Monthly Scripture: "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." Amos 3:7
Weeks 1 and 2 The living prophet leads the Church under the direction of Jesus Christ.
* HERE is a fun sharing time from The Friend (By Sister Sydney Reynolds) with a craft for children to make. It's a prophet hanging mobile! I also really liked her idea to help memorize the scripture, "To help the children memorize Amos 3:7, write the scripture and the reference across nine sheets of paper. On the reverse side of each paper, attach a picture of a prophet. Post the papers so the scripture reads correctly. Have the children repeat it once or twice. Then turn over the papers in random order, one or two at a time, and continue repeating the scripture until it is memorized and all the prophets are “revealed.” Share your own testimony that the Lord does reveal His will to the prophets."
* Another SUPER sharing time from The Friend HERE by Sister Vicki Matsumori. You could start your lesson with a child trying to push open the door to primary. Could they get in? Only if they pulled right? Then go into the story she shares. There is a really fun tube thing to make that younger children would love.
* I'm pretty partial to Jeopardy games. I'm also pretty partial to President Monson. Hence fun times HERE and HERE.
* We have a little girl in our primary who wants to become a movie director. Bring in a church film. Has anyone seen this movie? What are the credits at the end? Does anyone know the difference between a movie producer and a movie director? Basically, a movie producer is in charge of and directs EVERYTHING but will always need help dealing with the actors/people. That's where the director comes in. A movie director guides the actors under the producers supervision.
How does this compare to Jesus Christ and prophets? Make a paper action sign and have the children act out charades of different things or stories that were taught during our last conference!
* This is a reader's theater for one of my very favorite scripture stories. It's meant for Senior Sharing Time ONLY. It's meant for good readers!! I would definitely recommend handing out parts the week before so children can practice and have a set of extra scripts highlighted & stapled in case they forget to bring back their script. You will need a script for yourself to guide them in case they lose their spot. Is this a lot of paper and work on your part? Yes. Will is be worth it? Pray about it and decide. If the readers are fluent, it should only take 13-15 minutes tops. If you decide to do costumes, think SIMPLE. This is Primary, not Broadway. Please do not use for commercial purposes. Feel free to adapt for Family Home Evening!!! If you would like a PDF file of it, please email me and I'll get back to you as quickly as I can.
Week 3 Prophets teach me to pay tithing.
* For this you will need a real ADULT friend to help you. Have them by a primary window with a small bag. In the bag you will have 5 stories for the children to break into groups and read. Sit by that window in the primary room that is slightly open. Tell the primary children Hello!! I'm so glad it's spring. You know, I've been thinking a lot about tithing lately. Did you know there is a scripture, in Malachi 3:10, that says, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." Really stress the last part of the scripture. After you read the last line, have your adult friend open up the window and toss in the bag! Act surprised! Oh my?!?! What is this?? Let's find out how the Lord opens the windows of heaven and blesses us as we pay tithing. Break into the groups and hand out
THESE 5 STORIES. Teachers can read the stories in the groups. Have the children briefly share after what they've learned with the whole primary after. Bear testimony and share a personal experience of how tithing has blessed your own life.
* HERE are some great questions about tithing with matching scriptures to find the answer, from The Friend. For each question the children get right, they can earn a tithing dollar. Break down the dollars into dimes (you could even draw it on the board) and have a child color the dimes you would need to pay tithing on the amount you earned.
* Bring each child in primary a large envelope. Have them decorate it and invite them to save their tithing money in at home. Or HERE'S a kind of cool elephant for the Senior Primary to put together, from The Friend.
* HERE is a really cool visual of tithing money from around the world!! You could start off your lesson by bringing in a globe and having a child softly spin it. Have them put their pointer on the globe until it stops. Where are they pointing? Are people in that country commanded to pay tithing? Have another child come up and do the same. Everyone, no matter where you are, is commanded to pay a full and honest tithe. Have the visual of the money and make up questions, scriptures and songs about tithing on the back. Invite a child to come up front and choose a tithing money from a place in the world. Can they guess where it is from? Then answer the question or read the scripture that it says to do on the back.
* HERE is a great sharing time idea from The Friend by Karen Ashton. I really like the idea of taking children around the church to see the different parts of the church. Is it possible to reverently take the children on a tour to see where tithing helps in the building of our churches? Sure! Have teachers take children in groups of 10-15 to one area, like the kitchen or library or cultural hall. Set your behavior expectations clearly... we walk reverently and quietly. When everyone returns, have the children share in the whole group of primary where they visited and how tithing has blessed us at our meeting house.
Week 4 Prophets teach me to live The Word of Wisdom.
* Who here has ever had people over for a meeting at their house? What would you think if that person spit all over your floor? YUCK! Yet, that is what happened to Joseph and Emma Smith.Week 4 Prophets teach me to live The Word of Wisdom.
Share THIS story with the children and see what brought about the revelation of The Word of Wisdom.
* HERE is a Word of Wisdom crossword puzzle from The Friend.
* Hold up a picture of a temple and invite a child to come up front. How are a temple and this child alike? Our bodies are temples, sacred and in need of being kept clean! HERE is a sharing time from The Friend that talks about our bodies as temples. Have 7 numbered pieces of paper. Invite 7 children to come up front and walk around in a circle while you sing The Word of Wisdom CS #154. When the music stops, draw a number and have the child standing on that number answer the question about The Word of Wisdom.
* If you have a doctor in the ward, invite them to come in and BRIEFLY share some interesting facts about how the Word of Wisdom helps our bodies.
* Divide into groups and have 4 different stations around the room. Good for My Body. Bad for My Body. Work, Rest & Exercise. Promised Blessings. Have an adult at each station. Have scriptures or quotes for each station. At the Good for My Body station the groups can play a game of Pictionary. They draw from a bag good things for us to eat or drink, then draw on a white board and the group guesses. At the Bad for My Body station you can have a "Toss it! It's trash!" game where you have pictures of harmful substances they can wad up and throw in a garbage. It's definitely better in the garbage than in our bodies! At the Work, Rest & Exercise station they can make a brainstorm list of all their favorite physical activities, then pantomime each activity. At the Promised Blessings stations have the blessings covered up by question marks. Invite the children to guess what the blessings might be, then find out by reading. Each station should only be about 3 minutes long. Gather as a whole group at the end and ask children to share something interesting they learned about The Word of Wisdom.
* In preparation for your lesson, THIS Ensign article is an interesting read because it talks about what the "pulse" was that Daniel ate and how similar the things we are asked to keep in food storage are.
