Lesson 7: I Love My Siblings

Aims
To learn about siblings love through the story of The Toy Brother
To learn that older should be an example to the younger

Materials
The Toy Brother by William Steig
a picture of the family to colour
pictures to cut and paste

Lesson Outline
1. Introduction
2. Story & Discussion
3. Activities – colour picture, cut & paste pictures, memory game, correct order of pictures
4. Review aims of lesson
5. Prayer

1) Introduction
* Remind the children that in a family we should love each other; parents and children, mummy and daddy and brothers and sisters

* Today’s lesson is about an older and younger brother. Ask how many brothers and sisters they have in their family. Who is the oldest? Who is the youngest? Would they like to be the oldest? Do they like being the youngest? Which is better? Are you friends with your brothers and sisters? Do you fight sometimes? Today’s story is about two brothers and how they learn to love each other.

2) Story & Discussion
*. In this medieval family, Yorick finds his younger brother Charles “a first-rate pain in the pants.” 

When his alchemist father and his mother set off for a week’s trip, Yorick seizes the opportunity to experiment in his father’s lab, hoping to learn to turn “donkey’s dung into gold.” Instead, he turns himself into a miniature boy, and Charles, who has long yearned to be “palsy-walsy” with his brother, is elated. Charles plays with Yorick as if he were a toy, building him a little house and feeding him crumbs. But by the story’s end, Yorick is restored to his proper size, and all are happy.

Questions
* Was Yorick a good boy? What did he do?
He didn’t want to play with Charles, thought only about himself, disobeyed his parents

* When he became small did he change?
He appreciated Charles, because he helped him, built him a house, gave him food

* God wants brothers and sisters to love each other. Parents want brothers and sisters to love each other. What can you do today to love your brother or sister? Older should take care of younger and younger should listen to older.

3) Activities
* Colour the family picture
* Cut and paste pictures in the correct order
* Use picture cards from the book. Ask the children to put them in the correct order.
* Play memory game
* Lay the cards on a table for the children to look at for one minute. Cover them with a cloth and  take one or two away. Can they say which ones are missing? Repeat.

4) Review the lesson aims
To learn about siblings love through the story of The Toy Brother
To learn that older should be an example to the younger

5) Prayer
* Say a prayer to thank God for their brothers and sisters. Ask God to help them to love their brothers and sisters this week.