September 2006 Teaching Catholic Kids

from

Christian Beginnings, Volume 2, edited by Beth Branigan McNamara

Introducing the Beatitudes to children

We introduce children to the second of five of the Beatitudes with an explanation of it, a story of a real person who exemplifies that Beatitude, and related activities.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God -- Matthew 5:7

One day, Jesus went up a mountain. Many people followed, crowding around to listen to him. He began teaching. He said, “People fight. They have been fighting for hundreds of years! But God wants us to be peacemakers. Treat others with love, fairness, and truthfulness. Even when there is a fight, be fair. Tell others the truth, and show them love. Then you will be doing God’s work of making peace. Blessed are the peacemakers.”

Here is a story about a little girl who was a peacemaker.

Ruby Bridges

Six-year old Ruby had a big job to do. She was asked to become a peacemaker. In her city, black children and white children were not allowed to go to school together. The schools for the black children were not as good as the white children’s schools. This was unfair and it was against the law.

A judge said black and white children should go to school together. He picked Ruby to be the first black child to go to a school that had only white children.

Ruby’s family prayed that Ruby would do this important job well. They prayed for her to be strong.

Ruby did need to be very strong. On the first day of school, a crowd of white grown-ups who were angry about Ruby going to this school were waiting for her. They stood outside the school, yelling and screaming at Ruby and calling her names. Some wanted to hurt her. They were so mean that the President of the United States sent men to guard her and take her to school each day.

Everyday, Ruby and the guards walked passed the shouting people. Ruby never shouted back. She did not stick her tongue out at them, or try to hit them. She treated them respectfully even as they were mean to her. And everyday, Ruby prayed for those people. She asked God to forgive them. After a whole year, the angry people gave up. Ruby and other children could go to school together, without needing to be protected.

Ruby acted with love, fairness, and truth. Even though she was only six-years-old, she was a peacemaker.

Activities

Find pictures of other people you consider to be peacemakers. Show the children the pictures and tell them about these peacemakers.

Add cooperative games (non-competitive) to your classroom games. Some suggestions:

Noisy partners: Make a list of animals sounds. Then whisper a sound into each child’s ear, such as “moo,” making sure there are two children for each sound. Scatter the children throughout the room to make their sounds. As they walk around, they must listen to find their “animal” partner, but continue to make their sound. When they find each other, they should sit together. After all the pairs have matched up, sing “Old McDonald Had a Farm,” having the pairs sing the verse for their animal.

Word Builders: This is a game for beginning readers. Attach a sheet of paper with a letter on it to each child’s shirt Then, they must find others whose letters will work together to make a simple word, such as “run” or “cat.” They must stand together in the correct order to spell the word, then shout out the word. Then they scatter to find others to form more words.

Have children make self-portraits that can be cut out. Hang these on a long wall spacing them four to five inches apart. Then help children think of different ways they can be peacemakers. On strips of colorful paper, write these ideas. Then make the strips into a paper chain. Hang the chain up with the self-portraits, connecting each “person.” Talk about peacemaking as a way of connecting people and making friends.

Resources: The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles, illustrated by George Ford, Scholastic, 1995.

The Warrior and the Wise Man, written and illustrated by David Wisniewski (Lothrop, Lee and Shepard), a story about peacemaking done in folktale style.