Teaching about character traits can be tricky. However, Little Pot, the main character in the lesson and a fruit-bearing vessel created by the potter brings clarity and simplicity to the task. Additionally, in these seven FREE lessons, children learn the fruit-bearing cycle and how to produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Likewise, the activities perfectly blend fun and learning with understanding. The fifth lesson in this series fosters healthy relationships. So, let’s dive into Little Pot’s fifth lesson and continue teaching about character traits.

Read more: Teaching about character traits with Little Pot – #5 Fostering Healthy Relationships

Why you should use Little Pot when teaching about character traits.

First, let’s discuss why Little Pot is the perfect tool for teaching character traits. The seven lessons illustrate complex concepts in a way that’s easy to understand. Little Pot’s fruit-growing cycle can teach character traits such as identity, humility, integrity, relationships, and knowledge. Moreover, Little Pot is a tangible reminder of the creator’s love and care for us. It symbolizes how God nurtures us, wants a relationship with us, and helps us grow into the people He wants us to be.

You’re not just teaching good behavior when you use Little Pot. You’re helping others understand that character is not fixed or innate but something God cultivates and develops over time. Using Little Pot as a teaching tool develops the skills and attitudes needed to become the vessels God designed us to be. Each week, we will discuss one of the following lesson plans.

• Lesson Plan 1: Identity
• Lesson Plan 2: Humility and How to Contain It
• Lesson Plan 3: Planting the Right Seeds
• Lesson Plan 4: Strong and Upright Integrity
• Lesson Plan 5: Fostering Healthy Relationships
• Lesson Plan 6: Blooming Knowledge
• Lesson Plan 7: Producing Fruit of the Spirit

If you prefer to buy the entire curriculum with all the lesson plans, worksheets, posters, and activities included. Click below.

Review the previous lessons for teaching character traits.

Review the information in the first, second, third, and fourth lessons about identity, humility, the seed, and integrity. Remind them that their strong, upright integrity is grown from God’s Word. It was planted in a humble heart and can support strong healthy relationships. Those relationships are like the leaves of a plant.

Lesson Plan 5: Fostering Healthy Relationships

Students will explain the function of a leaf as providing the plant with food. They will be able to define photosynthesis. Likewise, they will discover and learn the importance of having good friends and relationships that show them the light of Christ.

Learning about photosynthesis

Light is necessary for a plant to grow and bear fruit. It is the sunlight that allows the leaf to combine air and water and make food for the plant. Combining light, water, and air is called photosynthesis. Photo means light, and synthesis means to combine.

Here is how it works:

• Water (H2O) is absorbed from the soil through the roots.
• Air is made up of carbon dioxide (CO2) and oxygen. (O2)
• People breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide.
• Plants breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen.
• Plants provide the oxygen that we need to breathe.
• Light provides the energy the leaf needs to turn the carbon dioxide and water into glucose which is food for plants.
• It is the job of the leaf to capture the sunlight so that it can turn carbon dioxide and water into food and oxygen.

The complete curriculum comes with worksheets where students can show their understanding of photosynthesis.

Bible verses for teaching about character traits

Whoever spends time with wise people will become wise. But whoever makes friends with fools will suffer.
Proverbs 13:20

Let us think about each other and help each other show love and do good deeds. You should not stay away from the church meetings, as some are doing. But you should meet together and encourage each other. Do this even more as you see the Day coming.
Hebrews 10:24-25

Connecting the Leaf to Relationships

Now that we understand the job of a leaf. Let us connect that to the job of a friend or really anyone that we have a relationship with. The leaf helps the plant to be fruitful because it feeds the plant by making food from light. We need people who will use the light of Jesus to feed our souls. A good friend will talk to us about Jesus. When they share about Jesus, they are bringing the light of Jesus to us, and that positive energy gives us a type of nourishment that will help us to be more loving, joyful, patient, kind, etc. Without the leaves, the plant cannot grow and bear fruit. Likewise, without strong Godly relationships, we cannot grow and bear the fruit of the Spirit.

Additionally, If a leaf is no longer green and is wilted, it is not absorbing light and producing food for the plant. It can even pull the nutrients away from the part of the plant that is growing. When this happens to a leaf, it usually falls off the plant. Sometimes it will need to be cut off the plant. In the same way, we can have a friend not providing us with the light of Jesus. It may mean that we need to remove them from parts of our life so we can grow more fruit. That is why we must choose friends and relationships that absorb the light of Jesus. We must ensure we are the healthy leaf in someone else’s life. We need to absorb the light of Christ and give it to others too.

Conclusion

In conclusion, have the students draw leaves and write the name of one person on each. The person should be someone that they have a relationship with. (A friend, a parent, a teacher, a coach, etc.) As a class, create a large picture on the board of a Little Pot with a stem. As the students write a name on each leaf, tape it along the stem. Then share examples of how these people share the light of Jesus with them.

In the next lesson, we will discuss what grows from healthy relationships. The leaves allow something very special to form at the top of the plant. However, If you can’t wait, purchase the complete curriculum here for just $10.25.

In the meantime, I hope you will sign up for the Fruitful Friday emails and Little Pot’s seven fruit-bearing steps below.

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