Day 4 – Being Gentle
Bible Verse
but be gentle unto all men,(2 Tim 2:24b)
Coloring/Teaching
Here’s a picture of Bobby and Mary (point to each of them and smile). Mary has some eggs in a basket and she is showing Bobby. Do you see the eggs? (Point to eggs and smile and nod your head yes) Let’s count how many eggs there are – 1-2-3-4, there are four eggs in Mary’s box. But there’s one more egg in Mary’s hand!
The Gentle Song
(Sing to The Farmer in the Dell tune)
Oh gentle I will be
Oh gentle I will be
No hitting and no pushing but
Oh gentle I will be
I won’t push you down
I won’t push you down
I’ll hold your hand and walk with you
I won’t push you down
God’s Word says I should
God’s Word says I should
I will obey the Word of God
God’s Word says I should
Bible Time
Let’s open the Bible and learn what God says about being gentle.
Scripture: but be gentle unto all men,(2 Tim 2:24b)
Story
Mary and Bobby were playing with their Legos. Each time Bobby finished building something, Mary knocked down his Legos. This made Bobby very sad and he wanted to cry. (Make a sad face like you’re crying.) Mommy told Mary that she was not being nice. Mommy said that Mary had to be gentle and sweet. (rub your child’s arm softly when you say the word gentle.) Mommy said, “Mary, tell Bobby you are sorry for knocking down his Legos.” Mary obeyed right away and said she was sorry.
Later, Mary and Bobby decided that they wanted to play on the swing set. Bobby pushed Mary really hard while she was swinging. (Make a frown on your face to show this was wrong and shake your index finger back and forth). Mary fell down and started crying. (make a crying face again.) Mommy told Bobby that he needed to be gentle when he was pushing (rub child’s arm softly). Mommy said, “Bobby, give Mary a nice gentle hug like this and tell her you are sorry.” (Hug child and show the difference between a gentle hug and a “hard” hug.) Bobby was sad that he made Mary cry. Bobby gave Mary a nice gentle hug just like Mommy showed him.
Teaching Throughout the Day
Throughout the day, show your children the difference between gentle touches and rough touches, gentle hugs and hard hugs, gentle playing and rough playing. Teach them to be sweet and gentle when they play with their brothers and sisters. Teach them to be especially gentle to babies. A good lesson is to take hard boiled eggs (do not take the shell off). Have each child gently cup an egg in both their hands so they can’t see the egg any more (or close to it, depending on the size of their hands). Have them walk around the back yard while they are holding their egg. Then have them skip while they are holding their egg. Have the older toddlers run while they are holding their egg. If they are gentle, the egg shell won’t break, but if they are “rough” they will crack it. Explain to them that when they are gentle with their brothers and sisters, they won’t hurt them. But if they are rough with their brothers and sisters, they will hurt them.
Dear God…
Help me to play nice and be gentle and sweet.
I do not want to hurt anyone.
Amen!
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