FAITHFUL JOURNEYS
A Tapestry of Faith Program for Children
SESSION 6: KEEP LEARNING
BY BY ALICE ANACHEKA-NASEMANN AND LYNN UNGAR SUSAN DANA LAWRENCE, DEVELOPMENTAL EDITOR JUDITH A. FREDIANI, DIRECTOR OF LIFESPAN FAITH DEVELOPMENT
© Copyright 2009 Unitarian Universalist Association.
Published to the Web on 11/7/2014 2:48:51 PM PST.
This program and additional resources are available on the UUA.org web site at
www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith.
SESSION OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
Life becomes religious whenever we make it so: when some new light is seen, when some deeper appreciation is felt, when some larger outlook is gained, when some nobler purpose is formed, when some task is well done. — Sophia Lyon Fahs
In this session, children learn about and experience our third Unitarian Universalist Principle, acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth. Children find their own individual gifts and interests affirmed as the group explores a variety of spiritual practices from singing to making a Zen garden. Children learn about Unitarian religious educator Sophia Lyon Fahs, whose innovative ideas about children's faith development inform our congregations' approaches to religious education today. We add the signpost "Keep Learning" to our Faithful Journeys Path.
Alternate activities for this session introduce poetry, a walking meditation and drawing to music. The more time you have for this session, the more doorways into spiritual practice and growth you can offer the group.
GOALS
This session will:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will:
SESSION-AT-A-GLANCE
Activity | Minutes |
Opening | 2 |
Activity 1: Faithful Footprints | 5 |
Activity 2: Move It! Yoga | 8 |
Activity 3: Story Basket and Centering | 5 |
Activity 4: Story — Learning by Heart: Sophia Lyon Fahs | 10 |
Activity 5: Song — "Sing and Rejoice" | 8 |
Activity 6: Mirror Dance | 5 |
Activity 7: Create a Zen Garden | 10 |
Faith in Action: Teaching | 20 |
Closing | 7 |
Alternate Activity 1: Religious Poetry | 7 |
Alternate Activity 2: Walking Meditation | 5 |
Alternate Activity 3: Drawing to Music | 5 |
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION
If it would be helpful in creating sacred space, light a candle or chalice. Read the story "Learning by Heart: Sophia Lyon Fahs." Reflect on these questions:
Consider the young learners in Faithful Journeys and their different questions, learning styles, and modes of self-expression. Plan some specific ways you can model our third Principle in this session and offer all children in the group acceptance and encouragement to their spiritual growth.
SESSION PLAN
OPENING (2 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the children in a circle. Light the chalice. Point out the chalice-lighting words on the newsprint and invite the group to read together:
We light this flame for the light of truth, the warmth of love, and the energy of action.
Indicate the poster(s) of the Unitarian Universalist Principles. Or, give each child a copy of the handout. Ask a volunteer to read the third Principle in the adult language. Ask a second volunteer to read the children's version of the third Principle. Then, say:
Today we will learn about this Unitarian Universalist Principle — what it means, and what kinds of actions show it. Let's get started.
Collect handouts for reuse.
Including All Participants
If not all participants are fluent readers, take the time to teach the group to say the opening words from memory.
If the group has children who are sensitive to perfumes or other chemicals, use unscented candles or an electric or battery-operated flame. An electric flame is also recommended if you may not use open flames or if any participants are afraid of fire.
ACTIVITY 1: FAITHFUL FOOTPRINTS (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity reinforces children's learning as they model translating faith into action for one another. To strengthen children's Unitarian Universalist identity, help participants see how their own behavior demonstrates specific Principles.
Gather in a circle. Point to the Faithful Journeys Path and say:
Together we are taking a journey to learn what it means to live as Unitarian Universalists. Each time we meet, we talk about ways our actions show our beliefs about what is right and good. This is called "putting our faith into action."
When you share about something you have done that shows what you believe, you can choose a footprint or wheelchair to put on our Faithful Journeys Path.
Hold up the footprint you made of your own faithful action. Tell what you did and how it represents your Unitarian Universalist beliefs. If you can connect your action to a Principle, briefly explain. For example:
Ask the children to think of an act they have done, since you met last, that reflects Unitarian Universalism. You may wish to prompt:
As participants name their actions, write a word or phrase describing the action on a footprint or wheelchair cutout. Invite children to write their names on their cutouts and post them on the Faithful Journeys Path. Have them progress along the path over the course of the program.
To stay within the time frame for this activity, use these guidelines:
It is very important to avoid judging participants, either with criticism or praise. Avoid phrases like "Great job!" or "You're fantastic!" which might suggest that acts of faith vary in their value or encourage children to compete to share the "best" act.
You should, however, respond to each child's contribution. Listen carefully to what a child tells you. After each child shares, say something like, "Thank you for sharing," followed by a summarizing sentence, such as:
Identify the Unitarian Universalist Principles each act represents; refer to the Principles poster if the room has one or indicate a relevant signpost on the Faithful Journeys Path. By responding specifically to each child's faithful actions, you will help them feel pride, a sense of accomplishment, and their own empowerment as agents whose actions and choices reflect Unitarian Universalist beliefs and values.
Including All Participants
Along with cut-out footprints (Session 1, Handout 3, Faithful Footprints), provide wheelchairs (Session 1, Handout 4, Making Tracks for Faith) in the same colors of paper. Encourage all the children — not just those who use wheelchairs for mobility — to sometimes use a wheelchair instead of footprints to represent their faithful actions.
ACTIVITY 2: MOVE IT! YOGA (8 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the group and arrange the children with room to do the poses without bumping into one another. Tell them, in your own words:
Yoga is a spiritual practice that comes from the Hindu religion and Indian culture. Stretching the body and paying attention to the breath is a way of connecting with your spiritual center, as well as making your body feel stronger and more energized.
Balance is an important part of yoga poses. In yoga, balancing yourself so a pose feels right is more important than getting a pose to look right.
Lead the children in the poses you have selected. Then, invite the children to reflect:
Including All Participants
Children with limited mobility may be able to do spine-stretching and breathing aspects of poses, and perhaps more. Remind the whole group before you start that everyone has a different level of physical ability. You may say:
Yoga invites people to try poses in ways that feel comfortable to them. Feeling the pose on the inside as your body tries it is more important than how it looks on the outside to someone else.
ACTIVITY 3: STORY BASKET AND CENTERING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the children in a circle in your storytelling area. Show them the storytelling basket. Say something like, "Let's see what's in our story basket this week."
Tell the group the items in the story basket will be placed on this altar or table after the children have passed them around the circle. Take the story-related items from the basket, one at a time, and pass them around. Objects that are fragile or should not be passed around for any reason can be held up for all to see and then placed directly on the altar.
Briefly name the various objects. Show the picture of Sophia Fahs and explain that she was a Unitarian religious educator who did more than any other one person to shape the way children learn in our congregations today. As items come back to you, display them on the altar for children to look at as they listen to the story.
Remove the sound instrument from the story basket. Tell the children that every time you tell a story in Faithful Journeys, you will use the instrument to help them get their ears, minds, and bodies ready to listen. Invite them to sit comfortably and close their eyes (if they are comfortable doing so). Suggest that closing their eyes can help them focus on just listening.
In a calm voice, say:
As you breathe in, feel your body opening up with air. As you breathe out, feel yourself relaxing.
Repeat this once or twice. Then, say:
Now you are ready to listen. When I hit the chime (turn the rain stick over), listen as carefully as you can. See how long you can hear its sound. When you can no longer hear it, open your eyes and you will know it is time for the story to begin.
Sound the chime or other instrument. When the sound has gone, begin telling the story.
Including All Participants
If anyone in the group is unable to hold or pass items, or cannot see the items, make sure you or a child in the group offers the person each object to explore as needed.
Some people do not feel safe closing their eyes when they are in a group. If any children resist, respect their resistance and suggest that they find a single point of focus to look at instead.
If you have a basket of fidget objects for children who may listen and learn more effectively with something in their hands, make it available during this activity. Remind children where it is before you begin the "centering" part of this activity. For a full description of fidget objects and guidance on using them, see Session 2, Leader Resource 2.
ACTIVITY 4: STORY — LEARNING BY HEART, SOPHIA LYON FAHS (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
The story "Learning by Heart: Sophia Lyon Fahs" presents an example of someone acting based on our third Unitarian Universalist Principle, acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth.
Sound the instrument to indicate that the story is over. Then, guide the children in a brief discussion using these questions:
ACTIVITY 5: SONG — SING AND REJOICE (8 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the group in a circle. Say:
Sophia Fahs believed we all grow spiritually through different experiences that touch our hearts and spirits, and that help us to get quiet inside or help us feel amazed. People learn in different ways and are touched by different things, so we are going to try several different spiritual practices today. Any one of these things might involve doing something that you think you won't like or do not feel you're especially good at. That is OK. To truly accept each other, we accept that we all have different interests and talents. To encourage one another in spiritual growth, we need to help one another to try things that might feel like a stretch.
Tell the group you will start stretching by singing a song they may not already know. Teach the song one phrase at a time. Then sing it all the way through. If more than one adult feels able to carry a part, try it as a round. Each subgroup will need strong leaders; children this age are generally right on the cusp of being able to sing something different from those near them.
Including All Participants
If a co-leader or child knows American Sign Language, engage them to teach the group the hand motions for this song.
ACTIVITY 6: MIRROR DANCE (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Tell the children:
Many people think of spiritual activities as quiet time to focus inside yourself. But we can also use our spirituality when we connect beyond words with each other. We're going to try a movement activity that is about staying connected to another person — without touching at all.
Explain that the group will divide into pairs, with each person in the pair designated as a "one" or a "two." The pairs will stand facing each other, fairly close, but not touching. When the music begins, the people who are "ones" will begin to move. The "twos" will mirror their movements, trying to look as much like a mirror reflection of the other person as possible. The goal of the "one" is not to trick the "two," but to move in ways that make it possible for both people to seem connected, mirror images of each other. After a couple of minutes, stop the music and tell the pairs to switch roles, so that the "twos" are initiating the movement and the "ones" are following.
When both sides have had a turn to lead a mirror dance, invite the children to reflect on their experiences. Was it harder to lead or to follow? Do you think you have more of a sense of your spirit when you move wordlessly, together with another person, or by yourself?
Including All Participants
Participants who use wheelchairs or have balance issues can dance using their upper bodies while partners sit facing them. Participants who cannot see can do this activity touching palms with partners.
ACTIVITY 7: CREATE A ZEN GARDEN (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the children at work tables and say:
The original Zen gardens were made by Japanese Buddhists to create an outdoor space that invited anyone who saw the garden to take quiet time to meditate. Zen gardens are usually quite simple, with gravel raked into neat patterns, and a few rocks, plants or grassy areas carefully arranged. We're going to create our own miniature Zen gardens with boxes, sand and little objects you can arrange as you like. We'll use forks to rake our sand in any pattern you like. Arranging the items in your Zen garden and raking the sand around them is a kind of meditation, a way of getting quiet and focused, so we're going to try to be quiet as we create these gardens. Remember, a Zen garden should be simple. Do not try to crowd too many items in your garden. Leave some space just for the sand.
You may like to give a two-minute warning. Invite children to view one another's Zen gardens as they help clean up.
CLOSING (7 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity helps children get used to practicing a closing ritual as a way of affirming their belonging in the faith community.
Gather the group in a circle. Thank the children for participating and sharing their stories and ideas in this session. Tell them something you liked about the way they worked together as a community.
Point out the Faithful Journeys Path. Say:
Our Faithful Journeys Path shows our journey to live our lives and act in ways that reflect our Unitarian Universalist beliefs and faith. The signposts direct us by reminding us about our Principles.
Today's signpost is "Keep Learning." It is for our third Unitarian Universalist Principle, acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations. It means we welcome people the way they are, and we encourage each other to keep learning and growing, especially in ways that exercise our faith and spirit.
Attach the signpost to the Faithful Journeys Path.
Invite the children to reflect on their experiences of different kinds of spiritual growth and learning. Some questions you might ask include:
Remind the children that next time they meet they will have a chance to add Faithful Footprints to the Faithful Journeys Path. Encourage them to do an action that encourages someone else to learn and grow in body, mind, or spirit. Brainstorm actions that might reflect acceptance and encouragement to growth. You might suggest: teaching a yoga pose to a friend; trying a new sport, game, or craft together; making up a dance or a rhythm to go with a song you already know; or sitting quietly and drawing to instrumental music with someone else. Remind children that when you show others that you accept them as they are and respect what they already know, it may be easier to help them learn something new.
Point out the words to the UU Principles Song. Tell the children it is sung to the tune of "Old McDonald Had a Farm." Lead the children in singing the verse about the third Principle. Then, sing the entire song together. Explain that you will learn about all the Principles during your time together in Faithful Journeys.
Distribute the Taking It Home handout. Thank the children, tell them you look forward to seeing them next time, and dismiss the group.
FAITH IN ACTION: TEACHING (20 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
By serving as teachers, the children experience our third Principle another way, expressing the acceptance and encouragement rather than receiving it.
Ask the children to think about the yoga poses they learned during the Move It! activity. How would they go about teaching those poses to other children? How could they convey the relaxation and the stretching of body, mind, and spirit that yoga poses can help children achieve? Would they model the poses? Explain them verbally? Put their hands on the other children to show how their bodies should move?
Organize the children's ideas about how to conduct the teaching. Who would like to talk, who would like to demonstrate, and who would like to help individuals try poses?
Remind the children that they are not teaching only yoga poses. As teachers, they are also affirming acceptance of their students and encouragement to spiritual growth.
Then, bring them to the other group of children.
It is recommended that you regather to process the experience. You might ask:
Including All Participants
Some children may not be comfortable speaking or demonstrating yoga poses before a group. Some children can model the poses among the group of learners or help them try poses, while others stand in front to lead.
LEADER REFLECTION AND PLANNING
Take a few minutes to evaluate the session with your co-leader immediately afterward, while it is fresh. Share your thoughts with any other team co-leaders and your director of religious education. You might find it helpful to consider these questions:
TAKING IT HOME
Life becomes religious whenever we make it so: when some new light is seen, when some deeper appreciation is felt, when some larger outlook is gained, when some nobler purpose is formed, when some task is well done. —Sophia Lyon Fahs
IN TODAY'S SESSION... The children learned about Unitarian religious educator Sophia Lyon Fahs, who lived out our third Principle, acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth, and left Unitarian Universalist religious education the legacy of her approach. Fahs encouraged children to ask, to explore, and to develop spiritually through their own experiences of awe and wonder. In the spirit of Fahs, this session reached out to children's different interests, skills, and learning styles with a variety of spiritual practices. We sang the song "Sing and Rejoice," drew our ideas of mystery and wonder while listening to music, and created miniature Zen gardens. Our signpost to guide us in faithful action was "Keep Learning."
EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Talk about... the concept of spiritual growth. Ask your child, "What does 'spiritual' mean? What are some things that you personally do to attend to your own spiritual growth? How can you tell if a person is spiritually mature?" Listen to your child's answers, and share your own answers to the same questions.
EXTEND THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Try... For a week, be alert to ways you might help your child identify and take advantage of the ways they learn best. Is it easier to memorize spelling words while moving around? Does it help you to set grammar rules to a tune? Are math concepts easier to grasp with beans or kernels of popcorn to manipulate?
FAMILY ADVENTURE
Sophia Fahs believed in the power of nature and science to inspire awe and wonder in children. Go on a family outing to an astronomy observatory, a nature preserve, an aquarium, or a natural history museum, keeping an eye out for those things that make you think "Wow, that's amazing!"
A FAMILY RITUAL
Affirm learning something every day with a ritual time, at dinner or before bed, for each family member to share something they learned. Identify and elevate spiritual along with intellectual or physical growth, sharing items such as "Today I remembered how important it is to really listen," or "Today I was able to practice being calm instead of losing my temper."
FAMILY DISCOVERY
The website of the UU Church of the Larger Fellowship offers the KidTalk (at clf.uua.org/kidtalk/)web page for children, parents, and religious educators. Find ways your family might share spiritual growth, including a suggestion each month for a specific spiritual practice.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 1: RELIGIOUS POETRY (7 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Reading , listening to, or writing poetry can be a spiritual practice, especially for those with verbal facility and those who learn best by reading or hearing.
Read the poem you chose aloud. Invite children to enjoy the sound of the words, as well as listen for the meaning of the poem.
Then, ask children for any responses:
If you have time, distribute blank paper, pencils, and crayons or markers. Invite children to illustrate or respond to the poem in a drawing, or write their own poem about how nature can be amazing.
Including All Participants
Children who have difficulty sitting still to listen may benefit from having access to fidget objects (Session 2, Leader Resource 2).
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 2: WALKING MEDITATION (5 MINUTES)
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the children where you will do your walking meditation. Say:
Meditation is a spiritual practice that people use to become calm and focused and in tune with themselves and the world around them. Many people practice meditation while sitting, but we're going to do it while walking.
The goal here is not to walk really fast or really slow. We are walking to be aware of ourselves as we walk, not to get anyplace.
Invite children to stand in a circle so they can extend their arms to each side without touching anyone else. Then (pausing as indicated) say:
Feel the ground under your feet, and the way your body adjusts to hold you upright.... Take a deep breath and let it out.... Again, take a deep breath, feeling it go all the way down into your belly, and then let it out.... Now, we'll begin walking. Remember, our feet are moving, but not our mouths. You can choose where you will walk, but make sure you're not interfering with anyone else.
You may wish to have the children walk in a circle. Form a few small circles if you have room and enough adults to supervise. With limited space, form several concentric circles to avoid chaos or collision. Continue:
Feel the ground under your feet.... Is it rough or smooth, hard or springy?... Feel your legs as you walk, the way your muscles tighten and relax.... As you walk, relax your shoulders, and feel your head floating, your eyes guiding your steps, but not needing to focus on anything except what is right in front of you.... Notice how you are feeling.... Happy?... Sad?... Impatient?... Just notice the feelings and the thoughts as they come to you, and then let them go as you step past them.... Notice your breathing, how the air enters your body and then leaves again, as your thoughts enter your mind, and then you let them go.... Now gently come to a stop. Take one more deep breath and let it out, as we leave our meditation.
Including All Participants
If children in the group use wheelchairs or have other mobility limitations, adapt the language of this meditation to be inclusive of their experience. For instance, call this a moving meditation rather than a walking meditation; advise the group to feel "your body pressing against the surface that holds you" rather than the "ground beneath your feet."
A blind participant may be comfortable walking in a circle with the group. Ask whether the participant would like to walk holding hands with someone and, if so, provide a willing volunteer.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 3: DRAWING TO MUSIC (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
One of the Sources for our Unitarian Universalist living tradition is transcending mystery and wonder that moves us to a renewal of the spirit. Mystery, wonder, and spirit are hard to define, and they may mean something a bit different to each person. Sometimes through art we can experience and express ideas we cannot express in words.
Tell the children:
We are going to hear some music. Listen with your spirit, as well as your ears. You can draw about how the music makes your spirit feel. Draw whatever comes to you to describe mystery and wonder. It does not need to be a picture of anything real; it can be a pattern or design or just the colors you feel like using. Let the music be the only sound we hear while we draw. Let the music speak to your spirit and your heart.
Assure them there is no right or wrong way to portray mystery and wonder, and affirm that they need not draw pictures of actual things in order to show a feeling or idea.
Allow the group at least three minutes to draw. Then, stop the music and invite them to continue working on their drawings in quiet for a minute or two more.
Ask volunteers to share their drawings and/or articulate what their spirits heard in the music or what feelings inside of them the images came from. Affirm all drawings as expressions of spirit. Focus on the process ("How did it feel to draw that?") and avoid praise, criticism, or interpretation of the product. ("Is that a horse? Are those clouds?")
Ask the group, "Do you feel you gave your spirit some exercise, doing this activity today?"
FAITHFUL JOURNEYS: SESSION 6:
STORY: LEARNING BY HEART — SOPHIA LYON FAHS
By Polly Peterson.
"Mama, Mama, why do we just keep going and going and not going anywhere?" asked little Sophie. Her family was crossing the wide Pacific Ocean on a big ship bound for America . Sophie Lyon was an American girl, three and a half years old, making her first trip to America . She and her older brothers and sisters had all been born in China where their father was an evangelical Christian minister and their mother had started a school for Chinese girls.
When they made that the long trip to America in 1880, Sophie's parents thought their family would go back to China after one year. But the plans changed, and Sophie never returned to China . As she grew up, her memories of China grew dim. But she hoped when she grew up she could go to other countries as a Christian teacher, like her parents.
In college, Sophie joined a club for young people who also wanted to become Christian teachers. She met another devoted volunteer named Harvey Fahs. They began writing letters to each other, and made plans to travel and teach together. Six years later, they were married. But instead of traveling to another country, Sophie and Harvey moved to New York City . Harvey had a job, and Sophia Lyon Fahs taught Sunday school and continued her studies, excited about the new ideas she was learning.
Sophia and Harvey's first child was born in 1904. In those days, many women gave up their outside work after they became mothers. But Sophia was determined to keep learning and to keep teaching Sunday school, and she did. As it turned out, being a mother also helped Sophia learn! She learned about children from being with her own children and listening to their ideas and questions.
(You may want to pause here and solicit children's comments on ways children can teach adults.)
When her children asked questions, Sophia tried her best to answer them. Her children had very interesting questions, like "Where does snow come from?" and "Where are we before we are born?" As she tried to answer her children's questions, Sophia learned how much she did not know! You might think not having all the answers took away Sophia's faith, but it was the opposite. She started to believe that to have a strong faith, finding questions you really care about is just as important as finding answers.
One time when Sophia taught a religious education class, she told a lively story about a real person who had been a Christian teacher in another country. The children were eager to hear the story and eager to talk about it. Like her own children at home, the children asked questions — the interesting kind of questions that let Sophia know they were thinking and learning.
Sophia's ideas about religion changed over time. As a young person, she had thought Christianity was the one true religion and people all over the world should learn Bible stories. She grew to realize the Bible was not the only book with truth in it. She collected stories from all over the world, filled with truth and beauty to help children's spirits stretch and grow. She published the stories in a book called From Long Ago and Many Lands.
In those days, when most adults thought children's minds were like empty jars to fill with learning, Sophia thought differently. She thought children were more like gardens, already planted with seeds of possibility for learning and growing. She thought a teacher's job was to provide the good soil and water and sunlight a garden needs to grow. In religious school, a teacher could help children grow in their spirit and faith.
(Ask: What do you think would help a child grow in spirit? What should church school teachers like us give you, to help you grow?
Affirm or suggest: Teachers can give children a safe place to learn; tools, such as books and art supplies and music. We can show you how adults worship, sing, and celebrate together in faith. We can help you know when your actions are faithful ones, for goodness and justice. We can take you on field trips and tell you stories. But no one can give a child wisdom or faith or spiritual growth. These things can only grow from within. People learn by experiencing the world for themselves — by feeling their own feelings, and by seeing and touching and doing. That is what Sophia Fahs believed.)
When Sophia Fahs wrote about her beliefs, the president of the American Unitarian Association was impressed. He asked her to talk to Unitarian religious educators — people such as (insert your own name(s) and/or the name of your director of religious education). Unitarian Sunday school teachers liked her ideas very much. And that is why, when you come here, we encourage you to see, and touch, and do ... and to ask lots of questions.
When she was 82 years old, Sophia became a Unitarian minister. Her own life was a great example of her belief that every person in a congregation should continue to learn and grow, from the smallest child to the oldest adult. Sophia Fahs lived a long, long time — 102 years — and she never stopped learning new things.
If she were alive today and came to visit us, Sophia Fahs would want to know about our experiences, like the ones we have posted on our Faithful Journeys Path, and how they have helped us learn and grow. She would want to know what stories we have read and how they have helped to awaken our spirits. She would want to know how we ask questions, seek answers, and learn from each other. Imagine how happy she would be to see us watering one another's seeds of spiritual growth in Faithful Journeys today.
FAITHFUL JOURNEYS: SESSION 6:
LEADER RESOURCE 1: YOGA POSE
The pose "The Leaf" comes from a series of fifteen poses with illustrations on the Radiant Yoga for All Kids website of Susan Kramer. Used with permission.
Start with this simple pose and add a few more. Practice poses so you can lead them without having to stop to read the next step. Children should remain quiet during yoga practice to maintain personal concentration. Invite children to breathe in to begin a pose, breathe out to finish a pose, and breathe evenly between poses.
The Leaf, beginning position with straight spine and then with gently rounded spine. Faint vertical lines show the approximate center of balance.
Sit with spine straight, soles of feet together, hands on ankles. Gently round spine and then return to sitting straight. Repeat several times.
FAITHFUL JOURNEYS: SESSION 6:
LEADER RESOURCE 2: PICTURE OF SOPHIA LYON FAHS
Courtesy of the Unitarian Universalist Association archives.
FAITHFUL JOURNEYS: SESSION 6:
LEADER RESOURCE 3: SONG — SING AND REJOICE
"Sing and Rejoice" is Hymn 395 in Singing the Living Tradition, the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook.
Sing and rejoice.
Sing and rejoice.
Let all things living now
Sing and rejoice.
Sing and Rejoice (MP3) (at smallscreen.uua.org/videos/leader-resource-sing-and-rejoice)
FAITHFUL JOURNEYS: SESSION 6:
LEADER RESOURCE 4: SIGNPOST FOR SESSION 6
Cut out the signpost to add to your Faithful Journeys Path.
FIND OUT MORE
Yoga for Kids
The website Radiant Yoga for All Kids (at www.susankramer.com/Yoga.html#Moving)offers guidance to help children "stretch and strengthen while promoting balance, coordination, the ability to concentrate and an increase in vitality through energetic practice." The site also provides resources for yoga and meditation with adults and youth.
About Sophia Lyon Fahs
Sophia Lyon Fahs was a religious educator who came to embrace liberal principles of education and applied them to religious education, creating a kind of religious education that relied more on tapping into a child's native sense of awe and wonder than teaching a "correct" dogma. Find biographical information about Fahs by Edith Hunter on the Harvard Square Library website (at www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/unitarians/fahs.html), and in a 2003 UU World article (at www.uuworld.org/2003/02/lookingback.html).
In a 2007 sermon, "For So the Children Come: The Legacy of Sophia Lyon Fahs (at www.uuchurchseaz.org/sermons_pdf/2007/richards_sophia_lyon_fahs.pdf)," Rev. Rod Richards relates Fahs' religious education approaches to the fourth Principle, our search for truth and meaning.
A chapter by Lucinda A. Nolan in a 2006 book published by Springer Nederlands is "It Takes More than Angels: the Legacy of Sophia Lyon Fahs to Religious Education"; preview the chapter online (at www.springerlink.com/content/r02t40122ux57757/).
Books by Sophia Lyon Fahs
Of many books by Fahs, this one in particular offers stories and teaching approaches for a twenty-first-century Unitarian Universalist religious education program: From Long Ago and Many Lands: Stories for Children Told Anew, illustrated by Cyrus LeRoy Baldridge (Boston: Skinner House Books, 1948, reprinted 1995). These stories from religions around the world demonstrate Fahs' broad view of religion and, even so many years later, suggest fresh, enjoyable ways for children to learn core faith values from the world's religions.
Fahs explains in detail her philosophy of religious education in Today's Children and Yesterday's Heritage: A Philosophy of Children's Religious Development (Boston: Beacon Press, 1952).
John Dewey and Educational Philosophy
Fahs was greatly influenced by educational philosophies of John Dewey (at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dewey#On_Education).