Hope For Kids When School Is HardSample

“Do you have more unfinished homework?” Lucas’s mom asked, grabbing his backpack and pulling out a crumpled piece of paper. 

Lucas watched his mother’s face turn red. Oh no, he thought. She’s found the math quiz.

“What is this?” she asked angrily.

“A quiz. I told you I was no good at math.”

“Why did you leave it crumpled in your bag?”

“I didn’t want you to get mad!” Lucas said.

His mother flopped into a chair. “Well I am mad!” she said. Then she was quiet for a minute. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

“You know,” she said, “last week I got a complaint from someone who didn’t like my work. My first reaction was anger. ‘How dare they!’ Then I thought about it more. Maybe there was something I did wrong. I got less mad and more sad. So I talked to my boss and we thought of ways to fix it.” 

“I feel kind of sad,” said Lucas.

“Okay,” said his mom, “Let’s think of what to do next.”

How do you feel when you fail at school or at work? Angry or sad? Being angry is normal, but being sad is useful. Jesus said, “blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

Sadness opens us up to God and to other people. When you’re sad you can ask forgiveness and you can ask for help. Both of those are hard when you’re angry. 

If you ask for help with your struggles at school, you can find help and comfort. In a funny way, sadness can be the start of success. 

Try this: Parents and kids, on scraps of paper write down 5 things that make you mad about school or about work. Ex: MATH IS TOO HARD. Put scraps in a bowl. Pick one hardship and describe it dramatically, using three different emotions. First ANGRY, then SAD, and finally HAPPY. Ex: for MATH IS TOO HARD, beat your chest like the Hulk screaming, “Argh! Math homework! Must destroy!” Then act overdramatically sad and cry, “Math tests are a tragedy!” Finally, act out being happy. Jump around and say, “More math problems? Goodie, I loooove math!” Who can be silliest?

Prayer

God, take away my anger, and turn my sadness to joy. I trust you, God. Amen.

More tips: 14 Ways To Teach Kids To Be Grateful.