One of my favorite Bible verses has to be Galatians 5: 22-23, which gives us the wonderful “Fruit of the Spirit.” This is because it was one of the first songs of Scripture that I wrote. I love sharing this verse with children of all ages, but when I share it with preschoolers, I tend to focus on the first 3 fruits of love, joy, and peace. Here’s a fun Bible school activity to help your little ones learn the first part of this verse. I call it “Fruit of the Spirit Spin and Toss”.

This is what you do:

For this activity, you will create 9 large circles that the children will throw. I created mine from the top and bottom of frozen juice cans. In 3 of the circles, attach a picture of a heart. In the 3, attach a picture of a happy smile and in the last 3, attach a picture of a baby or child sleeping peacefully. You will also need a large bowl or bag that the circles will be thrown into. Finally, you will want to make a line on the floor with a piece of chalk or masking tape behind which the children will toss the circles.

This is how it plays:

Pick a child to come up behind the line. Before letting him toss the 9 circles into the bowl, turn it slowly while saying the next Bible verse in rhythm. Emphasize the words I have underlined:

“But Fruit of the spirit

It is love, joy and peace… “

After the giggling subsidy, let the child toss the circles into the bowl one at a time. Count how many circles came to the cube encouraging your little ones to count on you. Then point out what kind of “fruit” went into the bucket: love, joy, or peace. By showing each circle, you could say, “God wants us to love one another,” “God wants us to be joyful,” or “God wants us to be at peace.” After each child has had at least one turn. You may want to conclude your activity by handing out glasses of fruit.

Before reproducing this Bible school activity, you may want to introduce it as follows:

Who can tell me your favorite fruit? (Wait for responses). I’m really glad you like fruit. Did you know that God loves fruits too? It does. He loves apples, oranges, and grapes like you do, but he also loves a special kind of fruit called Fruit of the Spirit, like love, joy, and peace. When we have love, joy and peace in our lives, we will be sweet and “delicious” to everyone we meet like a good piece of fruit. Let’s play a fun game to help us remember the wonderful Fruit of God’s Spirit. It’s called “Fruit of the spirit turns and throws.”