EXPLORE

Listening and sharing with one another

Thursday

Learning Intention - Listening

Listening to each other is important.  Think about a time when you didn’t listen or when someone didn’t listen to you.  Write about this experience and answer the questions below.

Questions

1. What did you miss when you didn’t listen?
2. What happens when people don’t listen to you?
3. How do you feel when you know you are listened to?

Activity

Tell somebody in your house a story, it could be something that happened during the weekend or a break time etc.  Ask the other person to retell the story to you and then discuss any differences. 

Friday

Learning Intention - Sharing with one another.

Read the story of the Stone Soup.

One day, a poor man was walking along when he came to a village.  As he approached it, the villagers thought, ‘Here is a beggar and we don’t have much ourselves’.  They started going towards their homes, hoping he would go away, and they would not have to share anything.

The man called out that he was hoping for somewhere to sleep and a meal.  The villagers told him to go away and that they had not got enough to eat themselves.  The man told them he had everything for a meal and that he was thinking of making stone soup for everyone.  He took a stone out of his pocket and an iron cooking pot out of his bag.

He started to build a fire and fill the pot with water.  He put his stone into the boiling water. The villagers came out of their houses and watched as the man sniffed the contents of the pot and licked his lips. “That is good,” he said, “it just needs a pinch of salt and some parsley.”

“I can give you some,” a villager responded, and she returned with parsley, salt and a cabbage.

“Thank you,” remarked the man, “I once had stone soup with cabbage and some carrots

and it was really delicious.”  Then another villager said, “Well, as it happens, I do have a few carrots.”  He returned with some carrots and a turnip.  So, it went on until there were potatoes, onions and mushrooms.  Someone even had some loaves of bread.

When it was ready everyone sat down and enjoyed a really lovely soup. There was enough

for the entire village.  When the man left the next morning, one of the villagers, stopped him and said, “I would like to buy your magic stone. You have given us the greatest of gifts the secret of how to make soup from stones. We shall never forget.”  The man replied. “The stone is not the greatest gift, but sharing is.  It is only by sharing that we may make a feast.”

Questions

1. What do you think of the villagers?
2. Why were they afraid to let the man into their homes?
3. What started the sharing?
4. What lesson did the villagers learn?
5. What is the cost of sharing?
6. What are the joys of sharing?

Activity

Design posters asking for donations to the local foodbank and post it on the school blog  

Reflection on significance

Have a quiet moment to reflect on and appreciate how important it is to listen and to share.   Think about the joys and the cost of listening and sharing.