After completing our start-up business, including a fun get-to-know you icebreaker, we dove into our school year by focusing on God the Father as our BFF (Best Friend Forever). By the end of the lesson the children will have (1) practiced reciting the Our Father, (2) learned the meaning of the words spirit, eternal, Heaven, hallowed, trespasses, and temptation, and (3) begun to wonder about God as someone who absolutely knows us, unconditionally loves us, and truly wants nothing more than to be loved in return. Our love of God takes the form of praying, feasting at the Divine Liturgy, fasting, and performing acts of kindness. It also takes shape when we work on becoming the best we can be, when we live with grateful hearts, and when we see ourselves the way God sees us - uniquely His! Remember "the same God who created mountains, oceans and galaxies thought the world needed us too!"
Ice Breaker Activity
As we sat in a circle, we tossed a beach ball and whoever caught it had to say their name, while answering the question that was printed in the section of the ball under their right thumb. The questions were intended to get us comfortable in getting to know each other, while the use of the right thumb was to give the children the opportunity to practice identifying the correct hand used when making the Sign of the Cross.
Today's Lesson
We began our discussion by talking about best friends (who has one, what are they like, how did they get the title BEST, etc.). Their answers led us to compare the qualities of a best friend to what we know God to be.
God is all that a best friend is and so much more. Just like a best friend, God lets us be ourselves; He likes to be with us, and He forgives us when we make mistakes.
But God is also all mighty, all knowing, all loving, all forgiving and ETERNAL. This means that He always was, is now, and forever will be. He has no beginning or end, so God the Father has no birthday.
As the Father, He is source and giver of life - the creator of all that is beautiful and good. God is the One who breathed life into us as we were given birth through our parents. And so, He knows what we need even before we do; He understands what is in our hearts; He loves us no matter what; He comforts us when we are afraid; He feels our joy and sadness, and He longs for us to live in ways that keep us safe and happy. God is ever so close to us - even closer than our own heartbeat.
Because God is a SPIRIT, He has no body and is everywhere. While we can not actually see Him, we can "sense" God - when we look, listen and feel for His love in our lives.
We can see God's love in a sunset, we can hear God's love in a beautiful song. Whenever we feel something warm and good in our hearts - that is God's hug or tug to move us in the direction of what is good. What is good for us is called God's will.
Since praying is one way to know God, we moved to focus on the Our Father, slowly reciting this Perfect Prayer taught to us by Jesus when He walked the earth over 2000 years ago. We reviewed the definitions of the new words contained therein (heaven, hallowed, trespasses, and temptation), and then celebrated as we began committing the Our Father to memory.
Classroom Reinforcement Activity
The Our Father prayer was divided into 6 scrambled sentence strips. We tossed an oversized die, using the number rolled to point to a particular line that we cut and glued onto preprinted sheets in the correct order. This was a fun activity that incorporated movement with our arts and crafts seat work.
At-home Reinforcement Activity
As an at-home reinforcement activity, consider using the Our Father as your bed time prayer and as the grace before your family meals. Brainstorm how you can include God in your daily lives, in a way that your child begins thinking of Him as their BFF.
When God is invited, you can count on His blessings.
"Our God is so great, so strong and so mighty, there is nothing our God can not do!" 🎵
No comments:
Post a Comment