FHE: I Can Be Kind

This lesson is based on "I Can be Kind" from the current CTR4 manual.

Prayer:

Slideshow - Slide 1 (Holy Land). Summarize the following: "Show the children the map of the Holy Land. If the children are not familiar with maps, explain that a map is a drawing of an area such as a country or city. People use maps to tell them how to get from one place to another. Point out some of the features of the map, such as the land, the sea, and the rivers. Explain that this map shows the Holy Land, where Jesus lived when he was on earth.

Point out Judea. Explain that the people who lived in this part of the Holy Land were called Jews.

Point out Samaria. Explain that the people who lived in Samaria were called Samaritans.

Explain that during Jesus' time the Jews and Samaritans did not understand or like each other. The Jews felt they were better than the Samaritans. Jews would not eat in the home of a Samaritan or eat food prepared by Samaritans. The Jews dislike the Samaritans so much that if they had to travel to Galilee (point out Galilee) they would go all the way around Samaria even though it was shorter to go through Samaria. Show how much father it would be to go around Samaria that through it to get to Galilee."

Slide 2 (Jerusalem to Jericho). "Explain that when Jesus Christ was on the earth, he often told stories to help people understand his teachings. One of the stories he told was about a Samaritan. Tell the story of the Good Samaritan, as found in Luke 10:30-37." We connect our laptop to our TV for our FHE lessons, and placed tape on the back of our Good Samaritan Cutouts to stick on the TV. Emphasize the following points as you tell the story:

• The wounded man was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho (point out the two cities on the map on slide 1, then go to slide 2). 

• The first man who passed by without stopping to help was a Jewish priest. Priests worked in the temple and were thought to be righteous and holy men. 

• The second man who passed by without helping was a Levite. Levites also worked in the temple and were important in the Jewish religion.

• The third man was a Samaritan. He stopped to help the wounded man. Explain that because this Samaritan man was so kind, he is called the Good Samaritan. 

Slide 3 (Good Samaritan). Act out the story. "Have one child lie on the floor, pretending to be injured. You and the other children pretend to be traveling on the road to Jericho. Have the children follow you and do as you do. 

First pretend to be the priest walking along the road. Start walking around the room. Suddenly you see someone lying by the side of the road. He is badly hurt. What did the priest do? Cross over to the other side of the road, indicating that you will not help the wounded man.

Then pretend you are the Levite. Walk around the room. You see someone lying beside the road. His clothes have been stolen, and he is badly hurt. What did the Levite do? Stop and look at the injured person. Then go on with your journey without helping him. 

Now pretend you're the Samaritan. Walk around the room. You see someone who is badly hurt lying by the side of the road. What did the Samaritan do? Act out the kind actions of the Samaritan. Pretend to clean the man's wounds, put him on a donkey, take him to an inn, and promise to pay the innkeeper for anything else the man needs. Explain that Jesus wants us to be like the Good Samaritan and be kind to everyone.

Slide 4 & 5 (Luisa & Todd): Summarize the story. Ask the children to notice the solution to her problem: "Luisa and Todd were friends and enjoyed playing together. One afternoon, however, they got into an argument. Luisa called Todd a name, and Todd pushed Luisa down. When she began to cry, he made a face at her. 

Luisa went to find her father. She knew that he would help her. Luisa told her father how Todd had pushed her down and had been mean to her. She asked her father to go outside and punish Todd. Luisa's father told her that punishing Todd might not be the best thing to do. He told Luisa to go into the kitchen instead and spread some jam on two pieces of bread. Then he told her to take one of the pieces of bread to Todd. If she did that, Luisa's father said, she would have a friend instead of an enemy.

Luisa did as her father told her. When she went back outside and offered the bread and jam to Todd, he looked at her for a moment and then took the gift. Todd and Luisa smiled at each other and sat down to enjoy their bread and jam. They were friends again. Remind the children that Jesus wants us to be kind, even if people are kind to us.

Slideshow 6 (Scripture). Explain that these are Jesus' words. He commanded us to love one another. When we are kind to each other, we are showing our love.

Slideshow 7 (Being Kind Examples). Have your children take turns drawing colored popsicle sticks and answering the example questions below. If your child draws the blue popsicle stick, ask the blue question and assist with the answer if needed. 

Activity (Good Samaritan Coloring Page): The bandaids were a big hit with this activity! Remind the children of how the Good Samaritan was kind to the Jew, even though Jews weren't always kind to them. Color and place bandaids on the wounds. Hang the pictures on the fridge as a remind to be kind.

Good Samaritan Movie: We had extra time tonight, so we watched The Good Samaritan. It was helpful to talk about all the things we learned about today while watching the movie together. We have the Living Scriptures version, but I'm sure there's a free version on LDS.org.

Testimony: Remind your children that Jesus wants us to be kind to others even when they aren't kind to us. Practice doing kind deeds to others this week and notice the difference. This lesson was a HUGE help and good reminder to me and my children.