SAY IT:
Hold a contest with your family members to see who can say the definition the fastest.
Patience: Waiting until later for what you want now
KNOW IT:
ASK A GROWN-UP:
• Can you think of a time in your life when you had to wait a long time to get what you
wanted? When you finally got it, was it worth the wait?
ASK A KID:
• What’s something you really want right now, but you know you have to wait for it? Is it
difficult to wait patiently?
SEE IT:
There’s a popular psychology experiment that demonstrates the difficult task of having
patience. The concept is simple. A child is given a marshmallow and told that they can eat the marshmallow now, but if they wait ten minutes they would get to eat two marshmallows. The reactions of the children are often quite amusing as they face the challenge of delayed gratification. Check out this video and see some funny reactions as some kids struggle to have patience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g75lwNUpUQg. As many of us know from experience, sometimes it is hard to have patience. As an ancient proverb reminds us, “Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.”
BE IT:
Let’s try a little challenge of our own. Find a quarter and put it in a cup or bowl of water and put it in the freezer. Once the cup of water is completely frozen, take it out and get ready to let it thaw. Here’s the catch- you have to watch the contents of the cup the entire time while it is melting. Once it has melted, you get to spend the quarter. Some other variations could be to freeze some Kool-Aid, Coca-Cola, or other favorite drink and the challenge is to watch it melt before you get to drink it. Be creative and come up with some other experiments to practice patience.