What is Trust? 🤝❤️

Trust means believing someone will do right and keep you safe. In Christianity, trust means believing God loves us and will help us. In Swahili we say: "Amini".

Simple examples for children:

• Your parent tells you to wait for them at home — you trust them to come back.
• Your teacher promises to help you learn — you trust the teacher.
• We trust God when we pray and know He listens and cares.

Bible Story (short) 📖

Story: Jesus Calms the Storm (Mark 4:35–41). Jesus and the disciples were in a boat. A big storm came. The disciples were afraid, but Jesus was sleeping. They woke Him. Jesus told the wind and waves to be still. The storm stopped. The disciples learned to trust Jesus.

Lesson: We can trust God when we are afraid.

Specific Learning Outcomes

1. Define "trust" in simple words (e.g., "believing someone will do right").
2. Recall the Bible story of Jesus calming the storm and say how it shows trust in God.
3. Give three everyday examples of people we can trust in Kenya (e.g., parent, teacher, pastor).
4. Demonstrate trusting behaviour through a short role-play (keeping promises, asking for help).
5. Recite and explain a short memory verse: Proverbs 3:5 (child-friendly phrase).

Memory Verse

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart." — Proverbs 3:5 (child version)

Practice: Say it together, then in pairs whisper it to a friend and explain what it means.

Suggested Learning Experiences

• Tell and discuss the Bible story: Teacher reads the story slowly. Ask pupils: "Why were the disciples afraid?" "How did Jesus help?"
• Picture talk: Show a simple picture of a boat and storm (drawn or printed). Pupils say how trust helped the disciples.
• Role play (pair work): One child acts as a scared disciple, the other acts as Jesus or a helper. Swap roles. Keep roles short (1–2 minutes each).
• Group activity — Trust web: Pupils sit in a circle and toss a soft ball while saying who they trust and why (parent, teacher, pastor, friend). Use a yarn ball for teacher demo to make a "web" of trust.
• Draw and tell: Pupils draw someone they trust (e.g., mum, teacher, pastor) and write or tell one reason they trust them.
• Singing and prayer: Sing a short trust song or chorus used in Sunday school. Close with a short prayer thanking God for help and care.
• Home activity: Pupils go home and ask a parent to tell a short story about a time they trusted God or someone. Bring the story back and share one sentence to class.

Teaching Aids and Materials

• Children's Bible or storybook (Mark 4:35–41).
• Pictures or flashcards (boat, waves, Jesus, family).
• Paper, crayons, markers for drawing.
• Soft ball or ball of yarn for the trust web activity.
• Song words or simple chorus used in local church/sunday school.

Assessment (Simple and child-friendly)

Oral questions:

• What is trust? Give one example from home or school.
• Tell the story of Jesus calming the storm in your own words.
• Who do you trust and why? (Answer in one sentence)

Activity-based assessment: Check the pupil's drawing and listen as they explain why they trust that person. Observe role-plays to see if children show promise-keeping and asking for help respectfully.