Turn The Other Cheek Group
Group Activities

BUBBLES EVERYWHERE: The teacher will blow soap bubbles everywhere around the room and allow the children to pop as many bubbles as they can. After doing this for a short time, the teacher will stop and tell the children that the next time the teacher blows soap bubbles, they aren't allowed to touch or pop any bubbles, they can only watch as the bubbles float around them. Tell the children that in today's lesson, they will learn to exercise self control and show LOVE to all those around them.

HEART OBSTACLE COURSE: Create an obstacle course using items in the room. (chairs, small tables, etc.) Each item will have a paper heart with instructions written on it. The children will move through the course in a line and will stop and do what the instructions on the heart tell them to do - such as "crawl under this table"; or "hop around this chair"; or "climb over this pile of blocks". Tell the children that there will always be obstacles to stop us from turning the other cheek but our HEART will show us how to LOVE others.

FINGER PAINTING HEART: Provide the children with a piece of paper and finger paints to cover the paper in pretty colors. Children can then use a tool or their fingers to draw a heart and write words from today's lesson about loving one another.

BIBLE VERSE ILLUSTRATING: Give each child a sheet of paper and markers, stickers or pictures of eyes and teeth. The children will write today's Bible verse (Matthew 5:38-39) substituting pictures for the words eye, tooth, etc. Children will enjoy being creative in creating their memory verse sheet.

PRAYER HANDS: Give each child a piece of construction paper to fold in half from top to bottom. They will place one hand on the paper with their wrist at the FOLD of the paper. They will then trace around their hand and cut out that tracing. That will create folded "prayer hands." Inside the hands, the children will draw a heart on the palm and write LOVE ONE ANOTHER or something similar of their choice. Words from today's lesson or Bible verse may be written in bright markers on each finger.

WALL HEART MOBILE: This activity can be a class project or an individual activity. A large heart can be cut out of construction paper. To insure that both sides of the heart are the same size, fold paper first and then cut out half of the heart. Children may also cut out many smaller hearts of various colors and write words of Love and words from our Bible lesson today on those little hearts. These hearts will be hung from the large heart using red yarn. If this is done as a class project, each child can write something on a heart to be hung by yarn and hang this mobile in the classroom. If the teacher chooses, this could be a PRAYER MOBILE by writing the names of other children that may have special prayer needs or people that we have difficulty loving. (Discuss Matthew 5:44)

LOVING HEART: Create a "loving heart" which can be traced, cut out, then glued to a larger piece of construction paper. Tiny pieces of colored tissue paper can be "wadded" up and glued to the heart, or just small squares or shapes can be glued to the heart. Write the Bible verse Matthew 5:44 around the heart.

LOVE GOD BOOK MARKER: Cut out a cross-shaped book marker and glue a heart to the cross where the vertical and horizontal parts of the cross intersect. Give the children small foam or cut-out letters L__OVE to glue going downward on the vertical section of the cross (with the heart serving as the "O") and G __ D to glue on the horizontal section of the cross (with the heart serving as the "0").

SING A SONG: JESUS LOVES THE LITTLE CHILDREN; LOVE ONE ANOTHER

SHARE A SNACK: Children can decorate a heart cookie for themselves and one for someone else.

Song:  "Jesus Loves the Little Children"

Song:  "Love One Another" - Charles Kirkpatrick

This song may be freely downloaded and reproduced for religious or educational use by churches, schools, home schoolers, and other non-profit organizations.