Consideration & Care - Session 7
Roots: Parents, communities, and governments that work for and support human rights for children provide love and care in their environment and help the child learn that he or she is valuable (CRC Articles 3, 5, 9, 10, 18).

Rights: Children have the right to

  • care, protection, and guidance that is in their best interest and take into consideration their evolving capacities;
  • live with their parents except when that is not in the best interest of the child;
  • receive the love and care of adults.

Responsibilities: Children are responsible for

  • loving and nurturing others and understanding others as best able;
  • learning about and expressing feelings.

Session Outcomes

Children

  • * learn about and practice caring for others and
  • communicating that care;
  • * practice understanding facial expressions and emotions;
  • * practice and participate in demonstrations of feelings.
Parents
  • * understand the value of the individual, regardless of his or her qualities;
  • * understand their role in guiding, caring for, and protecting their children;
  • * understand the importance of every individual's participation in society;
  • * understand the state's role in assisting parents in caring for, guiding, and protecting their children.

Materials needed:

Interactive Activities
  • * Red, white, pink, and purple construction paper, scissors, glue, doilies, glitter;
  • * White paper, white crayons, water colors with brushes, water in small containers;
  • * Paper flowers with a hole in the middle for stringing, yarn, masking tape;
  • * Flannel faces with a variety of emotions displayed (puppets may be used instead);
  • * Lunch-bag size paper bags, yarn pieces, construction paper, markers, glue;
  • * Water, washcloths, towels, toy dishes.
Children's Learning Circle
  • * Easel and chart paper;
  • * Cut out heart shape;
  • * Glue;
  • * Red and white tissue paper;
  • * Black marker;
  • * Enough plastic eggs for each child in the class.
Parent Education
  • * Horton Hears A Who, by Dr. Seuss;
  • * Chart paper and markers;
  • * Extra copies of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
  • to make a Lei. When you are finished, give your Lei to someone you love. (Hawaiians traditionally deliver a kiss on either cheek after placing the Lei around a loved-one's neck.)
  • 4. PAPER BAG PUPPETS (CREATIVE EXPRESSION)

Provides practice in understanding facial expressions and emotions.

  • Children create a puppet by creating a face on a paper bag using the materials at hand. They name the emotion they gave to the paper bag puppet.
  • 5. WASH TOY DISHES (SENSORY)

Symbolizes our nurturing of each other working together.

  • Participants wash and dry toy dishes together.
  • 6. BOOK CORNER: (LANGUAGE)
  • The Jewel Heart, by Barbara Helen Berger
  • Mary Had a Little Lamb, by Sarah Joseph Hale
  • Horton Hatches the Egg, by Dr. Seuss
  • Momma, Do You Love Me? by Barbara Josse
  • Big Boy, by Mollel Toblwa
  • Feelings, by Aliki
  • There's No Such Thing as a Dragon, by Jack Kent
  • Horton hears A Who, by Dr. Seuss

community circle

  • 1. Transition: Early childhood teacher speaks to each child, and/or touches them on the shoulder and reminds them that circle time will begin soon. After connecting with each child, the teacher begins a gathering song.
  • 2. I'm happy to see all of you! Sing Shake Hands With Friends and Say Hello, and Vivala Company! This circle time is focused on 'the best interest of our children' and their right to consideration, care, protection, and appropriate guidance. Let's play a game that will help us understand what guidance means. While we play, watch what the parents do and what the children do.
  • 3. Game: Bluebird (This game is an adaptation of the bluebird game found in Wee Sing and Play by Pamela Conn Beall and Sudan Hagen Nipp, 1981 on p. 26.)

Instructions:

1. Everyone form a circle with your hands held high to form arches.

2. One child and parent will be our parent bird and baby bird.

3. While we all sing this song, the parent bird leads the baby bird in and out of the arches.

4. On the second verse, both the parent and baby bird tap someone on the shoulder. Then the new parent and child weave in and out, while the first bluebird pair takes their place in the circle.

5. This can be repeated until everyone who wants to be a bluebird has had a turn.

  • 4. Discussion:
  • What did you notice that the parents did when they were bluebirds? . . . Yes the parents guided the children. They showed them the way to go. That's what guidance means. Parents can show children the way to go so they don't run into people's arms and legs! Also, in our real lives, parents try to provide guidance for children about how to stay safe and have a healthy, happy life.
  • 5. What did the children do? . . . Yes, the children followed the guidance of their parent. Do you always listen when your parent gives you guidance like, when your mom or dad says, 'Time for bed'? . . . Sometimes its hard to take guidance. But it is your responsibility to listen and consider the guidance of a parent. Then, sometimes you may have to talk about it if you disagree. But whenever you can, follow the guidance of your parent, because it will make your life more peaceful and healthy! And, since you are all very important to me, I want that! It's also my responsibility as an adult in this community to look out for the best interests of the children.
  • 6. Do your regular closing song or This Little Light of Mine.

Separate learning time

Children's Learning Circle Session 7

Preparation: Cut out a big red heart from construction paper. Place it on the easel paper and glue it down. Place completed paper with heart on the easel.

  • 1. Learning Circle Activity:
  • Explain: Today we are talking about providing love and care to children. Sometimes that means providing guidance, like we talked about in Community Circle. Remember our Bluebird game and how we were guided by our parents? Our parents gave us gentle guidance as a gift. Sometimes being loving and caring means giving other gifts of love. Today let's make a beautiful gift of love to ourselves, okay? (Point to the heart.)

Hand out tissue paper and ask each child to crumple up their piece of tissue.

Spread glue around the complete heart shape.

As you say each child's name, ask that child to bring their tissue paper up and press it onto the glue around the heart shape. Write their name near their tissue paper.

When you finish the heart, attach it to the classroom wall. Celebrate your gift of love to yourselves. Sing Barney's, I Love You song together to end this part.

  • 2. Next, give each child a plastic egg. Ask them what they can do to care for it. Ask them to

  • practice caring for it while you read them a story about an egg. Remind them that caring for it can be holding it carefully and gently. Read Horton Hatches An Egg.

Books to read:

Choose at least one of these, then read as many as there is time for. Mary Had A Little Lamb by Sarah Joseph Hale; Horton Hears a Who, by Dr. Seuss; The Jewel Heart by Barbara Helen Berger (pharaphrase this one for younger children).

More Songs to sing:

Skin A Ma Rink, Vivala Company, Sharing Song, The More We Get Together.

Parent Education Session 7

Preparation: Write the topic title, Consideration and Care, on chart paper or on chalkboard.

  • 1. Action Steps and Journaling Report: Who would like to share something they did as an action step this week? Would anyone like to share something from their journal?
  • 2. Introduction: The articles in this session (CRC Articles 3,5,9,10, and 15) have to do with the right to care, well-being, and consideration of what is in the child's best interest. They remind us that our parenting is critical to children's sense of belonging and feeling understood. They also deal with the parent's rights and responsibilities and the state's duty concerning the child's best interests.
  • 3. Read: Horton Hears A Who. Begin by reading the first page and then hand the book to another person in the room. Each person reads one page and passes the book around the table.
  • 4. Discussion:

1. What is the main idea of this book?

2. What other messages or themes did you pick up? Make a list on chart paper of parent's responses.

3. Horton had choices. What choices did he make?

4. A person uses personal power with every choice they make. Horton became an inspiration to others because of the choices he made. What are some choices parents make regarding their children?

5. Which of the Who's rights was Horton recognizing?

6. Horton certainly had the best interest of the Who as a primary consideration. How is the role Horton played similar to the role you play as a parent?

7. What happened when the Whos' voices were finally heard by others? How do you think Horton felt when the Whos were afforded the support of the whole society?

  • The United Nations Convention on the Rights of The Child has been described as a 'Magna Carta' or 'Bill of Rights' for children. According to the Convention, the responsibility for meeting a child's needs rests in the hands of the child's family in the first
  • instance followed by the government and society at large. CRC Articles 3, 5, 9, 10, and 18 are all concerned with the responsibilities Horton provided and the rights afforded to the vulnerable Whos. Provide about five minutes for participants to read the articles.
  • 5. Discussion:

1. Looking at this from a parent's point of view, how does this document affect the obligations and responsibilities you currently have regarding your children?

2. How does it protect the rights you feel entitled to as a parent?

3. If you/your family were prevented from providing for the best interests of your child, this document clearly assigns the responsibility or obligation to the government and larger society. How might you see this obligation being fulfilled?

4. How do we, as parents, demonstrate that we have our child's best interests as our goal?

5. What are examples of putting parents' or government's interest ahead of the child's best interest? How can we protect the child's best interest?

  • Note: The main underlying principle of the Convention is that the best interest of the child shall always be a main consideration whether in the first instance, by parents, or failing that, by a society which has committed itself to that end.
  • 6. Journal Assignment:

* What does consideration of the child's best interests mean for you?

* In what ways do your actions, decisions, and choices reflect your consideration of your child's well-being and best interests?

* What do I want to remember from these articles to help in guiding my child?

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