Lesson 6: I Love My Parents
Aim
* To learn about children’s love towards parents through the story of Brave Irene
Materials
* Brave Irene by William Steig
* Board game based on Brave Irene, dice, counters
* silhouette drawing of mother and father
* coloured pencils
Lesson Outline
1. Introduction
2. Story & Discussion
3. Activities – drama, board game, colour pictures, cut & paste pictures
4. Review aims of lesson
5. Prayer
1) Introduction
Remind children how their parents show them love
Ask the children how they can show their parents that they love them (obedience, helping them clean, give them a gift, saying thank you etc..)
Explain that today’s story is about a girl called Irene who really showed that she loves her mother.
2) Story & Discussion
* Irene is a young girl, who helps her mother deliver a package. The special package is a dress Irene’s mother has made for a duchess, who lives in a palace a good distance from Irene’s home.
When Irene’s mother becomes ill, Irene offers to deliver the package on foot, through wind and snow, to the palace. Irene’s journey provides to be very difficult. At one point, the little girl loses the dress and trudges on with the empty box to the palace if only to explain what has happened to the duchess. The end of the story finds Irene, the box, and the dress, safe inside the palace. The next day, Irene is returned, “special delivery”, compliments of the duchess’ staff, to her home.
*What did Irene do to show she loves her mother?
gave her mother extra blankets, made some tea, put more wood on the fire to keep her warm, bravely carried the dress her mother made for a duchess through a snowstorm.
*What happened to Irene as she walked through the snow?
the strong wind blew, she dropped the parcel, lost the dress, fell into the snow, got very cold
* Why didn’t Irene give up?
She loved her mother very much and wanted to help her
* After reading the story ask the children again what they can do to show they love their parents?
3) Activities
* Drama – Pretend to be Irene walking through the snow. Hold on tightly as the wind blows you this way and that, falling in the snow, twisting your ankle, dropping the parcel, losing the dress, searching for the dress, finding it etc…
* Play the board game showing Irene’s journey from home to the duchess.
Rules – Each player rolls a dice and moves their counter forward. When they land on a square with words they follow the instructions. The first player to reach the duchess and give her the dress is the winner.
* Colour the silhouette pictures of a mother and father, to show their own parents. Ask the children to give it to them as a way to show they love them.
*Cut and paste pictures of Brave Irene in the correct order
*Colour large picture of Irene
4) Review the lesson aim
To learn about children’s love towards parents through the story of Brave Irene
5) Prayer
* Say a prayer to thank God for your mummy and daddy. Ask God what you can do to show you love your parents this week.
