Human Responses
Week 73
We respond to certain smells in different ways
A precious part of our humanity is that we become aware, we recognize (or are affected) and we respond to the world around us. Through our senses, we touch, smell, taste, hear, and move responding to what’s around us in a variety of ways. God has endowed us with the ability to respond in ways that are well beyond any animal. Animals typically do not exhibit any responses to what they see, hear, touch, and taste outside the realm of their survival. We, of course, have many responses to the world around us.
Point to emphasize
Just smelling a rose can give us pleasure.
Sample content and conversation with children
We have been discovering how God made us so differently than the animals. Now we will discover that God gave us the way to smell things that give us pleasure.”
- [Show pictures #1 to #3 or pictures of children smelling different items: baked pie, doughnuts, baked chocolate chip cookies, popcorn, oranges when being peeled, bacon, pizza.] What are these children doing? [Let them answer.] After you smell pie being baked, what do you want to do? [Let them answer.] That’s just what I want to do, too. We want to eat it! [Go over a few of the above items in the same way.] When we smell them, we want to eat them. Even the smell is YUMMY! It would be sad if we could only smell the tasty doughnuts [or items listed above] but not eat them. So, smelling the doughnuts [or items listed above] makes us want to eat them.
- [Show picture #4 or pictures of people smelling another category of items that smell pleasant but that we do not eat: fragrant flowers, pine trees, lavender bushes, sage bushes, wood being cut, a baby after a bath, mint, a cut of lemon or lime, freshly mowed grass. Some of these can be brought to the children’s meeting in jars so that the children can smell them.] What is this girl doing? [Let them answer.] Why is she smelling the flower? [Let them answer.] [Go through several items on the list in the same way.] [Lead the children into a discussion about how we like to smell each thing because they have a pleasant smell.] WOW!, God made us in such a wonderful way. He made us so that we can enjoy the pleasant smell of flowers [use items from the list above]. And do we frown or smile when we smell these things? [Let them answer.] Yes, it puts a smile on our faces.
- But it is not like this for animals. [Show picture #5 or a picture of a dog.] Do dogs go around smelling roses? [Let them answer.] Dogs have very good noses for smelling. They can smell beef bone buried in the ground. [Show picture #6 and #7 or a video of dogs going around sniffing.] What is this dog doing? [Let them answer.] Yes, it is sniffing everything. But does it smile while it sniffs around? [Let them answer.] NO! Dogs like to sniff, and they are good sniffers, but they don’t sniff flowers (anything from the above list) because it is pleasant to smell. ONLY you and I smell flowers (anything from the above list) because it is pleasant to us. What are some things you like to smell?
- God created us so that we like to smell things like flowers, pine trees, and a baby after a bath because these are pleasant smells and cause us to smile. Smelling fragrant things makes us happy. How wonderfully God made us!
Songs
God is so good [make up lyrics such as “God made my nose, God made my nose, God made my nose, I can smell with joy.”]
Never forget that it’s God who created you [you can replace one of the body parts in the second half of the song with “a nose that smells (wonderfully)”]
Suggested activities
What is that smell?
- Set up a few containers with objects that have a strong scent (fragrant and not-as-fragrant) but cover them up so the children do not see what’s inside. Some suggestions: rose petals, garlic, ginger, onions, banana, pepper, cinnamon, orange/lemon peel, chocolate, coffee grounds, grape jelly, vanilla extract, mint, pine needles.
- Blindfold each guessing child and have them smell each item and have them say if the smell is pleasant or not, and identify it if they can.
Pictures
#1: Child smelling orange
#2: Child smelling pie
#3: Children smelling doughnuts
#4: Child smelling flower
#5: Dog
#6: Dog sniffing food
#7: Dog sniffing the grass
