Fruit Of The Spirit: Self Control

***I am retro-blogging previous lesson plans from 2016-2018, so I do not always have pictures of each activity, I will be working harder to be sure that pictures are taken to fully show you the ideas that I used**

Bible Verse:  
⁷ For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.--2 Timothy 1:7
 
Fruit of the Week: Lemons (we taste each fruit of the week for snack. If there are varying types of a fruit then we will taste different kinds).

Activity 1: Making Lemonade.This was a simple activity, but we talked about how being sour to others leaves a bitter taste in our own mouths much like it would if someone was "sour" to us. The kids loved taking turns stirring the lemonade powder into the pitcher (yes, I cheated) and tasting the drink.

Activity 2:Veggie Tales Video. We typically wrap up our longer units with a "movie night" including popcorn. So, this was our main activity for the evening, except for handing out certificates for finishing the unit. I love to give recognition to those who regularly attend and learned something!

Printable Certificates. I made my own, and you could too if you wanted.

If I did not add this to the previous Fruit of the Spirit entries, I must do it now!! I found this hilarious song about the Fruits on YouTube and the kids LOVED hearing it and singing it over and over and over and over again.  I highly recommend it! 

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Fruit Of The Spirit: Gentlenes

***I am retro-blogging previous lesson plans from 2016-2018, so I do not always have pictures of each activity, I will be working harder to be sure that pictures are taken to fully show you the ideas that I used**

Bible Verse:  
³ Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.--1 Peter 3:3

Fruit of the Week: Pears (we taste each fruit of the week for snack. If there are varying types of a fruit then we will taste different kinds).

Craft: Pear Footprint. Oh how I love hand and footprint crafts! And, the kids loved taking off their shoes and getting their feet painted. I did print a guide, so that the footprint would be more exact and make more sense to the parents when they got home! The above printable was for a different use, but I blew it up and made one per page and then had them stamp their painted foot inside the pear with a friend helping them.



Activity 1: Paul In The Middle (game). This idea ended up morphing into something else (gotta love excited kids), but we were supposed to put someone in the middle of the circle, and he or she was "Paul" and they would give and example, and someone had to guess the correct fruit of the spirit that would be needed. Well, the kids had trouble coming up with examples, so it ended up in a cut-throat game of Bible Jeopardy where I asked the questions and they tried to see who could guess the fastes (I have some seriously competitive kids this year!)

Activity 2:Fruits BINGO. I made and laminated my own BINGO boards and made call out cards.  These kids could play this for hours! And of course I love that we can use them over and over again for Wednesday nights or Sunday School or even VBS! I made my own as 6 sheets weren't enough, but this could get you started. Click here for this resource.

Printable. Fill In The Blank.  I try to always have a printed activity on hand. There are always the kids who finish up the other activities you give them quickly, and those who just really enjoy puzzles, word searches, etc.
**I used the above printable, and you can find when you click here**

Fruit Of The Spirit: Faithfulness

***I am retro-blogging previous lesson plans from 2016-2018, so I do not always have pictures of each activity, I will be working harder to be sure that pictures are taken to fully show you the ideas that I used**

Bible Verse:  
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.--Psalm 51:10


Fruit of the Week: Watermelon (we taste each fruit of the week for snack. If there are varying types of a fruit then we will taste different kinds. 

Craft: popscicle list of the fruits of the spirit.  This is a super easy and fun craft for just about anything. You'll need to use strips of masking tape and Popsicle sticks. I have each child 9, 1 for each fruit of the spirit.  They decorated and labeled them anyway they wanted, and since they are old enough, I allowed them to use the masking tape strips themselves. The picture above should give you a good idea of how I did this craft.



Activity 1:Floor Breathing.  Now, we attempted this activity, and did pretty well for about 5 minutes. I had them lay on the floor and close their eyes and practice breathing in and out slowly. We talked about things that calm us and make us feel safe. I was attempting to connect the lines between finding a calm time and space and being faithful to prayer time.

Activity 2: Ball Toss. I bought three small glitter colored balls at the dollar store, and used a Sharpie marker to write all of the fruits of the spirit onto the surface--spreading the words evenly. We really only needed one ball, but I loved having backups as we used these balls several times over the session and in "free time." The object was to catch the ball and where your finger landed when catching was the fruit you were supposed to talk about. I allowed the kids to use a story or example of that fruit of the spirit, and for more shy kids, they could just define the word.

(I used the words, and this idea used pictures of the fruit)

Printable. Quiz.  I try to always have a printed activity on hand. There are always the kids who finish up the other activities you give them quickly, and those who just really enjoy puzzles, word searches, etc.
**I used the above printable, and you can find when you click here**

Fruit Of The Spirit: Goodness

***I am retro-blogging previous lesson plans from 2016-2018, so I do not always have pictures of each activity, I will be working harder to be sure that pictures are taken to fully show you the ideas that I used**

Bible Verse:  
¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.


Fruit of the Week: Bananas (we taste each fruit of the week for snack. If there are varying types of a fruit then we will taste different kinds. 

Craft: Bookmarks. Adult coloring pages are really in right now and I have a very crafty group, so I found some free "fancy" coloring pages and put them inside a clip art drawing of a mason jar (canning/fruits). I added a hole with a hole punch and the kids picked their color ribbon. This activity was made more fun by pulling out the coloring pencils which is far more grown up than crayons or markers.

Activity 1: Beaded bracelet. We loved making the Froot Loop bracelets, but I realized that I needed something that was not edible for the kids to make and use as a reminder. I found an idea on Pinterest that associated colors with the spirits, but I kind of tweaked the colors to go with the fruits we were using to associate with each spirit.  The church had pony beads in bulk, so I used those and fishing line to make the bracelets.

Joy-purple (Grapes)
Peace-green (apples)
Patience- orange (oranges)
Kindness-burgundy (cherries)
Goodness- yellow (bananas)
Faithfulness- pink (watermelon)
Gentleness-light green (pears)
Self Control- clear (lemon)
Love- red

Printable. Crossword.  I try to always have a printed activity on hand. There are always the kids who finish up the other activities you give them quickly, and those who just really enjoy puzzles, word searches, etc.
**I used the above printable, and you can find when you click here**

Fruit Of The Spirit: Kindness

***I am retro-blogging previous lesson plans from 2016-2018, so I do not always have pictures of each activity, I will be working harder to be sure that pictures are taken to fully show you the ideas that I used**

Bible Verse:  

¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.


Fruit of the Week: Cherries. (we taste each fruit of the week for snack. If there are varying types of a fruit then we will taste different kinds.


Craft: Froot Loop bracelet. Kids love doing anything with food, and so as an added snack opportunity we used a box of Froot Loops and yarn and each kid got to make a bracelet however they wanted to make it. It is always so neat to see what the creative minds come up with, There were rainbow bracelets and patterned bracelets, and really neat ideas.  And while they enjoyed making them, most of the did not wait until they got home to start eating them off the yarn!

Activity 1: Situation "Game Show"  Different made up situations were presented to three volunteer kids at a time. The contestants had to ring in with the correct fruit of the spirit you would use in that situation. When a kid won the round, he or she would call up a new volunteer to take their place. Making it like a game show made it much more fun and engaging to the kids and they were more excited to give an answer. These situations came from a curriculum book as well as my own imagination. 

Activity 2: Hi-Ho Cherry-O Game. I put out the request the week before to borrow as many High Ho Cherry O game boards as possible. The kids divided into teams and enjoyed the game that many hadn't played since they were preschoolers themselves!

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Song: I found this song on YouTube and we have been playing and singing it for a few weeks now, and the kids love it. I warn you thought it is very catchy and will get stuck in your head!!

Printable. Code. I try to always have a printed activity on hand. There are always the kids who finish up the other activities you give them quickly, and those who just really enjoy puzzles, word searches, etc.
**I used the above printable, and you can find when you click here**

Fruit Of The Spirit: Patience

***I am retro-blogging previous lesson plans from 2016-2018, so I do not always have pictures of each activity, I will be working harder to be sure that pictures are taken to fully show you the ideas that I used**

Bible Verse:  
²⁹ Whoever is patient has great understanding,
    but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.--Proverbs 14:29


Fruit of the Week: Orange (we taste each fruit of the week for snack. If there are varying types of a fruit then we will taste different kinds. Today we tasted Halos, oranges & nectarines

Craft: Orange Slice Fruits. This idea was also found on Pinterest, and even though it was in another language--I loved it. For those kids who can write well, they wrote their own fruits of the spirit on their orange "slices." I had prepared several slices already written for our younger kids. I pre-cut the oranges from construction paper, then cut a smaller circle from white constriction paper then cut the smaller white circle into 9 pieces.

Activity 1: Stress balls. What better way to practice patience than to take a breath and count down until we feel calm.  I found the idea to make stress balls with baking soda and balloons.  I used orange balloons to symbolize our fruit of the week. I used a funnel to fill the balloons 2/3 full of baking soda. The older kids helped the younger kids tie off the top into a knot. I pre-cut some cute green "leaves" from foam and used a hole punch to add a hole to pull the knotted balloon through. The kids LOVED these finished products and squeezed them for the rest of the evening!

Printable.  Coloring page. I try to always have a printed activity on hand. There are always the kids who finish up the other activities you give them quickly, and those who just really enjoy puzzles, word searches, etc.
**I used the above printable from Pinterest, and you can find it when you click here**

Fruit Of The Spirit: Peace

***I am retro-blogging previous lesson plans from 2016-2018, so I do not always have pictures of each activity, I will be working harder to be sure that pictures are taken to fully show you the ideas that I used**

Bible Verse:  
They must turn from evil and do good;
    they must seek peace and pursue it.---1 Peter 3:11




Fruit of the Week: Apples. If there are varying types of a fruit then we will taste different kinds. Today we tasted Granny Smith, Macintosh, Gala & Golden Delicious.


Craft: Placemats. Since we are dealing with fruits, I thought it might be good to make and color placemats that I could later laminate for each of them to take home and use to remember the Fruits Of The Spirit. I chose to pre-cut construction paper fruits that we are using to symbolize each spirit and the kids were able to arrange any way they wanted. Some kids added the words, some put a Bible verse in the middle, etc. You could even make it easier on yourself by printing a coloring page of the Fruits of the Spirit and then having them decorate before you laminate.

Activity 1: Skittles Prayer. I found this idea on Pinterest and loved it!  While the concept doesn't directly associate with the Fruits of the Spirit, I used it because skittles are fruit flavored, and what better way to find peace than in prayer. I will share pictures from the blog from which I used the idea as I can not find the pictures I took of us doing this activity anywhere.  This lesson was a HUGE hit with the kids and they really seemed to absorb what I was trying to say and show them.

Printable. I try to always have a printed activity on hand. There are always the kids who finish up the other activities you give them quickly, and those who just really enjoy puzzles, word searches, etc.
**I used the above printable from DLTK kids. ***

Fruit Of The Spirit: Joy

***I am retro-blogging previous lesson plans from 2016-2018, so I do not always have pictures of each activity, I will be working harder to be sure that pictures are taken to fully show you the ideas that I used**

Bible Verse:  

¹⁰ Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”--Nehemiah 8:10



Fruit of the Week: Grapes (we taste each fruit of the week for snack. If there are varying types of a fruit then we will taste different kinds. Today we tasted red, green & black grapes.


Craft: Fingerprint grapes.  I pre-drew a green stem and curly vines on to a half sheet of card stock paper. Each child received a paper and a small plate of purple washable paint. They dipped their pointer finger or thumb into the paint and pressed on to the paper until they had a grape cluster they were happy with.  Baby wipes provided an easy clean up.

Activity 1: Cup Pyramids.  Since we are beginning our unit and have 9 Fruits Of the Spirit to learn, I wanted to be sure we named all of them each week.  This cup activity will be used the remainder of the weeks while kids are coming in and waiting for class to begin. 
I used blue solo cups and wrote a fruit of the spirit on each one. Since I have so many kids, I did three complete sets.  I divided them into teams, and we raced to build cup pyramids.  The first person built and then once it was complete and not wobbling, they would re-stack the cups and hand off to the next person.  The game continued until all group members had a turn. Now this group was quite competitive, so they later a few wanted to do individual cup races--and we indulged cheering them each on.
Helpful Hint: I found that my kids were very good at this exercise and it was difficult to "eye" who had come in first. And, I prefer not to have winning teams as they make for pouty kids later on... So, I used my phone to time each group and allowed the other groups to watch leaving the room (slightly) quieter for those concentrating. Now, it shifts the mindset of beating a team, to beating a time.

Activity 2: Spreading Joy. We talked about how "contagious" Joy is, and how just as contagious anger and bitterness are. It is up to us to spread the good in the world and we have to choose how we feel and what we want others to feel from us as Paul wrote in his letters. Just like Joy, we want to spread God/s love.  Each child was given a full sheet of smiley stickers (stars would work too, any type of stickers is fine, but the more they get per sheet, the more fun it will be), they were then instructed to try and stick their friends with the stickers without them noticing. Of course they start off sneaky, and within minutes they are all laughing and covering each other and themselves more purposely. This activity was actually for teaching about how germs can spread, but I decide to adapt it to our lesson, and these kids really responded.  The whole room was happy and in a pile of laughs.

Printable. I try to always have a printed activity on hand. There are always the kids who finish up the other activities you give them quickly, and those who just really enjoy puzzles, word searches, etc.
**I used the above printable and several other things inside the free downloadable packet you can find when you click here**

Fruits Of The Spirit

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to Wednesday nights!  This session we will combine our K-2nd graders and our 3-5th graders into one class.  Activities for all ages will be included in this session’s theme: Fruits of the Spirit.

This session we will be talking about the letter Paul wrote to the Galatians about how they should act towards one another.  We will focus on love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

You've probably noticed there are 9 fruits and 8 weeks. Love is something we should focus on all the time, so it will be added into each week along with the focus "spirit" of the week.

Like last session we will have all sorts of fun activities including art, drama, science & "cooking." We are also going to enjoy tasting our fruits as we learn about them.  There is a place on the sign in and out sheet for each Wednesday, but please let me know if your child has a food allergy as soon as possible.

I am excited to share these winter months with your child or children and I hope that they enjoy the lessons as much as I enjoy planning them for the class.

Mrs. Barbara