Choice & Accountability
Every October, we pull out "The Chocolate Chip Ghost Story" and make Chocolate Chip Ghost Pancakes to go with it. My kids LOVE this story. It's about five little white ghosts that are only supposed to eat things that are white. When there is no more white food in the house, Mama Ghost goes to the store and reminds the ghosts not to eat anything until she gets back. Well, one by one the ghosts eat/drink something and turn the color of the thing they ate!
Free Download: Choice & Accountability PDF
Prayer:
Song: Quickly I’ll Obey - Children’s Song Book page 197.
Object Lesson: Choices & Consequences
Discussion: Part of Heavenly Father’s plan for us is to have AGENCY. Agency is the choice to choose. We can choose to wear shorts, we can choose what color we like the best, and we can choose what to eat. However, each choice we make often comes with a consequence. Some consequences are positive and make us happy, other consequences are negative and can make us sad.
Place a choice card (page 6) on the teaching chart (page 5). Talk about the choice card and explain that we always get to choose what to do. Talk about the positive and negative consequence of each choice card.
“The Stove is Hot.” If we choose to touch the stove, then we will get burned (negative consequence). If we choose NOT to touch the stove, we will be safe and NOT get burned (positive consequence).
“Helmets Keep You Safe.” If we choose NOT to wear a helmet, our heads could get really hurt if we crash on our bike (negative consequence). If we choose to wear a helmet, we will be safe if we crash on our bikes (positive consequence).
“Toys Can Break.” If we choose to throw a toy when we’re upset, it could break. We couldn’t play with it again and would probably be sad (negative consequences). If we choose to take care of our toys, we get to play with them and are happy (positive consequence).
“Food Keeps Your Tummy Full.” If we choose not to eat dinner, we will most likely get a stomach ache and be really uncomfortable (negative consequence). If we choose to eat dinner, our stomachs will feel good and we’ll feel happy (positive consequence).
“Skin Can Burn in the Sun.” If we don’t choose to put on sunscreen, our skin will turn red and burn. It will hurt and be painful (negative consequence). If we choose to put on sunscreen, our skin won’t burn and our skin will feel good (positive consequence).
Story: The Chocolate Chip Ghost Story
Preparation: Print and cut out each of the ghosts. You can either glue the ghosts together (so one side is white and one side is colored) or you can attach them to popsicle sticks (so one side is white and one side is colored).
Teach your children the story about the five little ghosts (page 7). Mama Ghost asked them not to eat anything that is not white. See what happens when the little ghosts choose not to follow her instructions. Talk about choices and consequences afterward. What would have happened if the ghosts didn’t eat a colored item? What happened when they did? What were the consequences?
“I Can Choose” Board Game:
Place markers (coins, little plastic toys, game pieces) at the start - have one marker per person. Take turns drawing a card. If the card has an example a negative consequence, the player stays on the same spot. If the card has an example of a positive consequence, the player moves forward one space.
Testimony: Tell a time in your life about a choice you made and how it affected you for the positive or negative. Optional: Explain the rules in your home and talk about the positive and negative consequences of those rules.
Treat: Chocolate Chip Ghost Pancakes. We made ours with a banana oat blender pancake recipe. Click the pink link to view. Prepare your favorite pancake recipe. Add chocolate chips to the batter. Heat a griddle and pour the batter into ghost shapes.
