Fruit of the Spirit Spin and Toss: A Preschool Bible School Activity for Memorizing Gal 5:22

One of my favorite Bible verses has got to be Galatians 5:22-23 which gives us the wonderful "Fruit of the Spirit." This is because it was one of the first Scripture songs I ever wrote. I love sharing this verse with children of all ages but when I share it with preschoolers I tend to focus on the first 3 fruits of love, joy and peace. Here is a fun Bible school activity to help your little ones learn the first part of this verse. I call it "Fruit of the Spirit Spin and Toss."

Here's what you do:

For this activity you will need to create 9 large circles the children will toss. I created mine from the tops and bottoms of frozen juice cans. On 3 of the circles, attach a picture of a heart. On 3, attach a picture of a joyful smile and on the last 3 attach a picture of a peaceful sleeping baby or child. You will also need a large bowl or bag into which the circles will be tossed. Finally, you will want to make a line on the floor with a piece of chalk or tape behind which the children will toss the circles.

Here's how to play:

Pick a child to come forward and stand behind the line. Before letting him toss the 9 circles into the bowl, slowly spin him around while saying the following Bible verse to a bit of a beat. Emphasize the words I have underlined:

"But the fruit of the Spirit

Is love, joy and peace..."

After the giggles subside, let the child toss the circles into the bowl one at a time. Count how many circles made it in the bucket by encouraging your little ones to count along with you. Then point out which kind of "fruit" made it into the bucket - love, joy or peace. When showing each circle, you might say, "God wants us to love one another," or "God wants us to be joyful," or "God wants us to be peaceful." After every child has had at least one turn. You might want to conclude your activity by handing out fruit cups.

Before playing this Bible school activity, you might want to introduce it in the following way:

Who can tell me their favorite fruit? (Wait for responses.) I'm so glad all of you like fruit. Did you guys know that God loves fruit too? He does. He loves apples and oranges and grapes just like you, but He also loves a special kind of fruit called the Fruit of the Spirit such as love, joy and peace. When we have love, joy and peace in our lives we will be sweet and "yummy" to everyone we meet just like a good piece of fruit. Let's play a fun game to help us remember God's wonderful Fruit of the Spirit. It's called "Fruit of the Spirit Spin and Toss."

Next, if you liked this Sunday School/Homeschooling idea, then sign up to today to receive Scripture Lady's Free Email Kid Tips packed full with creative ideas and receive 6 FREE BIBLE REVIEW GAMES to help get the kids you minister to excited about the Bible!

Are You Exemplifying the Fruit of the Spirit?

It's common that we have influences in our life but as we grow mature in Christ we start to discover who we are in Him. Many times we're looking to others for validation when our true validation comes from Christ.

In the process of seeking the approval of others we lose focus on where the true validation comes from. Because of this, some people start to emulate the behaviors of people that they look up to.

I believe that there is nothing wrong with looking up to others, the concern that I have is what types of people are we looking up to? Do you take into consideration the types of people and role models you have in your life?

I think that we should look inside and ask ourselves these important questions. We should choose to expose ourselves to role models who have a positive impact on our lives. When we think of role model type figures, we should think of someone who models the fruit of the Spirit.

The bible tells us in Galatians 5:22-23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."

Are we exemplifying this behavior? We should aspire to represent the fruit on a consistent basis. I believe that it's time that we as believers are to step up and take on the responsibility of exemplifying these Christlike behaviors.

The world is looking at us and they are looking for us to show the love, peace and kindness that Jesus commands us to show. We hear so many stories about people who were in the church and made a judgment on the church based on there experience. Unfortunately, the people of the church have been stereotyped as being hypocritical.

Lets be an example for others who need to see that positive role model. For some people you're the only Jesus they're going to see. I encourage you to practice modeling the fruit of the Spirit as you go forth in your life journey.