Elementary Object Lesson: Kindness Coins

In this elementary object lesson, kids experience what it’s like to give and receive kindness while exploring 1 Thessalonians 5:15.

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:15

Supplies:

• Bible
• coins (3 per child)

Elementary Object Lesson

Read aloud 1 Thessalonians 5:15. Give each child three coins. Have kids walk around the room and each say something kind to another person. The child who receives the kind comment will then “pay back” with a kind comment and kindness coin. Kids will continue playing until they have given away all their coins and have each received three new coins.

For the second part of the game, ask for a volunteer to be “grouchy.” Point out to kids that they’ll sometimes meet people who don’t behave kindly. Remind them that we’re instructed to be kind to others, even if they’re grouchy or unkind. Have the grouchy child approach each child, one at a time, and make a playfully negative comment. Some examples are, “What a yucky day! I hate rain!” “This sandwich tastes horrible! My mom should have packed pizza!” or “Math is so boring! I’d rather clean my room!”

Kindness Coins

When the “grouchy child” makes a negative comment, the other child will respond by speaking kindly and giving the grouchy person a coin. After each child has had a turn repaying the grouchy person with kind words, point out that the grouchy person is now “rich” with kind words. Then have the grouchy person end with a kind comment or kind act.

Say: Our kind words can change a person’s heart and make that person also want to be kind. It’s easy to repay a kind comment with another kind comment. But it’s a lot harder to repay a mean comment with a kind one! God wants us to be kind to everyone. That’s exactly why God has this to say to us: “Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else” (1 Thessalonians 5:15).

This object lesson is excerpted from a lesson on kindness in Kids’ Travel Guide to the Fruit of the Spirit. This book contains 13 Scripture-based lessons that are designed to help kids in kindergarten through fifth grade grow the fruit of the Spirit in their daily lives. For more fruit of the Spirit ideas, check out these posts!