Softened Hearts, Leaves & Cookies:One Last Lesson on Attitude

One more lesson on Attitude that actually transitions quite nicely into this month's new theme, Gratitude.  A great visual for kids is the idea of the "softening of the heart."  Elder Eyring's talk "Write upon My Heart" has some great quotes on this subject of having a heart that is impressionable, moldable (I know that's not a word, but you know what I mean...) and softened.  Here's one of my favorites...

Our goal when we teach our children to pray is for them to want God to write upon their hearts and be willing then to go and do what God asks of them. It is possible for our children to have faith enough, from what they see us do and what we teach, that they can feel at least part of what the Savior felt as He prayed to have the strength to make His infinite sacrifice for us: “And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matt. 26:39).

I have had prayers answered. Those answers were most clear when what I wanted was silenced by an overpowering need to know what God wanted. It is then that the answer from a loving Heavenly Father can be spoken to the mind by the still, small voice and can be written on the heart.

Wow!  Isn't that what we all want for our children?  That their attitudes might be changed, ready and willing to have the Spirit write upon their hearts?  I used 3 objects to teach the importance of having a softened heart...

1) Playdough!  (If you don't have any on hand there are lots of quick recipes online using ingredients you probably have in your kitchen.)

It's easy for kids to understand that when the playdough is fresh and soft we can shape anything out of it. God can shape us into what he wants us to be when our hearts are softened too.  That is when we are impressionable and he can "write on our hearts."  You could even use a butter knife or other carving tool to have them "write" on the playdough.  When our hearts are hardened though and we don't want to change our attitudes or choices, we are stuck the way we are and God can't mold us and help us anymore.  You can have some hardened playdough out to show this too.


2) Leaves!  (Thank you Autumn for providing this item!)

We did a simple craft of making leaf art by gluing leaves to paper.  I asked them which leaves were brightest and easiest to work with.  Of course, the ones that weren't all dry, hard and crusty.  The ones that were still soft and fresh.  I explained that the difference between the dry ones and soft ones was the amount of water still in them.

 Appropriately, Jesus Christ is the Living Water for us.  If we want to have softened hearts, we must turn to him and bring him into our lives.  The same is true for playdough that is starting to dry out.  Often you can add some water to soften it and bring it to life again.  This was a great connection to make with my kids!

3) Cookies!

The best way to compare the benefits of a softened condition is by using food.  Nobody wants to bite into a hard cookie!  My kids found out the hard way (no pun intended) since my "softened" cookies were apparently a little on the hard side. LOL  Hard cookies don't taste good and a hardened heart doesn't feel good.

Feeling happy feels good, and we feel most happy when our lives are in line with Heavenly Father's plan for us.  Truly, choosing to have the attitude of "Thy Will Be Done" is the most simple, yet most important choice we can make.  Our softened cookies have happy faces because they are following God's plan!

I have to add a tender moment we had.  I've been working 4 part-time jobs to try to help get us out of debt and try to figure out which job works best for our family, so I was hurrying to wrap up this lesson and get to work.  But Michael REALLY kept trying to say something.  Finally, it was his turn and he pointed out two jack-o-lanterns in our Halloween decorations.  He showed how one was having a happy attitude and the other one was sad because it wasn't.  He explained how we should be like the happy jack-o-lantern.  How precious and sweet to see that after a month of discussing this topic he is getting it!  He IS understanding how important a positive attitude is!  As I rushed out the door to work it was comforting to know that the little 10 minute lessons we have here and there DO add up to a greater understanding and positive character in our children.  And WE grow as teachers and parents and disciples in the process too!  So excited for another month of activities and learning in November as we discuss, of course, Gratitude!

Love,
Eva