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

Spiritual Preparation

Part of Moral Tales

Take a few moments to prepare yourself spiritually for leading the session. It will be helpful to read the short Buddhist story, "The Wise Teacher's Test," several times. Close your eyes and imagine that you are watching the story take place, hearing, and seeing the characters and feeling what they might have been feeling. Imagine how the children in Moral Tales may feel as they listen to this story.

Take some time to mindfully observe your own conscience and how it works as you go through your day. Remember some times when you were challenged to follow or ignore your conscience, both as an adult and as a child. Imagine what you yourself would have done, had you been a student in that Buddhist monastery.

When you help children process the story, you will use "wondering" questions to guide their discussion. Wondering questions have no right or wrong answers, only possibilities and discoveries. You might like to practice by asking yourself some wondering questions about the story or about the role your conscience plays in your daily life.