14. Self-Control

Materials Needed

• book or video tape where a character has little self-control (yells a lot, etc.)
• plastic farm set (or some stuffed animals)
• different colors of construction paper
• glue
• pencil

Setting The Stage

Let your family know that we all need self-control. With God’s help we need to refrain from doing things we should not be doing.

Project

• Choose a book to read or short video to watch where a character continually shows no self-control.

Every time the character shows no self -control have everyone yell, “No self-control!!”

• Bring out a plastic farm play set. If you don’t have one you can get the same results with different stuffed animals.

Have the children role play with the animals. No script is needed. Tell them they are to let the animals show no self-control. Examples: Pig eats all the food so that no one has any or sheep wanders off or cow gets angry when it has to be milked. When they are finished role playing explain to them how this is not a happy farm because the animals are not showing self-control.

Let them play with the farm again, this time showing self-control. Show how well the farm works, how everyone gets something and is happy when they all show self-control.

• Rip three - four different colored sheets of construction paper into little pieces and place them into a bowl.

Let each child have a sheet of construction paper. For each one, draw the shape of the animal he/she used during the farm play time. Cover the inside shape of the animal with glue and let each child pick out the different colored ripped pieces of construction paper to fill in this shape. While the glue is drying, challenge each child to learn self-control as their animal did on the farm.

• Sit together in a circle.

Share with one another one area in which you want to learn more self-control.

Prayer

Pray for the area where you need the most self-control.

Memory Verse

I Thessalonians 5:8b
let us be self-controlled