Pre-school Topics, Block 8, Week 72: We respond to many things that we see around us, things which give us a feeling of amazement and admiration

Human Responses

Week 72
We respond to many things that we see around us,
things which give us a feeling of amazement and admiration

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
We are amazed when we see huge mountains, tall trees, waterfalls, or hot springs.

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 a sense of wonder and awe so that when we see certain things, we feel they are amazing! [Say it with excitement!]
[Discuss each scenario with the children as you show them each picture or video.]
Let me show you this picture. [Show picture #1.] What do you see in this picture? [Let children answer.] Yes mountains! They are so big! Do you see any people in this picture? Now keep watching! Do you see someone? Don’t they look so small against all that mountain area? Wow! It makes me feel SO small!
Now let’s look at a video and two pictures. [Show video #1, and pictures #2 and #3.] What do you see? [Let the children answer.] Yes, those trees are SO big! Wouldn’t you say “Wow!” if you looked straight up from the bottom of that tree and saw it reaching up to the sky? They are called Sequoia trees and they are the tallest and biggest trees in the world! You can see the people around them are SO small and tiny! Only God could create something so big!
Now let’s watch a short [Show video #2 or show picture #4.] What is that in the video? [Let the children answer.] Yes! It is a waterfall. This waterfall is in Brazil and is called Iguazu Falls. What do you feel when you see it? [Let the children respond.] What do you hear? [Let the children respond.] Isn’t it loud? Did you see the birds flying around? Do you think they have any feeling about the water or noise? No, the birds don’t have any reaction when they see the waterfalls. They are flying in the area, to look for food or to move to a different place. But the birds didn’t fly to the falls to enjoy the wonderful view.
Here is one more video. [Show video #3.] Can anyone tell me what this is? [Let child answer.] Yes, it is a geyser. The water under the ground gets very hot and then shoots steam up in the air, kind of like a teapot. Listen to the people…, they cannot stop saying, “Wow”! Why are they saying ‘Wow”? [Let the children respond.] [Show picture #5.] Do you also see a buffalo there? What is that buffalo doing? [Let the children respond.] Does it have any reaction like the people do? No, the buffalo doesn’t have any reaction like the people do and it just keeps eating!
Animals are NOT like us. Like the birds at the waterfall that only care about flying around looking for food, and like the buffalo at the geyser that cares only about eating grass, they have no reaction to things of beauty like we do. They just care for eating and keeping safe. It is wonderful that God made us in a way that we can admire and be amazed by His creation. We can feel the wonder of tall trees, waterfalls, hot springs and so many other things in God’s creation. We were made in such a special way!

Suggested activities

Zoom activity—Listen! What’s that sound?: With your hands out of sight from the camera, make a sound with something. For instance, crumple up a piece of paper, strike a spoon on the rim of a glass, or snap your fingers. Let the children guess what they hear.
In person or home activity—Tree Craft: Draw a trunk on a white paper. Let the kids run around the yard and gather leaves and flower petals to decorate their trees with. Glue the leaves and flowers on a paper (see picture #6).

Songs
Did the mountains and the trees just happen
Look at all the flowers and look at all the trees

Videos
#1: Sequoia tree

(https://www.youtube.com/embed/VII8LGUeGJg?rel=0)