These Are Our Bodies: Preschool & Elementary Leader Guide: Talking Faith & Sexuality at Church & Home
248
These Are Our Bodies: Preschool & Elementary Leader Guide: Talking Faith & Sexuality at Church & Home
248Paperback(First Edition)
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Overview
This sexuality education resource from a mainline/progressive denominational prospective aids the leader, child (participant), and parent in learning about their body and using skills that enable them to embrace and affirm the wholeness of sexuality as part of who they are. Session plans will address facts about sexuality, vocabulary, decision making, faith and daily life, respect, growth and change, behavior, responsibility, values, prayer, and intentionality in an age appropriate manner for children and their parents. One Leader Guide will cover all ages, with three Parent Books (Preschool: 3- to 5-yearolds, Primary: 6- to 8-year-olds, and Intermediate: 9- to 11-year-olds), and two Participant Books (Primary and Intermediate ages).
Session topics include: • We are Wonderfully Made • We are Complex • We are Changing • We are Knowledgeable • We are Equipped • We are Called • We are Growing Up
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780898690118 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Church Publishing, Incorporated |
| Publication date: | 08/17/2017 |
| Series: | These Are Our Bodies |
| Edition description: | First Edition |
| Pages: | 248 |
| Product dimensions: | 8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x (d) |
About the Author
Abbi Long is the Director of Ministry at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Previously she served for six years as a youth ministry program leader in the United Methodist Church and taught special education for seven years in both elementary and middle school. Her MaEd from the University of Louisville and MDiv degree from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary combine as a strong foundation for Christian education and curriculum development.
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
SESSION 1
GOD CREATED ME
PARENT AND CHILD SESSION
God created humanity in God's own image, in the divine image God created them.
— Genesis 1:27
OBJECTIVES
[] Parents will begin to reflect theologically about their child's sexuality using the biblical account of creation as a starting place.
[] Parents will begin to claim the Imago Dei as a declaration of the Scriptures that includes all people, no matter their age.
[] Children will begin to claim their identity as God's creation, beloved children made in God's image.
[] Children will begin to experience the church as a safe place to learn about their bodies with their families.
SUPPLIES
[] pencils or pens (1 per participant)
[] These Are Our Bodies: Preschool & Elementary Leader Guide (1 per facilitator)
[] These Are Our Bodies: Preschool Parent Book (1 per parent)
[] These Are Our Bodies: Foundation Book (1 per parent or parent couple)
[] easel and easel paper
[] 2 or 3 markers
[] nametags (1 per parent, child, and facilitator)
[] mirror
[] items for GRAPPLE (see the Preparation directions for more details)
PREPARATION
[] Arrange the room so that families can sit together on the floor in a circle, with their children on their laps.
[] Have Preschool Parent Books and Foundation Books by the facilitator's chair.
[] Gather items for the GRAPPLE section:
* Small cup of dirt and small cup of water to represent God's creation of water and land.
* Items to represent each category: plants, animals, fish, and birds. Examples include: stuffed animals, plastic animals, pieces of paper cut out and colored, or any other representation.
* Find two things that you can replicate easily for the "blessing and making more" activity. Be creative. For example, if you find multiple plastic fish, that is perfect, because when you say "make more" you pull out more and more fish. The items need to match as much as possible so that the children see making more as reproduction. Plants work well for this because you can use plastic flowers or plastic greenery that is easily duplicated or cut into individual pieces.
SUGGESTIONS
[] The These Are Our Bodies: Foundation Book is divided into sections. The first section is called "The Theological." Rightly chosen as the starting place for Christians to consider their own sexuality and that of their children, chapter 1 of the Foundation Book directs the reader to reflect on the good gift of sexuality bestowed from the very beginning of life. As the facilitator of these sessions, it is important that you have read and thought about the content presented in the Foundation Book. The first session builds upon chapter 1 and asks parents to read and reflect on portions of the book. Plan to have extra copies of the book on hand for parents to use.
[] As you think and plan for this first session, remember that the preschoolers and parents that you are about to lead are children of God, born into the world beloved by God. They come into the world inherently worthy of love and awe — awe at the mystery of the holiness in whom and what we are. As children develop, their experiences and sense of self are shaped and molded by those around them. This includes their sexuality.
[] As a facilitator, it is important to fully embrace the goodness of sexuality and to model that it is inherently part of who we are; living as a sexual being is unavoidable and unavoidably complex. Sexuality is good — a gift from God since the beginning.
GATHER
5 minutes
Welcome all parents and children. Invite everyone to take a seat on the floor with their child in their lap, sitting beside them or in front of them. Proximity matters when teaching young children. Parents and caregivers are best able to influence their child when sitting nearby. Chairs are not necessary. Form a circle on the floor.
• Welcome to the first session of These Are Our Bodies for parents and caregivers of preschool aged children! This program is specially designed to create a safe place of exploration, discovery, questioning, and hope. We promise to adjourn by (insert time). I am (insert name), the facilitator of the program. I will be leading the program. (Introduce any other facilitators if you have more than one.)
• Each session has three components. They are easy to remember because they all begin with the letter "g." They are GATHER, GRAPPLE, and GO.
• As in our worship, we begin our time by gathering. We gather our bodies, our minds, and our thoughts all with a common purpose in mind. Gathering our bodies is probably the easiest part. Gathering our minds and thoughts requires centering ourselves. Therefore, each session will begin with a form of prayer.
Before we pray, please know a few things about the presence of children in this session and future sessions.
• We believe that we are all called "to receive, nurture and treasure each child as a gift from God."
• We believe we should include children in all aspects of the church, demonstrating to them the love of God.
• We recognize that very young children have short attention spans.
• We believe that the most powerful faith formation we can offer our children is modeling our spirituality to them.
• What a gift to consider how these children influence our time together! (No long speeches here!)
• Wiggles are welcome! Outbursts are normal! Patience must abound! Amen? Amen!
Continue:
• A quick note to parents: Parents begin teaching their children about their bodies from the first moment that they hold their children.
• In the next few sessions, we want to encourage you, as a parent, to intentionally consider the lessons you are teaching your infants and children as you hold, feed, and tickle them. Pay special attention to your ways of speaking, acting, and touching. We hope you notice that your actions show your young children they are created and loved by God — body and all.
Prayer
Lamb of God, one who was once a small child with parents, open our hearts to your love, our ears to your call, and our minds to your ways, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
GRAPPLE
30–45 minutes
Invite everyone to stand. Remain in the same circle formed during the GATHER portion of the session.
• Do you know the song "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes?"
• Let's sing it together!
Lead the group in singing the song. If people begin to do the motions that accompany it, move forward. Otherwise, you should add the motions in the second time that you sing the song.
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.
Eyes and ears and mouth and nose.
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.
• Now, do you know the motions that go with those words? Let me show them to you.
• On the word "head," you point with both hands to your head. On the word "shoulders," point to your shoulders. Then on "knees," point to your knees. Then on "toes," point to your toes. The same thing goes for your eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. Let's try it together!
Lead the group in singing the song together again, this time with the motions. If the group is doing well, make it more fun by going faster for one more time through.
• Let's take a seat for a moment. Sit back down in our circle.
• I have some questions for you. If you want to speak, try to raise your hand. I will call on you by pointing to you. Let's remember to use our good listening ears so that everyone can hear.
• Let me give a word of caution for parents. Please allow the space and silence for your children to participate by answering questions. Sometimes when nervous, we are quick to jump in with answers or finish other people's sentences. One of the goals in this session is for the children to feel included, valued, and heard.
Ask the questions, taking turns calling on the children who raise their hands. Be patient. Young children may not yet know how to raise their hand instead of blurting out. Recognize their eagerness as a special gift that we often take for granted. Depending on whether the child has attended a formal preschool will influence their participation in the raising of hands.
• What did you like best about that song? (Accept all answers. There are no wrong answers.)
• Do you know what I liked best? I liked that I got to move my body.
• Do you have a body? (yes)
• Do your parents have a body? (yes)
• Yes, all of us here have bodies. All of us here have special bodies. Our bodies have been growing since we were born and even before that, they grew inside of our mommies until we were born. Our bodies are special because God created them special.
• The Bible tells us a story about God creating our bodies.
• Look and listen to these words.
Prepare to tell the story of creation from the first chapter of Genesis using the props that you gathered prior to the session. Have the items inside a small container.
• I am going to tell you a story. If my body does an action, you can do it, too! Let's practice. (Point to the sky. Make sure they all point to the sky with you.)
• In the beginning, God created.
• God created the heavens and the earth. (Point up at the ceiling for heavens and down at the floor for earth.)
• God created light. (Hold up a picture of the sun and stars, or hold up a plastic glow-in-the-dark star or another symbol of light like a candle.)
• God created night and day. (Pretend to sleep, and then pretend to wake up.)
• God created water and land. (Pull out the small cup of dirt and small cup of water.)
• God created plants, animals, fish, and birds. (Show them the items you have gathered to represent each category. It could be stuffed animals, plastic animals, pieces of paper cut out and colored, or any other representation.)
• God blessed all these things and said for them to grow and make more plants, animals, fish, and birds. (Pull out the items you chose to show reproduction.)
• After all of these things were created, God created humans. God made humans in God's image. (For this part, hold up a mirror in front of the children. Move it around from child to child, letting each child look into the mirror. You will have to put the mirror down at some point to be able to move on with the story effectively.)
• God blessed the humans and told them to grow and make more. God looked at what God had made and it was very good.
At this point, the story is finished. To signify that the story is finished, try to move the objects to the side a bit and ask these questions.
• Have you heard this story before?
• Which thing that God created do you like best?
• What did God tell the animals, birds, and plants to do?
• What did God tell the humans to do?
• When you looked in the mirror, what did you see? Did you see your body?
• Let's sing our song together again. But this time, let's use different words. Listen to me sing it first. Then, we will sing it repeat-after-me style.
Teach them the new verses by singing it first by yourself. Sing these words to the same tune as before, "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes."
Even though the words of the song are different, it is OK for children to still do the original motions. It also works to make up motions on your own or just sing the lyrics.
Verse 1:
Verse 2:
Congratulate everyone on singing along to the song. Encourage hugs, high fives, and other signs of support between family members and other participants in the group. At this point, encourage everyone to stand up in the circle and hold hands.
GO
5 minutes
The facilitator should pass out the Preschool Parent Books and the These Are Our Bodies: Foundation Books:
• Parents, there are two resources that we have for you. One is the Foundation Book which has essays and chapters that will help you on this journey and that we will use in the parent sessions. Chapter 1 especially talks about God's gift of creation, including sexuality, and chapter 17 discusses the characteristics of preschoolers and how parents can engage their preschoolers.
• The second resource is the Preschool Parent Book. This book has prayers, reflection questions, and extra tips for parents of preschoolers.
• Please bring your Foundation Book and your Parent Book with you to the parent sessions.
Note: You may want to pass out a list of parent session dates and times.
Continue:
Let's end our time together today with a special prayer that uses the words from our song earlier. Just like in the song, when I say this prayer, we will point to the parts of our bodies. Ready?
Prayer
Facilitator: The Lord be with you.
Participants: And also with you.
Facilitator: Let us pray.
Thank you, God, for making me.
CHAPTER 2
SESSION 2
WE ARE ACCEPTED
PARENT SESSION
The only way I know how to teach anyone to love God, and how I myself can love God, is to love what God loves, which is everything and everyone, including you and including me!
— Richard Rohr
OBJECTIVE
[] Parents and caregivers will be able to explore their own notions of gender norms.
SUPPLIES
[] pencils or pens (1 per participant)
[] These Are Our Bodies: Preschool & Elementary Leader Guide (1 per facilitator)
[] These Are Our Bodies: Preschool Parent Book (1 per parent)
[] These Are Our Bodies: Foundation Book (1 per parent or parent couple)
[] HOLY Covenant poster (Honesty, Openness, Learn Together, and Your Questions) (See HOLY Covenant for a description of the poster and its use. Download, print, and assemble the HOLY Covenant poster found online at the These Are Our Bodies: Preschool & Elementary Leader Guide page: www.churchpublishing.org/theseareourbodiespeleader. You will want to keep the poster up in the room to refer to during the parent sessions)
[] small slips of paper for the GO portion
[] easel and easel paper
[] 2 or 3 markers
[] nametags (1 per parent and facilitator)
[] Key Terms poster that explains the terms "biological sex," "gender identity," "gender expression," and "attraction." (Download, print, and assemble the Key Terms poster found online at the These Are Our Bodies: Preschool & Elementary Leader Guide page:www.churchpublishing.org/theseareourbodiespeleader.)
PREPARATION
[] Arrange the room in a "U" shape with chairs and an easel at the front.
SUGGESTIONS
[] In preparation for this session, you may find it helpful to read chapter 1, "The Mystery of Sexuality," beginning on page 13 in These Are Our Bodies: Foundation Book as well as chapter 17 "Early Childhood" (page 139) and chapter 11 "Beyond Stereotypes" (page 87).
GATHER
5 minutes
Welcome all participants.
• The session we are about to begin is informal. Relax, find a comfortable place to sit, and allow this prayer to help still your mind.
After everyone has taken their seats, begin. Depending on the pulse of the room, consider allowing a longer pause of silence before you pray.
Prayer
Merciful God, who draws near to us like a mother hen gathering her brood, fill us with the peace of your presence, that we may find support in this group as we consider the children in our care, in the name of Christ Jesus. Amen.
HOLY Poster
• Before we start our session, I want to point out our HOLY Covenant poster (Honesty, Openness, Learn Together, and Your Questions). This poster will help guide our time together. (Learn more about the HOLY Covenant. For a reminder of what the poster is all about download www.churchpublishing.org/theseareourbodiespeleader)
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "These Are Our Bodies for Preschool & Elementary Leader Guide"
by .
Copyright © 2017 Jenny Beaumont and Abbi Long.
Excerpted by permission of Church Publishing Incorporated.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
PrefaceIntroduction
PRESCHOOL
Introduction
Session 1: God CREATED ME Parent and Child Session
Session 2: We are ACCEPTED Parent Session
Session 3: We are ENTRUSTED Parent Session
Session 4: We are BEGINNING the CONVERSATION Parent Session
Session 5: We are SHAPING and MOLDING Parent Session
Session 6: God HELPS ME GROW Parent and Child Session
PRIMARY
Introduction
Session 1: God KNOWS ME Parent and Child Session
Session 2: I am LOVED Parent and Child Session
Session 3: God MADE ME Parent and Child Session
Session 4: We are EMPOWERED Parent Session
Session 5: We CONTINUE the CONVERSATION Parent Session
Session 6: We are SELF-AWARE Parent Session
Session 7: We are LOVING Parent Session
Session 8: We are CONSIDERATE Parent Session
INTERMEDIATE
Introduction
Session 1: We are WONDERFULLY MADE Tween Session
Session 2: We are UNIQUE Tween Session
Session 3: We are a MIRACLE Tween Session
Session 4: We are CHANGING Tween Session
Session 5: We are KNOWLEDGEABLE Tween Session
Session 6: We are COMPLEX Tween Session
Session 7: We are EQUIPPED Parent Session
Session 8: We are CALLED Parent Session
Session 9: We are BUILDING the CONTAINER Parent Session
Session 10: We are MATURING Parent and Tween Session