A kid activity that teaches about how our words impact others.

We have been working through two devotional books with the girls lately.  One of them goes through the Bible in a year and the other one is more of an hands on activity with a lesson called Object Talks for Any Day by Verna L. Kokmeyer.  The kids like both of them, however, we only do the Object Talks devotional on days when we have a little more time because they require preparation, an activity, lesson, and conversation about the lesson taught.

This particular lesson was about our words and watching what we say to others. This was a great lesson for the beginning of the school year as well as a great reminder for all of us (both kids and parents) that our words have an impact on those around us.

Objects:  A plate and tube of toothpaste.

Applicable Bible Verse:  “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” – Psalm 19:14 (ESV)

Activity:

1. Ask for a volunteer.
2. Have the volunteer squeeze all the toothpaste out of the tube onto the plate.
3. Ask for another volunteer.
4. Have them try and put all the toothpaste from the plate back into the toothpaste tube.

Lesson to Talk About:  Like the toothpaste our words can come out pretty quickly and easily, however, once our words are out we cannot take them back.  We have all said something to someone and instantly or later realized it probably wasn’t the best thing to say.  Our words can have a powerful impact on those around us.  They can make people laugh, cry, hurt others feelings, and much more.  Plus when we speak poorly to or about others it makes us look bad as well.  It is important that we allow our thoughts and words to be good, encouraging, wholesome, and kind to those we encounter.  What we fill our hearts and minds with will often come out our mouth and reveal what we are truly thinking.  Much like the impossible task of getting toothpaste back into the tube we cannot take back the words we say to others.  The toothpaste in this example was contained to the plate, however, our words can make a big mess and cause hurt to others for a very long time.

We all could spend a little more time focusing our hearts, minds, and thoughts on good things.  Life is short and we want to spend our time being an encouragement and blessing to those around us.  May we seek God’s wisdom regarding our thoughts and our speech.

We used a sample of Tom’s of Maine toothpaste I received in the mail for this activity. A sample size is big enough to get the point across!

Brina squeezing out all the toothpaste onto the plate!  Like the toothpaste, it’s amazing how quickly our words can come out of our mouths.

The toothpaste is out!

Karlie attempting the impossible task of putting all the toothpaste back into the tube!  Once our words our spoken we cannot take them back.

She tried a lot of different ways to get the toothpaste back into the tube – fingers, toothpaste cap, toothpick, and more yet it was a messy and impossible to get it all of the toothpaste back into the tube.  The girls like these type of devotional lessons because they are interactive, have a creative and visual way to teach the lesson, and they tend to be more memorable for them.  All of us could probably use a reminder regarding our words and the impact they have on others.