND OUT MORE
Recommended Books
For Every Child: United Nations Children's Fund (New York: Phyllis Fogelman Books)
Love Is... by Wendy Anderson Halperin (Aladdin Books, 2003)