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KIDS ages 6-11. Valuing the eyes God gave me and learning about the difference of Good Pictures & Bad Pictures.
Each child develops differently. This lesson is for Kids 6-11. Feel free to use the lesson that best fits your child’s needs!
Exposure to Pornography: “Some sources say it’s 11 years old, while others say kids as young as 8 are encountering porn. We’ve even had messages from Fighters saying they were as young as 3 years old, and their earliest possible memories are finding porn in their parents’ basement. But no matter how young, these incidents aren’t isolated cases, and it’s not like early porn exposure only happens to a small slice of people—in fact, in the United States, it happens to almost everybody before they leave their teens.” -Fight the New Drug
Therefore please be prepared that you may encounter a more graphic and candid communication with your child today than you may have expected. It may be hard to hear that your child has already come across pornography at such a young age- but what a great opportunity it is to have deep and honest conversations on a difficult and scary topic. You’ve got this!
PURPOSE
To help my child value the eyes God gave them; learn why they should protect them; and how to guard their eyes. (Note- This lesson is focused on protecting the sense of sight and hearing. A different lesson will focus on protecting the sense of touch).
MATERIALS
Any of the following: binoculars, magnifying glasses, telescope, pirate eye patch, sunglasses, goggles.
INSPIRATION
“The eyes reflect the center of one's being and so they are located right at the center of the head. The left and right eyes are connected so that they can work together to look at something… The eyes show all your emotions and they are really the center of God. God dwells in there, so to speak.” -Rev. Sun Myung Moon
ATTENTION GRABBER
Eye Tools! Get out materials such as: binoculars, a telescope, pirate eye patch, sunglasses, goggles. Spend some time trying out each item, examining what your eyes can do and how you use each item to see.
Eye Exam! Using a magnifying glass, look deeply into each others’ eyes and notice the different colors and parts of the eye. (ex. eyebrows, eyelashes, eyelid, pupil, iris, tear duct)
INTRODUCTION
A Playful Reading on Eyes by Rev. Sun Myung Moon
“Why do the eyes happen to be in their particular position? If they were on the top of your head, you would have to make incredible effort to look down. Any time you try to select a better position for the eyes, you come to the conclusion that this is the best place for them. Generally speaking, the eyes are centrally placed. Why? It is so you can see straight; your eyes move back and forth at a 90 degree angle from your standing position, which is a vertical line.
When you sleep at night, how do your eyes move: up and down, or right and left? When you are lying down, it doesn't really matter whether the eyeballs move right and left or up and down. They still operate on a horizontal plane, don't they? You probably never thought about that.
What if you didn't have eyelashes or eyebrows? Look at someone and try to visualize him without eyebrows. In the summer when you work hard and the sweat pours down from your forehead, what would happen if the eyebrows were positioned upside down like a bowl? The sweat would stay in the bowl and spill over into your eyes! It's almost incredible how the features of your face are arranged.
Now, when you look at someone's eyes, you realize how strategically they are positioned and how well they are protected. The eyes are normally set in and the bones around them stick out. They are framed by eyebrows and eyelashes so they are well protected by their surroundings. In addition, the eyes are recessed and the eyelids extend over them, so liquids, including sweat, cannot get in. Suppose the hairs of the eyelashes extended over the nose. Have you thought about why them is hair around the eyes?
Many people probably look at their face and take it for granted. But so many things were considered in the creation of that face; so much thought went into making certain that it would function perfectly. Incredible thinking was invested in the face.
Suppose the eyeballs were immobile and the only way to look to the right or to the left was to move your face, or even your entire body. If the eyeballs didn't move, the neck would have to work double, triple, or even quadruple time. It would protest to the eyes: "You rascals, you give me such a hard time!"
Your eyelids don't stay still; they blink steadily. But do you feel uncomfortable blinking? Does blinking inconvenience you? Are you aware of your eyes blinking? From the time you get up in the morning and as you do your mission throughout the day, your eyelids blink without resting. Have you ever thought about how your eyes have to blink all day long? If they remained open like windows, without blinking, what do you think would happen? Your eyes would dry out; they would become sore and bloodshot; the various disturbances coming into your eyes would make them painful. So think what a priceless gift of fortune it is to have even one perfect eye functioning for you!”
*LEARNING MOMENT- READ TOGETHER:
Isn’t it incredible how much thought, detail and love God put into creating our eyes? What is something new you just learned about your eyes?
Your eyes are one of the five senses God gave you to experience this beautiful world. Today we want to be grateful for this smart creation and also consider how to take care of our eyes and protect them.
We learn and see the world through the eyes God gave us. Close your eyes and imagine things that make you feel happy inside. What did you see? Now close your eyes and imagine things that make you feel sad, upset or uncomfortable. What kinds of things did you see?
Sometimes we have to learn to protect our eyes and keep them safe. We need to protect, not just our physical eyes by wearing sunglasses in the summer sun, but also our internal eyes. We can protect our heart and soul by choosing what to look at and what NOT to look at.
While there are so many beautiful things for us to look at- like a sunset, children laughing, flowers, butterflies or puppies for example- there are certain images that are not good for us to see. These images make us feel yucky, weird, uncomfortable, confused, frustrated or upset. And it’s important to know what’s not good to look at and what to do if we do see something scary or inappropriate.
There are “Good Pictures” and there are “Bad Pictures”. Bad pictures can unfortunately be found in books, video games, in movies, on the internet, in advertisements or billboards. These can include images of violence, bad words or naked people. God gave us our bodies and they are precious and beautifully made- so we shouldn’t be showing them off to strangers.
If you see pictures of naked people- that is inappropriate. That is called pornography and it is something you don’t want to ever come across again. Our bodies were beautifully made by God and your body belongs to you. It is personal and private- especially the parts covered by our swimsuit. It should only be seen by yourself, your parents at bath time or a doctor. In the future when you get married- your future husband or wife can also see your body. So, we don’t want to look at random people’s bodies because they are not made to be seen by our eyes.
What should you do if you come across Pornography? You should close your eyes or look away and tell your parent or a trusted grown-up right away. Don’t ever be afraid to tell your trusted adult. Although they may be shocked at what you saw- they will be so proud of you for telling them.
Additional Resource:
Learn more about Kristen Jenson’s “Can Do” plan to protect young minds here
C- Close your eyes
A- Tell a trusted Adult
N- Name it when you see it
D- Distract myself
O- Order my thinking brain to be the boss!
DISCUSSION
Use these questions to dig deeper or stimulate additional ongoing conversations:
What is something unique about the way God designed your eyes?
Why do you think you have 2 eyes? Why is it important to protect our eyes?
What are some beautiful “good pictures” you like to look at with your eyes?
What are some “bad pictures” you may come across?
What should you do if you see a “bad picture”? Why is it good to tell mom or dad?
Why are “bad pictures” not good for you?
Who does your body belong to?
How is protecting your eyes from the sunshine with sunglasses different from protecting your eyes from scary or uncomfortable images?
Have you ever felt uncomfortable with what your eyes have seen? Why? What happened?
How can you take good care of your eyes and protect them so that they may be used for good?
How do you feel after this lesson? Is there anything you want to share?
CONCLUSION
God, our Heavenly Parent, gave us our eyes to see this beautiful world. Imagine life without being able to see! We are so lucky to have our eyes and we want to protect them and keep them safe. We want our eyes to see beautiful, uplifting, happy images that bring us joy and peace.
PRAYER
Dear God, thank you for our eyes! They are so amazing! Please help us to look only at good pictures and help us to know when we are looking at something that is a bad picture. Help us to be strong and brave and turn away from bad pictures and always tell mom or dad. We love you. Thank you.
Use these activities together with your child over the next month to create ongoing conversations. Click on the red links:
VIDEOS
Protecting Your Senses Engaging Animation by School of Love
The Visual System: How Your Eyes Work by National Eye Institute NIH
SONG VIDEOS
Eyes and Sight! A 5 Senses Sing-Along by Mr. R’s Songs for Teaching
See Through Children’s Eyes by Los Angeles Family Church Production
CRAFTS
JOURNAL
Creative Writing
Draw your eye: Label the different parts God made for you to see.
What can you see? Draw binoculars. What do you see inside of them? Draw pictures of favorite colors or things in nature you enjoy seeing with your eyes.
Super powers: What kinds of super powers do your eyes have? How will these super powers help others or help protect your eyes?
GAMES
EXPERIENCES
WALK: Go on a walk with binoculars. Notice all of the beauty of God’s Creation with your eyes. Talk about the beauty of the Season you are in. Thank God for the beautiful pictures you can see with your eyes.
PARENT RESOURCES
CLICK on each link!
ARTICLES:
VIDEOS: