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No Point Carrying Emotional Baggage

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Activity to teach forgiveness

Living in the past, holding onto grudges, and not letting go of anger can seriously affect people’s lives and overall happiness.  I believe it is so important we model forgiveness to our children so they can be free of negativity and blame.  Imagine how powerful it would be to learn to forgive (in a deep and meaningful way) from the early years of life… what a great pattern to get into for the long run!

For this activity I found a physical example to show what it looks like when we do not forgive and how the lack of forgiveness hinders our daily life.  We then used the example to describe why we should forgive, so that we are not held back.

First I presented the boys with a trolley and a box of blocks.  Then I asked them to think of things that made them mad or sad or frustrated, and then put a block in the trolley for each one.  It was actually very interesting to hear what they came up with… such as not being allowed to buy specific toys and not being allowed to watch movies.  I can imagine with older children it may bring out some interesting topics that would otherwise be left to silence.  I also added some examples such as when someone knocks something you are building accidentally, when someone at the playground pushes you or shouts at you, etc.

Then I invited the boys to take turns walking around the house with the trolley and afterwards asked them what it was like.  They said it was hard, they kept on bumping into stuff, and couldn’t go very fast.  I pointed out that my two-year-old actually had to walk backwards to pull the trolley so he could only see what was behind him while going around the house (interesting metaphor for only focusing on the past instead of living in the present for us parents to think about).

Then I explained that not forgiving and carrying around anger is like hauling around an extra bag all day, carrying stuff that is weighing us down and slowing us on our journey.  When we forgive, we let go of the emotional baggage that can keep us back.  Forgiveness frees our hearts and minds, and lets us live in peace.  When we forgive, we can leave the whole trolley behind!

Note: I also added how forgiving does not mean we do not work through our feelings (it’s okay to cry!), or let people be unkind or unfair to us.  However forgiveness lets us work through situations without negativity overtaking our emotions.

Do you model forgiveness to your children?  Do they know what can happen after someone says, “I’m sorry”?

Feel free to share your experiences after using this idea or tell us about any variations you came up with. Links to related activities or to a post linking here, are most welcome also.

Thanks for your feedback – I appreciate all your comments!

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Filed Under: Blog, Character Building Activities, Home Activities Tagged With: Forgiveness

About Chelsea Lee Smith

Author, certified parent educator, and mother of three with a background in Communications and Counselling, Chelsea provides resources to parents and teachers who want to incorporate personal growth into everyday moments. Follow her @momentsaday on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. aruna

    May 11, 2015 at 11:01 pm

    its really a nice way to teach forgiveness ,can include moral stories to reinforce the point…

    Reply
  2. Christanti Gomulia

    July 18, 2016 at 6:57 am

    Your ideas for bringing up positive characters are brilliant, I’m from Indonesia, I learn so much from you, thank you

    Reply
    • Chelsea Lee Smith

      July 18, 2016 at 3:27 pm

      Thanks so much for leaving a comment, Christanti, I’m so glad the blog is helpful 🙂

      Reply
  3. B

    January 10, 2017 at 1:40 pm

    I had been searching for a good lesson on forgiveness and came across this one. I must say, you have done a fine job with this one. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  4. Sphindile Ngiba

    March 31, 2017 at 12:40 am

    Very empowering resources for our parental role Chelsea thank you for sharing your practical experiences with us I am from South Africa, Durban

    Reply
    • Chelsea Lee Smith

      March 31, 2017 at 7:04 pm

      So glad it was useful, thanks for reading and commenting Sphindile 🙂

      Reply
  5. Renee

    April 23, 2017 at 12:10 pm

    Awesome idea! Thank you for sharing it. I’ll use it in Bible class, tomorrow!

    Reply
  6. Janet Walter

    March 7, 2015 at 11:06 pm

    This is a great way to let them see how burdensome carrying all those grudges can be. I will definitely use this in my classroom. Thanks for sharing, I love it!!
    I have a question. I’m doing a week of prayer for PreK through 3rd grade and my theme is the book of Psalms. Do you know any scriptures I can use, with this illustration you have on this blog, found in the book of Psalms?

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 100 Kids Activities To Build Character - Moments A Day says:
    November 1, 2013 at 7:42 am

    […] 6. We used blocks and a trolley to discover how not practicing forgiveness slows us down in life.  You can read about our experience here.  […]

    Reply
  2. Come Follow Me 5/17/2021 - Devotionals & FHE for Kids says:
    April 19, 2021 at 12:42 am

    […] this forgiveness object lesson to show how when we don’t forgive, it slows us […]

    Reply

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Chelsea Lee Smith is an author, certified parent educator, and mother of three children with a background in Communications and Counselling. She provides resources to parents and teachers who want to incorporate personal growth into everyday moments. Browse the shop and blog categories to find practical inspiration for family life including tips, activities, printable pages, and resource recommendations.

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