Forgiveness activities is an abstract concept that children begin to grasp around the time they enter private kindergarten. It is important for kids to learn to forgive other children, their parents and relatives, and people they meet in the community. Forgiving also teaches them to be kinder to themselves by helping them move past feelings of anger and hurt. To help them with this, teachers can use forgiveness activities like the forgiveness game and emotional replacement exercises, as well as encouraging kids to reflect on the Lord’s example of forgiveness in Doctrine and Covenants 64:1-11.
“Embracing Healing: Forgiveness Activities for Emotional Liberation
For instance, one forgiveness activity involves a story about a child who offends another child in some way. Have the students write two endings to the story, one focusing on forgiveness and the other focused on revenge. Then ask them to compare the two stories and discuss how different they are.
Other forgiveness activities include practicing gratitude, writing a letter to someone who has wronged them, and the balloon exercise, where kids write the name of the person who hurt them on a balloon. Then they release the balloon into the air, symbolizing letting go of their anger and hurt.
Practicing mindfulness is also helpful in the forgiveness process. This is because it helps kids to see that their mistakes don’t define them and that it is okay to make a mistake. It can also help them realize that they should not take their failures personally and that others may not always have the best intentions.