August 2016 LDS Primary Sharing Time Helps & Ideas

Monthly Theme: My Body is a Temple of God.
Monthly Scripture: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? … The temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” 1 Corinthians 3:16–17

Week 1 My body is a temple.

* Give each child a popsicle stick with a puff ball glue gunned to one end. Invite them to gently tap different places on our body (like elbows, knees, nose, shoulders, eyes, ears...) and think about why they are thankful for that part of their body.
    Have different pictures of temples posted throughout the room. Have a picture of a person cut up into different pieces, with one piece attached to the back of each temple. Invite a primary friend to come up front with their special tapper and tap a temple. Depending on the piece on the back, have them share why that part of the body is important. Our bodies are temples!!
     Throughout the lesson, randomly call out body parts for the kids to tap quickly- head, ears, heart, legs, toes!!!

* LOVE this sharing time by Sister Matsumori found HERE in the Friend.

* Have 5 different stations in the room for groups of children to rotate through. Have an adult at each station: sight, hear, touch, smell, taste. Take about 2 minutes at each station to talk about each sense and have a small demonstration. (And please be sensitive- if there are children who are blind or deaf, talk to parents to get input on how you could make this activity a successful one!)
Sight- bring in different pictures, objects, and a large pair of glasses. What are some things you like to look at? What is the most interesting thing you've ever seen? Take the time to talk about the blind. What would it be like not being able to see? Aren't we grateful for Jesus who will make sure all can see in the Resurrection!
Hear- Have a few different songs to play on a portable device. Ask the children to listen and then express what they feel after they hear that song.
Touch/Feel- Bring in different fabrics. Bring in sandpaper. Bring in something slimy. How important are our hands and skin? What protection does our skin offer us? Have some play dough for each child to build something. Could we create without our hands? (Actually, some do!!) Talk a little about Heavenly Father creating us all just the way we were meant to be in this life.  He loves us and will help us with all we need! Our job is to do the same, love and help where needed!!
Smell- Bring in some scented candles (not lit!) or air fresheners or perfume. You could bring in some spices. Put them in a paper bag and have the children close their eyes while smelling. Then have them guess the scent!
Do all things smell pleasant? There is opposition in all things, poor skunks!!
Taste- Have bite size samples of things to taste. Who here loves to eat?? Why do our bodies need food? What are the best foods for our bodies? Have the children draw a SIMPLE picture of something healthy they love to eat!
     Would we be able to do these things without a body? Nope! Our bodies are temples. They are absolutely amazing!! We need to treat them that way and love them!!

* Bring in different pictures of temples. What do they have in common? Are they all the same? What are some differences?
   Just like temples, our bodies are beautiful. Our bodies are not the same though, just like temples!! And that is the way Heavenly Father created us! What a blessing!!
HERE is a story, that yes, made me cry... from The Friend. It is so important for us to love one another. To love ourselves. Share the story with the children. There is an excellent quote from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland at the end.
    Have everyone in the room stand up and play a round of compliment tag. Choose 5 primary friends by giving them a compliment, then they tag a person and give them a compliment and sit down in their chair. The person tagged chooses a person standing to give a compliment to, and the last ones tagged who don't have a seat give compliments to the most amazing Primary Pianist ever!!

* HERE is a great article to send the children home to read with families.

Week 2 Dressing modestly shows respect for Heavenly Father and myself.

* From the topic section of lds.org, under modesty, is a great question they ask- “Would I feel comfortable with my appearance if I were in the Lord's presence?”
      This is just a personal feeling I got one time after I was in a room for sharing time. A few little girls were wearing dresses (it was 100+ degrees, summer time) that didn't have sleeves. The primary was told that children were breaking a commandment when they wore sleeveless clothes and that they couldn't go to the temple wearing clothes like that.
     I was a little speechless. My feeling is this, we need to teach doctrine and we need to show lots of love. We can read For the Strength of Youth!! Common sense though says parents are buying the clothes of these children and we should just be careful not to hurt the children's feelings. Our job is to help them feel beautiful and confident, not point a finger and shout SINNERS!!! There are many personal opinions, and that's OK, but opinions aren't doctrine! Our job is not to belittle or scare, that will NOT invite the spirit. So I think a great guideline with children on modesty is the question posed above, "Would I feel comfortable with my appearance if I were in the Lord's presence?"
     One other thought, if you have multicultural children in your primary be aware that their hair texture & styles are different from that of a white child. We are ALL beautiful how God created us!! Native American boys wear their hair very long, that doesn't mean it's an "extreme". In fact, it's a very inspiring tradition! Black children wear braids, or dreds, or fros.... again, these are not "extremes". Be sensitive!!! Many cultural traditions have been stomped out in history by white men. A huge one being CUT YOUR HAIR, wear it like ours! Why though? God has created us all, just the way we were meant to be. So all I'm saying is just be careful on what you judge "extreme"!!

* " Imagine that you are watching a play. An actor comes on stage dressed as a clown but starts playing the serious part of the lead. You might react by thinking that this is inappropriate—there must be some mistake in the costuming or casting.

      Now think of how inappropriate it is to go out into the world or come to church dressed in clothes that do not represent who you really are in spirit. Our outward appearance and behavior give a message. What message are we sending? Does it reflect that we are children of God?" From Modesty: Reverence for The Lord by Elder Robert D. Hales August 2008

      Have the children talk in pairs about a couple of their favorite pieces of clothing. Why do they like those clothes? Have a fashion show!! Let a few adults know the week before that they will be strutting down the primary room runway... try to focus on neat appearance, clean clothes, clothes you feel comfortable in, and have each person share a scripture or personal experience in regards to modesty. Have a couple teachers in play dress up- giant sunglasses, silly hat, or feather boa. These are perfect for play or holidays, however, do these things reflect fun or respect? There is nothing wrong with fun!! There is just a time and place for everything, right?? Kind of like the quote from Elder Hales!! You can have 2 primary children hold flashlights as they walk and 2 more primary children hold old cameras to pretend like they are taking pictures. Of course, you are the announcer so be upbeat! "Here comes Sister Jones in a lovely ankle length skirt. Her beautiful shirt is a vibrant red, one of her very favorite colors. As she walks down the street in this modest outfit, people turn to notice. She's different. She's covered. She respects her body. But what is most noticeable? That radiant smile!! She is confident that she is a beloved daughter of Heavenly Father."

Week 3 Living the Word of Wisdom shows respect for my body.

* Have 20 plastic cups, with 20 different pictures relating to the word of wisdom. Put 10 pictures on the inside of 10 cups and 10 pictures on the outside of 10 cups. Set up the room with 10 cups facing up and 10 cups facing down. Have some questions to go along with the pictures- for example, picture of lots of candy... is that a good thing to eat on a regular basis? What does sugar do to our body? What does moderation mean?
    Today we're going to learn all about the word of wisdom and how living it shows respect for our bodies. Invite 2 primary friends up front. 1 primary friend is going to try to turn as many cups down as they can while the other friends turns the cups up!! Make a tally on the board (give that job to a child who is a great mathematician and have them sit by the chalkboard, make them feel special!!) for ups and downs, after each round you'll have to count. Give them just 20-30 seconds each round! Then invite them to choose a picture from one of the cups and answer your question. Take pictures off the cups, so for the next round you don't repeat pictures.
    Does that make any sense?? Here's a picture!! (Sometimes teachers play it for PE... so just remind the children that we can have fun, but we need to be reverent at the same time!! Hopefully by only having 2 kids up front it won't get too rowdy!) Also, wow.... there ended up more up cups than down! Fascinating! (It's not about winning! It was just about moving our bodies while we learned today! Thanks for all your help!!)

* Bring in a  LARGE hula hoop. What? Am I crazy? No!! Yes!! Maybe!! Part of the Word of Wisdom is exercising our body to keep it healthy, right??
    Have 5-7 primary friends come up front and join hands to make a circle. Have them think of something that is part of the Word of Wisdom. (Have small pictures to help inspire them if needed!) Using the Hula Hoop, have them pass it around (still holding hands) in the circle... they will have to step through it carefully!! See if the hula hoop can go ALL THE WAY AROUND while the primary sings The Word of Wisdom, Children's Songbook page 154. Great job!! If they didn't make it, no sweat!! We're just here to learn and enjoy the spirit!! Have them share what part they were thinking about in The Word of Wisdom.

Week 4 Reading, watching, and listening to wholesome things keeps my mind clean.

* Before the children come in, have the room semi-disorganized.
     "Everything looks better when there is cleanliness." (May 1996 Ensign President Gordon B. Hinkley "Be Ye Clean")
     Oh what a mess!!! How does it feel to not have our primary room ready? Do you think if someone was visiting they would feel happy seeing these chairs turned over or these pictures crooked?
      Did you know that if we don't read, watch, and listen to good things... our minds become messy! Our minds would be cluttered with junk!! But when we do what's right- when we read, watch, and listen to wholesome things... it keeps our minds clean!!
      Take a minute and have the children clean up the room. “Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord” D&C 133:5 Break into partners or small groups and come up with a list of things that are good to read, watch and listen to! Share with the entire primary after a few minutes.

* Bring in an UNO game (if you have one!). Invite one primary friend up front to draw from the deck:
Yellow- Name something wholesome to read
Red- Name something wholesome to watch
Green- Name something wholesome to listen to
Blue- Give someone in primary a compliment
Action card- Whole primary make a statue pose and hold it for 10 seconds
You can write it on the board too so you don't forget what color is what.

      “Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; …" Isaiah 1:16

February 2014 LDS Primary Sharing Time Helps and Ideas

This Plan of Salvation Chart is by Rich Allred. He also has a detailed scripture list to accompany the parts of the plan found HERE. This chart is my go to with my own kids because it's specific yet simple!!

 

Monthly Theme: Heavenly Father Has a Plan for His Children.

Monthly Scripture: "O how great the plan of our God!" 2 Nephi 9:13

 

Week 1 Heavenly Father has a plan for His children.

* Have signs labeled: Premortal World, Earth Life, Spirit World, 2nd Coming/Resurrection, Millennium, Final Judgement, Celestial, Terrestial, Telestial. Each sign can have a picture on it to correspond. Invite students to hold the signs and see if they can get into the right order. Have clues (about 15-20... always have more than not enough!) about the different parts of the plan and invite a primary friend to come up front and stand by the person holding the sign they think is the right part for the clue. Have sign holders hold their signs for about 3 clues, then they can switch with another friend who hasn't had a turn. Each time they'll need to get in the right order!! Have primary children say the parts of the plan each time!!
Some possible clues could include:
The highest kingdom of Glory, compared to what? (Celestial... the sun)
We might be able to ride T-Rex's during this time because animals will NOT hurt each other (Millennium)
Our time of testing (Earth Life)
1/3 of Heavenly Father's children rejected His plan here (Premortal World)
This place is where we go RIGHT after we die (Spirit World)
Jesus is in charge of this event, hope we made some good choices!!! (Final Judgement)
Here we experience sickness, pain, and suffering (Earth Life)
This place is compared to the stars, and even though it's nice we don't want to end up there (Telestial Kingdom)

* “Some of us at one time or another let the pressures of life or the false teachings of men cloud our vision, but when we see with clarity, the difference between the plan of God and that of Satan is unmistakable” (Richard G. Scott, Ensign, Nov. 1981, 11).
    Bring in a large piece of wax paper, a piece of foil, and a piece of very CLEAR saran wrap. Which one is easier to see through? God's plan is very clear and when we follow it we will have happiness!! Have the primary divide into groups and come up with 5 things they know about the plan of salvation. Have them share with the primary.
     Satan presented his plan. What did he want? Hold up the foil!! That plan would have been complete darkness. Sometimes men come up with ideas, "Eat, drink & be merry!"... yes, it's good to have happiness, but true happiness comes in following Jesus. Hold up the wax paper! Once again, hold up the saran wrap and repeat the quote by Elder Scott. Bear testimony of how the Plan of Salvation helps us see clearly.

* If you wanted to go on a special picnic, what would you have to do? Would you just go to the park and eat berries on the bushes? You'd have to carefully plan and prepare! You want enough food, drinks, napkins... you'd have to decide the best time to go. Do you need a blanket? And that's just for a picnic!!
"The worth of souls is great in the sight of God." D&C 18:10
     Heavenly Father loves us. He didn't just toss us into a park and say, have a great picnic. He carefully planned a way for us to have happiness and return to Him!
     Have a picnic basket with different picnic items and attach scriptures, questions, and songs to sing about the plan of salvation to these items- for children to come up, pick, and then answer.

* HERE is a sharing time by Margaret Lifferth with a booklet for children to make. Full of EXCELLENT ideas for teaching this week's theme.

* HERE is a sharing time link by Vicki Matsumori with a cool Plan of Happiness viewer. You could easily have the tube, point it at a blank wall and ask children what they see. Not much? Fortunately, the plan of happiness helps us to see our purpose and meaning in life. Pop in the pictures and have the children discuss the parts of the plan they see.

Week 2 Heavenly Father commanded Jesus Christ to create the earth as a home for His children.

* CS pg. 92 "Home" is a wonderful song! It's an easy and catchy melody and the words are simple and full of truth. Punch Boards are really fun!

This is a punch board in the shape of a heart. You can have cups behind also, if you want a flat front. Now to tie the 2 together. Make a home with windows/doors to punch into. Sing the song Home and then invite a child to come learn about the home that Jesus created for us. Have in each window/door that a primary friend punches into, a picture of the creation! Have the children put the pictures in order of the creation. Because you probably don't want to make 2 boards, bring in extra tissue paper to glue during break for the 3rd hour.

 

* Play a game of I spy!! Have a bunch of pictures about earth and the creation taped around the primary room. Demonstrate how to play first. You will give 3 clues and then you will call on someone who is raising their hand to answer. "I spy something Jesus created/organized. I spy something that is the color yellow. I spy something that is very far away." Take a couple guesses... need a few more hints? " I spy something in the sky. I spy something in the dark." That's right, STARS!!! How do we feel when we look into the night sky? Aren't we grateful that Heavenly Father loves us so much that he would give us earth for home! Invite primary children to come up and give hints about something they see in the room. Be prepared to help them!!! They can whisper in your ear and you can whisper back to them clues!

* Your music leader has appropriately decided to sing Heavenly Father Loves Me (CS 228). Of course, you are always going to have "the one" child who notices things... e.g. my quick, beautiful, sharp as a needle daughter, "Why does the song say Heavenly Father created for me but then our lesson is Jesus created the earth?" Aren't you glad you came prepared! Just turn to the scriptures... Ephesians 3:9 " And to make all men see... which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ".  We also have "God the Father is the Supreme Being in whom we believe and whom we worship. He is the ultimate Creator, Ruler, and Preserver of all things." (True to The Faith Manual 74-76) Heavenly Father is our ultimate creator and He had Jesus create too! All that wouldn't fit into the rhythm of the song, so that's probably why. :)

* Chores!! Why do we need to take care of our homes?? After you've gone over the creation, talk about the home we all have in common now... our beautiful earth!! In our personal homes we have certain responsibilities! Have the children come up and act out some chores we do at home for other children to guess. What are some chores we could do for our home, mother earth? Children can out things like : pick up trash, plant trees and flowers, bicycle/walk instead of driving so much, turn off lights, save water, take care of animals. Challenge the children to remember to thank Heavenly Father for 3 things about the earth they are grateful for in their prayers this week.
     “It is expedient that I, the Lord, should make every man accountable, as a steward over earthly blessings, which I have made and prepared for my creatures. I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very handiwork; and all things therein are mine. And it is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are mine” D&C 104:13–15

* HERE is an excellent general conference talk, The Creation by Elder Russel M. Nelson. (April 2000)
I LOVE his quote, "Without our grateful awareness of God’s hand in the Creation, we would be just as oblivious to our provider as are goldfish swimming in a bowl." You could easily have a bowl full of goldfish crackers and small cups. As you do an activity to learn about the creation, scoop out cups of goldfish to give to the children to eat. We are NOT like goldfish! We know who created us and our beautiful earth and we are grateful!!!! You could also have a real goldfish (if you are a super star and want the kids to remember!!) named "Swimmy" who the children could teach the different parts of the creation! They hold up a picture and tell Swimmy all about it! Watch your reverence level soar as you remind the children those who want to teach Swimmy have to be extra well mannered. If someone doesn't get a chance to say hello to Swimmy, they can come after church and look!!!

 

Week 3 My body is created in the Image of God.

* THIS is a beautiful story and a must read by President Monson. You can paraphrase the story to the children in your own words and end with this quote:
"The world is filled with yellow canaries with gray on their wings. The pity is that so precious few of them have learned to sing...We are sons and daughters of a living God, in whose image we have been created. Think of that truth: “Created in the image of God.” We cannot sincerely hold this conviction without experiencing a profound new sense of strength and power, even the strength to live the commandments of God..."

Draw a large tree on your chalkboard and have about 10 paper yellow canaries in it's branches. On the back of the pictures have scriptures, questions, and songs about how we are created in God's image. Have children choose canaries!
    Like President Monson said, the world is full of canaries with gray on their wings. People are all created differently, but no matter what.... we can be who God wants us to be!! We were created in His image.

* Break out the art supplies. Let children draw self portraits and write why they are special. Our bodies are created in the image of Heavenly Father!! This can fulfill a Faith in God Activity under Developing Talents. My recommendation- for good art results- is to use heavy construction paper, pencils, sharpies to trace pencil lines and crayons. The contrast between the color and black really defines the work. They can do just face or whole body, but make sure they use the WHOLE space of the paper. Children tend to draw small/microscopic scale unless they are directed otherwise!

* Invite a child up front and stand behind them. Hold up a picture of an appropriate body part or you could even point to something on your body. Tell the primary children who see the picture to NOT SHOUT OUT. The child up front will call on Primary friends who are raising their hand reverently and who can give them a clue to help them guess the picture/part they didn't see. Our bodies are created in Heavenly Father's image. Now when you hold up pictures, children need to give clues that involve ways they can use that body part to serve and help others!! Make sure you have plenty of pictures!!!

* FYI- In the last session of General Conference, Elder Russel M. Nelson gave a talk Decisions for Eternity. He talked about the blessings of having a body and asked 2 important questions. Have we taken the time to really ponder these questions? Now might be the time to do so and write down our thoughts!! It could even be a challenge for children to go home and talk with their families.
       1. How will you choose to care for and use your body?
       2.What spiritual attributes will you choose to develop?

Week 4 Agency is the gift to choose for myself.

* "My dear brothers and sisters, each day is a day of decision, and our decisions determine our destiny. One day each of us will stand before the Lord in judgment. We will each have a personal interview with Jesus Christ. We will account for decisions that we made..." Elder Russel M. Nelson Decisions for Eternity, General Conference Oct. 2013 (linked in the idea above)
      Sometimes we need to take time to really reflect. Often days go by and we don't consider/account what we've done to really honor the gift of agency. Can you imagine what it would be like to meet with Jesus and talk about all we've done? Have paper for the children with the title "Decisions Determine our Destiny!" What is a decision? Have the paper divided into 4 sections.Think about yesterday.... have children draw choices they made, or write down, that were good in one section. Were there any choices made that could have been better? What is a good choice they can make tomorrow? 10 years from now?? What is a good choice they can make today!??!! Have children share their work.

* President Harold B. Lee said, “Next to life itself, free agency is God’s greatest gift to mankind.”
Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee (2000), 4
     Since Heavenly Father has given us this great gift... among many.... how can we use our agency as a gift to Him?? Have a large wrapped box and invite children come up to draw out case scenarios from it. Have them think of the best way to use the gift of their agency in that situation.
Some case scenarios could include:
     You are in the car and a song with questionable lyrics comes on.
     You are at school and there are people using bad language.
     Your brother keeps taking your toys.
     Someone asks you why you go to church.
     You broke something valuable at home, no one saw.
     A bully at school keeps picking on someone.
     You have a sporting event on Sunday.
If time permits you could have envelopes for children to write a choice they will make this week as a gift to Heavenly Father. Let them color and add a fancy bow!

* "Men and women receive their agency as a gift from God, but their liberty and, in turn, their eternal happiness come from obedience to His laws." Elder Perry April 2013 General Conference Obedience to the Law is Liberty
     Sing Choose the Right Way (CS pg. 160) Our freedom to choose is a gift from Heavenly Father. What we do with our choices will either make us eternally happy or unhappy!
    Have some gum for the children!! Woah... back up... did I just say gum? Let me rephrase that. VERY CLEARLY STATE YOUR EXPECTATIONS that you have some gum for our lesson today, but if the gum comes out of our mouth, it GOES IN THE TRASH. We're not going to mess around with our gum because we are in The Lord's House and we want to show respect. After sharing time, ALL GUM WILL GO IN THE GARBAGE. All who are willing to do so can raise their hand and we can begin. And gage your primary! Are they good listeners? Will this enhance the spirit or take away from it? Pray about it!!
     Today we are going to talk about "Chews"ing the Right and Agency!!! Invite a child up front to blow a bubble. Have a posterboard of a large drawing of a child's head. Have a pink balloon blown up and taped to the mouth. Have questions, scriptures, and songs in envelops on the posterboard. Let the child who just blew a bubble "chews" an envelope.
     End with repeating Elder Perry's quote. We can choose to be happy by choosing the right! Bear Testimony!! Before children leave the room, they will throw out their gum in the garbage that a teacher is holding.

* THIS talk is a MUST READ for the week!!! by Wolfgang H. Paul (April 2006 General Conference)
     "Some time ago, as I was driving, I had to stop at a red light. The vehicle in front of me caught my attention. A sticker read, “I do what I want.”

     I wondered why someone would choose to place such a statement on his vehicle. What was the message he wanted to send? Perhaps the driver of this vehicle wanted to express publicly that he has achieved total freedom by just doing what he likes to do. As I thought about this, I realized that our world would be quite chaotic if everyone would just do what he or she wants to do."

     Have some scriptures on agency for the children to look up in groups and discuss. Have a child come up front from that group and talk about the scripture. It could even be scripture stories of people who have wisely or unwisely used their gift of agency!

     Give the children a picture of a car and have them make up a bumper sticker that is better than "I do what I want". Bear testimony that agency is a gift and we should treat it as such!!

If anyone would like a copy of the above picture, just email me and I'll get it to you as quick as I can.