This week we learned about the woman who washed Jesus' feet with her tears and he forgave her sins, even though the other people weren't very pleased with that. We also will focus on forgiveness this week.
Breathing Exercises: When we get mad or hurt or scared, the best thing is to stop and breathe. Make sure to breathe into your belly and let it grow big like a balloon! We practiced different ways to remember breathing on Sunday:
Rainbow Breaths: Sit criss-cross applesauce, breathe in as you bring your arms up through center and over your head. Breathe out and swoop them down in an arc like a rainbow.
Volcano Breaths: Like Rainbow Breaths but more active :) Press your hands together at the center of your body as you breathe in. Breathe out and explode your hands out like lava from the top of your volcano head.
Bee Breathing: Breathe in and pretend to smell a flower, exhale and buzz like a bee.
Whale Breathing: Breathe in. Hold your breath and count to 5 in your head or on your hand - then breathe out all your air at once like a whale surfacing!
If your child(ren) likes these, you can find printouts to remember the breathing - or make your own picture cards!
Craft: Forgiveness Hands
Let's create another good reminder to step back and take a moment to calm down by creating forgiveness hands. You'll need the construction paper and sheet with the poem at the bottom, plus scissors, glue and something to draw with.
Step 1: Trace hands on construction paper. Cut out the hands.
Step 2: Glue to the forgiveness poem, if you are careful, you can make the heart shape with the fingers. Option: color in fingers
Forgiveness for Elementary/Middle School Students:
It can be hard to let go when someone hurts our feelings or does something to make us angry, but without forgiving and letting go, we can start to feel weighed down. Here are some ways to help work through forgiveness:
- Deep Breathing: it really helps to bring us back to a more calm mind and we can think more clearly. If you're feeling too old to do "rainbow breathing," use a finger to trace up and down the outside of your opposite hand. Breathe in on the way up a finger and breathe out as you slide down the finger.
- Create a Forgiveness Jar: Like a worry jar, decorate a small box, jar or bottle. Write down something bothering you, someone you are having a hard time forgiving or something you would like to ask God for help with and slip it into your jar/box/bottle. Say a little prayer to God and let go.
- Water Painting: This could be just as fun for you as the younger kids. Go outside and find a piece of pavement or maybe a paving stone. Wet the paintbrush and "paint" a picture. As the water dries, the picture fades just like when we forgive the hurt and anger also go away.