1. The Baha’i Faith
Hello, I’m (presenter 1) and this is (presenter 2) and we’re from the Baha’i Community. We’re excited to be here today and tell you a little bit about our religion, the Baha’i Faith.
Baha’i is a little tricky to say, can you repeat after me? I’ll say it first and you can repeat. ‘Baha’ i’’, (refer to name on the boards.), (Kids repeat) ‘Baha’ i’ Good job!
So Baha’is follow the teachings of Baha’u’llah. He is the founder of our religion.
B. ‘Baha’u’llah’ is also tricky to say, can you repeat that after me? ‘Baha’u’llah’, (Kids repeat) ‘Baha’u’llah’. One more time. (repeat exercise) Good job!
Baha’u’llah was born in Can anyone tell me how many years ago was that? (wait 3 seconds, and then answer if no raises their hand)That’s right, 200 years. So this is a very special time for Baha’i’s because our founder was born 200 years ago and we call this the bicentennial anniversary of the Birth of Baha’u’llah. So one of the things we’re doing to celebrate this is giving presentations in schools about our religion.

2. So Baha’u’llah brought us many teachings about unity
So Baha’u’llah brought us many teachings about unity. One of things Baha’u’llah said was ‘Ye are all the fruits of one tree, the leaves of one branch, the flowers of one garden.’
So we would like to explore this writing together with you. We’ll do some exercises, ask some questions, and sing. Sound good? Ok great!

3. So let’s start with an exercise
So let’s start with an exercise. I’m going to have everyone close their eyes and I’m going to ask you some questions but I don’t want you to answer yet. Just think about what I’m asking.
So close your eyes. I want every to take a deep breath and exhale. And let’s do that one more time.
Now imagine you’re in a garden and it’s THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GARDEN EVER! (give 5 sec) What do you see growing in the garden? (give 5 sec) Now I want everyone to open their eyes and I would like to know what did you see growing in the garden? Raise your hand and I will call on you. (follow the kids’ answers...)Flowers...what kind? Are the flowers all the same colour? No? Which colours did you see? Are there any trees? What kind of trees? So it sounds like we all saw lots of different flowers and plants. And lots of colours. What if everything in the garden were just one type of Flower or all One colour, what do you think that would be like? (see if kids answer) Yes, boring. So all of the different colours and plants are working together to make the garden beautiful.

4. (presenter 2) Now Let's look at people
(presenter 2) Now Let's look at people... do you think we all look the same?? No? What’s different? (Let children answer and confirm their answers) Yes, our hair, eyes, skin.
And do we all have the same hobbies? No, who can tell me what their hobby is? Dancing, football, video games, swimming. Wow, there are so many!
So there are many different cultures and we come from all different backgrounds. We can also belong to different religions, like how I’m a Baha’i. So even though we have all of these differences, we all belong to one big human family.
If we all looked, did and believed exactly the same thing, how do you think the world would be? Yes, boring!
So these differences actually make us beautiful because they are like the different colours of flowers in a garden and Baha’i’s believe that our world is beautiful because of how different we all are.

5. We are drops We are drops Of one ocean Of one ocean We are waves We are waves Of one sea Of one sea Chorus: Come and join us come and join us In our quest for unity It’s the way of life for you and me
(presenter 1) Okay so we have our friend ZZZ with us today,, who is going to help us learn a song about unity. This song is called ‘We are drops’.
Now a drop of water isn’t very much but when you put it with a whole bunch of other drops, it can become an ocean. This song is about how people can become so much more when we do things together. (Note: Whoever sings with the children should give clear instructions as to how the song works and show hand movements. Also good to do a fun ‘warm up’ for their voices.)

6. We are flowers We are flowers Of one garden Of one garden We are leaves We are leaves Of one tree Of one tree Chorus: Come and join us come and join us In our quest for unity It’s the way of life for you and me

7. All the earth All the earth Is one country Is one country We are one We are One Can’t you see Can’t you see Chorus: Come and join us come and join us In our quest for unity It’s a way of life for you and me
Great job singing everyone! So we want to make this beautiful, diverse garden that we’ve been talking about. Do you think you can help?
A. Can we get four volunteers to help us hold the boards? (2 children for each board)
B. I also need some volunteers to help put flowers in our garden. I am going to choose 15 people and (presenter 2) is going to choose 15 people. If I pick you, queue over here next to this board (point and show where) and if (presenter 2) picks you, then please queue over here next to this board (point and show where). We will give each of you a flower and then once you have added your flower you can sit back down. (Basically give clear instructions to the children for the activity.)
OPTIONAL: Now while these children are helping to make the garden. The rest of us are going to sing the unity song again. And we’ll watch and see how the garden changes.
Note: For the artwork, we bought 2 white tri-fold boards from Hobbycraft (£5 each). Then we painted them green like a garden. ‘We are flowers of one garden’ can be put in the centre of the board. We printed, coloured, and cut out 15 flowers for each board – different sizes- then laminated them. We added white velcro on the backside of the flower and matching velcro squares to the board so the children can see where to put the flowers.

8. (presenter 2) Beautiful job everyone
(presenter 2) Beautiful job everyone. So let’s look at this Garden of Unity. Raise your hand if you think it looks beautiful? How come you think it looks beautiful? Yes this garden shows how all of these differences or diversity, add beauty and can work together, which is unity.
So I bet you guys have already practiced unity. For example, if you have a new student in your school what do you do? (Let the children answer and follow their answers) Yes, you would be kind to them and play with them. You would show them around.
You do this because you want them to settle and feel part of the school, right? So actually you are creating unity in school by bringing everyone together.
So Baha'is want to make this world a beautiful garden by bringing people together and making the world a better place.

9. “Let your heart burn with loving kindness for all who may cross your path.”
Optional Slide: (presenter 1) One of the ways we do this is by practicing love and kindness with everyone- no matter where they are from.
There is a Baha’i quote that has been put to music which helps remind us how to practice this. So we would like to teach it to you. We’ll sing it first and then then you can try. And it has some hand movements.
It goes like this: ‘Let your heart burn with loving kindness for all who may cross your path.’ Practice singing it 2x’s more with kids.
(This is just the very last line of the chorus ‘Let your heart burn’ by Rosanna Lea)

10. (presenter 1) We’re at the end of our presentation
(presenter 1) We’re at the end of our presentation. Did you all enjoy it? What did you like? And what did you learn?

11. Yes, we learned that our differences can make us beautiful and when we all work together its called unity. When we work together in unity we achieve great things.
You all have been so helpful, respectful and enthusiastic! It’s been a pleasure to be here.Thank you all for letting us share a little bit about the Baha’i Faith. We hope you have a wonderful, joyful day!