LETTER

For a long time people just thought that a rock was just a rock, an apple was just an apple. They didn’t wonder what Stuff it was made of.  But you already know that gingerbread boys are made of dough and that dough has different things in it, like flour, eggs, milk, right? You are already smarter than most people who lived a long time ago!  But there were some guys in Greece who figured out that matter must be made of much smaller things and they called those things atoms.
They believed that the atom was the smallest thing in the world and that it was used to create bigger things. For a long time the atom was known as the building block of matter. Imagine scientists use the words “building blocks” just like you do when you play with Legos and blocks.

To get an even better idea of what atoms are like, Close your eyes and see yourself building a sand castle at the beach. You would see the shape of the castle, and you would call it a castle, but you would know it was really many many grains of sand. Think about how many tiny grains of sand there are in that castle shape. You can see a grain of sand, but you can’t see an atom.  An atom is like one of those tiny grains of sand only even smaller. Or you could build a house with your Lego blocks instead of a castle.  Each of those Lego pieces would be like an atom (only Legos are MUCH bigger than either sand or atoms) but you get the idea that all matter consists of these tiny atoms. And atoms are also constantly moving very fast. If we had a big powerful electron microscope, we might be able to see the atoms dancing!

Lessons

1) Get some wet sand and make it into a shape. Try to count how many grains of sand there are in the shape.  (I bet you can’t but it will give you some idea of how small atoms are)

2) Take your Legos and build something. Show us how the Legos function like atoms in matter.

3) If you have a newspaper, use a magnifying glass to see the tiny dots that make up the photo The dots are almost invisible, kind of like atoms are invisible, but they are there!!!  So everything we can see is made up of these invisible atoms.

Week 2 continues discussion of the atom:  Is the atom the smallest thing in the world?

LETTER

Remember the cookie dough?  Well you’re not a Gingerbread Boy!  But the question is, what are you made of?  You probably have lots of answers: skin, blood, bones, hair, fingernails.  Suppose you drew me a picture of yourself with those colored pens you like so much.  The edges of yourself would be your sleeves, the shoes on your feet, the hair on your head.  You might even add some trees and plants and grass so your picture shows you standing on something.  All the things you have drawn in your picture are called MATTER but for now, we can just call it “stuff.”  Everything you can see, hear, touch, taste or smell is made of matter/ stuff.  Look around you. What are all the different kinds of matter/ stuff you can see? Tree stuff, star stuff, water stuff, people stuff.  There no end to all the things you can name.  And you can make a game figuring out all the different names we give to the stuff of our world

Lessons

1) Well if we’re all made of the same stuff, what does it look like? Go around the classroom and collect lots of different things: toys, Legos, shells, candy, plants, buttons, crayons – whatever you find. Now pick each one up. How heavy is it?  What is the lightest thing in your collection?  Just like the cookies you made, these are also made of “stuff.” And we call that stuff matter. Regardless of what it looks like, if you can see it, feel it, hear it, taste it or smell it, it is STUFF.  Grownups call that stuff MATTER

2)  With your friend make a list of everything that you can see that we would call matter.

3)  Show pictures of different objects. Ask kids which senses they use to describe the object.
Examples:
Bird: sight, sound, maybe touch
Cookie: touch, taste, sight
Other possibilities: Water; lemon; rock, etc.

4)  Rhythm Clapping:  If you can see it (clap clap)…It’s Matter   (clap clap)  If you can hear it (clap clap)  It’s Matter (clap clap) etc

5) Sound effects story Jesus Calms the Storm Mark 4:36-41 from The Rhyming Bible

LETTER

Remember how I said we are each special?  Well in some ways we are all the same.  How can that be – both special and the same? When you and your mom bake gingerbread cookies, you use those cookie cutters to make all sorts of different shapes, but it’s all the same dough.  No matter how different each cookie looks, it’s always the same dough.

I like that because while being different is great, it’s also really nice to know that in some ways, we are just like every other human being.  We all have bodies and feelings, and hopes and fears even though we may not talk about it much.  It brings us together – kind of like a big family.
Think about it.  How are you different from your friends?  In what ways are you alike? Some may be taller or more friendly or better at something than others, but you all eat and sleep and learn things and grow.

Lessons

1) Cookie baking time! You will need cookie dough, roller and a cookie cutter in different shapes: circle, four-leaf clover, gingerbread man, star.  You decide.  The point is to use as many different shapes as you can.  Then bake and eat!

2) But remember, even though every cookie looks different, it’s the same dough!  We are all made of the same stuff that all other people are made of. Talk about what is the same in each of us: skin, hair, etc. What things do we do that are the same?

3) Play a game where your child can sort objects according to color, shape, etc. showing how they are the same or different.

4) Create noise makers for same/different sounds.  Have kids differentiate which sound the same or different.

LETTER:

When I was your age, I loved going to the beach.  Where I lived, the beaches were very rocky, covered with stones of all different sizes, shapes, and colors.  I liked to collect them and my pockets were always bulging with rocks that I wanted to keep.  One day as I was walking on the beach, I realized that every rock on the beach was different – every single one. No two rocks were the same.  Have you ever done that?  Tried to find two rocks that are exactly alike?  I’ll bet you can’t!

Machines can make the same thing over and over like paper dolls or Legos or toy cars, but nature (everything outside like trees, rocks, plants) never does the same thing twice.  Everything in nature is different and special.  Since we are part of nature, we are special too, each one of us.

Why is it important that we are each our own special self, different from anyone else?  Because nature teaches us that differences make a stronger and more beautiful planet. If you weren’t here, the world would miss you because no one else can take your place.  It’s like being in the school play or on the soccer team. If you were sick and couldn’t be there, everyone would notice you were gone and miss you.  So just remember, you are special for a very special reason.

Lessons

1) If you live near a beach, go and find rocks that you like.  Lay them on the sand and really look at them.  Are there any that are exactly the same?  Arrange them in a pattern or according to size or any other way you want to see them.  Choose one rock that you really like and bring it home with you.  Maybe you can take a picture of it for your book and have your friend write down your story about what happened on your visit to the beach.

2) In class, bring rocks to class and let each child choose two. Have them talk about what is different about each rock. i.e. what makes them unique.

3)  Then each child chooses a partner. Try to find 3 things about each of them that are the same and 3 things that are different. Partners share with the class.  Then each child draws a picture of him/herself and then tells what makes them different/special.  “What makes me ME!”

The many years I spent in education were full of exciting moments when a child’s mind came alive, when connections were made with new ideas, when there was an “aha” experience.  But in spite of this, I always wished I could open children’s minds and hearts to something more; to help them realize they were part of a larger universe, that their individual lives mattered; that while they would grow up and leave school, they would never lose their deeper connection to the world of Spirit.

When my first grandchild was born, I began a series of letters to him about these ideas.
I drew on metaphysical teachings, recent scientific discoveries, indigenous wisdom and other religious traditions.  All were intended to create opportunities to think and talk together. Now, a decade later, these letters form the core of a curriculum that the Center for Spiritual Living Tacoma has generously given me an opportunity to introduce in the Sunday Youth program.

We will share each lesson with you online so that you can discuss the ideas with your children or, if you miss a Sunday, you can create your own class since teaching objectives and project ideas are included.

We would love to hear from you if you have questions or comments. Please contact us on the CSL Facebook page.

Elsa Bowman

After the tour ended, I enrolled in ministerial school in Seattle. We lived in Seattle for four years, and then I took my first church in Atlanta, Georgia. From there we moved back to the NW Region when the Tacoma church opened up in 1997.

Ken Keyes said a successful marriage was one in which the couple collaborated on the “great adventure of life.” It’s been that for sure.

Now we will celebrate 24 years together as we travel by train to Minneapolis, MN  for a family reunion on Mario’s Shea side of the family. It continues to be a fun ride!

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