The Science of Gratitude – session 11
Wal hab bu dhul asfee war rayhan.
Also corn, with its leaves and stalk for fodder, and sweet smelling plants.
Crops like barley , wheat, corn are big blessings that man feeds on. The leaves in which they are preserved are then used as fodder for animals.
But Allah does not stop there, He adds fragrance to add to the pleasure and experience with which we interact with what He has created.
Big things come from little things. Corn grain comes from corn plant so perfectly packaged. Before just one seed, became a whole plant bearing so much corn.
Divine fruit packaging.
Scent inspires creativity. Protect your creativity and imagination.
Flowers give pleasure to look at and to smell.
It begs to look at the way we get these foods and plants. Wind pollinates corn and wheat while insects, butterflies, moths and bats pollinate flowers. The sweet scent and colour invites pollination and all for us – to eat, to enjoy. Eg: honey
Hidden behind the apparent in this verse are the pollinators and all according to Allah’s grand plan.
If we look back through the surah, what didn’t Allah give us.
He thought of everything. Thank you Allah, Ar Rahman, you are soooooooooooooo kind sooooo hugely kind.
Actors
Scaler actor 1 – as is
Zeo light actor 2 – as is then hisan the horse
Nahl – actor 3
Farasha – actor 4
actor 5 – Farmer Faaris
Props
Picnic set up with reusables and whole apple, melon and strawberry
Bee costume
Butterfly wings
Flowers from around the house
Pollinator badges
Draw – moth, bat, bird, wind
Pollinator poster
Coloured flowers to match script
Question mark popsicle stick
Corn plant
Corn on cob with leaves
Hisan outfit and headgear
Scientist start up this week.
actor 1 and actor 2 to quickly move from scientist start up to picnic set up.
Look, it’s the scientists from Meandmawla. They are all having a picnic on Farmer Faaris’s farm.
Scaler actor 1 and Zeo Light actor 2 to sit have picnic at the beginning
actor 3: Bzzzzzzzz and come on stage.
Then look and point to the picnic and then actor 4 comes
Salaam Alaykum Nahl the bee, what are you looking at? Asked Farasha the butterfly as he flew close by.
actor 3 to be Nahl and stand on other side of stage watching them enjoy picnic. Then actor 4 comes as butterfly and pretend to talk to actor 3
Wa alaykum salaam Farasha. Ahhh, the scientist picnic has got me all hungry. actor 3 to rub your tummy
Yah, I’m getting hungry for some nectar myself said Farasha.
actor 4 to nod your head
Wait a minute Farasha. Have you ever wondered what its like to be at a human picnic. actor 3 and actor 4 talking
Are you kidding! We already are a part of their picnic.
Huhhhh! Hows that? actor 3 hold up question mark popsickle sticks
Come on Nahl the bee, I’ll show you. actor 3 and actor 4 to fly about the stage. Scientists remain in picnic towards the side.
Check out this flower bed.
actor 3 and actor 4 to look at flowers on the partition
Oh yummmm! smells sooo deliciously good.
Ya betcha! Its the perfect buffet for pollinators.
Pollinators!!!!
Who’s a pollinator?
You are I are pollinators.
actor 3 and actor 4 to wear these pollinator badges. Big huge paper plate circles designed with info simple drawings and text
As well as moths, bats, birds and the wind.
actor 4 to show images which are already on the partition covered in green Sheila
We cause flowers to make fruit or seeds. We do this by moving pollen from one part of the plant to another. Pollen is the powder made by the plants to make new seeds.
Pollination poster actor 4 to show. actor 1 pls give her
The more we pollinate, the more fruits and vegetables the scientists and all humans have to eat.
Ah now I get it! That’s how us pollinators are part of picnics.
If we don’t pollinate, the scientists and humans would not have some of their picnic favourites like watermelon, strawberries and apples to name a few.
actor 2 and actor 1 to lift up these to show as I narrate them.
Wow! That’s huge!
But you know whats super huge!
What?????
We need humans just as much as they need us?
How?
Humans plant the seeds that grow. Farmer Faaris is planting seeds look.
actor 5 to come as Farmer Faaris with the F lanyard on and pretend to plant seeds. Dig and plant actions. Face the crowd at all times. Dress in farmer clothes. I have hat for you and I have the F lanyard.
These seeds grow and bloom into flowers. We get our energy from the nectar and pollen and distribute the pollen to other flowers which then make more seeds.
Hand in hand we really do help each other out.
actor 1 actor 2 actor 5 actor 3 and actor 4 to hold hands – rhyme here
I’m so thankful to Allah for flowers. I love to visit flowers that are yellow white and purple in colour. The scent of the flowers draws me to them. actor 3 to pick up flowers and show audience. And then smell them one by one
Isn’t it amazing how flowers smell sooo nice.
Oh yah! I love orange, blue, pink and purple flowers. I prefer softer scents. actor 4 to lift up the flowers and smell them too
Isn’t Allah so very kind. He made it so easy for us to find our food. Flowers that are brightly coloured and smell soooooo nice.
Thank you Allah! actor 3 and actor 4 to sing and do moves
Mr 2t think and thank
Farasha can I ask you a question pls actor 3 to lift up question mark popsicle sticks
Sure Nahl, Questions unlock the secret doors to the aakhirah
Farmer Faaris has a patch with wheat and corn plants. I don’t visit them at all. So how do they get pollinated?
That’s a wonderful question Nahl. I prefer sweet scented flowers too, so I don’t go there either. But I know who does.
Close your eyes for a sec, Nahl. Tell me what can you feel?
I can feel the breeze. Its so refreshing.
Guess what! Said fArasha.
This breeze, this wind is also a pollinator. The wind helps pollinate the wheat and corn plant.
Wow! That’s amazing. So the wind blows and spreads the pollen.
Yes, that’s right.
Allah is so kind. I know the scientists and humans love to eat corn. Infact, look, there’s Farmer Faaris peeling some corn.
actor 5 to come and peel one corn, keep the leaves to show in a bit. I will be keeping that ready for you actor 5.
Thank you Allah for my corn. Thank you Allah for the wind that helps pollinate my corn.
Guess what I am going to do with these leaves?
actor 5 to hold up the leaves and show the audience.
Allah makes no waste, no asraf. I will feed them to hisan my horse. He loves to eat these leaves.
actor 2 to come as hisan the horse now and take the leaves thanking Farmer faaris
actor 2 yourself make a loud neigh sound
Thank you Allah for the wind. Thank you for my corn leaves.
All this talk reminds me of an ayat from the holy Quran, said Farmer Faaris. Allah says
actor 5 to hold open the quran
Wal hab bu dhul asfi war rayhaan.
And the corn with its leaves of fodder and sweet smelling plants.
Nahl the bee, Farasha the butterfly, Faaris the farmer, Hisan the horse all have a gratitude attitude. They thank Allah for all the food they eat in lovely colours and with such yummy lovely smell.
actor 3, actor 4, actor 1 and actor 2 to stand together in stage and sing together
Thank you Allah for your amazing design.
I’ve got a gratitude attitude. Yeah yeah yeah rhyme here
STATIONS
Science – how pollination takes place.- actor 4
Use the ayat in your conversation.
Talk about how different flowers emit a fragrance at different times. The flowers that emit fragrance in the day attract the bees and the butterflies. The evening fragrance flowers attract moths, bats.
Day scent emitting flowers are Lavendar/ rose/ violet. Ylangylang.
Will try and get some flowers and will use rose water to get fragrance of rose for you if roses not so scented here.
You can show the children these flowers.
Night emitting flowers are: Lily/ evening primrose/ gardenia. Jasmine/ moon flower/ frangipani
Will also try and get you a couple of these.
You can put a little sun and scent or perfume bottle on the images to show day and night time actor 4
Take cup cake cases and put a ball or two of cotton wool in side. This represents the flowers. Take some tang powder and put on the cotton wool in one flowers. This represents the pollen. Then get a cotton swop. This represents the pollinators.
Using the swap, take some tang from one flower to the next. The children can also have a go.
You can also carefully try and do this by getting children to blow air but be sure to not allow it to get into another childs eyes. So the blowing path ought to be clear.
Take from one cupcake flower to the next. Allow the children to see the pollinators at work. Talk about the different pollinators and how now we will include them in our daily thank you 2T jars.
Add images of the pollinators for day and night time pollination because of scent emitting in day and night time. In your ipad images
If it were not for the pollinators, we would be starving. Thank you pollinators.
For purple group. Give them the stuff and ask them to work in teams and get them to try and come up with a way to show pollination using the supplies provided. Don’t give them any guidance. Lets see if they can discover the above best practice to teach us pollination. They may possibly come up with anther idea themselves. This is absolutely fantastic. It does not have to be the way have thought it.
Then afterwards, you can show them this way. Commend them for their thinking and end thanking Allah for all pollinators and sweet scents in plants.
Guess the food –actor 3
Blind folds and children guess the foods they can smell.
Strawberries
Cinnamon
Rose Petals
Banana
Mango
Garlic
Vanilla
Coffee
Talk about them and how they were first flowers that then became fruits. Talk about smell and what a blessing it is. Smell is the beginning of eating. We can tell if food is good, off by smell. We are cautioned by smell. It is a huge blessing.
The angels love to be around people who do good deeds because the smell that you emit as a good doer is sooo beautiful that angels crave your company.
Amazing Corn in different forms – actor 1
Use the ayat in your conversation
Corn on the cob
Corn flour
Corn tin
Corn flakes
Pop corn.
Children get to peel one corn. Talk about the layers of protection. Connect to the layers of atmosphere and how everything is so well protected by Allahs design. The children can count the number of leaves their corn has. In the end you can connect to our golden heart and how it needs protection too. Each ayat of the Quran and each member of the Ahlul bayt are a protection for us. Lets be sure to wear this beautiful blanket of protection. This also by Allahs design.
Talk about how nothing is wasted as the leaves are given to horses and camels to eat.
Children get to see how differently one food gifted by Allah can be eaten. What a blessing.
Children can take their corn home to cook and will have pop corn for fateha.
Cooking – drop scones – use the ayat in your conversation
Children get to learn how to make the batter for drop scones. Flour comes from wheat. Wheat wind pollinated.
There is also an egg in the recipe. Egg comes from chicken. Chicken eats grains and also powdered date seeds in their feed.
Grains also wind pollinated.
Milk comes from cows who eat grass. Grass wind pollinated.
In the recipe is vanilla powder. Allow children to smell this powder. It comes from a flower that was also pollinated.
For toppings, we are going to use date spread.
Children make their own drop scones and spread date spread and enjoy thanking Allah the whole time for this blessing.
While cooking, talk about the smell as the drop scones cook.
Allah has so kindly place such lovely scent in everything just for our pleasure. Sweet scented plants is Rayhan.
For older children you can talk about how Allah could have made wheat and made it with all the nutrition we need but He made variety just for our pleasure plus the scent just for pleasure. Out of His mercy. So much to be thankful for.
No nuttella for spreading. Lets encourage more use of dates and date spread. Give children the reusable plates and plastic knives to do the spreading and they can enjoy eating.
Allow the children the chance to pour the batter into the frying pan and flip their drop scones. Then scoop them into their plate and move on to spreading or eating – no force.
meandmawla 