Prophets Teach Me to Live the Word of Wisdom: Sharing Time or family night ideas

In May, during Sharing Time, we’ll be teaching and learning all about how the “Prophets Teach Us to Live the Restored Gospel”.  Recently, Marci shared some great guidance, straight from our living Prophet’s recent General Conference talks, that is perfect for the first couple weekly sub-themes.

On week 4 we get to teach about the Word of Wisdom!  In the early days of my missionary service in Spain I don’t think I ever felt an ‘exclamation point’ when saying that we were going to teach someone about the Word of Wisdom.  I knew it was a hard challenge to quit smoking or forego drinking that traditional glass of wine with dinner every evening, or giving up the morning coffee routine.  I was always a little nervous to ask my investigators to make that commitment because I was afraid it would scare them away.  And the truth is, it did scare some investigators away.  But what I came to learn was this: when you know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet, and that we receive revelations from God in the latter-days, then the Word of Wisdom should have an exclamation point behind it, all the time!  Teaching someone about how to keep their body healthy and their mind clear and how to call upon God to pour out his blessings for their obedience was a life changing moment!

Seeing people learn about the Word of Wisdom for the first time and embracing it with all its blessings was a real testimony-building experience.  Now years later, I can look back and see how much the Word of Wisdom blessed my life and my mind and body even before I fully appreciated it.  Now I appreciate it even more and try and teach my own children, who are like mini-”investigators” really, that living the Word of Wisdom is a blessing not a sacrifice!

Here’s a wonderful Word of Wisdom sorting game (created by my dear friend Adrienne) that will give you lots of opportunities to teach while the children take turns deciding if a certain food or beverage should get placed under, “Yes, please!” or “No, thank you!”  And you could also sing the classic Primary song that never gets enough attention, For Health and Strength (CS 21).

Enjoy sharing your testimonies about the Word of Wisdom!

~Michelle

Sweet Dreams

I was visiting another ward in my stake for their Primary Program.  At the end of the program one of the counselors in the Primary Presidency spoke for a few minutes about how Primary has blessed her life.  One of the stories she shared was priceless, and I thought it painted a perfect picture of how loved and valuable Primary teachers are.  I paraphrase her story below:

“My son was having a particularly sad and difficult night sleeping.  When I went in to comfort him I asked him to think of something that would make him happy and help him sleep.  After a moment he smiled at me and said, “Sister Smith,* my Primary teacher!”  After that he was able to fall asleep peacefully.”

Primary teachers, your work is far reaching and even when you aren’t physically present, you tuck in Primary children for a peaceful night’s sleep.

~Michelle

*name has been changed for privacy

Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday: Sharing Time ideas with family activity

This year Easter is in March!  I never remember having Easter this early.  I am excited though, because I think celebrating Easter the week before General Conference is a perfect way to set the tone for listening to our Prophet and Apostles.

Family Activity: In my family we like to celebrate the Holy Week leading up to Easter, in addition to Easter Sunday itself.  We’ve done this the last few years and it has been really meaningful not only to me and my husband but also my 2 young children.  Beginning on Palm Sunday (the Sunday before Easter), we set aside a few minutes each day to tell the story about Jesus’ last week.  Each day we read the scripture account of the events that took place in Jesus’ life in the same order as they actually transpired.

I’ve outlined the scripture references (The Last Week of Jesus’ Life-Easter PDF) and organized them by day of the week so you know what events happened when and which scripture stories to tell.  I love to pull out pictures from the Gospel Art Kit to use as visuals, but even if you don’t have a hard copy of the Gospel Art Kit, it is all on lds.org’s Media Library so you can do it digitally too!

Sharing Time Lessons: Teach about Palm Sunday on March 24 using the scriptures outlined in the document above, and some visuals from the Gospel Art Kit (or even this 1-minute video from lds.org).  What happened on Palm Sunday and how did it get its name anyway?  This is the day of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  The people waved palm leaves and laid them in His path as He rode into the city on a donkey.  Some say that the palm leaf was a symbol of “great value” because the palm trees were highly valued by the people and used in many ways.  Make a copy of the scripture references for each of your Primary children and send it home with them so they can study the Holy Week with their families and in preparation for your Sharing Time Lesson on Easter about the Resurrection.  On Easter Sunday March 31 talk about the different events of Jesus’ last week to summarize (you may choose to highlight 2 or 3 specific events and bring pictures for those since you will not have time to review everything). Then teach about the Resurrection and why Easter Sunday is such a special day to celebrate Jesus!  I teach children about the Resurrection using paper dolls (see templates below): one paper doll to represent the spirit and one to represent the body.  Make a set for each child and one for yourself while you teach the concept of what happened to Jesus when he died (his Spirit left his body and his body was laid in the tomb). Then let each child have their own set to cut out and color then practice with you while you show how the spirit leaves our body when we die. The spirit continues living and the body goes in the grave.  Then have the children reunite the spirit and body when it is time to demonstrate the Resurrection.  This is a complex doctrine that is reinforced visually and kinesthetically when using paper doll visuals while you are teaching.

Enjoy teaching and testifying about one of the most important events in Christ’s life!

Template: Body and Spirit-Girl

Template: Body and Spirit-Boy

~Michelle

Jesus Christ is our Savior: March Sharing Time or family night ideas

Jesus Our Teacher and Savior

In March the Sharing Time monthly theme is Jesus Christ is our Savior.  Use the following ideas to develop any of the weeks sub-themes or as an additional lesson for the 5th Sunday of March.  As always, these lesson ideas are perfect as family night lessons as well!

I approach every lesson with the goal to come up with a variety of activities that will teach and support my one lesson theme or topic.  I’m all about teaching the same principle in different ways so that children of varied learning styles will benefit and really all will benefit from the repetition.  My first activity is a  crossword puzzle.  You can print off individual copies for each child, or you could create one larger version for everyone to work on as a team, using this template. (I created this crossword puzzle on “Puzzlemaker” at DiscoveryEducation.com.  You can create all sorts of puzzles on this site!)

Crossword Puzzle Jesus Christ is our Savior

Clues:

Across

2. Jesus went to the river Jordan for this special event.

4. Christ feels this for all of us.

5. We come to this special building each week to learn more about Jesus.

Down:

1. We can talk with Heavenly Father.

3. Heavenly Father sent Jesus to earth so he could do this. (this is a tricky one, I suppose there are lots of answers to this clue that would be true)

answers: baptism, love, church, prayer, teach

This crossword puzzle might be quick, especially for the Senior Primary.  But if you want something quick to finish off your lesson, then that’s perfect!  However, if you want to make this its own lesson then I thought of some more layers you could add to this simple game.

If you know me at all, or have ever read any of my posts here, you know how much I love music, and that to me it’s one of the top most effective teaching tools!  So, of course, I’ve gotta include music in this lesson idea as well.  So here’s another layer you could add to the crossword puzzle that will incorporate music.  If you are solving the puzzle as a group, stop to take a break after you solve each clue and sing a song about that one topic.  Take the opportunity to talk about the different doctrinal teachings that the song lyrics teach.  Here’s a list of song options for each of the 5 puzzle answers:

Baptism: When Jesus Christ was Baptized (CS 102 ); Baptism (CS 100)

Prayer: A Child’s Prayer (CS 12); Search, Ponder, and Pray (CS 109)

Church: The Church of Jesus Christ (CS 77); The Chapel Doors (CS 156)

Love: Love One Another (CS 136); I’ll Walk With You (CS 140); Jesus Said Love Everyone (CS 61)

Teach: Teach Me to Walk in the Light (CS 177); I Am a Child of God (CS 2); He Sent His Son (CS 34)

Enjoy teaching and reminding your Primary children that Jesus Christ is our Savior!  I know it’s true, and I am so thankful for Him and to know how His Atonement blesses my life each day.

~Michelle

Bridging the Connection Between Home and Primary: a monthly newsletter

Recently on Primary in Zion, Jenn shared a fabulous memorization chart with all the scriptures and songs for this new year!  I thought this was a perfect resource for bridging the connection between home and Primary.  How often do we ask our children what they learned in class and the response we get is, “I don’t know.”  Please tell me I’m not the only parent who gets this answer!

Even though Primaries across the world use the same sharing time outline each year, individual Primaries and Primary Presidencies are unique and do different things.  This brings me to another suggestion for bridging the connection between home and Primary: a monthly Primary newsletter.  I don’t suggest an elaborate, time consuming, paper wasting newsletter that will end up in the trash can or on the ground in the parking lot.  Rather, I can imagine a newsletter email that would inform parents about the different incentives going on in Primary each Sunday; or offer a reminder to parents about a particular need in Primary; or an overview of which children are giving talks or scriptures in opening exercises that month; or a list of the Primary rules that each child should be following (wouldn’t it be great if parents reinforced the Primary rules at home and helped their child understand Primary expectations?).

Each Primary has different needs and a monthly newsletter might include a variety of information, the important thing is that the newsletter include relevant, useful and concise information.  Short, sweet and to the point!

Earlier this month I dropped my children off in Primary and my daughter, who is a new Sunbeam, spotted a cute handmade mailbox sitting atop the piano and inquired what it was.  I wish I could have explained it to her but I didn’t know what it was for.  It certainly looked cute and her question piqued my interest as well!  I didn’t know what to tell her at that moment but later the Primary president explained their fun idea, “We’ve been using the mailbox to hold that weeks spotlight, talk/scripture, announcements, etc.  We have the kiddos open the box and hand out assignments. It keeps them a little more entertained while we go though our weekly chores (so to say), and it makes it easier to not forget things when conducting.”  As a parent and teacher I love to gather new ideas from others!  Including a description of new incentives, such as a special Primary mailbox, is a perfect tidbit of information to include in a monthly newsletter.

Whether the memorization chart or a monthly newsletter works for your Primary the important thing is to bridge the connection between home and Primary in a way that is helpful and relevant to your unique Primary.  What do you do in your Primary?  Please share your ideas in the comment section below and let the synergy begin!

~Michelle, with guest contributor Valerie

{Thank you to Valerie for contributing this fantastic monthly newsletter example that can be used as a fast template that’s editable for your needs!}

If the Savior Stood Beside Me, Would I Do the Things I Do?

I love this song: If the Savior Stood Beside Me.  The song poses some perfect questions for all of us.

“If the Savior stood beside me, would I do the things I do?”

“Would I think of his commandments and try harder to be true?”

“Would my words be true and kind if He were never far away?”

I wish I could always answer these questions with a resounding yes!  Unfortunately, I often come to the end of my day and realize my behavior was less than stellar.  Songs like this help me remember why I want to choose the right.

Well, I’m looking forward to practicing this song throughout the year in Primary.  I love to do basic American Sign Language (ASL) signs {see a video here} to teach this song or use a flip chart of pictures and words*.  Whichever way you do it in your Primary, make sure and sing your heart out!.  Singing Time is such a perfect time for gospel teaching and testimony sharing.  Happy singing!

~Michelle

*This flip chart was downloaded from the blog Primary To Go which has since been terminated.

January 1st: a new year, a new class!

I grew up attending Primary.  The thing I remember most is singing Primary songs.  I can visualize the very room we met in, I can even remember some of the posters the chorister used to help us learn the songs.  I remember my favorite songs; and the desire to be called on as a helper is vivid.  I remember the challenge of learning a new song by erasing words off the chalkboard as we memorized it.  These are great memories.

The other thing I recall most vividly, even now as a mother of my own Primary-aged children, is the difficult transition as each New Year began.  I was always a bit frustrated.  January 1st would roll around and my school friends would move up into the class ahead of me while I stayed back because my birthday wasn’t until January 7^th.  I had missed the cut-off by one week.  That was a challenge.

My son’s birthday is in February.  He misses the cut-off by a month, which means that he was in Nursery until he was almost 4 years old, in Nursery with “the babies” as he used to say, not in a mean way but as a matter-of-fact declaration.  I knew this would be the case and always just tried to help him understand how the system worked and that there are certain rules.  My son can understand rules.

Now that my own children are attending Primary and learning those same songs I learned, I know the behind-the-scenes time and preparation that goes in to preparing all those song visuals and planning the classroom lessons and organizing the birthdays and talks in opening exercises etc.  I also now understand that there has to be a cut-off somewhere in order to organize classes.  No matter what date the church chose, it would be one week or one month before someone’s birthday.

What can be challenging is when others don’t play by the rules.  I’m fond of rules, I like structure; it’s a key component to my personality type.  I think having exceptions to the rules can be tricky in this instance.  Well, if one child missed the January 1^st cut-off by one week and the Primary decided to let that child move up to the older class, then what about the child whose birthday is the second week of January, and so on?

This can be frustrating.  I experienced this very emotion as a child when I was going through it first hand.  Now, as a parent I feel the frustration my son has had.  As a Primary leader I have witnessed other parents with this same frustration.  Apparently, this is a common concern and not one that has gone away as the years have passed.

As a child I had my frustrations each year, but frustrations are part of life. I survived, even thrived in Primary despite those challenges.  My son is 6 now and he’s been able to learn from children in Primary both older and younger than him.  Maybe the more important thing is to attend Primary, feel loved, and feel the Spirit. If that is happening, the class you’re in doesn’t have that much bearing.

~Michelle

12 Days of Christmas–preparing for Christmas through scripture

I love everything about Christmas!  The traditions, the music, the parties, the food, the symbolism, gift giving, Santa, decorations–you name it!  I think these traditions can create wonderful family memories!  Every year each member in our family gets to choose a new Christmas tree ornament.  My husband’s family started this when he was just a boy. When he and I got married, his mom gave him a box of all his Christmas ornaments from years past–even now he loves to reminisce when he pulls out his ornaments each year.

Amidst all these Christmas traditions we try and set aside a few moments each day to specifically focus on Christ’s birth and the true meaning of Christmas.  I have been wanting to create some sort of Christmas countdown to help me accomplish this goal.  This year I finally came up with a cute idea.  Of course, I only consider myself a creative person inasmuch as I can find great ideas from other people online and then morph them into the idea in my head.  Well, this is exactly what I did this year.

First, I found some adorable 12 days of Christmas tags on Today’s Mama blog.  You could use these tags for a million different gift-giving ideas, but I didn’t want to give tangible gifts, I wanted to do a scripture or a spiritual thought so I continued my search.  My next stop was lds.org where I found a perfect article from The New Era that had a scripture and little activity for each of the 12 days of Christmas, with just the right theme I had in mind: “You can prepare for Christmas now by remembering how others prepared for Him then.”  Once I found these two resources online my creativity kicked in and I got to work and created a file folder full of tags and scriptures for each of the 12 Days of Christmas!  This is a fun, cute way to spend a few minutes each night preparing for Christmas, and would also be a great gift idea!  So many variations possible!

“Many prophets in the Bible and Book of Mormon foretold Jesus Christ’s birth and ministry hundreds of years before the actual event. For the 12 days before Christmas, this advent calendar will serve as a reference to scriptures about the birth and life of the Savior and activities you can do to be more Christlike.” The New Era, December 2008

Here’s what I did:

1. Find a file folder (there are tons of cute decorative ones but a plain manila one works just as well).

2. Find some coin envelopes; size #3 (2 1/2 x 4 1/4) fits these tags just perfectly. I found some at Office Max.  I used glue dots to adhere the envelopes to my file folder and also chose to cut off the top flap.

3. Download and color print the 12 Days of Christmas tags from Today’s Mama blog, laminate and cut out.

4. Print the daily scriptures (the link here is a print friendly document, but this comes straight from lds.org). Fold and tape them to the back of each tag.  These then slide into each coin envelope. (The 2 intro paragraphs of this document are what I glued in between the rows of envelopes)

5. Embellish with scraps of ribbon (I stapled red grosgrain ribbon onto each tag to create a little handle), number stickers, decorative paper etc.  Oh, and at the bottom of the page of tags it says 12 Days of Christmas gift tags…well I just cut out the “12 Days of Christmas” part and used that for my file folder label!

6.  Start your countdown on December 13th!

May this activity help lead you and your family to Christ this Christmas season. Merry Christmas!

~Michelle

“He Took their Little Children, One by One, and Blessed Them” {3 Nephi 17:21}

I was immersed in the scriptures one Sunday as the Gospel Doctrine teacher had the class reading a few excerpts from 3 Nephi about Jesus’ visit to the Americas.  The class had continued on in a discussion, but I was in my own little world.  I couldn’t keep from reading on in the chapter and absorbing the power of these verses.   Without meaning to I visualized my own children there at our Masters’ feet, being blessed and taught.  Then I imagined Primary children all over the world and felt like my calling as a Primary worker, our callings as Primary workers, is to make sure that ALL the children “come unto Jesus” so that He can bless them. 

And it came to pass that he commanded that their little children should be brought.  So they brought their little children and set them down upon the ground round about him, and Jesus stood in the midst; and the multitude gave way till they had all been brought unto him. {3 Nephi 17:11-12}

And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones.  And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them.  {3 Nephi 17:23-24}

Reading this chapter made everything seem so simple, so clear.  The schedules, the lessons, the classes, the stress etc. didn’t seem to matter as much anymore.  What really matters is love and knowing the Savior. And teaching our children to hear Him beckoning them to Him so He can bless them.

Read this whole chapter and see what it says to you!  We’d love to hear your thoughts.

~Michelle

“What did you learn in Nursery today?”

I was picking up my daughter from Nursery one Sunday when I overheard a delightful little sound bite:

Another mom was picking up her son and asked him, “What did you learn in Nursery today?”  The Nursery teacher heard the mom’s question and eagerly awaited the child’s response.

The little boy responded, “I learned that Heavenly Father loves me!”

As the mom was smiling at his response, the Nursery teacher emphatically whispered, “YES!”  while giving a celebratory fist pump.

That 4.5 second interaction definitely made my day.   Just the validation needed for a hard working Nursery teacher!  Children really are little sponges soaking it all up.  Teachers, you may never hear from the children in your class how much they love you and how much they have learned so I’m telling you here:  YOU ARE SO IMPORTANT!  Thank you, thank you, to all the dedicated Primary and Nursery teachers out there.  I thank you on my own behalf, on the behalf of my children, and on behalf of God’s children all over the world.  Thank you!

-Michelle