Definition:

Integrity means being honest, and responsible and respectful all the time, whether or not people can see what you’re doing. 

In short:

Do the right thing, even when no one's looking. 

Summary:
This clever story is about cookie integrity - what does it mean to live by our values and virtues when we are around very delicious cookies? Do we act with patience, respect, fairness, generosity, instead of impatience, greediness, or selfishness in our decisions about making, eating, and sharing cookies?  

Lesson Objectives: 

1. We can find ourselves in many of the situations presented in this story, where we struggle to demonstrate good behavior around cookies. Students will be more inclined to remember these lessons and act virtuously when faced with decisions about cookies (or anything delicious).

Guiding Questions: 

1. Share about your very favorite type of cookie. 
2. Have you ever baked cookies? Was it hard not to eat the batter? 
3. Did you find it hard to wait while the cookies were in the oven? 
4. Are there other times when it’s hard to wait for something? What happened? 
5. Do you have a hard time sharing - toys, cookies, anything? Can you talk yourself into sharing, or not? 
6. How do you feel when you’re able to share when you don’t feel like it? 
7. If I ask you to hold my cookie, can I trust you not to eat it? 
8. What does pessimistic mean? What does optimistic mean? 
9. Have you ever had regret after eating too many cookies? 
10. If you have a favorite cookie and there’s only one, would you share it with a close friend or family member?