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.
