Exploring Scriptures

•  Eph. 4:25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
• D&C 59:15-? : All things which come from the earth, in the season thereof, are given unto man
• ?
• Josh 1:9 Be strong and of good courage
• If ye love me, Keep my Commandments
• (jist) On this hang all the law and the prophets. Thou shalt love thy God with all thy heart, might, mind, and strength, and the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
• Article of Faith #1

Discovering Principles in Nature: Circles

Discovering Principles in Nature: Circles

We took the children outside while saying a verse (?), and looked for circles in nature together. We noticed the sun in the sky, the flowers, tree trunks, seeds, and other round things. Next, we went back inside and sang our Gathering Closing Song, ending in a tight circle in the middle, and saying, “Thank you” as we closed our class. Those who were interested were invited to stay for an additional story. We read one of the 7 Habits of Happy Kids books by Steven R. Covey called (?)

We gave each family of children some bubbles to take home, along with a copy of our affirmation that day, “I Am Loved”, and handed the mothers a review sheet that highlighted a little of what our focus was that day, and included activities they could do at home to support and reinforce what we had done in class.

Nourish the Body: Apple Pieces

Food: Apples – It Takes Every Part to Make a Whole

We had the children help prepare some apples by washing and slicing them. We cut some large circles off of the sides of the apple, and cut the rest off in pieces. While the children ate, we talked about what it would be like to put the apple back together again, into one great whole, and emphasized that each piece that had been cut off of the apple was a little bit different from the other pieces, but they were all needed and important, to make the apple whole again.

Creative Arts: Beeswax Sculptures

We passed out pieces of beeswax for each child to hold and begin to warm, shape, and change, while we told a verse about the special little creatures, who worked together to create the wax we were playing with. The wax was stiff and hard to mold. We primarily wanted to introduce and expose them to the wax as a medium, and perhaps make spheres with it. At the end of the verse, we showed them a beautiful bee we had sculpted out of a golden yellow wax, that was the creature that had been described.

Attributes: Unity & Charity

Godly Attribute: Unity
Christlike Attribute: Charity & Service

We talked about how we united many different notes into one sound. We discussed how we are also all different people, but we belong to one great family, that started with Adam and Eve. Even though we may like different things or work in different ways, or make different sounds, we are all important parts of this great big family, and just like we want every part of our body to be doing as well as possible, we want every part of our human family, every person we meet, to be doing as well as possible, living with as much joy and love as possible.

Exploration Activities
Then we talked about how every time we help anyone, we are making things a little bit better for everyone, which blesses us too. What we do affects everyone, and to explore that further, we played a game by having the children lay in a circle on the floor. We had each child put their head on the stomach of the person next to them in the circle. One child started the game by saying, “ha”, and the next had to say, “ha”, and we had each try to take a turn saying “ha” without laughing, or else they had to start over. We talked about the gift of a smile, and how that can brighten one person’s day, and they may be just a little kinder to someone else, who may be a little kinder to someone else, and so on.

We also played Ring Around the Rosies, to emphasize that when one of us is hurting, it affects us all as well, and we want every person to be as happy and well as possible, because we each affect and are a part of each other’s lives.

Song: I Will Build You Up

This is a song to help children learn to build others up and resolve differences in a loving way.

Lyrics:
As I build up another,
I'm also building me,
because we're all a part
of a great big family tree.

If I tear someone down,
I tear part of me down too.
I want to be a builder in all I say and do.

Chorus:
I will build, build, build, build you up.
It will lift, lift, lift, lift us up,
Because what I do to you
becomes part of my life too.
As I build you up, I'm also building me.

If I am feeling hurt,
or afraid, or really mad,
there are things that I can do
that will help things feel less bad.
I'll stop and think and breathe.
I'll ask God to help me see,
When I show love to you,
I am showing love to me.

[Chorus]

God sent me here to see,
He has love for big and small.
His love for you and me
is no different at all.
I'll try to see the good,
and the good will grow in me.
When I remember love for you,
a builder's what I'll be.

[Chorus]

Music: The Note

We talked about how breath gives our bodies power to move, and also to speak and to sing. We have a special way of drawing the sounds we can sing, called notes. When we want to draw these sounds, we draw a circle! (We drew a note on the board).  Next, we made a circle with our mouths, and sang a note. Then, we tried to make all the different notes we were singing sound like only one note, by trying to match each other’s note.

Discovering Principles: The Head leads the Whole Body

Discovering Principles
We explained that the ancient Hebrews also used the letters in their Alphabet as numbers. We asked what number we usually start counting with (1), and drew the number 1 on the board. We pointed out that we only have one head on our bodies, and asked how hard it would be to make decisions and do things if we had more than one head.

We asked how our heads help our bodies. Then we asked them to pinch their arm and see if they felt their skin telling their brain it is getting pinched. We also told them to look around the room for a particular color, and listen for a sound. We pointed out that our bodies send messages to our brain about what we experience. Then, our heads listen to our bodies, and learn what the world is like and what is going on around and to us. We mentioned that if we felt our stomach tell our mind that it is empty, our mind would know that we need to eat food to get more energy for our body to work well. Our head listens to our body, and then help us know and decide what to do.

Next, we had the children touch their toes, their nose, and other things, and asked how they got their body to move. We talked about how their mind helped them decide to obey our instructions, and sent messages to their muscles. Then, their muscles obeyed the instructions from their minds. We pointed out that our heads are very important, and they help take care of our whole body, not just parts and pieces of it. We asked if our heads ever want any part of our bodies to hurt, and explained, that they don’t, the head wants every part of our body to be as healthy and happy as possible! Even though our bodies are made of lots of different parts and pieces, our heads help all those parts work together as one, whole body. 

Exploration Activity & Movement: Moving Our Body

We told them we were going to use our heads to move our bodies to some music. We turned on some music and danced around, making all kinds of different circles as we did. We noticed circles on our bodies, and ways we can move our bodies in circles, like summersaults, spinning and such.

Language & Symbol: 1, A, Circle, Aleph

Language and Symbol (math): Ancient Hebrew, Letter Aleph, A, Number 1, Circle

We moved near a whiteboard and told the children there were people who lived a long long time ago, called the ancient Hebrews, which used a picture of a head as the first letter in their alphabet. They had animals, called oxen, which are kind of like big, strong, powerful cows. We drew an ox-head with horns on the board as we told them that to ancient Hebrews, letters meant more to them than just a sound to make. The head of an ox also meant things like strength, power, and leadership.

Over time, as more and more people used this letter, it changed, bit by bit, until it became the letters we use today in English, and in other languages like Latin and Greek. In the English language the ox-head became the letter, “A”. We drew the ox-head sideways, and finally, upside down, showing how the shape evolved into our letter.

We explained that the ancient Hebrews also used the letters in their Alphabet as numbers. We asked what number we usually start counting with (1), and drew the number 1 on the board. We pointed out that we only have one head on our bodies, and asked how hard it would be to make decisions and do things if we had more than one head.

Beauty and the Beast: Divine Worth and Potential

Main Lesson: Fairy Tale – 
Beauty and the Beast & Divine Worth and Potential

We told the children, “only you get to be you, and nobody else, and you have so many special things about you to discover. So does this amazing world we get to live in. Then, we sang a song called, “How Beautiful the World Is”, as we moved near the couch to get ready for story time. As we settled in, we said a short little verse about a wise old owl, which emphasizes the power of listening and learning.

Text

Next, we read the story of Beauty and the Beast, and talked about how they discovered that love helped the beast turn back into his true form, a Prince! Likewise, every person is a Prince or Princess from Heaven. It may not always look or feel that way. Sometimes, we may think others, or even ourselves seem more like a Beast than a Prince or Princess, but love can always help to reveal the divine nature within us and others, no matter how beastly we’ve become! Then we pretended to put on imaginary crowns, by making circles with our hands and putting them on our heads.

Morning Verse: Number 1

One is the sun that shines so bright,
One is the moon so high;
One is the day and one is the night,
One is the sheltering sky.
One is a head so still and tame,
Upon one body whole with health;
And I is the one and the special name
That only I can call myself!

*a Waldorf verse

Circle-Time: An Introduction

What is circle time, you ask?

The Present Box: An Introduction

Present Box: Bubbles

We discovered a bottle of bubbles in our present box, and pointed that each bubble captures a little ball of air. We need air to live, and what a marvelous gift it is for us! We asked who the first person was to breathe on earth (Adam). We asked where Adam got his breath from (God). God gave Adam breath, and it has been passed down from Adam and his wife, Eve, to every living person, including each of us.

We took a moment to close our eyes, and be present with the present of air, through the breath flowing in and out of us for 3 breaths. Then, we pretended to blow a big bubble that was big and round above our heads that reminded us of the sun.

Verse: Green Grass Grows All Around

Each line is sung by one person and then the group echoes.

There was a tree

(There once was a tree)

In a hole in the ground

(In a hole in the ground)

The prettiest little tree

(The prettiest little tree)

That you ever did see

(That you ever did see)

Oh, the tree in a hole

And the hole in the ground

And the green grass grew all around, all around

And the green grass grew all around

Now on the tree 

(Now on this tree)

There was a branch 

(There was a branch)

The prettiest little branch 

(The prettiest little branch)

That you ever did see

(That you ever did see)

Oh, the branch on the tree, 

And the tree in a hole

And the hole in the ground

And the green grass grew all around, all around

And the green grass grew all around

Now on this branch 

(Now on this branch)

There was a nest 

(There was a nest)

The prettiest little nest 

(The prettiest little nest)

That you ever did see

(That you ever did see)

Oh, the nest on the branch, 

And the branch on the tree, 

and the tree in a hole

And the hole in the ground

And the green grass grew all around, all around

And the green grass grew all around

Now in this nest 

(Now in this nest)

There was an egg 

(There was an egg)

The prettiest little egg 

(The prettiest little egg)

That you ever did see

(That you ever did see)

Oh, the egg in the nest, 

And the nest on the branch, 

And the branch on the tree, 

and the tree in a hole

And the hole in the ground

And the green grass grew all around, all around

And the green grass grew all around

Now in this egg 

(Now in this egg)

There was a bird 

(There was a bird)

The prettiest little bird 

(The prettiest little bird)

That you ever did see

(That you ever did see)

Oh, the bird in the egg, 

And the egg in the nest, 

And the nest on the branch, 

And the branch on the tree, 

and the tree in a hole

And the hole in the ground

And the green grass grew all around, all around

And the green grass grew all around

Now on this bird 

(Now in this bird)

There was a feather 

(There was a feather)

The prettiest little feather 

(The prettiest little feather)

That you ever did see

(That you ever did see)

Oh, the feather on the bird, 

And the bird in the nest, 

And the nest on the leaf, 

And the leaf on the twig, 

And the twig on the bough, 

And the bough on the branch, 

And the branch on the limb,

And the limb on the tree, 

and the tree in a hole

And the hole in the ground

And the green grass grew all around, all around

And the green grass grew all around

(Repeat last sentence)

And the green grass grew all around, all around

And the green grass grew all around

....fly away little birdy!

---

**We like singing this and pretending we are a tree, the arm our branch and using our hands to show the nest, egg and bird. Then the bird hands fly away at the end. But it is a good visual connection for the kids to help them remember the order of the song. And you can adapt for any season by changing colors or not having the bird, etc.

Song: Welcome Gathering

Lyrics:
It's time for us to gather together,
Come gather.
Let's join our hands together.
We love to learn and grow.

Lesson 2: Center

Learning Tree Adventures
Lesson #2
Center

Preparing the Space

We wrote the morning verse on the chalkboard, and had items pertinent to our class on shelves, like our Preset Box, Learning Tree, Earth ball, beeswax, pencils with a compass, Uno cards, Books, (especially about Sunlight and Commons by Molly Bang), a circular Drum, round toys, a golden crown, an ox, our wise old owl, and so on.

Gathering and Welcome Song

We sang a song about gathering together to learn and grow, while joining hands in a circle. At the end, we hugged in close to the center and said, “Thank you!” to acknowledge the gift of being able to meet in that space and enjoy these things together.

Affirmation: “I Listen to My Heart,” and “I Am One With the Universe”

We said “I listen to my heart”, going around in a circle. Towards the end of class, we also talked about the universe, and we sent home the affirmation, “I am one with the universe.”

Nature/Seasonal Verse: Apple Tree

One child was chosen to curl up like a tiny seed in the center of our circle, and grow as the teacher read a verse about a tiny seed being watered by the rain and nourished by the sun. The rest of the children pretended to rain and shine on the seed as it grew into an apple tree.

The Present Box: Seeds

We looked in our special “Present” box and found raisins inside. Each child took a raisin and held it in their hand. They noticed what it looked like, felt like, then how it felt in their mouths as they tasted and began to eat it. This was our meditation/observation moment. Then, we discussed where raisins come from: grapes, which grow on vines, which grow from seeds.

We discussed how all life on earth begins, as a seed or egg, a tiny speck, that grows and grows from that tiny thing, until it becomes like it’s parent. We talked about when we were little tiny babies curled up inside our mother’s round tummy. We were connected in our center to our moms by a special umbilical cord. When we were ready to grow and move more on our own, and didn’t need the chord anymore, it was cut, and turned into our belly buttons. We found our belly buttons and pointed out they are circles. We said we will continue to grow and grow until we grow up to be like our parents.

Next, we pretended to be little babies again, and sang, “Once I was a baby,” to the tune of “Once I Was a Snowman,” and pretended to grow up tall. text

Morning Verse: Circling Around Centers

We pointed out that all living things start as little seeds or eggs, and they are all made out of what we call, the “dust of the earth”. The earth was made for us out of love from our Heavenly Father and Savior. It is a space for us to live and grow in.

We had a globe nearby, and talked about the shape of the earth, that it is round, and that it spins around in a circle (around it’s axis). Because it spins, sometimes, we see the sun, and sometimes we see the moon. We turned on a lamp, and turned in circles, pointing out when we saw the lamp on one side of the room (like a sun), and a round, yellow, colander hanging on the wall on the opposite side of the room (like a moon), and we sat back down. We pointed out that the sun is a great big circle that rises in the sky at the beginning of each day, and the moon is a circle that rises at the beginning of night.

The moon also travels in a circle around the earth, with the earth as the center of it’s circle. The earth also travels in a circle around the sun. Then, we put a little sun in the center of the circle we were sitting in, and passed a little ball that looks like the earth around our circle as we said our morning verse (taken from a Waldorf resource):

One is the sun that shines so bright,
One is the moon so high;
One is the day and one is the night,
One is the sheltering sky.
One is a head so still and tame,
Upon one body whole with health;
And I is the one and the special name
That only I can call myself!

Then we pointed out that God created a lot of wonderful things for us in our beautiful world, and we followed the teacher holding the “earth” as we stood up and traveled in circles around the room while singing “How Beautiful the World Is” and ending up, sitting near the couch for story time. A Wise Old Owl reminded us of the power of listening and learning as we headed into our main lesson through the nursery rhyme:

            A wise old owl lived in an oak
                        The more he saw the less he spoke
                        The less he spoke the more he heard
                        Why can’t we all be like that wise old bird?

Main Lesson: Divine Worth and Potential - Beauty and the Beast Fairy Tale Review, and Sunlight book by Molly Bang

We brought out a gold, round, and shiny crown, which reminded us about the story we’d read the last time about a Prince and a Princess, Beauty and the Beast. We reviewed the story, using a picture of a circle-shaped face with a happy face on it that we could turn upside down to show a frown, to point out the change of emotion the story goes through. The Beast was a Prince, who was turned into a Beast that was really grumpy, and didn’t seem like a Prince, but he really was deep down inside. Love helped reveal and return him to his full Princely state.

We pulled out a crown for each child, and pointed out how very special each one of them is. We talked about how each of us is a Prince or a Princess from Heaven. And no matter how beastly or grumpy any of us may seem, love will help us remember how precious and important every one of us is.

We mentioned that the bright, round, golden crowns on their heads, reminded us of another bright, round, golden circle we see in the sky every day.

We then read a story about Sunlight, by Molly Bang, which describes the role of the sun as the source of life on earth, and the provider of life and energy to everything our world. The book showed the process of the plants on earth absorbing light from the sun, and using it to break apart water to collect and store energy, and release Oxygen into the air. We breathe the oxygen, and get energy for our bodies by eating the plants. The book goes on to show the cycles of the flow of energy that comes to the earth from the sun, and emphasizes that the sun is central to our existence, as a source to all life on the earth.

Language and Math: Letter A, Number 1, Latin “un”

We talked, again, about the crowns on our heads, that are gold and shiny like the sun. We asked why we wear them on our heads, and what our heads do. We pointed out that our heads take care of and unite the actions of our whole body, just like a good king takes care of and unites His whole Kingdom. Our crowns remind us we are children of a Heavenly King. Even though we don’t have always wear a shiny golden crown every day, we pointed out that the round part of our head is called our crown, and is always with us, no matter what we are wearing. We also asked them how many heads they had, and pointed out that there is only one head on their shoulders.

Next, we asked if the children could remember the letter that the ancient Hebrews drew in the shape of a head, and drew an Ox-head on the board. We asked them to make an ox-head with their fingers, by making a V shape with two fingers, and crossing those fingers with one from the other hand. Then, we had them turn the ox-head upside down and tell us which English letter they saw (A). We wrote an A on the board, and explained that the ox-head turned into our letter A in English. Then, we drew a 1, and told them that the ancient Hebrews used the ox-head for the number 1 as well.

Christ-like Attribute: Unity & Obedience

We told them that before people spoke English, as well as a bunch of other languages we have on earth today, a lot of those, who lived in Europe, spoke a language called, Latin. In the Latin language, they used the word, “un”, for the number one (we wrote these on the board). The French still use “un” for the number one, but the Spanish changed it to, “uno”. The kids were excited to recognize that word from a card game many of them had played called,”Uno”. We pointed out that in the game, they say, “uno”, when they have only one card left.

We asked if it was fun to play “Uno”, when everyone follows the instructions of the game and keeps the rules, versus if someone cheats and doesn’t follow the rules. We talked about how the instructions help everyone know how to play the same game. Without certain ways to do it, there would be no game at all. Following the instructions and the rules makes the game fun and nice for everyone. We mentioned some of the instructions, commandments, and rules we also have in life, which help make things nice and fun for everyone. They keep us safe and happy when we follow them. We explained that when everyone is following the same instructions and rules, and trying to do the same thing, we say they are united, and pointed out the “un” in the word, by writing it beneath the other “un”, and “uno”, we had written on the board, and underlining “un”, in all of them.

Next, we talked about how good rules, bless everyone, not just a few people. Good rules always show and come from love. We discussed how love is like a great seed, from which every good thing grows. We are like special seeds, made in love, by God, who flows His love and power to us, because we are His children. He wants us to grow and become like Him, just like a little seed, which leaves the tree it grew on, and grows up to become a tree as well. We practiced acting out being little seeds of love that grow up tall.

Music: I Have a Seed of Greatness song

We passed out a bowl of seeds of various shapes, sizes, and colors, and invited them to pass it around, and even pick up a seed and look at or hold it during the following song.

We then sang them the song, “I Have a Seed of Greatness”. Next, we talked about the seeds and asked whether each seed grew itself, all by itself. We talked about how the seed was connected to a plant that flowed energy and nutrients to it so that it could grow. We asked if we grew ourselves, all alone, by ourselves. Our lives are gifts that we’ve received from our parents and our Father in Heaven. We talked about how Heavenly Father helped us grow in heaven, until we were ready to leave His presence, and grow on earth, just like a seed that falls from a tree so that it can become a tree like it’s parent. Then, we had them pretend to be a seed once more, and grow up tall, turning to face a nearby lamp as they sat back down.

Note: We meant to also learn about leadership, another principle of the number one, and Hebrew letter, Aleph. We planned to have people practice being our music leader, to coordinate the efforts of the whole group to make music. We also planned to hit the center of a round drum to make our rhythms. We forgot to include this in class, but will probably pull it into our next one.

Science: Electricity, and the flow of Power

We turned a lamp on and asked what had made the lamp start glowing. We asked whether the lamp could glow all by itself, and pointed out that in order to give light, the lamp had to be plugged in, and connected, to a power source. We pointed out the blender and the toaster, and asked if they could make toast by themselves or blend something without being connected to a source of power.

We passed out a small piece of hard beeswax to each child, and told them to hold and play with the wax, and let some of the warmth and energy from their body, connect with the wax and warm it up so they could sculpt and shape it a little. As they played with the beeswax, we read the following verse:

                        A toaster can’t make toast alone, a blender cannot blend,
                        A T.V., to have something on, needs wires end to end.

                        There’s a source of all their power, and a flow of energy.
                        And there’s a flow of life, that comes from God to me.

Next, we showed them a toy hammer, and asked if a hammer could build a house by itself. We set it on the floor, and asked it to build us a house and waited, but nothing happened. We explained that we could use the hammer as a tool to build a house, but we’d have to connect with it, and put energy into it for it to work for us. Then we read the next part of the verse:

                        A hammer doesn’t wield itself, or build a house alone.
                        And all that’s good in my own life, flows from my Heavenly home.

                        In truth, the power, strength and gifts that come to me each day,
                        Flow down to me as I connect to God in loving ways.

                        There’s a source of all my power, and a flow of energy.
                        And there’s a flow of life, that comes from God to me.

We talked about how God flows power to us, and we can choose to put some of it into a hammer, to build something like a house.

Character Trait & Habit: Orderliness

Next, we talked about how special our houses are, as a center for our lives and our families. We wake up there each morning, and go to bed there at night. In our houses, it’s nice to have some rules and instructions that keep things in order and make things nice for everyone, like not hurting each other, and cleaning up our toys.

We asked if they had ever had so many toys out in a kind of a mess, that it was hard to find what they wanted, and mentioned how frustrating that can be, compared to when everything is kept in order and we know right where things are. Everything wants to have a home, and needs a space to be. Our shoes need a home. Our books and toys, and all we have, love to have a home to go to when they are ready to rest. It’s okay for them to leave their home, and it’s okay for us to get things out and create things that may make a bit of a mess, but when we’re done, everything wants to go back home where it can rest.

In order for everything to have a home, we need to make sure we have a space for all of it to be. If we have too many things, it’s hard to find a home for all of it. We also need to make sure that we especially have space for the most important things. We asked what it would be like if they had so many toys, there was no room in their house for food, or so many clothes everywhere, there was nowhere to put a bed. We pointed out that it’s important to create and keep space for the most important things first. We can do that with our time, our thoughts, and our energy too. We want to make time and space for the things that matter most, and take care of things that are central to our happiness and growth. We want to focus on things that will grow the kind of love that all good things come from, and make sure the point of what we do and build, is always centered in love.

Finding Examples: Discovering Our Centers

Next, we did the following finger-play, while finding different centers on our bodies.

                        Where is the center of my face, and what do I find there?
                        A nose that helps me smell and breathe the precious gift of air.

                        Where is the center of my ears that hang out by my hair?
                        They help me hear and stay upright as I move from here to there.
                        (We then talked a little bit about how our inner ears help us keep our balance).

                        Where is the center of my mouth, and center of my eye,
                        That help me take in yummy food, and gaze up at the sky.

                        What is the center of my arm and center of my leg?
                        My joints help me to move and play, jump and run and bend

                        Where is the center of my life? What’s the point of all I do?
                        Well, of course, it’s love for God above, and love for me and you!

Movement: Using our core and the centers of our body

We found the center of our body again, and practiced filling our bellies with air. Then we collapsed and bent over, and filled up our bellies again. We talked about dance and emphasized that the movement of our body when we dance, comes from our core. We also learned to pivot in a circle, by pretending one foot was stuck in glue, while we turned in a circle. We also pretended to draw circles by holding an arm out and using our body as the center of our circle as we spun around.

Next, we had the children find a partner, and choose which one of them would be the center first. We had them hold hands, and one of them stood in one place, while the other one walked in a circle around them, creating a circle with a sort of human compass.

Then we turned on the song, “I Feel Happy”, from the movie, Despicable Me, and danced, using different centers of our bodies to create circles. We made circles with our elbows, our knees, our heads, our bellies, and so on. We also passed out scarves and had them spin in a circle, holding the scarf out, to create circles with them at the center.

Food: Carrots, Apples, and Oranges

We had the children prepare the snacks themselves, washing, slicing, and serving carrots, apples, and oranges. They put them in round bowls and placed them in the center of the table. We pointed out the core of the carrots, the seeds in the center of the apple, the orange segments surrounding the center, and so on. We also pointed out how tiny the apple seeds are, compared to the big trees they grow into.

We also talked about how our thoughts, and what we plant in our minds by what we look at, focus on, notice and pay attention to, are like seeds that grow bigger and bigger, the more we pay attention to them. Our thoughts grow into the things we say, do and become. We want to make sure the seeds we plant are seeds of love, so we will grow good things that will make it nice for us and everyone. The thought seeds that will bring us the very best fruit, are the kinds that build our love and relationships. When we flow life and energy to others, we are being like God, and expanding where our life is flowing, and the good it can do.

Observations From Nature:

We went outside, and encouraged the children to find seeds and centers in nature. They found centers in flowers and tree trunks, and seeds they collected and played with.

Art: Compass Drawing – making circles from a point/center

We gave the children sidewalk chalk, with a short string of yarn attached to it, and showed them how to put their finger on the string, and hold the string straight while drawing a circle with sidewalk chalk. We showed them how to make various sized circles, by changing the length of the string. The children drew many circles, and we pointed out that the driveway now looked like it was filled with galaxies, and looked like a universe. We then pointed out that “universe”, starts with un, just like the other words we’d written on the board. We went inside, and wrote “universe” on the board beneath the words we’d already discussed.

Next, we showed them a pencil, and emphasized that we draw with the point in the center of the pencil. We used a pencil within a compass, to draw a perfect circle, by putting the point in the center of where we wanted our circle to be, and then spinning the compass around. The children wondered why it was called a compass, and one of them found a toy compass that he had, that showed the four cardinal points. We pointed out the similarities. His compass was a circle, with a center, and something that spun around on a central pivot. We could have also pointed out similar features on the face of a clock, which give something fun to think about. The lines, spinning around on a central pivot, create circles that help us measure both see and choose direction, as well as “Father Time”. We then gave each child a pencil, and had the draw some circles in a notebook.  

We told a story of a famous artist, Giotto? Who was chosen to be commissioned by the Pope for His art, for simply drawing such a perfect circle freehand, without the use of a compass, which can be very challenging.

Gathering and Closing Song:

We gathered in a circle again, and held hands while we sang our closing song about how much we’d gathered and learned, that we can love and share and know. We came into a close hug in the center of our circle at the end, and said “Thank you!” again and closed our class.

We invited those who wanted to stay a little longer to listen to a story called, “The Dot”, about a girl who discovered her love for art through a dot.

Some additional activities:

·         Practice “hitting the nail on the head” with a hammer, and talk about why you need to hit the nail in the center. Point out the flow of energy going from them, through the hammer, to the nail and wood.

·         Build a little birdhouse with Dad, using hammer and nails, and put birdseed inside.

·         Find a merry-go-round on a playground somewhere, if possible, or other spinning toys. Have them feel, if possible, the difference of force, pressure, stability, and so on, from sitting in the center vs. the outer edge.

·         Hold their hands, have them run, and spin them around you. Point out you are the center of the circle they are making around your body.

·         Make a spinning top with cardboard and pencils, or fold a cube of paper, and write goals that are central to our happiness on each side. You could also use this to play the game of dreidel, enjoyed during Hanukah by many Jewish children.

·         Observe the water flowing and draining through circles in the center of your sink.

·         Have a campfire, and point out that you are gathered in a circle around a fire.

·         Give each other hugs, and talk about the circles we make when we hug and connect with one another with our arms.

·         If you’re able to witness a baby blessing or baptism, point out that baby blessings and confirmations are done with the child in the center of a circle of Priesthood holders.

·         During a family dinner, point out how to pass food from the center of the table, around to each person in the circle, so that everyone can have a turn to get what they need.

·         Point out circles all around you in your daily life: plates, cups & bowls, sewer covers, bottles and jars, rings, hats, etc… just notice where they are around you. If you want, look up why the circle is so often chosen for things like pizzas and man-hole covers in the book, The Beginner’s Guide to Constructing the Universe.

·         Observe in nature: throw rocks in a pond and observe the ripples flowing out from a central source. 

Scriptures and Talks to Ponder:

Discovering the Divinity Within, Oct. 2015 Gen. Conference Talk
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/discovering-the-divinity-within?lang=eng

The Joy of Living a Christ-Centered Life, Oct. 2015 Gen. Conference Talk
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/the-joy-of-living-a-christ-centered-life?lang=eng

D&C 88:13
The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things.

John 1: 1-3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Mosiah 5: 8
And under this head ye are made ^afree, and there is ^bno other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no other ^cname given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives.

Moroni 7: 13
But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.

D&C 88: 119? Establish a House of Order scripture

D&C88: 67

D&C 50: Therefore if thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light – layers line upon line #3

                       

 

We wrote the morning verse on the chalkboard, and had items pertinent to our class on shelves, like our Preset Box, Learning Tree, Earth ball, beeswax, pencils with a compass, Uno cards, Books, (especially about Sunlight and Commons by Molly Bang), a circular Drum, round toys, a golden crown, an ox, our wise old owl, and so on.

Gathering and Welcome Song

We sang a song about gathering together to learn and grow, while joining hands in a circle. At the end, we hugged in close to the center and said, “Thank you!” to acknowledge the gift of being able to meet in that space and enjoy these things together.

Affirmation: “I Listen to My Heart,” and “I Am One With the Universe”

We said “I listen to my heart”, going around in a circle. Towards the end of class, we also talked about the universe, and we sent home the affirmation, “I am one with the universe.”

Nature/Seasonal Verse: Apple Tree

One child was chosen to curl up like a tiny seed in the center of our circle, and grow as the teacher read a verse about a tiny seed being watered by the rain and nourished by the sun. The rest of the children pretended to rain and shine on the seed as it grew into an apple tree.

The Present Box: Seeds

We looked in our special “Present” box and found raisins inside. Each child took a raisin and held it in their hand. They noticed what it looked like, felt like, then how it felt in their mouths as they tasted and began to eat it. This was our meditation/observation moment. Then, we discussed where raisins come from: grapes, which grow on vines, which grow from seeds.

We discussed how all life on earth begins, as a seed or egg, a tiny speck, that grows and grows from that tiny thing, until it becomes like it’s parent. We talked about when we were little tiny babies curled up inside our mother’s round tummy. We were connected in our center to our moms by a special umbilical cord. When we were ready to grow and move more on our own, and didn’t need the chord anymore, it was cut, and turned into our belly buttons. We found our belly buttons and pointed out they are circles. We said we will continue to grow and grow until we grow up to be like our parents.

Next, we pretended to be little babies again, and sang, “Once I was a baby,” to the tune of “Once I Was a Snowman,” and pretended to grow up tall. text

Morning Verse: Circling Around Centers

We pointed out that all living things start as little seeds or eggs, and they are all made out of what we call, the “dust of the earth”. The earth was made for us out of love from our Heavenly Father and Savior. It is a space for us to live and grow in.

We had a globe nearby, and talked about the shape of the earth, that it is round, and that it spins around in a circle (around it’s axis). Because it spins, sometimes, we see the sun, and sometimes we see the moon. We turned on a lamp, and turned in circles, pointing out when we saw the lamp on one side of the room (like a sun), and a round, yellow, colander hanging on the wall on the opposite side of the room (like a moon), and we sat back down. We pointed out that the sun is a great big circle that rises in the sky at the beginning of each day, and the moon is a circle that rises at the beginning of night.

The moon also travels in a circle around the earth, with the earth as the center of it’s circle. The earth also travels in a circle around the sun. Then, we put a little sun in the center of the circle we were sitting in, and passed a little ball that looks like the earth around our circle as we said our morning verse (taken from a Waldorf resource):

One is the sun that shines so bright,
One is the moon so high;
One is the day and one is the night,
One is the sheltering sky.
One is a head so still and tame,
Upon one body whole with health;
And I is the one and the special name
That only I can call myself!

Then we pointed out that God created a lot of wonderful things for us in our beautiful world, and we followed the teacher holding the “earth” as we stood up and traveled in circles around the room while singing “How Beautiful the World Is” and ending up, sitting near the couch for story time. A Wise Old Owl reminded us of the power of listening and learning as we headed into our main lesson through the nursery rhyme:

            A wise old owl lived in an oak
                        The more he saw the less he spoke
                        The less he spoke the more he heard
                        Why can’t we all be like that wise old bird?

Main Lesson: Divine Worth and Potential - Beauty and the Beast Fairy Tale Review, and Sunlight book by Molly Bang

We brought out a gold, round, and shiny crown, which reminded us about the story we’d read the last time about a Prince and a Princess, Beauty and the Beast. We reviewed the story, using a picture of a circle-shaped face with a happy face on it that we could turn upside down to show a frown, to point out the change of emotion the story goes through. The Beast was a Prince, who was turned into a Beast that was really grumpy, and didn’t seem like a Prince, but he really was deep down inside. Love helped reveal and return him to his full Princely state.

We pulled out a crown for each child, and pointed out how very special each one of them is. We talked about how each of us is a Prince or a Princess from Heaven. And no matter how beastly or grumpy any of us may seem, love will help us remember how precious and important every one of us is.

We mentioned that the bright, round, golden crowns on their heads, reminded us of another bright, round, golden circle we see in the sky every day.

We then read a story about Sunlight, by Molly Bang, which describes the role of the sun as the source of life on earth, and the provider of life and energy to everything our world. The book showed the process of the plants on earth absorbing light from the sun, and using it to break apart water to collect and store energy, and release Oxygen into the air. We breathe the oxygen, and get energy for our bodies by eating the plants. The book goes on to show the cycles of the flow of energy that comes to the earth from the sun, and emphasizes that the sun is central to our existence, as a source to all life on the earth.

Language and Math: Letter A, Number 1, Latin “un”

We talked, again, about the crowns on our heads, that are gold and shiny like the sun. We asked why we wear them on our heads, and what our heads do. We pointed out that our heads take care of and unite the actions of our whole body, just like a good king takes care of and unites His whole Kingdom. Our crowns remind us we are children of a Heavenly King. Even though we don’t have always wear a shiny golden crown every day, we pointed out that the round part of our head is called our crown, and is always with us, no matter what we are wearing. We also asked them how many heads they had, and pointed out that there is only one head on their shoulders.

Next, we asked if the children could remember the letter that the ancient Hebrews drew in the shape of a head, and drew an Ox-head on the board. We asked them to make an ox-head with their fingers, by making a V shape with two fingers, and crossing those fingers with one from the other hand. Then, we had them turn the ox-head upside down and tell us which English letter they saw (A). We wrote an A on the board, and explained that the ox-head turned into our letter A in English. Then, we drew a 1, and told them that the ancient Hebrews used the ox-head for the number 1 as well.

Christ-like Attribute: Unity & Obedience

We told them that before people spoke English, as well as a bunch of other languages we have on earth today, a lot of those, who lived in Europe, spoke a language called, Latin. In the Latin language, they used the word, “un”, for the number one (we wrote these on the board). The French still use “un” for the number one, but the Spanish changed it to, “uno”. The kids were excited to recognize that word from a card game many of them had played called,”Uno”. We pointed out that in the game, they say, “uno”, when they have only one card left.

We asked if it was fun to play “Uno”, when everyone follows the instructions of the game and keeps the rules, versus if someone cheats and doesn’t follow the rules. We talked about how the instructions help everyone know how to play the same game. Without certain ways to do it, there would be no game at all. Following the instructions and the rules makes the game fun and nice for everyone. We mentioned some of the instructions, commandments, and rules we also have in life, which help make things nice and fun for everyone. They keep us safe and happy when we follow them. We explained that when everyone is following the same instructions and rules, and trying to do the same thing, we say they are united, and pointed out the “un” in the word, by writing it beneath the other “un”, and “uno”, we had written on the board, and underlining “un”, in all of them.

Next, we talked about how good rules, bless everyone, not just a few people. Good rules always show and come from love. We discussed how love is like a great seed, from which every good thing grows. We are like special seeds, made in love, by God, who flows His love and power to us, because we are His children. He wants us to grow and become like Him, just like a little seed, which leaves the tree it grew on, and grows up to become a tree as well. We practiced acting out being little seeds of love that grow up tall.

Music: I Have a Seed of Greatness song

We passed out a bowl of seeds of various shapes, sizes, and colors, and invited them to pass it around, and even pick up a seed and look at or hold it during the following song.

We then sang them the song, “I Have a Seed of Greatness”. Next, we talked about the seeds and asked whether each seed grew itself, all by itself. We talked about how the seed was connected to a plant that flowed energy and nutrients to it so that it could grow. We asked if we grew ourselves, all alone, by ourselves. Our lives are gifts that we’ve received from our parents and our Father in Heaven. We talked about how Heavenly Father helped us grow in heaven, until we were ready to leave His presence, and grow on earth, just like a seed that falls from a tree so that it can become a tree like it’s parent. Then, we had them pretend to be a seed once more, and grow up tall, turning to face a nearby lamp as they sat back down.

Note: We meant to also learn about leadership, another principle of the number one, and Hebrew letter, Aleph. We planned to have people practice being our music leader, to coordinate the efforts of the whole group to make music. We also planned to hit the center of a round drum to make our rhythms. We forgot to include this in class, but will probably pull it into our next one.

Science: Electricity, and the flow of Power

We turned a lamp on and asked what had made the lamp start glowing. We asked whether the lamp could glow all by itself, and pointed out that in order to give light, the lamp had to be plugged in, and connected, to a power source. We pointed out the blender and the toaster, and asked if they could make toast by themselves or blend something without being connected to a source of power.

We passed out a small piece of hard beeswax to each child, and told them to hold and play with the wax, and let some of the warmth and energy from their body, connect with the wax and warm it up so they could sculpt and shape it a little. As they played with the beeswax, we read the following verse:

                        A toaster can’t make toast alone, a blender cannot blend,
                        A T.V., to have something on, needs wires end to end.

                        There’s a source of all their power, and a flow of energy.
                        And there’s a flow of life, that comes from God to me.

Next, we showed them a toy hammer, and asked if a hammer could build a house by itself. We set it on the floor, and asked it to build us a house and waited, but nothing happened. We explained that we could use the hammer as a tool to build a house, but we’d have to connect with it, and put energy into it for it to work for us. Then we read the next part of the verse:

                        A hammer doesn’t wield itself, or build a house alone.
                        And all that’s good in my own life, flows from my Heavenly home.

                        In truth, the power, strength and gifts that come to me each day,
                        Flow down to me as I connect to God in loving ways.

                        There’s a source of all my power, and a flow of energy.
                        And there’s a flow of life, that comes from God to me.

We talked about how God flows power to us, and we can choose to put some of it into a hammer, to build something like a house.

Character Trait & Habit: Orderliness

Next, we talked about how special our houses are, as a center for our lives and our families. We wake up there each morning, and go to bed there at night. In our houses, it’s nice to have some rules and instructions that keep things in order and make things nice for everyone, like not hurting each other, and cleaning up our toys.

We asked if they had ever had so many toys out in a kind of a mess, that it was hard to find what they wanted, and mentioned how frustrating that can be, compared to when everything is kept in order and we know right where things are. Everything wants to have a home, and needs a space to be. Our shoes need a home. Our books and toys, and all we have, love to have a home to go to when they are ready to rest. It’s okay for them to leave their home, and it’s okay for us to get things out and create things that may make a bit of a mess, but when we’re done, everything wants to go back home where it can rest.

In order for everything to have a home, we need to make sure we have a space for all of it to be. If we have too many things, it’s hard to find a home for all of it. We also need to make sure that we especially have space for the most important things. We asked what it would be like if they had so many toys, there was no room in their house for food, or so many clothes everywhere, there was nowhere to put a bed. We pointed out that it’s important to create and keep space for the most important things first. We can do that with our time, our thoughts, and our energy too. We want to make time and space for the things that matter most, and take care of things that are central to our happiness and growth. We want to focus on things that will grow the kind of love that all good things come from, and make sure the point of what we do and build, is always centered in love.

Finding Examples: Discovering Our Centers

Next, we did the following finger-play, while finding different centers on our bodies.

                        Where is the center of my face, and what do I find there?
                        A nose that helps me smell and breathe the precious gift of air.

                        Where is the center of my ears that hang out by my hair?
                        They help me hear and stay upright as I move from here to there.
                        (We then talked a little bit about how our inner ears help us keep our balance).

                        Where is the center of my mouth, and center of my eye,
                        That help me take in yummy food, and gaze up at the sky.

                        What is the center of my arm and center of my leg?
                        My joints help me to move and play, jump and run and bend

                        Where is the center of my life? What’s the point of all I do?
                        Well, of course, it’s love for God above, and love for me and you!

Movement: Using our core and the centers of our body

We found the center of our body again, and practiced filling our bellies with air. Then we collapsed and bent over, and filled up our bellies again. We talked about dance and emphasized that the movement of our body when we dance, comes from our core. We also learned to pivot in a circle, by pretending one foot was stuck in glue, while we turned in a circle. We also pretended to draw circles by holding an arm out and using our body as the center of our circle as we spun around.

Next, we had the children find a partner, and choose which one of them would be the center first. We had them hold hands, and one of them stood in one place, while the other one walked in a circle around them, creating a circle with a sort of human compass.

Then we turned on the song, “I Feel Happy”, from the movie, Despicable Me, and danced, using different centers of our bodies to create circles. We made circles with our elbows, our knees, our heads, our bellies, and so on. We also passed out scarves and had them spin in a circle, holding the scarf out, to create circles with them at the center.

Food: Carrots, Apples, and Oranges

We had the children prepare the snacks themselves, washing, slicing, and serving carrots, apples, and oranges. They put them in round bowls and placed them in the center of the table. We pointed out the core of the carrots, the seeds in the center of the apple, the orange segments surrounding the center, and so on. We also pointed out how tiny the apple seeds are, compared to the big trees they grow into.

We also talked about how our thoughts, and what we plant in our minds by what we look at, focus on, notice and pay attention to, are like seeds that grow bigger and bigger, the more we pay attention to them. Our thoughts grow into the things we say, do and become. We want to make sure the seeds we plant are seeds of love, so we will grow good things that will make it nice for us and everyone. The thought seeds that will bring us the very best fruit, are the kinds that build our love and relationships. When we flow life and energy to others, we are being like God, and expanding where our life is flowing, and the good it can do.

Observations From Nature:

We went outside, and encouraged the children to find seeds and centers in nature. They found centers in flowers and tree trunks, and seeds they collected and played with.

Art: Compass Drawing – making circles from a point/center

We gave the children sidewalk chalk, with a short string of yarn attached to it, and showed them how to put their finger on the string, and hold the string straight while drawing a circle with sidewalk chalk. We showed them how to make various sized circles, by changing the length of the string. The children drew many circles, and we pointed out that the driveway now looked like it was filled with galaxies, and looked like a universe. We then pointed out that “universe”, starts with un, just like the other words we’d written on the board. We went inside, and wrote “universe” on the board beneath the words we’d already discussed.

Next, we showed them a pencil, and emphasized that we draw with the point in the center of the pencil. We used a pencil within a compass, to draw a perfect circle, by putting the point in the center of where we wanted our circle to be, and then spinning the compass around. The children wondered why it was called a compass, and one of them found a toy compass that he had, that showed the four cardinal points. We pointed out the similarities. His compass was a circle, with a center, and something that spun around on a central pivot. We could have also pointed out similar features on the face of a clock, which give something fun to think about. The lines, spinning around on a central pivot, create circles that help us measure both see and choose direction, as well as “Father Time”. We then gave each child a pencil, and had the draw some circles in a notebook.  

We told a story of a famous artist, Giotto? Who was chosen to be commissioned by the Pope for His art, for simply drawing such a perfect circle freehand, without the use of a compass, which can be very challenging.

Gathering and Closing Song:

We gathered in a circle again, and held hands while we sang our closing song about how much we’d gathered and learned, that we can love and share and know. We came into a close hug in the center of our circle at the end, and said “Thank you!” again and closed our class.

We invited those who wanted to stay a little longer to listen to a story called, “The Dot”, about a girl who discovered her love for art through a dot.

Some additional activities:

·         Practice “hitting the nail on the head” with a hammer, and talk about why you need to hit the nail in the center. Point out the flow of energy going from them, through the hammer, to the nail and wood.

·         Build a little birdhouse with Dad, using hammer and nails, and put birdseed inside.

·         Find a merry-go-round on a playground somewhere, if possible, or other spinning toys. Have them feel, if possible, the difference of force, pressure, stability, and so on, from sitting in the center vs. the outer edge.

·         Hold their hands, have them run, and spin them around you. Point out you are the center of the circle they are making around your body.

·         Make a spinning top with cardboard and pencils, or fold a cube of paper, and write goals that are central to our happiness on each side. You could also use this to play the game of dreidel, enjoyed during Hanukah by many Jewish children.

·         Observe the water flowing and draining through circles in the center of your sink.

·         Have a campfire, and point out that you are gathered in a circle around a fire.

·         Give each other hugs, and talk about the circles we make when we hug and connect with one another with our arms.

·         If you’re able to witness a baby blessing or baptism, point out that baby blessings and confirmations are done with the child in the center of a circle of Priesthood holders.

·         During a family dinner, point out how to pass food from the center of the table, around to each person in the circle, so that everyone can have a turn to get what they need.

·         Point out circles all around you in your daily life: plates, cups & bowls, sewer covers, bottles and jars, rings, hats, etc… just notice where they are around you. If you want, look up why the circle is so often chosen for things like pizzas and man-hole covers in the book, The Beginner’s Guide to Constructing the Universe.

·         Observe in nature: throw rocks in a pond and observe the ripples flowing out from a central source. 

Scriptures and Talks to Ponder:

Discovering the Divinity Within, Oct. 2015 Gen. Conference Talk
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/discovering-the-divinity-within?lang=eng

The Joy of Living a Christ-Centered Life, Oct. 2015 Gen. Conference Talk
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/the-joy-of-living-a-christ-centered-life?lang=eng

D&C 88:13
The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things.

John 1: 1-3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Mosiah 5: 8
And under this head ye are made ^afree, and there is ^bno other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no other ^cname given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives.

Moroni 7: 13
But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.

D&C 88: 119? Establish a House of Order scripture

D&C88: 67

D&C 50: Therefore if thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light – layers line upon line #3