Grades 1-3
Introductory Activity – Chair Hop
Materials: circle of chairs
Guide kids to sit in the circle of chairs. Give directions for kids to move right or left when certain statements apply to them. Kids should not move from their chairs if the statements do not apply to them. Here are sample statements and actions: “If you have a sister, move one chair to the left. If you have a dog, move two chairs to the right. If you have blue eyes, move one chair to the right. If you are seven years old, move one chair to the right. If you have more than one brother, move two chairs to the left. If you have a baby living in your house, move one chair to the right. If you have a teenager living in your house, move one chair to the left.” Make as many statements as you choose for the game. After the game, ask: “What happened when two kids wanted the same chair?” Encourage kids to tell you how they decided what to do. Ask how they felt and how they treated one another. Tell kids that they will think about ways to treat others in today’s session.
Live It Out
Game—Write It Down
Materials: pencils, paper
Briefly review the Bible story. Discuss the ways David showed kindness to Mephibosheth. Group kids into three groups. Ask a review question. Lead each group to write down its answer for the entire group. Teams should stand when they have finished their answers. Call on a group to give its answer. If the group called on gives the wrong answer, call on a different group to answer. Keep score until all the questions are answered.
Craft – Hanging Truth
Materials: paper plates, scissors, hole punches, yarn, markers
Review the Bible story. Talk about the importance of loving other people even when the world might say we don’t have to. Lead a kid to cut paper plates into pieces and print a word of the Life Point on each piece. He can punch a hole in the top and bottom of each piece and use lengths of yarn to tie the pieces together; leave space between each word as you tie them together. Tie a length of yarn in the top hole for a hanger. Tell kids to hang their hangers from the ceiling in their rooms. Remind kids they can remember that we show love for God being kind to others.
Grades 4-6
Introductory Activity – Back Writing
Materials: paper, pencil
Tell kids to sit in a single-file line, with each kid facing the back of the person in front of him. Lay the pencil and paper at the front of the line. Tell kids you will send a message from the back of the line to the front of the line, one letter at a time. Trace a letter K on the back of the last child in line. He traces what he thinks you made on the back of the person in front of him, and so on up the line. The child in the front of the line prints the letter on the piece of paper and then moves to the back of the line. Trace the next letter on the child’s back and pass that letter up the line, too. (Spell kindness and love.) After all the letters have been written on the page, look at the paper and ask kids to read the message. See if the letters make sense. Tell kids that today they will learn about treating others with kindness and love.
Live It Out
Game—Collision Ball
Materials: tape, 2 balls of different colors (or one ball marked with a star)
Make a tape line at each end of the game area and in the center of the game area. Designate the “scoring ball” by color or by marking a star with marker. Set the scoring ball on the midline. Place the other ball (the kicking ball) on one end of the play area. Group the kids into teams. Gather teams at the end of the game area with the kicking ball. Tell them that the far line is the goal line. Ask Team 1 a review question. If the team is correct, a player can kick the kicking ball and try to hit the scoring ball, making it roll over the goal line. If the scoring ball does not cross the goal line, both balls stay where they land. Ask Team 2 a review question. If the team is correct, a player kicks the kicking ball from where it stopped, trying to knock the scoring ball across the goal line. Award 1 point for each correct answer; award 5 points if the goal line is crossed. After the ball crosses the goal line, reset it on the midline and place the kicking ball back at the starting line to continue the game.
Craft – Graphic Story
Materials: paper, pencils, thin-line markers
Lead kids to draw 3 panels (square frames) on their papers. They can draw situations that show people treating others with kindness and love. Encourage drawing in graphic novel style, with each panel showing part of the situation/story. Encourage kids to show their stories and tell about the situations they depicted.
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