Day 1 Virtue Demonstration: APPRECIATION
You’ll need:
- A large tray covered with 5-10 items (ie. party hat, party blower, candy, cell phone, toy, small stuffed animal, etc)
- One pre-planned volunteer (teen or adult) wearing a name tag, and a cross necklace
Today, we’re going to have a little demonstration about appreciation, but first I have a few things to share with you about this wonderful virtue.
Who can tell me what the word “appreciation” means? (being very thankful for someone or something, to value and treasure, expressing an attitude of gratitude towards someone, etc).
Appreciation opens our eyes, and inspires us to notice and be grateful for the people and the world around us. When we treasure and value someone or something, we should show our appreciation.
It’s good to express an attitude of gratitude.
Demonstrate:
Call up 3-5 kids from the audience to come to the front and stand in a straight line, side by side. Have the planned volunteer enter into the room with the tray of items.
“This is our volunteer. Our wonderful volunteer is going to slowly walk in front of you with a tray full of things. You can look at the items, but don’t touch them.
Note: Be sure the volunteer knows ahead of time to make eye contact with each of the children standing in front, smile and say “Hello, How are you, Good morning,” or some other kind greeting. He/she should also look into the crowd for a few moments and say: “Hello and goodbye everyone.”
Before our volunteer leaves the room, let’s show our appreciation by giving her/him a round of applause. Speaking of appreciation, let’s see if some of our volunteers standing up front or anyone else in the crowd noticed some important things about our volunteer.
Who can tell me the name that was on the volunteer’s name tag?
What color of eyes does (volunteer’s name) have?
What color is (volunteer’s name) hair?
Did (she/he) have glasses?
What color was (her/his) shirt?
What was (volunteer’s name) wearing around his/her neck? (a cross)
What did the volunteer say to you?
Some of these questions may have surprised you! Perhaps, you didn’t know the answer to some of these questions because you may have been more focused on all the things on the volunteer’s tray such as the stuffed animal, the toy, and the phone. We need to recognize and appreciate the people in our lives more than things. Sometimes, we get so distracted with our toys, games, computers, movies, TV, and phones that we forget to look people in the eyes and appreciate them for who they are and for what they do for us. Everyone is special and should be appreciated. If we show more appreciation towards others, the world will be a better place.
Ask:
Who are some of the people in your lives that you need to appreciate? (parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, friends, teachers, coaches, priests, our Pope, Jesus, Mary, the Saints,etc.)
How can we show our appreciation? (with our kind words, our actions)
We must remember to appreciate God above all else because He is deserving of all our love!
We can thank Him for giving us the gift of life and the things we have: food, our homes, clothes, toys, this VBS, music, our health, the gift of our eyes and being able to see, our mouths and being able to speak & sing, our ears so we can hear, our noses so we can smell and our hands so we can touch, etc.
Let’s bow our heads and pray together.
Jesus, help us to appreciate the people in our lives for who they are and for the wonderful things they do for us. Amen.
Day 2 Virtue Demonstration: RESPECT
You’ll need:
- (Pre-planned) teenage girl volunteer (13-17 yrs. old)
- 7 inflated balloons tied together with ribbon (all different sizes, shapes and colors; one must be blue and one must be red)
- 1 extra blue balloon (not inflated)
- 1 extra red balloon (not inflated)
- A pin
I am going to do a little demonstration about respect. Have teenage girl volunteer walk in with 7 balloons and remain standing at the front for the entire demonstration.
Ask:
Take a look at these balloons. How would you describe these balloons?
(They’re fun and colorful, all different sizes and shapes, there’s lots of them, etc.)
This is (teenage girl’s name) and each of these balloons represent some of the wonderful things about her. (point to any balloon, except the blue or red one) This balloon represents her love for books. And this balloon is for her joyful smile. And this balloon is for her beautiful eyes. And this one is for her faith in God. And this one is for her great laugh. When we take a step back and see all the different balloons, you can see how fun and exciting being yourself really is!
Who can tell me what the word respect means? (treating others with kindness and the way you want to be treated, not saying mean things, honoring someone, etc.)
Now, who can tell me what the word disrespect means? (being mean and rude, to insult someone, saying nasty things, pushing people around, disobeying God’s word, etc.)
Demonstrate:
When we disrespect someone, we are hurting them. Let’s demonstrate this: I need one volunteer to come up and pop a balloon. (pick an older male volunteer)
This red balloon represents (teen girl volunteer’s name) talent for being really good at sports.
One way we can be disrespectful is by being rude and making fun of someone’s talents. Saying bad words when we are angry, annoyed or jealous can hurt people really badly. It’s like we’re popping their balloon.
(Give the male volunteer a pin and tell him to pop the red balloon. Then, ask him to go back to his seat). (Point to the blue balloon in the cluster of balloons). This blue balloon represents (girl volunteer’s name) height.
Another way we show disrespect is by being mean and pushing someone around because of the way they look. For example, you may think they’re too small or too tall. By picking on someone, we can make them feel pretty sad (or bad) about themselves.
I need another volunteer to pop a balloon. (Pick another older girl volunteer) (Give the volunteer a pin and tell her to pop the blue balloon. Ask her to go back to her seat).
When we disrespect someone, it hurts them and it’s like we pop a piece of their heart.
What are some ways we can make this better? (Say you’re sorry, ask for forgiveness, try to be more respectful and kind to others, etc.)
(Leader asks the boy and girl volunteer who popped the balloons to come back to the front).
Give the boy a red balloon and the girl a blue balloon. Note: The boy & girl are blowing up the balloon in the same colour as the one they popped. Blow up your balloon and tie it up. It’s important that we tell those we’ve hurt: “I’m sorry, please forgive me.” Now, you can give your balloon to (teenage girl’s name). When we say “I’m sorry,” and “please forgive me,” we are doing our best to start over and make things right again.
Explain:
We need to respect everyone for their differences. The Bible says: “Do to others what you would have them do to you.”
Let’s pray…. Lord Jesus, please show us how to be loving and kind. Help us to respect everyone’s differences and to treat others the way we would want to be treated. Amen.
Day 3 Virtue Demonstration: COMPASSION
You’ll need:
- Two cookies and two licorice (or candy)
- 2 small plastic sandwich bags
Prep:
- Insert a cookie and a licorice into each “treat” bag.
Ask:
I’m going to show you a demonstration about compassion. But first, I have a few questions for you.
Does anyone know what the word “compassion” means? (caring deeply for those who suffer, a feeling of wanting to help someone who is sick, hungry, in trouble, etc.)
I need four volunteers. (Pick a boy and a girl to come to the front and have them stand on your left side. Pick another boy and girl to stand on your right side.)
“I’m going to give the 2 of you on my left, each a “treat” bag containing a big cookie and a licorice. (give out the two “treat” bags)
Oops... I only have two “treat” bags. For the two of you on my right, I’m not able to give you anything. *moment of silence as the injustice settles on everyone.
Ask the audience: How do you feel about these two not getting any treats? (It’s not fair, I feel sad for them...etc.)
(Ask the first two volunteers on your left)
How do you feel about these two not getting any treats? (I feel sad for them. it makes me want to share my candy with them, etc.)
Explain:
What you’re feeling towards these two who didn’t get any treats is compassion, because you’re concerned and you’re caring for them. You feel like you want to do something to help them. Compassion is caring about other people’s sadness and suffering and trying your best to help them out with your prayers and/or actions.
Ask the audience: What can we do to show compassion towards our 2 volunteers on the right? (encourage them with words by telling them,
“It’ll be okay”, perhaps some of us have something we can share with them; we can suggest that the other 2 volunteers share half of their cookies and licorice)
(Ask the two volunteers on the left)
What can you do to show compassion towards these 2 on my right? (share the cookies and licorice)
We all have the chance to be compassionate; to be mindful of the needs of others and share with those in need. We need to show compassion, especially where there is injustice. You can have that same compassion for others as you had here for the kids who didn’t receive the cookies or licorice.
Some examples of being compassionate could be:
- You can reach out to any kid who’s being picked on in school and invite him or her to play a game or just have a chat.
- If you see someone on crutches, you could offer to help carry his books or bags or open the door for him.
- You can visit the lonely people in care homes or the sick people in hospitals with a parent or grandparent.
- If you know someone in your school who has special needs or is in a wheel chair, you could ask him if you can spend time together and if there’s anything you can do to help out.
- If you hear news that an older person in your parish died, you could make their family a sympathy card and bake them cookies or cupcakes.
There are many opportunities throughout our day when we can show compassion towards other people. We just need to reach out with our hearts and always be ready to ask, “What can I do to help you?”
Let’s pray… Lord Jesus, please help us to care about others who are suffering and always be ready to be there for them. Amen.
Day 4 Virtue Demonstration: HELPFULNESS
You’ll need:
- Pre-planned volunteer #1 (ages 12-16)
- 2 Boxes of Straws (approx. 200 straws in a box) (each box of straws is a different color)
Ask:
I am going to show you a demonstration of helpfulness but first, I have a question for you.
What does it mean to be helpful? (helping someone do a job, doing things without being asked, being kind, cleaning up messes, etc.)
Demonstrate:
Volunteer #1 walks on stage with a huge handful of straws (approx. 200, all one color) and pretends to trip. As he/she falls, the straws should go flying into the air.
Wow! What a mess! These straws show us how messy some accidents can be. When we stop and take the time to help someone, we make them feel better. When no one offers to help, cleaning up can be a very long and lonely job. (Volunteer #1’s name) will show us what it looks like when no one offers to help him/her. Volunteer #1 begins picking up the straws slowly.
Hold up another box of straws of a different color. These straws represent huge jobs (pull out a straw from the box) like cleaning the whole house or (pull out another straw) taking in the groceries from the car. I need one volunteer (#2). Give the volunteer 200 straws of a different color and ask him/her to throw them into the air.
Who wants to help pick these (color) straws up? (Pick numerous or all volunteers from the crowd to help.)
Once done, have all kids return to their spot. Motion to volunteer #1 still picking up the first straws and show the difference between the two jobs. See how (volunteer #1’s name) is still working at picking up straws.
Explain:
Even though he/she had more time to clean up, we are all done and he/she is not even close.
Whether it’s cleaning up spilled food, broken things or helping with really big jobs, we can lend a hand and help the people around us. It’s easy to laugh and have fun when we all work together.
Who wants to help pick up the rest of the straws? (Pick numerous or all volunteers)
Can you think of some ways, during your day, that you can be helpful? (answers may vary)
- If someone drops their books in school, help them pick them up.
- If your baby sister spills a glass of juice, you could run to clean up the spill.
- If your mom is swamped with laundry or the dishes, you could help her with them without being asked.
- You could help your grandma and grandpa carry things inside the house.
- You could visit with people who may be lonely in retirement homes or hospitals.
There are millions of ways to be helpful. No matter how the straws got onto the ground, they all need to be picked up. We can choose to let one person tackle the huge job or we can step in, have fun and be helpful.
It’s very good to always be ready to ask, “Is there something I can do to help you?”
The Bible says: (show Bible)
“God is my helper” (Ps 54:4). If God helps us in everything, we should always be ready to help the people around us.
Let’s bow our heads and pray together. Lord Jesus, please show us how to think of others and help them whenever we can. Help us to always be thoughtful and kind. Amen.
Day 5 Virtue Demonstration: CHEERFULNESS
You’ll need:
- 1 (pre-planned) youth volunteer who can whistle the “Happy Birthday” tune.
- A chalkboard
Ask:
I’m going to do a little demonstration about cheerfulness, but first I have a few questions for you…
Who knows what the word “cheerfulness” means? (showing happiness, looking on the bright side)
We’re going to act out the answers to these questions together as a group.
Without making any sound, can you show me what cheerfulness looks like? (huge smiles, big eyes, sitting taller, dancing in their spot, looking happy)
Look at the people around you. How do you feel? (happy, excited, cheerful, etc.)
Being very quiet, can you show me what grumpiness looks like? (big frowns, eyebrows lowered, wrinkled nose, slumped shoulders, crossed arms...etc)
Look around at everyone again. How do you feel now? (sad, scared, mean, discouraged, etc.)
Explain:
A lot of the time, we don’t have to say anything. Our body language can show how we feel. Obviously, we can all see that it’s much better to be cheerful than to be grumpy.
Now, we are going to use our ears. There are sounds we all enjoy, like the sound of people laughing, giggling, cheering and whistling.
Can you all show me what cheerfulness sounds like? (giggles, cheering, clapping, laughter, whistling, etc.)
Introduce youth volunteer #1. He/she is whistling Happy Birthday and skipping or dancing around cheerfully.
When you hear someone whistling & dancing like this, how does it make you feel? (Pick three volunteers to answer.)
(cheerful, fun, happy, like laughing, like smiling, etc.)
Have the volunteer go back to his/her seat.
I need a volunteer to scratch their nails on this chalkboard. (Pick an older child or teen volunteer.)
There are sounds that no one really likes, such as the sound of nails on a chalkboard or the sound of grumbling and whining. (Have the volunteer scratch his/her nails on the chalkboard.)
When someone is grumpy, it can be a lot like the sound of nails on a chalkboard. They can make the people around them cringe and shudder. We don’t want to be like that to others. (Have the volunteer go back to his/her seat.)
When we are cheerful (you may choose to whistle a tune and dance around), we can give life to the people around us and give them the chance to smile.
When we are grumpy (you may choose to stomp around and frown), it doesn’t give life and instead can make people feel awkward and sad.
We need to remember to be cheerful even when life becomes hard. There will be times when we will want to be grumpy, but we have to remember that an important part of cheerfulness is to always look on the bright side. God will be there to help us as we practice this. Saying goodbye to grumpiness and hello to cheerfulness is a fun and exciting way to live!
The Bible says: “Make a joyful noise to the Lord.” Psalm 98:4
Let’s pray… Lord Jesus, please teach us to be cheerful and kind. Help us to bring life and happiness wherever we go. Amen.
