July Handout Ideas

I was looking through my computer files and found some handouts that I have used in the past. Both of these go along with the theme that we will be discussing the whole month of July. I think you could use these for any of the weeks. So, take a look and let me know what you think.

A Promise to Keep 

This handout would be really good for Week 3. It includes a little poem called, "A Promise to Keep". You could also give them a piece of gum and tell them, "I hope you 'chews' to be obedient." Or give them smarties and say, "I hope your smart and obey." Just some ideas.

A Promise to Keep Handout

Footsteps of Christ

This would be good for Week 1, 2, 3 or 4. This handout talks about following in Christ's footsteps.

Footsteps of Christ

1st Week Sharing Time Idea for July

Jesus Christ Always Obeyed Heavenly Father

I can't believe it's almost July. Where does the time go? But I am glad that it's finally warm.

So, anyway, here is my idea for the 1st week Sharing Time for July.

 I thought it would be good to start off the Sharing Time with a 'wiggle' activity (especially for Jr. Primary). So, I had the idea of playing 'Simon Says'. That goes along with being obedient, so I figured that would be a good, fun game. You could also play 'Follow the Leader' or sing 'Do As I'm Doing'.

I liked the 'Identifying the doctrine' in the Primary outline. So, I used that as the next part of my Sharing Time idea.

After you go over the scriptures you can choose one of the 3 ideas that I included to end the lesson. In the outline they had the idea of having the children suggest ways they can follow Jesus Christ's example of obeying Heavenly Father's commandments. I have included 3 different ways you could do this with the children. Each idea is fun and will include each child.

Click Here to view/print my 1st Week Sharing Time Idea for July.

Alright, I'm trying something new. I have embedded my document onto my blog to see if this helps those of you who can't view,print, or download my documents. Let me know if this helps...if not I'll just keep on emailing the idea. Thanks!!

Jesus Christ Always Obeyed Heavenly Father

4th Week Sharing Time Idea for June

By the Power of the Holy Ghost, We May Know the Truth of All things.

Here is my idea for the 4th week Sharing Time for June. I found a really cute idea from a past Friend on http://www.lds.org/. And once again I forgot to write what Month and Year it was from. But it came from The Friend.

You have 5 children come up and anwer different things that they may know by using their senses. Some of the chidren are blindfolded and have to taste, smell, listen, feel, and see different items.

After the 5 senses game you will go over the scripture Moroni 10:5. I have given different examples of doing this. They're really fun and include all of the children.

And then last, you talk about the things that we can learn/know from the Holy Ghost. You will have these typed/written on pieces of paper (you can also use pictures). The children will select one and then post it on the board. Then you will discuss what it is with the children.

At our Presidency meetings we have talked about way of keeping the childrens' attention during Primary. By having several different activities for your Sharing Time it will help keep their attention. So, that's what I tried to do with this. There are 3 different activities that you can do for this Sharing Time. All are fun and will keep the children entertained while learning about the Holy Ghost. I hope you like it!

Click Here to view my Sharing Time idea for the 4th week of June.

I've had a few people email me saying they can't view my files. If you ever have any problems viewing any of my files, please email me and let me knowm, so I can email it to you. I have no idea why this happens, but it is not a problem for me to email the file. Thanks!!

Father's Day Tie Treat!

When I was thinking of ideas to hand out to the Fathers on Father's day, I definitely wanted to give them a treat. Because what man doesn't like to eat? At first I thought of filling a clear plastic glove with some kind of treat and coming up with a poem about a Father's Hands. But no such luck there. Then I remembered a few years ago, the Primary made Candy Necklaces for the Mothers on Mother's Day. I thought 'How could I make a tie candy necklace?' That's when I came up with these.

I had some clear cellaphane baggies left over from our last quarterly activity. They were the tall, skinny bags. I thought they would work perfectly for this treat. I just folded the bottom to make it pointed (make it look tie-shaped). Then fill it with some kind of treat.

There is a cute Father's Day Snack Mix on Sugardoodle that you could always fill the tie with.

Then, on colored cardstock, I cut out a 'tie knot'. I think this makes it look a little more like a tie, and not just a bag of candy, haha. Then on the back, I attached a little note. It says:

Here's a special tie for you,

To tell you Thanks for all you do!

Dad, you are:

T-errific

I-ncredible

E-xtraordinary

You're the best a kid could have,

I'm so glad that you're my Dad!

Happy Father's Day!

Love, (child's name).

Then at the bottom, in smaller font it says:

It's not another tie to wear,

But maybe one that you could share?

(I also included another note that you can use for the Men that don't have children in Primary.)

I thought these were fun little treats that the children could hand out. I think I'll make and fill mine before Sharing Time, then have the children sign their names on the note. At the end of Sharing Time we'll go down and pass a tie to each Father. We will have extras to hand out to the men that don't have children in Primary.

Click Here to view/print the Note that goes along with this treat!

Update: Devyn over at Sundae Secrets, shared how she made my Father's Day Tie Treats. She even added some cute little doodles to the note. So cute! Thanks Devyn. Click here to view her Note for this treat.

Hope you like my Father's Day Tie Treat. And if you use it, I would love to see some pictures. If you have an idea to make it better, Please share! Thanks!

3rd Week Sharing Time Idea for June

The Holy Ghost can Guide and Protect us.

Sorry I am posting this so late. I was in Utah all last week visiting my sister, while my hubby was up in the mountains camping for Wood Badge. Then we also all got sick, so that is my excuse for posting my idea so late. : )

I have to tell my wonderful Mother-in-law, Thanks!! Today we went over for dinner, and I was racking her brain for ideas on this topic. I had an idea, but I just couldn't decide on anything. We talked about a few things and came up with this. I think it's really cute and the kids will love it.

I also need to say Thanks! to Jenny Smith over at JennySmith.net! I used your Holy Ghost/Baptism Bag explanations for some of my sharing time. So, thank you so much for your wonderful idea! Click Here to read her Baptism bag idea.

Alright, for this Sharing Time you will be preparing the children to go on a pretend trip. You will have a backpack/bag and several other items. Each item has to do with the Holy Ghost and how the Holy Ghost can guide and protect us while on our trip. I also thought it would be fun if you handed out little bags to each of the children, and as you talked about each item, hand the item out to each child to have them place it in their bag. At the end of the Sharing Time, they will have their own Holy Ghost Bag!

If you have time at the end, you could play a game. You can use my idea from the previous week (Week 2). The part on 'Inviting the Spirit' and things that 'Turn the Spirit Away.' Or you could make a board game. I am thinking of making a board game. I will probably work on it tomorrow or Tuesday, so if I decide to do this I will take picture and share my scenarios with all of you.

Click Here to read my Sharing Time Idea for the 3rd Week of June!

One more thing!! I have an idea for a Father's Day Treat. Be sure to check back tomorrow afternoon, that is when I will post my Father's Day Tie Treat! Hope you like it!

Primary Talent Show: A Primary Quarterly Activity Idea

We just had another Primary Activity last Friday. We decided to do a Primary Talent Show, and it went really well. We had quite a few children participate, and their performances were great!
While preparing for this activity, I came up with a few different ideas that you could use if you decide to do this. While getting some information together, I thought it would be kind of fun if we made it like a movie theater. The children and their family received tickets when they entered the cultural hall and there was a concession stand with lots of goodies for them to purchase (not with real money).
Instead of using real money, I thought using Primary Bucks would be fun. They could earn these Primary Bucks by being reverent, answering questions, singing loudly, etc. Then we came across the problem of the children taking the money home and then loosing it. So, I made up 4 poster-boards with a pocket for each child. As they earned Primary Bucks they got to place their bucks into their pocket.
At the Talent Show we had the poster-boards taped onto a wall and had the children go and find their name and get their Primary Bucks. Then they could go and purchase something from the Concession Stand. They loved it!

Here is a picture of the Primary Bucks poster-boards.

At first I made some fancy little pockets, but that was very time consuming. I ended up just cutting some cardstock into squares and then glued each square to the posterboard, leaving the top of each square unglued. This was much faster and works great. I didn't have any problems with any pockets falling off, and I only used a glue stick to glue the pockets on to the poster-boards.
I labeled each pocket with each child's name. Throughout Primary they earn Primary Bucks (we had to set a limit to how much they can earn). When they are dismissed to class or after church, they come and put their 'bucks' in their pocket.

Here's a closer look at the poster-board.

The children really loved going and checking how many Primary Bucks they had in their pocket.
For our concession stand we had: Popcorn, Boxed candy, Capri Sun, and some little candy bars. We were going to try to rent a Popcorn Machine, but we decided it was out of our budget, that would have been so fun, but the kids still enjoyed the concession stand.
Having a concession stand is definitely more expensive than having people bring desserts to share, but if you have enough in your budget, the concession stand was alot fo fun.

Something else we did for this activity:
As the children and their families came in, they each received a ticket (like at the movies). We kept the stubs for each ticket, and throughout the Talent Show we had little giveaways throughout. This gives everyone a break to go and get more treats at the concession stand (so they aren't going during a performance), and we were able to find the next few performers and had them get ready. I thought this would help things run smoothly and keep everyone entertained. It worked really well.
Here are some pictures from our Talent Show:

 Our Concession Stand

 The Stage: Our theme for the night was 'You're a Star!'

The Display tables

At the beginning of the Talent Show we shared the story of The Parable of the Talents. Our Primary President typed up a little skit, and some of the Primary Teachers acted it out for all of the children. At the end of the Talent Show I shared a little message with the children about using our Talents, and then I gave them a little bag of Chocolate Gold Coins. I found some really cute bags at a craft store to use for the Chocolate Coins. (I didn't take a picture though, I'll take one and post it later.)
This activity was really fun and not alot of work. The kids really enjoyed sharing their Talents.

 Click Here to view my outline for our Primary Talent Show Quarterly Activity.

2nd Week Sharing Time for June

UPDATE: So ever since I posted my idea for the 2nd Week Idea for June and then realized that half of my lesson is actually something that is being used for the 3rd week lesson (in the Primary Outline), I just haven't been 100% happy with my idea. I feel that 'Inviting the Spirit' needs to be discussed as part of the 3rd week. I think it could go along with the 2nd week, but I don't want to use an idea that is also going to be used the next week. But the thing is I am getting ready for our next Primary Activity, which is tomorrow, so this is the only thing I came up with off the top of my head that goes along with the topic for the 2nd Week of June.

Alright, so in my Sharing Time idea that I had for the 2nd week, I have a Blindfold Game (Where one child is blindfolded another gives directions, etc.) You could play the Blindfold game more than once instead of just to introduce your topic. Have something to hide that the children must find. I think different scriptures that talk about the Holy Ghost and the different ways we can feel the Spirit would be great. Choose a child to be blindfolded. Hide the scripture in the room and show the child that is giving the directions. Then have the child begin whispering directions to the blindfolded child. Have some children talk loudly or make some kind of noise to make it harder for the child to listen. After they have found the object, read the scripture and then discuss it with the children.

I know the 1st Counselor in my Ward found an idea that she thought she would use for her Sharing Time. It talks about Recognizing the Spirit and it is found on the LDS website. It is the 3rd idea for the Aug. 2007 Sharing Time. If you don't want to use socks, just use a box with a hole cut in the top. Click here to view this idea.

Alright, I hope this can be of help to some of you. And sorry again for failing to read ahead and notice that my game should be for Week 3.
Have a wonderful weekend. And I will be posting about our Primary Activity very soon!! Thanks.

The Holy Ghost Speaks in a Still, Small Voice.

Here is an idea that you can use for Sharing Time for the 2nd Week of June 2010.

I thought that it would be good to have the children see how hard it is to listen to a whisper when there are so many other things distracting us. I did this by having a child blind-folded, a child to whisper directions, and 2-3 children talking loudly to distract the blind-folded child. The child is trying to direct the other to an object. After the object is found have the child discuss with the others how hard it was to hear that quiet whisper.

Then you can go on to discuss the Holy Ghost and how it speaks in a still, small voice.

I have also included a game to play. I thought that it would be good to tell the children that in order to hear the Holy Ghost's still, small voice, we must first invite the Spirit. When we do things that we are asked to do, we will have the Spirit with us, but when we do things that are bad, we cannot.

(I just noticed in the Primary Outline that they do something similar to this for the 3rd week of June, but I think it goes well with this week also.)

This is just a simple idea, but it will teach the children about the Holy Ghost, and I think they'll have fun at the same time.

Click Here to view my Sharing Time idea for 2nd Week of June.

I also saw a cute idea that would work really well for Junior Primary. It came from my 'Sunday Savers Sharing Fun!' CD. You can purchase the book or CD from Seagull Book or Deseret Book.

She has a game that has to do with inviting the Spirit. But she included little invitations that say 'You're Invited'  up at the top and then it says, 'Because I...' and then below has a picture and then says something like: ...I read my scriptures! She has several of these little cards/invitations with different ways to invite the Spirit on each one. The children take turns choosing an invitation and then puts it in an envelope addressed to The Holy Ghost. Then they deliver the invitation by putting it into a manilla envelope or a mailbox.

This helps the children to know what things they can to to invite the Spirit.

(There is also a really cute Memory game for Week 1 of June on the CD.)