Papa's Pocket Final PDF

Lisa MaxCopyright © 2016—Lisa MaxAll rights reserved. This book is protected by the copyright lawsof the United States of America. This book may not be copied orreprinted for commercial gain or profit. Permission will be grantedupon request.Formatting: Reddovedesign.comCover Design: Hope SethLettheChildrenFly.comPrinted in the United States of America. 2

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Lisa MaxHow to Use These Teachings... There are no rules to these teachings; however, the followingguidelines may help make your child’s experience more rich andmeaningful. I strongly encourage you to teach these lessons in the time ofpeace, not in the midst of conflict. Once you have laid the founda-tion and your child has a “grid” for these specific Kingdom prin-ciples, then you can pull them out of your tool belt as needed andapply them. The Kingdom is righteousness, peace and joy so our parentingshould model JOY to our children. Make it fun, upbeat, and some-thing they want to be a part of. Role play, act things out, and havefun while making your point. Be on the lookout for ways to involve the children: getting theBible off the shelf, reading passages, acting things out, answeringquestions, sharing thoughts, etc.. This is not your time to lecture orpreach, but to make the teachings come alive. Please do not complete the teachings in 2 minutes, but reallysaturate your child in the concepts and principles of the lessons. Itis okay if you stay on one teaching for an extended period of time.The more time you take to teach these concepts, the greater theimpact they will have on your child. No teaching is too ‘little’ or too ‘big’ for your child. Adapt it ifneeded, but do not dismiss due to age. Kingdom principles have noage limit on them. Some objects will be used for future lessons so please make sureyou keep them in your storage box. These are not kid toys, butteaching tools for YOUR use. 4

Papa’s Pocket Holy Spirit will lead you as you teach your children, and don’tbe surprised if He creatively sets up circumstances in the daysahead to give you hands-on, real life circumstances to reinforce theprinciples. Most importantly, use this as a time to connect with yourchild’s heart. Papa’s Pocket We are honored to deliver parenting keys to your door step!  The heart of every teaching is to equip you to connect yourchild to the Father’s voice and heart. We don’t just want to increaseyour child’s knowledge, but rather lead them into an encounterwith Him. The ultimate focus is not on the props used, but PapaGod’s heart.  May these teachings awaken something deep within you as youlearn how to partner with Holy Spirit in your parenting.  There is no greater joy than playing in the Kingdom and beinga part of our Father’s family business.  To your family from ours! 5

Papa’s PocketTable Of ContentsHurtful Words ............................................ 9 11Broccoli Bar .................................................... 13 15Anti Bully Cards ............................................ 17 19Prayer Cubes ................................................... 21 23Conversations with Our Creator ...................... 25 27Connecting Hearts ............................................ 29 31Joyful Mama .................................................... 33 35Says Who? ........................................................ 37 39He’s Got the Whole World ................................. 41Who R U? ........................................................He Cares About ME! .........................................Heart Play ........................................................You Belong ........................................................Remember No More .........................................Filling Love Tanks ..........................................His Greatest Gift .............................................Mommy & Me Journal ..................................... 7



Papa’s Pocket Hurtful Words Do you have an issue with hurtful words (and tones) in your family? Try this teaching exercise. Proverbs 15:1Get a really fancy plate at the thrift store. Speak in a soft, gentle tone and explain to the children that the plate rep- resents a person’s heart and hearts need to be treated withcare. When they least expect it, say something hurtful in a sharptone and smash the plate to the ground (this works great in thegarage on a tarp). They will be shocked that you just did that. Beginto put the pieces back together again, but show them that you can’tfix it completely. Share with them that once our words are spokenwe can’t take them back, and sometimes we say things in a way thatreally hurts others’ hearts. Another great way to do it is with a tubeof toothpaste. Have the kids squeeze it out on wax paper. After afew moments of fun ask them in a serious tone to put the tooth-paste back in the tube. No matter how hard they try, they won’tbe able to. Explain that the tube is like their mouth, and we haveto be careful with what comes out because we can’t put it back in.****Obviously there is always forgiveness and God is faithful toclean up our mistakes and messes when we ask for help, but thisteaching focuses on teaching children to be wise with their words. In the days ahead when you hear them speaking to one anotherin a tone that is harsh, ask them if they want to deal with the messtheir tone will create if they continue. Chances are, if they aren’table to change it could be that their tone is revealing a deeper hurtbetween siblings that needs to be addressed. 9

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Papa’s Pocket Broccoli Bar Empowering children to not react negatively to others. 2 Timothy 2:24.My daughter was having a really hard time with her brother thinking it was funny to put his toe against the doorway to her room. He never went in, but was taunting her andshe was biting the bait. She came to me exasperated. I told her to“just give him a broccoli bar.” Holy Spirit had me teach her thather brother was getting a thrill out of her reaction. He didn’t careabout going into her room; he loved the rise he was getting out ofher. It was making him feel powerful. Of course, none of this wasappropriate on his end, but kids must learn to overcome and beempowered in circumstances when others are doing things to an-noy them. I told her that every time she freaked out it was like shewas giving him chocolate. Of course he would want more. But ifshe took the ‘fun’ out of her reaction it would be like handing hima ‘candy bar’ made of broccoli. Ah, no thanks! I encouraged her togo up and ignore him, blow it off and soon enough it wouldn’t befun for him anymore. She actually invited him in, and then he ranaway. He never wanted to enter, he wanted to bug her! In the days ahead when your child is being agitated by someoneelse, remind them of the broccoli bar and ponder ways they cantake the ‘sweetness’ out of it. Together ask, “Jesus, what is the nameof the key you want me to use in this situation?” 11

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Papa’s Pocket Anti Bully Cards Pledge Cards – Teaching children how to interact with siblings in a healthy way.Bullying is an imbalanced use of power which operates out of intimidation and control. Bullying starts in the home, not the play ground. Sibling relationships are where children gettheir sense of belonging and are are an excellent training groundto equip them to interact with peers in a healthy way. Before youcall a family meeting, do an Internet search on characteristics ofbullying. Ask your children what bullying means and what it lookslike to bully someone. Role play different situations and talk abouthow each person may feel if that happened to him or her. Now talkabout what it could look like in the home, how it would make sib-lings feel and discuss creative ways things like sharing, teasing, andcommunicating could be done in order to show respect for others.Why are the weapons of fear, intimidation and control not healthyoptions? Show them the pledge card and ask if they would be will-ing to make an agreement to abstain from bullying their siblings. In the days ahead when you hear sharp tones or see aggressiveor inappropriate demands between siblings, go to them and in arespectful tone remind them of their pledge not to partner withintimidation and control. Ask them how they could handle thesituation differently. 13

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Papa’s Pocket Prayer Cubes Colored Square – Teaching children about the power of focusing on others. Philippians  2:3-4Selfishness is a natural character trait in children. As parents, we can train our kids to see the value and importance of those around them. There is no better way to love people than bypraying for them; in fact, the Bible says to pray for those who hurtus. How much more then should we be praying for those who loveus? Talk to the children about praying for others. How does itmake them feel to know others sat with Papa God and talked toHim about us? Take out the cube and come up with six people yourfamily wants to pray for and write their names or initials in eachbox. At each meal, before bed or during morning devotions roll theprayer cube like dice. Whoever’s name is on top is who that personprays for. Repeat the process with each family member. It is okay ifthe same person’s name is rolled more than once. In the days ahead, be on the lookout for ways the Lord hasanswered your family’s prayers for each person listed on the cube.It is so important that we help our children connect the dots be-tween praying for people and seeing God move on their behalf. 15

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Papa’s Pocket ConOvuerrsaCtrieoantsowr ith LTCF Booklet/ Chattering Teeth – Teaching our children how to have conversations with their Creator.Iencourage you to read over this booklet at least twice. Ask Holy Spirit to open your spiritual ears and eyes and to give to you creative ways to explain, teach, equip and practicewith your children. Let John 10:27 (“My sheep listen to my voice; Iknow them, and they follow me”) follow you (and your children)all the days of your life. Talk to your children about who created us (God) and why (tohave relationship). Ask them to think of the ways Mom/Dad com-municates with them – with words, a hug, touch, gifts, providing,protecting, etc. Bring out the chattering teeth wind-up toy andhave fun letting it bounce all over the place. Do it a few times to re-ally get the point across. Then explain to them that God is speakingALL the time. He has so many things to share with them it wouldbe impossible to hear them all. We can go to Him in all situationsand with all of our needs. I encourage you to really sow into this teaching and make it afamily lifestyle, not just something you expect the kids to do. Thebooklet will lead you through practical steps to do this. 17

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Papa’s Pocket Connecting Hearts Magnent Sticks – Teaching children the value of intentionally connecting with others.Ask your children if they can guess the biggest job they will ever have in their whole lives. Validate their responses and encourage them that there is something even bigger yet. Ex-plore Matthew 22:36-40 together. For the rest of their lives theywill need to learn how to master this commandment everywherethey go and with all sorts of different people. It doesn’t alwaysjust happen by chance, but rather by intentional choices. Take outthe two stick figures and model for them how the magnet in theirhearts attracts each other when they are intentionally moving to-wards each other. Now turn one of the people away and show themhow the magnets do not attract, but actually repel each other. Thisis how it works with everyone – we can either draw their heart inor push them away. It is also important for children to grasp thedifference between feelings of connection versus feelings of iso-lation. Can they think of a time when they felt accepted and in-cluded? Can they think of a time when they felt alone? Share someexamples from your own childhood. Do they want to pull peoplein or push them out? What about the cashier at the grocery store?The teller at the bank? How about the classmate all alone on theplayground? Their family?  19

Lisa Max In the days ahead when you see siblings bickering, instead ofimmediately disciplining them, grab your magnet sticks and getdown on their level . Begin to ask them questions, “Were you pull-ing your sister in when you talked like that?” “Do you want to be asister who pushes your brother away?” “How could you have donethat differently to connect with her heart?” 20

Papa’s Pocket Joyful Mama Silly Straw Topper – Learning to parent with JOY.The Kingdom is righteousness, peace and joy (Romans 14:17). If JOY does not describe your parenting then perhaps the shift in your family starts with you learning to partner with JOY. Forsome of you, this may be hard because you were never allowed to becarefree and joyful as a child or because you have been falsely taughtthat the Kingdom is still under the Old Testament Law. Perhaps Godis allowing your child to teach YOU about the Father’s heart. Thisparticular teaching tools is for you to use, not for your children.Youhave permission to be silly, join the dance, get your hair wet, splashin the rain and make memories. Take out your journal and ask, “HolySpirit will you please show me a picture of what JOY looks like in myparenting?” Then ask, “Jesus, how does it make You feel when I am aJOY-filled parent?” Set the table and fill your drinking glass. Wheneveryone sits down, pull out your silly straw and carry on as usual.When the kids point it out, reply with a, “What?” and continue totake sips. Soon JOY will break out. Talk to your children about Ro-mans 14:17 and the importance of righteousness, peace AND joy. Talkabout the difference between child-like joy and chaos. We need to beparents who don’t shut down the former because we are afraid of thelatter. Role play walking into a room with a scowl on your face andyour arms crossed and discuss how others feel being around you. Nowrole play what JOY looks like at the grocery store, at a friend’s house,dinner table, etc. Which Kingdom do they want to be sharing withthose around them? 21

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Papa’s Pocket Says Who? Disco Ball – Teaching Children the importance of asking Je- sus what He thinks.Children are bombarded with messages everywhere they go and sadly, most of them are not declaring the Truth. It is so important for Sons and Daughters to be tuned into whatthe Father says about them not only in times of peace, but alsoin the midst of storms. Equipping children with strong listeningears is the greatest thing you can do to set them up for success inlife. Engage with your children by putting on bright lipstick orblacken out your front tooth with chocolate. Be silly and have funwith them. Hold up the disco ball and ask, “Can you see yourself?”Chances are they won’t be able to get the full view. Act like it is nobig deal and say, “Oh here, let me spin this around so you can seebetter.” Spin it around and hold up the other side. The results willbe the same. Then take them to the bathroom and have them lookin the mirror. Declare, “Ah, that’s better.” Sit the children downand read John 16:4: “Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and thelife!’” Explain to them that the tiny mirrors on the disco ball arelike all of the other little voices we hear throughout the day. Thesevoices point out the girl who is better at math than you, the boywho scored more baskets, media that portrays unrealistic ideals ofbeauty, or the neighbors who have the latest toys when you don’t.These messages never make us feel good about ourselves. Tell themthat when you listen to lies, they will give you a distorted view of 23

Lisa Maxyourself. Jesus knows the way we should go, always speaks the truthand always brings life to our situations. Then remind them of thebathroom mirror and how clearly they could see themselves. Ex-plain that listening to what Father God has to say is like looking inthe mirror – you can see yourself perfectly! What He says about usis the TRUTH and always brings peace and clarity. In the days ahead when you hear your child declare a lie, ap-proach him or her and ask, “Honey, it sounds like you are looking inthe disco ball again. Can we ask Jesus what He thinks?” 24

Papa’s Pocket WHhe’oslGe Wotothrled Globe – Teaching children that God not only cares about their hearts, but is capable of helping them anytime.Show the children the globe and spend time tossing it around. Perhaps sit in a circle and call out one thing you love about God and then throw the ball to the next person. After a fewminutes, hold the globe in your hand and read Isaiah 40:12. Roleplay what it would be like to hold the ocean water in your hands.How is it even possible? Yet this is what God does – He is THATbig and powerful. Ask the kids what sorts of things concern them– making friends? Math? Conflict with a friend? A loved one bat-tling sickness? Have them hold out their hands and ask if they canpicture in their minds putting what concerns their heart in theirhands. Hold out your hand with the globe in it and remind themthat in His hands sits the whole earth. Ask them if they want toplace what they are holding into God’s big and powerful hands.Lead them into questions to ask God (I suggest you say the prayerand have them repeat after you). “God, are you big enough to carrywhat is in my hand?” “God, how does it make you feel when I handthings over to you?” Have them act out putting what is in theirhands into God’s and now have them ask, “God, now that you havemy heart, what do you have for me in place of it?” Talk about whatHe showed them.  25

Lisa Max In the days ahead when you see your child frustrated or upset,go to them with the globe and ask them if they remember how bigGod’s hands are. Reassure them that it is okay to invite Him intotheir problem and to ask Him for help. Children often get frustrat-ed when they feel alone and like they can’t do something on theirown. Reminding them that He is always right there to help is asource of safety and security for them. This applies to everythingfrom toddler frustration over a toy to dealing with major trauma –God is willing and able to lend a hand. 26

Papa’s Pocket Who R U? Nametag – Teaching children about their true identity which no one can steal.Explore Psalm 139:14, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Picture a child like a blank canvas – they need to betaught the truth of who they are so that the world doesn’t paintfor them a false identity. If we believe a lie about ourselves, we arebelieving a lie about God. When we believe lies about our Creator,we will not be walking in the fullness of what He has for us. Writewords that describe who they are on the name badge: “joyful,”“kind,” “patient,” “giving,” “gentle,” “a leader,” “compassionate,” andthen have them wear it all day. When you need to call them to thetable, call out their identity instead of their name, “Oh JOYFUL,please come to the table.” In the days ahead when you see them behaving in a way thatis not who God designed them to be (aggressive, mean-spirited,impatient) firmly, but lovingly say, “That is not who you are!” andremind them they can partner with who God knit them to be. Ifyou see them believing a lie about their value and worth you canask them, “Is that how God made you?” Children who know whothey are have an easier time rejecting the lies that come to kill, stealand destroy their worth, value and sense of belonging. 27

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Papa’s Pocket He Cares About ME! Bird – Teaching children how deeply God cares about them – all the time.Have the children read Matthew 6:26, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not muchmore valuable than they?” Talk about how birds don’t have cloth-ing to wear, stores to shop at, or restaurants to make their food, yetGod gives them everything they need. Bring out the bird, but do it in a very serious and gentle way.Tell them that it is their job to care for the bird all day. Where willthe bird sleep? Do they have a cage (box) to keep it safe in? Whenthey are outside playing, where will the bird rest? Typically chil-dren have fun with this for awhile, but eventually the ‘fun’ wearsoff and they begin to forget to care for their bird. This is the timeyou want to lovingly remind them, “Where is your bird?” If youare going to the grocery store, the bird comes too. If you go to thedoctor’s office, so does the bird. It is precious to see them watchingTV with their bird sitting next to them as they begin to sincerelycare for it. At bedtime, tell them how proud you are of them fortaking such good care of the bird. Remind them of Matthew 6:26again and how God cares so deeply for them – all the time.   29

Lisa Max In the days ahead when you see their hearts heavy or hurting,gently come alongside them with your bird in hand and say, “Sweet-ie, this bird is you and God is holding you in His hand right now.What do you need Him to do for you?” And then help them tell orask God for what their heart needs. 30

Papa’s Pocket Heart Play Playdough – Teaching children to care for the hearts of oth-Intentionally play with playdough with your children for a bit, and then ask them to make you a huge heart. Ooh and aah over their heart creation while you hold it in your hand. Talk aboutour physical hearts and why God gave each of us one and howimportant they are to our survival. Every human has a heart – it iswhat makes them alive. Take the heart creation in your hand andtalk about how gentle we need to be with people’s hearts. Now takeone finger and smash it deep into the heart, then smash anotherfinger in another place. Show them that the shape of the heartchanged when you were not gentle and caring with it. Words aren’tjust words; harsh words are hurtful to people’s hearts. Also explainthat many people have wounded hearts (not from us), but when wesay loving things to them, it is like their hearts go back to the waythey were originally. Act this out a few times and role play how wecan both squish and help people’s hearts. In the days ahead when when your kids are having issues withunloving words, remind them of the playdough heart. Ask them,“Hey guys, do you think you just put love in that person’s heartor poked it?” “How could you do that differently without hurtinghis/her heart?” Also, when they get their heart poked show themhow we can ask Jesus to put His hand on our hearts and heal them.“Jesus, my heart got hurt. Will you please touch it and make it allbetter?” 31

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Papa’s Pocket You Belong Elastic – Teaching children that they belong.The sense of belonging is something we all crave. It was given by God to Adam and Eve, but lost when they exited Eden. God gives us families who know us intimately and provide asafe place where we can grow and learn. When that safety or trustis broken – physically or emotionally – it affects our core need tobelong. Siblings relationships are where children get their biggestsense of “I belong” and so guarding this connection is important.When there is a conflict between two siblings, the enemy whispers,“You do not belong,” and a child who believes they do not belongwill act like they do not belong. Call a family meeting and begin toloop the elastic in everyone’s belt loop. Sit on the floor in a circleand talk about your family. Who decided you would be in this fam-ily and not the one down the street? Talk about what it would belike to not have anyone to play with, talk to, or help you. Share thatfamilies are a gift and we should honor that gift by being grateful,kind and gentle with it. Dive into 1 Peter 3:8 together. In the midstof your family meeting, ask a child to get up quickly and grab you apen. They will most likely do it so fast that they will forget they areconnected to everyone else with the elastic. That is your teachingpoint – we are together by God’s design. In the days ahead when you heard siblings being rough and un-kind with each other lovingly go to them and ask them, “Are you com-municating to your family that they belong?” “How can you speak tothem in a way that assures them they matter?” 33

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Papa’s Pocket Remember No More Oops Eraser – Teaching children how to walk through asking for and receiving forgiveness. Forgiveness is a big deal to Father God. He sent His Son to die for the purpose of reconciling our sin through forgiveness. Unforgiveness tangles us in the trap of the enemy more thananything else. Talk to the children about sin and disobedience.Read Ephesians 6:2 together. Why is it so important to obey theinstructions of God and our parents? Next, talk about perfection.Can we be perfect? Read Romans 3:23. Hmmm, if we are to obey,but aren’t perfect, what are we to do when we do wrong thingsthen? If they are old enough to read, let them find Isaiah 43:25. Thekey point is asking for AND receiving forgiveness. Talk about thegift of Jesus going to the cross. In the days ahead, when a child has disobeyed have them sitin another room and wait for you. Their hearts know they havecrossed the line, but come to them with a piece of paper and theOops! Eraser. Ask them to write out their response to, “What didyou do wrong?” If they aren’t able to write yet, have them draw apicture. Give them time to finish and then ask them to tell youabout it. This is confessing their wrongdoings. Then walk themthrough repeating after you, “Jesus, I confess I have been unkind tomy brother. Will you please forgive me?” BUT do not stop there. 35

Lisa MaxMake sure they are really asking Him for forgiveness AND waitingfor a reply. Follow up with, “What did Jesus say/do? Does He forgiveyou?” Then take the eraser and begin to erase what they have writ-ten or drawn. Make the connection for them that when and if wehumble ourselves, He is faithful to remember no more. End with ahug and thank the Father for His goodness.  36

Papa’s Pocket Filling Love Tanks Equipping parents to intentionally love their children and teaching children to intentionally love others.Go to Gary Chapman’s website, www.5lovelanguages.com and have your children take their own online quiz about how they best like love spoken to them. If your child is tooyoung to read, you can ask him or her the questions and record theanswers yourself. Print out the results and call a family meeting.Everyone takes turns sharing their results, even Mom and Dad. Itis so important that families know each other’s love language. Ifyou want what is in your heart to be communicated in a way thatothers can receive, you must learn to speak in their language. Of-ten sibling conflict is caused by a break in their heart connectionand their inability to know how to RE-connect again. Grab a glassfor each family member and add various degrees of water to each.Next, place a larger container in the middle and fill that to thetop with water. Give everyone a straw and model for them howto put your straw in the water and then place your index fingeron top of the straw. Keeping your finger in place, move the strawto one of the outside glasses. By lifting your index finger the waterwill release. Explain that the large cup is God’s heart and becauseHe loves us we can love others. The smaller cups each represent afamily member. Play a 5 minute game to see how much water (love)they can deposit into each glass. Ready. Set. GO!  37

Lisa Max In the days ahead when you see conflict between two siblingsgo to them and ask them specifically, “What is your brother/sister’slove language? What have you done in the last 24 hours to inten-tionally fill up his/her tank?” If they honestly can’t remember whatit is then you need to focus on that first. If they do know, then askthem to think of some ways to fill the tank again. 38

Papa’s Pocket His Greatest Gift Treasure Box – Teaching children what a gift they are to the Creator of the universe.Find a photo of your child, even a baby picture, and cut it out to fit in the treasure box (head shots work well, too). Go out- side with your children and enjoy the creation around you. Situnder the stars, by a tree, or next to water and “ooh and aah” overGod’s handiwork together. The more time you spend pointing outthe depth of His creation around you, the more impact the teach-ing will have on them. We don’t just want to increase our children’sknowledge, we want to lead them into an encounter with Him.Share with them Psalms 19:1. Bring out the treasure box and withexcitement tell them, “Inside this box is God’s greatest creation.He takes care of this more than anything else in the world.” Askthem if they want to see what is inside and keep them in suspense.Are they sure they really want to see God’s greatest creation of alltime? When they can no longer stand it, slowly open the box infront of them and let them see what is inside. After their initialreaction, show them Ephesians 2:10 and Psalms 17:8. God treasuresthem deeply. In the days ahead when you hear them declare a lie about them-selves (“I am stupid”, “I can’t do math”, “No one likes me”) stopwhat you are doing and come to them bearing the treasure box.Reassure them that God cares so much about them and that theyare important to Him. 39

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Papa’s PocketMommy & Me Journal Connecting with our children through writing/drawing.Agreat way to connect with your child is through the Mommy & Me journal. There are endless ways to make this special and unique for the two of you. Get a simple notebook or asuper special fancy one. You can purchase it yourself, and present itto him or her, or go on a date to pick out the perfect one together.Share Ephesians 4:2-3 and what it looks like for your relationship.The only rule to this is that there is ‘no talking’. You go first andwrite something in the journal and place it on his or her bed. Heor she reads it and writes you back when he or she is ready. Itcould be a few hours, days or even weeks. It took my daughterand I three years to complete one journal. Writing is a great wayto communicate our hearts freely. I was shocked at the things sheshared and brave questions she asked, and it is now a keepsake. Youcan be serious, encouraging, uplifting, “deep”, ask questions, sharewish-lists, express thanks, remind them of their strengths and somuch more. In the days ahead when you see that their hearts are strugglingwith something, write out some questions in the journal for themto ponder and respond. Or use that time to reassure them of theirvalue and worth. If there is a conflict and you want them to reflectmore deeply, write a heartfelt journal entry and ask them to do thesame. 41



You can be Creative!The objects used in the lessons may be substituted with otheritems. We have a creative God, and He can offer youinspiration. Here are a few ideas to get you started.Hurtful Words (pg. 9)You could also use food (cookie, cracker, egg) as it would‘break’ when it drops on the floor.Broccoli Bar (pg. 11)A teaching object is not required for this lesson.Anti-Bully (pg. 13)Create your own ‘No Bully Contract’ or search the internet for aformatted one.Prayer Cube (pg. 15)Replace the blank dice with a small square box taped shut, asmall block of wood or write on popsicle sticks and draw theminside of rolling it.Conversations with our Creator (pg. 17)Take your children outside and listen for chirping birds,barking dogs, rustling leaves. See how many sounds they canhear. Share that God is always awake and always talking withhis creation and with us.Connecting Hearts (pg. 19)Any two magnets would work for the lesson.Joyful Mama (pg. 21)Instead of the silly straw, you could put on a silly hat, dressfunny, or be out-of-character goofy like talking in a foreignaccent.

Says Who (pg. 23)Any disco ball would work or smudge your mirror making itharder to see clearly.He’s Got the Whole World (pg. 25)A hand sized ball would work as a pretend globe.Who R U? (pg. 27)Any name tag would work or create your own with a piece ofpaper and safety pin.He Cares About Me! (pg. 29)In place of the bird, you could turn a rock into a pet by addingsome eyes or use a pom-pom as a pet, or use a tiny stuffedanimal.Heart Play (pg. 31)Any homemade dough works or even a piece of bread.You Belong (pg. 33)A large non-elastic cord, ribbon or rope would work well.Remember No More (pg. 35)Write the words on toilet paper with markers and then flush,burn it, shred it or just crumple it up and throw it away.Filling Love Tanks (pg. 37)You can still go to the website to take the online quiz.His Greatest Gift (pg. 39)Blindfold your children and have them standing in front of amirror when you remove the blindfold. Tell them to cover theireyes and then open while you have a mirror in front of them.Mommy & Me Journal (pg. 41)Any journal or notebook