A “Tail” of Two Balloons

“Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick tempered displays folly.” Proverbs 14:29

Items needed:

2 balloons

Instructions:

Blow up balloons before class, knot one at the bottom but keep the other one unknotted (but keep this fact hidden from the kids)
Arrange for a helper to hold the balloons until you are ready for them…keeping the air in the unknotted balloon by pinching it tightly at the bottom
Draw a happy face on the knotted one & an angry face on the other, if desired
Divide kids into two teams
Ask first team to come to front & form a circle while other team remains seated
Say: “We are going to have a friendly competition between teams to see which team can keep their balloon up in the air the longest. The following rules apply:

No one may catch & hold the balloon
No one may hit the balloon 2x in a row
If it hits the ground or comes to rest on any surface, the round is over

We have 2 balloons. One is ‘Penelope Patient’ & the other is ‘Quentin Quick Temper.’ Team 1 will go first & see how long they can keep ‘Ms Patient’ up in the air. We will then give Team 2 a turn to try to beat their score with ‘Mr Q.'”

On the call of “GO,” have your helper throw the knotted balloon into the middle of Team 1’s circle.
Begin counting each time the balloon is hit according to the rules
Once one of the conditions listed above is not met, their round is over & the number of hits is their score
Team 1 sits & Team 2 forms a circle at the front
Explain that the same rules apply, except they will be playing with ‘Mr Quick Temper” (the unknotted balloon)
Ask if they think they can beat Team 1’s score!!??
At “GO,” helper throws filled, unknotted balloon into center of circle (as you can imagine, the unknotted balloon deflates quickly & sporadically once the helper lets go of the tail)
After explaining application (see below!)…be sure to give Team 2 another chance w/ the knotted balloon!

Application:

This game was a picture of what it is like to be around a patient person & a quick tempered person!

When someone “loses their cool” easily, like “Mr Quick Temper,” it’s difficult for everyone around them! Even though Team 2 was trying to work together…that balloon was unpredictable & frustrating to everyone around it! Nothing was able to get accomplished!!

The team that was working with “Ms Patient” wasn’t completely free of problems…but it made their job MUCH easier & they were able to be much more successful!

It’s true in real life as well! Doesn’t your family run more smoothly when everyone is patient? Doesn’t it make even difficult tasks more enjoyable when everyone is calm, steady, peaceful & kind?

On the other hand, when someone in your family or friend group constantly “explodes” with anger…no matter how hard everyone around them is trying to work together & do the right thing…it makes it almost impossible to be successful !!

Have you ever been around someone who loses their cool & explodes with anger at the littlest thing? (Don’t say their name!!! Just raise your hand if you know someone like that!)

Do you enjoy being around people like that??? (No! I don’t either!!)

The Bible says that a quick tempered person (someone who is easily angered) displays folly. (In other words…they show everyone how foolish they are!)

Don’t be a quick tempered person!!

Be patient!! …it will make you a much better & more enjoyable person to be around, and most importantly, it’s pleasing to God!!