During the lesson, the information for you to know is written in regular type, and what we suggest speaking or reading aloud to children is in bold. All resources for this lesson, including the Teacher Guide, Student Page, Family Connection Card, and other resources can be downloaded in a ZIP file by clicking on the following link:
In some lessons you will find "resource articles." These are articles written by experts from around the world to help equip you for your work with children and adolescents. Share them with parents or guardians if you consider it appropriate.
Before class, place the textured items into a bag. Use things with different textures such as a feather, a banana, a piece of cloth, a rough pebble, a small stick, etc.
If possible, make copies of the emotions page at the end of the lesson so you can give 1 to every 4–5 children.
Unit Introduction: In the next 4 lessons, you will be talking with your children about emotions and how to deal with them in a healthy way. Having a wide variety of feelings is a natural part of life. Feelings are not right or wrong—they are just feelings. How we choose to express them has the power to be helpful or harmful.
Feelings serve as a signal, telling us that there is something we need to pay attention to. Unfortunately, children at risk often bury their feelings because they do not have the freedom to express them positively or even know how to do so. Children may respond by “acting in,” or pushing their feelings inside, but those feelings do not just disappear. These children may withdraw, hide, feel depressed, and become unresponsive. Other children may express feelings by “acting out.” They may react physically by doing things such as screaming, hitting, or rocking back and forth. Some children respond in both ways at different times.
Children who have not developed in emotionally healthy ways often act much younger than their chronological age. “They are still healing from old wounds that are invisible to our eyes,” the authors of The Connected Child explain. “Not only have these children lost out on months or years of healthy developmental growth, but now they also have to unlearn the unhealthy strategies they have become accustomed to using.”
Being comfortable with feelings and finding helpful, healthy ways to express them are important steps toward healthy living. This month, you will help your children identify their feelings and learn helpful ways to handle them.
Lord, you have seen what is in my heart. You know all about me.
Psalm 139:1, NIrV
God, you always do what is right. You look deep down inside the hearts and minds of people.
Psalm 7:9, NIrV
Every day we feel a range of emotions: joy, peace, anger, frustration. The Bible tells us that God also feels deeply: love, sorrow, anger, grief. And so, as those who are created in His image, we have this gift from Him. Emotions are not right or wrong. They are only signals that tell us something is affecting us deeply.
Sometimes emotions can overwhelm us. Have you ever felt so much joy that you did not think you could contain it? Maybe you have seen someone express emotions in a negative way—speaking in anger or abusing another person. God, who gave us emotions, knows every thought and feeling in our hearts. He cares deeply about what we feel. Ask Him to help you talk openly with Him about your feelings.
It can be difficult to communicate with children when they do not know how to express what they are feeling. Share the Resource Article that comes just before this lesson with the families of your children. It will help them understand how to talk with their children about what they are feeling.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Greet your children as they come into class and ask them to sit down.
This month, we will talk about our emotions. Emotions or feelings are given to us by God. Learning to handle feelings in the right way is very important. We begin to learn to handle our feelings when we are very young. People who do not learn to handle their feelings in healthy ways may have problems all their lives. This is true for someone who is a Christian, and it is also true for someone who is not. Every healthy human being must learn to handle his feelings. What we learn about feelings this month could change your life for the better.
Let’s start by having some fun with feelings. I have put things with different textures into this bag. You are not allowed to look into the bag. If you are called on, just reach in and feel what is inside. Then I will ask you what it feels like. For example, does it feel soft or hard? You are not trying to guess what the item is, but tell everyone what it feels like. There is nothing in the bag that will hurt you. This is just for fun.
Pick a volunteer. Have her feel an item in the bag without looking at it. Ask the child to share what the item feels like. After describing the item, she can pull it out to show to the class. Then pick another child and go through the same process again. The children may say things such as, “It feels rough.”“It feels feathery.”“It feels very soft.” Once all the items have been described, have everyone sit in circle.
We just talked about all the different textures you felt—soft, rough, feathery. In the same way, there are a lot of different emotions we can experience—sad, happy, and scared. You were able to describe what you felt with your hand. We want to learn how to describe what you feel in your heart—your emotions.
Let’s begin by learning to identify feelings we experience in a normal day. Every day each of us experiences many different emotions. Sometimes our emotions can change from minute to minute.
Hold the emotions page so everyone can see it. You may need to walk around to show it to all of the children. If you have copies, give 1 to every 4–5 children. Explain that this sheet is often used with those who have difficulty understanding their emotions. It helps them name what they are feeling and then the difficult emotions do not feel as scary.
Use the following questions to help the children interact with the emotions page. Have 2–3 children answer each question.
Look at the faces and decide what emotion each person is feeling. Some may be feeling 3–4 emotions at the same time.
Now discuss this next question with the whole group.
Some children may say that anger or sadness or hate are not okay.
All emotions and feelings are okay—happiness and sadness, anger and peace, and all the others.
God loves us and created every part of us—including all of our emotions. They are not bad or good. They are just emotions.
If you are sick and have a high fever, this is a signal that something is happening in your physical body that needs attention. In the same way, your emotions are a signal that something is happening that needs attention.
When we have a fever, we need to do something to get healthy again. We might rest in bed or take some medication. In the same way, when we experience emotions, we need to pay attention to them. We can find out what they are telling us and choose appropriate actions to express them. If we ignore a fever, we could get sicker. If we ignore an emotion, that can be very unhealthy too. Emotions that are ignored can lead us do things that are wrong or dangerous. Sometimes our emotions can even make us physically sick if we ignore them.
It is very important to learn to identify what emotions we have and then to learn to express them in helpful and appropriate ways.
In the Bible, God gives us an example of a man who wrote about all of his emotions, the pleasant ones and the unpleasant ones. It was King David. I will read you some verses. After
I read them, use your face to show me how you think David felt. Listen as I read these verses from Psalm 31.
Lord, show me your favor. I’m in deep trouble. I’m so sad I can hardly see. My whole body grows weak with sadness.
Psalm 31:9, NIrV
Show me with your face what emotions you think David might have been experiencing.
Answer could include sadness, hopelessness, maybe loneliness.
Listen to some more of what David wrote.
My neighbors make fun of me because I have so many enemies. My friends are afraid of me. Those who see me on the street run away from me. They have forgotten me. I might as well be dead. I have become like broken pottery. I hear the lies many people tell about me. There is terror all around me. Many have joined together against me. They plan to kill me.
Psalm 31:11–13, NIrV
Show me with your face what emotions you think David might have been experiencing.
Answers could include anger, rejection, loneliness, sadness, fear.
Listen to the next words David prays in this next psalm. While it may not sound like any prayer you have ever heard, that is exactly what this is.
But I trust in you, Lord. I say, “You are my God.” My whole life is in your hands. Save me from my enemies. Save me from those who are chasing me. Let your face smile on me with favor. Save me because your love is faithful. I was afraid and said, “I’ve been cut off from you!” But you heard my cry for your favor. You heard me when I called out to you for help. Love the Lord, all of you who are faithful to him! Be strong, all of you who put your hope in the Lord. Never give up.
Psalm 31:14–16, 22–24, NIrV
Show me with your face what emotions you think David might have been experiencing.
Answers could include peace, contentment, trust, fear, joy, courage.
In the middle of all these emotions, David knew he could trust God. He shared with God exactly how he felt, yet he expressed a peace and trust in God at the same time. He knew God could be trusted with his emotions.
Remember that no matter how you feel, God loves you and understands and accepts every emotion you have—the happy ones and the sad ones and the angry ones! Every emotion!
Ask volunteers to share the emotions they have felt today. They do not have to tell what caused the emotion. For example, a child may share that she was angry. She does not need to share what made her angry. Remind the children again that emotions are not bad. How they act based on the emotions can sometimes be wrong or right, but the emotions themselves are just signals.
After a few minutes, tell the children how proud you are of them for recognizing and naming their emotions.
Do you remember what David said about God, even when he was experiencing hard emotions? He said.
But I trust in you, Lord. I say, “You are my God.”
Psalm 31:14, NIrV
Allow the children time to discuss their thoughts.
Let the children know that it is okay if they do not yet feel that they can trust God with their emotions.
Ask the children to pay attention to their emotions this week. They should pay attention to when they experience strong emotions. Let them know you will talk about this next week.
Optional Supplies: Give the children a piece of paper to track the strong emotions they have in the next week. They can write their emotions on the paper, or draw a face showing that emotion. If you are using the Student Pages, the children can do this activity on them.
Close today’s class with a blessing based on Psalm 7:9; 119:76; and 139:1.
Blessing: May you know that the Lord, who searches deeply into what you are feeling in your heart, knows you and cares for you. May His unfailing love comfort you.
Lead the children in singing this quarter’s song if possible.
Life on Life ©2020 David C Cook. Reproducible for home or classroom use only. All other uses require written permission from David C Cook [email protected]. All rights reserved.
