Get ready to discuss, share, play, create, and read your way to developing and empowering a strong character.
Everything was just perfect until something unexpected happened. There was no way to see this change coming. Things at Farmer John’s would never be the same.
Story Focus, Virtues, and Life Lessons
Love and Patience
Love inspires patience and patience strengthens love.
The kitten loved Belle. Now the kitten loved the dog even more. She followed Belle everywhere.
Belle picked up Kelly in her mouth and started home. She thought, “No one is going to hurt my kitten.”
Belle wasn’t sure when it happened but she was patient. In time the dog and cat became great friends. Farmer John had been right after all. The little kitten had been well worth the trouble.”
Interactive Discussion and Activities
Reading Story Techniques
First, pre-read the story before reading it aloud with your learner. Use expressive language, gestures, motions, and sounds to make the story come alive:
- In the dialogue between Farmer John and Sue, change your tone of voice to reflect a man’s voice for Farmer John and a woman’s voice for Sue.
- Imitate a barking sound when Belle sees Farmer John coming home.
- Sound annoyed when reading Belle’s lines about the new kitten.
- Change your tone of voice when Belle was worried and looking for Kelly.
- Add excitement and fear to your voice when reading Belle’s rescue of Kelly from the eagle
- Make a crying meow sound for Kelly.
- Sound proud when Belle says, “No one is going to hurt my kitten.”
- Read the end of the story with a soft and calm voice.
Interject these questions to involve the learner:
- Where did Kelly like to sleep at night?
- Who thought the kitten would be more trouble than she was worth?
- What did the sign say on the box at Sue’s Supply Store?
- Why did Kelly love Belle?
- When did Belle change her mind about Kelly?
Use the answers to these questions to recall points in the story.
- Why did Farmer John adopt the kitten?
He smiled and said, “Yes. I think my farm would be a good home for this kitten.”
- What did the dog think about the kitten?
Belle thought, “Oh no! Not a kitten. She looks like a yellow fur ball. What was Farmer John thinking? Doesn’t he know she will grow into a cat? Is it too late to take her back?”
- How did the kitten feel about the dog?
The kitten loved Belle. Kelly would rub up against the dog, crawl on her back, and jump on her tail.
- How did the dog find the kitten?
Belle caught the kitten’s scent. She ran past the fields and into the meadow. The beagle ran as fast as she could to the river. At last she heard Kelly crying.
- Note: End the discussion by asking your learner about their pets and how they show their love for the pet.
Behavior/Social Development (All Ages):
Have your learner think of kind ways to love themselves. Record your learner’s responses and discuss their feelings and justification of their responses.
- Identify loving and non-loving actions towards others. Give reasons why they would be loving or non-loving.
- Extend the discussion to ask how the other person would feel about the specified action.
Praise your learner for learning new tasks. Give encouraging words when your learner is frustrated in completing a new task. Encourage them to keep trying. Use words like: that was close, you’re almost there, you can do it, etc.
- Through discussion, nurture your learner’s ability to be patient with activities that have waiting times, like planting seeds and watching them grow or baking cookies and waiting for them to be done.
- Together complete an age-appropriate jigsaw puzzle that would take days to finish.
- Play age-appropriate board games like Candy Land or Chess. When you play board games with your learner they learn to wait their turn and develop their comprehension and listening skills.
- Model patience with your learner. Praise your learner when learning new tasks. Give encouraging words should they become frustrated.
Language Development (Younger Learners):
- Antonyms: back – front, dark – light, in – out, good – bad, little – big, up – down, young – old
- Colors: yellow, green, brown, black, and white
- Identify word patterns: Sounds “– ould”
Words used in “Lost and Found” — could, should, would
- Identify and explain some of the more difficult words in the story such as, “runt.”
- Ask your learner to identify and make a list of everything they love.
- Discuss the behaviors and actions they do to show love.
- Talk about the things that took a long time to learn, like tying your shoes or riding a bike. Ask your learner if it was worth the wait and hours of practice and why.
- Talk with your learner about waiting for an important event, such as a birthday party. Discuss the things that lead up to the event such as picking out a gift and a card and planning what to wear.
Language Development (Older Learners):
- Read the following statements on “Love” and have your learner identify whether they agree or disagree with the statement. Ask your learner to justify their answer with as many personal examples and/or reasons for their answers.
- Statement examples are:
- “I can have love for myself, my family, others, my country, and for the world, all at the same time.”
- “Love is being a trustworthy friend.”
- “Love for others means I want the best for them.”
- “When I have love in my heart, I do not have anger.”
- “Love is caring, love is sharing.”
- Introduce and discuss action words for displaying patience — wait, delay, continue, etc.
- Develop vocabulary skills by identifying synonyms for patience. Examples are “preparation,” “planning,” “goal,” “anticipation,” “endure,” and “gratification.”
- Brainstorm a list of things that may be hard for your learner to wait for. Together brainstorm a list of suggestions you could do to make the waiting easier. Example — It is hard to wait for your birthday party.
- Waiting suggestions: Count down with a calendar, make a list of things needed to be done for the party, and cross off the list when accomplished, etc.
Discover the values covered in this story through guided activities and fun projects that ensure learner involvement.
Arts and Crafts ideas for Creatively Understanding the Virtues
Arts & Crafts Activities (Younger Learners):
- Make a scrapbook of accomplishments with pictures of your learner growing up. Put pictures in sequential order from earliest years to present. The objective is to show your learner passage of wait time it takes to accomplish certain goals, like being able to ride a bike, or tie their shoes, etc. Decorate each page accordingly.
- Create a love chain. On strips of 3×5, colored construction paper, write your learner’s response to the statement I love ______________. On a second strip of construction paper, write the response of your learner to the rest of the statement … because _______________. This statement should reflect a specific action and time frame. Examples are “I love my teacher, because she gives me suggestions for my project and a whole week to complete it.” and “I love my mom because she takes all day to fix my favorite meal.”
Arts & Crafts Activities (Older Learners):
- Create a story, poem, song, or banner on the value of love.
- Plan a road trip to a particular destination. Create a time line for the various planning activities it takes to get ready for the trip like — deposits for hotels, packing, estimated travel time, scheduling for pet care, etc.
Involvement Tips (All Ages):
Your learner is watching whether or not you show patience. Your actions speak louder than words. All learners want to hear words of love, approval and support. Such talk helps develop their confidence.
- Use reflective listening. Help verbalize the words your learners are feeling. Example — I know it is hard to wait. This takes a long time, but you are doing a good job waiting.
- Help your learner figure out things they can do to pass the time while they have to wait. Say things like — What can we do while we are waiting? Shall we read a book? Do you want to sing a song? etc.
- Use a timer to help your learner visualize the wait.
One day Kelly saw a beautiful butterfly. No one saw her run out the house. She ran past the field and into Secret Spring Meadow.
Continue with learning experiences to extend your stay.
Follow-up Activities (All Ages):
Practice life skills – Care of Pets
Discuss with your learner:
- The care that animals need, such as food, water, exercise, rest, medical care.
- The benefits of adopting a pet.
- The care that is specific to a pet they may have at home. Discuss with your learner actions that are good for your pet and actions that may harm the animal.
Real-Life Activities (All Ages):
Practice life skills – Grocery Shopping
- Farmer John left the store that day with sugar, salt, and a kitten he named “Kelly.” Find these items at the grocery store and read the labels.
- Have your learner write a shopping list.
- Read the label of each item and cross it off the list.
- Look at the pictures on the labels. Ask learners, “Does it look like the food inside the jar or can?”
- Keep empty boxes, and let your learner arrange and group them by size, color, shape, and food categories.
In time the dog and cat became best friends.
Then Belle would remember what Farmer John said, “Just be patient.”