Kindness FHE

We did this FHE 2 weeks ago, but I'm behind in blogging, so here you go! We've been having trouble with the boys calling each other 'bad' words, so it was time for an FHE intervention. I'm realizing that most of our FHE's come from necessity.

I started by showing a picture of Jesus and talking about how He is always kind to everyone and how we need to be kind to each other too. Then I pulled out 2 bowls, one containing rocks and the word 'mean' with frowny faces drawn on it, and the other with candy and the word 'nice' with smiley faces. (Sorry about the picture, I tried flipping it, but it didn't work.)

Then I gave them each a cup with their name on it and a drawing of a car to keep them interested. We talked about how every time we call someone a mean word or say something mean to them it's like putting a rock in their cup. But, when we say something nice to someone it's like putting candy in their cup.

Then we practiced saying mean and nice things to each other, 'I love Cheeks,' 'Big Boy is fun to play cars with,' 'I don't want to play with Cheeks,' 'Big Boy is poopy,' etc. We put the appropriate rocks and candy in the cups with each phrase. Then we showed them the cups and asked if they wanted the rocks in the cups. They said no and we took them out. Then we asked, 'wouldn't it be nice if we only had candy in our cups?' They heartily agreed and we let them eat the candy.

It's been a pretty effective lesson. Even now, 2 weeks later, Big Boy will say, 'I love you Mommy! That's like putting candy in your cup!'