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Baha'i Children class Free Kids Can Do Ruhi Book 3

THE NATURE OF PRAYER Grade 2 Lesson 1

RUHI BOOK 3 GRADE 2  WELCOME
WELCOME

Welcome to Lesson 1: The nature of prayer.  Abdu’l-Baha tells us that prayer is a “conversation with God”. 

We already mentioned that when we pray, we speak to God.  When we love another, our greatest wish is to be close to the one we love and to express the love he feels. 

To understand the nature of prayer and why we pray, we would need to also look at the effects of prayer. We can ask God for things that we want, and He will answer our prayers in accordance with Divine wisdom.

We can pray for things related to the specific circumstances of our lives and for the development of spiritual qualities, both in ourselves and in others.

We must understand that prayer is not just a time for us to make requests of God. Remember that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá tells us, “In the highest prayer, men pray only for the love of God, not because they fear Him or hell, or hope for bounty or heaven. . . .”

What are some of the things we pray for?

WHO IS ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ?

We will be using many stories to help us understand the virtues and concepts we are learning. Many of the stories will be about Abdu’l-Bahá. Let us learn a little about him.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá is the Son of Bahá’u’lláh. He is the Centre of Bahá’u’lláh’s Covenant, the unerring Interpreter of His Writings, and the Perfect Exemplar of His Teachings. He was given many titles during His lifetime, including “The Master”; the one He preferred and took for Himself, however, was ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

Meaning of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
  • Abdu’l means Servant
  • Baha means Splendor or Glory. Baha is one of the names of Bahá’u’lláh

Abdu’l-Baha means “Servant of Bahá”—Servant of Bahá’u’lláh.

EACH SET HAS PRAYERS TO MEMORIZE

For the next 3 classes, we will memorize the following prayer 

O Lord! I am a child; enable me to grow beneath the shadow of Thy loving kindness. I am a tender plant; cause me to be nurtured through the outpourings of the clouds of Thy bounty. I am a sapling of the garden of love; make me into a fruitful tree. Thou art the Mighty and the Powerful, and Thou art the All-Loving, the All-Knowing, the All-Seeing.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Would Anyone Like To Say A Prayer?
Send A Prayer To A Family Near You!
O Lord! I am a child
Memorization Aid

Download and print the memorization aid. Use it as part of a lapbook or glue it into your class notebook.

Download Filling the blank Memorization Aid here

Download the Prayer the Print Glue to your class notebook here

Songs for grade 2
STRIVE THAT DAY BY DAY
BOUNDLESS LOVE
I Want To Be Happy
I Want To Br Happy
Quote for class to memorize
Remember that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá tells us that prayer is “Conversation With God”

Through our prayers, we speak to God of our love for Him. We love God and our greatest wish is to be close to God and to express the love we feel. We know that even though God knows what is in our hearts, still we want to tell Him of our love for Him and thank Him for the bounties that He has showered upon us.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá lived in a state of prayer. His heart was always turned towards God. He often mentioned that there is nothing sweeter in life than prayer. When we converse with God each day, our love for Him grows stronger, and we feel closer to Him. Our hearts are opened, and enkindled with His love, and our souls become joyful. God loves us more than we can possibly imagine. So it is that we constantly receive His bounties as we pray to Him to guide us, protect us, and help us become worthy of His love. To aid us in our efforts to live our lives in a state of prayer, with our hearts always turned towards God, let us memorize the following quotation:

Listen to the Quote
Meaning of the words in the quote
INTONE

She stood before the meeting with her head bowed and her eyes closed. Silence filled the room.  Then she lifted her head and began to intone the verses of God in a melodious voice.

Bahereh taught her children to intone beautiful prayers at the beginning of each new day and in the evening before they slept.

WHO WANTS TO PRACTICE INTONING THEIR NAME? (have a few kids do this)
Kindle

The grass in the field was very dry.  In the intense heat of the summer, the dry grass kindled, and the fire spread to the edge of town.
After reading a few passages from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, Florence felt the love of God kindled in her heart.

Attract

We enjoy looking at flowers because they are beautiful. We are attracted to their beauty.  

When we feel God’s love, we want to be near Him.  Our hearts are attracted to God by the power of His love.

WORKSHEET TO MEMORIZE PRAYER

DOWNLOAD IT HERE

STORY RELATED TO LESSON
STORY OF RÚHU”LLÁH

When Ruhu’llah was about seven years old, he travelled with his father to the Holy Land.  There he had the great privilege of meeting Baha’u’llah, Who had brought to humanity God’s message for this day.  Ruhu’llah’s heart became filled with love for Baha’u’llah, and he wanted nothing more than to serve Him.  Upon returning home to Persia, he spent his time sharing with others news of Baha’u’llah’s coming. Ruhu’llah was truthful, honest, courteous and kind, and his words had great effect on all who heard him.  He rose at every dawn to pray and, with his heart turned towards God, passed each day in servitude to Him.

One day, Ruhu’llah was summoned to appear before an official.  At that time, many people were fearful of the new message that was being spread throughout the land.  They clung to beliefs of the past, and the followers of the new Faith often became victims of harsh punishments.  For this reason, Ruhu’llah’s father was in great danger.  As proof that he had raised his sons in this new Faith, Ruhu’llah was asked to say a prayer in the presence of the official.  This, it was hoped, would be enough to convince the official to condemn his father.  Calmly, Ruhu’llah prepared his heart to offer supplication to God.  Then, in a melodious voice, he chanted a Baha’i prayer with exquisite beauty.  The official was deeply moved.  He dismissed the matter immediately, saying he would not condemn a man who had raised a child so wonderful.  And so Ruhu’llah’s father was saved.

Later, when Ruhu’llah was about twelve years old, he would once again set out with his father to visit the Holy Land.  This time, he would be blessed to pass his days in the presence of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, who loved Ruhu’llah very much and especially enjoyed hearing him chant in his beautiful voice the many prayers he knew by heart.  Ruhu’llah would leave the Holy Land ablaze with Divine love, ready to sacrifice his all for the Cause of God.

Download all the extra resources here

BRILLIANT STAR MAGAZINE STORY HERE

GAMES FOR GRADE 2 TO PLAY

There are two types of activities related to drama in these lessons.  The first set of activities is concerned with the development of skills and abilities.

To acquire the discipline yet freedom of movement needed to participate in creative drama, the children must learn to control their actions within a defined space.  The following activities will contribute to the development of this ability.

  1. Have your children stand about two meters apart from one another.  Each child should imagine that he or she is standing in a square measuring about one and a half meters by one and a half meters.  Ask them to draw with their eyes the boundaries of their imaginary squares.  Then, have each of them walk along the border of his or her own square.  
  2. Next, tell them to imagine that there is a rope about half a meter above the ground stretching across the middle of each of their squares.  Ask them to jump over it, crawl under it, walk along it, hop along it, and go around it without leaving their squares.


The children also need to learn to cooperate and work together.  The following activities will help them develop some of the corresponding activities.

  1. Divide the youngsters into pairs.  Think of a very heavy object that is familiar to them and ask each pair to pretend that they are carrying it together.
  2. Then ask the pair to pretend they are digging a well together.  
  3. Now tell them to imagine that one of the children’s mother has invited a guest over, but the guest has arrived early before the mother has returned home from work.  One child in each pair is the guest.  The other child invites the guest in and offers him or her something refreshing to drink while they wait for the mother.


The second type of activity is related to the theme of the lesson, the state of prayer.  Tell the children that they are going to improvise a situation about the state of prayer.

  1. Begin by having the children return to their imaginary squares.  Once they are in position, explain to them that, although we pray to God with words, other things, or their very existence, we are asking for God’s blessings and bounties.  In this way, all created things are praying to God.  A plant, for example, needs rain to grow.  By its very existence, the plant prays, “O God! Send me rain!”
  2. Now, tell the children to pretend that they are in a field of corn or another crop with which they are familiar.  For some days there has been no rain on the field  How do they look?  Days pass, but there is not a could in the sky.  The plants droop more and more, day by day.  Silently, they are praying.  Then, suddenly, there is a clap of thunder in the distance which grows louder and louder.  You can use your hands or some instrument to make the clap of thunder.  Then start slowly tapping on something, pretending to be rain.  Gradually tap faster and faster.  The rain has come, and little by little, the plants raise their drooping leaves.
CRAFT IDEAS
ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS

There are many craft and activity suggestions for you to consider. When you choose what you would like to do with the class, make sure all the required supplies are available for the children. 

Prayer Hand

To make the prayer hand you will need 

  1. Cardstock is about 6 in x 11in
  2. Pencil
  3. Scissors
  4. printed prayer or quote
  5. Child

Fold the paper in half so your paper is 6in x 5.5 in. Place the child’s hand on the fold. Use a pencil to trace the hand. The fingers can be together or apart. Try to get as much of the fold as part of the drawn hand as possible as this gives more space for the prayer to be stuck. Cut out hand shape. Open and glue the prayer to the hand. (alternative or addition is to write who you will pray for on the fingers.) Decorate

Call and talk to God

Decorate this phone and remember that prayer is a conversation with God

Download here

POPUP CARD
How to make the POPUP card
  • Download the template
  • cut out the base, there are 2 per page
  • cut out the cover
  • Print and cut out the prayer

When you are cutting out the pieces, the straight lines are cut lines and any dashed/dotted lines are to be folded. The folded lines are only on the card base in the middle.

Once the pieces are cut out, take the base and push the partially cut middle out. This is the only tricky part if you are not familiar with popups. take a look at the photo below.

Glue the quote and the cover. Done.

View the instruction on the blog post

Make A Door Hanger

Template # 1

Print and cut the round template.

The base can be cut from cardboard. to do this print the base and use it as a template to cut the cardboard.

The top part is decorated and stuck to the base.

A string is threaded through the hole and then the craft can be hung on a door.

Note that you can use a piece of ribbon and glue it in between the base and the top to form a loop and hang it on the door.

TEMPLATE #2 

Print and Cut the straight template or use the 9-pointed strar one below. Add your own message and decorate

9 pointed star tempalte

Decorate the Prayer

Decorate the frame of the prayer or use the blank template to write your prayer in the shape and decorate it.

You can also use any shape you like. My daughter and I did this activity years ago from Varga Magazine. We used the shape of a bird.

DOWNLOAD BIRD SHAPE HERE

LAPBOOK General Information

As mentioned in the welcome lesson for Grade 2. We will be making a lapbook for each lesson. The pieces we put into a lapbook are called mini books. Lapbooks help to keep information organized and help the kids memorize. Plus they a typically lots of fun to put together. You can choose to use all the suggested mini-books for a lesson or you can just combine lessons into one lapbook

For each lapbook you will need a file folder and any of the mini-books that are suggested . For information on Lapbooks take a look at this short  video below (not my viedo)

Lapbook for lesson 1

There are 2 versions of lesson 1 here. Both have elements for lessons 1 to 3 in one lapbook. The first one has small images and mini-books. the second is simplified, larger and fewer pieces

Print, cut out and decorate the pieces. You can finish the lapbook over a period of days or all at once. OR Choose to do one or two items from each of the 3 lessons and assemble them into one lapbook 

Please note that you don’t have to create the lapbook. You can use the mini books and glue them into a notebook or just keep them as they are.

Download all the elements for the lapbook here

SIMPLE lapbook

This is what Burlington is using this year (2022). Larger and fewer pieces. Note that we created a flap so that there is space under the LESSON 1 flap to house lessons 2 and 3.

Here is a video to show how easier it is to create a flap (5:58 timestamp)

All pieces can be found here

A Closer Look

This video takes a closer look at the lesson 1 files for simple lapbook

ruhi book 3 grade 2 resources
Recommend a resource: leave us a comment

LESSON 2 HERE

ALL GRADE 2 HERE

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Baha'i Celebrations Children class Free Ruhi Book 3

BAHÁ’U’LLÁH IS THE MANIFESTATION OF GOD FOR TODAY GRADE 4 LESSON 1

Lesson 1 Grade 4 Set 1 Ruhi Book 3

Introducing The Principal Theme

Welcome to the first set of lessons for Grade 4. These lessons seek to expand our understanding that, in the incomparable figure of Bahá’u’lláh, God has revealed to humanity His greatest Name, the All-Glorious.

It is amazing to be alive at this moment in history, in this promised Day of God, when He Who is the King of Kings, the Glory of God, has been made manifest.

This first lesson is intended, above all, to uplift our hearts and to make us aware that, in every corner of the globe, the life and teachings of Bahá’u’lláh are the cause of celebration; everywhere people are raising their voices in praise of Him and joining hands to build the peaceful and united world He envisions.

To set the scene for the ensuing discussions, let us review what we have learned in the third grade.

Can you name some of the Manifestations of God that have brought the light of His knowledge to the peoples of the world down the ages?

You have already learned that the Manifestations of God are very special Beings Who come from time to time to guide humanity along the right path.  They reflect the attributes of God as a mirror reflects the light of the sun.  You have also learned that the Bab was a Manifestation of God who prepared the way for the coming of Baha’u’llah.  Baha’u’llah is the Manifestation of God for today, which means that, by knowing Him, we are able to gain knowledge of God and that, by obeying Him, we live in accordance with the Will of God.

Humanity is like a child who needs to be educated.  When a child has learned all that there is to learn in one grade, he must move on to the next.  In this new grade, he will have another teacher, as wonderful as the previous one, who will teach him what he could not have understood before.  If a child is too attached to the old teacher and decides to reject the new one, he will never progress.  In the same way, when a Manifestation of God appears on earth, it is the duty of the followers of all earlier Manifestations to accept Him and learn to live according to His teachings.  You already know that we live in a special Day, the beginning of a New Era in the long history of the human race.  Baha’u’llah is the Manifestation of God that teaches us how we are to live in this Age.  It is now the duty of the followers of every religion to investigate the claims of Baha’u’llah, recognize Him, and follow Him, as He is the new Teacher spoken about for thousands of years Whose teachings will enable us to build the promised Kingdom of God on earth- a peaceful and prosperous world civilization based on the principles He has brought to humanity.

Every one of God’s Manifestations has spoken of a time when humanity would forever lay down its weapons and learn to live in peace and happiness. For centuries, people everywhere have anxiously awaited the promised Day of God. We are fortunate to know that this new Day has dawned. God’s promise to humanity has been fulfilled by Bahá’u’lláh, and people from every race, religion, and nationality are uniting around His vision of humanity as one family. His teachings show us how to replace estrangement with loving fellowship, tyranny with justice, conflict and contention with peace and tranquility. Although we have heard many accounts related to Bahá’u’lláh in the past, now in Grade 4, we will learn the story of His life and much more about His Revelation.

But before we begin our lessons on His life, let us go back only a few years to 2017. Does anyone know what special anniversary took place that year? It was the two hundredth anniversary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh, and all over the world, in every land, people celebrated His life and teachings. I am going to share with you a map that shows all the countries in the world where celebrations were held, and you will see a few photographs from different events. Then I will tell you some stories about these festivities.

In this lesson, you are also going to memorize a quotation in which Bahá’u’lláh declares that the promised Day of God has come and that the sun of His bounty is shining resplendent for all to see. And we know that soon, as more and more people begin to follow His teachings and work together side by side, God’s Kingdom will be established on earth. Bahá’u’lláh is the King of Glory.

  • Why do the Manifestations of God come to humanity from time to time?
  • How can we live in accordance with the Will of God?
  • Can you mention the names of some of the Manifestations of God that came before The Bab and Baha’u’llah?
  • What should the people of the world do now that a new Manifestation of God has come to guide them?
Lesson 1 Grade 4 Set 1 Ruhi Book 3

There will be 3 prayers to memorize for lessons 1 to 4. All will be listed, but it is recommended to choose one at a time and learn over the next 4 lessons.

Memorization Aids:

Get Set 1 Here

Prayer 1

Lesson 1 Grade 4 Set 1 Ruhi Book 3

Prayer 2

Lesson 1 Grade 4 Set 1 Ruhi Book 3

Prayer 3

Lesson 1 Grade 4 Set 1 Ruhi Book 3
Lesson 1 Grade 4 Set 1 Ruhi Book 3
Lesson 1 Grade 4 Set 1 Ruhi Book 3
Lesson 1 Grade 4 Set 1 Ruhi Book 3

The promised Day of God is come! He Who is the Manifestation of the Adored One hath been established upon the throne of His name, the All-Loving, and the sun of His bounty hath cast its rays upon the seeing and seen alike.

BAHÁ’U’LLÁH

Meaning Of Words

Want to know the meaning of the words in the quote? Look them up and record them here. Keep it safe in your notebook!

SEND A POSTCARD

Send to a friend or neighbor. Use email, snail mail, or hand-deliver!

Grade 4 Lesson 1 Set 1 Ruhi Book 3
Lesson 1 Grade 4 Set 1 Ruhi Book 3

Siyah Chal

Bahá’u’lláh

Creadell Haley – Baha’u’llah

The Ancient Beauty – Titles of Bahá’u’lláh

Prince of Peace 

Who Is the Prophet

Photos of Celebration From Around The World

Vignette 1

In the rural parts of India, whenever there is a special celebration, homes are decorated with “rangoli”. Rangoli are large, colorful designs created on the floor or ground, using petals from flowers, colored rice and sand, and sometimes dry flour. Usually, the mother and daughters will rise early in the morning, clear the space for the rangoli, outline the design with chalk, and then fill it in with the petals and colored rice and sand they have prepared.

Now, in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, there is a small village of about one thousand people, and to celebrate the two hundredth anniversary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh, many families decorated the ground in front of their homes with rangoli. Can you imagine how beautiful the village looked as the festivities were approaching?

In preparation for the celebration, fifty-five people fasted as a sign of their love for Bahá’u’lláh. When one fasts, one stops eating for a period of time so that, instead of thinking about the things of this world, one’s thoughts are focused on the spiritual. Then, as nightfall came, lamps were lit in front of almost all of the homes, and a group of youth went through the streets of the village, playing drums and inviting everyone to the celebration.

At 8:00 in the evening, the festivities began. Prayers were chanted, songs were sung, skits were performed, presentations were given. Youth arose and spoke of Bahá’u’lláh and His teachings. So joyful were the festivities that they continued into the early morning hours of the next day. But the celebrations were not yet over. The villagers organized a series of prayer meetings for the next two days. Some eighty homes were opened for this purpose, and around four hundred people altogether gathered in prayer during those two days, to offer their gratitude to Bahá’u’lláh and ask for His continued guidance and blessings.

Vignette 2

In one town in Turkey, the friends spent weeks preparing to celebrate the two hundredth anniversary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh. They rented a theatre hall for the occasion, sent out invitations, and prepared a program that included a presentation on His life and teachings. There were even posters about the event. Now, a week before the celebration, one of the organizers received a telephone call. It was a woman who had gone to the theatre hall for the gathering only to find out no one was there. She had learned about the Blessed Beauty, Bahá’u’lláh, she said, five years earlier. Every day since, she explained, she remembered Him in her prayers. She was so excited to be able to participate in the celebration of His Birth that she had mixed up the dates and had come to the event one week early!

Vignette 3

In Tanzania, more than 13,000 people participated in festivities, held in some ninety places all around the country, to celebrate the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh. Try to imagine what kind of preparations were needed. Work had to begin weeks and weeks in advance, and of course, at every step, the friends received divine confirmation. Here are accounts from two communities.

A few families from a village near Lake Victoria realized that the community would need more money in order to carry out its plans. It had organized two days of activities and expected many guests from other villages, who would need to be fed and offered a place to stay. The community also wanted to rent a screen on which to show a most beautiful film about Bahá’u’lláh called “Light to the World”. So what did these families do? They decided that, since they lived near a lake, they would raise ducks and then sell them when the market was good. Thankfully, the number of ducks multiplied, and a month before the celebrations they were sold. Together with other contributions received, the community had all the funds it needed to take care of its many guests. 

Vignette 4

In the capital city of Dominica, a beautiful island in the Caribbean, a group of youth painted lovely murals on the outside walls of the Bahá’í Center as a gift for the bicentenary celebrations. The community rallied around the project, with many people donating supplies such as paint. The building had not been repaired for several years, and since the youth began by scraping off the old paint, they decided they would also strengthen the foundation of some of the walls with stones collected from the ocean. And that was most fortunate, for, a few weeks before the celebrations were to begin, a strong hurricane tore through the island, and many people sought shelter in the Center. When the storm was over, they saw that the Center was one of the few buildings left standing, and it became a place of refuge for those who were homeless and a hub of activity as work began to rebuild the island.

Vignette 5

On the occasion of the bicentenary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh, the Universal House of Justice wrote a most beautiful message addressed to all those who celebrate the Glory of God. You know, of course, that Glory of God refers to Bahá’u’lláh. In the message, the House of Justice states clearly that Bahá’u’lláh is God’s Manifestation for today and that He has given us the teachings we need to bring about peace and live in unity. It invites people everywhere to participate in building a better world.

Now, in many places, the message was read and studied when people gathered to celebrate Bahá’u’lláh’s Birth. One such meeting took place in a town in Uganda. A large hall was selected for this purpose, and many local leaders, including religious leaders, attended. There was much chatting among the participants, and the hall was filled with noise, until the message started to be read aloud. Then everyone fell silent, as they listened to the words of the House of Justice. The message captured their attention completely. At the end, some of the local leaders asked the Bahá’í friends to give them copies so that they could study the message again later themselves. Even one of the religious leaders decided that the members of his church should read it. “It is the duty of all people to respond to the call of Bahá’u’lláh,” said one leader who, before the bicentenary events, knew very little about the Bahá’í Faith.

Vignette 6

Jamundí is a town located in the southwestern region of Colombia. Some thirteen gatherings, attended by more than 1,600 people, were held throughout the town to celebrate the bicentenary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh. One of these was carried out by students and teachers at the Simmons Bahá’í School, which, for many years, has offered primary and secondary education, as well as a kindergarten program, to young people in the town.

Now, just before families and friends were set to arrive, a dark cloud formed in the sky and a strong storm moved in, flooding the streets. With great concern, the children and teachers waited for their guests, but the rain was not stopping. Suddenly, a stream of people started arriving, all in wet clothes. The venue was filled to capacity, and the program began.

Lights lit up the room, and children intoned prayers and quotations by heart. The sweetness with which they raised their voices to recite the words of the Blessed Beauty touched the hearts of those present. But the most special moment was yet to arrive. The narration of the story of the life of Bahá’u’lláh was under the care of a group of children in fifth grade. Little by little, and with astonishing confidence, each child took a step forward and narrated a small fragment of the life of this Divine Educator. “Bahá’u’lláh, the Manifestation of God for this Age, was born in Ṭihrán, in a faraway country called Iran,” noted the first. With a firm step, a little girl moved towards the microphone to add, “Ever since He was young, Bahá’u’lláh displayed extraordinary signs and qualities for a child His age.” The next one made reference to the dream that Bahá’u’lláh’s father had, in which his Son appeared to be swimming in a great ocean and from each string of His hair a fish was attached. “The multitude of fish followed Him without being able to hurt him,” concluded the boy. The most moving moment was when the smallest child spoke about the sufferings of Bahá’u’lláh. He stood in front of the microphone and kept quiet for a moment. “I don’t know why they hurt Him so much when He was such a good person,” said the little boy with a quivering voice, which made it difficult for him to continue. At that moment, his teacher stepped towards him and embraced him tenderly. “They placed such a heavy chain around His neck” was all the child could add. Tears flowed down the faces of some of the guests. The dignified manner and the emotion with which the children recounted the story of the Blessed Beauty moved deeply the hearts of the more than seven hundred people who attended the event.

The presentation was followed by a burst of jubilation when the children danced in colorful costumes and hats to rhythms representative of Colombia: bambuco, currulao, torbellino, and cumbia. At the end of the event, the parents expressed how happy they were to have found out more about the life of Bahá’u’lláh and the teachings He brought to the world. 

Vignette 7

Santiago is the capital of Chile, and over five million people live in that city. It is surrounded by majestic mountains and, at the foot of one of them, just above the city, a beautiful Bahá’í House of Worship has been built. It took many years to finish the work. Perhaps you have seen a picture of it. Thankfully, it was completed about a year before the bicentenary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh, in time for the celebrations. There was a gathering in the Temple itself, and a choir sang so beautifully that their voices lifted up to the heavens the souls of everyone present. Outside, on the Temple grounds, there was an exhibition on the life of Bahá’u’lláh, and streams of visitors came to see it. The mayor of the city even came to accept a gift of 2,000 trees from the Bahá’í community, as part of a project to help keep the environment healthy. It was a most joyous time.

Vignette 8

In the capital city of Azerbaijan, the government gave consent for the Bahá’ís to hold their bicentenary celebrations in the most important cultural center in the country! What is more, the government employees who worked for the center helped the Bahá’ís with all aspects of the program. An orchestra played music, while a slide presentation with pictures of Bahá’í Holy Places was given. A film about Bahá’u’lláh, “Light to the World”, was watched by more than three hundred and fifty people in complete silence. No one even got up from their seats once. Journalists, writers, lawyers, professors—people from all walks of life were there. But it was the participation of one of the state ministers that was most encouraging. Again and again he urged the Bahá’ís to work harder to spread Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings. He was greatly impressed to see that there were Tablets revealed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá about the country, and he suggested that they be widely circulated so that the entire population could learn about the Faith. “You are involved in very profound and far-reaching processes,” he told the Bahá’ís. “It is not an easy task and will take quite a long time, but there is no other way. Sooner or later humanity will turn to Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings.”

And, the same thing happened in a large city in another part of the country. The program, too, was held at an important government facility with the help of its workers. Around two hundred people attended, and an official from the government opened the program with a short and passionate speech. In a booming voice, he invited the entire hall to celebrate “the coming of the new Prophet of God for this Age!”

Vignette 9

Many of the celebrations for the two hundredth anniversary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh were held in theatres and large halls. Most, however, took place in small neighborhoods in cities across the globe. Can you imagine how many celebrations people had in their homes and in local meeting places? It would be impossible to count them all. But let us listen to the story of two.

East Timor is an island nation, north of Australia. There, about thirty youth decided to host a program in their neighborhood. They made almost all the preparations themselves, and as the day approached, they slept very little, so busy were they in finalizing their plans. To their great joy, more than one hundred people from the neighborhood came to the program. The youth performed dances and skits and gave short talks. They spoke very clearly about who Bahá’u’lláh is and what they had learned about His teachings from Bahá’í institute courses. With tears in their eyes, they humbly thanked their tutors with small gifts for helping to change their lives. All the guests were happy that day, and the youth were greatly encouraged by the success of the event. They had indeed showed courage in talking so openly and directly about Bahá’u’lláh and His Mission.

On the other side of the world, there is another large island, called Prince Edward Island, which is part of Canada. A Bahá’í, new to a neighborhood in the capital city, wondered what to do as part of the festivities for Bahá’u’lláh’s Birth. The idea came to host a simple dinner, to which some of the neighbors would be invited to bring a little food and learn about Bahá’u’lláh. So, colorful invitations were made that read: “Celebrating the Vision of Bahá’u’lláh: Unity of all races, religions and cultures”. After delivering the invitations door to door, the new neighbor waited to see how many people would come. The apartment was not very big, but a large crowd was not expected. When the time arrived, however, a stream of people flooded into the apartment. There was hardly any space to move! After sharing food together, they had a lively discussion about unity and read quotations from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh about the oneness of humanity. Everyone agreed that they should have more discussions of this kind.

Vignette 10

The BriBri are a people in Central America. A large number of the BriBri people reside in a mountainous region called Talamanca, which is part of Costa Rica today. When the Bahá’í community of Talamanca thought about how many people might come to the bicentenary celebrations, the friends realized that their local center would be too small. They decided to build a new structure which could hold all of their expected guests. And so work began. Men, women, young and old—everyone helped. They bought enough wood to make a long structure with a high ceiling and a metal roof. The space could hold up to five hundred seats, and at one end, they built a stage.

Now, have you ever seen pictures of the beautiful gardens around the buildings at the Bahá’í World Centre? Well, the friends in Talamanca beautified their new building with similar gardens, and there were nine-pointed stars made of plants and colorful flowers on the grounds around the building and paths lined with white stones. As the long-awaited day approached, work intensified and excitement mounted. Food was prepared, and transportation arranged for some of the participants. And guess how many people came, from all over the region: 514! The building was filled to capacity!

For two days, they celebrated. There was music, singing, drama, and dance. When the time came on the second day to watch the film about Bahá’u’lláh, “Light to the World”, hearts were so transformed that no one could hold back their tears of joy and gratitude. And, at the end, everyone rose—even the older folks—as the two-day celebration came to a close with dancing to the song, “La Fiesta del Pueblo”.

Mirror

  • The children work in pairs to mirror each other’s actions.
  • Select one person to be the mirror for the first round and then swap after a few minutes.
  • After both children have had a turn, change partners.
  • Lay down some ground rules, so that the mirror doesn’t feel obliged to do something they are not comfortable with (e.g. no fingers up noses).
  • You could set the scene, e.g. they are doing their morning routine, hosting a holy day, doing their exercises or practicing a dance.

Make a Rangoli (Based on vignette 1)

Rangoli are large, colorful designs created on the floor or ground, using petals from flowers, colored rice and sand, and sometimes dry flour. Usually, the mother and daughters will rise early in the morning, clear the space for the rangoli, outline the design with chalk, and then fill it in with the petals and colored rice and sand they have prepared. Make your own on the floor or use a large piece of cardboard to create.

Plan an event for your community! (Based on vignettes 2, 8, 9, and 10)

Use the workbook below and follow the simple steps by answering the questions. Remember to invite me!

Download the planning workbook

Grade 4 Lesson 1 Ruhi Book 3 Set 1

The Light To The World (Based on Vignettes 3, 8, and 10 )

Watch the film ” The light to the world” and then record your thoughts. This could be on what your actions might be, on how you felt, etc.

Draw A Mural (Based on Vignette 4)

Draw a mural with your class on a wall if possible or in class on a long strip of Kraft paper.

Message from the Universal House of Justice (Based on Vignette 5)

Have you read or listened to any letters from The Universal House of Justice (UHJ)? These letters offer powerful insights into the current state of humanity as well as guidance. You can read it here . Share any part of the letter and what you understand from it in a format of your choice: a drawing, a newspaper article, a poem.

Retell the story of Bahá’u’lláh (Based on Vignette 6)

Plan to re-tell a small fragment of the life of Bahá’u’lláh at a feast or holy day. This can be each child saying one of the points, or drawing an image of each point without having an image of Bahá’u’lláh.

  1. “Bahá’u’lláh, the Manifestation of God for this Age, was born in Ṭihrán, in a faraway country called Iran,”
  2. “Ever since He was young, Bahá’u’lláh displayed extraordinary signs and qualities for a child His age.”
  3. “The multitude of fish followed Him without being able to hurt him,”
  4. “I don’t know why they hurt Him so much when He was such a good person,”
  5. “They placed such a heavy chain around His neck” was all the child could add. 

Design a house of worship (Based on Vignette 7)

The Bahá’í House of Worship was finished just in time for the bicentenary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh. If you had to design a House of Worship what would that look like?

Note that All Bahá’í Houses of Worship are required to have a nine-sided shape (nonagon) and to have nine pathways that lead outward and nine gardens surrounding them.

Other

Dayspring magazine has lots of activities: Download here

Grade 4 Lesson 1 Rughi Book 3 Review Quotes

The time foreordained unto the peoples and kindreds of the earth is now come. The promises of  God, as recorded in the holy Scriptures, have all been fulfilled. 

Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh

Memorize the quote

Click on the photo to download
Categories
Baha'i Children class Free Ruhi Book 3

A Quick look at Purity Lesson 1 Grade 1

Discussion: A Pure Kindly & Radiant Heart

How Do You Practice it?
You practice kindness by noticing when someone or something needs care.  You have become sensitive to the world around you.  Use your imagination to think of things that give others happiness – your parents, your friends, your teachers, your brothers and sisters, and even people you don’t know very well.  Find out what habits harm or help the environment and choose kinder ways.
When tempted to be cruel, to criticize, or tease, you decide not to do it You accept people who are different or handicapped instead of ignoring them or teasing them.  When you are practicing kindness, you take really good care of your pets.

What would kindness look like if:

  1. A new child comes into your class and she looks lonely.
  2. You start teasing your brother/ sister and they are getting upset?
  3. Some kids you have been playing with start ridiculing a boy who has big ears.
  4. Your pet got some dirt on them?
  5. Your mother seems tired lately.  

Signs of Success

Congratulations! You are practicing kindness when you…
Give tender attention to someone who is sad or needs help. Do things that give others happiness. Practice habits that help the earth (reduce, reuse, recycle) Resist the temptation to be cruel in your words and actions. Accept people who are different. Take good care of animals. Remember your connection to all creation.
Keep trying! You need more practice when you…
Always put yourself first. Don’t pay attention to the needs of others. Don’t think about how you can help the environment. Tease and play tricks on others. Ignore or ridicule someone who is different. Hurt animals. Neglect your pets. Forget that you are part of God’s creation and that all of it deserves to be cared for with kindness.
taken from this site

AFFIRMATION
I am kind.  I look for ways to help others.  I show kindness to any person or animal I see.  I do all I can to take care of the earth.  I remember my connection to all creation.

Note: All of the 24 lessons for grade 1 can be found here: Grade 1

Some of the activities may be around being clean and tidy in our life. This is not the main theme, (its PURITY OF HEART ) but general cleanliness can be used if the class is of mixed ages.

SCIENCE EXPERIMENT

Watch the video with the class or prepare your own demonstration for the class.

science experiment

THE WATER GOES FROM: PureThen impure Then pure again (symbolizes purifying our heart. ) 

You need: 2 clear cups (one labeled “sin” and one labeled with a cross), food coloring, bleach, baking soda, and water

How you do it: 

  • Fill one glass about 3/4 full of water
  • Stir in 1 tsp of baking soda
  • Add food coloring
  • Next pour about 1/4 cup of bleach into the colored water
L1G1 Prayer
lesson 1 grade 1 prayer

To begin, let us attract divine blessings and create a spiritual atmosphere by reciting a prayer.

Prayer To Memorize

Grade 1 Lesson 1

Here is a link with pictures to help memorize the prayer.

Listen to the prayer:

Want to send this prayer as a postcard? Print it from this link and post it to a neighbor or a friend!

There are so many lovely songs to choose from. Here are a few suggestions

O SON OF SPIRIT! My first counsel is this: Possess a pure, kindly, and radiant heart, that thine may be a sovereignty ancient, imperishable, and everlasting.

Bahá’u’lláh

My First Counsel

MEANING OF WORDS

Counsel
1. One day Gerard and Mary were coloring in some drawings.  Gerard needed the yellow crayon, but Mary did not want to give it to him.  The teacher told Mary that she should share.  The teacher gave Mary good counsel.
2. Patricia has to decide whether to spend her money on cookies or on a storybook.  Her parents advised her to buy the storybook.  Her parents give Patricia good counsel.

Possess
1. Tinaye likes to read prayers before going to sleep.  She has a small prayer book to read from.  Tinaye possesses a small prayer book.
2. There was a flood and many people lost everything they possessed, but friends came to their aid, and soon they had the things they needed again.

Pure heart
1. Cathy became angry and screamed at Susan.  Susan was sad but quickly forgave Cathy.  Susan possesses a pure heart.
2. Jorge likes to share his cookies with all the children, even with Gustavo, who throws stones at him.  Jorge possesses a pure heart.

Kindly heart
1. When people in need come to her house, Ming Ling always takes care of them.  Ming Ling possesses a kindly heart.
2. Mr. Robertson is very old. Jimmy helps him carry his fruit harvest to the market.  Jimmy possesses a kindly heart.

Radiant heart
1. When I feel sad, my mother always cheers me up and makes me happy.  My mother possesses a radiant heart.
2. Obuya became ill and has to spend all his time in bed.  He says many prayers, does not become sad, and continues to show forth happiness.  Obuya possesses a radiant heart.  

To memorize the quote, try taking out keywords in the sentence. Have the children have to work out together to find which word would best fit that gap.

MEMORIZATION AID

Access the word document memorization aid here

Before we leave the quote for today, here is one more short video from Spiritual Cookies to help with the meaning of the words

GRADE 1 LESSON 1 STORY 1

STORY OF ABDU’L-BAHA: LOVE OF CHILDREN

Story of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá –  Purity Of Heart.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá could always tell what was in a person’s heart, and He greatly loved people whose hearts were pure and radiant. There was a lady who had the honor of being the guest of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá at dinner. As she sat listening to His words of wisdom, she looked at a glass of water in front of her and thought, “Oh! If only ‘Abdu’l-Bahá would take my heart and empty it of every earthly desire and then refill it with divine love and understanding, just as you would do with this glass of water.”

This thought passed through her mind quickly, and she did not say anything about it, but soon something happened that made her realize ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had known what she was thinking. While He was in the middle of His talk, He paused to call a servant and said a few words to him in Persian. The servant quietly came to the lady’s place at the table, took her glass, emptied it, and put it back in front of her.

A little later, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, while continuing to talk, picked up a pitcher of water from the table, and in a most natural way, slowly refilled the lady’s empty glass. No one noticed what had happened, but the lady knew that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was answering her heart’s desire. She was filled with joy. Now she knew that hearts and minds were like open books to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Who read them with great love and kindliness.

The online platform has more stories with video content. If you can’t access coach zippy, I do apologize: the site is having ongoing issues but I am slowly moving content here to the blog! Sign up here

ACT OUT THE SENTENCES 

  •  Use soap to clean your hands after coming home from outside, and before eating.
  • Make sure to cover your mouth and nose when sneezing (cough into your sleeve or a tissue).
  •  Keep your distance from anyone who is coughing or sneezing Activity Two
  • Clean your room or an area of the house where you spend time so that you can have a clean area to spend your time in. Cleanliness brings us closer to God.
  • Find a mirror in the house and clean one-half of it, then compare the difference between the clean side and the dirty side.

STORM OF KINDNESS

Explain that kids will make a “rainstorm” of kindness. Being kind is contagious (ask them what contagious means). It may start off with one small act of kindness, but soon that one act with spread to someone else, and so on and so on. It will lead to other acts of kindness, and when those all get added together, they create an amazing “storm” of kindness.

Have kids stand in a circle. Tell them to each do what the teacher does when he/she looks at them and nods. Don’t do it until the teacher looks and nods. Starting at one spot in the circle, the teachers will have the children:

  • Rub hands together (sounds like rain starting to drizzle) 
  • Snap (or slap backs of hands, alternating) (bigger drops)
  • Clap out of rhythm (even bigger) 
  • Slap thighs (heavy rain)
  • Stomp feet (very heavy rain/thunder)
  • Then reverse steps, slapping thighs, then clapping, then snapping, then rubbing hands.

EAST WIND BLOWS

Begin with all the children in a circle, on chairs or cushions (can also take off their shoes and use them as markers). Each round begins with the teacher, who is outside the circle, calling out the following phrase: “The west wind blows on everyone who…”, continuing by referring to some characteristic that more than one child shares, such as blue eyes, black hair, blue pants, and so on. All the children who share that characteristic must then get up and switch places with each other. Each child must find a different seat from the one he or she was occupying before the call.

Care should be taken so that children do not push or collide with each other when switching seats. The circle should be wide enough to give all the children space to move when they are called.

THE BURNING THIRST

Tie sticks to the children’s arms so they cannot bend their elbows, and then tell them to pretend that they are walking in a desert and are very, very thirsty. When they come upon water in cups, they have to find a way to drink it. They will discover that the only way is to help each other, being careful not to get each other wet.

There are many craft and activity suggestions for you to consider. When you choose what you would like to do with the class, make sure all the required supplies are available for the children.

Folded heart with quote

GET TEMPLATE HERE

Make a kindness jar

Download here

Add A Kindness Jar activity to your notebook/lapbook

Kindness jar

Magnets

Use salt dough or premade dough to make fridge magnets. You can also use a material like felt, heave cardboard or even a small wooden heart and attach the quote.

THE ONLINE COACHZIPPY PLATFORM ALSO USES THESE CRAFTS AND OTHERS IN AN INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOK.

Here is the Google drive link with most of the activities, quotes etc

WEBSITE FOR A DIFFERENT LESSON

Here is a link to another blog for this lesson

Here is another site with lesson for grade 1

Categories
Baha'i Children class

Baha’i Faith And Practicing The Virtues Of Cleanliness

Children Class Virtues: lesson 1 Cleanliness

WELCOME TO LESSON 1 on the Virtue of Cleanliness

The aim of this lesson is for the children to learn that cleanliness is spiritual, physical (body and actions), and mental (their thoughts). The content is from the online platform with is free for anyone to sign up. Lots of crafts and resources to download

CLEAN BODY

How do we keep clean?

  • If we are camping and did not have a bath or shower?
  • What can we use instead of a sink?
  • How do we wash our hands thoroughly?

CLEAN MIND

  • What does this mean?
  • Can we use water to clean our minds?
  • What are “not good thoughts”?
  • It is normal to have these thoughts, but then WE choose how to act.  We recognize the thought or feeling, we STOP and thank God for sending us this clue, and we ask God to help us change our thoughts.

Take a breath, calm down, and say a prayer.  When you are…

  1. Angry? Ask God for a stronger thought of Peace. 
  2. Impatience? Ask God for a stronger thought of Patience. 
  3. Jealousy? Ask God for a stronger thought of Sharing. 
  4. Selfish?  Ask God for a stronger thought of Sharing.
  5. Sad? Ask God for a stronger thought of Joyfulness
  6. Mad at someone? Ask God for a stronger thought of Forgiveness

CLEAN SPIRIT (heart)

How do we keep our hearts pure? 

  • Prayers
  • Practice virtues
  • Do kindly deeds
  • Be of service

Prayer: He is God! O God, my God! Bestow upon me a pure heart, like unto a pearl.–Abdu’l-Baha

https://bahaichildren.coachzippy.com/p/ChildrenClass

The prayer and memorization aids like the flashcards below can be downloaded from the FREE course content online along with many more resources for Kindergarten and Grade 1 to Grade 4.

https://bahaichildren.coachzippy.com/p/ChildrenClass

I AM A CLEAN KID

I’m a clean kid. I keep my life in order. I’m a clean kid. I wash my face everyday. I’m a clean kid. I do my share to keep our house in order. I’m a clean kid, from Sunday to Saturday!

(Jennifer Russell, The Virtues Songs CD)

Bath Song – Splish Splash | Kidz Area Nursery Rhymes

Brush to the Beat | Music Video | Learn to Brush Your Teeth | Mickey Mornings | Disney Junior

SHORT LIST OF SONGS ABOUT CLEANLINESS

1.      (CD:  Little People:  Bath Time Singalong by Fisher-Price)

  • Splish Splash
  • Rubber Ducky
  • Beautiful Bath
  • Scrubba Dubba
  • Rub-a-Dub-Dub
  •  I Gotta be Clean
  •  Brush Your Teeth

Be ye the very essence of cleanliness amongst mankind.

-Baha’u’llah

SUGGESTIONS

To help in memorizing the quote, have the children listen to the quote as much as possible. 

Visuals also help in memorizing and be downloaded on the class platform for free.

Try the following: layout the following in a row, on a table have the children go along the table examining each word and picture.

  • Be – Picture of a bee
  • YE – picture to a human or a finger pointing to the child
  • The very essence – a small container with the vanilla essence
  • Of cleanliness – a picture of a very clean room  or person or a picture of a soap bar
  • amongst mankind – picture of the crowd
  • Baha’u’llah – just written out

Look at the video with the meaning of the word in the quote.

There are many games to play, here you will find more:

IDEAS FOR GAMES

  • Let The kids wash dishes or pretend to wash dished
  • The ROBOT Clean-Up Game. This was taken from the site Momtastic where there are many more ideas
  • By creating directions based on simple computer codes (walk forward, bend down, turn left, drop toy), your child will not only have fun being a robot, but she’ll also end up cleaning her room; plus, she’ll learn some programming along the way, too. The kids LOVED this activity!

STORY 1

Story of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

STORY 2

THE MAGIC MIRRORlisten online

STORY 3

BOBO AND KIPI

Craft about washing hands

Activity: Cleanliness and Germs 

Supplies:

  1. Black Peppercorns
  2. Small bowl with Water 
  3. Dawn Soap in a small plate

Experiment

The pepper will act as “GERMS”

The water will act as the surface of your “HAND”

The soap is when you wash your hands

STEPS

  1. Grind pepper into bowl of water.
  2. Stick your finger in, notice that the pepper will stick to your finger.
  3. Dip your finger into soap and put it again into the bowl with water and pepper
  4. the “germs” move away and none sticks to your finger.
Categories
Children class Uncategorized

Free and useful resources For Ruhi Grade 3 Lesson 1

Baha’i Children’s class grade 3 (and kindergarten to grade 4) has been up and running on my course content platform free to anyone, all you need is to create an account and use it. For Grade 3, it has taken me a while to add the free downloadable resources for each of the lesson plans suggested in the Ruhi book. Just a note, while putting these lessons up, I used the curriculum from the Ruhi material, material found on other websites, lessons from the Australian Peace Pack, and Brilliant star magazine. The material I am adding is mainly developed by me or ideas found on other websites and modified. In my post today, I will share some of the new content that I have so far. This content is not on any other Baha’i children site (yet) but you are most welcome to upload it to your site (please give the credit and link to this blog) To access all the material developed so far: visit the registration page where all my Ruhi book 3 children’s class material are hosted. To make your own unique resources check out my post on how I create my resources

Lesson Design

Grade 3 contains SIXTEEN  lessons, divided into THREE sets. The themes of the 3 sets are listed below, include three lessons.

  1. The Fundamental Concepts Related to the Manifestations of God
  2. The Lives and Missions of the Manifestations of God Who appeared before the Báb and Baha’u’llah
  3. The Life and Mission of the Báb 

Each lesson is broken down into the following sections:

  1. Prayer
  2. Music
  3. Quote
  4. Stories
  5. Games / Narrative 
  6. Crafts/ Activities 
  7. Review of quotes from Grade 2
  8. Resources

Prayer

The prayer section contains the prayers to be memorized and any video content that may be available, as well any as memorization aids. I also created postcards that can be emailed or printed and sent to friends in your neighborhood, or far away to say “Hi, thinking of you” Download the free postcard on the Children’s Class site, or from my Google drive here

Quote

For memorization of the quote, each lesson has a worksheet to fill in the definitions of any words the student is not sure of, this is a great way to build a personal dictionary of words and keep them in the class notebook or lapbook. By the way, I WILL be going back and adding material to compile lapbooks! I speak about lapbooks on the class platform and have some up for Grade 2. Although I am very excited about lapbooks as a learning resource, it is time-consuming to develop. This free worksheet can be download here.

Story

The story section for Grade 3 typically has more than one story to choose from. In every lesson there are 2 documents that can be used with any story, one allows for the drawing of the main events and the other leans towards a written summary. Each lesson has different resources from a video of the story, slideshow of the story to questions specific to that story. We are always looking for resources, so feel free to reach out to us here on this blog. Below is the storyboard for drawing the main sequence of events.

Games and Narration

This section takes one of the stories and gives suggestions on how to act it out, or just how to tell the story with props. Sometimes, I put the props in a PDf as pictures and other times, it’s up to the teacher to gather the props. If you like, any of the interactive games used in grade 2 can be substituted.

Craft and activity

Creating new crafts and activities not available on any other Baha’i children’s class site is something I love to try. Its not always possible and I do add what I know and find. There are some sites that have great paid content and some are free. Twinkl is a Canadian site with Baha’i content that has some free as well as paid content. I use the Australian Peace Pack, and Brilliant Star magazine for many of the lessons and also Dayspring Magazine for a few.

Review Quote

This section is where a quote from grade 2 is reviewed. The document below has the quote, (It has 2 front pages, the original is in cursive, I left it in the document and added the easier-to-read quote.) The third page is to fill in the blank and the last page is the answer page.

Quote to review from Grade 2 Children’s class
fill-in-the-blank quote review
Fill in the blank template used for Ruhi book 3 Children's class
Answer to the fill-in-the-blanks for Quote review

Thank you for reading I hope that some of these free downloadable resources make your class more interesting and the information easier for the students to assimilate. Visit our platform to access all the free downloadable goodies.

Soon you all soon.

Carolyn