First: Opening prayer; get the children to repeat after the Spiritist volunteer. As weeks go by the Spiritist volunteers should encourage the children to volunteer for this task. If they don’t want to collaborate we could say we will follow the letters of the alphabet. The child’s name that starts with the letter A will do the opening prayer this time. Everybody will have the chance to collaborate as the weeks unfold. The child’s name that starts with the letter B will do the closing prayer at the end of the session.

         Second: Welcome the children into the session. Say how happy we are to see them there and how important they are for the class. Sing songs together; get the children to remain standing but in a circle.

         Hello my friend,
         Let’s learn and play,
         We will learn about Jesus all night long!

         Good morning
         Good morning, good morning, good morning (say the name of one of the children)
         I am so happy today. Hooray!
         Good morning, good morning, good morning (say the name of one of the children)
         My heart wants to say
         Good morning, good morning, good morning (say the name of one of the children)

         Let's all sing and play
         For Nature is so beautiful and wise
         Teaches us to love every day

         +++ repeat this song if necessary, as every child should hear their name being sang; this will help the children to feel integrated into the group).

         +++ sing other songs from the songs’ list as per attached here.

         +++ please find an additional list of songs attached here.

         Third: Get the children to sit down into a circle. Tell them we will today learn more about minerals. Do you know what minerals are? Can you name a few examples? Listen to their answers.

         Fourth: Tell them the story called ‘Annie and minerals‘ by Claudia Schmidt.

         Please find an adapted version of this story, with information under brackets of what the Spiritist volunteer should do, as the story is told, here.

         Fifth: Ask the children:

         * What are minerals?

         * Can you name a few minerals here, in this room?

         * Did you know minerals are also God’s creation?

         * Where else can you find minerals? Listen to their answers.

         * Rocks are present all around us and wherever you go; you can find them in every corner of the planet. Rocks have been around since the formation of the Earth. They can be small or big, smooth or rough and may have different shapes. Rocks are changing continuously by different forces of nature (wind, water, glacier, etc.). Minerals and rocks are broken down into smaller pieces by the process of weathering.

         Note: The Spiritist volunteer can bring other examples of minerals, such as different types of metal objects and place them inside a box or bag. Get each child to touch them, one at a time for health and safety reasons.

         Sixth: Explain to the children. Did you know minerals don’t have vital fluid, because they have no life? They are very important for life on earth. Since they don’t have life, they don’t have vital fluid, as plants, animals and human beings do. Do you remember the song we learned a few weeks ago? Shall we sing it together?

         Vital Fluid
         Vital fluid is necessary,
         Necessary, necessary
         For the life of living beings,
         Living beings, living beings

         Vital fluid is necessary,
         Necessary, necessary
         Even plants already have it,
         Already have it, already have it.

         Follow the music tune from the following song: London Bridge is falling down.

         Seventh: The Spiritist volunteer should say: Animals and plants have life but minerals are just as important. They don’t have life but they are God’s creation. Ask the children:

         * What can we do to help the minerals? Listen to their answers.

         * What do we use minerals for? We use minerals for building bridges, houses, buildings just like this building here. Did you notice how important minerals are? Without minerals we wouldn’t have a home to life at.

         Eighth: Get the children to create a picture about things that man create using minerals. Give each child A4 sheet of paper.

         The Spiritist volunteer can bring small pictures of several objects for them to decorate their work.

         Ninth: ‘Hide and Seek’. Tell the children there are different pieces of minerals hidden in the room. They will need to work collectively to find them.

         Note: The Spiritist volunteer should bring other examples of minerals and hide them in the room before the children arrive for this lesson.

         Tenth: Get the children to help cleaning the room; one of the children will do a closing prayer; encourage the children to volunteer for this task. If they don’t want to collaborate we could say we will follow the letters of the alphabet. The child’s name that starts with the letter A will do the opening prayer this time. Everybody will have the chance to collaborate.

         Note: Please find an activity which can be used during this class or given to the children as homework here.

         Closing prayer

         Class suggested being suitable for: Nursery (3 to 4 years old) and Kindergarten (5 to 6 years old).

         Spiritist volunteer: Carolina von Scharten, London, linked to BUSS - The British Union of Spiritist Societies.