Alternate Activity 2: Have You Ever... ?
Activity time: 15 minutes
Materials for Activity
- A copy of Leader Resource 3, Have You Ever... ? Questions
Preparation for Activity
- Print out a copy of the Leader Resource, Have You Ever... ? Questions
- Decide whether you will do this activity with children seated at work tables or in a circle, where they can raise their hands, call out, or stand up to respond to the questions, or whether you prefer a more active activity, in which children move to different sides of the meeting room to indicate "yes" or "no."
Description of Activity
Invite the children to stand up, raise a hand, or call out, "That's me!" when you ask a question that they can answer "Yes." Or, if you want to give children an opportunity to move about, designate one side of the room as the place to go if they want to answer "Yes," and the other side of the room as the place to go to answer "No."
One at a time, read aloud the questions on the Leader Resource, Have You Ever... ? Questions. After each question is answered, encourage the children to look around to see how many others have had the experience that you have asked about.
If you like, stop and ask some volunteers to share their stories in more depth. Or, keep the questions going for a more rapid-pace activity, and ask for volunteers to share stories as you wind down the activity.
In this exercise, children see that their own experiences are important and that they share at least some of these experiences in common with some of their peers. If you have time and the children want to keep going, invite them to come up with more "Have you ever... ?" questions.
Including All Participants
These questions are geared specifically for this Moral Tales session. Some children may hear questions that make them think about something they have done wrong. It is a good idea to start with lighter, fun questions that any child will be able to answer without self-consciousness.