Goals: respecting other people who are different from ourselves

We’re all different

Step 1: handicapped

Start off by playing a bunch of different games to give the kids a feel about what it's like to be handicapped (we'll start off by giving them the extreme "different").  So, here are a couple of different "games":

Blind: Each kid grabs a partner.  One of them closes their eyes tightly, and the other leads them around the house.  Then they switch off.  This is to give them an idea of being blind, and totally trusting the other person.

Mute: Pantomime -- pick a kid, and whisper a sentence to him/her.  (example:  "I want to go to bed now")  Then, the kid has to pantomime it to everyone else.  This is to give them an idea of how it is to be deaf.  Explain that deaf people have to rely on other senses -- such as sight.  Here's a website to the sign language alphabet.  Print out a few copies of the page, and have them learn to spell out their names.  http://where.com/scott.net/asl/abc.html

Learning disabilities: tell them that each person in the world has a different level of ease when it comes to learning.  Give them this piece of Shakespeare to read and have them try to interpret it.  http://www.wowzone.com/hamlet.htm

Step 2: we’re all special/different!

Ask them what they learned from all the different games. 

Tell them Jason's dvar torah (from the shabbaton) about how we are all different... I'm sure you remember it!  (at least i hope you do... if you don't, just ask).  Hopefully they'll tell you that they learned that they need to be respectful and understanding of people different from themselves.  They may not know so many people who are deaf, blind, etc. but, they can still apply what they've learned with EVERYONE they know.... because we're ALL different and special! When one of their friends is going through some problems, or there is someone who is being made fun of, they need to help out the other person, because (once again) we're all different.