Purpose
Life is an adventure of learning. The more you learn, the more you can take care of yourself and others. Help children understand how they can learn in different ways.
Activity Suggestion
Tell the children that you are going on an adventure. This is an adventure they are already on—the adventure of lifelong learning.
If possible, prepare several stations ahead of time that represent what we learn at different stages of life. At each station, invite the children to do a simple activity. Consider the following suggestions:
- Infants learning to walk: walk across a balance beam or walk a certain distance in baby shoes.
- Toddlers learning to dress themselves: put on a large shirt and pants or dress over their own clothing.
- Learning to read: read a verse from the scriptures or a passage from a book or magazine.
- Learning to ride a bicycle or scooter: ride to a certain location and back.
- Learning to drive a car: pretend to drive by holding a plate as a steering wheel and using paper gas and brake pedals on the floor; respond to different road signs, such as a stop sign or a pedestrian crossing sign.
- Learning job skills: practice a skill that relates to jobs commonly available in your area.
- Learning to cook: practice a simple cooking skill or have children work together to make a recipe.
- Learning to change a diaper: practice on a doll.
Explain that one of the purposes of life is to learn and grow, and that we continue to learn even when we grow up. Point out that what was hard when they were younger may be easy now, and what may seem hard now will be easy later. Talk about how challenges can be opportunities to learn.
Please adapt activities as necessary to ensure all individuals are able to participate, belong, and contribute.
Adaptation Ideas
- As you review the different skills in the main activity, point out different ways we learn: by reading or listening to instructions, by watching a demonstration, by teaching each other, and by practicing. Talk about how the children can apply different styles of learning to what they are learning now.
- Help the children draw pictures or make collages about what they want to learn more about. Talk about the different ways they can learn those things. Invite the children to explain their boards to each other.
- Service idea: Invite the children to think of a skill they would like to learn that would serve those around them. Help them come up with a plan to learn this new skill. Ask them to report back how they used their new skill to serve others.
Discussion
Encourage children to talk about how what they are learning can help them and others grow closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Discussions can take place before, during, or after the activity and should last just a few minutes. You could ask questions like the following:
- What are the most important things to learn in life?
- How can we learn more about our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?
- How can we use what we learn to help others?
Related Activities
- Exploring Science
- Understanding Clouds
- Learning about Stars
- How Plants Grow
- Learning about Music
- Family Stories
- Exploring Careers
- Learning First Aid Basics
- Discovering and Appreciating Animals
- Building Fires Safely
- Exploring Gospel Library
- Thanking Community Helpers
- Learning to Cook
- Repairing and Repurposing Clothing