Joy Activities - Building Character in your Children

10 Activities about JOY:

1. “THE JOY OF THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH”- Teach your children this wonderful chorus. Teach them that we choose our moods, then, when grumpy attitudes start to appear, just start singing it.

2. BE A BLESSING – Remind your children daily that we are to be a blessing wherever we go. Give them ideas on how to “bless” others (holding doors, smiling, using manners, cleaning up a mess you didn’t make).

3. PREPARE FOR SUCCESS – Nothing will zap a kids joy like undue failure. Make sure your kids are prepared for whatever task or game you embark them on. Not knowing the rules or not having the necessary skills is a definite joy-snatcher.

4. “J.O.Y. DAYS” - Ask your children what they think God wants us to pay attention to. God wants us to put him first (Deut 6:5) then others (Mark 12:31). JOY stands for Jesus first, Yourself last and Others in between. A JOY day is when you do something for everyone else in your house that puts them before you. For example, playing your brothers favorite game with him, even if it’s not your favorite. Parents too.

5. SMILE CONTEST – Just like a staring contest, only see who can smile the longest. It’s contagious!

6. DANCE – Go ahead, pull out those old CD’s (tapes, 8-tracks) and have some fun dancing around the living room with your children. 2 Samuel 6:14 says, “And David danced before the Lord with all his might, wearing a priestly garment.”

7. FINISH THE FAIRYTALE – Start telling your children a story where everything goes wrong. Then, help them make up a fairytale ending, where everything turns out happily ever after. This helps them to think positively, that things can work out. Life may not always be a fairy tale, but we know that in the great scheme of things God is victorious and we will have our happily ever after in heaven with Him.

8. PLAY TIME – Take time every day to play with your kids, doing something that they request. Make a point to smile, be goofy and play at their level.

9. “___________” DAY – Once a month have a day for each of your children. Let them pick the meals for the day and a family activity for after dinner. They will look forward to their special day all month and this will create many wonderful family memories.

10. BE A BRANCH – Take a walk and look at a variety of plants, noticing the branches and the vines (trunks). Look at some pictures of grapevines. Read John 15:1-11 with your children and ask them what the branches are supposed to do. Ask them if they are a branch. Ask them what kind of fruit they would grow. Then ask what kind of things (fruit) does God (the gardener) want us to grow in our lives. Finish by having them draw a picture of the Gardener, the Vine and the branches.