Biblical character education wouldn’t be complete without lessons on forgiveness. This includes helping children learn how to show grace, restore relationships, and follow Jesus’ example of love. Using these hands-on crafts, engaging activities, and printable lesson plans will help children better understand what forgiveness looks like in everyday life and why it matters according to Scripture.

How do you define forgiveness for kids

Forgiveness is choosing to let go of bad feelings towards someone who has hurt you. Forgiveness isn’t necessarily a feeling; it’s a conscious choice. It doesn’t have to be a one-time event either. Sometimes forgiveness means choosing each day to forgive the person for the harm they caused us in the past. With God’s help, we can overcome the hurt, but it might take time. 

Forgiveness is important because God calls us to forgive. When we forgive, it helps to release us from past hurts so we can move forward without bitterness.

Forgiveness Bible Lessons for Kids

Are you looking for an engaging way to teach children about the character trait of forgiveness? Use the Bible story of the Prodigal Son to help facilitate the learning. Our scripted lessons, printable crafts, and discussion questions are a great resource to help kids learn about this important character trait.

(Click HERE for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade version!)

Click here for the kindergarten/1st grade version

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT forgiveness?

One of the core messages of the Bible is forgiveness, centred around God’s great love for us. We live in a broken world, yet God made a plan to redeem the world through Jesus. It is through Jesus that we have forgiveness from our sins and hope for a future with Him. Without Christ’s redeeming blood, we wouldn’t have forgiveness and a way back to God.

And God calls us to forgive each other, too. There are many verses about forgiveness in the Bible. Here are a few verses:

• Psalm 103:12 – “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

• Matthew 6:14 – “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”

• Luke 6:37 – “Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

• Ephesians 4:32 – “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

• 1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins.”

Alongside Bible verses, there are also several poignant stories centred on the theme of forgiveness, including the Prodigal Son, Joseph Forgiving His Brothers, and The Unforgiving Servant.

HOW DO YOU TEACH KIDS ABOUT FORGIVENESS?

Activities to teach bigger kids about what the Bible says about forgiveness.

Take time to teach children the definition of forgiveness and explore different examples of what forgiveness looks like. These examples can include stories from the Bible where people chose to forgive, as well as modern, real-life situations kids may face. Discuss these stories and scenarios, then apply the material by having children role-play situations in which they must demonstrate forgiveness. Use hands-on crafts and activities to help them engage with the topic. Before they head home, challenge them to practice forgiveness throughout the week.

Bible Sword Drill

Using a Sword Drill to introduce children to the Bible is an effective way to help them navigate the pages of Scripture and understand the relationships among the books of the Bible. A Sword Drill is a simple exercise in which children are given a verse to look up and then must search for it. The first kid to locate the verse is the winner.

To help kids with this, show them where the Table of Contents is in the Bible. Then teach them how to locate the book in the Table of Contents, flip to the page, and search for the chapter and verse. At first, this will be a time-consuming and awkward task for kids to manage. There will be some hand-holding and guidance. But this is an important skill for kids to have, so fostering this skill is worth the time.

For printable cards with the verses, check out Forgiveness Bible Lesson for Older Kids.

BIBLE STORY about Forgiveness - The Prodigal Son

Dive into forgiveness with the parable of the Prodigal Son.

Bible stories are an effective means of teaching biblical character traits. Taking time to read a story about forgiveness, discuss it, and complete an activity that connects to the story is a great way to solidify learning. 

The story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32 centres around the theme of forgiveness. 

After reading the story, discuss the concept of forgiveness. Children can examine how the father in the story forgave his son completely, whereas the older brother struggled with forgiveness because he felt his brother did not deserve celebration. The older brother resented the younger brother, while the father forgave and loved.

Then, do an activity to reinforce the learning. The Forgiveness Bible Lesson for Little Learners includes a simple “Welcome Home” craft to remind children of the story's conclusion, when the lost son is welcomed home with open arms and a big celebration. For this craft, they will color and cut out a picture of a door. Then they will glue this over a ‘welcome home’ scene, so the door can still open and reveal the party inside.

You’ll find the same printable craft in Forgiveness Bible Lessons for Older Kids, as well as a writing reflection page where kids reflect on what the prodigal son was thinking while feeding the pigs. This is also included in the Forgiveness for Little Learners, in a craft format rather than a reflection page.

Click here for more ideas on teaching the story of the Prodigal Son.

MORE Crafts and activities to teach about forgiveness

• Forgiveness Envelope: Have kids draw a time when someone else’s actions hurt them. If they are not able to think of an idea, they are welcome to draw a hypothetical example. Then fold it up and put it in an envelope. Then pray over the envelopes and give the hurts to God, symbolizing that the child is forgiving the person who hurt them.

• Whiteboard Eraser Illustration: Take time to brainstorm different sins and write them on a whiteboard. Try to fill the board (or a section of the board) with a lot of ideas. Then talk about how this is like the human heart. It is covered in sin. But when we ask for forgiveness, Jesus washes our sins away and forgives us. Take an eraser and start erasing the writing off the board.

• Egg Illustration: This is similar to the one above, but it uses a hard-boiled egg. Use a Sharpie to write sins all over a hard-boiled egg. Then start peeling the egg and tell kids that when we ask Jesus for forgiveness, he takes away all the sin and we are left with a clean and soft heart.

Songs about forgiveness

Music is a powerful tool and can be a great way to help kids (and adults) reflect on a topic. Consider playing one or more of the following worship songs for children to reflect on. Give them paper to color on or play-dough to fiddle with while they listen. Some of the songs are about God’s great love for us and His forgiveness of our sins, and others are about the importance of forgiving others because God has forgiven us.

• East to the West by Casting Crowns

• Forgiveness by Matthew West

• Amazing Grace by LifeTree Kids

• Redeemed by Big Daddy Weave

• You Forgive Me by LifeTree Kids

• God Forgave by LifeTree Kids 

WOULD YOU LIKE MORE LESSONS to build godly character?

This lesson on contentment is part of a seven-part Character Education mini-series. Other lessons include contentment, kindness, courage, honesty, perseverance, and self-control. 

Are you fascinated by planets in our solar system? I once had the opportunity to hear Chris Hadfield speak at a conference in Vancouver. Chris Hadfield is a Canadian astronaut who has been on several recent space expeditions to the International Space Station and he famously recreated the “Space Oddity” song while in space. I have always found the idea of space and space travel to be so inspiring. There is so much wonder and mystery in the universe. We can tap into that wonder while teaching about the Solar System. There are some great solar system activities, projects, and lessons that can be implemented into a unit about Space.

What is the Solar System for Kids?

Simply put, the Solar System is the Sun and everything that orbits around it. This includes the planets, the moons that orbit the planets, asteroids, comets, dust, gas, and other particles. Stars are not technically part of the Solar System.

The EASY Way to Teach the Solar System

Ready to start your unit on the Solar System in Kindergarten or First Grade? In just a few clicks you can grab all the pieces you need: lesson plans, vocabulary cards, nonfiction reading, printable worksheets ,and hands-on activities! 

Click and print. Planning is really that easy.

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Solar System and Space YouTube Videos

Here are some videos that you might want to use when teaching about the Solar System.

1. Sci Show Kids - Explore the Solar System: The Rocky Planets

2. Sci Show Kids - Why Can I See The Moon During the Day?

3. Story Bots - Outer Space - This one is a fun and engaging show geared toward young learners. This episode really gives me ‘Hamilton’ vibes with fast, rap-like lyrics.

4. The Planet Song for Kids - If you’re looking for a catchy song to teach your students to name the different planets, you might find this song fun.

5. What about Pluto? A great video about dwarf planets.

Astronauts in Space

Chris Hadfield created some fabulous videos about life in space that little learners would absolutely find interesting!

• Canadian Space Agency - Chris Hadfield Brushes His Teeth in Space

• Canadian Space Agency - Chris Hadfield’s Space Kitchen

• Canadian Space Agency - Sleeping in Space

straw rocket stem challenge

Blast off with this STEM activity using common classroom materials. Use paper, a straw, glue, and pipe cleaners to create crafty rockets that launch using the power of your breath! They’re the perfect activity after watching the above videos about astronauts and space exploration. Full straw rocket instructions and supplies are here on the KiwiCo website.

Combining Reading and Art into Solar System Lessons

Add age-appropriate nonfiction reading about space with the passages in my Solar System Unit for little learners. Movement in the Sky explores how the planets orbit around the sun and rotate on their own axis. Sunrise and Sunset looks at how the movement of planets produces the sunrises and sunsets we see in the sky.

Go a step further with a sunrise/sunset art project! It’s a fun way to help students demonstrate their understanding of how the colors in the sky change during these times of day.

A sunrise or sunset art project with a black silhouette.

Before starting the project, read a story like ‘Sky Color’ by Peter H. Reynolds or watch an online video showing a sunrise or sunset. Using the book/video as a guide, talk about the colors that can be seen during a sunrise. Are they different in a sunset? How do they blend into each other? Which colors are found down low? Which ones are higher up. Give students painting materials (I like watercolors for this) and them time to paint and create.

Want to take it a step further? After the paint has dried, add a black silhouette of any shape/object you’d like. In the one pictured students added a landform (hill) and an animal of their choosing.

What’s the difference between Orbit and Rotate?

Learning the difference between orbit and rotation could become an interactive lesson by having students act each one out.

• Make one student the sun

• When you say “orbit” should walk around the sun in a circle, just like the planets orbit the sun

• When you say “rotate” students should pause and spin in a circle on the spot. (Explain that they’re rotating on their own internal axis)

Of course, planets orbit and rotate, but this involves a little too much coordination for little learners! Feel free to try it out in a large space like a field or gymnasium.

The Planets in Our Solar System

Anchor Chart: The Solar System. Printable pieces for this chart are available in the Space and Solar System unit for littler learners.

Teaching the planets doesn’t have to be complicated. There are some intricate ideas out there like creating models of the solar system. This is a fun idea, but sometimes doing a multi-day project can be overwhelming, so I have a few ideas that require less prep to teach about the planets. 

• Create an anchor chart as a group to help students visualize the planets in space.

• Put students into groups of eight and give each student a card with the name of a planet. Then have students organize themselves in the right order.

• Cut and paste the planets into the correct order.

Learning about the Sun

The sun is vitally important to our Solar System. It is a source of light and heat. Everything rotates around it. It helps things grow. So it’s important to teach about the sun. For a fun lesson about the sun, have students learn some simple facts.

First, have students come up with things they know about the sun. Regardless of what they say, write these ideas down (yes, even if the idea is incorrect). Then have students do some research to learn more and determine if all the original statements about the sun were true. 

Use the printable ‘All About the Sun’ worksheet to collect facts!

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Space is vast, mysterious, and awe-inspiring! There are some fabulous activities to teach little learners all about space. How will you inspire your students while they learn about the Solar System?

“Ground control to Major Tom!” This song SO easily gets stuck in my head when I’m working on anything space related. And it’s not even the David Bowie version that gets stuck in my head, it’s the Chris Hadfield version, where he sings it from space. I love teaching students about the motions of the Earth, moon and Sun. There are so many awesome space science lessons for kids. So let’s check out a few!

Space Science For Kids - The Motions of the Earth, Moon, and Sun.

What’s the Motion of the Earth?

The Earth is constantly in motion. The Earth orbits around the Sun. An orbit is the path that an object takes when it revolves around another object. A revolution is the circular movement of an object around another object. The Earth also rotates on its axis. 

What causes day and night?

As the Earth orbits the Sun, it also rotates on its axis. It takes the Earth 24 hours to rotate. The side of Earth facing the Sun experiences day and the side of Earth facing away from the Sun experiences night.

Why does earth have seasons?

Top: Informational Text passages all about how the earth, sun and moon move in the sky.
Bottom: Informational text passages all about tides.

The earth’s orbit isn’t a perfect circle. This means that sometimes it is closer to the Sun and the weather is warmer, like in spring and summer. Sometimes the Earth is further away from the Sun and the weather is colder, like in the winter. The Earth’s revolution causes the changes in seasons.

What causes ocean tides on earth?

Tides are always changing and it is the moon’s gravitational pull that causes these changes. Tides rise and fall depending on where the moon is in the sky. 

Now that we have some background information about the motion of the Earth, moon and Sun, let’s take a look at some activities to get students excited about space!

Plan the Whole Unit in One Click!

Get ready to teach your ‘Motions of the Earth’ science unit in one step.

This engaging unit includes everything you need to teach students about how the earth, sun, and moon move.

Reading passages, scripted lessons, activities, and project-based learning are all included!

grab the whole unit

Make a Moon Board

Using this moon board, students can poke their heads through the middle and rotate the board to see why the moon appears to be different shapes at different times.

I love creating visuals that help my students learn. This Moon Board activity will help students identify why the moon appears differently in its separate phases. You’ll need a few things for this activity, including black foam board, 8 small white balls like ping pong balls, black paint, a print out of the Sun, Phases of the Moon labels, sharp scissors and hot glue.

Using these supplies, create a Moon Board that looks like this one. After creating the Moon Board, students can put their head inside and as they rotate the board around, they will observe each of the different moon phases! 

Detailed instructions and print-and-cut templates are available in this Motions of the Earth unit.

Want to watch me assemble this moon board? I made a Reel over on Instagram. You can check it out here.

Anchor Charts

Anchor charts are a great way to show how the Earth and moon move. I’m a huge believer that anchor charts should be made with students instead of ahead of time. I also love printing out labels and pictures so students don’t have to watch me try to draw things! Gluing labels and pictures into place is SO much easier than trying to draw and print neatly.

For example, I like to print out large cards of moon phases and put them on a chart paper to create an anchor chart. 

As another anchor chart idea, you can make a Venn Diagram anchor chart about the similarities and differences of solar and lunar eclipses. Have students come up with the ideas and you write them down as the ideas arise.

Act it Out

Head out to a place, like a field or the gym, where your students will have space to move. Then label kids as “Sun”, “moon”, “Earth”. Have your students rotate and revolve with their bodies to act out how the Sun, moon and Earth move. 

Create an Eclipse Comic

I love combining science with other curricular areas. In this activity, students will use their knowledge of comic strips and writing, as well as their artistic skills and creativity,  to create a comic about either a lunar eclipse or a solar eclipse. You will likely have to review characteristics of a comic and how to properly use speech bubbles.

Students can pick a comic template and begin to draw. Throughout the process, make sure to review and use checklists to ensure students know what criteria you are looking for in their comic. I love seeing what students come up with as they create their eclipse comics.

There are so many fun ways to teach about the motions of the Earth, moon and Sun. If you have any other awesome lessons, send them my way! I love seeing what other people do.