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 have special guests today as we will learn about something very special!

         Get a bag full of vegetables that come from the soil to this lesson. Ask each child to place a hand inside the bag and pull one of the special friends. Ask the children if they know the name of their special friend. If they don’t, introduce this root vegetable to the children.

         Note: Place root vegetables inside the bag, before this lesson begins. Some of the vegetables could be yam, parsnips, radish, celeriac, malanga, swede, sweet potato, ginger, turnips, pumpkin, beetroot, onions, carrots, potatoes, cucumber, etc.

         Fourth: Tell them the story called The Scarecrow by Claudia Schmidt. Get the children to perform the ‘characters’ of the story. The Spiritist volunteer will play the Scarecrow and the garden owner.

         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 did the Scarecrow do in the garden?

         * What was his job? What did he help to do?

         * Where do the vegetables come from? Do you enjoy eating them?

         * Why are vegetables important? What about plants?

         * Where do they come from? They come from the soil!

         * What is the soil? Listen to their answers.

         Sixth: Explain what the soil is to the children. The Spiritist volunteer should explain to the children the following, but mix the bag at the same time so they can visualise the soil is a mix of all that’s being mentioned:

         The soil is a big mix of very special elements. Soil comes from broken up pieces of rock and dead leaves, tree limbs, and dead bugs-those kinds of things. God, who is our Father and Creator, is so loving and kind that he let Nature help us maintain and create life on Earth.

         All living beings rely on the soil to live. The weather helps to make the soil. When the weather gets hot, rocks can get bigger. When the weather turns cold, rocks can get smaller. If this happens often enough, the rock will crack and break up into small pieces that break into even smaller pieces. (The Spiritist volunteer should now get pieces of rock from inside the bag and show it to the children. Don’t hand the rocks to the children as they might hurt each other; this is for health and safety reasons)

         When the rocks get really small they turn into soil. Rain and ice can also get into rocks and break them apart. So, believe me, the weather does help make soil. (The Spiritist volunteer could now, if time permits, get a water spray and spray it over the rocks. Don’t hand the rocks to the children as they might hurt each other; this is for health and safety reasons)

         The Soil can come in different colour, such as black, red, yellow, white, brown and even grey! It also has lots of colourful leaves, tree sticks and dead bugs on it. (The Spiritist volunteer should now place the pieces of rock inside the bag. Get dead leaves, tree sticks and pictures of dead bugs from inside the bag. Show it to the children)

         Plants love the soil as it has a lot of the things that plants need to satisfy their appetites.

         Note: Place big pieces of rock inside the bag in order to avoid choking. Get dead leaves, tree sticks and pictures of dead bugs, as well as worms, placed inside the same bag the root vegetables came from.

         Seventh: Ask the children - what can we do to help the soil and the plants? Listen to their answers.

         Tell the children that plants have something very special we also have in our bodies! They have vital fluid! This is a fluid that gives life to all living beings. It is the fluid of life that helps maintain the vitality of our physical bodies. The Spiritist volunteer should bring water bubbles and sprinkle the root vegetables and explain that all living beings have received this sprinkle of life from God our Creator.

         Teach them a new song:

         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

         Eighth: Get the children to create a picture about the soil and the plants. Please give them colourful dead leaves to decorate their work. Please preferably give them recycled paper to show them the importance of recycling.

         Ninth: Get the children to Grow a Bean Plant in a Cup

         Things Needed
         Plastic cup
         Soil
         Bean

         Instructions
         1. Give each child a bean seed, a handful of soil and a plastic cup
         2. Create a hole in the soil at the centre of the cup by pressing one finger into the soil to a depth of 1 inch.
         3. Place the bean in the bottom of the hole. Fill in the hole with soil and lightly compress the soil so that it is no longer loose. Do not compress the soil too much, or the roots and other growing parts will be hindered as they try to grow through the soil.
         4. Water the seed gently by sprinkling enough water on the soil to moisten it. Beans grow best in soil that is moist, rather than wet.
         5. Tell the children they will need to place the cup in a location that will receive sunlight for at least six to eight hours a day and water as needed for the soil to stay moist.

         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.
         Tenth (7:45pm – 8:00pm) – Parents will come to get their children and sign the necessary forms

         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.