Feelings are Important

AIM: Understanding feelings, though taken for granted, are very critical in a child's development. 

They aid in personal well being as well as building new relationships. In this lesson we focus on helping children identify and manage their as well as other's feelings. 

Kids are very receptive to feelings. They instinctively know when someone is hurting. However they may or may not always know how to deal with varying situations. 

We began by showing kids some faces and asked them to identify the feelings therein. 

Images got from here

So how do you thing our pal (lets call him Ken) feels today? 

Why do you think he feels that way? Does Jesus likes us being Happy? 

What about now? How does Ken feel now? 

Why do you think Ken feels sad now? 

Do you ever feel sad? When? Why does that happen? Do you think Jesus wants you to feel sad? 

What can I do to feel better? 

What has happened to Ken now? He sure looks angry now, doesn't he? 

Wonder what made him this mad? Do you get mad at times? What causes you to get angry? What do you do when you are angry? Is it right to show your feelings? Is it right to show my feeling by hurting others? What would Jesus do? Did Jesus ever get angry? 

oh! oh! looks like Ken here is a little nervous!! He must be nervous about something thats about to happen - or he might be thinking its about to happen....We all feel nervous at times. I feel nervous when I am waiting for some news to reach me....Is it ok to be nervous? For how long? Should i get sick with nervousness? 

Heres Ken now. He looks scared. I hope he does not stay that way for long! We all get scared, but we should remain scared forever. God wants us to be free !!

Ahhh , here's Ken , feeling loved and content. You too are loved. You too are special . Smile always because you are special and you are loved - Always!!

Feelings are very important. It is okay to feel sad, hurt, scared even angry. But its not always okay to act on our feelings. If I am angry , its okay to let my friends and family know I am angry - but hat does not give me the right to punch someone !!! I will make them angry- and if they get angry and punch me back - It will be a mess!!

JESUS had feelings too: 

Jesus was angry too, when He saw sellers in His Father's house in the temple. He showed His feelings to everyone- BUT He did not go about hitting and shouting at anyone!!He did what was necessary. 

Jesus was scared too ( as human - as you and me) when He was about to die and He was praying to His Father - but He did not run away from His problems. He faced them and it passed. Our problems too will pass - but we must take it Jesus in prayer. He will help us. He will send His angels to help us. 

Jesus used to laugh and smile a lot with His friends. He had lots of friends. Jesus wants us to be happy the same way always. 

So what do we do? 

1) when I really want something real bad? 

First of all, ALWAYS ask Nicely. It is always good to be polite. Request - Never snatch. Do it with a smile. 

Try it. If you snatch what is not yours - you will be making your friend very angry and there can be sadness and a fight. 

2) When someone is teasing me, annoying me? 

If there is no teacher or adult (like your parent nearby) .

First ask them to " Please Stop"  

If they still do not listen,  The best would be to IGNORE till you get some help. It will be noce of you to pray for them , once you get home- before that please go somewhere safe. 

3) What is the best way to be happy and play fair? 

Share with friends. Sharing is Caring. 

Say, "Please" 

Play fair, play together

Wait your turn while playing. 

Action Song: 

I AM HAPPY TODAY: 

I happy today, I’m happy today,
In Jesus Christ I’m happy today,
He’s taken all my sins away,
And that’s why I’m happy today.

I'm sharing today,I’m sharing today,
In Jesus Christ I’m sharing today,
He’s taken all my sins away,
And that’s why I’m sharing today.

I'm praying today, I’m praying today,
In Jesus Christ I’m praying today,
 He’s taken all my sins away,
And that’s why I’m praying today.

I'm smiling today, I’m smiling today,
In Jesus Christ I’m singing today,
He’s taken all my sins away,
And that’s why I’m smiling today.

I'm singing today, I’m singing today,
In Jesus Christ I’m singing today,
He’s taken all my sins away,
And that’s why I’m singing today.

I happy today,  I’m sharing today,
In Jesus Christ I’m praying today,
He’s taken all my sins away,
And that’s why I’m singing today.

IMAGE COURTESY : http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/resources/research.html

PARABLE OF THE LOST COIN

AIM: To teach children how much God values us - and how much he wants us to be with Him always.
Teach them the value of saying sorry to God and being with Him at all times.

Revision:
What are Parables?
Parables are stories that Jesus told with examples to teach us special lessons. Parables were short and simple but had very good (read deep, moral and spiritual ) lessons behind them.

PARABLE OF THE LOST COIN: 

Images from here 

Bible Passage: Lk 15:8-10

Jesus was talking to a lot of people. He liked people and liked to listen to what they say. He enjoyed spending time with them and while He was at it, He loved talking to them about God,His Father in Heaven.
One day, while He was about His Father's work, some Pharisees and teachers of the law (Very interlligent people who studied a lot, taught others and followed laws very strictly) saw Him and started to grumble amongst themselves.
They wondered why Jesus, such a good man who never did anything wrong wanted to be with "sinners" or people who always disobeyed what God asked them to do.

Jesus wanted to tell them that God loved everyone, especially those who wanted to go far from God by disobeying them. He wanted to tell them that God eagerly waited His "lost " children's return and always kept looking for them.

He told them a story about a woman who had 10 silver coins.

In the time when Jesus lived, women used to wear a headband made of silver coins on their forehead. It was the "fashion" of those days. Like many women of her time, this lady too had a similar band. She was extremely fond of it, and never missed an opportunity to wear it. 

One day, as she was working, she noticed one coin missing. 

She was very upset. She could not rest till she found it. She began to search for it everywhere.

She swept her house.

 She searched every corner.

 She looked in different rooms.












She bent and searched the floor.

 As it grew darker, she lit a lamp and searched all over the place.
 High and low she searched, and could not rest.

Finally, in the end - she found her coin.

  What joy!! What happiness!

She found her lost coin!!She ran to tell her friends and neighbours about her find!!

She tells them , "Rejoice with me. I have found my lost coin" 

 And so it is with God our Father. Just like this woman did not rest till she found her lost coin and ultimately rejoiced when she found it, so are we precious to our Lord. He wont rest till he seeks us out and are re-united with Him.

Jesus went on to say, "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of Angels of God over one sinner who repents."

Remember: 

God Loves You very Much.
He thought of you when He made the world.
How special you must be in God's eyes!!
God wants you near Him in your thoughts and in prayers.
He wants to love you and wants you to love Him.
When we wrong God by our actions, all we need to do is say "I'm Sorry, God" , that way God finds us even more easily.
All Angels in Heaven join God in celebration when we do that.


Action Song: 

Jesus Loves me.

Creation - God Made Everything

AIM:     God made everything. The aim of this lesson is to enforce the Creative Will and Purpose of God. 

Everything that God created is inherently good. God Blesses works of His hands. We are created in the image and likeness of God, Our Father. 

Creation Story according to Genesis
Reproduced from here

Kid's Animated Creation Video
 Reproduced from here

Isn't that simply Awesome? 
Our God is an Awesome God. 
Who can make such beauty? Such Magnificence? and all this for whom? 
For you - and for me - for us to love and care and take care of!!
So here is what we learnt : 

CREATION STORY : 

In the beginning there was Nothing - no earth , no people, no sky, no animals NOTHING!!

Can you imagine that? 

There was only empty space - it was dark - nothing!!!

But God had a magnificent plan - he wanted to MAKE something. He wanted to make Someone!! He wanted to make you and me!!!

So what do you think He did? 

Our God is so great and so loving - He thought of us and decided to make the world READY for us!! 

So here's what He did: 

DAY 1: 

And then God spoke in the darkness:  “Let there be light!”  

And right away there was light. 

God found it good and He divided the Light from the Darkness .

God gave them a name each. God called the Light time "Day" and the Dark time " Night" 

So that's how the very first Day and Night started!!

So the morning, evening , the night passed that was the FIRST DAY!!!

DAY 2: 

On the second day, God made the Land and then He made a Sky to hang above the Land. 

God stood back and took a look - He liked all that He saw and said, "It is Good" 

And so the second day was over.

DAY 3: 
God then got busy arranging the Land. He decided to separate the land and the water. 
He brought all the dry land together and called it Earth.Then he brought all the water together and called it Seas

When God finished this - He commanded the earth to bring forth grass, fruit yielding trees - and so he made lovely flowers of every kind roses, daffodils, tulips, apple trees, pear trees etc. 

And so the earth had flowers, grass and lots of tress!

God looked back and saw  that it was good. Morning came and Night came - that was the end of the third day!

DAY 4: 

The next day, God decided to make the Sun and the Moon.

Sun to rule over day time  

and moon to rule over night time. And it was done. The Sun and the Moon marked day and night as well as seasons. 

God looked on and saw it was all good. He was pleased with His work so far. 

So ended the fourth day. 

DAY 5: 

God decided He would not leave the sea alone and decided to make it even better. 

He wanted the water to have life - and so it was - Every kind of fish - big, small  started swimming in the seas!!

Splendid - don't you think? 

But that was not enough - God looked at the sky - saw it was empty and commanded it to have life as well. 

Lo and behold!! There were every type of bird- colourful and beautiful flying  in the sky!!!

The dusk fell over the water and the sky grew dark and that was the end of the fifth day.

DAY 6:

On Day 6, God decided to fill the land with animals - 

and animals there were of every colour, size and shape. 

there were horses, pigs, lions, tigers, bears, even rabbits and ants!!

After doing all that, God decided to add one last finishing touch - to complete it and make it better. 

He decided to make Man. 

And so a Man He made - He made Man in His own image and likeness!!

God saw all He made and said "It is Good" . 

DAY 7: 

On the seventh day, God rested. 

QUESTIONS TO PONDER 

1) Who made the Universe? 

Ans. God Made the Universe. 

2) Who made Everything? 

Ans. God made everything. 

3) Who made Man? 

Ans. God made man. 

4) Who made you? 

God made me. 

ACTION SONG: 

He's got the whole world in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands!

He's got the itty, bitty, baby in His hands,
He's got the itty, bitty baby in His hands,
He's got the itty, bitty baby in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands!

St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese of Lisieux, also known as St. Therese Little Flower of Child Jesus or just Little Flower, is the Patron Saint of our parish. 

We celebrate her feast day on October 1st. 

St. Therese is a saint of Modern Times. Her way was simple and easy to follow. Her way is the way of Love. 

Therese was born in France, the last of nine children. 

Her mother died when she was just 4 years old. 

She was almost entirely brought up by her father and older sisters. 

At a very young age she entered the Carmelite convent in Lisieux.

She lived a simple life , hidden in prayer. 

She died at the young age of 24. 

Her last words were " My God, I Love you!"

Her Autobiography " Story of a Soul" is a Catholic Classic and gives us great insights. 

Her teaching is very simple and yet profound. She told us to love God like a child loves their Father. She was canonized on May 17 1925 by Pope Pius XI.Pope John Paul II declared her as a Doctor of the Church in 1997.