Curriculum and Learning Resources

Honolulu's 'Just So' Summer

Nan Kleiber, DRE
First Unitarian Church of Honolulu
Honolulu, HI

We decided to introduce children [and their parents] to Kipling's whimsical children's storiesūtwelve 'Just So' Stories twelve summer Sundays: it looked like a good place to start.

UU Principles/themes were to reassure us, but didn't become a focus of the program. Teachers let the children draw their own conclusions.

Activities were the barest hints of suggestions; volunteers respond differently. The crafty ones took off and did wonderful things. Those who are less inspired needed more specific direction and suggestions.

Snack was coordinated with the topic for the particular story, mostly. The children enjoyed 'joke' connections

We recruited one reader for each story, and asked him or her to involve the children in the presentation. Some told the story, some read, and some made signs with oft-repeated phrases; 'The great gray green greasy River', etc., and gave them to children to hold up and chant when cued in the story. That worked well, and involved older children in the process. Most we recruited did not teach in the RE program; several were not parents of children in the program.

Each reader was given a copy of the particular story well in advance, along with suggestions about crafts.

Class size: Our summer program wobbles between 3 and 25 children. This program is designed for K-5th Grade. Some teachers added active games, others had quieter activities, depending on the 'Limpopo crowd'. A small group of 6th grade boys agreed to listen to the stories and then went off to play with their lugio cards, quietly, while others did the craft activities. EVERYONE participated in the snack portion. And youth group members joined the group from time to time, carefully pretending not to be interested. They were a great help, in fact. Sunday morning schedule: We did our usual RE Opening 'Why do we come to church' (from the REACH packet), chalice lighting, joys and concerns, and then the 'Just So' Story, followed by activities, snack, clean-up, and sometimes, closing.

Children enjoyed the stories, and in some cases introduced their parents to Kipling's animals and people. Some of the stories need context: 'The Butterfly That Stamped' is VERY sexist. I feel it's more useful to comment on thatūtalk about what's happening in the story with the children, rather than leave it out of the program. These stories were written a century ago, and are not politically correct. They are full of engaging people and challenges, and wonderful language.

I would be delighted to hear from folks who try this program about what worked for them! The Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
Story	Theme/UU Principle	Craft/Activity	Snack
How The Whale Got his Throat	Ingenuity #1, 5	Different kinds of whales	Seafood/crackers
How the Camel Got his Hump	Participation, #2, 7	Sand painting	Hummus & pita
How the Rhinoceros Got his Skin	Sharing, #2, 3	Making cake & making hats	Cake with crumbs
How the Leopard Got his Spots	Change, #4, 7	Finger painting	Endangered animal crackers
The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo	Wishes granted, #7	Australian Aboriginal dot painting	Bread w/colored sprinkles
The Elephant's Child	Curiosity, #1, 2, 4	Play dough elephants	Animal crackers
The Beginning of the Armadillos	Learning together #4	Animal game	Tortillas & salsa
The Crab that Played with the Sea	Consequences #7	Batik/resist watercolor painting	Sea food
How the First Letter was Written	Communication #1, 2	Stamps & message system/codes	Alphabet cookies
How the Alphabet was Made	Invention #4, 6	Different alphabets	Alphabet cookies/soup
The Cat that Walked by Himself	#1, 6, 7	Cave painting mural	Jerky
The Butterfly that Stamped	# 1, 2, 7	Paper butterflies	Hummus & pita