Exemplar narrative 1:

St Ninian's, Hillhouse, Hamilton

We think of the gifts of creation and how science attempts to explain it.

In co-operative groups children share and note their previous knowledge of how life is created and the cycle of nature.

Children share their findings and reflect on the reciprocity existing between man/woman and nature – how interwoven we are.

A slideshow of the development of plant/animal life is shown. We reflect that science can explain how all these things come to be created – seeds sown and flourishing. We reflect on the necessities of the natural world to our existence – food, oxygen. We think of the part we play in maintaining our world – stewardship of the planet and how we can do this in our everyday lives.

In groups, children think of the emotions encompassing the expected arrival of a new baby. They share their findings and experiences. We speak of the joy and anticipation that is felt in waiting for a new baby and relate this to Advent, a remembrance of God’s gift of His Son to us – received through supernatural and natural ends – Man born of woman and God – in love for mankind.

Research is carried out by children to discover a timeline of inventions and understanding in science and technology. We think of man’s enquiring mind and the knowledge that has always been sought to explain our world. We research some of the important discoveries that help explain our world, and find out who were instrumental in these discoveries, e.g. Gregor Mendel, a monk, being the forefather of genetic understanding. We look at images taken from the Hubble telescope and reflect on what science can explain and what it has not yet discovered.

We think of the biblical story of creation and how stories were told to explain what could not be understood. We think of the mysteries of the universe and wonder at stars and galaxies so far removed emitting light with no weight, no mass and yet is. We think on God as our light – on the word of Jesus and His followers to this day who, without scientific proof, embrace the gift of faith even while attempting to understand our world.

We come again to think of the gift of life in our lives, in birth and in death and how our unique existence here is known and nurtured by God. We think of the unselfish love of a parent for a child and begin to understand the love our Father has for us; that Jesus was sent to communicate this message so that we might all share in God’s creation and love.

We think of how some scientists move further from God the more they can explain the world in scientific terms. We think, too, of how some scientists move closer to God the more they appreciate the wonder and awe in Creation. We reflect that faith is a gift from God like a seed that has to be nurtured to flourish and that we are responsible for allowing God’s love to grow in our lives.

{Given the timescale of two weeks children could ‘jigsaw’ learning with groups becoming researchers and knowledgeable on a given area, then sharing knowledge with others. During language children could try their hand at writing stories to explain the world to youngsters.  Children could grow seeds and monitor/measure growth. Ultrasound images from home could be brought in to see images of a baby in the womb.}

Resources used:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WeL3IGMvcg&NR=1        

(time lapse photography of tomato plants growing – store to pen-drive to show) 

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html