This lesson teaches children that listening to wise parents and teachers helps us make good choices, and that God’s wisdom leads to a good life. It suits children ages 5 to 11 and takes about 20 to 30 minutes, including a short story, a few Bible readings, and a simple activity.
Big Idea
God gives us wise people to help us, and when we listen to them, we choose what is good and right. Listening is a way of showing we trust God.
Memory Verse
Proverbs 13:1
A wise son listens to his father’s instruction, but a scoffer doesn’t listen to rebuke.
(WEB)
Cup both hands in front of your ears, then bring them down slowly as you say the words together. Then tap your head twice to remind everyone that wisdom starts with thinking carefully and listening well.
The Story: Proverbs 13 for Kids
King Solomon was a wise king, and he wrote many short sayings to teach people how to live. In Proverbs 13, he tells us about two kinds of children. One child listens when his father explains what is right. The other child laughs at correction and will not listen at all.
Solomon says the wise child is happy because he listens and follows good instruction. He is careful with his words, so he does not get into trouble by saying things that hurt people. When someone tells him he has made a mistake, he thinks about it instead of getting angry.
Solomon also talks about hard work. He says the hard worker gets what he needs, but the lazy person keeps wanting things and never gets them. A lazy person may wish and wish, but nothing happens. The diligent person works, and his hard work brings good results.
Then Solomon makes a point about honesty. He says a good person hates lies. He tells us that someone who keeps learning from wise people grows wise too. If you spend time with friends who make good choices, you become wiser. But if you spend time with foolish friends, you can get hurt.
Solomon ends by reminding us that God is faithful to those who live rightly. Good people are blessed, and their children can be blessed too. Listening to wise teaching is one of the best things we can do.
Read It Together
Proverbs 13:3
He who guards his mouth guards his soul. One who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.
(WEB)
Point out how the verse connects what we say with what we keep in our hearts. Ask children why guarding our words is a way of guarding our souls, and let them share examples of words that have helped or hurt someone.
Proverbs 13:13-14
13 Whoever despises instruction will pay for it, but he who respects a command will be rewarded. 14 The teaching of the wise is a spring of life, to turn from the snares of death.
(WEB)
Explain that instruction is like a spring of water that keeps us alive. Show how respecting a command leads to a good reward, and how wise teaching helps us stay away from danger.
Proverbs 13:20
One who walks with wise men grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.
(WEB)
Talk about how the people we spend time with shape us over time. Help children name a friend or family member who helps them grow wise, and think together about how they can choose good company.
Talk About It
- Who is someone who gives you wise advice, and what is one thing they have taught you?
- Why do you think it can be hard to listen when someone corrects us?
- What is one word you can say today that helps someone instead of hurting them?
- How can working hard at something you care about help you feel good inside?
- What kind of friends do you think help us grow wise, and how can we be that kind of friend?
Activity Ideas
Wise Ear Drawing
You will need paper, crayons or markers, and a pencil. Ask each child to draw a large ear on the paper and write or draw one piece of wise advice they have heard inside it. Let them share their ear with the group and explain what their advice means to them.
Listen and Move Game
You will need a open space and a few simple instructions written on index cards, like “hop three times” or “touch your nose.” Read one card at a time and have the children follow it quickly and carefully. Talk afterward about how listening closely helped them do the right thing.
Take-Home Wisdom Jar
You will need a clean jar, scrap paper, and a pen. Each day this week, ask the child to write one wise thing a parent or teacher told them and drop it into the jar. Read the notes together at the end of the week and thank God for the people who teach them.
Teacher Notes
For adults, Proverbs 13 shows that wisdom is practical and rooted in a life of humility. It contrasts those who receive correction with those who scorn it, and it links right speech, diligent work, and good friendships with a life that honors God. Teachers and parents can model this by being willing to receive correction themselves.
Avoid promising children that obedience will always bring material rewards or that trouble only happens to people who make mistakes. Proverbs speaks in general patterns, and the wider Bible shows that good people also suffer. Keep the focus on God’s character and the value of wisdom, not on guaranteed outcomes.
A Prayer to Close
Father, thank You for the wise people You have given us to teach and guide us. Help us listen carefully when we are corrected, and help us choose good words and good friends. Give us hearts that love wisdom and want to follow You every day. Amen.
