A lesson · Big Ego, Little Ego
Grade 3-5Big Ego, Little Ego
A flashlight runs out. A mirror never does — because a mirror was never making its own light in the first place.
Assumptions & Caveats
Before you begin
What you should know
This age group is right at the edge of comparing two systems side by side — not yet ready to hold a self-reflective idea and a wordplay idea (capital E vs. lowercase e) at the same time. So this version skips the letters entirely and teaches the exact same truth through two objects they already understand: a flashlight and a mirror. A flashlight has to make its own light and runs out. A mirror never runs out, because it was never making its own light — it’s just showing you light that’s already there. That’s the whole lesson. Nothing you don’t already have for prep beyond the two objects below.
What we’re assuming
- Most kids this age already know exactly what it feels like to compare themselves to a friend — who got picked first, whose drawing got complimented, who scored the goal. - This isn’t the moment to say competition or trying hard is bad. The point is narrower: whatever it is you’re trying to shine at, you were never actually supposed to be the one generating your own light. - Keep it moving — this age group’s attention holds for a demonstration and a craft, not a long sit-down discussion.
What we're assuming
Learning goals
What they walk away with
1. Notice one moment this week they felt like they had to “be the brightest.” 2. Understand — as an actual comparison, not just a phrase — the difference between something that makes its own light and something that reflects light. 3. Carry one phrase: “I don’t have to make my own light. I already reflect it.” 4. Locate one real moment (a game, a grade, a compliment someone else got) where this applies.
How to hold the room
Before you start talking
- Let them do the comparing. Hold up the flashlight and the mirror and ask which one has to work harder to keep shining — let them land on the answer themselves. - Pairs of 2-3 for the discussion moments work better than one big circle at this age. - If the room gets silly demonstrating the flashlight dimming, that’s fine — ride it into the lesson rather than fighting it.
The lesson flow
Step by step
Each beat alternates a little input, a little doing, and a little reflecting. Skip, slow down, or stretch any of these to fit your group.
Two objects, no explanation yet
Hold up a flashlight and a small mirror. Ask: “What does each of these do? What does each one need to keep working?”
Let a few kids answer. Someone will likely say the flashlight needs batteries. Ask what happens to a flashlight’s batteries the longer and brighter you run it.
Catch the light
Take the mirror to a window or under a light and catch the light with it — show how it reflects without “using up” anything. Ask: “Does the mirror ever run low? Does it ever need new batteries?”
Ask: “If I held up a second mirror right next to this one, in the same light — does the first mirror get dimmer because the second one is shining too?” (No.) “What if I had two flashlights, and we were trying to see whose was brighter?” (Now it’s a competition — and eventually, both run down.)
Which one are you today?
Pairs discussion (2 minutes each way): “Think about a day you were comparing yourself to a friend — trying to be the fastest, the funniest, the best at something. Did that feel more like being a flashlight, working hard to shine? Now think of a day you were just doing your own thing and felt good anyway, without needing to be the best at anything. Did that feel more like the mirror?”
Naming it
“Here’s something wonderful: this is how Christian Science says God actually works, and how it says you actually work too. God’s name, way back in the Bible, was basically ‘the One who just IS’ — doesn’t run out, doesn’t have to prove it, doesn’t need batteries.”
“And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM.”
Exodus 3:14
“And Science and Health, one of the books this whole website is built on, says something that sounds a lot like our mirror:”
“All the objects of God’s creation reflect one Mind.”
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 588:9–19
“You don’t have to be the flashlight, working to make your own light and worried about running out. You get to be the mirror — already catching light that’s already there, and it never runs dry.”
Craft: make your mirror
Give each kid a paper circle covered with foil or shiny paper. On it, they write or draw one thing that reminds them they’re the mirror, not the flashlight.
Teach the phrase with a simple motion (hands opening outward, like catching light): “I don’t have to make my own light. I already reflect it.” Say it together 2-3 times.
What you'll need
The materials
- A working flashlight and a small hand mirror
- Paper circles, foil or shiny paper, glue, markers — one set per child
- Print and hand out the “Flashlight or Mirror?” takeaway so each kid takes the idea home
If it's not going well
When this one gets heavy
If a child seems more upset than curious talking about being compared to a friend or sibling — especially if it sounds like an ongoing pattern, not just an ordinary kid moment — don’t press for more in the group. Follow up with them individually after class, and consult the site’s mentor safety guidelines (For Mentors page) if what you’re hearing sounds like it goes beyond ordinary kid comparison.
For the fuller tiered guidance — including what to do if someone discloses something serious — see For Mentors.
Help this get better
Teaching this to a group we haven't planned for?
Tell us — this only gets better with your eyes on it. We read every one of these.