Find out More About Session 3: Faith, Hope and Prayer
Part of Moral Tales, Grades 2-3
In the online bookstore of the Unitarian Universalist Association, you will find a number of books about faith in a Unitarian Universalist context:
- Rejoice Together: Prayers, Meditations and Other Readings for Family, Individual, and Small-Group Worship, second edition, paperback, collected by Helen R. Pickett (Boston: Skinner House, 2005)
- Our Seven Principles in Story and Verse by Kenneth W. Collier (Boston: Skinner House, 1997)
- Simply Pray: A Modern Spiritual Practice to Deepen Your Life by Erik Walker Wikstrom (Boston: Skinner House, 2005)
- The Gift of Faith: Tending the Spiritual Lives of Children by Jeanne Harrison Nieuwejaar (Boston: Skinner House, second edition, 2003)
- Singing the Living Tradition by the Unitarian Universalist Association (Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association, 1993).
Prayer Beads
A String and a Prayer by Eleanor Wiley and Maggie Oman Shannon (Red Wheel/Weiser, 2002) talks about the use of prayer beads in different faith traditions.
Fidget Objects
The idea of having a basket of "fidget objects" available during session activities comes from Sally Patton, author, workshop leader and advocate for children with special needs. It is a simple, inexpensive way to include and welcome children who find it difficult to sit still or who learn better while moving.
Provide a basket for fidget objects. Fill it with pipe cleaners, koosh balls, and other soft, quiet, manipulable objects.
When you introduce the fidget object basket to the group, begin by saying that some people learn best when their hands are busy. Give an example such as someone who knits while listening to a radio program or doodles during a meeting or class. Point out the fidget object basket. Tell the children they may quietly help themselves to items they may wish to use to keep their hands busy if this helps them to listen. However, also tell the children that the fidget object basket will be put away if the items become a distraction from the story or any other group activity.
You can make the basket available for the duration of the session, or bring the basket out only during activities, such as hearing a story told, that require children to sit still and listen for a significant period of time.