Leader s Guide for Episode 7

Leader s Guide for Episode 7

Leader s guide for Jovis Bon-Hovis and the Creation Crew Welcome to the fun-filled world of Jovis Bon-Hovis and the Creation Crew! We are so happy you have decided to share the good times with us! We created this DVD and teaching series to plant and nurture the seeds of a relationship with God that children can relate to, using fun, comedy, drama, songs, and arts and crafts to reveal God s truth and goodness to kids in relevant scenarios they can make sense of. Within these programs you will find a treasure trove of helpful teaching, especially created to enable children to connect with the Christian faith and understand it in the context of their everyday lives. Inside this guide you will find a range of fun and helpful activities, engaging questions, and leader s notes to help you and your kids get the most out of the time you spend with Jovis Bon-Hovis and the Creation Crew! These resources are geared for children 3-7 years old, but you may feel they are suitable for older children, too. Fun and Faith, Hand in Hand! SHORTER OR LONGER SESSIONS: We ve created these lessons to be flexible and easy to use, with minimal preparation required. Just check the Preparation section in advance, and you ll find delivering these sessions straightforward and enjoyable, with all the hard work done for you! Each guide will contain various elements which will amount to well over 90 minutes worth of material, allowing you to select and tailor your sessions to fit your time slot, teaching preferences, and group requirements. Apart from the DVD, which will take up about half an hour of group time, all of the elements of this study guide can be expanded and contracted, and used or discarded as required. Episode 7: Gossip! 2

Episode 7: Gossip! THEME: Mr. Bon-Hovis is letting his words run away with him, and saying some very thoughtless and unkind things about people! LEARNING OUTCOMES: 1. Gossip can hurt people s feelings! 2. We shouldn t say mean things about people when they re not there; if you wouldn t say it to their face, it s gossip! 3. Gossiping about people will lose us friends. People will learn we can t be trusted, and won t want to get close to us. If somebody gossips TO you, doesn t that mean they ll probably gossip ABOUT you? 4. Gossip very quickly gets twisted and mixed up, it s not reliable and before you know it you can end up spreading bad things about people which just aren t true! 5. Sometimes it might be up to us to stop gossip in its tracks! 6. Gossip might end up with bad things happening to people who don t deserve it. PREPARATION: For the Arty Crafty Time you will need stiff paper or thin card, about two sheets for each child. You ll also need scissors, sticky tape, and pens to mark out your lines. Print off the illustrations for coloring (at the back of this guide). You ll need coloring pens, and for a longer session, poster board, paints, and glue. For the Bonus Activity, you ll need several rolls of masking tape. *TOP TIP* For a longer Arty Crafty Time session, decoration is always good fun. Get the children to cut out lots of little hearts, paint them, and glue them onto their love handles for effect! SECTIONS/ELEMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE: DVD VIEWING GUIDED DISCUSSION QUESTIONS OPEN DISCUSSION QUESTIONS ARTY CRAFTY TIME ACTIVITY SONG TIME WITH DANCE ACTIVITY SCRIPTURE TIME SHARED STUDY COLORING FROM STORY TIME BONUS ACTIVITY: OH WHAT A TANGLED WEB! GAME-TIME ACTIVITY: *TOP TIP* Why not really bring the lesson to life by setting yourself up for a fall? Tell all the children that your church leader or helper has the world s stinkiest feet, and then have them burst in and confront you about it later on in the session! How embarrassing! Episode 7: Gossip! 3

DVD VIEWING Introduction to today s show: Tell the children that some of the Creation Crew are a bit upset with Mr. Bon-Hovis today! Ask them to watch closely and see if they can figure out why! Is there anything wrong with the way he s behaving today? Tell the children you ll be stopping the DVD in a few minutes to chat about what they ve seen. Play the DVD until 9:18, just as the Story Time writing appears on screen. GUIDED DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Share some simple questions with the children about what they ve just seen in the show. Don t try to solve all Mr. Bon-Hovis s problems just yet, keep it straightforward. Share these types of questions for a few minutes: Who was on the telephone? What was the matter with Mrs. Bosanti-Crayco? What did Jovis say about Stanly, Mrs. Bosanti-Crayco s gardener? What did Mr. Bon-Hovis say about Monkey? Did Early Bird agree? What did Early Bird say to Jovis? What were the Creation Crew kids doing in the garden? What did they have to do before they put the plants in? Why was Jovis shocked when Monkey said Mrs. Bosanti-Crayco was still on the phone? What did Jovis do when Stripy Monkey asked him about calling him an ordinary brown Monkey? Was he embarrassed? Why? Please note, these questions are only suggestions, feel free to explore the show in your own way and with your own style. *TOP TIP* Before the story starts, ask the children to count how many times the gossip changes in the story while they watch! Play the DVD until 18:18, at the end of Story Time. Story Time: Penny Whistle and the Whisper in the Wind Teacher s notes: This story give a strong, clear and humorous example of what can happen when gossip gets out of hand! When we introduce personal feelings, beliefs or politics into a piece of information, it can quickly become much exaggerated, mixed up and just plain false! When we then pass that information on with our own spin, things quickly get out of hand! It s important that the children understand that it isn t discussing Lady Pheasant that s wrong, but the introduction of our own bad feelings to mix up the truth. Episode 7: Gossip! 4

GUIDED DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Why did Lady Pheasant want a cool water bath? What had Lady Pheasant been busy doing all day? Why do you think the other animals started adding funny ideas to the simple truth? What did Jenny Wren add to what Penny Whistle had said? What did Billy Bluebird add to what Jenny Wren said? What did they all decide to do in the end? Who ended up getting covered in pie? Why did Rodney Raven add his bit of gossip? Why do people want to gossip? What did Dora Mouse want to talk to Jovis Bon-Hovis about? What did Jovis think he should do? Play the DVD until the end. OPEN DISCUSSION QUESTIONS At the end of the show, try to have a more open discussion which will allow the children to figure out the message of the show, what it meant and how it applies to them. Try asking some more broad questions like the ones below: Do you ever gossip? Can you remember saying something about somebody else? Why is it not kind to gossip? What sorts of things can we say about people when they aren t there? What sort of things shouldn t we say when people aren t there? How can you be sure if something is gossip or not? If you hear some gossip and you re not sure if it s true, what should you do? Is it possible to stop gossip going around? How? What might happen if people believe things that aren t true? *TOP TIP* Now would be a great time to have a leader or helper burst in who you had said has smelly feet. See Top Tip No.2 on page 3. Episode 7: Gossip! 5

ARTY CRAFTY TIME ACTIVITY *TOP TIP* If you want to go JUMBO size, you can simply double the size of the sheets you use for a mega-megaphone! Try it with larger paper or card! Cue the DVD back to 21:42 and follow along with Mr. Bon-Hovis, playing and pausing as the children require. All the children are going to be desperate to start shouting out through their Love Handles, but remember, you re only allowed to say kind loving things through them! While you re following the DVD and making your megaphones, try to get the children thinking about what sort of things they might like to say through them. What sorts of kind and loving things should we try to say to one-another regularly? How about: You look nice! I like you, I think you re clever, I like the story you wrote, I like the picture you drew... Get everybody thinking about what they might like to say. SONG TIME ACTIVITY Select the song from the DVD menu and play. Following the leader (you!) as they do the actions is great fun for the kids. Just play the song and read along below, doing the actions as they are written. Ask the kids to copy you! Don t worry about looking silly! Kids just love to dance and move about. They will just think it s great fun and will respond much better if you lead with energy. Why not consider practicing the song over a few sessions and doing a performance at the front of your church? Younger children can follow the dancing; older children may enjoy following the words on-screen and singing along. *TOP TIP* Get the children to dance with their megaphones, and they can use them to pretend to play the trumpet during the musical solo! Episode 7: Gossip! 6

Here are the lyrics with actions and performance suggestions so that you can face the group: You be like a happiness machine, (churn your hands round and round) That s what you are! (point round the room) When nasty stuff comes into your ears, (point at your ears) It won t get very far! (push away from your ears) You ll churn it all around and mix it all about, (stirring a big pot) Turn it upside down so only good stuff comes out! (pick it up and empty it out) When the garbage goes in your ears you ll recycle, (squash up the garbage) If you re not quite sure, you ll look in your Bible! (tap your head, open the Bible!) You ll be like a big love factory, (move your arms like pistons) That s what you are! (point around the room) When gossip and nonsense comes into your ears, (point at your ears) It won t get very far! (push away from your ears) With the Holy Spirit living in you, (press your hands to your heart) The words you speak will be blessed from above! (reach up, touch your lips, blow a kiss) When people are meanies you know what to do (rub eyes crying then open eyes and smile!) With the power of God, you can shout out LOVE! (all shout LOVE through megaphones!) You be like a happiness machine, (churn your hands sitting down) You be like a happiness machine, (churn your hands kneeling down) You be like a happiness machine, (churn your hands standing up) You be like a happiness machine, (church your hands jumping!) You be like a happiness machine, (churn your hands round and round) That s what you are! (point round the room) When nasty stuff comes into your ears, (point at your ears) It won t get very far! (push away from your ears) With the Holy Spirit living in you, (press your hands to your heart) The words you speak will be blessed from above! (reach up, touch your lips, blow a kiss) When people are meanies you know what to do (rub eyes crying then open eyes and smile!) With the power of God, you can shout out LOVE! (all shout LOVE through megaphones!) Episode 7: Gossip! 7

SCRIPTURE TIME SHARED STUDY Ensure that the children understand that whenever Mr. Bon-Hovis learns something, he always checks it against what the Bible says to be sure it s reliable! Have a look and show the group what Jovis found: Proverbs 16:28 A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends. Proverbs 26:20 For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarrelling ceases. EXTRA REFERENCES FOR LONGER STUDY: Ephesians 4:29 Don t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. Explanation for little ones: Be careful not to say horrible things. If you talk to people and about people in a nice, kind way, it makes them feel happy and strong. Exodus 23:1 You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. Explanation for little ones: God says very clearly that we shouldn t say anything about anybody that isn t true. He also says we should be careful to stay away from people who do! Scripture Time Questions for discussion: What s the difference between the truth and a lie? Even if something is true, is it always nice to say? Can you think of any examples where gossip might be true, and still upset somebody? Why shouldn t we be friends with liars if we don t lie ourselves? Why should we say good and kind things about people, what will it do? What should we do if we hear gossip? What should we do if we forget, and gossip ourselves? What s a good way of deciding if something is gossip or not? COLORING FROM STORY TIME Spend some time coloring the illustrations provided at the back of this guide. For a longer session, why not cut out the characters from everybody s finished drawings and arrange them all together in a big montage? *TOP TIP* Are you feeling crafty? Glue the colored drawings to stiff card and cut them out. Fix into modeling clay so they will stand up. Paint a green leafy background on a large sheet, and arrange a funky 3D scene! Episode 7: Gossip! 8

BONUS ACTIVITY: OH, WHAT A TANGLED WEB! Find the longest and narrowest part of your building, and using masking tape, set up strips going across it from one wall to the other, all at different heights and angles. You're going to have a little game of chase using the classic 'dodge the lasers' movie theme. The child will be trying to escape from the truth (played by you or another child) and navigate a web of untruth (gossip!) but isn't allowed to take down any of the tape. At first, the chaser (truth) should move very slowly, so the child has a chance of getting through, but then put the tape back up and keep trying, with the chaser moving faster until there s no way the child can escape without getting tangled in the web! As soon as a piece of tape comes down it s somebody else s turn. Write on the tape things like lies, gossip, deceit, meanness, so they all represent behavior we'd like to avoid. IMPORTANT: Don t leave the children unattended at any point; a tangle of masking tape could cause a problem for a smaller child without adult supervision. Why not send us pictures of your webs? GAME-TIME ACTIVITY: WHISPER DOWN THE LANE This classic, fun game goes by any number of names, and in some places it s even called Gossip! It s just perfect to show in a simple way how words can be misunderstood and badly reported, which can result in the truth being terribly distorted very quickly! Have the children sit around the room in a circle, ideally a few feet apart. Whoever starts must think of a phrase they d like to gossip about, perhaps something related to the show they ve just watched. They then whisper it quietly in the ear of the first child in the circle. They can only say it once, even if the child didn t hear properly! In this way the gossip goes around the room until it gets to the last person who announces what they ve heard. Episode 7: Gossip! 9

There are no winners or losers, just a laugh and a giggle about what comes out at the end of the lane! *TOP TIP* Could you use your Love Handles here, and flip the game around? Only send kind whispers around the room... In conclusion: It s important that we re careful what we say about people. We should try hard only to be kind and truthful when we speak about others, especially when they are not in the room with us. Pray together to finish: Dear Lord, thank you that you gave me a heart full of goodness and kindness. I pray that you will help me to be a truthful and loving person, and I ask you Lord that you will remind me not to say unkind or untrue things about people. I thank you for the power you have given me to be honest and good. In Jesus name, amen. We would really enjoy seeing your photos and videos of your groups at work. Why not follow Jovis Bon-Hovis on Facebook? You ll find lots more regular games and activities to share with your kids, and it s a great place to join together with other Christian teachers, caretakers, parents, and leaders who are raising children in the Christian faith. http://www.facebook.com/jovis.bonhovis or search Facebook for Jovis Bon-Hovis. Episode 7: Gossip! 10