Isaiah tells of a coming Messiah VIDEO Workshop:
"Patience"... demonstrated by the famous "Marshmallow Test"

During a brainstorming session in this forum, several people identified the theme of "PATIENCE AND WAITING" which are key theological concepts in Isaiah's promise of a Messiah and the season of Advent. I'm building on that here...

There are several videos on YouTube showing the marshmallow test. This one is about 4 minutes long and is a good discussion kick-starter.  You can have the class view it online.

What's very interesting about this experiment, is that it is used to illustrate the psychological and development benefits of waiting/patience.

Here is a link to an article on Edutopia by Anissa Ramirez (a TED scientist) on the "benefits of being/learning patience," -particularly as they relate to child development.

This is not so far-fetched from scripture!  Paul wrote in Romans 5:3-5 "suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,5 and hope does not disappoint us....

See my discussion/Bible notes on "WAITING" for Messiah. They are in the Bible Skills & Games Workshop in this story forum.

FOLLOW-UP VIDEO IDEA for reflection/discussion:  

Make your own 3- minute video showing YOUR students waiting for the Messiah.  

Setting: Create the marshmallow test 'room' seen in the above video, and wrap a Christmas gift with a big tag clearly marked "Messiah."  Have the teacher or another student enter the room to place the present in front of the student.

Give each student 10 seconds of video time to act impatient, look under the box, lick it, sniff it, pick it up and rattle it. Maybe have one walk away. Have one rip it open only to find another box with a tag titled "wait".  

For your own yucks, view the 3 minute adult spoof on the marshmallow test also on YouTube.