Margret Stöckler
For the 2nd Sunday of Advent, here's something for you to download again. This time it's a wish list for heartfelt wishes...
Children's anticipation of Christmas is growing - my first graders are already very excited and tell me about their wishes for Santa Claus. For some children, the wish list gets longer and longer over the days and weeks. They enthusiastically tell what they wish for from Santa Claus. For me, Advent is always the best time to address the topic of heartfelt wishes with the children. Our Advent calendar stories this year are all about very special wishes for Santa Claus (the children are very flexible here and are not bothered whether it should be the Christ Child or Santa Claus...).
One child wishes for a grandma to play with, another a bed with which they can fly to school despite their illness... and so for several days now, we have been exchanging ideas with Oups every day about what truly makes people happy. We also talk about the hunger that so many people in this world suffer from, and about all the children and families who live in fear in countries where adults wage wars.
Together we learn that all people in this world wish for peace. Peace and health and people who love us. The children realize that these are all wishes that cannot be fulfilled with money. Heartfelt wishes, in other words... Then we tell each other about the things we already have – things that are not a matter of course for all children in this world – for example, a warm home and a soft bed, a delicious breakfast every day and a good warm lunch, a healthy mom and dad who love us, grandma and grandpa, countless toys, dear friends, a great school, ...
During this exchange, many children reflect for the first time on what "possessions" actually are, and realize that many of them possess an alarming number of things and yet still have wishes for Santa Claus. Some say quite spontaneously, "I don't actually need the new Nintendo game," or "I already have so many toys..."
Perhaps we should also try a heartfelt wish? In the following final round, each child can express a heartfelt wish - for themselves or for the world.
Each child can now write down or draw their heartfelt wishes to calm meditation music.
We have created two different A4 templates for you, which you can download for free (one with and one without lines).
click here
Afterwards, I tell the children how Oups always does it when he has a heartfelt wish... He goes to the window in the evening when the stars twinkle in the sky. He looks for the brightest star, because that is his favorite star. He sends his heartfelt wish to it and wishes very strongly again that it will come true.
You can find the beautiful song (8. Herzenswünsche) here "Herzenslieder mit Oups" (music download). By the way, there is also an instrumental version and many other wonderful songs for social learning, including lyrics and sheet music.
Here is a small audio sample (8. Herzenswünsche) of the magical earworm that the children love...
The song is also quite suitable as a movement song. I performed it with my last "big ones" a few years ago in front of the camera.
The song starts at 3:32.
Enjoy our material!
I wish you reflective Advent hours and some time for yourself!
P.S. I look forward to your feedback, ideas, suggestions, and experiences in the comments or by email at m.stoeckler@werteart.com!
