May 2013 LDS Primary Sharing Time Helps & Ideas

 

Monthly Theme: Prophets Teach Us to Live The Restored Gospel
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.

Jacob Chapter 5 Reader's Theater by chulbakera

Week 3 Prophets teach me to pay tithing.

* HERE is a spot the difference set of pictures of how tithing is used in the church. Tape each picture to random chairs and invite children to come up 4 at a time if they have ways that tithing helps missionary work. Have them work together to see who has the different picture. Ask that friend to answer a couple questions about tithing or read a scripture about tithing. Now ask the 4 children to come up front who have pictures about how tithing helps temple work... etc.

* 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.
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.

June 2012 LDS Primary Sharing Time Helps and Ideas

One of the ways we're preparing our daughter for baptism is having her read Gospel Principles alongside the Book of Mormon. We discuss questions from the book itself but she also has a special notebook that she has learning labwork to do after each chapter. A lot of these assignments involve her drawing something. When she's finished I'll do a post and list all the learning labwork from her notebook.

Monthly Theme: I Choose the Right by Living Gospel Principles
Monthly Scripture: "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them" 1 Nephi 3:7

Week 1 I pray to Heavenly Father for strength to do what is right.

* "Recognize that there is a power greater than ours, that no matter how good a man is, he is not good enough, that no matter how wise he is, he is not wise enough, that no matter how strong he is, he is not strong enough for all of the things which he will face in life, and that there is a source of power to which he can go with the assurance that he will be listened to and that there will be a response." Gordon B. Hinckley, "The Message: Gifts to Bring Home from the Mission Field," New Era, Mar. 2007, 4

Bring in a CD player. Can this turn on if you don't plug it in? Have a primary friend try. Now plug it in... will it turn on? The CD player is just a hunk of plastic and metal, unless it's connected to the power!! Play a song about prayer quietly on the CD player while you read the quote from President Hinckley to the children.We are like the CD player, we need to connect to our Heavenly Father through prayer and He will give us strength and power to do what is right.

* Have the children act out the story of Nephi being bound, while you read the following words from Elder Bednar:
"   Nephi is an example of one who knew, understood, and relied upon the enabling power of the Savior. Recall that the sons of Lehi had returned to Jerusalem to enlist Ishmael and his household in their cause. Laman and others in the party traveling with Nephi from Jerusalem back to the wilderness rebelled, and Nephi exhorted his brethren to have faith in the Lord. It was at this point in their journey that Nephi’s brothers bound him with cords and planned his destruction. Please note Nephi’s prayer:   
    “O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound” (1 Nephi 7:17; emphasis added).

    Do you know what I likely would have prayed for if I had been tied up by my brothers? “Please get me out of this mess NOW!” It is especially interesting to me that Nephi did not pray to have his circumstances changed. Rather, he prayed for the strength to change his circumstances. And I believe he prayed in this manner precisely because he knew, understood, and had experienced the enabling power of the Atonement.

    I do not think the bands with which Nephi was bound just magically fell from his hands and wrists. Rather, I suspect he was blessed with both persistence and personal strength beyond his natural capacity, that he then “in the strength of the Lord” (Mosiah 9:17) worked and twisted and tugged on the cords, and ultimately and literally was enabled to break the bands."

(From April 2012 Ensign)

* HERE is an AWESOME AWESOME story from The Friend. Before you tell the story, in front of the children put on your warmest winter coat, hat, mittens and scarf. Read the story with lots of enthusiasm. Ask a couple questions to engage the kids... what do you think will happen next? Will he be able to open the door? Why do you think he'd even want to explore the polar ice caps?

Could he open the door with his own strength? What did prayer give him?

Just as prayer gave Admiral Byrd the strength to open the door, prayer can give us the strength to do what is right. Below are some artic animals. Cut them out, number them 1 to 9, and laminate them. Bring in a small tub with cold water. Put the animals in the tub. Let primary children put on your scarf and draw an animal out of the cold water. Have questions, scriptures, or songs to go along with the numbers they draw out.

For example:

1. When have you felt strengthened by prayer?

2. As a primary, sing A Child's Prayer (Children's Songbook pg. 12)

3. Where are 5 places we can pray?

I am in no way endorsing this website, but I am very grateful for their free cute clip art!

* Break into small groups and have 3 adults to tell the following stories from The Friend. They need to be GOOD readers.... use inflection, perhaps a couple visuals for a child to hold while they read, involve the children with a couple questions here and there.... Rotate the groups so they can hear all the stories! Each group should have about 3-5 minutes to hear the story.

Ummmm... WOW!!! HERE is awesome story #1!!! I would be sure to warn the children that the story is a little scary, but that it has a very happy ending because Heavenly Father answered The Oaks' prayers and because Elder Oaks was given strength to do what was right.

HERE is story #2. Perhaps you can have a picture of a car, a doctor and a person praying. Great quote, be sure to emphasize from the story!! "While the blessings we ask for and receive through prayer are undeniably magnificent, the greatest blessing and benefit is not in the physical blessings that may come as answers to our prayers but in the changes to our souls that come as we learn to be dependent on Heavenly Father for strength."

HERE is story #3. I would bring in a small fan and let it blow on the children as you read a little, but then turn it off when you get to that point in the story. I especially like this story because sometimes we have to be the answer to our prayers, and no matter what, Heavenly Father will strengthen us!! Great quote to emphasize, "How often do we quit because we pray for wind and none comes? Instead, we need to listen for the Lord’s answer when we pray and then act upon it. On the boat, five men prayed, but only one heard and acted. God gave him the strength to be His wind that day, and He will give us the strength to be His wind when we do what He asks."

Week 2 When I pay my tithing, Heavenly Father will bless me.

* HERE is a great story for a couple children to act out while you read. There are excellent questions at the end of the story.  Let the children make a fishing pole with a stick and some yarn. Discuss some blessings that come from paying tithing and write them on the board. Have different colored paper fish children can choose and write blessings on that come from paying tithing! Have plenty of tape!! Enlist teachers help and have the children tape their fish onto their fishing pole yarn.

* Enlarge this picture as BIG as you can!!! Invite a child to come up front, help Maria find a coin, circle it with a big red marker and then answer a question about paying tithing. (From Feb. 2010 The Friend Illustration by Adam Koford)

 

* HERE is a tithing maze! Pair up an older child with a younger child. You'll have to have a copy of the maze for each pair. Have them read to the younger children what is on the maze and work together to find their way to the blessings of paying tithing!

* HERE are some great questions and scripture references for Senior Primary to work on in groups. You could make a crossword of it too!

* Boy, The Friend is just the best magazine EVER! HERE is another awesome story to tell the children. It's a little longer, so I would read it really well during your personal preparation time before Sunday and then tell in your own words. Have 10 volunteers in the primary take off their shoes and bring them up front, then go sit down. Invite another child to come up front and say something/ a blessing that comes from paying tithing. Let that child choose a pair of shoes and return it to the proper owner! Repeat until all the shoes are returned.

Week 3 I obey the Word of Wisdom by eating and drinking that which is good and avoiding that which is bad.

* Pack a picnic basket! Bring in plenty of food choices for the children & let them come up one at a time and pick something healthy to put in the basket. On the board have 2 columns- Good Food & Drink, Bad food & drink. When they come up to choose something for the basket, have them also tell you something to add to one of the columns that they don't see by the basket. Write it down on the board. (Many 7 years would be capable of writing on the board too!)

* Bring in paper plates & crayons. Let children draw a healthy breakfast, lunch or dinner. Have them walk around the room reverently for a minute and share with other children what wonderful word of wisdom meals they made!

(Some recycled ideas from previous posts)
* Explain that we are going to have a cooking demonstration. Invite a child to come up front and cut bananas, another one do strawberries... have another child add some yogurt and yet another child add in some grapes. (Please no sharp knives and be mindful of food allergies) Have small cups for the children to sample. Was the fruit salad cooking demonstration something that is good for our bodies?
Have the children play win-win-draw with foods and other things having to do with the Word of Wisdom that are good for our bodies. (They come up to the blackboard and draw, for example, an apple... then someone from the Primary guesses what they have drawn)

* Break into groups and have them pass a healthy food around as you sing The Word of Wisdom. (CS #154) When the music stops, the person holding the healthy food has to name something that is good for our bodies. For older children you can make it a little more challenging by giving them a certain letter that the healthy food has to start with.

* Have a bunch of healthy recipes and let the children make a recipe book for their family!! Make copies of the recipes and let the children draw pictures of how they think the finished food will look like.... Always make a copy or example to show them/give them some starting ideas. Display a bunch of different cook books and let the children end Primary by sharing some recipes they think would be healthy for our bodies in those books. On the chalk board you can have the words written- A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS- THE WORD OF WISDOM!!!

Week 4 When I dress modestly, I respect my body as a gift from God.

* HERE is a great article & story about how to tell if you're modestly dressed! Perhaps you could play it with the kids too!

* Have a clothesline hung between 2 chairs. Invite children to design modest clothes to hang on the clothesline. Be sure to have paper, crayons and scissors available. Teachers can always help cutting!

* I would definitely make copies of THIS talk (Modesty:Reverence for The Lord by Elder Hales), bring in highlighters and let the Senior Primary divide into pairs or small groups and read it together. They can mark things that stick out to them and inspire them. After 5 minutes, invite a couple children to share something they learned from the article. Also, if the weather's good, let them go outside and do it. Sometimes a change of scenery really helps you to focus.

* Look the part! Have a few dress up items. If you wanted to look like a fireman what would you put on... firehat. How about a ballerina? A tutu. What about a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints? HERE are some thoughts on modesty from Elder Christofferson. Invite primary friends to walk reverently around the room and give each other compliments on their modesty. If they are feeling shy, that's OK!! They can just smile at each other. FIRST!! Write some compliments on the board!! For example: Your hair is nicely brushed. Your skirt is a good length. Your pants are neat and unwrinkled. That's a handsome shirt. You look like a missionary. Nice shoes!! That dress has sleeves and is pretty. It's my own personal opinion that we need to make primary an environment where children feel loved and respected by each other. Giving compliments builds self esteem and makes a person's day brighter.