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Unit 2 is based on the goodness of creation. Christians believe that the human body is a lovely creation of a loving God. BLEST ARE WE CD K "I Am Special," "I Feel Sad," track 4 "Looby Loo," "Oh, We Can Use Our Talents," track 9, 10 "If You Know That You Can...," "If You're Happy..." track 13, 14 "For the Stories Jesus Tells," track 25, 26 God Creates Me God's love makes people special. The children give praise and thanks to God for their talents. They celebrate their talents. God Gives Me Feelings God knows that children have many different feelings. Hannah shared her feelings with others. The children praise God by celebrating their feelings. God Creates My Senses The five senses are gifts of God. The children appreciate and thank God for their senses. They praise God by celebrating their senses. Take Home Storybook Just Like Me The storybook for this unit introduces children to a fictional character to express a child's uniqueness. The parent letter on the last page describes how to cut and flip pages to extend the story.

"I praise you [LORD], so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works."

—Psalm 139:14

Life and Dignity of the Human Person - Catholic Social Teaching
The Church emphasizes the importance of the life and the dignity of the human person. In God's Kingdom all people are important. The Church calls on all members to respect others by enhancing their lives; advocating for just public policies and organizing for safer and better communities. Social laws must protect life from conception through natural death.

As a human community we all have basic needs. Among these are love and understanding. We are all dependent upon God, our Creator. In our interactions it is important for us to show respect toward one another. We acknowledge that another person's dignity is as important as our own. We remember Jesus' command: "Love one another as I have loved you."

Prejudice and discrimination are contrary to Christian belief because they fail to recognize each person's innate dignity. It is our personal responsibility to reach out in mercy and justice to individuals and to confront social conditions that deny basic human rights. Our Baptism calls us to this mission.

God has blessed us with different gifts and talents. Because our gifts vary, it is to our advantage to learn from those who have talents that we do not possess and to share our abilities with others. It is important to realize that we have more in common with people of various races, cultures, nationalities, and religions than we have differences.

•  When have I failed to show respect for the dignity of another person?
•  Am I able to forgive someone who shows disrespect for my own dignity?

Action Opportunity
Invite the parents or older siblings of children in your group to come talk about their family's cultural background. They might speak of special days to celebrate (St. Patrick's Day, Cinco de Mayo) or special foods they share. Encourage participants to bring photographs of family gatherings. It is at family gatherings that young children learn to interact with and appreciate differences in people. That helps prepare them for social interactions in parish and neighborhood communities.

Quick Take
Name foods like tacos [Mexican], perogies [Polish], cornbread [Native American], egg rolls [Chinese], falafels [Greek], or gumbo [French Creole]. Have children who enjoy these foods raise their hands as you name them. Then ask if they know what country each of these foods came from originally.