Repentance Object Lesson
by Summer Owens
 

"My husband and I teach the 4 year olds and in order to keep their attention we need many different activities and visuals.  Two that we used for our lesson on repentance really caught the kids attention and taught them.  The first one we used was:  We got a glass of water, shook some pepper on the top.  We told the kids that the pepper represented them.  Then I put a dab of liquid soap on my finger and told them that the soap represented sin.  I had them watch as I touched my soapy finger into the peppery water.  The pepper scattered away.  I told the kids we need to be like the pepper and run.  Then I told them that sometimes we make a mistake and we don't run from sin but we can repent.  The visual for repentance requires a clear glass with a little bit of water in it, blue dye and some bleach.  I told them the clear water represented their spirits, beautiful and crystal clear, then we added a drop of dye saying it was sin.  We gave examples of sin as we added more drops of dye until the water was pretty dark.  I asked the children how we could make the water clear again and they said pour it out.  But I said, sometimes only Jesus can help make things better and repentance isn't as easy as pouring it out.  I showed the children the bleach and said, this is repentance.  Then poured a little in.   The water was still bluish.  I explained that a little bit of feeling sorry isn't enough, we have to repent with our whole hearts, we then poured more bleach in, stirring the water until it was clear again.  The kids loved it as a comparison. "