Learning to handle disappointment

This particular week we were short on time for our family Bible study, so we didn’t do as much as usual, which also seems to happen in my Sunday School class, it’s like time flies while we’re doing it..  We read our weekly Bible story, Fall of Man, and learn how Adam and Eve listened to the snake and had to leave the Garden and how their sons Cain and Abel fought and Cain killed Abel, which of course follows right on the heels of the Creation story.

My thoughts on the Fall of Man

In this Sunday School lesson, we included two big stories: Adam and Eve’s sin, and Cain and Abel.  They could each be stories in their own right, but I didn’t want to focus a lot of time on how we messed up, I wanted to focus on how God rescues us, the whole Bible is God’s big rescue plan.

These stories also give us some big examples of how we can sin.  Adam and Eve sinned because they doubted God and believed someone else over God.  Cain sinned because he felt jealous and thought his brother got something he didn’t.

The first issue is a great one to talk about with older kids who are capable of higher-order thinking.  The second issue is great for younger kids who are very familiar with the “It’s not fair he/she got this, and I didn’t.”  And if I’m honest, I struggle with both of these issues from time to time, but this is a great lesson to spend lots of time talking, which is why the collage craft we did is so great because you spend lots of time working together as you search for just the right picture.

 

We only did a few of the activities included in Fall of Man, but everyone really enjoyed this activity.

Fall of Man craft

After reading the story we talked about how Cain and Abel gave gifts to God.  God liked what Abel gave, but didn’t like what Cain gave.  We talked about what could we give to God, then made a collage of what we could give.

 

 

Mac helped by trying to run over what we made.  It wasn’t really so helpful, but he’s so gosh darn cute.

 

Our things to give God were heavily weighted towards toys.  That may have more to do with the large number of catalogs I had for making the collage……….

 

We also talked a lot about how to handle disappointment.  Cain did not handle his disappointment well (obviously), and it’s a struggle for young kids, and let’s just say people in general to deal with disappointment.  A few suggestions we talked through for handling disappointment:

• write or draw your feelings
• go on a long walk and pray
• talk to your Mom or Dad (if your parents are the ones causing the disappointment, this can be especially good)
• find something to cheer you up, a favorite book or toy, something to do to get your mind off of it

 

My biggest regret from our Fall of Man study is not having time to do this forgiveness activity from Fantastic Five during our week.  Oh well, we’ll hit Fall of Man again in a few years and we can do it then.

You can get the Fall of Man study as part of the Pre-history in Genesis study.

Teaching Kids to Handle Disappointment

Let’s talk about disappointment, and how to handle it. Cain is mad at his brother because God liked Abel’s gift better than Cain’s. God see this and warns Cain to get his emotions under control.

I’ve noticed since becoming a parent, I understand the Bible so much more. I see myself as a parent over and over again in how God interacts with man.

This is a discussion I have over and over again with my daughter. She has a temper, and struggles with keeping it under control and learning to not lash out at her brothers (this is future Ticia speaking, at 12 it is still her struggle).

Here’s what I’ve worked with my daughter on doing when she gets angry (the advice should sound familiar):

1. take a few deep breaths before responding
2. work to control and channel your anger, think WHY you are angry and how you can change the circumstances
3. control your voice, picture making your voice smaller to keep from yelling
4. imagine the frustration and anger draining out of your fingers like water running off you in a rainstorm

 

More Fall of Man resources

A few more resources to learn about the Fall of Man.

• Fall of Man storybook and discussion questions (week 2 in the Pre-history in Genesis)
• Forgiveness activity from Fantastic Five
• Buck Denver Asks: What’s in the Bible? Volume One – In the Beginning ( seriously LOVE these DVDs and cannot recommend them highly enough)
• Cain and Abel study

You can also check out my Genesis Pinterest board.

Follow Ticia Adventures in Mommydom’s board Genesis on Pinterest.

And for the whole Genesis unit head on over to the Genesis Family Bible Study page.  Up next is Noah’s Genealogy, or why do I care about his grandpa?