WORLD OF WONDER A Tapestry of Faith Program for Children Kindergarten-1st Grade BY REV. ALICE ANACHEKA-NASEMANN, PAT KAHN, AND JULIE SIMON © Copyright 2013 Unitarian Universalist Association. This program and additional resources are available on the UUA.org web site at www.uua.org/tapestryoffaith. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABOUT THE AUTHORS ......................................................................................................................................................... 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................................................................................................... 3 PREFACE ............................................................................................................................................................................... 4 THE PROGRAM...................................................................................................................................................................... 5 SESSION 1: THE WEB OF LIFE .......................................................................................................................................... 16 SESSION 2: NATURE'S PARTNERSHIPS .......................................................................................................................... 34 SESSION 3: THANKS BE FOR TREES! .............................................................................................................................. 55 SESSION 4: BALANCE IN OUR ECOSYSTEM ................................................................................................................... 68 SESSION 5: HABITATS ........................................................................................................................................................ 80 SESSION 6: LIFECYCLES ................................................................................................................................................... 91 SESSION 7: DECOMPOSITION......................................................................................................................................... 102 SESSION 8: LIFE-GIVING PLANTS ................................................................................................................................... 115 SESSION 9: CREATIVITY IN NATURE ............................................................................................................................. 128 SESSION 10: JOY IN NATURE: ANIMAL PLAY ................................................................................................................ 140 SESSION 11: KINDNESS IN NATURE .............................................................................................................................. 153 SESSION 12: BEAUTY IN NATURE .................................................................................................................................. 166 SESSION 13: GREEN ENERGY ........................................................................................................................................ 176 SESSION 14: ENOUGH STUFF ......................................................................................................................................... 188 SESSION 15: WORKING TOGETHER TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE .................................................................................. 201 SESSION 16: USING OUR SENSES OF WONDER.......................................................................................................... 213 Note: If you add or delete text in this program, you may change the accuracy of the Table of Contents. The Table of Contents is an auto-generated list; if you change content and want an accurate representation of the page numbers listed in the TOC, click the table and click “Update Field.” Then, click “Update page numbers only.” Click OK. 2 ABOUT THE AUTHORS Reverend Alice Anacheka-Nasemann serves as the associate minister at the Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson (Massachusetts). Previously she served as a director of religious education at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Oneonta (New York) and the Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson. A graduate of Andover Newton Theological School, Alice is an ordained minister in final fellowship with the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. Alice earned a bachelor's degree in early childhood development at Friends World College. Her college years included travel and study in Kenya, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua and internships focused on the educational needs of homeless children, gifted learners, adolescents with special needs, and orphans. Pat Kahn has served since November, 2011 as the Children and Families Program Director in the Resource Development Office of the Ministries and Faith Development staff group of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Previously, Pat served for more than 15 years as director of religious education at two Atlanta area congregations. She has served on the board and Integrity Team of the Liberal Religious Educators Association (LREDA), on the leadership team of the Southeast LREDA chapter, and in several capacities for the MidSouth District of the UUA. Pat is a Credentialed Religious Educator and served as a mentor for the RE Credentialing program. She holds a B.A. in Music from Smith College in Northampton, MA. Julie Simon is a freelance writer specializing in environmental education, green energy, sustainable transportation, health, and technology topics. Since 2004, she has also served as a naturalist at the Chattahoochee Nature Center guiding students and campers to explore the woodlands and wetlands along the Chattahoochee River. She authored a chapter of the forthcoming (2013) book Developing Environmental Awareness in Children: A Nature Studies Guide for Parents and Educators. At the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta where she is a member, she has served on the Children's Ministry Team. One of her favorite activities is stalking wildflowers, mushrooms, and salamanders with her family in the North Georgia mountains. A graduate of the University of Virginia, Julie holds an M.S. in Land Resources from the University of Wisconsin (Madison). ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Christine Rafal to Sessions 5, 8, and 12. We gratefully acknowledge: Barefoot Books (at www.barefootbooks.com) for permission to adapt these stories from The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales by Dawn Casey and Anne Wilson: "The Grumpy Gecko" in Session 1 "Amrita's Tree" in Session 3 "Why the Sky is Far Away" in Session 4 Beacon Press (at www.beacon.org/) for permission to adapt these stories: "And It is Good" from A Lamp in Every Corner by Janeen Grohsmeyer in Session 7 "A Caterpillar Grows Up" from A Family Finds Out by Edith Hunter in Session 6 Jewish Lights Press for permission to adapt the book Noah's Wife: The Story of Naamah, text copyright 1996 Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, in Session 8. Permission granted by Jewish Lights Publishing, Woodstock, VT, www.jewishlights.com Sarah Conover for permission to use the story "The Noble Ibex" from Kindness: A Treasury of Buddhist Wisdom for Children and Parents in Session 11. Tapestry of Faith Core Team The following UUA staff brought Tapestry to fruition: Judith A. Frediani, Curriculum Director, Tapestry Project Director Adrianne Ross, Project Manager Susan Dana Lawrence, Managing Editor Jessica York, Youth Programs Director 3 Gail Forsyth-Vail, Adult Programs Director Pat Kahn, Children and Family Programs Director Alicia LeBlanc, Administrative and Editorial Assistant We are grateful to these former UUA staff members who contributed to the conceptualization and launch of Tapestry of Faith: Tracy L. Hurd Sarah Gibb Millspaugh Aisha Hauser Pat Hoertdoerfer Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley PREFACE Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods and The Nature Principle, said in an interview in the March/April 2007 Orion Magazine (at www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/240/): Studies show that almost to a person conservationists or environmentalists—whatever we want to call them—had some transcendent experience in nature when they were children. For some, the epiphanies took place in a national park; for others, in the clump of trees at the end of the cul-de-sac. But if experiences in nature are radically reduced for future generations, where will stewards of the Earth come from? We hope that Unitarian Universalist families and communities of faith will be places from which future stewards of the earth will come and that World of Wonder will be a program that inspires and nurtures children on that journey. Loree Griffin Burns, a Unitarian Universalist and the author of Citizen Scientist, says: I've been a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester (Massachusetts) for nearly fifteen years and can tell you that the people I've met and experiences I've had there have had a strong influence on my writing. My work in our religious education program truly opened me up to the idea that one way we can share difficult stories with children—particularly stories of environmental degradation—is by giving them something meaningful to do about the issues. Things they can do with their own hands in their own communities. Children need to know they can make a difference. This program seeks to nurture their growing sense of agency to affect their world in a positive way. 4 • Engage children in direct experiences with