I cannot believe we are coming to the end of our study of the Fruit of the Spirit. The kiddos have enjoyed this material very much. They have learned sooo much. This material was a continual challenge for me....normally I write my material in a chronological fashion....however, with this material we looked at several different Bible examples/stories. We used events from the OLD and NEW TESTAMENTS so as to "drive" home the meaning of the attribute. I have enjoyed the challenge of coming up with these lessons. However, I have more enjoyed the excitement I see in the faces of the children each week. I am sad to see us finish this study and yet am looking forward to the next EXPLORATION we will be making. I am in hopes of writing material about Eli, Samuel, Saul, David and Solomon. This should be a wonderful adventure and I am praying fervently about this undertaking. :-)
We had our lesson on Self-Control this past Sunday. I decided to use the story of Adam and Eve...and their partaking of the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Showing that they LACKED SELF-CONTROL. I figured that this story would help the children understand the concept of controlling oneself. IT WORKED!!!!!! I was so pleased with the kiddos. They really seemed to understand that SELF-CONTROL IS ---to control your own actions, reactions and behavior. YAY!!!!! They made me smile!!!!!!
To help the kiddos understand Self-Control, I read them this little FLIP Book. It was great...it allowed me to apply each of the situations to Adam and Eve....asking the kiddos if Adam and Eve had practiced Self-Control. The book reads....
Self-Control means I will...
Think and Pray Before I Act.
Control My Sudden Desires.
Weigh Consequences.
Make Good and Safe Choices.
I just used computer clip art to illustrate the book.
Our TAKE HOME activity was a coloring book version of the BOOK I read to them before telling them the story of Adam and Eve. We made it out of Cardstock and copy paper. Easy Take Home!!!
Our memory verse this week was the verse Proverbs 25:28. I explained that a city that was broken into and left without walls was an unprotected city. Anyone and anything could come into that city. I then explained that when we do NOT have Self-Control...anyone and anything can take over our mind and actions. (Kind of deep for the kiddos...but, I think they understood the concept in the end.) We sang this to the tune Ten Little Indians. They all had it memorized very quickly. Putting a verse to a familiar tune ALWAYS helps them memorize their memory verses.
Our Game/Activity for this week was a game based on the RED LIGHT/GREEN LIGHT game. Here are the basic rules.... 1. The student answers a question from the Tree of Good Knowledge...see pic on left.
2. They line up.
3. You say: READY, SET, _____!
They cannot "GO" froward 1 step until you say "GO." However, for fun I used all sorts of "G" words. (Gravy, Goodness, Granny, Grapes, Greek, Giant, etc.) If they moved before they heard the word "GO" they had to take a step back. This was sooooo fun. They could pick a fruit...answer the question...then CONTROL THEMSELVES....waiting till I said, "GO!" FUN TIME and TEACHES THE CONCEPT!!!!!!
We added a few new words to our "WORD WALL." We added the words: Self-Control, Impulse and Consequence. The children are THRILLED WITH all the words they are learning. I am glad to have the WORD WALL...it helps me BRING UP the words they have learned in the past. Progress and Review....Two very important things in my Bible Class!!!
Next week we will spend our time REVIEWING ALL that we have learned over this study....then the kiddos will get to take home their EXPLORER JOURNALS!!!! We will have a short (in the classroom) conference with the parents...and the kiddos will get to GIVE their Explorer Journal to their parents. This is one of MY FAVORITE things to do. I look forward to "Explorer Journal Presentation Day!!!!!!!!" I am going to try to remember to take PICS of the children presenting their Explorer Journals....that way you can see their excitement!!!!
Blessings,
