Sunday August 18th: Compassion Review
background information
For compassion review, read the background information on then Home Page.
Click here to navigate to that page.
Click here to navigate to that page.
class outline
Teaching Our Children About and With Compassion
Foothills Congregational Church Summer 2013
Class Outline
BEFORE CLASS
9:30 Set-up your classroom for the day.
Preschool-2nd grade will meet in the downstairs classroom.
2nd-6th grade will meet in the upstairs classroom.
Youth in 7th-12th grade are encouraged to stay in church, but are also welcome to be
teaching assistants in the other classes. (7th-9th downstairs,10th-12th upstairs)
9:45 Meet in the upstairs classroom to confer with teachers and staff about any last minute
logistics or questions about the curriculum.
10:00 Enter church
10:15 Come forward for the Children’s Sermon and then exit church with the children.
Escort your class to your room.
IN CLASS
Welcome
It is important to welcome each child by name. Since we are teaching about compassion, the intimacy this fosters is important. You probably will not know each child by name. You may choose one of several methods to learn their names:
You could have the children introduce themselves and answer a question
Example: My name is Michelle and my favorite animal is a cat.
You can challenge students to see if anyone already knows everyone’s name and then have that person name everyone.
You could simply introduce yourself and shake hands as you say the names of the kids who you know and ask the names of the people whose names you don’t know.
Click here for more fun ways to learn names.
Theme Song Play the video of the theme song The Lord is Merciful and Compassionate.
Encourage the kids to sing along and follow the hand motions.
Centering Activity
Part of compassion is being able to notice the activities and people around us, including ourselves. We will begin each class by playing The Noticing Game.
The Noticing Game
Ask children to sit comfortably in a position they can be still in for 5 minutes.
They can assume a common meditation pose if they would like, sitting cross legged on the floor or sitting straight-backed in a chair, with the hands on their lap. Any position will work as long as it’s comfortable.
Say: “Breathe in through your nose. Notice where you can feel the breath moving into your body. Can you feel it in your nose? In your throat? Can you feel your chest rise? Hold your breath for a brief moment and then exhale. Where can you feel your breath exiting your body?
Now take a second to notice your body. Pay attention to your head and your shoulders. If they feel tight, take a deep breath and imagine your breath travels to the tightness and makes you feel relaxed. Pay attention to your core, between your neck and your legs. If you notice any tension, take a deep breath and imagine your breath travels to the tension and you feel relaxed. Pay attention to your arms and legs, your hands and your feet. Try to make them smooth, warm, and relaxed. If they feel fidgety or tight, take a deep breath and imagine your breath travels to them, warming them and relaxing you all over.
Now notice what is around you. Is there a shape or a color that catches your attention? Can you find something else in the room that is the same shape or color? Notice who is here today. Is there someone you expected to see today who is not here? Is there someone here you are especially excited to see today?
Take a deep breath and let it out with a heavy sigh (demonstrate)
Do this one more time. Now turn your focus into the center of the class so we can all see each other. Everyone will now share something they noticed during this exercise.”
Go around the room and let each person share something they noticed. Make room for small
things and big things. “I noticed the red circle on the bulletin board” and “I noticed I felt like
crying.”
Take note of the names of anyone who was missed or kids the others were excited to see.
Give these names to the Children's Program Coordinator, Amelie, so she can follow-up.
Introduce the topic of the day
Each Sunday we’ll introduce an aspect of compassion. Give the kids an opportunity to tell
you what they already know about the aspect you are studying today, then you can share a
brief definition.
Give kids a choice of activities
Each Sunday there will be several activities for you to choose from. These activities are based on the theory of multiple intelligences. Click here for an explanation of this theory. The basic idea is that each child has a preferred way of learning. By choosing activities from different preferred methods, more children learn more comfortably. Please choose two activities to use the Sunday you teach.
Ending Ritual
The Children’s Program officially ends at 11:15. Sometimes parents come into the room as
soon as church is out, which is earlier than 11:15, especially in the summer. Begin your ending ritual at 11:10 or when parents begin to come into the room. You can invite the early arriving parents to join you.
We will end each class with a prayer for the world. Begin by asking the children to repeat
after you, line by line. You could say, "This is a repeat after me prayer."
We pray that all beings will be free.
We pray that all beings will be happy.
We pray that all beings will be safe.
We pray that all beings will awaken to the light of their true nature.
We pray that all beings will be free.
If there is time, go back over each sentence and ask children to name people/places/animals they would like to pray for.
“Who do we wish would be happy/safe/free?”
At the end say, “Amen,” and invite the children to help you clean-up the room.
Foothills Congregational Church Summer 2013
Class Outline
BEFORE CLASS
9:30 Set-up your classroom for the day.
Preschool-2nd grade will meet in the downstairs classroom.
2nd-6th grade will meet in the upstairs classroom.
Youth in 7th-12th grade are encouraged to stay in church, but are also welcome to be
teaching assistants in the other classes. (7th-9th downstairs,10th-12th upstairs)
9:45 Meet in the upstairs classroom to confer with teachers and staff about any last minute
logistics or questions about the curriculum.
10:00 Enter church
10:15 Come forward for the Children’s Sermon and then exit church with the children.
Escort your class to your room.
IN CLASS
Welcome
It is important to welcome each child by name. Since we are teaching about compassion, the intimacy this fosters is important. You probably will not know each child by name. You may choose one of several methods to learn their names:
You could have the children introduce themselves and answer a question
Example: My name is Michelle and my favorite animal is a cat.
You can challenge students to see if anyone already knows everyone’s name and then have that person name everyone.
You could simply introduce yourself and shake hands as you say the names of the kids who you know and ask the names of the people whose names you don’t know.
Click here for more fun ways to learn names.
Theme Song Play the video of the theme song The Lord is Merciful and Compassionate.
Encourage the kids to sing along and follow the hand motions.
Centering Activity
Part of compassion is being able to notice the activities and people around us, including ourselves. We will begin each class by playing The Noticing Game.
The Noticing Game
Ask children to sit comfortably in a position they can be still in for 5 minutes.
They can assume a common meditation pose if they would like, sitting cross legged on the floor or sitting straight-backed in a chair, with the hands on their lap. Any position will work as long as it’s comfortable.
Say: “Breathe in through your nose. Notice where you can feel the breath moving into your body. Can you feel it in your nose? In your throat? Can you feel your chest rise? Hold your breath for a brief moment and then exhale. Where can you feel your breath exiting your body?
Now take a second to notice your body. Pay attention to your head and your shoulders. If they feel tight, take a deep breath and imagine your breath travels to the tightness and makes you feel relaxed. Pay attention to your core, between your neck and your legs. If you notice any tension, take a deep breath and imagine your breath travels to the tension and you feel relaxed. Pay attention to your arms and legs, your hands and your feet. Try to make them smooth, warm, and relaxed. If they feel fidgety or tight, take a deep breath and imagine your breath travels to them, warming them and relaxing you all over.
Now notice what is around you. Is there a shape or a color that catches your attention? Can you find something else in the room that is the same shape or color? Notice who is here today. Is there someone you expected to see today who is not here? Is there someone here you are especially excited to see today?
Take a deep breath and let it out with a heavy sigh (demonstrate)
Do this one more time. Now turn your focus into the center of the class so we can all see each other. Everyone will now share something they noticed during this exercise.”
Go around the room and let each person share something they noticed. Make room for small
things and big things. “I noticed the red circle on the bulletin board” and “I noticed I felt like
crying.”
Take note of the names of anyone who was missed or kids the others were excited to see.
Give these names to the Children's Program Coordinator, Amelie, so she can follow-up.
Introduce the topic of the day
Each Sunday we’ll introduce an aspect of compassion. Give the kids an opportunity to tell
you what they already know about the aspect you are studying today, then you can share a
brief definition.
Give kids a choice of activities
Each Sunday there will be several activities for you to choose from. These activities are based on the theory of multiple intelligences. Click here for an explanation of this theory. The basic idea is that each child has a preferred way of learning. By choosing activities from different preferred methods, more children learn more comfortably. Please choose two activities to use the Sunday you teach.
Ending Ritual
The Children’s Program officially ends at 11:15. Sometimes parents come into the room as
soon as church is out, which is earlier than 11:15, especially in the summer. Begin your ending ritual at 11:10 or when parents begin to come into the room. You can invite the early arriving parents to join you.
We will end each class with a prayer for the world. Begin by asking the children to repeat
after you, line by line. You could say, "This is a repeat after me prayer."
We pray that all beings will be free.
We pray that all beings will be happy.
We pray that all beings will be safe.
We pray that all beings will awaken to the light of their true nature.
We pray that all beings will be free.
If there is time, go back over each sentence and ask children to name people/places/animals they would like to pray for.
“Who do we wish would be happy/safe/free?”
At the end say, “Amen,” and invite the children to help you clean-up the room.
Example of a sighing breath for the opening activity
resources for August 18th: Compassion Review
topic for August 18th: Compassion Review
com·pas·sion(km-pshn) n.
Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it.
It is important to note that compassion is an action word. It is not simply feeling something about an issue, but doing something about it.
Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it.
It is important to note that compassion is an action word. It is not simply feeling something about an issue, but doing something about it.
theme song
activity choices
Find out from Amelie and Michelle what the favorite activities were from the compassion curriculum and what dates they were introduced. Then go to that date's curriculum and repeat a favorite activity or two.
Consider playing this song while doing one of the activities.