True Father
Children will learn about True Father’s life story- his love for animals, accepting his vision from Jesus, getting blessed to True Mother and more! “I dedicated my life entirely to bringing about the kingdom of God, the kingdom of the peaceful, ideal world.” -Rev. Moon
Educational Framework: Heart for God
“True Father” Unit: A Father’s Heart
LESSON PURPOSE: An introduction to True Father, Rev. Sun Myung Moon!
MATERIALS: learning toys, craft supplies, coloring pages
BOOKS: Korean culture picture books, TP Coloring Book
SONG IDEAS: When the Saints Go Marching In, Sailing With Our Father, Arirang, Tongil
SENSORY CENTERS: AS CHILDREN ARRIVE
Stuffed animals: play with lots of different animals.
Rice sensory bin: fill a bin with rice, cups, spoons & funnels.
Chopsticks sensory play: Provide kids chopsticks and have children move marshmallows or pom poms with chopsticks into a container! Or let children play with noodles!
SCRIPTURE: Display the weekly scripture reading, have an older child read it or use it in the lesson as you like.
“I dedicated my life entirely to bringing about the kingdom of God, the kingdom of the peaceful, ideal world.” -Rev. Moon
“When the family dwells at the focal point of God's love, that is the ideal family.” -Rev. Moon
INTRODUCE the Lesson:
WELCOME: SONG, PRAYER, TP Greeting
SONG IDEAS: When the Saints Go Marching In, Sailing With Our Father, Arirang, Tongil
REVIEW & TRANSITION:
During June, we’ve been learning all about A Father’s Heart and how to be super and strong like Daddy! Today we will talk about a very amazing man of God- True Father!
ATTENTION GRABBER: choose 1:
Photo of True Father: show children a photo of True Parents. Point to True Father- and ask children who he is. What do you know about him?
Stuffed Animal: Show children a stuffed animal. (Let each child hold a stuffed animal quietly in their lap) Ask what their favorite animals are.
INTRO:
Today we are going to learn about True Father! We will learn about his childhood and how he became True Father.
CHOOSE 1 OR 2: READ A STORY, SING A SONG OR POEM, WATCH A VIDEO: *Use this before OR with your teaching point.
VIDEOS: click on the link for educational, sing along or dance videos
Arirang Fan Dance Dance Along by Music Express Magazine
Korean Drum Dance Traditional Folkd Drums
SONG OR POEM:
Saints Go Marching In
Oh, when the saints go marchin' in,
Oh, when the saints go marchin' in,
Lord, I want to be in that number
When the saints go marchin' in.
And when the sun, begins to shine,
And when the sun, begins to shine,
Oh, how I want to be in that number
When the sun begins to shine.Arirang
Arirang, Arirang, Arariyo…
Arirang gogaero neomeoganda.
Nareul beorigo gasineun nimeun
Simnido motgaseo balbbyeongnanda.
Just as there are many stars in the clear sky,
There are also many dreams in our heart.There, over there that mountain is Baekdu Mountain,
Where, even in the middle of winter days, flowers bloom.
*TEACH the Lesson:
Discuss the following points together, asking children questions, drawing pictures, using anchor charts or post it notes.
TEACHING POINT 1: True father’s life
Tell the story using a lot of expression, hand motions & props such as: photos, stuffed animals, flags, Korean cultural items, mountain picture etc.
True Father was born in 1920 the mountainside of North Korea under Japanese rule. He grew up in a big farm family, being one of 8 children. He had a special love for animals and wondered how things go together. He would catch birds and try to get them to be married. He was very curious, nothing stopped him. One time he chased a weasel for 3 whole days to find out where it lived and to learn from it! True Father even caught eels with his bare hands and once with his teeth.
As he got older, he always tried to protect his friends. If a big kid was not being nice to a younger child, he would stand up for them! He trained himself to become very strong and protect those around him. He had a big heart. As he got older his family converted from Confucianism to Christianity. He learned about God’s love and Jesus’ sacrifice. He prayed a lot and wanted to understand God’s heart. He had many questions for God and climbed the mountain to pray.
One day when he was 15 years old praying on a mountaintop- Jesus appeared to him! And Jesus asked him to continue his mission. Since then True Father has dedicated his whole life to God and how he can serve the world to make it a better place. He studied the Bible all the time and wrote the Divine Principle. His very first church was built out of cardboard and mud. Later he was blessed in marriage to True Mother and together they had 14 children.
True Father was a very honest, passionate and caring person. He was very determined and built a huge following. He would preach for hours and hours to his disciples. He always lived for the sake of others, helping other people. Now people all over the world follow True Parents’ teachings and their lives have been changed by it. He made an impact in sports, arts, business, politics, the ocean and more! True Father always worked to bring all of God’s children together. True Father now watches over us from Heaven. We can talk to him when we pray, just like we can talk to God and Jesus. True Father’s dream is to see all of God’s children united in happiness.
GROUP ACTIVITIES: choose 1
Fun Trivia “True or False”: (thumbs up or down to guess)
True Father is from Japan. (F- Korea!)
True Father caught a bear. (F! A Weasel or Eel.)
True Father studied to be an engineer. (T!)
True Father met many presidents. (T!)
True Parents have held the largest wedding ceremonies in the world (T!)
True Father’s first church was made out of straw. (F-cardboard & mud.)
True Parents now have churches all over the world. (T)
True Father’s favorite color is pink. (T!)
True Father’s favorite sport to watch is golf. (F- soccer!)
True Father’s favorite song is Arirang. (T!)
Nature Walk: Go out on a nature walk together. Observe the animals & how they work together. Climb a “mountain” and say a prayer together.
TEACHING POINT 2: What we learn from true father *OPTIONAL EXTENSION
There is a lot we can learn from True Father. Discuss together some of the following points:
What can we learn from nature?
Why is prayer important?
How was True Father a good friend to others?
True Parents’ teachings are what bring us to church each Sunday and give us our community of faith! Why are you grateful for True Parents?
A lot of your parents and grandparents have met True Parents. What would you say to True Father if you could meet him?
What is your dream? How do you want to help the world? What do you want to be when you grow up?
GROUP ACTIVITY:
Cardboard Church- build a cardboard church together using cardboard boxes.
Yute- Play a game of yoot together. (for older children)
CONCLUSION:
We are so happy that God gave us True Parents! We are truly blessed children! True Father teaches us to love and appreciate everything and everyone around us. He also teaches us to be kind to all people and study God’s Words so that we can learn to live the best life.
TITHING & PRAYER:
Dear Heavenly Parent, thank you for showing us your Fatherly heart through True Father. We admire True Father’s curiosity, courage and strength. True Father, please watch over us and guide us from Heaven. We want to be brave and dream big dreams like you! Amen. Aju!
APPLY the Lesson:
CRAFTS: choose 1. Find these and more on Pinterest!
True Father coloring pages: Have children color the coloring pages with crayons or water colors!
Weasel: make a weasel out of a toilet paper roll, green construction paper & marker.
Korean drum: Create sogo drums using paper plates, red, blue and yellow paint and chopsticks.
Nature: Create toilet paper binoculars to take outside on a nature walk. Or create a collage or art work with items found on a nature walk.
Mountains: Paint or make mountains out of different colored construction paper. Talk about how True Father climbed the mountain to pray & “Faith can move mountains!”
SNACK IDEAS:
Korean food: Make simple versions of Mini Gimbap, Bi Bim Bap or pat bing su- shaved ice dessert. Talk about how in Korea there are lots of dishes spread around the table and chopsticks are used to share all of the different vegetables and side dishes together.
Chopsticks: serve fruit, rice or noodles and have children try using kids chopsticks to eat!
Enjoy the lesson! Feel free to submit photos to lgavin@unification.org Love seeing lessons come to life and each community