Objective: To teach early year students the importance of patience and how it can contribute to our life and those of others.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome everyone! We are going to start with the sign of the cross and close our eyes for a few moments and patiently remain still and quiet while we feel grateful for the gift of today. Try to make an effort not to move or make a noise. Let’s see if you can do it. (try for 1 minute). Congratulate those who managed to keep calm and quiet because they knew how to be patient. Explain that today you are going to talk about being patient.
Reflection
Let’s think about a time when we had to be patient. Maybe it was waiting for our turn to play with a toy or waiting for a yummy treat. Was it easy or hard to wait? Being patient can be difficult, but it’s very important.
When we are patient, others will be patient with us. We also show kindness and care for others by putting them first. Just like the farmer, we make little sacrifices, but in the end, beautiful things happen, like the seeds growing into beautiful plants.
Video:
Sesame Street: Zac Efron and Elmo – Patience
Prayer
Dear God, help us to be patient like the farmer waiting for the seeds to grow. Give us the strength to wait our turn and to put others first. Amen.
Objective: To teach primary students the importance of patience and how it can contribute to our life and to those of others.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome everyone! I hope you are all doing great today. We are going to start with the sign of the cross and close our eyes for a few moments and patiently remain still and calm while we feel grateful for the gift of today. Try to make an effort not to move or make noise. Let’s see if you can do it. (try for 1 minute). (Congratulate those who managed to keep calm and quiet because they knew how to be patient.)
This month, our theme is ‘Sowing Hope – Being Patient.’ We’ll explore how hoping for a better world and patience are connected and why both are important in our daily lives.
Reflection:
Imagine planting a seed in the soil. You water it frequently, make sure it gets sunlight, shelter it when it is bad weather and wait for it to grow into a beautiful plant. This process requires patience, right? Just like farmers need to wait for their crops to grow, we also need to be patient in our lives. But patience is not just about waiting; it’s also about how we behave while we’re waiting. It often requires us to keep calm, being tolerant and maintain a positive attitude. Breathing in and out helps while waiting too. Let’s practise some slow and deep breathing exercises. (Spend a minute or two doing slow breathing exercise in silence.) Put yourself in the place of that person taking long to do something. If it happened to you, you would want others to be patient with you!
Inspirational Quote: “Good things come to those who wait.”
Patience also means working hard for what you want. Not expecting results immediately.
Video: An Object Lesson on Patience
(Tell the students that if they want to see how the experiment ends, they need to be patient and research it up!)
Prayer:
Dear God, thank you for teaching us the value of patience. Help us to be patient like the farmers who wait for their crops to grow. Give us the strength to put others first and to make sacrifices when needed knowing that good things come to those who wait. Amen.
Objective: Adjusting our expectations and attitudes during times that call out for our waiting
Welcome (2 mins):
- The educator greets students and reminds them about the theme Sowing Hope and the importance of committing ourselves daily to believe and act in favour of our desired results.
- The educator leads students to quiet down, starting with the sign of the cross and a simple thanksgiving prayer / a short moment of silence to think about the beauty of a new morning.
Video (2 mins)
- The educator introduces the February theme, Being Patient, in the context of the plant that needs time to grow – unless one has sown ‘rapid seed’.
- The educator shows the clip Impossibly Fast-Growing Tree (1:20 mins).
Reflection (5 mins)
- The educator reminds student that in February we celebrate St Valentine’s and warns that love is not rapid – not just a fuzzy feeling – rather love is patient as St Paul teaches us.
- The educator states that St Paul whose feast is also in February is the Patron saint of Malta: it means he is our father in the faith – that again is not rapid since one learns how to trust – God and others – better.
- The educator leads students to think about the times they are impatient, especially with themselves, and encourages them since commitment usually includes sacrifice– our patient dedication, even when we don’t see immediate results for our hard work.
Prayer (1 min):
Dear God, thank you for the gift of faith that expresses itself in patient-love and hope. Help us when we feel impatient, especially with ourselves and teach us how to grow in faith and love. Strengthen us in hope that we may be able to see the fruit of our sacrifices and hard work. Amen
Objective: Adjusting our expectations and attitudes during times that call out for our waiting
Welcome (2 mins):
- The educator greets students and reminds them about the theme Sowing Hope and the importance of committing ourselves daily to believe and act in favour of our desired results.
- The educator leads students to quiet down, starting with the sign of the cross and a simple thanksgiving prayer / a short moment of silence to think about the beauty of a new morning.
Video (2 mins)
- The educator introduces the February theme, Being Patient, in the context of the plant that needs time to grow – unless one has sown ‘rapid seed’.
- The educator shows the clip Impossibly Fast-Growing Tree (1:20 mins).
Reflection (5 mins)
- The educator reminds student that in February we celebrate St Valentine’s and warns that love is not rapid – not just a fuzzy feeling – rather love is patient as St Paul teaches us.
- The educator states that St Paul whose feast is also in February is the Patron saint of Malta: it means he is our father in the faith – that again is not rapid since one learns how to trust – God and others – better.
- The educator leads students to think about the times they are impatient, especially with themselves, and encourages them since commitment usually includes sacrifice– our patient dedication, even when we don’t see immediate results for our hard work.
Prayer (1 min):
Dear God, thank you for the gift of faith that expresses itself in patient-love and hope. Help us when we feel impatient, especially with ourselves and teach us how to grow in faith and love. Strengthen us in hope that we may be able to see the fruit of our sacrifices and hard work. Amen