Topics, Stories and Lessons – Pre-School

Brother Lee told us to teach the children that they are different from plants and animals. We have taken his word and applied it to let the children discover the preciousness of our humanity. Preciousness means the quality of being beyond value. In the eyes of God we are beyond value, more than any other living thing. We begin with the physical body which is fearfully and wonderfully made and then go on to explore some of the major traits of our humanity.  In each instance we lead the children to discover the contrast between our humanity and plants or animals. This contrast is not the focus of our time with the children; but we will use these to compare and highlight how we were created.

We begin discovering the preciousness of our humanity by enjoying that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. In this block we explore how we were made in contrast to the grass, plants and trees. God has created us in ways that are unique to other living things.

In this block we discover that we are thoughtful; we plan ahead, we are kind to others, we can consider others and act upon it, and we can easily share. To highlight these precious traits, we compare these to specific animals that do not exhibit these traits.

Man is the only creature who wonders about himself, his surroundings, and God. It’s really something to see how much we wonder about. In this block, we will discover with the children some of the things they might wonder about. We often wonder why or how. Our goal is not to give them answers to the “whys” but to let them discover the sense of wondering we have and to show that none of the animals wonder why. To wonder about things is part of the preciousness of our humanity.

Ingenuity is defined as the quality of being clever, original, resourceful, and inventive. Only man was created by God with the ability to create and invent, especially when there is a need. In this block we will discover along with the children some of the things they sometimes take for granted. We have the ability to consider a situation and come up with a solution or adaptation. On the other hand, animals are not capable of thinking in this way. Ingenuity is a part of the preciousness of our humanity.

Language is a non-instinctive system of spoken, manual (signed), or written symbols by which human beings’ express ideas, emotions, and desires. Language is a huge part of the preciousness of our humanity. Animal communication is the transfer of information by sounds, scents and motions from the sender to the receiver that affects current behavior. It can impact future behavior, too. It is generally instinctive.

Artistic expression is the use of the imagination in the production of objects intended to be thought of or appreciated as beautiful, as in the arrangement of color, forms, sounds, or words. Only man was created by God with the ability to imagine and then express his thoughts in various creative ways. In this block we will discover along with the children some of the ways that we can express ourselves artistically. (Drawing, painting, music, sewing, etc.) Artistic expression is a part of the preciousness of our humanity.

On the other hand, animals are not capable of imagining or creating based on forethought. It is possible to get some animals to make a picture, but only after they have been trained to make certain strokes using certain colors. Any form of art is not inherent in the animal kingdom. You do not see them creating art in their own environment.

Cognitive skills, or cognitive abilities, are the ways that your brain remembers, reasons, holds attention, solves problems, thinks, reads and learns. Logic and reasoning skills help you solve problems and generate ideas. This cognitive ability is part of the preciousness of our humanity. God has endowed us with the ability to think logically well beyond any animal. There is a huge gulf between our cognition and that of animals. Animals mostly live by instinct and inborn behaviors.

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.