First: the spiritist teacher should request the children to do a task as a group before the beginning of this class. In our Spiritist Centre, as the classes are used previously for study groups, we have to move some furniture around before the children arrive. We decided to do something different on this day: we asked the children’s help to get the room ready for the class to start.

         Opening Prayer

         Second: distribute a simple puzzle for the children to find out the topic that will be discussed in this class. You could also draw thirteen (13) strokes on the board and ask the children to guess which word that is. Please note we should avoid playing the gibbets game, since should not even joke about hanging someone.

         Third: tell the children the story called [The cricket and the Frog].

         Click here to find drawings created by Sherazade Gomes – Spiritist Teacher - Centro Espírita Francisco de Assis - Eunápolis/BA.

         Fourth: talk to the children about what happened in the beginning of the class. Was the task easier because everyone was collaborating? Why?

         Fifth: introduce the topics below but deepen according to the classes’ age and maturity.

How we can collaborate:

           at the Spiritist Group:
             Be careful at the stairs;
             Try not to disturb your colleagues;
             Do not shout when the class finishes;

           at school:
             Do not run in the corridors;
             Obey teachers and school rules;
             Get at school on time;
             Help maintaining the school clean;

           in the world:
             Talk about the several group of Volunteer workers that operate worldwide: distributing food, teaching for free, helping reconstruct houses which were destroyed by natural disasters; campaign to collect warm clothing for people in need.

           Talk about the Volunteer work that is done in the Spiritist Centre

         Sixth: each child should create a scale model with the characters from the story "The cricket and the Frog". A drawing which illustrates the story could also be distributed for the children to colour it.

         Scale model:

          The cricket and the Frog

          Wire fence

          Forest

          Drawing to be coloured

         Seventh: Get the children to collaborate telling a story. Get them to throw a small ball around as the story is being told. The volunteer will start saying: ‘Once upon a time’ and throw the ball to one of the children. This child will then need to continue telling the story. It will make it fun and engaging for the children to learn how the story will turn out. (please note this activity was taken from the internet)

         Eighth: Blindfold one child and hide a toy around the room. The volunteer will assign only one child to help the blindfolded one to find the toy. This child will need to give directions to his/her friend without touching him/her. (please note this activity was taken from the internet)

         Ninth: Mimic – get children to work in pairs and mimic each other. They will then exchange roles. (please note this activity was taken from the internet)

         Tenth: Follow the leader game – get a child to play the leader and mimic collaborative daily attitudes, such as taking a phone message for mum, helping with the laundry, etc. (please note this activity was taken from the internet)

         Eleventh: Mention to the children you will tell them different dialogues that happened between two ‘people’. Ask them if their attitude was collaborative or not. Listen to their answers (please note this activity was taken from the internet)

         1. Asa and Jan are working on a presentation for class tomorrow. Asa has his material ready and Jan does not have any materials prepared.
         i. Asa: I knew this would happen! You never finish stuff on time!
         ii. Jan: Look, I can work on it later tonight.
         iii. Asa: Tonight! That’s too late! You always wait until the last minute!

         2. Cally: Look, we’ve just spent fifteen minutes arguing about what game to play. No one likes the same one.
         Dora: Well, maybe there’s more that we haven’t talked about.
         Jim: Well, I have to head home in a while, so let’s decide.
         Cally: How about we play basketball for at least 15 minutes and see how it goes?
         Dora: Yeah, let’s do it!
         3. Lanisha: Here comes Tiny!
         Carmen: (Ignores her)
         Lanisha: Hi, Tiny! What’s up? (Laughs)
         Carmen: Cut it out, Lanisha. I told you that I don’t like it when you call me that!
         Lanisha: Hey, it’s no big deal. Don’t be so sensitive!

         4. Larry: How about if our group does a report on whales? They’re really cool!
         Sam: Remember earlier this year when we read that book about whales? I think Ms. Brown will think we’re just doing something that’s easy, since we already studied them.
         Larry: But I really like ocean animals. I think they’d be fun to do research on!
         Sam: I do too. Let’s think about some other ocean animals that we haven’t read about.
         Alicia: How about dolphins? They’re really smart animals and I read about studies people have done to test their intelligence. We could do that.
         Larry: Alicia: That sounds good. Maybe we should start with making a list of possible topics we could cover about dolphins?
         Sam: Good idea. I’ll get some paper.

         5. Ann: Did you hear what Margo said about Sondra?
         Jay: Yeah, and Sondra found out! She’s furious!
         Ann: What do you think will happen? Sondra’s pretty tough. Margo could get hurt.
         Jay: Hey, I’m not getting into this. I’m staying out of it!

         6. Keira: Hi, Sally. How about going to a movie and getting pizza later?
         Sally: I don’t have much of my allowance left. Maybe I can go to the movie if we go to the early one; it’s cheaper.
         Keira: Well, the one I wanted to see the most isn’t playing earlier. But I don’t mind seeing another one.
         Sally: Okay, that would be great. That way, I can still afford a slice of pizza after!

         Class Suggested being suitable for: Maternal (3 to 4 years old), Kindergarten (5 to 6 years old) and 1st cycle (7 to 8 years old).

         Closing Prayer

         Translation: Carolina von Scharten, London, Sir William Crookes Spiritist Society linked to BUSS - The British Union of Spiritist Societies.