Faith Alive Kindergarten Lesson Plan
September 14, 2014
Lesson #1: Catholic Heroes/Preferential Option for the Poor
Introduction:
What are some things that are important to you? Are there things that we all need to live?
(Discuss & list suggestions, including “needs” vs. “wants” review)
Lesson: All of God’s children should have food & water, work, clothes, a home, school, and
medical care. Many poor people do not have these things. Jesus gave us many examples of
how he was kind to the poor. It is our job to treat those people with extra care and respect and
to share what we have with the poor. When we do this, it makes Jesus very happy.
Catholic Heroes: Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta
There are many people who have shared their lives by helping the poor, just as Jesus asked
them to do. Some of these people are now saints in heaven because they loved helping the
poor. Others are still working to help the poor today.
The work is not always easy. It means living in the same places as the poor live (sometimes
without homes), eating the same food (and sometimes going hungry), and risking getting sick or
dying. People who are willing to stand up for the rights of the poor because they love Jesus are
“HEROES” for us. Are you willing to do this if Jesus asks you?
Mother Teresa: (Show Picture)
About 100 years ago a young girl named Agnes was born and she became one of those
“heroes”. She loved Jesus very much. When she was 12, she knew that Jesus wanted her to
become a missionary. That meant she must someday leave her home and family to teach other
people about God.
When Agnes was 18, she left her home to become a Catholic nun, and was very happy to teach
school children in India for 18 years. She became known as “Mother Teresa”. But Jesus had
bigger plans for her! Can you guess what Jesus wanted her to do?
One day, while riding on a train in India, she looked out the window and saw so many very poor
and suffering people. She prayed to Jesus about the poor people, and Jesus answered her!
Jesus told her, “Come, be my Light”. Jesus wanted her to leave her job as a teacher and help
take care of “the poorest of the poor”, the people she saw suffering on the streets in Calcutta,
India. She agreed to do this, because she loved Jesus so much. She was willing to bring the
“Light of Jesus” to the darkest places, full of the saddest poor people she could find.
For the next 50 years, Mother Teresa lived with the very poor people living on the streets in
India. She helped feed the hungry, treat their illnesses, comfort the lonely and dying people all
around her, and even care for babies that had been abandoned. Many other women joined
her, and soon they were helping poor people all over the world!
Where did Mother Teresa find the energy to do this hard work every day? She knew that Jesus’
love gave her the strength. In each person she helped, she believed that she was really helping
Jesus. So when she looked into the face of each poor person she helped, she thought about
how she was taking care of Jesus.
In the Bible, Jesus says, “Whatever you do to the least of my brothers (and sisters), that you do
to me.” So when we are kind to anyone, we are being kind to Jesus, (and when we are mean to
anyone, it’s like being mean to Jesus).
Five Finger Activity: Mother Teresa liked to count on her fingers to remind herself & others of
Jesus’ words. Hold up your hand, and repeat with me: “YOU-DID-IT-TO-ME” after each of
these examples:
When someone was hungry and you shared a snack with them…”You did it to me”
When someone was thirsty and you gave them a drink…
When someone was cold and you gave them a warm blanket or a place to stay…
When someone was sad and you cheered them up…
When someone was sick and you helped make them feel better…
When you were nice and shared a toy with your brother or sister…
When you made friends with the lonely new kid at school…
When you listened to your parents and your teachers…
So we don’t have to do really GREAT BIG THINGS to be a hero, do we? Mother Teresa said,
“In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do SMALL THINGS with GREAT LOVE.”
Challenge: What if we just gave away 10 BIG SMILES today? We could make 10 people very
happy, and Jesus would be smiling too! Remember, if Jesus lives inside each person, we are
really smiling at Jesus!
ACTIVITY: “You Did It To Me handprints (allow time to dry)
The Osirkoni (I would like to tell you a story about how one special gift changed the life of a
little boy and his village in Tanzania, Africa.)
Life was hard for five-year-old Idis. He lived in a village in Tanzania. It was the dry season, and
there was no rain. There was no water for people, animals, or gardens. No water for drinking,
cooking, or washing.
Each day his mother and the other village women walked a long way to get water. Then they
walked the long way home, each carrying a heavy bucket of water on her head. They were
gone all day.
Idis was lonely when his mother was gone. Sometimes he wandered around with the other
children whose mothers were gone too. He was always hungry and thirsty.
When his mother came home, she was tired, hot and hungry, too. But she couldn’t cook dinner
until she had gathered firewood. There wasn’t much food in the garden because there was
never enough extra water to help the plants grow well.
Idis followed his mother around. He felt better because he finally had a drink of water. But he
was still hungry for food, and for a happy time.
Then one day, everything changed because of a GIFT.
With the gift, Idis’ mother could carry more water home. She could get home faster too. Idis
was glad to have her home more.
Because of the gift, the garden got more water and grew better. The family had more food.
With the gift, his mother plowed more earth for a bigger garden. They could grow even more
food.
Because of this gift, Idis’ mother could give him more baths. He had all the bad germs washed
off of him, and he ate more and better food. Idis grew stronger and taller. He laughed more
and played happily. Soon he would be able to go to school.
What was this marvelous gift? It had long ears, a shaggy mane, strong legs, and a gentle spirit.
His mother called the gift “Osirkoni”, which means little donkey.
Discussion: How did the gift of a donkey help Idis’ family? How easily do we get water? What
happens when we don’t have water?*
NOTE: Each time you get a drink of water or wash your hands, you can think about and say a
prayer for the people of the world who cannot get water easily.
Learning About Hunger: (Demonstration & Activity)
Demonstration:
 Three paper plates, labeled “rich countries”, “middle countries”, and “poor countries”
 20 dry beans or pasta in a cup
 20 smiley-face stickers
There is plenty of food in the world, but it is not shared in a fair way. Some countries have too
much food, some have just enough food, and many countries do not have much food at all. The
people in the poor countries are hungry, don’t grow well, don’t have energy, and get sick more.
First, let’s divide up the stickers to show how many people live in the different kinds of
countries. (Place 3 stickers on “rich”, 5 stickers on “middle”, and 12 stickers on “poor”). See
how there are many poor people in the world?
Now we can divide up the food in the world. The beans/pasta represent all the food available.
(Place 16 beans on “rich”, 3 beans on “middle”, and 1 bean on “poor”).
Discussion: How do you feel about the way the food is shared? Is this fair? In which group are
we? (Rich) In which group do you think Idis’ family lives? (Poor) How can we make things more
fair? (Hint: There are 20 stickers/20 beans).
Activity: Give each child three small pre-labelled baggies, 20 stickers (place on outside bags) &
20 beans/pasta (place inside bags) in the same way the demo was done. (Or allow them to
follow along as you demonstrate on the plates, counting the stickers & beans). Let them take
the baggies home to show others what they learned.
Closing Song: “Open My Eyes” (Jesse Manibusan)
Let’s pray together by listening to this song about asking Jesus to help us know how we can
help other people. We need to open our EYES, EARS & HEARTS to know how to LOVE like Jesus.
Take Home:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Blessed Mother Teresa (Happy Saints) coloring page (home)
“Small Things with Great Love” Smiley Faces Challenge (home)
Learning about Hunger Activity*
“You Did It To Me” Handprint Activity*
Parent Handout