Elementary Object Lesson: Kindness Coins
In this elementary object lesson, kids give and receive kindness while exploring 1 Thessalonians 5:15.
You’ll Need:
Elementary Object Lesson: Kindness Coins
Read aloud 1 Thessalonians 5:15.
Say: God wants us to show others kindness by doing good to them. Let’s practice that now!
Play Part One of “Kindness Coins”
- 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.
Play Part Two of “Kindness Coins”
Say: Even when you show kindness, sometimes you’ll meet people who don’t behave kindly. Like 1 Thessalonians 5:15 says, God wants us to be kind to others, even if they’re grouchy or unkind.
- Ask for a volunteer to be “grouchy.”
- 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!”
- “Math is so boring! I’d rather clean my room!”
- 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.
Talk About It
After kids are finished with the activity, gather them for a brief discussion time. Ask:
- How did you feel when you gave coins and kind words to people who were being kind to you?
- How did you feel when you gave coins and kind words to the “grouchy” person?
- What are some ways you can show kindness to everyone—even when they’re not kind to you?
Affirm all answers, and thank kids for sharing.
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).
End with prayer, asking God to help kids show kindness to everyone—even those who aren’t kind in return.
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!
