Values of Love - Speak Good Words

8/14/2019 Values of Love - Speak Good Words

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Unit Two

Speak Good Words


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Objectives1. Discuss how we can bring about friendship. Use this son g:

Its so easy to be friends

Its so easy to do.

You care for me

I care for you.

Ask the children to bring up more ideas and substitute care with

other words such as: swim, run, eat, sleep .. Do they bring up any

ideas related to speech and listening?

2. How can words help make friendship and peace? Do the children know about the

magic of the words they speak? Do they have any example how words madethem lose their friends? How do words from other people affect them?

3. Then discuss the power of listening. Do they feel their parents have time to listen

to them? Do the children always listen to what parents say?

4. Learn the basic habits of good language:

I do what I say.

I can say what I think.I am polite.


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I dont lie.

I can admit my mistake.

Pictures to talk aboutDescribe the situations. Can speaking good words solve their problems?

Parents play sisters

A Wrinkled Heart

I do an activity with my kids that runs along the lines of this "tale". With the kids

seated on the floor I start talking about the difference in the things we say that make

people feel good or that hurt them. While talking I am cutting out a big heart. After I

have it cut out, I hold it up and tell the kids that each one of us starts out with a heart

that is as pretty as this one. I ask the kids to start telling me things that a person might

say that might hurt another person's feelings. With each response, I fold the heart

(any direction....just put a fold in it). Eventually the heart is crumpled in my hands. I

tell the children that each time they say something hurtful to someone, they are

putting a little wrinkle in that person's heart. We talk about how someone's heart

might begin to look like this crumpled heart if people continue to say mean things to

them. I then have the kids start to tell me things that they might say to someone to

make that person feel good. With each response, I unfold one of the creases in the

heart. Eventually I have pressed out all of the "hurts"....except, of course, for the fact

that the wrinkles can still be seen, even though the heart is now all the way unfolded.We talk about how we each have those wrinkles in our hearts from things that people

have said to us, and how we want to be careful with what we say so as to not add

more wrinkles to anyone's heart. We put that heart up in a high corner of a bulletin

board and leave it in plain view all year. Frequently someone will mention it....that

their heart is wrinkled like that one, etc. It serves as a great reminder all year long.

Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place,

but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at thetempting moment. Benjamin Franklin


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Beaver and the Bear School1. Superbunny was sitting by the river, daydreaming and enjoying the sun.

Suddenly he heard a loud noise. It was the Bears. They were shouting.Drmamdrmamdramadmramamdaremam,,

2. What are you doing here? asked Superbunny. Bear was angry. Our school is

flooded. We cant go to school. The Beaver did it on purpose! It is terrible.

Drmamdrmamdramadmramamdaremam, Superbunny, you must help us.

3. Superbunny sighed. He didnt like bad words and said, Let me see what

happened and then see how we can solve the problem. He got on the back of

woodpecker and flew off to the Bear school.

4. There he saw Beaver. He was working very hard, making his house.

Superbunny asked, Beaver, do you know that the Bears are very angry? They say you

flooded their school and are doing very bad things.

5. Beaver said, Me bad? You are joking! Im just making my house. And look

everybody is happy! Dragonfly, Turtle, Crocodile, Fish, Egret, they all like me very

much. Just then the Bears came. You Drmamdrmamdramadmramamdaremam,,

They shouted again.

6. Superbunny stopped them. Dont argue anymore, this will only bring us more

trouble. Come with me and sit down and lets find out what the problem is and what

we can do to solve it.

7. Superbunny said, When you do something, it must be good for everybody.

Beaver admitted that he was sorry for giving trouble to the Bears. But he had wished

they had talked to him nicely before shouting at him. He said he could build a new

school easily.

8. Beaver built a new school for Bear. The Bears were very happy and shook

Beavers hands. The school was very beautiful. Superbunny smiled too. Its easy to

be friends, if we speak nicely.

Questions to discussBear was very upset about Beaver. Do you understand why?

Was Beaver really so bad?

Do you think Bear judged Beaver too early?

Could the Bears have avoided the problem?

Was it easy to find a solution to their problem?

What would have happened if Superbunny hadnt done anything?If there had been a fight, what would have happened then?


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Can you always tell others how you feel?

Do you easily fire up when people attack you?

Do you know which things are your trigger points?

Ideas for movement and dance for dramatizing the story

Children look for their own place in the classroom space. Then start to tell and act out

the story.

1. Superbunny is enjoying the beauty of nature: Roll on the floor

2. The Bears are angry and shouting: sit and stamp your feet to express the Bears.

3. Superbunny asks the Bears to be quiet: mime quiet feeling and show Superbunny

and Woodpecker fly off.

4. Superbunny and Beaver are talking nicely. Mime and act out a discussion.

5. Bears arrive - sit and stamp your feet to express the Bears. Use your hands to clap

on the floor to express the Beaver.

6. Increase crescendo as the argument increases in intensity.

7. Superbunny jumps and breaks the argument with a clapping of his hands. Sing any

of the songs about words (Lets talk, talk, talk. Or There are some words,)

8. Mime a discussion with finger pointing and slowly cooling of the emotional

temperature.

9. The smiling and hand shaking of friendship, Sing Its so easy to be friends.


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Talking makes Friends - I can say what I think .

Use the example of a volcano: it can release steam slowly and also burst all of a

sudden. Talking is like a slow release. A sudden eruption is like the violence we see inthe world. It is not always easy to talk about our feelings but it is necessary if we want

to find peace.

Anger often leads to shouting.

Shouting may lead to pushing,

Pushing to fighting and hitting and this will lead to

A new problem.

This is called the Anger Escalator

Talk about feelingsOne way to stop climbing the anger escalator is to learn to talk out your feelings. It is

not bad to tell somebody what you feel, even if it is not very nice, as long as you say it

in a nice way.

It is also good to understand that many people say they

are okay when they are really not okay. You can help

them release their feelings and this way bring about

peacefulness and love.

Listen to this song on your CD:


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Role play Learn to Cool DownMany problems become big arguments because of talking without thinking. Thats

why people say somebody has a poisonous tongue; it may mean that the words they

speak make others upset and hate others. This can happen because people may beselfish and overcome by anger and greed which often take away our ability of making

rational judgments. One way to contain these strong emotions and drives is to develop

the habit of this Cool Down habit .

When youre angry

Or mad

Fearful or sad,

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in

Breathe out

Do it one more time

And think

Think, think

(Breathe in)

of the best way out.

(breathe out)

This rhyme gives you time to think before you decide how to respond to any

provocation.

Practice this in role plays.

- Somebody bumps into you.

- Fight over a chair.

- People dont want to share toys.- One eats the others candy

Each time, use about ten seconds to come up with a win-win solution.

If speaking is silver, silence is goldSome words can solve a problem, and sometimes it is better to keep quiet. Thats why

people say, If speaking is silver, silence is gold. Certainly that was true in the fable

of Crow and thePiece of Cheese and so it applies to the following tale:


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The Talkative Turtle

A turtle liked to talk.He talked in the day.He talked in the night.He talked to the left.And he talked to the right.

He never stopped.He talked and talked away,

Even if there was no oneTo hear what he had to say.

And because he talked andtalkedAt no end,He didnt have a singlefriend.

Now there was a fire oneday,That burned and burnedthe forest away.All the animals ran, and ranand ran.Only the little turtle didntgo

Because he knew he wastoo slow.

He cried, Help me! Helpme! Help me But there was no one to

hear,No one who could help oreven hear.

Till two geese flew by,Who said, Let us carry youup so high.

Bite in this stick,

And please dont talk as wefly.

He kept quiet for a while.And it went very well.But then he saw somecousinsWho started to yell.

He greeted them with aloud Helooooooooooo For how long? I do notknow.But then there was a

Bang! And that, Im sure, was theturtles end.

And after that, I heardNo turtle has ever spokenagainA single word.


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Game: Chinese whispersMany quarrels in the world come from misunderstanding.

Misunderstandings happen a lot, especially when people dont listen, as in this joke:

Three guys all of who didnt usually listen carefully to each other, were

playing ball one sunny spring morning. One says to another, "Windy, isn't

it?" "No," the second guy answers, "it's Thursday." The third guy, listening

in, pipes up, "So am I! Let's drink some milk"

Play Chinese whispers ( pass the message and see what others hear.) Is it easy to

communicate?

Step in my Shoes and learn about Point of View

Sometimes people say that the whole world is full of

misunderstanding. To understand somebody needs a feeling

we call empathy. It means that you feel what others feel

and you understand their point of view. Like in a zoo, can

you imagine how it feels to be the elephant instead of the visitor? What would you

feel about the things people shout at the elephant? If you understand the elephants

feelings, would you do bad things to it?

Can you understand other classmates thinking?

Draw two circles on the floor and ask two children to stand in each.

Each child will tell what she thinks and feels.

When they have finished, ask them to change circle. Use this role play to see how

much they can remember about the other persons ideas.

Learn this song:


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I would like you toStep in my shoes and seeHow it feels toThink and be like me.And I will step in your shoes too

So I can also come to know you.

I will eat riceAnd you will eat bread,I will watch cartoonsAnd you will sleep in my bed.

And when we change back again

Youd speak my wordsAnd I would feel your hurts


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Then in the endWe wont no more be enemiesNo, Im sure

That in the endwe will,we will be friends.


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Talking can also help!Just as there is a time to keep quiet, there are also times that talking can help you, or

even save your life. Do you know the story of The 1001 Arabian nights and how

Scheherazade saved herself by telling stories. Here follows another tale of how talkingcan be the right choice.

How Hare married a Princess

Once there was a king who was very happy. He was a good king and many

people liked him. He also was rich. But what really made him happy was

his daughter, whom he loved very much. She had long hair, beautiful eyes,

sweet mouth and a kind heart.

As she grew up, many people admired her and wanted to marry her. But the

king refused. Even when she was big, the kind couldnt agree to let her

marry. I wont be able to stand it if she is not here. He often said, speaking of her

long hair, beautiful eyes, sweet mouth and kind heart.

But then one of his advisers said, But King, you must set an example for everybody.

You cant prevent your daughter from getting married. If you do so, every father will

have the right to do the same!

The King, who was just and wise, thought about it and came up with a plan. He said,

Alright, my daughter who has long hair, beautiful eyes, a sweet mouth and a kind

heart will marry. But whoever wants to ask for her hand, must first drink the oil in this

hot, hot, pot. And with a bang he dropped a pot in front of the people.

Many people came. Princes from all over the land asked to marry her. They praised

themselves, their strength, their families and their wealth. But the King hardly lookedat them. Instead he told them, Well, if you want to marry her, first drink the oil in this

hot, hot pot.

Some couldnt even touch the pot. Others were unable to lift it, and again others

burned their lips, as they tried to lick up the oil. No one succeeded, and the King was

very pleased with himself. Finally there came a hare, who too asked to marry the

princess. The King didnt even look at the animal, and just replied, Well, if you want

to marry her, first drink the oil in this hot, hot pot.


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From the Story: How Hare married a Princess


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The hare touched the pot and

saw it was very hot. Then he

began to talk. He said, Weare so lucky! We have a

wonderful King. He is just

and wise and strong. And I

am lucky too, because I am

going to marry a wonderful

princess with long hair,

beautiful eyes, a sweet mouth and a kind heart.. Meanwhile he touched the pot. It

was still very hot. He continued, And you know, you the King are lucky too. He has

wonderful people, who work hard and love them and listen to every word he says .

Some of you are bakers, others are cooks, and again some are police officers. And

now I am going to marry this princess with long hair, beautiful eyes, a sweet mouth

and a kind heart. Again he touched the pot, which by now had cooled down a lot but

still was a little bit too hot. Hare continued his speech. He talked about the trees and

the grass, the animals and the birds, the beautiful mountains, then again the lucky

king, the people and of course his own lucky self and the princess with the long hair,

beautiful eyes, a sweet mouth and kind heart. Finally he said, And now I will drink

the oil in this hot, hot pot. Of course the oil was not so hot anymore, and when he

drank it the people clapped their hands. The King, who had dozed off, woke up. When

he realized what happened, he was shocked and wanted to refuse to give his daughter

to the clever hare, but the people said, What you promise, you must do And that is

what happened and how Hare married the princess.

Keeping PromisesTell the story of The Frog Prince and the Golden Ball.Stress how The King told the princess again and again What you promise, you must

do.

The Story of Strong WindWhat is more important than truthfulness? (discuss)Listen to this story from the

Native American tradition that shows how truthfulness has more power than physical

beauty.

Strong Wind was a kind of shaman. Shamans are magicians who can control the


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elements. He could change the weather, make himself invisible and create anything he

thought of.

But he was still very human, and though he lived with his sister, he was lonely and

wanted to marry. His sister told him, To marry is easy, but how can you find the rightone?

Strong Wind had wisdom. He said, I want somebody who is truthful.

His sister put out the word that her brother

was looking for a bride. Many girls tried

their luck, and whoever came to meet

Strong Wind in his house, was asked,

Tell me, now that you are with him, what

does Strong Wind look like?

Being invisible at the time, the girls made up all sorts of stories. Some said that he

was like a tree so strong, that he was riding a sleigh or that he was tall like a tree.

Others told that he was wearing green pants, a yellow shirt made of cotton, or had

beautiful jewelry around his neck.

The sister knew at once that they were lying.

In a nearby village, there lived a chief, who three daughters. Their mother had died a

long time ago. The two eldest were lovely to look at, but the prettiest was the

youngest one, who was loved by all. Out of jealousy, the bigger sisters would do all

kinds of bad things to their younger sibling. Once they cut off her beautiful long hair.

Another time they tore her dress. Another time, they smeared hot ashes over her face.

And each time, their father was told it was the little ones own fault!

The two eldest sisters also wanted to marry Strong Wind. When they reached hishouse and were asked if they could see Strong Wind, they said, Yes, we can. And

started to describe him. The more they talked about Strong Wind, the more they

exposed their own lies.

The youngest sister wanted to try to win Strong Winds heart too. Even though her

face was burned, her hair chopped off in a most ugly manner and her clothes torn, she

wanted to give it a try.

When she came to the house of Strong Wind, the sister asked her too, Can you see

Strong Wind?She was quiet for some time. Then she said, I cant see anything.


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The sister was surprised. Until then, everybody had pretended that they could see her

brother. Look again! said the sister excitedly.

The young sister looked again. She looked outside and saw the trees move, the clouds

part and her mouth opened in wonder. He is so beautiful. she said.What is his bow made of? asked the sister. The rainbow! cried the young girl.

What do you see in his hair? asked the sister. Its made of the stars. said the girl.

The sister than asked the young girl to wash herself in

the water from their magic well. At once her beautiful

hair grew back, long and prettier than before. Her face

shone with kindness and compassion. Then Strong Wind

showed his human form and asked the girl to be his wife.

She agreed at once and had their wedding then and there.

The young bride became known as The Bringer of Truth and many people came to

ask her for advice, as whatever she told them was of great use to their lives.

Only the two elder sisters kept anger in their heart. They plotted one day to burn their

sister in the oven fire, but Strong Wind turned them into two trees. And when you

look today, every time the wind blows, you can see the tree leaves tremble and shake,

because they are still so scared of Wind.

Peace CircleStars shine because they always smile, did you

know that? And when little stars are born, their

parents teach them to shine. Little Stars try to

shine brighter and brighter so that they can give more love and be kind to all the

others. They like that there is peace everywhere.

Now one day it happened that on the earth, the animals were quarreling. They spoke a

lot of bad things about each other. The lion said the elephant was fat. The elephant

said that the monkey was too noisy, and the monkey told the cow not to be lazy, and

so on. There was no love feeling between, and only hatred.

From very far, Little Star looked at them and said, Father and Mother, why do those

animals always quarrel? Cant they say something nice about each other? Father told

of all the stars that had dropped from the sky and fallen to the earth to tell the animalshow to be kind and loving, but that they had not changed. Little Star said, I also want


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to go and teach them. And before her father and mother could say No! She had

dropped and started to fall from the sky. Little Star had become a falling star too and

went straight to the earth!

Unfortunately she fell right into the water. Little Stars dont know how to swim. So

she cried, Help! Help!

Fortunately a little fish came and tried to help her.

Unfortunately he was not strong enough to push her out of the water.

But fortunately enough, the fish called his friend and together they could pull and

push her out on to the land.

When Little Star was a little dry, she met the pig and horse. They were scolding each

other

You have to change! said the horse.

Me change? Why? Said the pig.

You are too fat! Said the horse

Me fat? No Im not fat. Im just strong.

I dont want to change. Said the pig.

But do you know who should change?

Its the cow.

Me change? Said the cow. Why?

You are too lazy! Said the pig.

Me lazy? Im not lazy. Im steady.

But do you know who should change?

Its the monkey.

Me change? Said the monkey. Why?

And so the quarrel went on with the elephant being too fat, and the mouse toonaughty, the snake to scary, the zebra too foolish, the cat too mean and so on and so

on.

Little Star then said: Please listen. You all know how to say bad words about each

other. Cant you find anything good to say? That will make you all much happier.

Maybe you even can become friends!

First pig spoke, Well horse, maybe you are very fast. Yes, you can run very well. Thehorse became so glad he hugged the pig and said, Oh my chubby friend, I like you!


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Then the monkey told the cow how steady she was. Hm, said the cow, I like to hear


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From the Story: Little Star that. Thank you. And the elephant looked at the little mouse, and started to smile.

You are really cute you know? At once the little mouse jumped on the elephants

nose and hugged him with his little arms. I thought so too, he said.

The animals began to be happy. But who werent happy? Father and Mother Star.

They wanted Little Star to come back. You must come home, Little Star. they said.

Giraffe who had passed by and come to like Little Star too, said. Climb on my

shoulders, Little Star. And though the giraffe was tall, Little Star still wasnt high

enough. Then elephant told giraffe to climb on his shoulders, but still they were not

tall enough. Even with lion, supporting elephant, they couldnt push Little Star back

into the sky! They fell down instead with a loud bang, and got really hurt.

Elephant said, I have an idea. We use a seesaw. Little

Star sat on one side, and elephant climbed a tree, then

jumped on the other side. Little Star went up really high.

The animals were holding their breath. Would she make

it? Could she reach the sky? She went higher, and higher

and then Little Star began to fall down and with a loud

bang, fell back to the earth.

All the animals started to run around, calling Little Star,

Little Star

The bear, the giraffe, the elephant, the lion and monkey, even the lazy hippo were

running and jumping up and down, but they couldnt find her. Only one person said he

had seen Little Star, and that she had broken into a thousand pieces, and then

disappeared. But where she was now, nobody could tell.

As they sat together thinking about their good friend, who had shown them to be kindand loving, they were very quiet. They didnt run. They didnt jump. They were very

still.

And it is then that they could really feel the little stars

shining in their heart. And when they opened their eyes,

they became even kinder and more loving. It seemed as

if they all had become Little Stars! And though many

animals would forget Little Star, you still can find allover the world many, many little animals who quietly sit


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and think of the beautiful Little Star in their heart and speak good and kind words.

After telling this story, ask the children to close their eyes, and think of the love

shining in their hearts. After opening their eyes, ask everybody to thank somebody

before they can take a candle from the center.. Then sing Baba nam Kevalam or There are friends, friends as far as I can see.

Values of Love - Speak Good Words

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