A tale of two Senses- Lesson 11

manna moment

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10- "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.  For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow.  But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!"

This scripture highlights the benefits of working together.  Our gift of taste benefits from working with our gift of smell.  Likewise, our bodies work together beautifully so that we can play, learn, and enjoy life.  The church is compared to a body, whose different parts and roles are meant to work together towards the goal of bringing the Kingdom of God here.  This is mentioned in detail in 1 Corinthians 12:14-17.
"For the body does not consist of one member but of many.  If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less apart of the body..."

Opening Activity:  A slice of a Different apple

Using our gifts, we made observations about different kinds of apples.  During this time of year, there are many apples to choose from and any assortment would work.  I tried to pull out the tangiest, the sweetest, and the most crisp.

Storytime- 3 in 1 

This book relates the parts of an apple and its growing cycle to the parts of the Holy Trinity.  And while this model has limitations it is a tangible illustration of who God is.  The parallel reminds me of when Jesus would teach His disciples and others about the principles of the Kingdom of God.  The Kingdom is something we can't fully grasp and yet Jesus taught in parables with everyday occurrences that the people could relate to.  So that those with ears to hear and eyes to see would believe that Jesus was the Son of God.

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The peel, the flesh ,and the core are all parts of the apple but it is not three apples.  Those parts all have different jobs to do and they work together beautifully.

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Class investigation:  A tale of Two senses

Does my sense of smell affect my sense of taste?

Sensory organs in our nose help us distinguish between different types of smells.  Similarly, sensory organs on our tongue detect acids, sugars, and other strong tastes.

The foods I used to discover sweet, salty, bitter and sour are milk chocolate, pretzels, unsweetened cocoa powder, and lemon slices.

First, I had the students taste each food and then color the emoji face they felt like matched the taste.  Then I used some nose plugs (the kind you would use for swimming) and had them again taste the foods to see if they could taste a difference.

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This student wanted to be without hearing and smelling for a time today during class. :)

I have tried this activity in the past having the students just hold their nose and it hasn't been effective.
I have tried it with clothespins and those hurt the student's noses.
So finally, I found these swimming nose plugs with cushions and they were able to tolerate them better.

Some students said that they could not tell the difference between the tastes with the nose plug and without (the unsweetened cocoa was still bitter no matter if they were wearing the nose plugs or not).

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meal time scavenger hunt

It is Thanksgiving week and I am so thankful for the five gifts that God has given us to explore His world.  This is a Meal time Scavenger hunt where the students can practice all the gifts we have been learning about with their Thanksgiving meal.  If you are participating in this at another time of year, you can do this with any meal.  Have fun and delight in the gifts of the Lord.

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