Tapestry of Faith: Moral Tales: A Program on Making Choices for Grades 2-3

Activity 5: "what Would Uu Do?" Bracelets

Part of Moral Tales

Activity time: 16 minutes

Materials for Activity

  • Lanyard, cord, or wire for beading
  • "W," "U," and "D" beads, enough for each child to make a bracelet with the initials, "WWUUD"
  • Decorative beads
  • Scissors or another device to cut the lanyard, cord or wire
  • Bowls to hold the beads
  • Newsprint, markers and tape

Preparation for Activity

  • Purchase decorative beads and enough letter beads for the group. For 20 bracelets, you will need 40 Ws, 40 Us and 20 Ds. You may also want to provide a "?" bead for each bracelet, if you can find these.
  • Purchase enough lanyard, cord or wire to cut to the appropriate size for the number of bracelets the group will make.
  • Sort beads by letter and place them in the bowls. Place decorative beads in bowls, as well.
  • Write "WWUUD" (or, "WWUUD?" if you have question mark beads for the children) on a piece of newsprint, and post.

Description of Activity

Settle children at work tables. Show them the newsprint you have posted with "WWUUD" and tell them they will make bracelets with this message on them.

Say, in your own words:

Every day we have to make choices about all sorts of things, like whether or not we will share, or be kind to a dog, or cut someone in line, or hit someone. We are going to make bracelets to remind us to think about the things Unitarian Universalists believe when you have these choices to make. When you find yourself in a situation where you are deciding what action you should take, and maybe wondering what is good, and what is fair, you can look at your bracelet and ask yourself, "What would a Unitarian Universalist do?"

Explain that the letters on the beads stand for the phrase, "What would UU do?" This has a double meaning, as "UU" means both what would "you" do, as well as "What would a Unitarian Universalist do?"

Distribute bowls of beads and lengths of lanyard, cord or wire. Help children secure the first bead in their bracelet by knotting the lanyard, cord or wire around it, leaving a tag on the end to finish the bracelet later.

As children finish their bracelets, you may say:

You can take your bracelets home and I hope you will wear them a lot. They may help you think about whether what you are doing will hurt someone, or help someone. When you look for the answer, look at your hands, and see this bracelet, I hope it will help you make good choices that are peaceful, loving and fair.

Including All Participants

If you have a child for whom small motor tasks are difficult, a leader or friend can help that child string the beads. You may also adapt this activity by providing large beads that are easier to string or providing a needle to help a child pull the lanyard through the beads.