Every summer I like to work on character building with my boys, and last year I decided that we would focus on the fruit of the Spirit. We did several crafts and activities to help us learn and talk about these important qualities.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Galatians 5:22-23
gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
Character Building and the Fruit of the Spirit
Character building is teaching about specific positive character traits. For example, we might focus on kindness. We can talk about what kindness is, what it looks like, why it is important, and then we practice kindness in our daily lives. I’m not saying that we only focus on these things during the summer, but since I have more time with the kids during summer break, it is easier to go more in depth.
Galatians 5:22-23 is talking about the Holy Spirit, a member of the Holy Trinity in Christian faith. You could substitute “qualities” for the word “fruit”, if that makes more sense. The premise of this verse is that the Holy Spirit embodies all of these character traits perfectly. While human nature does not naturally tend toward these qualities, the Bible teaches that if we rely on the Holy Spirit, He can help us to develop and practice them.
Day 1: The Fruit of the Spirit in the Bible
In order to teach my children (ages 7 and 2) about the fruit of the Spirit, I began with the Bible verse. I wrote it down on a piece of paper in big, colorful letters to make it fun. This is hanging on the wall in our living room, where we can see it and recite it each day.
After reading the verse together, we sat and had a discussion. The discussion was really just between my older son and I, but my little guy was playing in the room, so hopefully he was listening, too!
I asked my son:
- Who is this verse talking about when it says “the Spirit”?
- What does the verse mean by “fruit”?
- Why do you think there isn’t a law against these things?
I let him answer, and gave examples and explanations to help him grasp the concepts.
Fruit of the Spirit Song
Last year, one of the children’s ministry leaders at our church sent out an email with a link to songs on YouTube that teach the books of the Bible. I was happy to add the videos to our morning routine, and I began playing them for my boys after our devotional each morning. They REALLY enjoyed it! We would dance and jump and sometimes just run circles around the living room while we sang the songs. It was a great way to get some energy out while learning something important!
So, as we started learning about the fruit of the Spirit, I wondered if I could find a song about it on YouTube. And, of course, I did! There are quite a few songs, aimed at various age groups. I found one that was similar to the books of the Bible ones we had already been singing, since my kids liked them so much. I would say that this song is great for elementary-aged kids.
What I like about this song is that it lists the fruit of the Spirit three times, and also gives examples of what each looks like. We sing along with this song every morning.
These are the Books of the Bible songs we like, in case you are interested:
Old Testament Books of the Bible by Worship for Kids
New Testament Books of the Bible by Worship for Kids
Day 2: Fruit of the Spirit Hand and Fingerprint Tree
This is a very simple fruit tree art project that reinforces the qualities of the Holy Spirit.
I began by tracing both hands of each child, and cutting them out. These become the branches of the tree. We tore a strip of green paper to make the grass, and cut a strip of brown paper to make the tree trunk. Next, we glued the trunk, branches, and grass to the paper.
We used watercolor paint to make fingerprint fruit on each branch of the tree. I had my older son write each fruit of the Spirit on a different branch (and I wrote it for my little guy). Since there are nine qualities and ten branches, we wrote the Scripture reference on the last branch.
My two-year-old was very interested in the paints, as this was the first time he had used them. My seven-year-old enjoyed drawing characters on his tree. I love that since this art project uses hand tracings and fingerprints, it becomes a keepsake.
Day 3: Fruit of the Spirit Book
The following links are affiliate links and if you click on them and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission. Thank you for your consideration.
Next, we read A Little Boy After God’s Own Heart by Jim and Elizabeth George. This is a sweet book that has a short rhyme about each “fruit” to help kids understand how we can practice them in daily life. It also provides scripture references for each.
Jim and Elizabeth George also wrote a book A Little Girl After God’s Own Heart. I’m not sure how different the books are. In reading the boy book, there isn’t really anything that would only apply to boys. One could very easily just say “child” instead of “boy” or “son” while reading the rhymes if desired.
Day 4: Fruit (of the Spirit) Salad
My boys love snacks, and I love when I can create a healthy snack that reinforces a theme we are working on. Making a fruit salad for our Fruit of the Spirit theme seemed only natural.
I wanted our fruit salad to be colorful, so I put a bit of thought into it. We had raspberries, strawberries, oranges, apricots, pineapple, banana, green grapes, blueberries, and blackberries. I put each fruit in a small bowl. My older son got to be in charge of labeling each bowl of fruit with one of the qualities, which he thought was super fun!
We each filled our own bowl with the fruit, just like the Holy Spirit fills us with His fruit when we seek Him. My favorite part of doing this with my boys was when my older son finished eating all of his fruit. He said, “Mom, can I have more love and faithfulness?” Translation: raspberries and blueberries. That just warmed my heart!
Day 5: Fruit of the Spirit Folding Craft Sticks
I found this craft on Pinterest and thought it looked neat. Unfortunately, my older son was not interested in it and my younger son was too small to make one. It might be better for older elementary kids. I made one anyway and had a good time, and when I was finished, both of my boys really liked playing with it.
On the front I wrote the fruit of the Spirit. On the back I used the Fruit of the Spirit song as a guide to write out examples of the qualities in action. I used felt tip pens to write on the craft sticks, then taped them together with clear packing tape. I decided to hang this on the wall next to the verse from Galatians 5:22-23.
How We Put it All Together
This can easily be turned into a summer-long focus. Dedicate the first week to the crafts and activities listed above, as an introduction to the Fruit of the Spirit. During the rest of the summer, spend one week on each of the individual qualities.
- Week 1 – Overview
- Day 1: Read Galatians 5:22-23 together and discuss. Listen to Fruit of the Spirit song.
- Day 2: Listen to Fruit of the Spirit song. Make Hand and Fingerprint Tree craft.
- Day 3: Listen to Fruit of the Spirit song. Read A Little Boy After God’s Own Heart (or A Little Girl After God’s Own Heart).
- Day 4: Listen to Fruit of the Spirit song. Make Fruit (of the Spirit) Salad.
- Day 5: Listen to Fruit of the Spirit song. Make Fruit of the Spirit Folding Craft Sticks.
- Week 2 – Focus on Love
- Continue to listen to the Fruit of the Spirit song each day.
- Every morning, read the page about Love in the book A Little Boy After God’s Own Heart (or A Little Girl After God’s Own Heart).
- Each day, think of a new way to show Love for someone, and do it!
- Week 3 – Week 10 – Focus on a Different “Fruit” each week, following the example for Week 2.
If you liked this post, you may also like my post:
You may also like the resources I have in my Curiosity Trail store such as:
The Characteristics of God Lesson Pack
Thank you for checking out my ideas for Fruit of the Spirit crafts and activities!
“Start children off on the way they should go,
Proverbs 22:6
and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”
~ Sarah ~
Would you like to support my blog? It’s as simple as clicking one of the links below and making any regular purchase. For more ways you can show your support, check out my Support Me page.
This is just what I’ve been looking for a while. I’m going to use it for VBS.
I’m so glad! 😊
Pingback: Come Follow Me 9/25/2023 – Devotionals & FHE for Children