We Thank Thee, O God, For A Prophet {{flipchart here}}
Sunday, April 22, 2018
We Thank Thee, O God, For A Prophet flipchart
Here is Verse 1 for "We Thank Thee, O God, For a Prophet" flipchart, with President Nelson's image. Enjoy!
We Thank Thee, O God, For A Prophet {{flipchart here}}
We Thank Thee, O God, For A Prophet {{flipchart here}}
Saturday, August 27, 2016
I Can Be A Friend {Lesson Helps}
Supplemental activities to go along with {I Can Be A Friend}, Sunbeam lesson #33 in the Primary 1 manual.
Coloring Page
I found this coloring page image from s-media-cache-ak0 and created a printable you can download here: {I Can Be A Friend free printable download coloring page}
Friendship Mix (treat).
Give each child a small sandwich bag of an individual snack (fruit loops, marshmallows, goldfish, cheerios, pretzels, m&ms, raisins, yogurt bites, etc.) and tell them NOT to open it. (They are three. They're going to want to open it.) Ask them if their treats look yummy. Explain that each bag by itself has a yummy treat in it. But what would happen if everyone added their treat together to a big bowl? Invite each child up one at a time and have them dump their treat into the big bowl. After all have done this, mix the snack mix up and show them how much better the treat will taste because they shared; now everyone in the classroom will get to taste ALL of the yummy treats! Then scoop some of the new friendship mix back into their baggies.
Friendship Game
This "game" is merely a fun tool used to generate discussion on what makes a good friend.
Saturday, July 23, 2016
In A Stable - Ward Christmas Celebration
Okay, my husband and I were actually put in charge of the Farmington Ranches 4th Ward Christmas Party - TWO AND A HALF YEARS AGO! I figured I better post these pictures and share before I forget -- again.
When I prayed and pondered over a theme for the party (I work best with a theme) I kept coming back to the idea of "Help the children come to know the Savior." We had about 250 primary kids at the time (3 nurseries!) so I took this inspiration very seriously. I then asked myself (and the Lord), "How can I make this about the Savior, and yet keep it fun for the kids?" The worst in my mind would be 250 bored little children packed into a warm gym. It had the potential of a runaway train. After many more days and weeks of praying (starting in September) I finally came to the theme of "In A Stable." I wanted to make the party about the kids and yet about our Savior. After the initial idea of a theme, I was blessed with 8 committee members (4 wonderful couples) and we set to work. We had one big planning/brainstorming meeting and the rest was done via email.
Who: Everyone!
Objective: Celebrate the birth of Christ, Fellowship, Missionary Work, Help children strengthen their testimony of the Savior.
Budget: $1200
Flyer: I had a blue background with a silhouette of the stable, and all of the event details in white font. I forgot to save a copy of the hard copy to share, but here is the "banner" image we used on our Facebook Event page.
Set-Up: We had a huge ward with a half-court gym. Thankfully, I had an engineer on my committee! I told him how many of each sort of table we had, then he measured the gym and came up with a blueprint of how to set everything up. Here are some photos of that...
For decorations we bought rolls of plain newsprint paper from the local paper for $7 a roll. Then we re-used some red burlap from previous years as table runners (hand cut, "raw" edges). A lady in our ward had made little centerpieces for a RS dinner a few years back and still had these simple wood Jesus-in-a-manger pieces. We also found red glass votives in the storage closet, so we pulled those out and filled them with crayons from the library. In storage were also clear vases wrapped with red yarn and red "branches". My committee thought these would be a great accent and give a simple elegance to the room. The kids loved coloring on the paper while waiting for the food, by the way. We also took Hershey's kisses and spread them around on the tables just before everyone arrived.
One of my committee members bought some extra red burlap and made four wreaths to hang on the two far ends of the gym. She also brought in one of her extra Christmas Trees and decorated it with traditional decorations and white lights.
Menu:
Our ward is so big, which is why our budget for this event was so large. We spent very little money on the decor (3 rolls of news print x $7 = $21, Burlap for wreaths = donated by our committee member (who planned to use them in her home after the ward party), and about $35 to print up about 300 invites (4x6 photo), which the Deacons delivered while they were out collected Fast Offerings.
This left us a really good chunk of money for the food.
We bought spiral hams, bagged salad, ranch dressing, potatoes, foil, dinner rolls, butter, sour cream, and shredded cheese - all from Costco.
We were told that even though we had over 600 members in our ward, typically only about 350 come to the party (this is still THREE TIMES more than in my previous ward!). So, we planned for 375, just in case. A word to the wise. Plan on only half a potato, half as much sour cream, and about half the salad as what the serving sizes say. Little kids cannot eat that much. We had way too much of these left over - which we took to families in need.
For dessert, we decided to do a Brownie Bar, which we asked ward members to donate.
About 3 Sundays before the party, we circulated copies of 2 different sign-up sheets. 1 - asking for volunteers to help cook the potatoes at home and drop them off at the church by 5p. (We bought the potatoes and dropped off 2 lbs of potatoes and a roll of foil to each volunteer.) 2 - we also asked for volunteers to donate 1 pan of brownies UN-CUT, any type they wanted to bake. We asked for 20 people to sign up for this, but we had more than 30 women who did!
Other Activities:
It's going to sound like we had a lot of sign-up sheets. Well, we did. We ALSO had a sign up sheet for our Nativity Room. We set up the primary room with long tables covered in borrowed fancy table cloths. We asked for members who were willing, to bring in their nativity sets to display in this room. We provided little slips of paper, so they could put their name card in front of their nativity set. During the "Nativity Walk" (which I'll explain soon), we had one of our committee members "guard" this room to make sure no one touched any of the nativities on display.
We also had a Nativity Art Gallery. I bought a few packs of 14x17 drawing paper. I then printed up on small strips of paper these instructions, which I taped to the back of each blank drawing paper page: Please have (or help) your child draw or color their rendition of a nativity scene. This can be free drawing, water color, markers, crayon, a sketch, or as simple as tracing a picture. Under their drawing, please include their name and their age. Return completed drawings to ___________ by [date]. These drawings will be on display in our Nativity Walk Art Gallery during our Ward Christmas Party.
It was announced at the pulpit that every child ages 3-18 would receive this blank piece of paper in class to take home. About a week before the party, the Primary President and nursery workers allowed some of the children who might have been previously absent to draw or color their nativity picture.
These drawings were hung in one of the hallways leading from the gym door down to the primary room.
I was so fortunate to have some great helpers on my committee! I know this sounds like a lot of prep work, but when delegated, I honestly felt like I didn't do a whole heck of a lot.
Here is how it all went down...
Brownies and potatoes were dropped off in the kitchen and we had several helpers distributing 2 different types of brownies per dessert plate and place them in the adjacent YW room on tables. Potatoes were kept in a warmer.
Just outside of the kitchen doors, we set up a serving station. We had a Salad Server (a gloved hand is a fast way to "dish up" salad onto someone's plate!) (dressing in bowls already on tables), a Ham Server (someone else was in the kitchen slicing it), a baked potato server (people could select "half" or "whole", butter & sour cream on tables), and a Roll Server ("one or two?").
After the opening prayer, everyone was instructed through which door they should go to retrieve their food. We tried our best to streamline this process and we were complimented by many, stating that ours was the fastest food service line of any ward party they had attended! It helped to have a kitchen "gopher" who went back and forth from the kitchen to the serving stations, replenishing needed items.
After everyone was served, and mostly finished eating, we announced it was time for the Nativity Gallery Walk. They were told that talking was not allowed during the nativity walk. They were told they would walk through the Youth Gallery, and to please stop and enjoy the artwork in the halls. At the end of the hall, they would enter one door of the primary room, where they could view the nativities of some of our very own members, but no touching. Once they exited out of the other primary room door, they would continue to follow the hallway around to the the YW room, where they would pick up one plate of dessert per person, and then return to the gym to enjoy their dessert. They were reminded again, no talking. If they must speak, to please do so in a whisper. We had some soft music playing over the speaker from the chapel, which helped set the tone. One table at a time, they were dismissed through the southwest gym door and after one group was about halfway down the hall, the next table was dismissed. This worked out soooo well! The kids would point and smile as they saw their own artwork. It was fun to hear everyone take the no talking seriously too. Even though there were lots of excited whispers, it was reverent.
(To help keep the flow of traffic through the designated doors, we had printed and hung "Please Use Other Door" signs on the doors we did not want them to use.)
Once back in the gym, some of our committee members did a nativity puppet show to an audio recording of the nativity story and song. (I was busy in the kitchen, so I only popped in to take a quick picture, and therefore couldn't tell you what the story was, but you could easily do sock puppets to "The Friendly Beasts" recording if desired.)
After the puppet show, we had the bishop add a few closing remarks and we also had him announce seconds on brownies and the children could take their pictures off the wall and take them home, then we had the closing prayer. So many people stayed to help clean up, it was wonderful!
We started PROMPTLY at 6:30p and we were completely done with the activity BEFORE 8p! I was shocked at how quickly we managed to get everyone through the line. Seriously. We had advertised 6:30p-8:30p. But I think many were happy we were finished early as they wanted to get their littles home to bed.
Here are some additional pictures:
Nativity Walk Youth Art Gallery
The Nativity Room
The Brownie Room (older kids of the committee members LOVED helping in this room)
Nativity Puppet Show
Turn-Out: 350 people, give or take a few, judging by the fact nearly every seat was taken.
Let me know if you decide to do something like this for your ward Christmas party! And good luck!
When I prayed and pondered over a theme for the party (I work best with a theme) I kept coming back to the idea of "Help the children come to know the Savior." We had about 250 primary kids at the time (3 nurseries!) so I took this inspiration very seriously. I then asked myself (and the Lord), "How can I make this about the Savior, and yet keep it fun for the kids?" The worst in my mind would be 250 bored little children packed into a warm gym. It had the potential of a runaway train. After many more days and weeks of praying (starting in September) I finally came to the theme of "In A Stable." I wanted to make the party about the kids and yet about our Savior. After the initial idea of a theme, I was blessed with 8 committee members (4 wonderful couples) and we set to work. We had one big planning/brainstorming meeting and the rest was done via email.
Who: Everyone!
Objective: Celebrate the birth of Christ, Fellowship, Missionary Work, Help children strengthen their testimony of the Savior.
Budget: $1200
Flyer: I had a blue background with a silhouette of the stable, and all of the event details in white font. I forgot to save a copy of the hard copy to share, but here is the "banner" image we used on our Facebook Event page.
Set-Up: We had a huge ward with a half-court gym. Thankfully, I had an engineer on my committee! I told him how many of each sort of table we had, then he measured the gym and came up with a blueprint of how to set everything up. Here are some photos of that...
For decorations we bought rolls of plain newsprint paper from the local paper for $7 a roll. Then we re-used some red burlap from previous years as table runners (hand cut, "raw" edges). A lady in our ward had made little centerpieces for a RS dinner a few years back and still had these simple wood Jesus-in-a-manger pieces. We also found red glass votives in the storage closet, so we pulled those out and filled them with crayons from the library. In storage were also clear vases wrapped with red yarn and red "branches". My committee thought these would be a great accent and give a simple elegance to the room. The kids loved coloring on the paper while waiting for the food, by the way. We also took Hershey's kisses and spread them around on the tables just before everyone arrived.
One of my committee members bought some extra red burlap and made four wreaths to hang on the two far ends of the gym. She also brought in one of her extra Christmas Trees and decorated it with traditional decorations and white lights.
Menu:
Our ward is so big, which is why our budget for this event was so large. We spent very little money on the decor (3 rolls of news print x $7 = $21, Burlap for wreaths = donated by our committee member (who planned to use them in her home after the ward party), and about $35 to print up about 300 invites (4x6 photo), which the Deacons delivered while they were out collected Fast Offerings.
This left us a really good chunk of money for the food.
We bought spiral hams, bagged salad, ranch dressing, potatoes, foil, dinner rolls, butter, sour cream, and shredded cheese - all from Costco.
We were told that even though we had over 600 members in our ward, typically only about 350 come to the party (this is still THREE TIMES more than in my previous ward!). So, we planned for 375, just in case. A word to the wise. Plan on only half a potato, half as much sour cream, and about half the salad as what the serving sizes say. Little kids cannot eat that much. We had way too much of these left over - which we took to families in need.
For dessert, we decided to do a Brownie Bar, which we asked ward members to donate.
About 3 Sundays before the party, we circulated copies of 2 different sign-up sheets. 1 - asking for volunteers to help cook the potatoes at home and drop them off at the church by 5p. (We bought the potatoes and dropped off 2 lbs of potatoes and a roll of foil to each volunteer.) 2 - we also asked for volunteers to donate 1 pan of brownies UN-CUT, any type they wanted to bake. We asked for 20 people to sign up for this, but we had more than 30 women who did!
Other Activities:
It's going to sound like we had a lot of sign-up sheets. Well, we did. We ALSO had a sign up sheet for our Nativity Room. We set up the primary room with long tables covered in borrowed fancy table cloths. We asked for members who were willing, to bring in their nativity sets to display in this room. We provided little slips of paper, so they could put their name card in front of their nativity set. During the "Nativity Walk" (which I'll explain soon), we had one of our committee members "guard" this room to make sure no one touched any of the nativities on display.
We also had a Nativity Art Gallery. I bought a few packs of 14x17 drawing paper. I then printed up on small strips of paper these instructions, which I taped to the back of each blank drawing paper page: Please have (or help) your child draw or color their rendition of a nativity scene. This can be free drawing, water color, markers, crayon, a sketch, or as simple as tracing a picture. Under their drawing, please include their name and their age. Return completed drawings to ___________ by [date]. These drawings will be on display in our Nativity Walk Art Gallery during our Ward Christmas Party.
It was announced at the pulpit that every child ages 3-18 would receive this blank piece of paper in class to take home. About a week before the party, the Primary President and nursery workers allowed some of the children who might have been previously absent to draw or color their nativity picture.
These drawings were hung in one of the hallways leading from the gym door down to the primary room.
I was so fortunate to have some great helpers on my committee! I know this sounds like a lot of prep work, but when delegated, I honestly felt like I didn't do a whole heck of a lot.
Here is how it all went down...
Brownies and potatoes were dropped off in the kitchen and we had several helpers distributing 2 different types of brownies per dessert plate and place them in the adjacent YW room on tables. Potatoes were kept in a warmer.
Just outside of the kitchen doors, we set up a serving station. We had a Salad Server (a gloved hand is a fast way to "dish up" salad onto someone's plate!) (dressing in bowls already on tables), a Ham Server (someone else was in the kitchen slicing it), a baked potato server (people could select "half" or "whole", butter & sour cream on tables), and a Roll Server ("one or two?").
After the opening prayer, everyone was instructed through which door they should go to retrieve their food. We tried our best to streamline this process and we were complimented by many, stating that ours was the fastest food service line of any ward party they had attended! It helped to have a kitchen "gopher" who went back and forth from the kitchen to the serving stations, replenishing needed items.
After everyone was served, and mostly finished eating, we announced it was time for the Nativity Gallery Walk. They were told that talking was not allowed during the nativity walk. They were told they would walk through the Youth Gallery, and to please stop and enjoy the artwork in the halls. At the end of the hall, they would enter one door of the primary room, where they could view the nativities of some of our very own members, but no touching. Once they exited out of the other primary room door, they would continue to follow the hallway around to the the YW room, where they would pick up one plate of dessert per person, and then return to the gym to enjoy their dessert. They were reminded again, no talking. If they must speak, to please do so in a whisper. We had some soft music playing over the speaker from the chapel, which helped set the tone. One table at a time, they were dismissed through the southwest gym door and after one group was about halfway down the hall, the next table was dismissed. This worked out soooo well! The kids would point and smile as they saw their own artwork. It was fun to hear everyone take the no talking seriously too. Even though there were lots of excited whispers, it was reverent.
(To help keep the flow of traffic through the designated doors, we had printed and hung "Please Use Other Door" signs on the doors we did not want them to use.)
Once back in the gym, some of our committee members did a nativity puppet show to an audio recording of the nativity story and song. (I was busy in the kitchen, so I only popped in to take a quick picture, and therefore couldn't tell you what the story was, but you could easily do sock puppets to "The Friendly Beasts" recording if desired.)
After the puppet show, we had the bishop add a few closing remarks and we also had him announce seconds on brownies and the children could take their pictures off the wall and take them home, then we had the closing prayer. So many people stayed to help clean up, it was wonderful!
We started PROMPTLY at 6:30p and we were completely done with the activity BEFORE 8p! I was shocked at how quickly we managed to get everyone through the line. Seriously. We had advertised 6:30p-8:30p. But I think many were happy we were finished early as they wanted to get their littles home to bed.
Here are some additional pictures:
Nativity Walk Youth Art Gallery
The Nativity Room
The Brownie Room (older kids of the committee members LOVED helping in this room)
Nativity Puppet Show
Turn-Out: 350 people, give or take a few, judging by the fact nearly every seat was taken.
Let me know if you decide to do something like this for your ward Christmas party! And good luck!
I Can Forgive Game and Coloring Page
Coloring page and activity to coincide with {{Lesson 30: I Can Forgive Others}}
Forgiveness Means Letting Go of Hard Feelings - Activity/Object Lesson
Prep: Gather 6 large rocks, and with a marker write on them words such as:
anger, sadness, frustration, disappointment, annoyed, impatient. Find a plastic ice cream bucket, beach pail, or a fabric bag, into which all of the rocks can fit.
Discuss: When we hold onto bad feelings because of something somebody else did, it actually makes us feel worse. But when we can let go of hard feelings and forgive others, we can feel free and happy.
Activity: Ask for a volunteer to come to the front of the class and hold the empty bucket.
Round One: Give a few scenarios, such as "Your little brother borrowed your favorite toy without asking and then he accidentally broke it. When he told you what happened, you were [insert emotion word on rock]." With each scenario, place one of the heavy rocks into the bucket. Ask the child things like, "Is the bucket getting heavier?" Depending on the size of the rocks, the child may not be able to hold all six. Allow other children to help hold the bucket if needed.
Round Two: Read the scenarios again, this time adding the following phrase to the end: ...and you said, "That's okay, I forgive you." Each time the scenario ends with this phrase allow the children to get rid of one of the rocks. Ask, "Is the bucket feeling lighter?" Continue until the bucket is completely empty.
I Can Say I'm Sorry
I Can Say I'm Sorry, {{Lesson 29, Primary Manual 1}} .
Building a Kindness Tree activity.
Prep: Cut out 8-10 paper hearts. Write out 8-10 scenarios on slips of paper, using the examples in the lesson manual as a guide, and place strips in a jar. Once inside the classroom, draw a leafless tree on the board, set the jar of word strips on the table, and scatter the hearts on the floor or table.
Explain: Jesus said love everyone and be kind to everyone. When we make a mistake, we can show kindness by saying sorry. Ask: "Who wants to help build a kindness tree?"
How to play: One by one, allow one of the children to draw a slip of paper. Read the strip out loud and ask the child "what should you do?" If they answer correctly ("I should say I'm sorry...") then allow the child to place one of the hearts on the Kindness Tree (with magnet or tape). Pause and allow time to discuss various scenarios with the class.
Examples from lesson:
- What should you do if you took something that does not belong to you?
- What should you do if you said something unkind to someone?
- What should you do if you did not tell the truth to your parents?
- What should you do if you pushed someone down?
Sunday, July 17, 2016
I Can Be Obedient (Coloring Page)
Created to Accompany {Primary 1: Lesson 28 "I Can Be Obedient"}
I created this coloring page with King James Version Bible references to be used with this Sunbeam lesson. However, it would serve well with any lesson, sharing time, or family discussion on obedience.
{Click here for Printable PDF}
I created this coloring page with King James Version Bible references to be used with this Sunbeam lesson. However, it would serve well with any lesson, sharing time, or family discussion on obedience.
{Click here for Printable PDF}
Sunday, July 10, 2016
I Can Pray With My Family (Game)
This game is to coincide with {{Lesson 27: We Can Pray As A Family}} for Sunbeams. It can also be used with any lesson on prayer, including Family Home Evening.
(Clipart from www.clipartkid.com)
How To Play:
1. Place picture of family kneeling in prayer on board (or in the middle of the table or floor).
2. Cut out and spread game cards around the room (or let each child have a turn to draw one from a draw pile).
3. Discuss the picture with the class. Ask, "Is this something that would be appropriate to pray for? Is it appropriate for the whole family to pray for?" Discuss the whys and why-nots.
4. If it IS APPROPRIATE, place card on board around the main picture.
5. If it is NOT APPROPRIATE, place card in the discard pile. Be sure to discuss alternatives to the inappropriate cards. i.e., it isn't appropriate to ask Heavenly Father to bless us with a pool party, however if we have a pool party, it is appropriate to ask for blessings of safety.
6. We do not keep score. This is a fun exercise in which everyone gets a chance to discuss and participate.
Printables in pdf formats here:
Sunday, June 26, 2016
I Love My WHOLE Family Memory Game
This game was created to go along with Primary manual 1, lesson #25: I Love My Whole Family, but can be adapted for any lesson or unit on families.
Turn all 18 cards face down on table or floor. Kids can take turns turning 2 cards over. If they get a match, they can go again. If not, it is the next child's turn. Continue until all cards are revealed.
{Family Memory Game Folder}
{Page 1 Printable}
{Page 2 Printable}
{Page 3 Printable}
Turn all 18 cards face down on table or floor. Kids can take turns turning 2 cards over. If they get a match, they can go again. If not, it is the next child's turn. Continue until all cards are revealed.
{Family Memory Game Folder}
{Page 1 Printable}
{Page 2 Printable}
{Page 3 Printable}
Sunday, June 19, 2016
I Love My Brothers and Sisters Coloring Page
Click on this {{link for the printable coloring page}} to be used in conjunction with Primary Manual 1, Lesson #24, "I Love My Brothers and Sisters"
{Link to LDS.org Lesson #24, Primary manual 1. "I Love My Brothers and Sisters"}
{Link to LDS.org Lesson #24, Primary manual 1. "I Love My Brothers and Sisters"}
Sunday, June 5, 2016
I Can Do Many Things
I Can Do Many Things
Here is a coloring page I created with free internet images, to be used with Primary Manual 1, Lesson #22: I Can Do Many Things. {Coloring Page Printable here}
Here is a coloring page I created with free internet images, to be used with Primary Manual 1, Lesson #22: I Can Do Many Things. {Coloring Page Printable here}
Sunday, May 22, 2016
I Am Thankful I Can Smell And Taste Handout
This game is created to go along with the Primary 1: I Am A Child of God manual, lesson # 20"I Am Thankful That I Can Smell And Taste." {click here}
Game: "Should I taste this?"
I printed these lips on a full sheet of paper and used magnets to put it on the board. {Printable mouth.pdf here}
Cut out each game card beforehand. One at a time have a child select a card. Show the card to the class and ask, "Should we taste this?" Discuss each answer.
Cleaning supplies - NO
Honey - YES
Unknown Berries - NO (they might be poison
Popcorn - YES
Strawberries - YES
Apples - YES
Soap - NO
Unmarked bottles or liquids - NO (It could be poisonous)
Cereal - YES
Watermelon - YES
Pills - NO (unless mom or dad was told by the dr. to give them to you)
Bread - YES
*Point out that sometimes we might be allergic to things, like strawberries. In those cases, even though those items might be safe for everyone else, they are not safe for us. When in doubt, ask mom or dad.
For our coloring page, I am using this handout I created.
{Printable PDF here}
Game: "Should I taste this?"
I printed these lips on a full sheet of paper and used magnets to put it on the board. {Printable mouth.pdf here}
Next print this page on heavy paper or cardstock. {Print gamecards.pdf here}
Cut out each game card beforehand. One at a time have a child select a card. Show the card to the class and ask, "Should we taste this?" Discuss each answer.
Cleaning supplies - NO
Honey - YES
Unknown Berries - NO (they might be poison
Popcorn - YES
Strawberries - YES
Apples - YES
Soap - NO
Unmarked bottles or liquids - NO (It could be poisonous)
Cereal - YES
Watermelon - YES
Pills - NO (unless mom or dad was told by the dr. to give them to you)
Bread - YES
*Point out that sometimes we might be allergic to things, like strawberries. In those cases, even though those items might be safe for everyone else, they are not safe for us. When in doubt, ask mom or dad.
For our coloring page, I am using this handout I created.
{Printable PDF here}
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Valentine Cards for Sunbeams!
In our new ward, the hubs and I have been called to teach the sunbeams in Primary, and we love it! We thought since today is Valentine's Day, what better way to celebrate than to give our littles something special.
After scouring the interwebs, while I found plenty of Christian-related and even LDS-related Valentine themes, many contained deep scripture or puns which honestly, while clever, are over a 3-year-old's head. I wanted something cute and simple and something that would let them know we love being their teachers.
Luckily, we have 1pm church, which gave me plenty of time to whip these up. On our personal ones I added our names in place of teacher. In order to share, I've made this generic. But you can either write your name(s) underneath where it says teacher, or after dowloading the pdf, open file by right-clicking and select "open with" and then choose "word". This will let you customize!
Good luck with your littles!
Friday, May 9, 2014
Primary Singing Time: A Song of Thanks flipchart
A SONG OF THANKS flipchart
Cute little song to sing around Thanksgiving. No "practice" needed. Play once through so the children can hear it and then sing. They love this one!
Print my flipchart for FREE here: {{A Song of Thanks}}
Cute little song to sing around Thanksgiving. No "practice" needed. Play once through so the children can hear it and then sing. They love this one!
Print my flipchart for FREE here: {{A Song of Thanks}}
Primary Singing: There Was Starlight on the Hillside flipchart
THERE WAS STAR LIGHT ON THE HILLSIDE flipchart
I love this song! The children sound so beautiful when they sing it. It's a very simple melody and easy to learn!
Print my flipchart for FREE here: {{There Was Star Light On the Hillside}}
I love this song! The children sound so beautiful when they sing it. It's a very simple melody and easy to learn!
Print my flipchart for FREE here: {{There Was Star Light On the Hillside}}
Primary Singing: The Nativity Song flipchart
THE NATIVITY SONG flipchart
I know it's a bit early for Christmas, but while I'm uploading flipcharts to my google docs, I figured I'd post what I have so far. By the way, it was a booger trying to find an angel without wings. You're welcome. :)
Here is the flipchart I created for verses 1 & 2 of "The Nativity Song". Print for FREE here: {{Nativity Song flipchart}}
I know it's a bit early for Christmas, but while I'm uploading flipcharts to my google docs, I figured I'd post what I have so far. By the way, it was a booger trying to find an angel without wings. You're welcome. :)
Here is the flipchart I created for verses 1 & 2 of "The Nativity Song". Print for FREE here: {{Nativity Song flipchart}}
Primary Singing: A Prophet Lives Today, flipchart
A Prophet Lives Today flipchart
For the Primary Program this year we are singing "A Prophet Lives Today" (Clive Romney). The sheet music can be found in the October 2003 "Friend" magazine. {{A Prophet Lives Today sheet music}}
You can print my Free Flipchart HERE: {{A Prophet Lives Today flipchart}}
Primary Singing Time: Mother Dear, I Love You So, flipchart
MOTHER DEAR Flipchart
Since the children are singing all three verses to "Mother Dear" on Sunday, I came up with this flipchart for practices. This really helped the younger kids know the order.
Print your FREE flipchart for "Mother Dear" here: {{Mother Dear flipchart}}
Primary Singing Time: Mother's Day Memory Game
MOTHER'S DAY MEMORY GAME (w/ Pick-A-Flower game):
With Mother's Day this Sunday, I wanted to freshen things up and create a "mother" centered game. I came up with this darling Animal Memory game. Some of the Dads are taking over for the music during the Senior Primary singing time so the pianist & I can attend RS. This will be easy enough for them to handle as well. Of course, it can be played all month too.
PREP: Print out, cut, and laminate (optional) Memory Cards and flowers. (Laminate flower pot too for safe-keeping.) Using a wet-erase marker (if laminated), write a song on the back of each flower. Using magnets or tape, place memory cards (face down), vase and flowers on board.
OBJECTIVE: Match a baby animal with the correct mama animal.
PLAY: Select a child to come up and turn two cards over. If the 2 cards are a match (correct baby & mama animal), the child then gets to "pick" a flower from the vase. The children then sing the song listed on the back of the flower. After the song, another child is selected and the process is repeated. If the child does not get a match when he turns the card over, the kids say in unison, "That's Ok, cuz You're a Child of God!". Another child is then selected to have a turn.
WINNING: Continuing playing until all the cards have been matched, or until time runs out.
NOTE: In games like these, if there are a few songs I really want to work on, I will put repeats on the back of the flower. The kids like the suspense of whether or not they will choose a new song or a repeat song. Sometimes, we've even sung the same song 3 times in a row. When that happens, I really like to ham it up and say things like, "Wow, great minds think alike!", "Whoa! Again? You must really know we needed to practice this piece!" or "Let's see if we get to move on or sing the same song."
Print your own version of the game for FREE here: {{Mother's Day Memory Game (baby animal memory)}}
Good luck and let me know how it goes!
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Journey to the Savior: Faith Walk
If you've ever had the opportunity to attend an LDS Girl's Camp, you may have enjoyed a Faith Walk. I hadn't even participated in a Faith Walk until I went back to camp as an adult leader. The premise is that the girls are led in the evening time to various "stations" to meet with someone who will retell or share a faith-promoting story or experience.
To make the biggest impact, the girls are instructed beforehand, there is to be no talking during their walk. Additionally, only a handful of leaders or girls are given a lantern to carry. You want to make sure there is enough light to be safe, but dark enough to avoid distractions. Often times, our faith walks began at dusk.
Lanterns (like pictured above) may also be strategically placed along the walk to assist those on the journey. You could also make something like this ahead of time for the leaders to carry, or if preferred, one for each girl.
Remember, the idea is to create a spiritual ambiance, not a spooky one!
After the first year of participating in a faith walk, I found myself being called as the camp director for the next summer. I definitely wanted to have the girls participate in something like that again, although a quick search in google left me hard-pressed for new ideas for a Faith Walk. (In the one we did, it was meeting "Women of Value", aka characters of women in history who represented each value, i.e., Joan of Arc, Sacajawea, etc.)
I found I was left to my own devices, and after praying at great lengths, felt I needed to provide an opportunity for the girls to get to know our Savior better. As soon as the idea hit, the rest just came to me.
Journey of the Savior is a faith walk in which the young women can meet those who knew the Savior and hear accounts of how He impacted their life. The final scene they come upon is a reenactment of the Savior, during His final hours, praying in the garden of Gethsemane. It was quite a sight to see, and all who were there were touched.
I'm pleased that over these past few years, my google searches have turned up more ideas for Faith Walks, as they seem to be catching on. I wrote about our girls' experience on my personal blog, and I'm sure it was a Google search that has led others to send me messages requesting a copy of my Journey to the Savior Faith Walk.
So, FINALLY, no more having to ask and wait. {{Click here to download Journey to the Savior pdf}}
Good luck! Let me know how it goes! :)
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Christmas in Bethlehem
This was an activity that was in the very early stages of planning when I got released. (Sorry it has taken me over 6 months to post!) While I do not have all of the details I will post what I do know as it was a huge success.
First of all, I will tell you that my Ward had done "Christmas in Bethlehem" about 5 years ago (Before I was called) and it was far too unorganized and far too much work. The feedback wasn't necessarily positive after that, so when I suggested it as a possibility to my committee, you can imagine the looks I received. If you have never heard of the concept of Christmas in Bethlehem, you may want to first read about it {{HERE}}.
I promised my committee that we would not be too elaborate and that keeping it simple would help to make it a success. They all agreed, especially because our budget was small.
Objective: Fellowship, Build Testimony of Christ, Celebrate Christ's Birth
Budget: (I am not sure what their budget was as I was release nearly 11 months earlier.)
Flyer: We pretty much used the same verbiage as was found at the link above. Invitations were rolled up into scrolls and tied with small twine.
Set-Up: The Relief Society Activity Committee helped the Ward Activity Chairperson in getting all of the assignments made. Starting the 1st Sunday in November, the sign-up sheets were circulated through. Unlike many wards, we did not ask classes or quorums to run a booth. (The downfall of the prior attempt 5 years earlier.) We wanted families to be able to enjoy the evening together and didn't want unattended children running all over the place. There were sign-up sheets asking families to run a booth (I think we had about 8-9 booth). We had sign-up sheets for those who could donate canopies for booths. And there were sign-up sheets to ask people to bring the following food items: Breads/rolls. Cookies. Cheese Cubes. Black Olives. Cut-Up fruit.
Special Instructions: As each family arrived, they were asked to sign the Census. (Husbands of the Activity Committee were dressed like roman soldiers.) The soldiers gave each member a small bag containing coins. (12 pennies per bag. This was enough to get their food and then a few more items.) We were then all guided to the chapel. There we sang a Christmas Carol and the activity chairperson explained how the marketplace worked. The overflow area was set up with a little pathway (cardboard "walls" and battery operated candles in paper sacks) leading to the gym. They gave about 30 minutes for people to "shop" and eat before they were invited to be seated and watch the reenactment of the nativity.
We have a lady in our ward who has all of the props and costumes for the nativity. She created these years ago for her children and extended family. Every other year we ask her to run that part of our Christmas program. She loves it. She gets all of the actors organized and rehearses with them. There are places in the nativity program for the rest of us to sing a verse of a Carol. We love it too, as it takes added pressure from the committee!
Turn-Out: We had several people attend (I counted close to 100) and everyone had a wonderful time. I think the pictures tell the best story, so without further adieu...
The committee basically flattened a ton of cardboard boxes and using really fat black permanent markers turned them into "buildings". They were cut, shaped and then taped together and set along the outskirts of the room.
Here is the Water "Well". The Base is actually a plastic tub (Sitting on a step to make it taller), filled with ice and then water bottles, then covered with thick brown paper and the rim is a spray painted pool noodle. The wooden frame helped to keep everything in place and was cute. 1 Bench was brought from home, while the other three were confiscated from the Primary, YW, & Relief Society rooms.
Booths were created out of modern-day canopies. Sheets were hung in between to create "walls". The insides were lined with Christmas White Lights and other things such as baskets. Poster boards were used for the sign shops.
At David's Toy Shop we were "selling" little dreidels. The Committee purchased these online in bulk. There were other toys and trinkets that were in the activity closet from activities past, so we thought it would be a good idea to "sell" those too.
The Bishop's winery had sparkling Grape Juice. (Grape Juice & 7-Up in punch bowls)
The fruit market contained grapes, orange slices, banana halves, pineapple slices and apple slices, all donated by members (via the sign-up sheets).
Ruth's Bakery contained rolls & honey along with several types of cookies and bars brought by the members (via the sign-up sheets).
The Gift of the Magi was selling Gold (chocolate gold coin), Frankincense, and Myrrh. I don't remember was the Frankincense was, but 1 token got you all 3 and the Myrrh meant you got to use some of the lotion.
Potiphar's Pita hut "sold" pita wedges and toppings such as Hummus, Cream Cheese and Honey. The Activity Committee supplied the food items for this hut.
Benjamin's Meat & Deli was offering grilled chicken strips (provided by the committee) and "Deli Kabobs" of cheese cubes and black olives (provided by members via the sign-up sheet).
Rachel's Rentals contained a basket full of blankets for those who did not bring one to sit on.
One of the members brought these benches from home. The "actors" for the Nativity program sat here until it was their turn to go on stage.
The back corner of the gym was set up with tables. It was announced ahead of time that these were for the elderly or for those who could not sit of the floor.
The tables were decorated with simple burlap cloths and mini lanterns.
This was taken after it the marketplace opened for business.
During the Nativity.
The lady who organizes this for us uses all Primary Children and no adults for this. When most of the kids are playing a part, it's easier to keep them from running around. :)
That is a brief overview from our night in Bethlehem. I hope it inspires something for you! Good Luck!
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