2009 February Primary Sharing Time Helps and Ideas

GAK (Gospel Art Kit Picture) 119

FEBRUARY THEME
I came to earth as part of a family. “The family is ordained of God” (“Proclamation,” paragraph 7).

Week 1 Adam and Eve were the first family.

* Have a simple family tree to show the children. Explain that the trunk of the whole human family would be Adam and Eve, we are all branches from them. Make a large tree visual with lots of leaves. On the back of the leaves write questions, scriptures and songs for the children to come up and choose.

* Take a little vote. Ask the children to raise their hand if they have ever been sick, sad, ashamed, scared... Hold up an apple. How did a piece of fruit make it so that we would feel these things? Before they answer, ask the children if they have ever been healthy, happy, proud, brave.... Hold up the apple again. How did a piece of fruit make it so we could feel so many opposites? Have cut up apples to share with the children.... Food is only allowed in Primary when it has to do with the lesson, so be prayerful about this!

* From Mariam Joyce Grisham, “Garden of Eden,” Friend, Sept. 2006, 32–33
Finger puppet time!!! Make these great little puppets (scroll down a little on this link!!) and then have the children wiggle their fingers as you tell them the story of Adam and Eve.

* "Leaf" it to Adam and Eve! Divide the primary into groups and a teacher over each group. Give them large green paper leaves. Ask them to come up with as many ideas and facts that they know about Adam and Eve. They can also write down scriptures or songs that have to do with them. Then share what the children have come up with!

Week 2 Heavenly Father blesses righteous families in the scriptures.

* Wrap up nicely a piece of garbage or an empty cereal box with a half eaten banana inside. Someone did something nice for you, so this is what you are going to give in return. YUCK!!!
When we follow the commandments, what does Heavenly Father do?
Matt. 7: 11 "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"

Have one more present wrapped, a picture of Christ.
James 1: 17 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above" Bear testimony that the greatest gift given to all families on earth was the life and atonement of Jesus Christ.

* Have a stuffed dog on a leash. Have a child come up and walk the dog. Take the leash off. What happens to the dog?
D&C 82: 10 "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise."
Righteous families in the scriptures were led and blessed by the Lord because they did what He said.

*Proverbs 11:6 "The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness." Have 4 words written on the board: righteous, naughty, blessings, consequences. Talk about different scriptural families and fill in the blanks. For example Jacob's Family: Joseph and Jacob were very righteous, Joseph's 11 brothers were a little naughty when they threw him in the pit, Joseph was a ruler in Egypt, Joseph's 11 brothers felt guilty and sad. Make sure to find pictures of the families if you can.

* Have a mystery phrase/scripture for the kids to figure out by the end of the lesson. Write on the black board John 14: 15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments." (I would take out the words love and commandments and substitute big question marks) Did all the righteous scripture families love God? Did they keep His commandments? Then what do we need to do....

* Count Their Many Blessings - Have 3 or 4 different scripture families and a really large piece of butcher paper. See how many blessings you can come up with for all the families and if you can fill up the entire paper.

Week 3 The priesthood blesses my family.

* Invite some worthy priesthood holders into sharing time. Have the children ask them any questions they would like to about the priesthood. Ask the men to bear testimony about the priesthood and how it blesses their families or ward family.

* A few days before Sunday, call up a few children to share an experience of when priesthood has blessed their family. Have them bring in a picture if they can of the person who righteously held the priesthood.

* Bring in a cell phone and a ward phone list. Stress the italicized words.
Alma 13:8 "Now they were ordained after this manner—being called with a holy calling, and ordained with a holy ordinance, and taking upon them the high priesthood of the holy order, which calling, and ordinance, and high priesthood, is without beginning or end"
The priesthood is only a call away!!! There are many worthy priesthood holders who can come to your home and extend the blessings of heaven to you. Hold up the cell phone and ward phone list.

* Have a picture of a baby, or have a mother come in with her baby. How would we treat this baby? What makes this baby special? What are some words to describe this baby? There are things in this life that are precious beyond description. A baby is precious. Today we will talk about something that is just as precious and special.

"What is the priesthood? It is nothing more nor less than the power of God delegated to man by which man can act in the earth for the salvation of the human family..." Joseph F. Smith Gospel Doctrine, 139-140

* Have the 5th article of faith divided up into segments. Invite a child up to put the segments in order. The pianist can play the song The Fifth Article of Faith (Children's Songbook pg.125) and when it's over, their turn is over. Read what they put together. Do this a few times, sunbeams can guess too! Talk about the laying on of hands and why this is important to the priesthood. Glue a bunch of paper hands to popcicle sticks. Let the children come up and choose hands. On the back of the hands have questions, scriptures and songs pertaining to how the priesthood blesses our families and ward family.

Week 4 God’s creations bless us.

* Have a a bunch of blessing boxes. Put in the boxes pictures or mementos of Heavenly Father's creations. For example, one box can have a flower, a ziploc bag of sand, water bottle, bird feathers, piece of leather.... Divide the primary into groups and have them talk about the things in the boxes. Have they had a special experience at a beach? What do they feel when they look at a beautiful flower? Can the spirit be felt in water? Have them rotate boxes between groups and then share their ideas in closing.

* Nature art. Either gather things from nature they can make a collage out of or go outside and let them draw what they see or feel.

* Have 2 rows of chairs facing each other so the children can partner chat. Give each child a picture or memento of God's creation. Give them about 1 minute each to share what they like about it, how it's blessed their life or a special experience they've had with that thing. Have 1 row move down a seat. Have one row pass their picture to the left and the other row pass their picture to the right.

Conclude with "The whole object of the creation of this world is to exalt the intelligences that are placed upon it, that they may live, endure, and increase for ever and ever" Brigham Young Discourses of Brigham Young, 57
or "As they completed this magnificent creation, they looked it over and pronounced it 'good, very good'.... and that's the way the Lord organized it. This wasn't an experiment. he knew what he was doing." Spencer W. Kimball "The Blessings and Responsibilities of Womanhood", Ensign Mar. 1976, 71