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Early Stage 1 Module

God Loves Me

God Loves Me

Module Focus

In this module, students will explore the many ways that they are loved by God. God’s love is not simple and embraces people and creation in many ways. In a simple way, children will be introduced to the concept that God is a God of many natures. Effectively, this is an early introduction the concept of Trinity. They will learn of God’s love through the gift of creation, a gift given for us to enjoy and for which we must care. God’s love is experienced through Jesus, who showed and taught us how to love. We also experience God’s active love in the world today (Holy Spirit) in ourselves, through loving people in our lives and through creation renewing itself for us.

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Outcomes

GRHD ES1.1: Expresses an understanding of God’s love in the world.

PS ES1.4: Participates in ways Catholics communicate with and celebrate God’s presence.

S ES1.5: Identifies the Bible as a book containing special stories about God and God’s people.

Learn About Learn To

GRHD ES1.1: God’s love for all God’s desire for love to be shared The expression of God’s love through the caring people in

their lives

PS ES 1.4 Liturgy as a way of celebrating God’s love. The communication of God’s love through prayer.

S ES 1.5 Bible stories illustrating God’s love. Creation as a reflection of god’s goodness. Jesus as a living illustration of God’s love.

GRHD ES1.1: Observe and reflect upon God’s love in the

world, in creation and in relationships Talk about and listen to experiences of love Name God as the source of all love

PS ES 1.4 Participate reverently and appropriately in

prayer and liturgy.

S ES 1.5 Listen, retell and respond to stories recorded in

the Bible. Reflect on how the Bible tells us of God’s love.

DISCIPLESHIP CHALLENGE

Students are challenged to realise God’s Love for all Students are challenged to pray and celebrate through liturgy Students are challenged to hear and celebrate the Word of God.

Catholic Discipleship

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We come to know God’s love through our neighbour. The love of our neighbour is our pathway to God. In God and with God, we are called to love even the people we do not like, looking upon these people with the same perspective as Jesus Christ. Jesus identified with those in need and those who were outcast from society. For Jesus, love of God and neighbour became one. This is our call as Catholic disciples , which we practise in a church community which is called to be a community of love. As Catholic disciples we are also called to care for God’s gift of creation. In fact, we are stewards of God’s gift of creation; we must care for it so that it continues for future generations.

Prayer Focus

The prayer focus in this module is the “Glory be to the Father”. This prayer also called the Gloria Patri is a doxology or a statement of belief. It is a hymn of praise to God, which has been attributed to the writing of St Basil. The “Glory Be” is one of the prayers included in the Rosary. This prayer expresses our belief in a Trinitarian God. “As we explore the nature of God from the different facets we perceive, we can see God “beyond me”-creator, God “beside me” as friend and companion in Jesus, and “God within me” as Holy Spirit” (Bosco Peters, 2007 at www.liturgy.co.nz ).

It is not expected that children will understand this prayer, but it is important for them to come to know this prayer, which is one of the important prayers of our Catholic tradition. By the gentle introduction to the idea that our God has different natures in this module, the foundation may be created for a later relationship with a Trinitarian God.

Core Scripture

1 Jn 2: 29- 3:1 We are called God’s children

“You know that Christ is good; you should know, then, that everyone… is God’s child. See how much the Father has loved us! His love is so great that we are called God’s children” (adapted version for young children).

Associated Scripture

Jn 13:34 A new Commandment

“And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples.”

Isa 43:1, 4 I have called you by name

“Do not be afraid I am with you, I have called you by name-you are mine…you are precious to me and because I love you and give you honour”.

Scripture in Context

1 Jn 2: 29- 3:1 We are called God’s children (from the Christian scriptures, after the death of Jesus)

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This letter is written in the spirit and tradition of the Gospel writer, John. It is not known how much was actually written by the evangelist or whether much was written by a group of his supporters. This short epistle from which this quote is taken was written by a pastor with an urgent pastoral concern and deep love for the people. At the time there were divisions in the Christian community. The letters of John call these people to reflect upon what they received in their baptismal catechesis and to apply this to their everyday lives.

It is important for us to see how this letter applies to our lives today. John’s words are full of hope, because we are seen as special objects of God’s love. God’s love is so gracious that it continues even when we are angry and ungrateful. Our God is a loving, forgiving and comforting God. We are loved by God with the love a parent has for their child.

Jn 13:34 A new Commandment (from the Gospel of John)

These are Jesus’ last words to his disciples in the Gospel of John. Significantly, Jesus gave this commandment after he had washed his disciples’ feet (a story that does not appear in the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke). By washing his disciples’ feet, Jesus humbled himself at the feet of his followers. He called his followers to lives of loving service. Such a gentle, humble, self-giving love is the fundamental principle upon which Jewish and Christian traditions are built.

Love is a constant theme in Judeo-Christian scriptures. The Old Testament calls us to love our God with our whole hearts, souls and minds and to love our neighbours as we would love ourselves. However, Jesus’ new commandment adds a different perspective. He asked his followers to love others as he had loved them. He loved his disciples so much that he washed their feet and later stretched out his arms to all in love on the cross.

This passage is significant to disciples today. We are challenged like Jesus’ disciples to give loving service to others, and by doing so we are effectively loving God. When we reflect on the importance of the word, “new”, as disciples of Jesus, we are called to consider a new way of loving. We may be called to develop new attitudes to our relationships. A new way of loving may require new ways of thinking, feeling, acting, listening and interacting. At the heart of discipleship is the way we interact with others. A disciple of Christ is defined not by their individuality, but by their relationships with others and with creation. As loving disciples, we are called to reach out to others, no matter what their response. It is challenging to reach out to those we do not like, those who are distant, those who are marginalised. Jesus showed us how to respond as he prayed for those who nailed him to the cross.

The new commandment calls us to question ourselves:

Do I care for people outside of my family and close friends? Who should I care for? How can I care for people who are distant and marginalised? How can I help to make people who are hurting whole again? Do I love myself so that I can love others?

Isa 43:1, 4 I have called you by name (from the Old Testament)

At the time of the Babylonian exile, an extraordinary prophet appeared. His message was profound, but we do not know his name. He adopted and extended the themes of the prophet, Isaiah, and so he is often called the “second Isaiah”. His writings have been included in the book of Isaiah, chapters 40-55. These writings are addressed to people suffering in exile. He helped try to dispel the peoples’ fear, providing hope and preparing them for a time of homecoming. He told the people that God had not forgotten them, and that after the humiliation and pain would come light. It is in this setting that this prophet wrote that God loved the exiled people so much that he knew each of them by name.

As with all texts in scripture, we try to discover the meaning for us in a text that was written for people living in a particular context thousands of years ago. Whilst we do not live in exile, many of us experience different types of isolation, and those of us who don’t, need to be able to recognise isolation in others and reach out to them. We need to identify that there are people such as refugees who are living in exile today. God knows when we are isolated or in pain God Loves Me Early Stage 1 Page | 5

and will be with us no matter what. Names are keys to our identity, and hold some of our stories. The fact that God knows us each by name means that God desires a personal relationship with each of us.

Catechism of the Catholic Church for teacher reference

Compendium # 42 In what way does God reveal that he is love?

nn.218-221

Compendium # 59 What did God create?

nn. 325-327

Compendium # 66 In what sense do we understand man and woman as created “in the image of God”?

Compendium #358 What is the root of human dignity?

nn. 1700-1748

Compendium # 404 What is required for an authentic human society?

1886-89, 1895-96

Compendium #520 By what is love for the poor inspired?

nn.2443-49, 2462-63

Background for Teachers

God is Love

The Christian image of God is that of a God of love. Love is the fundamental quality through which we make decisions in our lives as Christians. Love is a key theme of the Jewish scriptures e.g. “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Leviticus 19:17). However, the Gospels bring an added depth through which the love of God and the love of Jesus become ultimately connected with our salvation, as illustrated in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life.” Love in the Christian sense is a journey to liberation through self-giving.

The love of God is not a single reality, but has many dimensions. As we come to know God’s love, we experience God’s different natures, and learn of our Trinitarian God. Our Christian image of a triune God is that of a community of persons existing in and through and for each other. This God is a God who is loving, relational, conversational, empowering and collaborative. Our behaviour begins in our imagination. The way we imagine God makes all the difference to the way we are in the world. When we imagine a loving God of different natures, we can put our own spirit of love into action.

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God the Father (and Mother), Creator God: Through the gift of creation, the image of God and image of humanity are united in love. Humankind was created in the image and likeness of God. All of creation, including humankind is loved by God. God’s passionate love for humanity is an ever forgiving love, “I took them up in my arms; but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with chords of human kindness, with bands of love. I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down and fed them” (Hosea 11:3-4). By becoming human, God’s love reached the point of following humankind into death.

Jesus Christ: Jesus Christ is the incarnate love of God. As Jesus became a worldly reality, he became the sacrament of our encounter with a loving God. God’s divine activity takes form in the way that Jesus lived his life, looking for the lost ones, finding the stray sheep, reaching out to those on the fringes. This mission of love is the very reason for Jesus’ being. Jesus’ life was the beginning of a new encounter between humankind and God. The Cross is God’s love in its most radical form. God is love for us through the Cross.

Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is God active in the world today through creation and through people. Recognising the Spirit of God in ourselves, others and in creation inspires our journey from fear to love. The more we are awakened to the Spirit of Love in ourselves, the more we can bring that Spirit of Love to others. Through God’s Spirit of Love, we are called to take God to the boundaries, to the edge where exclusionism is at its utmost, so that our circle of love may be experienced again.

(Adapted from David Ranson’s presentation at the 2006 REC Conference)

How do we know God’s love?

We come to know God’s love through the gift of creation. We are entirely beneficiaries of the gifts of a loving and powerful God. We show love by the ways that we decide to use these loving gifts. The Spirit of God urges us to use our intellect wisely and gives us the grace to do so. Creation is both a gift of love and a call to love from God . We are called to be loving stewards of God’s creation and to share the goods of the earth wisely with all, especially those who are poor.

We come to know God’s love through our neighbour. Our love for fellow human beings is our pathway to God. How can we love God if we do not love our neighbour? Love for our neighbour makes us sensitive to God and lets us know how God loves us. Love grows through loving, the more we love the more we learn how to love and the more we see God’s love in our own love. It is in God and with God that we gain the ability to love those we do not like.

No-one has seen God, the creator. However, the love of God has appeared in our midst through the person of Jesus. In Jesus, we see the Father. Jesus both taught us about love and showed us how to love. Jesus’ teaching through parables such as the Good Samaritan calls for our own practical commitment to love of our neighbour here and now, both near and far. Through Jesus the love of God and neighbour become one. Jesus’ loving life culminated in his ultimate act of love through the Cross.

We perceive God’s loving presence in our daily lives. Our relationship with creation and with people allows us to see and experience God’s love every day. The church creates special experiences for us to touch the loving presence of God. Through liturgy and prayer we are gifted with a special way to perceive God’s loving presence.

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Our Call to Love

'We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us.' (Rom 12: 6)

Each of us is unique and gifted by God. Through Baptism, we receive the loving spirit of God in a special way. This gift of the Spirit calls each one of us to become authentically human and to live in relationship with God, with others and with creation. As baptised people we are nourished by Word and Eucharist for our journey of reaching out to others and caring for creation in love. This is our call to love.

Student ContextPlease cater for the student context of your class in your planning of this module.

Developing the PartnershipPlease make connections between the learning in this module and parents and the wider community.

Curriculum LinksPlease note connections with other KLAS and cross curricular perspectives in your planning.

Planning a Quality Learning Sequence for your class

Quality religious education will be achieved only by deep thinking about where you are going and how you plan the learning journey to get there. Begin with the end in mind and then consider how you will build field to meet your goals. Remember that you cannot expect children to develop deep knowledge and understanding, unless you as teacher have deep knowledge and understanding yourself. According to the Quality Teaching Framework, quality teaching will occur when you ask yourself four questions:

What do you want the students to learn? Why does the learning matter? What are you going to get the students to do (or produce)? How well do you expect them to do it?The suggested learning sequence has been planned through such a process. However, it cannot be written with the understanding of the student context of each class and relationship to other learning that is happening in the class. It is therefore necessary for you as teacher to plan your own unit, using this module as a support. Doing so is part of your role as an “activist professional” (a teacher who actively works to improve their professionalism).

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Suggested Teaching, Learning and Assessment Experiences

These are suggested teaching and learning experiences. The essential part of teaching this module is that you, as teacher have deep knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. Reading in depth the “Background for the Teacher” and “Scripture in Context” will give you the basic understanding you need.

It is essential to use the whole module to plan your own unit. You might like to change the questions to suit your class. Your unit should be written in acknowledgement of the student context of your class. The suggested learning experiences are meant to be adapted for this purpose. You should design learning experiences for the purpose of formative and summative assessment. When designing quality learning experiences and assessments, they must address the outcomes, learning intentions and success criteria based on the enduring understandings of the module.

I am called to love as God loves me

Key Concepts

love family liturgy creation Creator God

discipleship prayer mission Jesus gift of love

celebrations scripture Holy Spirit natures of God (Trinity) neighbour

What is important for Students to Know and Do

Ways we are loved by God. Ways that we can love God, others and creation. Begin to see themselves as disciples of Jesus. Celebrate the module by participating in liturgy. Include families in learning through home/school tasks

Enduring Understandings

God gifts each person with the capacity to love and be loved. We learn of God’s love by loving relationships in our lives. We love God by loving our neighbour, especially those who are left out. By our neighbour, we mean both people who are close and also people who are far away. We love God by caring for the gift of creation. We learn about God’s love through Jesus, who taught us and showed us how to love like him. As we are loved by God, so are we called to love.God Loves Me Early Stage 1 Page | 9

Suggested Big Question

How can I learn to love as God loves me?

Suggested Essential Questions

How do I know love in my life?How do I know that God loves me?How do I know God’s love through Jesus?How do I see God’s love in my life?

Suggested Teaching, Learning and Assessment Experiences

How can I learn to love as God loves me?

Introduce the big question, “How can I learn to love as God loves me?” and display. Read a significant narrative about love, such as Guess How Much I Love You? by Sam McBratney or My Beautiful Child by Lisa Desimini and Matt Mahurin. Discuss the stories, focusing on how we know that we are loved and how people know that we love them.

Discuss if it is important that people give us a lot of things so that we know that they love us or if it is how they care for us that we know their love.

Ask children what they wonder about how God loves them. Record wonder questions.

How do I know love in my life?

Home School Connector: Ask parents/ carers to record all the words that describe how they love their children/ grandchildren/children in their care. These should be recorded on strips of paper and returned to school (send home paper for this purpose). At school, children make and decorate a cardboard cube which will contain the loving words written and returned by their families. These can be placed on a mobile which will hang in the classroom to remind children of ways in which they are loved.

Make a photo wall with pictures of the children. Surround their pictures with words about how they are loved. These words can be copies of the words used in the mobile. Discuss how children are loved as part of the class and school community. Connect their pictures with ribbons to show how they are all connected in love as a class community.

Introduce some social justice material e.g. from Catholic Mission or Caritas showing how very poor people love their families and communities despite having few worldly possessions. If possible invite a speaker from an agency such as St Vincent De Paul or Mary Rajca who supports the Mercy Mission in Candela, Peru. Ask the speaker to discuss this sort of

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love, and what we can learn from people who love others in the most difficult of life circumstances. Discuss ways in which we can show love to people who don’t experience much love in their lives. Children may choose to put their love into action by supporting a Catholic agency, especially if this unit is being taught in Lent, near Mission Week or during the times of Vinnies appeals.

How do I know that God loves me?

Take children for a “creation walk” during which they discuss the gifts of creation we have been given. If appropriate, children may collect leaves, seeds, flowers, feathers etc. to create art when they return to school.

Discuss how God’s gift of creation is a way of God showing love to us. Write a class prayer about God’s gift of love through creation. Children can illustrate each line. The teacher should record the childrens’ own words. This is an example of the sorts of ideas that may be included:

God loves me by sending rain for me to drink, for washing and to swim in. God loves me because of the gift of days to learn and play and nights to rest. God loves me because of the gift of vegetables and fruit which grow for me to eat and keep me healthy. God loves me because the changing year teaches me about how life changes. God loves me by giving me sunny days to play outside and rainy days to spend time with friends and family

inside. God loves me through the beautiful gift of creation, like sunsets and beaches, waterfalls and forests,

butterflies and birds. God loves me through the gift of my pets to play with and cuddle.

*Recording of childrens’ contributions could be used as assessment for outcome GRHD ES1.1.

Children are given closed boxes with a mirror taped to the inside base. They are told that there is a gift of love from God that they will see when they open the box. Children could be grouped into fours so that only about five or six boxes are needed. When all children have looked, they discuss what was God’s gift of love that they saw. Remind children about God’s gift of love through creation. We are the most important part of God’s creation, and so we are a very special gift of love.

Discuss how each of us is individual and special to God, and yet we are like everyone else in many ways. We are loved by God because we are individual and also because of the ways we share love with other people and with the gift of creation. Read stories about individuality such as You Are Special by Max Lucado or You are very Special by Su Box and Susie Poole. A ‘You Tube’ reading of You are Special is available. Children might draw a portrait of themselves. They can write with assistance things that make them special.

Sing I’m So Special (John Burland in Move ! Celebrate! Pray). Actions to this song are available on this DVD or “Right by my side”, John Burland (in Sacred Moments). .

Discuss how God’s love for us is so great, it is like the love a parent has for a child. That is why we call often God, “God the Father”. When parents choose names for their children it is a very special thing because our names are a special part of who we are.

Home School Connector: Ask parents or carers to tell their children why they received their name. Is it a family name? Were they named after someone special? Does the name mean something special? Did their parents just like that name? Some parents may be invited to come to class to tell naming stories.

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Introduce the scripture Isa 43:1, 4 (I have called you by name). Tell children that in the days of the Old Testament, the Jewish people were having a very bad time. They had been sent away from their homeland by some rulers who moved into their country. They were afraid and wanted to know that God loved them. There was a special man, Isaiah, who was a prophet. Prophets were people who spread God’s message. He told the people not to be afraid that God loved each of them and knew each of them by name. They weren’t frightened any more, and soon they got to go home.

Just like the people Isaiah taught, God knows each of us by name and loves us even when we make mistakes. God knows when we are having bad times, and cares for us. God smiles when we are happy and cries with us when we are sad. Sing “I Have called you by name”, Andrew Chinn (in These Hands).

Make a banner of the scripture. Prepare each child’s name in bubble writing. They each decorate their name to be displayed under the banner.

Sing songs about God’s love such as “God’s Love Is….” John Burland (in Let’s Celebrate Too ) or “Right by my side”, John Burland (in Sacred Moments).

How do I know God’s love through Jesus?

Tell children that Jesus both taught and showed us how to love. He loved his special friends and family, but he also loved those people who were sick, left out, poor and not liked by others.

Read children the story of the Washing of the Feet from a good childrens’ bible (John 13). In Jesus’ day, people walked long distances on dusty roads (ee Appendix 1 for pictures). Their feet got very dirty, and so when they visited a house, they washed their feet before entering. Often servants washed the feet of guests. However, on the night of Jesus’ last supper, he washed his disciples’ feet. This was very unusual because Jesus was a special guest. This showed that although Jesus was Lord and teacher, he didn’t think he was better than anyone else and he loved his disciples so much that he washed their feet. Think about how washing for others is a sign of a special sort of love and respect, such as when:

Parents lovingly wash their babies and young children; Nurses wash people who are very sick; Parents wash clothes for their families.

On the night of the Last Supper, Jesus showed his disciples how much he loved them by washing their feet and then he told them how to love. Jesus said that they should love others as he had loved them (see core scripture, Jn 13:34 A new Commandment). The way that Jesus loved was: He loved everyone, especially people who were left out He didn’t stop loving people when they hurt him or made mistakes He loved people so much that he gave his life for us.

Obviously, Jesus doesn’t expect us to give up our lives, but we can love like Jesus. Discuss:

How can I love people outside of my family and close friends? Are there ways I can love/ care for people who are sad/poor/lonely especially of they live far from me? If I love like Jesus, how should I forgive people when they hurt me? How can I love children in my class who are sometimes left out? What sort of words can I say to people that show Jesus’ type of love?

Children trace around their feet and decorate. Inside the footprints they write or teacher records a way that Jesus

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showed us how to love. Create a poster with these.

Sing Love Like Jesus (John Burland on God Loves Me album).

Assessment SES 1.5: Many Bible stories teach us ways to love. Stories about Jesus tell us how to love like him. On paper that has two large boxes, draw Jesus washing his disciples’ feet in one box and in the other draw and write about how you can love like Jesus in your life. There should be a heading that says “Love one another as I have loved you”.

How and why do we celebrate the Season of Easter for fifty days?

How do I see God’s love in my life?

Tell children that God’s love surrounds us every day. God is always at work in our world, continuing Jesus’ love even though he is no longer here. We call this spirit of God the Holy Spirit. God is everywhere through the wonderful way that creation works. We see God in the faces of people in our lives. God works not only through our family, friends, teachers and priests, but those who are lonely, hungry, lost, who live on the streets, who look different from us, who are sick and even those who are in prison.

Use core scripture 1 Jn 2: 29- 3:1 We are called God’s children to discuss how we are all God’s children and so we must show love to everyone. Read Whoever You Are by Mem Fox ( 1998) and discuss how it relates to Jesus’ call to love “Little one, whoever you are, wherever you are. There are little ones just like you all over the world…..”

Discuss how the love that people show to others is really God’s love at work (e.g. parents, teachers, friends, doctors and nurses, people who work for Vinnies, people who work in mission overseas etc).

Suggested Assessment: GRHD ES 1.1: Cut out pictures of people who are showing love by caring for others. Social justice magazines would be a great resource for this. Make an individual poster and write a sentence about how God’s love works through people.

How can I learn to love as God loves me?

Discuss how we can feel God’s love when we pray and when we experience liturgy. Recall special liturgies e.g. the Opening School Mass or perhaps a wedding or Baptism they attended. Talk about how they can feel God’s love at these times in a special way.

Recall discussions about how we know God’s love in different ways: God the Father, creator God who loves us with a parents’ love; Jesus, who became human like us and showed and taught us how to love: Holy Spirit, God working in the world through people and creation.

Introduce the “Glory be to the Father” as a prayer in which we pray to our God who loves us in different ways. Sing John Burland’s version (from the One Family album).

Assessment PS ES 1.4 Create a trilogy art about the “Glory Be” prayer. In the three sections/ windows draw:

the love of God the Father ( draw the gift of creation) the love of Jesus ( draw Jesus’ love e.g. loving those who were sick or left out, washing the disciples’

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feet) the love of the Holy Spirit ( God’s love working through people caring for others).

Invite families to share in a liturgy to celebrate the module (for a possible plan see Appendix 2). Sing God Loves Me ( John Burland, on God Loves Me album) as part of liturgy.

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Appendix 1

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Washing of the Feet

Appendix 2

Liturgy Outline

Liturgy Definition: “work of the people” (in this case - the children)

A liturgy to celebrate module learning usually has four parts of which these can contain all or some one of the suggestions.

Before you begin some other considerations!! Where will the liturgy be celebrated? Does not have to be celebrated in the church or the classroom. Outdoors is a possibility - weather permitting. Consider the placement of chairs and sacred space. Who to invite? (parents, staff, priest etc)

WE GATHER: Setting the scene Sacred Space (cloth, candle, Bible, icons etc) to be created in this part. Procession Hymn or songs of welcome Welcome and introduction to celebration Opening prayer

WE LISTEN: Stories From the Bible Outline of what has been learnt Multimedia presentations Dramatisation/ dialogue of story Hymns Liturgical Movement of story Stories of their life and families Related narratives (eg Dreamtime story)

WE RESPOND:Responding to the stories Hymn or songs Liturgical movement Prayers of Intercession Prayer Multimedia presentations Sharing work from module (eg artwork)

WE GO FORTH:Sending Forth Recessional hymn or songs Liturgical movement Prayer Thank you statement

Liturgy can be followed by offer of hospitalityResources

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Children’s Liturgy of

Note: The resources indicated below are recommended but not essential to assist with the teaching of this module. Please locate those available in your school and add to those below.

Teacher

Carlson, Melody. 1997. The Gold & Honey Bible. USA: Multnomah Publishers

Edwards, Denis. 1992. Made from stardust: exploring the place of human beings within creation. North Blackburn: Collins Dove.

Ryan, M. and Elliot, M. 1999. Religion Quick Prints. Katoomba: Social Science Press

Ryan, M. 2003. Expressions, Book 1. Tuggerah: Social Science Press

White, D., O’Brien, K., and Todd, S. 2003. Into the Deep. Marayong: K.D. Publications

Wintour, R. 2000. Just Imagine. Brisbane: Mountjoy Enterprises

Wintour, R. 2002. Just Imagine 2. Brisbane: Mountjoy Enterprises

Wintour, R. 2004. Just Imagine 3. Brisbane: Mountjoy Enterprises

LabOra Worship

Audio Visual

Burland, John, 2007 I’m So Special in DVD Move! Celebrate! Pray (Ovation Music, Earlwood)

Literature

Fox, Mem ( 1998) Whoever You Are

Desmini, Lisa and Mahurin, Matt (2004) My Beautiful Child ( NY, Scholastic)

McBratney, Sam Guess How Much I Love You? Harper Collins

Lucado, Max You are Special (1997) Crossway Books

Box, Su and Poole, Susie You are Very Special Lion Publishing, England

Music

Burland, John (1999) “God’s Love Is” in Let’s Celebrate Too! Ovation Music, EarlwoodBurland, John (2002) “Our Father” in One Family Ovation Music, EarlwoodBurland, John (2002) “Right By My Side” in Sacred Moments Ovation Music, EarlwoodBurland, John (2008) “Love Like Jesus” in God Loves Me Ovation Music, EarlwoodBurland, John (2008) “God Loves Me” in God Loves Me Ovation Music, EarlwoodChinn, Andrew ( 2000) “I Have Called You by Name” in These Hands Butterfly Music, Bargo NSWLandry, C. and Kinghorn, C. Hi God 5 ( OCP Publications, 2001)

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Internet

Mission and Religious Education (Lighthouse) http://missionandreligiouseducation.dbbcso.org/

You Tube reading of You are Special by Max Lucado

Storytelling

Make short art-inspired storieshttp://storybird.com/

Capzles social storytellinghttp://www.capzles.com/

General

http://wallwisher.com/

http://www.wordle.net/

http://www.tagxedo.com/

http://www.ning.com/

http://www.wikispaces.com/

Interactive Bible Map http://wild.biblesociety.org.au//wild/index.php

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Useful Apps

3 Minute Retreat Sand Draw Lectio Divina Ignatian Examen

Superbook Bible App The Holy Bible Bible for kids The Pope App

Educreations PuppetPals Show Me Comic Maker

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