MORAL TALES
A Tapestry of Faith Program for Children
SESSION 6: WELCOME ONE AND ALL
BY ALICE ANACHECKA-NASEMAN AND ELISA PEARMAIN
© Copyright 2010 Unitarian Universalist Association.
Published to the Web on 11/8/2014 5:06:33 PM PST.
This program and additional resources are available on the UUA.org web site at
www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith.
SESSION OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
Benedict tells us to offer an open heart, a stance of availability, and to look for God lurking in every single person who comes through the door. —Daniel Homan and Lonni Collins Pratt
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me. — Christian scripture, Matthew 25:35
This session is based on the notion that justice and goodness require an attitude of radical hospitality towards all others, regardless of race, class, or creed. In their book, Radical Hospitality (Paraclete Press, 2002), Daniel Homan and Lonni Collins Pratt amplify this notion, which is also a natural extension of our first Unitarian Universalist principle, which affirms the worth and dignity of all people.
Participants will hear a Middle Eastern folk tale about Mullah Nasruddin, who arrives at a dinner party in farming clothes only to be ignored. After changing into fancy clothes, he is greeted warmly and welcomed wholeheartedly. Nasruddin proceeds to feed his coat, proclaiming it is the garments that have been welcomed, not the person wearing them. "Welcome" is added to the Moral Compass poster.
Related content:
GOALS
This session will:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will:
SESSION-AT-A-GLANCE
Activity | Minutes |
Welcoming and Entering | 0 |
Opening | 2 |
Activity 1: Gems of Goodness | 5 |
Activity 2: Welcome Game — Fishing for Friends | 5 |
Activity 3: Story Basket and Centering | 5 |
Activity 4: Story — Mullah Nasruddin Feeds His Coat | 10 |
Activity 5: Welcome and Unwelcome Game | 10 |
Activity 6: The Welcome Table Feast | 15 |
Activity 7: Clean-Up | 5 |
Faith in Action: Congregational Hunger Awareness — Short-term and Long-term | 20 |
Faith in Action: Protecting Seals, Awareness/Fundraising— Long-term | 30 |
Closing | 3 |
Alternate Activity 1: Candles of Joys and Sorrows | 10 |
Alternate Activity 2: Hosting Coffee Hour | 90 |
Alternate Activity 3: Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover | 15 |
Alternate Activity 4: Story Hot Seat | 20 |
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION
Take a few minutes to remember a time when you felt unwelcome or excluded. Where were you? Who was there? How did the person or people make you feel unwelcome? How did you feel? Now take a few minutes to remember a time when you felt welcome. Where were you? Who was there? How did the person or people make you feel welcome? How did you feel?
Now visualize yourself extending a true and warm welcome to every child in the group. If there is a child you find it difficult to welcome wholeheartedly, take a few moments and seek to feel empathy for this child. Hold each child in your heart as a unique gift to you and to the group.
SESSION PLAN
WELCOMING AND ENTERING
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
As children enter, greet them and direct them to the table with the gemstones.
Ask the children to choose one, two, or three gemstones to represent acts of goodness that they did or witnessed since the last time they came to Moral Tales. If you wish, help focus the children on generosity. Ask if any participants were generous or experienced generosity.
If any children are participating for the first time in the Gems of Goodness project, invite them to choose a notebook, write their name on it, and decorate it as they wish. Tell them they may also pick three gemstones to bring into the circle.
OPENING (2 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the children in a circle. Light the chalice.
If some or all of the children are unfamiliar with the reading, teach it line by line. Then recite together:
Come into the circle of love and friendship.
Come into the community of justice and goodness.
Come and you shall know peace and joy.
Extinguish the chalice.
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ACTIVITY 1: GEMS OF GOODNESS (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the children around the table where you have placed the cloth, the jar or vase, and the gemstones. Ask who remembered to keep track of acts of goodness in their notebooks.
Invite volunteers to stand up, and tell the group about an act of goodness they engaged in (or witnessed, if you have offered this option), and place the gem in the glass jar or vase.
Indicate the Moral Compass poster. Mention the virtues that the group has explored in previous sessions. Suggest that the children try to think of some acts of goodness related to these virtues, as they share their gems of goodness.
Encourage newcomers to join the sharing once they've had a chance to see what the other children are doing.
Use these guidelines to organize the sharing:
It is very important to avoid judging participants, either with criticism or praise. Avoid phrases like, "Great job!" or "You're fantastic!" which might encourage the children to compete to share the "best" act of goodness or to perceive that different acts of goodness have greater or lesser value.
Instead, listen carefully to what the children tell you. Help them identify the virtues their acts of goodness represent. When appropriate, indicate a word or phrase on the Moral Compass poster that fits the act of goodness. This will help the children learn to recognize a variety of virtues in a variety of forms.
After each sharing, you may say something like, "Thank you for sharing," followed by a summarizing sentence such as:
Your specific responses to the acts of goodness children share will help them feel pride, a sense of accomplishment, and their own empowerment as agents of justice and goodness.
If children are not volunteering, call out various types of acts of goodness, and invite children to come up if they experienced that particular kind of goodness. You may call out:
When the sharing is finished, remind the children to take home their notebooks and continue to keep track of their acts of goodness.
If you are planning to do so, remind the children that they may mark their achievement with a special celebration when the group has filled the glass jar or otherwise reached an established goal. If the group is approaching the goal, you may wish to brainstorm with them about the celebration. Suggestions might include having a special treat for a snack, or ending early to do physical games outside.
Whatever way you choose to mark the jar being filled, once it has been filled you may empty it and start over again.
Including All Participants
If any participants are not mobile, you or another child can accommodate by passing the jar. If a child is not verbal, you may wish to invite a participant to choose another child, or a co-leader, to read his/her acts of goodness from his/her notebook and place a gemstone in the jar.
ACTIVITY 2: WELCOME GAME — FISHING FOR FRIENDS (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
With children seated at work tables, distribute poster board fish and pencils to everyone (including co-leaders and volunteers). Ask everyone to write their name on a fish. Bring small, stick-on magnets around and affix one to the opposite side of each person's fish — the side without the name.
Collect all the fish, shuffle them, and place them on the floor in a single layer, with magnets up and names facing down. Invite each person, one at a time, to use the magnetic fishing line. You may say:
It is your turn to go fishing for a friend.
Once a fish is attached to the fishing line, ask the person to identify which friend is caught, find that person, and greet him or her by saying, "Good morning (or afternoon), (name of person whose fish was caught). Welcome to Moral Tales."
Then invite the friend who has been welcomed to fish for a friend. Repeat until everyone has been welcomed. Gather the fish at the end and keep for another time.
This exercise leads each person to extend and receive welcome. The random element of fishing adds suspense and prevents children from choosing who they will welcome and greeting only their particular friends in the group.
ACTIVITY 3: STORY BASKET AND CENTERING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the children in a circle in your storytelling area. Show them the storytelling basket. Say something like, "Let's see what's in our story basket this week."
If you are using an altar as a focal point, take the cloth cover from the storytelling basket and drape it over the box or small table. If the cloth cover has a special story, such as who made it, where it comes from, or the meaning of any symbols on it, briefly share the story with the children. Tell the group that the items in the story basket will be placed on this altar or table after the children have passed them around the circle.
Take the story-related items from the basket, one at a time, and pass them around. Briefly name the various objects. Children may ask questions about some of the items, begin to tell stories about similar things they have seen, or wonder aloud why an object is included. Tell them the group can talk more about the items after the story. Make sure you invite them to do so once you have finished the story and follow-up discussion.
If you have a globe or a world map, indicate the Middle East. Tell the children that the story they will hear is an Islamic folk tale.
As items come back to you, place them on the altar. Objects that are fragile, or which should not be passed around for any reason, can be held up for all to see and then placed directly on the altar. Display the items for children to look at as they listen to the story.
Now remove the chime, rain stick or other instrument from the story basket. Tell the children that every time you tell a story in Moral Tales, you will first use the instrument to help them get their ears, their minds, and their bodies ready to listen.
Invite them to sit comfortably and close their eyes (if they are comfortable doing so). You may tell them that closing their eyes can help them focus just on listening.
In a calm voice, say, in your own words:
As you breathe in, feel your body opening up with air. As you breathe out, feel yourself relaxing.
Repeat this once or twice and then say:
Now you are ready to listen. When I hit the chime (turn the rain stick over), listen as carefully as you can. See how long you can hear its sound. When you can no longer hear it, open your eyes and you will know it is time for the story to begin.
Sound the chime or other instrument. When the sound has gone, begin telling the story.
Including All Participants
If anyone in the group is unable to hold or pass items, or cannot see the items, make sure you or a child in the group offers the person a chance to see and touch each object, as needed.
Some people do not feel safe closing their eyes when they are in a group. If any children resist, respect their resistance and suggest that they find a single point of focus to look at instead.
If you have a basket of fidget objects for children who will listen and learn more effectively with something in their hands, make the fidget object basket available during this activity. For a full description of fidget objects and guidance on using them, see Leader Resources.
ACTIVITY 4: STORY — MULLAH NASRUDDIN FEEDS HIS COAT (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Before you begin, look around the room and make eye contact with each person.
Tell the children that this story takes place during the month of Ramadan. Ramadan is a holy time for Muslims during which they don't eat any food or drink any water from sun-up to sun-down. Every day for a month, they break the fast with a large meal at the end of the day, often shared with friends and family. One reason for this fasting is to develop empathy for people who are hungry because they have no food. Giving charity is an important part of Islam (one of its five pillars) and is an important part of Ramadan. The main character in this story is Mullah Nasruddin. A Mullah is a Muslim religious teacher or leader.
Read or tell the story.
Ring the chime to indicate that the story is over.
Including All Participants
There are children for whom it is very difficult to sit still, even when they are paying attention to what is happening around them. This can be frustrating for teachers, as well as for the children who are expected to maintain stillness for prolonged periods of time. If you have children in the group for whom this is the case, consider adopting the use of "fidget objects" as described in Leader Resources. These fidget objects can provide a non-disruptive outlet for the need to move.
ACTIVITY 5: WELCOME AND UNWELCOME GAME (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Description of Activity
Have the children stand in a circle. Lead them in a quick stretch. You may say:
Let's all pretend to be Nasruddin for a moment. We'll reach up high to get some food and then put it in our pockets.
After the stretch, ask the children to raise their hands if they've ever had a time when they felt unwelcome. Briefly ask the kids to contribute things that people do that can make someone feel unwelcome. Prompt with suggestions such as:
When it is clear that the children have a pretty good understanding of behaviors that are unwelcoming, put on the ragged, worn garment. Say, in your own words:
When Nasruddin was wearing dirty clothes, the people at the feast did not welcome him. They judged him on his clothes and decided he wasn't good enough. Now we're going to use our bodies, our faces and our words and we're going to pretend to be the guests who did not want to include Nasruddin.
Go around the circle and invite each child to do or say something unwelcoming. You may want to have ground rules that include no physical violence or inappropriate language. Encourage the kids to be dramatic and to act unwelcoming with their whole bodies. If a child uses words without movement, you can ask, "What would your body look like if you were really saying that to someone?" When everyone has had a turn, if it seems like there might be more ways of being unwelcoming that have not yet been enacted, offer a few and ask for volunteers to add any new ideas.
Now say, in your own words:
In our congregation, we say that all people have inherent worth and dignity. Unitarian Universalists think all people are important — no matter what. We think you should not judge people based on things like what clothes they are wearing or what color hair they have.
See if the children can fill in the sentence, "Unitarian Universalists believe all people are important, no matter ________."
And/or, ask the children to answer some of these questions, in unison. A co-leader might be helpful in leading the children in answering "Yes" for the first few questions:
Add your own categories of people who are welcome.
Now put on the fancy garment on top of the ragged, worn one. Say:
Fancy coat or old rags, at our congregation, all people are welcome, no matter what.
Ask the children to think about a time when they felt welcome. Invite the group to name ways that people can make somebody feel welcome. Prompt as necessary, with ideas such as:
Walk around the circle again, inviting children this time to show you "welcome" using their words, bodies and faces.
The goal of this activity is to integrate the learning in the story by voicing and embodying the contrasting attitudes of welcome and unwelcome. Naming and enacting ways to be welcoming and ways to be unwelcoming makes learning more concrete.
Including All Participants
Inclusion and exclusion are very real experiences for children at this age. If there is a child in the group who may be a frequent target of unwelcoming behavior, or who may be a recipient of racist, classist, or any type of prejudice and prejudgment, be careful to support this child. Create a safe space for him or her to name any unpleasant experiences, but do not put the child on the spot or ask the child to be a spokesperson. Simply include him or her in the activity, along with the other children.
For example, if the group is mostly able-bodied, white, and American-born, and includes children who are African American, who use a wheelchair, and/or do not speak English well, do not single out these children during this activity. Do not make assumptions regarding what experiences this child may or may not have had. Do not ask the child to speak on behalf of all African Americans (people in wheelchairs, folks who don't speak English, etc.) Finally, do not put this child in a situation where he or she is treated with exclusive or unwelcoming behavior, even if it's in the form of a role play. Second and third graders cannot always keep imaginary play and reality separated. It is very important that all children experience Moral Tales and your congregation as a place of safety and caring.
ACTIVITY 6: THE WELCOME TABLE FEAST (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Say:
In our story today, Nasruddin was judged by the other townspeople for his clothing. He was not welcome at the feast when he was wearing dirty clothes. We are going to have a feast where everybody is welcome without prejudgments.
Have the children line up and walk over to the tables, with a co-leader or volunteer at the front of the line. Say, in your own words:
Each person is going to welcome another person to this feast using the welcoming methods we just talked about.
Be the model by welcoming the first person in line to the feast. This person now turns to welcome the next person and then sits down at the table while that person extends a greeting to the next person in line until all have been greeted and are sitting at the table.
Once children are seated, teach the song, "We're Gonna Sit at the Welcome Table," Hymn 407 in Singing the Living Tradition. Sing the song once through together and then enjoy the feast.
You may wish to sing this song again, as the closing song in this session. The lyrics are:
We're gonna sit at the welcome table.
We're gonna sit at the welcome table one of these days, hallelujah!
We're gonna sit at the welcome table,
Gonna sit at the welcome table one of these days.
All kinds of people around that table,
All kinds of people around that table one of these days, hallelujah,
All kinds of people around that table,
Gonna sit at the welcome table one of these days.
No fancy style at the welcome table ...
This activity builds community in the group while extending the message of the story into a real-life setting as the children practice what it means to be welcoming and to feel welcomed.
Including All Participants
Before serving food to children, check with parents about food allergies or other food sensitivities. Find out from your director of religious education if a food policy exists, and follow it carefully. If anyone in the group has a severe allergy, be sure to read all ingredients labels including any notes as to whether an item was prepared in a facility that also processes tree nuts. If volunteers will prepare food in their homes in advance, require them to list all ingredients and provide any product labels that provide food allergy-related information.
Related content:
ACTIVITY 7: CLEAN UP (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Invite the children to return the meeting space to being as neat and clean as they found it. Ask them to put away the materials used in the session. Remind the children that other people may use the space, and should be able to find it clean and ready to use.
Engage the children in thinking about materials that can be recycled. Specifically identify and assign any clean-up task that will help the children understand and accept their own responsibility as users of the meeting space. Use the clean-up activity to help children think about how their actions affect others and gain good feelings from participating in a group effort.
If your congregation has a recycling system, ask a child or pair of children to take the recycled materials to the bins. If your congregation does not have a recycling system, this may be a good Moral Tales project to initiate! In the meantime you might want to suggest that a different child each week take home a bag of recyclables. First, ask parents if they wish to participate in this project.
If you have used play sand, pack loose sand in secure containers and sweep or vacuum floors.
Including All Participants
All children should assist as able.
CLOSING (3 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity helps the children get used to practicing a closing ritual as a way of affirming their part in the faith community.
Gather the group in a circle. Thank the children for participating and sharing their stories and ideas in this session. Tell them something you liked about the way they worked together as a community.
Point out the Moral Compass poster. Say, in your own words:
Our Moral Compass shows us ways to do good things and make good decisions about how to be fair. Today we heard a story about a man who was judged and treated unfairly because of what he was wearing. As Unitarian Universalists, we believe that being fair means welcoming everybody, so we're going to add "Welcome" as a direction on our Moral Compass.
Post or write the word "Welcome" on the Moral Compass poster.
Remind the children that the next time they meet they will have a chance to add more gems to the Gems of Goodness jar. If appropriate, remind them that when the jar is full of gemstones, you will have a special celebration. You may wish to encourage them to pay special attention to times when they are being welcoming, without prejudgment, as well as times when they have a chance to practice any of the other virtues on the Moral Compass poster.
Lead the children in singing Hymn 414 in Singing the Living Tradition, "As We Leave This Friendly Place." If the hymn is unfamiliar to some of the children, teach it line by line and then sing it once through together.
The song's lyrics are:
As we leave this friendly place,
Love give light to every face;
May the kindness which we learn
Light our hearts till we return.
Or, lead the group in once again singing "We're Gonna Sit at the Welcome Table," Hymn 407 in Singing the Living Tradition.
Distribute the Taking It Home handout you have prepared. If new participants need to take home a Gems of Goodness notebook and parent handout, make sure they have these.
Thank the children, tell them you look forward to seeing them next time, and dismiss the group.
Related content:
FAITH IN ACTION: SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM —CONGREGATIONAL HUNGER AWARENESS (30 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Review all four hunger awareness activities that are suggested here: (1) make welcome signs for a food pantry (short-term activity), (2) conduct a congregational food drive, (3) learn about local food needs, and (4) visit and/or volunteer at a food pantry.
Description of Activity
In this session, participants had the opportunity to experience a welcome feast. Many people in the United States are often not "welcome at the table," and do not have enough food to eat. This Faith in Action activity introduces the idea of extending welcome to others by going to volunteer at a food pantry and/or holding a food drive. It concretizes the notion of welcome by guiding children to make "Welcome" signs for the food pantry. In addition to welcome, the spiritual practices of generosity, gratitude, and humility are all implicitly a part of this activity as participants confront the realities of poverty and hunger and take action.
To introduce the food drive and/or volunteer work, say:
In the story you heard, Mullah Nasruddin was not welcome at the table in his dirty clothes. Some people don't have a feast to go to, and some people don't even have a home. Many families don't have enough food to eat.
Tell the class briefly about your planned food drive and/or work at the food pantry. Then continue:
When people go to the food pantry, we don't want them to feel like Nasruddin did. We want everyone to know that they are welcome, no matter what, so we are going to make welcome signs.
Invite them to use the color markers and poster board to decorate one to four large welcome signs which will be posted at the soup kitchen or food pantry. Point out the newsprint where you have written the word "Welcome." You may want to assign small groups of children to work together on a poster. If you help them make "bubble letters," a few children can color them in at a time.
Children in second and third grade are often very compassionate and concerned when they encounter injustice. Participation in a concrete service project provides them with an outlet for their concern and empowers them as agents of justice. Moreover, they will experience what it means to translate into action our Unitarian Universalist principles, which promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person as well as justice, equity and compassion in human relations. By participating in this or similar projects, children will learn that one aspect of a religious life is serving others and being responsive to their human needs.
Including All Participants
It is important to remember as you plan and lead this activity that some families in your congregation, and some children in the group, might be homeless or living below the poverty line. Be careful to use language that includes this possibility and that does not assume all of the children come from financially wealthy homes. You can help normalize the experience by saying something like, "Some families in our congregation sometimes go to the food pantry and lots of families need the help of food pantries at some time or other." However, be respectful of the right to personal privacy and do not identify particular individuals without permission.
LEADER REFLECTION AND PLANNING
Take a few minutes to evaluate the session with your co-leader immediately afterward, while it is fresh. Share your thoughts with any other team teachers and your director of religious education.
You might find it helpful to consider these questions:
TAKING IT HOME
Hospitality ... is the stance of the heart that is abandoned to Love. —Daniel Homan and Lonni Collins Pratt
IN TODAY'S SESSION...
We shared a story in which Middle Eastern folk hero, Nasruddin, was unwelcome at a feast when wearing dirty, ragged clothes. When he changed into his finest clothes, he was greeted warmly. Nasruddin proceeded to feed his coat, making the point that it was his clothing which had been welcomed and not himself. We played a game in which participants enacted both unwelcoming and welcoming behaviors. The children learned that Unitarian Universalists believe all people are important, which means everybody is welcome at our congregation, without prejudgments. Finally, we enjoyed a welcome table feast.
We began a long-term Faith in Action project today that involves raising awareness about local hunger. The children made "Welcome" signs for a local food pantry, and we will begin a congregation-wide food drive next time we meet. Please consider taking your child grocery shopping with you, and selecting together some healthy non-perishable items to donate.
EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER. TALK ABOUT...
Inclusion and exclusion are very real issues for elementary school children. Talk with your child about times when he or she has felt excluded. Share some of your own experiences of feeling unwelcome or judged. Talk with your child about how you handled those situations.
EXTEND THE TOPIC TOGETHER. TRY...
As a family, volunteer to serve as greeters at congregational worship. Talk ahead of time about ways to be especially welcoming to newcomers, such as wearing nametags, providing information about the congregation and Unitarian Universalism, inviting newcomers to coffee hour, or introducing them to the minister, director of religious education, or other members. Invite your child to take on responsibility for helping any visiting children to feel welcome; suggest specific behaviors your child can do, to be welcoming.
A FAMILY RITUAL
Many families around the world living in poverty are not "welcome at the table." Consider participating in the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (at www.uusc.org/)'s yearly "Guest at Your Table project." If your congregation does not already participate in this effort, encourage your director of religious education, your minister, or members of your social action committee to learn about it.
Place the Guest at Your Table box on your dinner table. When your family is gathered for dinner, think about the people in the world who do not have enough to eat and put money in the box. Return the box with your collected money to the congregation, at the appropriate time. Consider keeping a box on your table year-round. Periodically empty it and donate the money to a local or international agency that works to end hunger, such as the UUSC, Oxfam (at www.oxfam.org/), or the Heifer Project International (at www.heifer.org/).
FAMILY DISCOVERY
Exclusionary, unwelcoming behaviors are often based on prejudgments stemming from prejudice and stereotypes. Read books to your child that promote diversity appreciation. Many media images and books continue to perpetuate negative (or even positive) stereotypes. When you see such images, name them for your child.
Recommended picture books:
Don't Laugh at Me by Steve Seskin & Allen Shamblin
Black is brown is tan by Arnold Adoff
All Families are Special by Norma Simon
And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
Publications that promote anti-bias education:
Once Upon a Time: Storytelling to Teach Character and Prevent Bullying by Elisa Davy Pearmain; especially the diversity appreciation chapter
How to Tell the Difference: A Guide to Evaluating Children's Books for Anti-Indian Bias by Beverly Slapin, Doris Seale and Rosemary Gonzales
Ten Ways to Teach Tolerance (at www.teachingtolerance.org/parents/tenways.jsp)
Related content:
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 1: CANDLES OF JOYS AND SORROWS (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Determine if your room and building policies allow for open flames. If not, consider doing this activity with a felt board and felt candles or with beads in a jar.
Begin by lighting a "starter" candle. Invite the children to come forward one at a time and light a candle of joy and sorrow from the starter candle and push it into the sand. The child should then face the group and tell them what the candle is for. Translate the language so they understand that we are talking about things that have made them very happy or sad.
Candles of joy and sorrow offer the opportunity for children to experience what is a weekly ritual in many Unitarian Universalist congregations. This activity can deepen sense of community in the Moral Tales group. It gives participants a chance to name those things which they carry in their hearts, encourages listening to others, and, in many cases, makes a link with the adult worship experience.
IMPORTANT: Do not leave burning candles unattended. When all who wish to participate have done so, blow the candles out and put the matches away in a safe place.
Including All Participants
If a child is physically unable to light a candle and stand to address the group, ask the child to invite another child to light a candle for him/her or offer to do it yourself. Allow the child to speak joys and sorrows from where he/she is sitting.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 2: HOSTING COFFEE HOUR (90 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
If you have time and would like to provide an opportunity for children to interact with the broader congregational community, this activity could take the place of the Activity 7, The Welcome Table Feast. Participants can prepare some food for coffee hour during the session and/or help serve pre-made food.
Consider having a Middle Eastern feast, such as that in the story, and serve foods such as hummus and baba ghannouj (eggplant dip) with pita bread, baklava, and halvah.
Have the children work in pairs to maximize their safety and comfort. Children can serve as greeters, standing by the doors or the food tables and welcoming everyone to coffee hour. Assign some children to be in charge of nametags. They can make sure everyone is wearing a nametag and make nametags for anyone who needs one. If members of the congregation often forget or object to nametags, talk with your director of religious education or minister about using this Moral Tales activity as an opportunity to jump-start a congregational practice of wearing nametags as a measure of hospitality.
Children this age often very much enjoy serving as helpers. Assign simple jobs such as putting hummus into a bowl and bringing it to the table, clearing empty plates and cups to the kitchen, or possibly washing or rinsing dishes. It is unrealistic to think that children at this age will sustain the necessary focus to help substantially with clean up. Expect adult volunteers to finish the job.
Including All Participants
Before serving food to children, check with parents about food allergies or other food sensitivities. Find out from your director of religious education if a food policy exists, and follow it carefully. If anyone in the group has a severe allergy, be sure to read all ingredients labels including any notes as to whether an item was prepared in a facility that also processes tree nuts. If volunteers will prepare food in their homes in advance, require them to list all ingredients and provide any product labels that provide food allergy-related information.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 3: DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the group in a circle. Place the books randomly on the floor. Go around the circle and allow each child to point to one book they would like to read based on the cover of the book alone. More than one child can point to the same book. When all have selected a book, go around again and ask each child to point to one book they would not like to read based on the cover of the book alone.
Now say:
Remember in our story, Mullah Nasruddin was judged by the other townspeople for his clothing. They decided whether they wanted to talk to him or not based on what he was wearing. There is an expression that says, "Don't judge a book by its cover." Do any of you have ideas about what that means?
Allow the children to offer some answers to the question and then say, in your own words:
"Don't judge a book by its cover" means you can't tell what is inside a book from what is on the outside. And you can't tell what is inside a person from what you see on the outside either. Let's see what's inside these books.
Allow the children to take turns choosing a book and looking to see what sort of book it is. With each book, ask the children to raise their hands if they wanted to read the book based on its cover. Next, ask them to raise their hands if they didn't want to read the book based on its cover. Finally, ask them to raise their hands if their opinion changed once they saw what was inside the book.
Conclude by saying, in your own words:
In our Unitarian Universalist congregation, all people are welcome, no matter what they look like on the outside. Just like these books, you have to look under the cover of a person to find out what he or she is really like on the inside.
If time allows, choose a story of reasonable length and read it to the group.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 4: STORY HOT SEAT (20 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
In this activity the children will have a chance to step into the shoes of the characters after the story has happened. Settle children in the chairs you have placed in a semi-circle. Tell them:
The chair set apart is the "hot seat." The person in the hot seat will pretend to be one of the characters from the story. The rest of us can ask the person in the hot seat questions. The person in the hot seat answers as the character.
Be the first one in the hot seat. Tell the children that you are going to leave the room and come back as one of the characters. Leave, come back, and introduce yourself. You may say:
Hello, children. I am the Mullah Nasruddin. Do you have any questions for me?
Tell the children they may raise their hands and ask the character questions about the story. Answer a question or two, then ask if someone else would like to take a turn in the hot seat. Let this child leave the room and come back as the same or a new character. After a short while, suggest that another child take the hot seat. If the children are all eager to be in the hot seat, then limit one or two questions per turn in the hot seat.
As needed, guide the activity by sharing with the group these rules:
The goal of this activity is to help the children develop a deeper understanding of the story, to explore the feelings and the perspectives of the characters in more depth, and to have a personal experience of empathy.
In the story ,"Mullah Nasruddin Feeds His Coat, " characters to role play include Nasruddin, the wealthy host, and the other guests. If the children have difficulty coming up with questions, model asking questions with these:
MORAL TALES: SESSION 6:
STORY 1: MULLAH NASRUDDIN FEEDS HIS COAT
Adapted from a Middle Eastern Islamic folk tale which is attributed to different countries, including Turkey and Syria.
Mullah Nasruddin had been working in the fields all day long. He was tired and sweaty and his clothes and shoes were covered with mud and stains. Because he had been fasting all day long, for Ramadan, he was also quite hungry. But finally, it was almost sundown and Nasruddin knew that he would soon be able to eat.
The wealthiest man in town had invited everyone to come break their fasts in his home that evening with a huge feast. Nasruddin knew that he would be late if he went home to change his clothes before heading into town. He decided it was better to arrive in dirty clothes than to be late. Oh, what a party it would be! What a feast! As he walked to the wealthy man's home, Nasruddin imagined the delicious foods that he would soon be eating: dates, lentils and chickpeas, olives and bread, hummus, falafel, chicken and beef — and best of all — the desserts — halvah, date rolls, figs and baklava!
When Nasruddin arrived, the wealthy man opened the door and looked Nasruddin up and down scornfully, from his worn, ragged clothes down to his muddy shoes. Without a word of welcome, he gestured for Nasruddin to come in and walked abruptly away.
(Leader — Say, "I wonder what the wealthy man was thinking or feeling," and briefly take a few answers. Return to the story by saying, "Let's hear what happens next.")
Nasruddin joined the throngs of people, who were all dressed in their finest clothing. The tables were laden with all sorts of delicious foods: dates, lentils and chickpeas, olives and bread, hummus, falafel, chicken and beef — and best of all — the desserts — halvah, date rolls, figs and baklava!
Despite his efforts to hurry, the seats were all taken and nobody tried to move over or make a space for Nasruddin. In fact, nobody offered him food. He had to reach over and around people to get any food for his plate. Nobody spoke to him. It was as if he wasn't even there.
(Leader — Pause and say, "I wonder how Nasruddin was feeling about this." Briefly take a few answers.)
The other guests ignored him so completely that Nasruddin could not enjoy the food on his plate, no matter how finely prepared and how tasty it was. In fact, after only a few bites, Nasruddin was so uncomfortable that he decided to leave.
He hurried home and changed into his finest clothing, including a beautiful coat.
(Leader — Take off worn, ragged clothing and put on the coat or shawl.)
Nasruddin returned to the feast and this time the host welcomed him with a huge smile. "Come in, come in," greeted the host. As Nasruddin entered, people waved and called to him from all corners of the room as they invited him to sit near them and offered him food.
(Leader — Ask, "I wonder what the host and the other guests were thinking now?" and accept a few answers. Then ask, "I wonder what Nasruddin was feeling," for brief responses before you continue.)
Nasruddin sat down quietly. Picking up a plump fig, he carefully placed it into a coat pocket, saying, "Eat, coat, eat." (Leader — If you have brought fake food, act this out.) Next he took a handful of nuts and put them into the pocket, saying, "Eat, coat, eat." Now he began to feed his coat in earnest, grabbing all sorts of foods. (Leader — Pause here and invite the children to try to name some foods Nasruddin might have fed to his coat. Use their suggestions: "Nasruddin put ___ in his pocket, saying, 'Eat, coat, eat!')
He fed the coat lentils and chickpeas, olives and bread, hummus, falafel, chicken and beef — and best of all — the desserts — halvah, date rolls, figs and baklava!
Nasruddin became silent as they watched this strange behavior. Soon everyone in the room was staring at Nasruddin, wondering what he was doing. The host hurried over. "Nasruddin, whatever are you doing? Why are you feeding your coat in this manner?"
"Well," replied Nasruddin, "when I first came to this feast in my old farming clothes, I was not welcome. No one would speak with me. But when I changed into this coat, suddenly I was greeted warmly. So I realized it was not me that was welcome at this party, but my clothing. And so I am feeding my coat."
(Leader — Use the sound instrument to signify that the story has ended. Briefly ask children how they think the host and the other guests might have been feeling when Nasruddin told them why he was feeding his coat. After they have offered a few answers, ask them whether they think it was fair or kind when the people wouldn’t talk to Nasruddin.)
MORAL TALES: SESSION 6:
LEADER RESOURCE 1: FISHING FOR FRIENDS
FIND OUT MORE
Islamic Folk Tales
Find more Islamic folk tales in these books, which provided source material for the version of "Mullah Nasruddin Feeds His Coat" in this curriculum:
Ayat Jamilah: Beautiful Signs: A Treasury of Islamic Wisdom for Children and Parents, (Boston: Skinner House, 2010)
Once the Hodja, by Alice Greer Kelsey (New York: David McKay Co., Inc., 1967)
Once Upon a Time: Storytelling to Teach Character and Prevent Bullying by Elisa Davy Pearmain (Greensboro: Character Development Group, 2006)
Watermelons, Walnuts and the Wisdom of Allah and the Other Tales of the Hoca by Barbara Walker (New York: Parents Magazine Press, 1967).
Middle Eastern Feast
If you wish to buy or prepare some traditional Middle Eastern treats (at allrecipes.com/recipes/world-cuisine/middle-east) for the Welcome Feast, find suggestions and recipes online. You may also check the Yellow Pages or internet for Middle Eastern, Turkish, or Syrian food stores in your area. Humus, pita bread, dates and olives can be found in most supermarkets.
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.
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