We all want our kids to be “good.” Even strangers want our kids to be good (I know this because of all their helpful tips). But what really makes something good? And how can we teach our kids about this? By making cookies, of course! Here’s an experiment I came up with based on an article I wrote for Focus on the Family.
- Get your ingredients: Cookie dough, sugar, salt. We used the packaged store cookies because some days I don’t have it in me to get my Martha Stewart on.
- Put salt on top of some and sugar on the rest. (You can also mix it into the dough if you’re making cookies from scratch). The kids love to help with this part.
- Bake the cookies. Put some of each kind on a plate (it shouldn’t be obvious which is which).
- Ask the kids if they look good. Can they figure out which have salt vs. sugar just by looking at them? How about by tasting them? Make sure they get a chance to taste both kinds.
Teaching Points
- Not everything that looks good really is. Explain how the salty ones look good on the outside but don’t taste good because of what’s on the inside. God cares about our hearts more than appearances (1 Samuel 16:7).
- Sometimes we act like salty cookies. We do things that look good on the outside, but maybe we don’t really mean it or we’re doing it for selfish or other reasons.
- Since only God is truly good (Mark 10:17-18), He is the “ingredient” that creates true goodness in our hearts. We can ask him to give us His goodness so we can be more like Him. He wants to help us!
Other Ideas
- Depending on how many cookies you make, you can carry this on for a while. They love the suspense of wondering which kind of cookie they will get when they “pick”. Use it as a chance to continue the conversation since kids learn through repetition.
- Ask them to think of situations where they may act more like a salty cookie — appearing good on the outside, but not pleasing God with their hearts.
Do you like to make cookies with your kids? What other ways can we teach our kids about God’s kind of goodness? I’d love to hear what you think!
Wife, mother, and child of God trying to live out His calling to invest in the nest He’s given me. Follow along as I share my attempts to live up to this awesome responsibility.
blessed {with a nest} 