9. Patience

• one white sheet of paper
• many different colored crayons including black
• dull kitchen knife

Caramel Corn

• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup corn syrup
• 3 quarts popped corn (3/4 cup kernels)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven
Bake at 3000 F for 20 minutes

Place popped corn on an ungreased cookie sheet. In a saucepan melt butter, stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Lower heat and allow it to simmer for five minutes stirring constantly to make sure it does not burn on the bottom. Remove pot from the heat and stir in the soda and vanilla. Gradually pour caramel over the popped corn and mix well so every piece has been touched. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes at 3000 F. Remove from the oven at five minute intervals to stir. At the end of 20 minutes remove a piece from the oven and allow it to cool. If the caramel corn is crunchy, it is done. If it is chewy, allow it to bake a bit longer. Allow it to cool for five minutes, then enjoy!!

Setting The Stage

Help your children understand that having patience means you are willing to take the time to get the desired result and that if you are impatient and rush, the result is often disappointing. The following three activities will show them that exercising patience is usually worth while in the end.

Project

Caramel Corn

Following the recipe, make the Caramel Corn. While making the Caramel Corn spend time talking about how good and crunchy it will be at the end so it is worth the wait. Also, talk about how this is true in other areas of your life. Examples: making your bed, playing a game, talking to people.

Patience is needed when making Caramel Corn because if it is eaten too soon it is chewy and will stick to your teeth.

Stop And Go

While the Caramel Corn is baking, play the game Stop and Go. The adult stands at one end of the room, turned away from the rest of the family. The family is lined up side by side at the other end. When the adult says, “Go!” they move as quickly as possible towards the adult. When the adult says, “Stop!” they must stop immediately because as the adult finishes calling out stop, he or she will quickly turn around to see who is still moving. Whoever is caught moving must go back to the starting position. It will be advantageous in helping your child understand the principle if you catch them at least once and send them back. Play the game several times helping them understand the role of patience in winning the game.

Patience is needed in playing this game because the faster you are moving the harder it is to stop and the easier it is to be caught. The person who is the most patient will probably be the one to get to the adult first without being sent back and therefore wins the game.

Love Is Patient

While eating the caramel corn have everybody sit around a table with one sheet of white paper in the center. Everyone is to take a different color of crayon (except black) and color the sheet. The object is to use many different colors to make little sections of all different sizes. Once the sheet is covered in color, color the entire sheet again in black trying to cover the color beneath as much as possible. Take the dull kitchen knife (you will be removing the black and revealing the bright colors below) and scratch out the letters that make up the memory verse for the week, “Love is Patient.” Say it over and over together until everyone can say it, then hang the verse in a visible place (like the fridge) for the upcoming week.

Patience is needed to achieve the beautiful end result. Point out how it took a while to make this sheet with the Bible verse on it, but also how it was worth being patient and working on it until it was done.

Prayer

Ask the question, ‘When are you most impatient?” When all have given their answers, use the answers as a spring board for prayer time. Ask God for patience during those times when we are so easily impatient.

Memory Verse

I Corinthians 13:48
Love is patient