How do you imbed the fruit of the Spirit into your classroom? Or, if you haven’t previously considered this, how might you go about it now?

[Austin]

I imbed the fruit of the Spirit by living them myself. Am I joyful to show up to work each day or am I grumbling and complaining? I also point out when I show a student showing a fruit of the Spirit. If I see a student displaying a fruit of the Spirit, I put their name on the board. If a child’s name is on the board, they can earn special treats: a sticker, a special pencil, 5 extra minutes of recess, etc.. I also give opportunities for my children to show love, joy, peace, patience, kindness… For example, when we are getting ready for a Christmas Program, or School play I take my first grade students into the gym to help set up chairs.

[Austin]

Our rules are connected directly to the fruit of the Spirit and also, we pray daily for the assistance of the Holy Spirit in our lives and speak of the gratitude that God loved us so much that he gave us the Spirit to be with us always.

[Austin]

We have a lot of group discussion in my courses. It is a good way for students to live out showing kindness, gentleness, and self-control among other things when discussing with their peers especially those who hold a different view.

[Austin]

This year the ‘Fruit of the Spirit’ was front and center in the curriculum we taught in Bible. In other years, when the life and ministry of Christ is taught, His example to us in relation to the ‘Fruit of the Spirit’ is highlighted.

[Austin]

It often helps in the classroom to anticipate situations in which students are more prone to make poor decisions and to discuss expectations and godly choices on the front end. Spending a few minutes each day to pray with them also helps to set a tone in which the fruit of the spirit are more likely to be evidenced, as they establish a community that shares with one another. Literature discussions can also provide a context for discussing the fruit of the spirit — though I might improve in this area by making the references to the fruit of the spirit more explicit.