Saturday, June 29, 2013

July 2013 LDS Primary Sharing Time Helps & Ideas

One of my greatest blessings is knowing that my family can be eternal!!
 
Monthly Theme: Families are part of Heavenly Father's plan.
Monthly Scripture: “The family is ordained of God” The Family: A Proclamation to the World, paragraph 7

Week 1 Heavenly Father planned for me to come to a family.

* “The Lord organized the whole program in the beginning with a father who... provides, and loves and directs, and a mother who... nurtures and feeds and trains. The Lord could have organized it otherwise but chose to have a unit with responsibility and purposeful associations where children train and discipline each other and come to love, honor, and appreciate each other. The family is the great plan of life, as conceived and organized by our Father in Heaven” (Spencer W. Kimball, The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 324).
       Preface that not all families are perfect and no one needs to worry about it. God will make everything right in the end! No one should feel bad for things that they have no control over!! Draw a large square on the blackboard. Invite children to come up and draw different members of a family. We're making a visual of this great family plan!! We have moms, dads, grandparents, cousins, pets. After they have drawn pictures, brainstorm the different roles/jobs of each member.
Repeat the quote, "The family is the great plan of life!! Organized by our Father in Heaven." We all have our different roles to make sure the family is happy! One member that might be forgotten is The Savior, make sure to put up His picture in the end. What is His role in our families?

* Pass out wordstrips with the following words, one per strip - ALONE, ADAM, HELP MEET, WOMAN
You are going to read a scripture and when the children with the words hear their word, they need to come up front.
      Read Genesis 2:18, 21, 22 "And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man."
Why was it not good for man to be alone? What is a help meet? Who became Adam's wife?
From the beginning of time we see the importance of family!!
In the Garden of Eden, a family grew! What can we do in the garden of our homes to help our families grow? Have a bunch of fake flowers arranged like a garden. Invite children to come up front and pick a flower. On the flowers you can have scriptures, questions, songs all having to do with families.
      In the middle of the lesson, have a pesky little bee that stings a few children. There will always be someone or something that tries to destroy our home and families, but with Heavenly Father's help good will always win! Invite a child to whack the bee with a fly swatter.
      Bear testimony that it is not good for man to be alone. We must all help our families grow and bring forth good fruit!!

* Write the word SACRED on the chalk board. What does this word mean? Have some primary friends come up front and hold pictures of temples, church meeting houses and a couple pictures of homes. Have the children take a vote as to which is the most sacred picture up front.
     Read the following quote, "I invoke the blessings of the Lord upon you, all of you here, with reference to your home and your families. It is the choicest of all life’s experiences. I urge you to put it first. The center core of the Church is not the stake house; it is not the chapel; that is not the center of Mormonism. And, strangely enough, the most sacred place on earth may not be the temple, necessarily. The chapel, the stake house, and the temple are sacred as they contribute to the building of the most sacred institution in the Church—the home—and to the blessing of the most sacred relationships in the Church, the family(Boyd K. Packer, Family Togetherness—the Core of the Church, Brigham Young University Speeches of the Year [13 June 1963], 10)
     Have the children share experiences where they have felt sacred and peaceful feelings in their homes. Give each child a piece of paper and ask them to draw (if younger) or write (if older) things they can do to make their homes sacred places. Have them share.

*Bring in a couple family photo albums. Show the kids some fun vacations you've taken. Who here has also had fun family times? Families can be awesome!! Heavenly Father planned for all of us to come into families. Pass out some squares of paper to the children. Invite them to draw pictures and write thank you notes to some of their family members. The happiness and joy we have each day in families is only possible through The Savior. We have our families here on earth and love them so much, but even greater is the love of The Savior and The Father. We can't really send Them thank you notes like the ones we just made, but we sure can give thanks in our prayers!!

Week 2 Family prayer, family scripture study, and family home evening can strengthen my family.

*How many of the primary children have family members that serve in the military? Would we ever want those family members to have to fight without armor?
     Alma 43:19-21 "And when the armies of the Lamanites saw that the people of Nephi, or that Moroni, had prepared his people with breastplates and with arm-shields, yea, and also shields to defend their heads, and also they were dressed with thick clothing— Now the army of Zerahemnah was not prepared with any such thing; they had only their swords and their cimeters, their bows and their arrows, their stones and their slings; and they were naked, save it were a skin which was girded about their loins; yea, all were naked, save it were the Zoramites and the Amalekites; But they were not armed with breastplates, nor shields—therefore, they were exceedingly afraid of the armies of the Nephites because of their armor, notwithstanding their number being so much greater than the Nephites."
    Our families are at battle against evil in the world. We need armor to protect our family! Special armor like family prayer, family scripture study and family home evening!

* Have 3 priesthood holders come into primary. Have one do a few push ups. Have another do some sit ups. Have another do a few jumping jacks. All these things help make our bodies strong. But what are some things that can help make our families strong? Have the priesthood holder briefly testify how family prayer helps strengthen his family. Have the sit up man briefly testify how family scripture study strengthens his family. And have jumping jack man briefly testify how family home evening strengthens his family.
     Have a jar with physical things for the kids to do and a question or scripture or song about the weeks theme on it too. Invite one friend to draw a paper and have the whole primary do the movement. Just as we need to do things to strengthen our body, we need to do things to strengthen our family!
    For example- do 2 lunges! When should we pray as a family and what are some of the things we can pray for together?
    Or do 5 air push ups (since girls are in dresses! They push the air as hard as they can, arms squared, really using their muscles... just be careful of friends around you!!) What can we do to make sure Family Home Evening is a time when the spirit is felt?

* Show the children this picture of a bridge. Does it look pretty safe to go across? We have a big word we need to find the meaning of. It's the word CORROSIVE. The dictionary says, " to eat away by degrees as if by gnawing; especially : to wear away gradually usually by chemical action" Repeat the definition one more time. Have the children think about this bridge as you read a quote,
    "The First Presidency taught that by teaching and rearing children in gospel principles, parents can protect their families from corrosive elements. They further counseled parents and children to give highest priority to family prayer, family home evening, gospel study and instruction, and wholesome family activities." Elder Robert D. Hales General Conference April 1999 Strengthening Families: Our Sacred Duty
     Do we want our families to be like this bridge? Chewed away, brittle and just plain yucky? What did Elder Hales say we have to do to protect families from corrosion?
     Have a little picture of a family. Have a blue piece of paper to represent a lake. Maybe even have a little shark in the water! Then have a piece of paper that says Strong Family! Invite the children to come make a bridge of popsicle sticks across the lake, but in order to do so they have to answer questions, read scriptures or sing songs about the week's theme.
 
Week 3 The Priesthood can bless and strengthen my family.

* I'd like to clarify why I think the following story is a good opportunity to talk with children. In the Book of Mormon we have the story of Alma the younger and how he persecuted the church. Wicked children are a common theme within our scriptures. This story shows that even a prophet's son had a heart that was not Christ like. This story shows that our wonderful country made terrible mistakes. This story shows that President Kimball knew the Lamanites/Native Americans were precious and important. Here lies the question, should we ignore hatred or honor the lives of those gone before us? Many children do not know the rich heritage of Native Americans. Many children do not know that their land was stolen from them. Now obviously we don't have to go into great detail but during certain times in this story there is opportunity to ask the children how does that feel? Does that feel right? Does that feel wrong? The spirit can guide a beautiful discussion if we are willing to pray for help. Also, it's important for children to realize that sometimes even the wicked are blessed. The sons were "full of fight and eager to smell gunpowder"... yet the priesthood blessing was fulfilled. Ask the children, with all the bad things that happened to Native Americans, do you think God will bless them and make everything right? How can we do our part to make sure our hearts love all of God's children?

Tell the children the following story:
      "In the spring of 1866, during what is called the Black Hawk War, our pioneers were struggling to beat back deadly Indian attacks on many settlements in southern Utah. Two of President Heber C. Kimball’s sons were called into military service for a three-month expedition against the Indians. Before they left he gave them a priesthood blessing. Apparently concerned that his sons might shed the blood of their Lamanite brothers, he first counseled them about the great promises God has made to this branch of the house of Israel. He then blessed his sons and promised them they would not see a single Indian on their campaign. His sons, full of fight and eager to smell gunpowder, were disappointed at this promise, but the blessing was fulfilled. When they returned three months later, they reported:
“We … rode hundreds of miles, following the tracks of different bands of hostile Indians, and were close upon them a great many times. They were attacking settlements all around us, killing the settlers and driving off stock.” But the company did not see a single Indian. (Orson F. Whitney, Life of Heber C. Kimball, an Apostle, 2d ed., Salt Lake City: Stevens and Wallis, 1945, p. 429).
    How did the priesthood bless and strengthen their family? We are modern day pioneers whose lives can be blessed and strengthened by the Priesthood! Break into groups and tell them that a wagon is going to be coming along. Have them discuss what is on the wagon and any personal experiences they'd like to share. Any scripture stories they can think of that involve it too! How does it strengthen family?
Other wagon topics could include: Patriarchal blessings, Blessings for the healing of the sick, Blessings of Comfort, Blessings of Counsel, Priesthood Ordination, Temple Sealings, Baptism, Sacrament (For more information you can read THIS wonderful talk by Elder Oaks)
Rotate the wagons between groups!! Have children share some interesting things they learned at the end! Bear testimony that you know the Priesthood can bless and strengthen our families!!

*This is a longer quote, but a GREAT one!!! From President Faust, full talk HERE:
     "Priesthood blessings can help us in the small and great decisions of our lives. If, through our priesthood blessings, we could perceive [see] only a small part of the person God intends us to be, we would lose our fear and never doubt again.
       As a small boy, I remember being intrigued [interested] by my grandmother’s magnifying glass which she used in her old age to read and do needlework. When the glass was in focus, everything I looked at was greatly magnified [made larger]. But I was most intrigued by what happened when the lens concentrated the sunlight on an object. When it passed through the magnifying glass, the sunlight’s power was absolutely amazing.
       Blessings strengthen and magnify us. In the Church, blessings are available to all who are worthy through those authorized to give priesthood blessings. Worthy fathers and grandfathers, as well as other Melchizedek Priesthood holders, may give blessings to members in times of sickness and when important events occur. Such individual blessings are part of the continuous revelation that we claim as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
       Like the images in my grandmother’s magnifying glass, [through priesthood blessings] we can become stronger, our talents and ability can be magnified and multiplied, our understanding can be greatly enlarged, and our spirituality can flower."
     Play a game of hide the magnifying glass. Bring in a magnifying glass and invite someone to answer a question or read a scripture about the priesthood. After have another person go outside. When they come back in, sing a song about the priesthood and when they are close to it, sing louder. When they are far away sing it softer. Repeat!!

* HERE is a wonderful video about how Priesthood strengthens the family. It's from the 2013 Worldwide Leadership Training. Some of the language would definitely be harder for the little children to understand, but there are so many beautiful images. You could easily stop the video along the way to ask children where they see examples of the Priesthood blessing families! Count how many examples you see!

Week 4 Heavenly Father wants me to marry in the temple and have an eternal family.

* One of the most fun singing times we had was when I gathered some "love" stories for the Sunday before Valentine's Day. I briefly read the story and the children had to guess who's family it might be. I got pictures emailed to me of their wedding day and then showed the children. In my email to people in the ward I asked them to answer 2 things:
1. Why did you choose to be married in the temple?
2. How did you meet and fall in love?
I did preface the activity though that not all friends have moms and dads and that's OK. Not all friends have moms and dads that were married in the temple. No one here should ever feel bad!! God is good and we don't need to worry about things that we can't control!! But we will have control about the choices WE make!! And we should make the choice to get married in the temple like the stories I'm about to share!!
In between stories we sang songs about the temple and families! I think we had time for about 4-5 stories.

* Have a bunch of temple pictures throughout the room. Invite a child to come up front and stand by a temple they might like to get married at. Discuss the location of that temple. There are currently around 140 temples!! HERE is a gallery of all the pictures of all the temples. That's a lot of different places you can go to get married! HERE are some questions about the Temple and answers.

* HERE is some good information about why we build temples and the history of temples throughout the ages.

* Read D&C 131:1-4 "In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees; And in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage]; And if he does not, he cannot obtain it. He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase."
Sketch out the plan of salvation. Many children might not know that the Celestial Kingdom has 3 degrees in it! Ask the children to listen very carefully one more time to the scripture and then answer How does a man or woman enter the highest degree of the Celestial Kingdom?

Song Help “Families Can Be Together Forever” (CS, 188)

Angel Moroni Sacramento, CA temple image courtesy creative commons license flickr.com by akseez 1/2009

* Build a family! As the children sing with zest and zeal let them put up one member of a family inside a home. This can be done on a poster board or you can have a small sized doll house with small dolls to put in. Also they can add a small picture of a temple framed inside the home.

* You might think this idea is crazy... and maybe it is. Pick and choose my friends. Pick. And. Choose. If you were married and sealed in the temple, choose a special singer to wear your wedding ring while you all sing. Give them a signal to find another person who is singing nicely and let that child wear the ring. Tell them that they need to treat the ring with special care because it is a symbol of your eternal family. You want to share that with them to help them remember what a special song they are singing! (I have a simple gold band I wear... which works for boys and girls. However, if you have a half pound diamond, that doesn't really work for boys, so ask the hubby or a male primary teacher to help out too)

* What is the difference between "can" and "will"? Once the children learn the words to the song tell them you have a special surprise for them. Decorate small cans (Like soup cans?) for them to take home. Tell them to fill up the CAN with ways that WILL help their family be together forever.

* Post 8 different pictures of temples. Let the children choose from the temples to see how they will sing this song. For example, you could have the Boise, ID temple. It starts with the letter B so Boys only. You could have the San Diego, CA temple. It starts with the letter S so sing softly.
You could have the Washington DC temple. It starts with the letter W so while singing wave your hands gently in the air side to side. You could have the Lima Peru temple. It starts with L so sing loudly and boldly! Etc.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

An Art Project For Father's Day for Kids

I saw this art project on pinterest, but it didn't come with drawing instructions. The shapes are pretty easy though and my 6 year old, Maria, was able to do this with no problems. I did do a practice sheet with Maria on the sideways U shapes for the hand and drawing lines diagonal on the body.
 
The girls decorated their Super Hero Dad and Super Hero Papa with crayons and watercolors. We use water color paper (you can buy at Michael's), it's thicker and always produces better work. They drew first with permanent markers.
 
On the back they wrote:
My Dad, My Super Hero!
2 favorite memories with Dad or Papa (our Grandpa)
3 things they love about them
Why their dad or papa is a super hero
 


 
We laminated and I wrote dates and ages at the top.
 
Is this feasible for primary? No. Unless you only have 3 kids in primary, then yes. But it might be something fun to do at home if you like to encourage the artistic process in kids.

Monday, June 10, 2013

General Conference Family Home Evening

I love this picture and can hear The Savior's perfect voice of mildness in my mind as He speaks.
Christ with Martha and Maria by Henryk Siemiradzki 1886
This work is in the public domain in the United States, and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less.

Based off the talk The Words We Speak by Sister Rosemary Wixom, from April 2013 General Conference.

Question: Where in the scriptures can we find Heavenly Father or Jesus saying, "Hey you weirdos! What on earth are you thinking!! Shape up NOW!!"?? Check the topical guide, are there any references to weirdos ?

NO!! And why not. Sister Wixom says, "We can learn from that voice from heaven. It was not loud, scolding, or demeaning; it was a still voice of perfect mildness, giving firm direction while giving hope."
(As a sidenote we do see times in the scriptures when the voice of God or Jesus is referenced to as "thunder", which we know is pretty loud. But Sister Wixom is focusing on words we use in family relationships. Talk about words you can remember when it comes to Jesus and His family.)

Story:

 "The store was crowded with shoppers when it became obvious to everyone that a mother was panicked because she had lost her young son. At first, she was calling his name. “Connor,” she would say as she briskly walked around the store. As time passed, her voice got louder and more frantic.

Soon the store security officers were notified, and everyone in the store was involved in looking for the child. Several minutes passed with no success of finding him. Connor’s mother, understandably, was becoming more frantic by the minute and was rapidly yelling his name over and over again.
 
One patron, after saying a silent prayer, had the thought that Connor may be frightened as he listened to his mother scream his name. She mentioned this to another woman involved in the search, and they quickly made a plan. Together they began to walk between the tables of fabric, quietly repeating the words “Connor, if you can hear my voice, say, ‘Here I am.’” As they walked slowly toward the back of the store repeating that phrase, sure enough, they heard a timid, soft voice say, “Here I am.”
 
Connor was hiding between the bolts of fabric under a table. It was a voice of perfect mildness that encouraged Connor to respond."

Question: Where in the scriptures can we find examples of Heavenly Father being too busy to answer our prayers? What about Jesus being to busy to heal or help others?

There are none!! Heavenly Father and Jesus are always there for us. But are we always there for each other? Sister Wixom gives us a challenge!!

Challenge: "Why not choose a time each day to disconnect from technology and reconnect with each other? Simply turn everything off. " Decide as a family what time of day to choose! Write it down and make a special sign to put somewhere to remember!! Follow through for a whole week and see what happens!!!

Scripture: 2 Nephi 25:23 "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do."

Story:

"President Thomas S. Monson shared the experience of Jay Hess, an airman who was shot down over North Vietnam in the 1960s: “For two years his family had no idea whether he was dead or alive. His captors in Hanoi eventually allowed him to write home but limited his message to less than 25 words.”

President Monson asks: “What would you and I say to our families if we were in the same situation—not having seen them for over two years and not knowing if we would ever see them again?

Wanting to provide something his family could recognize as having come from him and also wanting to give them valuable counsel, Brother Hess wrote [the following words]: ‘These things are important: temple marriage, mission, college. Press on, set goals, write history, take pictures twice a year."

Question & Activity: Sister Wixom asks, "What words would you write to your children if you had 25 words or less?" Get a piece of paper and write them down!! Share with each other. If children would prefer, they could write 25 words to their parents!

In conclusion: Ask family members to share something they liked or learned from this family home evening. Bear testimonies as a family. Don't forget the week challenge and to go over your findings next week!

Monday, June 3, 2013

Breezy Singing Time Idea for Spring

 
Do you have a couple scrapbook paper leftovers? Do you have some hot glue?
Then you're all set.
 
HERE is a wonderful story from The Friend you can tell the children in your own words briefly.
Kites are so much fun! Singing is so much fun! We'll put the 2 together and let our voices soar!
 
Kite Wands are made of wooden skewers and diamond shaped paper. I also hot glued some of the twisty ties you get from the grocery store to make bows. Children can lead the songs up front, but remind them to sing while they lead!
 
Make a paper kite for a child to hold. Divide the room in half. Whichever side they float to has to sing.
 
Ways to Sing:
Wave arms in the breeze while singing
Whistle the song
Start on the ground and rise like a kite while singing
Reverently jog while holding on to kite string and sing (say that 10 times fast!)
Make a large kite string by linking arms with neighbor and "OOOoo" the song
 
Kite Volume Meter. When the kite is low, sing soft. When the kite is high, sing bold!
 
And don't forget to remind the children that in these windy days, we need to remember those in the Midwest who were affected by the tornadoes in our daily prayers.