"My Body is a Treasure"
SPROUTS ages 2-6. God made each of our body parts for a special reason. Our body parts all work together like a perfect machine! Let's cherish the body God gave us and learn about our special treasures: our private parts.
Use this lesson as it fits for your family! Spend a cozy Saturday morning in discussion together using the whole lesson or use parts of this lesson for several conversations throughout the month! There are so many activities to apply and experience the lesson together. You're the parent and know your child best- enjoy making it your own!
PURPOSE
My child will be able to identify his main body parts and learn to appreciate his body as a temple of God that should be protected and taken good care of.
MATERIALS
Book Inside the Human Body by Joanna Cole
For crafts: large paper (approximately 3-4 ft long depending on size of child), pen or marker for tracing, coloring tools and/or other decorating tools (crayons, markers, paints, stickers, etc.), temporary tattoos (or body paint or stickers)
INSPIRATION
Read these scriptures together. Idea: use one as a memory verse!
“Even if we sum up God and all things, we can't exchange our physical body for them. Why is it so? God can't perfect creation alone, without physical man. Therefore, our physical body is so precious. Isn't it wonderful! Man has a desire. What does God want man to have before a desire? This is what God wants man to have: Love your physical body. Our physical body can't be exchanged for the universe.”
- Rev. Sun Myung Moon, Earthly Life and Spirit World (Part 1) 2. Preciousness Of The Physical Life
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
“...each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function”
- Romans 12:4
SENSORY ACTIVITY
Let’s get moving! Lead your child in some basic stretches and exercises to get him to notice his different body parts. Bring attention to names of body parts.
Examples:
Use your arms and hands to reach up as high as you can! Try to touch the sky!
Bend down with your back and touch your toes with your fingers. See if you can hold onto your toes while we count to 5!
Put your hands on your hips and roll your hips around and around in big circles.
Do 10 jumping jacks! Swing your arms up above your head and at the same time jump your legs out! (Give more specific and descriptive directions and demonstrate if needed)
Use your strong legs to jump in place 10 times!
Run in place as fast as you can while we count to 10! Look how well your knees bend!
Lie down on the floor on your back and put your legs straight up into the air. Hold them there while we count to 10. Now, try to touch your toes with your fingertips while they’re in the air!
*If you find that you or your child seem to need a bit more warming up and loosening up before this potentially daunting topic, visit our Song section below and try one or two of these out together!
INTRODUCTION
God created you with hundreds and hundreds of parts! He gave us a body part to help us to do every job we ever need to do. Every body part that God blessed us with is important and has a special function.
STORY TIME
Optional Story time: Inside the Human Body (The Magic School Bus #3) by Joanna Cole
*TEACHING MOMENT*
Read this script to your child like a story time.
God made your body in a very special way.
He thought and thought for a long time about how to make your body work the best way possible. He planned exactly which of your body parts would go where and what they would do. Each of your body parts has a purpose and works very hard. God gave us hands for picking flowers, petting cute doggies, and swiping on our tablets or typing on a computer. He gave us arms for hugging our friends and legs for running races! He gave us eyes to watch movies, to look closely at tiny bugs, and to look for our brothers and sisters when we play Hide and Seek. God even gave us a heart to keep us alive by pumping blood all throughout our bodies! Our hearts also help us to feel! When we are happy, like when we are listening to our friends sing us Happy Birthday, our hearts feel so warm and full like they’re going to burst! When we are sad, like when we really miss our best friend, our hearts hurt inside of us. God gave us all of these parts to help us to learn, to experience the world, and to grow into good children. Our bodies are so special and are treasures to God.
We should take care of our bodies as precious temples of God. A temple of God means something that is good, true, and holy; something that we keep clean, healthy, safe, and pure. It means something that we treasure and protect.
Can you think of something special that you treasure and protect? Maybe it’s a special piece of jewelry or a favorite toy. You have a lot of love for that item and you want to make sure it’s kept clean and beautiful. That’s how God wants us to feel about our bodies. Our bodies are an awesome gift from God- so we want to take the best care of them!
How do we protect our bodies?
We wash ourselves well in the bath or shower. We wash with warm water and soapy bubbles starting from the hair on our heads and going all the way down to the bottom of our wiggly toes! This keeps away icky dirt and germs! If we keep ourselves nice and clean, we feel good, we look good and we smell good! Mmm! In this way, we honor our bodies and we honor God.
We also protect our bodies by respecting our own boundaries and the boundaries of others. For example, we can use gentle hugs with friends if they like that. Another example is that we never touch our own body or someone else’s body in a way that makes us or them feel uncomfortable. As we get older, we may add in more new boundaries. We might close the door when we go to the restroom. Or, we might not change into our swimsuit where others can see us, because it will be inappropriate for us to be naked in public. Remember, our bodies are beautifully made and the parts covered by a swimsuit are especially private and special.
What’s a “private part”?
One especially important and holy part of our body is called our private part, or sexual organ. This is a special treasure. Boys have a penis and girls have a vagina. We find these parts between our legs. These parts have a very special function and are private, so we do not show them to anyone else or let anyone else touch them! We also honor them by touching them only to keep them clean, but otherwise leaving them alone. To be good to our private part, we don’t let others touch it, but WE also don’t touch it or play with it. Our private part is to be saved for something very special that we will learn more about when we’re older*. Right now, all we need to think about is protecting our private part and keeping it safe, like a special treasure. This is part of God’s wonderful plan for our body.
(*If your child asks for more info, gently explain that when a Mommy and Daddy love each other very much, they come together to show their love for each other using their private parts. Go into as much or as little detail as you wish depending on your comfort level and the knowledge, curiosity, and maturity of your child.)
Thank you God:
God wants you to enjoy everything around you that He created for you and He made your body in a way that lets you do just that. Let’s say “Thank You” to God for making our bodies work so well! God wants us to use all of our important body parts to love others, serve others, and help others. He wants us to take care of our body by keeping it clean, keeping it safe and protected, and by getting good exercise and eating healthy foods. Let’s work on doing these things for God every day!
DISCUSSION
Head to Toe!
God made my brain. What does my brain do for me? How can I use my brain to make God proud?
God made my eyes. What did God make my eyes good for? How can I use my eyes to make God proud?
God made my mouth. What is something good I can use my mouth for that will make God so proud?
God made my heart. What kinds of feelings can my heart feel? How can I use my heart to make God proud?
God made my hands. What do I use my hands for? How can I use my hands to make God proud?
God made my private part. How can I treat my private part to make God proud?
God made my legs. What is the purpose of my legs? How can I use my legs to make God proud?
Tell me about another of your body parts! What do you use it for? How does that body part help you?
What’s your favorite body part and why?
CONCLUSION
God made each of our body parts for a special reason. Our body parts all work together like a perfect machine. We should use all of our body parts for the good things God created them for.
PRAYER
Dear God, thank you for making my body work so well. I am grateful to you for giving me so many useful parts. Thank you for giving me eyes to see with, ears to hear with, a brain to think with, legs to walk with, feet to kick a ball with and my private part to protect and treasure. I promise to take good care of my body and to use my body for good. Amen.
Use these activities together with your child over the next month to create ongoing conversations on what a treasure our bodies are!
SONGS
GAMES:
Play Simon Says! Use commands such as “Put your hands on your head!” and “Tap your knees!” For more of a challenge, use commands such as “Touch the part of your body that you use to hear!” and “Touch the part of your body that covers and protects your beating heart!”
Play Freeze Dance! Turn on some music and pause it intermittently for your child to “freeze” from their dancing!
CRAFTS
Body Tracing- Have your child lie down on a paper bigger than his body. Trace his body from head to toes (including head, arms, legs, and fingers). Then, decorate the outline of his body together and label main parts like feet, head, and hands. Optionally draw on facial features and hair. Get creative with paints, stickers, or whatever else you have available!
Temporary Tattoos- Use temporary tattoos to discover and emphasize parts of the body. Ask your child questions like, “What do you use to walk?” and “What part of your body connects your arms and your head?” When they answer, find that part and put a temporary tattoo on it. (Alternative: Use stickers or body paint instead)
Make a treasure box and draw all the things that make your body special
