This five minute activity will have a lifetime impact on the hearts of your grandkids. Simply grab a flashlight and a battery, and call the grandkids! (Walmart and Dollar Tree have these flashlights for just a dollar – including batteries.)
Lesson Steps
- Prepare flashlights: before the grandkids arrive, removing batteries from the flashlights and then tuck the batteries away. I put them in the bottom of a small gift bag, covered them with tissue paper, and then put the flashlights on top.
- Set the stage: Gather the grandkids and explain that you have a flashlight for each of them (and for yourself) so you can play “Flashlight Simon Says.” Before passing out the flashlights, remind your grandkids not to turn them on until Simon says.
- Lights out: Turn out the lights and say, “Simon says, turn on your lights!”
- Broken flashlights? Uh oh! They don’t work! Let the kids brainstorm what the problem might be (for younger kids, you may need to guide them toward realizing that the batteries are missing). Flashlights are worthless without batteries!
- What is worthless to God? We can give all our toys away…mow our neighbor’s lawn…wash the dishes…BUT it won’t mean anything if we don’t have love. When we don’t have love in our hearts for other people, then we are just like a flashlight without batteries. (1 Corinthians 13:3)
- What is love anyway? Ask your grandkids who they love and who loves them. Love is when we care about others more than we care about ourselves – so we have a good attitude about wanting the best for them.
- Just add batteries: Take the batteries out of the bag and have your grandkids put them in their flashlights. Again, tell them not to turn on them until the game starts.
- Lights out…again: Turn out the lights and say, “Simon says, turn on your lights!” Yay! Batteries make our flashlights work, just like love makes our hearts work!
- Time to play! Now that you have working flashlights, take turn being “Simon” and as you play “Flashlight Simon Says.” Here are some ideas: (1) Shine the light on your hand, on your tummy, at the ceiling. (2) Turn your light on, turn it off. (3) Trade your flashlight with someone else.
Love Bookmarks
When we were done playing with our flashlights, the kids had a great time coloring these bookmarks for the new school year and it gave me the chance to remind them, “If I give all that I have to the poor but I don’t have love, it is worth nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3). These free bookmarks are available to print below.
KRISTI is the author of the Before books and coloring books for children and the Your Soul To Keep one-year prayer book for parents of adults. She writes to inspire parents and grandparents to shine the joy of Jesus into the lives of their families and to laugh without fear of the future (Proverbs 31:25). She and her husband Tim live in Iowa where they love doing life with their sons and daughters-in-law, six grandbabies, and two very spoiled dogs.