Fruit Basket Upset gets kids up and moving. In this game, children sit in a circle and each child silently chooses one fruit of the spirit. One child begins the game by standing in the middle of the circle and calling out any one of the fruits. When a fruit is called out, any child who silently picked that fruit must stand up and quickly sit in another person's seat. The one who was in the middle of the circle should rush to sit in someone else's seat. This will leave one person who takes a turn being in the middle.
Kids will be able to recite the fruits of the spirit after spending time searching for the fruits in a word search puzzle. As they work to find the words forwards, backwards, up, down and diagonal, the kids will begin to remember each fruit specifically. You might even test their knowledge by having them repeat each fruit aloud after completing the word search.
After reviewing the fruits of the spirit, help the Sunday School class follow fruit recipes. These recipes may include chocolate-covered strawberries or fruit kabobs. While the kids are enjoying the snacks, review the fruits of the spirit.
To emphasize the need to bear the fruits of the spirit in daily life, give each child a red balloon. The balloons represent apples. Fill the balloons with sand and tie the balloons closed. These are stress apples and the kids can squeeze them any time they feel angry, sad, frustrated or stressed. Squeezing the stress apples can serve as a reminder that they need to show the fruits of the spirit in place of negative emotions.