The Soil and The Plants
First: Opening prayer get the children to repeat after the Spiritist volunteer. As weeks go by the Spiritist Worker 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.
http://www.sermons4kids.com/jesus_is_my_best_friend_1x.pdf
http://www.sermons4kids.com/jesus_is_my_best_friend_1x.mp3
http://www.sermons4kids.com/jesus_loves_the_little_children.pdf
http://www.sermons4kids.com/jesus_loves_the_little_children.mp3
Third: Tell the children the story called The persistent little seed
The volunteer will introduce the concept of vital fluid to the children by showing them that the bubbles are the vital fluid, which gives light to the plants, animals and human beings. Introduce the song below as the story is being told:
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.
Tune: London Bridge is falling down
Fourth: Watch the parable video - The sower and the seeds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4sjm4fyuJU
Fifth: Tell the children The Parable of the Sower. Please see following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ogbEmhltCM
The worker here created a golden box which let her show the children that parables are just as valuable as gold. She then pulled the characters of the story, as the parable in being told. This is a great technique that managed to grab all children’s attention as they were curious to see what was inside the golden box.
The Parable of the Sower
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
Sixth: Screen The Parable of the Sower video, taken from the DVD called ‘The Sower’ – 10 stories Jesus told; parables for kids.
Seventh: Ask the children the following questions:
What is a sower?
What is a seed?
What happened to the seeds that fell on the path?
What happened to the seed that fell in the rocky soil?
What happened to the seeds that fell in the middle of thorn?
And what happened to the seed that fell in the good soil?
Which one was the best soil? Explain to them that our heart is like the 4 different types of soil presented in the story. Every time we learn a good lesson and act well we are like the seed which fell in good soil and became a beautiful plant!.
Eighth: Get the children to ‘follow the leader’: The volunteer will go through the steps in which the seed needed to go through in order to become a beautiful plant. Get another volunteer to blow ‘vital fluid’ on the little seeds in order to get them to become a plant.
Ninth: Get the children to mimic and tell us the story of the sower. Get them to sing the vital fluid song one more time.
Tenth: Watch the Video Sid The Seed, which explains how the seed becomes a tree: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm12JKhNnWY
Eleventh: The children will now draw a seed and a beautiful tree, colouring as they wish. Bring stickers so they can decorate their work. Ask the children how the process is for a little seed to become a beautiful flower. The Spiritist worker can make a connection with the parable told at the beginning of the class. Ask the children about the different types of soil and what type they would like to be.
Explain to the kids the importance of the quality of the “seeds” we all sow.
Ask them for examples of being a sower of love, kindness and affection.
Ask them for examples of being a sower of badness, evil and destruction.
Ask them which one is better; to enable us to have a peaceful world.
Ask them which one they choose to be.
Twelfth: Closing prayer - 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.
Extra activity.
Class suggested being suitable for: Kindergarten (5 to 6 years old).
Spiritist volunteer: Carolina von Scharten, London, linked to BUSS - The British Union of Spiritist Societies.
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