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A WRINKLED HEART ACTIVITY
1. Class is seated on the floor,
2. Start talking about the difference in the things we say that
make people feel good or that hurt them.
3. While talking, cut a big heart from construction paper
4. After it is cut out, hold it up and tell the children that each one of us
starts out with a heart that is as pretty as this one.
5. Have the children begin sharing things that a person might say that might be
hurtful to someone. With each response, fold the heart in random ways for each
"hurtful"
sentence or word.
6. Eventually the heart is crumpled in your hands.
7. Tell the class that each time they say something hurtful to someone, they
are putting a little wrinkle in that person's heart.
8. Then have the children begin to tell things that they might say to
someone to make that person feel good.
9. With each response, UNFOLD one of the creases in the heart. Eventually
you will have pressed out all of the "hurts"...except, of course, for the
fact that the wrinkles can still be seen, even though the heart is now
unfolded.
10. Talk about how we each have those wrinkles in our hearts from things
that people have said to us, and that the wrinkles last forever.
11. Stress that we want to be careful with what we say so as to not add
wrinkles to anyone's heart.
12. We put that heart up in a high corner of the bulletin board and leave it
in plain view all year. Frequently someone will mention it...that their
heart is wrinkled like that one, etc.
13. Get in the habit of hugging someone whose heart is broken and giving the
class a chance to iron out the wrinkles.
It serves as a great reminder all year.
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