Listening Lessons, #1 March 9, 2010

Theme: Learning to Listen
“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel.” (Prov. 12:15)

• Memory: For this series of lessons, I’ve chosen Proverbs 23:19: “Listen, my son, and be wise, and direct your heart in the way.” Throughout these Proverbs lessons, I’ve been emphasizing the importance of wisdom to my children, so I think this verse will have particular meaning to them. Here are some other options you could choose from:
  “Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days.” (Prov. 19:20)
  “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel.” (Prov. 12:15)
  We’re going to sing this memory verse to the tune of “The Bear Went Over the Mountain”, while pointing at our ear, doing sign language for “wise” and drawing a heart with our fingers.
• Bible: Read the story of the Passover from Exodus 12. Talk about how important it was for Moses to listen carefully to the Lord’s instructions. And then the Israelites had to listen carefully to Moses’ instructions. Pharaoh didn’t listen…what were the consequences?
• Sack of Stuff: (Again, I’m indebted to the exceptional Character First! Elementary curriculum for this idea.) Have a sack full of items that will make noise when dropped on the ground. Have your children cover their eyes, then drop an item on the ground. Can they guess what the item was by the sound it made? Point out how they are “listening hard”! God wants them to listen hard just like that to you.
• Snap to Attention: I don’t think my children choose not to listen to me. They’re just so busy playing that they don’t pay attention to the sound of my voice. To underscore the importance of listening this week, we’re going to do a listening drill. When I snap my fingers, they must drop everything they’re doing and point those little noses in my direction. We’ll see how this works!