baha’i children’s class ideas.

learning concepts
Baha’u'llah teaches us never to enter a person’s home, or lay hands on his or her belongings, without that person’s permission. this is a mark of courtesy and respect towards others.

activities
story: any story about asking permission may do; the story of the fish inside the reservoir from Ruhi Book 3 might do in a pinch.
maze: “Obtaining Permission” (Obtenir la Permission) (PDF); children must navigate a maze that seems simple to complete, but before they are able to complete it, they must first “obtain permission” (in the form of a detour).
drama: children act out situations where they share their possessions with friends—for example, playing together with toys, sharing crayons, etc. how do the children feel when someone takes something of theirs without their permission?

reference

experience
Dec. 8, 2007: 1.5 hours, 6 children, average age 7-8. I was skeptical about how this class would turn out, because, to be honest, the topic seemed bizarre at first—how do you explain this Bahá’í law to children? Of course, the curriculum we’re using is quite clear—when we observe this law by asking permission before entering a home or laying hands on someone’s belongings, we are showing them courtesy and respect. So we spoke to the kids about this during the lesson; they seemed to get it, but in retrospect, I think I may have spent too much time talking. we could have integrated some sort of activity to help the children understand, for instance, a short dramatic exercise. that’s for next time, maybe. All in all, this lesson went well. the children found the maze challenging, which was the point behind it—I designed it from scratch to illustrate that we need to have the presence of mind to ask permission before impulsively infringing on someone’s property. in retrospect, this kind of thing applies in many different situations in class—sharing crayons during the colouring portion of class, respecting the property of the Baha’i Centre where we hold our classes, asking for permission before taking snacks out of the cupboards, and so on.