Opening Prayer
Lesson Objectives: lead the children to understand that our body is the greatest gift we received from God; it’s important to look after it with great care to meet the goals set before we reincarnated. Our task is to love it, preserve it and use it with nobility for our own good.
First: the spiritist teacher should take to the classroom a wrapped gift box. Inside this box there should be two figures cut up into four parts each, which will make it easier for the children to assemble them later. One of the figures must be a girl's body and another picture of a boy's body. If there are many children in the classroom, the spiritist teacher may take two wrapped gift boxes instead of one; one for boys, another for girls.
Start the lesson by saying that inside the box there is a beautiful gift given to us by God. Ask the children to open it very carefully, as this is a very valuable gift. Soon later ask them to assemble the pictures together.
As soon as they assemble the figures, ask the children what is the gift that is inside the box. Wait for the answers and, soon afterwards, say that the children can give names to the pictures if you want to.
Suggested designs for this activity are available at the lesson Body - divine gift – II and at www.smartkids.com.br.
Second: explore the body parts of the figures.
* Show them the head and ask what it is.
* Do we all have a head? What do we have in our heads? Hair, eyes, mouth, nose... The spiritist teacher should make it available, on the table, pictures of the parts that make up the human body. Ask them to pick only those that belong to the head.
* What do we have in our trunk? Lungs, heart, stomach, among others. Ask the children to put their hands over their hearts to feel the heart beats, breathe deeply and fill their lungs by blowing gently. Moreover, say that inside our body we have many organs, but we don’t see them - but they are within our body, each with a specific function for our body to work in perfect harmony. Then, ask them to observe in the figures the nipples and navel, which will be a point of reference for them. Ask them to pick up the pictures of the organs that are inside the body (lung, heart, stomach).
* What do we have connected to our trunk? Legs, arms, hands, feet. The evangelist should then ask the children to pick up the parts related to these areas of the body.
Third: show them a doll and ask:
* What do I have in my hands?
* Can the doll move alone? Why?
* And can we move alone? Why?
* Are we similar to this doll? How come we can move and this doll can’t? We can move because our body has life, there is a soul that commands it. Our body is God’s creation and the Spirit is also God's creation; it is the one that gives life to our physical body.
Fourth: tell the story Jader, the alligator. Highlight that Jader was so lazy that he didn’t like to brush his teeth. Remind the children that alligators also brush their teeth: they open their mouths and the birds land on their huge jaws to eat the remains of food. Jader ate too much, so he was getting obese and couldn’t perform certain tasks. The spiritist teacher might ask, during the narrative, what will happen with Jader’s teeth if he didn’t brush his teeth.
Fifth: ask what they have learned from history.
Sixth: questions to evaluate and reinforce learning.
* What was the beautiful gift that Father in Heaven gave us, so we can live on Earth? The physical body.
* When we get a present, what should we do to always play with it? Make sure that it’s always looked after.
* * How can we use our body? We can use it to study, play, work, help our friends, etc.
* * What shall we do to make sure our body is always in perfect condition? Do our daily hygiene: bathing, brushing teeth, eating healthy food, doing sports, etc.
* * How is our body formed? Our body is made up of several parts: head, abdomen, legs, arms, etc...
* * What is the function of each part of our body? Ask each child to mention one part of the body and say something good we can accomplish with it.
* * Who makes our body move? Our body is the instrument of the Spirit and follows its orders.
* * What do we need our body for? God gives the Spirit the gift of a body so it can learn and work, striving for perfection. We can consider our body as a precious garment.
* * Who has created our body? God, our Father.
Seventh: colouring the human body parts. As soon as they are finished, get the children to make collage on paper. The children should make the necessary contours with the help of the spiritist teacher.
Here are some models to be used.
Model 1
Model 2
Model 3
Sources: http://www.miniweb.com.br/cantinho/Infantil/38/colorir.html
http://www.miniweb.com.br/cantinho/Infantil/38/colorir34.html
http://www.miniweb.com.br/cantinho/Infantil/38/colorir35.html
http://www.portalsaofrancisco.com.br/alfa/desenhos-para-colorir-corpo-humano/
Closing Prayer
Suggested Class suitable for: Kindergarten (5 to 6 years old).
Suggested lesson sent by Sandra Ramos Medeiros, Spiritist Centre Fé, Amor e Caridade - Campo Grande/MS.
Translation: Carolina von Scharten, London, linked to BUSS - The British Union of Spiritist Societies.
