Impressions:

There are two possible outcomes to our lives: peace or destruction.

Peace comes from the gospel, humility, missionary work and faith.

Destruction stems from pride, wickedness, evil and the Gadianton Robbers or evil people.

When Satan gets a hold of our hearts it leads to our destruction and it can happen quickly.

Righteousness is firmness and steadfastness of faith.

Joy comes from conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ and fellowship with others.

The gospel is the only thing that can overcome evil.

We must fortify children when they are young so that they can withstand the enticements of Satan.

This chapter deals with the basics. How we act determines whether we will feel peace or anguish. Destruction can happen quickly. We must prepare and build up children so they can withstand temptation. Everything depends upon that! That is what we do every week: we try to strengthen children, build up their testimonies, and help them develop a relationship with God.

When I read this chapter and applied it to Primary it became a testimony to me of how important the basics are, how clear and straightforward the gospel is and that because of my calling I have an important responsibility to the children under my stewardship.

~Marjorie

After recovering from shock I realized there is a great lesson hidden in those crumbs: the gospel is like a beautiful fresh-baked loaf of cranberry bread sitting prettily on the counter top waiting to be enjoyed and digested by our families and friends.  Sometimes I feel like I am so concerned about letting the loaf of bread cool and look just right that I forget to slice into it and share it!  Clearly, my daughter was ready for a piece of bread!

I know I am guilty of leaving her hungry for the gospel some days.  Sometimes I have an agenda that includes grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning, and reading my book and I forget to stop and slice off a piece of truth to share with my children or neighbors.  I even have a motto hanging on the wall in my kitchen (my dear friend Ann had this motto in her own kitchen and I loved it so much I borrowed it):  ”Laugh, Play, Hug & Teach the Gospel!”  Those are the things I see as being eternally important.  Of course, buying groceries and cleaning the house are certainly necessary, but sometimes I feel like I let them consume me to the neglect of more important things.  President Dieter Uchtdorf recently said, “We can ask ourselves, ‘Am I committing my time and energies to the things that matter most?’ There are so many good things to do, but we can’t do them all.”

What do you do to balance life’s juggling act and keep the most important things on top?  We’d love for you to share your ideas with us!

~Michelle

We sing “With a knick knack, paddy whack. . . ” We enjoy the repetitive rhythm, the silly words, and laughing together. ”Now what shall we sing?” I ask.

“How about ‘Praise to the Man’?” she replies.

I smile, and instead of the nonsense words of the last song, we sing “traitors and tyrants now fight him in vain.” These words may have no more meaning to her five-year-old mind, but the feeling is different. The Spirit is present. And I know the Spirit will take this childhood-ingrained song and reveal layers and layers of meaning throughout her lifetime.

Particularly in nursery, it’s tempting to stick with secular toddler activity songs. There’s nothing wrong with those songs. But children can learn ”I am a Child of God” as easily as they can learn “Wheels on the Bus.” They can learn to gesture towards heaven, which is sign language for God, as easily as they can learn motions for “Itsy Bitsy Spider.” When I’m in nursery, I like to keep the sacred/secular proportion of songs in about the same balance as in Junior Primary — largely inspiring Primary songs that invite the Spirit, with a little splash of  “Hinges” and “Do As I’m Doing” for wiggles as needed.

Yes, dear child, death cannot conquer the hero again. God bless those music leaders and parents who taught you this truth.

-Marci

Hello Teachers,

Many of you were in Primary today for my Sharing Time lesson about choice and consequences. We had been talking as a presidency about improving the expectations in Primary, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to introduce some new rules! I hope it was effective and that all of the children now understand what is expected of them in Singing/Sharing Time.

In conjunction with this, I wanted to thank you for YOUR part in helping the children to keep the rules. Really, the teachers will make a huge difference here! Let me just briefly review the rules and what you can do to help:

1. Sit by someone who will help you be reverent. We like to have the classes and teachers sit together on their respective rows, but we’re also happy to let the kids choose whom they sit by – as long as they choose wisely. As teachers, you should feel free to ask your students to move if they are sitting by someone who is NOT helping them to be reverent. You are more than welcome to sit in between two trouble makers! Make them move during Sharing Time if needed! You can also make deals with the children: let them earn the right to sit by their friends by behaving the week before. These are all things we as a presidency have a hard time doing because we’re not sitting right there with the kids!

2. Come to Primary with nothing in your hands. Of course, many children will bring things with them, but during Sharing Time, we want their hands to be free. Please encourage them to put any papers, toys, treats, scriptures, etc. under their chairs so they don’t get taken away.

3. Show respect for EVERYONE in Primary. This includes speaking kindly and with an “inside voice,” raising their hand and not shouting out, and not talking while someone is trying to teach. Obvious stuff.

So we’re all on the same page, this is the plan for consequences when children are breaking a rule:

1. Reminder from their teacher. This is YOU! Please tap them on the shoulder, whisper a reminder, or send a warning look down the row.

2. If misconduct continues, teacher sends child to the back of the room. This will be your call, since the presidency can’t keep track of everyone who has been “warned.” Please alert one of us if you need help convincing a child to come visit us in the back of the room. If they refuse to move, you can tell them, “That’s no problem. We can just go and get your parents to come help out!”

3. Once they are in the back of the room, we as a presidency will work with them to either help them prepare to go back to their seats or to find their parents.

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions on how to make this go smoothly. We just want to be consistent so the children know what to expect from us and know that we’re expecting them to be reverent!

On this same note, you may decide that the beginning of the year is a good time to set some rules for your own class. I would suggest either coming up with some rules on your own, borrowing ours, or having the children help you come up with your own set of class rules. It’s always good to start a new year in Primary by making sure everyone knows what is expected of them.

Also, if you’re searching for ideas on how to improve reverence in your classroom, you might try looking at this link or this link (specific to Sunbeams but has ideas any younger class would love). I always feel like I need a new reverence “trick” every few months.

Thanks for ALL you do for our children as you serve in the most important calling in the Church!

~Jenn

Jenn is a Primary President and mother to three little boys.  And like many great ideas, these rules were appropriated from another primary.

I use social stories with my son William all the time.  He has autism and can get frustrated and upset when things change, when he is in a challenging situation or when he doesn’t know what is going to happen.  Reading a Social Story can explain to a child what the schedule is for the day, rules they should follow and give them strategies when they are upset.  When my son was younger I used pictures as well as text, now I only use words.  And in a pinch I can write a social story in a couple of minutes.

Jason M. Wallin states “Social Stories are a tool for teaching social skills to children with autism and related disabilities. Social stories provide an individual with accurate information about those situations that he may find difficult or confusing. The situation is described in detail and focus is given to a few key points: the important social cues, the events and reactions the individual might expect to occur in the situation, the actions and reactions that might be expected of him, and why. The goal of the story is to increase the individual’s understanding of, make him more comfortable in, and possibly suggest some appropriate responses for the situation in question.”

Mr. Wallin’s website is a great resource that explains Social Stories in less technical terms.

For further information please go to Carol Gray’s website and watch the videos and read one of her books describing how to write a Social Story.  Once you understand the basics you can write one for a specific child.

What Are Social Stories?

How to write Social Stories

I use boardmaker pictures in my visuals because I own the software.  Boardmaker –  Mayer-Johnson  (I am not recommending you buy this software because it is very expensive.  Rather I am sending you to this website for an example of visuals supports.)  You can use clipart for visuals or pictures from your camera.

When one of my friends was a Primary President she asked me to write a social story for a child in her ward that was having a difficult time transitioning into Sunbeams from the Nursery.  I wrote an easily adaptable social story a teacher could read to the child.  I didn’t know whether the child had a female or male teacher so I included a picture of both.  I tried to tailor it to the child by mentioning the fun parts of primary: singing time and seeing friends.  I appealed to his eagerness to be a “big boy” and told him his parents would be proud of him.  I briefly explained the schedule:  first singing time, then class.  Knowing what the schedule is increases children’s feelings of control.  I included strategies for when sitting appropriately was hard:  asking for a hug and sitting on a teacher’s lap.  If the child had a security item I would have included asking for it as a strategy when upset.

Social Story PDF: I am a Sunbeam

Children who cannot read the stories often have pictures included in their social stories.  Here is a social story example I found online on Staying Calm.

Social Stories can be an incredibly useful tool for children who need reassurance, need to know what the schedule is or to remember to use strategies when faced with difficult situations.  I have been amazed how much it helps my son.  Last summer when we were flying home from a vacation he started yelling on the airplane.  I wrote a social story in two minutes and when I read it to him he stopped yelling immediately.  Social Stories are not effective with all children but when they are effective they can be a very useful tool.

If you have a child that you think would benefit from a social story your library might have a book available, or you could ask the library to buy a book as a resource.  I found My Social Stories Book very useful.  Parents can also ask their child’s teacher or therapists if they use Social Stories and if they will write one for a particular situation.

You could also print out your own pictures.  It could be helpful to a child if they saw a picture of their own teacher, chorister and primary room.

~Marjorie

“Our job is to make learning interesting.  We each learn differently, and catering to the different ages and developmental stages of the children can be a challenge.  With ASL you naturally reach children with varied learning styles.”

What’s your goal for music in Primary?

You’ve probably noticed that we advocate for teaching Primary songs with ASL (American Sign Language).  And maybe you’ve also wondered why.

My goal is to teach important gospel principles, have fun, and help children learn to feel and recognize the Spirit.  When I’ve used ASL to teach Primary songs I have been impressed at the level of participation and excitement. I have noticed that even the children who seemed uninterested are suddenly engaged.  ASL is easy enough for the youngest Sunbeams and yet challenging enough to pique the interest of those too-cool-for-singing 10 and 11 year olds!

Using ASL helps keep those fidgety hands busy making it possible to stay more focused (by keeping them too busy to get off-task).  When children are focused they have a greater potential to learn.  The mere act of hearing simple gospel truths gives the children an opportunity to feel the Spirit testify of its truthfulness.  And hearing (and seeing) these teachings through music makes it more memorable.

Using ASL enhances a child’s vocabulary; teaching gospel principles certainly requires the need to learn new vocabulary.  Children feel good about themselves when they gain a new skill.

When children are focused, happy, and having fun they are learning without even realizing it!  New knowledge is exciting and rewarding for children; they are so eager to learn.  Our job is to make learning interesting.  We each learn differently and catering to the different ages and developmental stages of the children can be a challenge.  With ASL you naturally reach children with varied learning styles.

With ASL, children are learning visually, verbally and kinesthetically all at the same time!  This will increase memory retention–and of course, when we go to all the work of teaching something we hope it will be remembered.

Using ASL is a great way to include all children in all aspects of Primary.  You may or may not have children with special needs in your Primary; the beauty of ASL is that it’s beneficial for all children!

Below find a few online articles about the benefits of ASL for all children.  Also, check our Links & Lessons page for a wonderful ASL Browser that you can search alphabetically to learn basic signs to use.  And don’t forget about our Music Videos page which contains video of many Primary songs with basic ASL signs to accompany (including this year’s new song: “As a Child of God”).

“You may or may not have children with special needs in your Primary; the beauty of ASL is that it’s beneficial for all children!”

~Michelle

Hearing Students, Sign Language, and Music: A Valuable Combination

The Benefits of Sign Language for ALL Children

The Benefits of Teaching Sign Language to a Verbal Child

That night I wrote in my journal, “I wonder why the Lord has called me to Primary if I still have such strong feelings about Addiction Recovery work?” The next word in my journal was “Duh.”

I realized that my Primary calling is not to teach lessons or administer programs, but to guide and defend children. Experts say that the average age of exposure to pornography is between the ages of 7 and 13 — squarely in the Primary years. Conversations about these matters should happen in the home, but perhaps there is a role for Primary leaders in supporting parents.

The November 2010 Friend magazine contained this heartbreaking letter from six-year-old Carson A. from Texas: “One Saturday when my little brother and I were watching cartoons, there was a bad show on. The girls in the show were not dressed modestly. I turned the TV off. I felt very good after I did. I knew I had followed Jesus Christ.”

A six year old boy. And his little brother. Watching Saturday morning cartoons. Satan can’t lay a hand on them, but pornography is already infiltrating their world. If I won’t be their advocate, who will?

Carson A. and his little brother are joined by Melissa M. in Mexico and Gracie P. in Texas, both age 9, who wrote similar letters published in the April 2011 Friend magazine: here and here.

Ideally a child will be adequately prepared before their first exposure, which means having age-appropriate conversations starting as early as preschool years. But parents report that there are few materials that explain these matters in kids’ terms.

At the direction of my priesthood leader, I wrote the materials posted here under the Pornography Prevention tab above, in collaboration with many, many others to whom I feel deep gratitude for their help with this work. I welcome your comments as well, since I view this as a work in progress.

These materials are written to be used by parents in the home, not in Primary — but Primary leaders can let parents know about this resource and encourage them to have these important conversations with their children. See Pornography Prevention tab above.

For Carson A. and Melissa M. and Gracie P. and all children everywhere who are vulnerable to what I consider to be Satan’s last, best weapon, I pledge my very best efforts to defend them with all my heart.

-Marci

Printable PDF of: Modesty and Avoiding Pornography

They were listening to President Monson speak about temples:

“To you parents of young children, may I share with you some sage advice from President Spencer W. Kimball. Said he:

‘It would be a fine thing if … parents would have in every bedroom in their house a picture of the temple so [their children] from the time [they are] infant[s] could look at the picture every day [until] it becomes a part of [their lives]. When [they reach] the age that [they need] to make [the] very important decision [concerning going to the temple], it will have already been made.’

Our children sing in Primary:

I’m not. Left to my own devices, I coast. It helps me grow when I set goals, strive for deadlines, work towards something.

If you’re the former, keep it up. I learn from you.

If you’re the latter, join me in working towards the ten goals suggested in the Primary Leader Training and Award program. I’ve been working on it awhile and it’s helped me stretch in ways I might not thought of.

I want to grow in my calling — I want to be a better Primary leader in the new year than ever before, stretching to be closer to the Lord so I am better able to receive personal revelation from Him about how to reach His children. Somehow, a checkbox on a paper makes me more accountable. And a deadline makes me put it higher on the list of priorities than alphabetizing the spices.

Check it out — maybe it will help you grow too.

~Marci

Primary Training & Award Program PDF

The first step was to cement the house walls to the base and hold securely to give the icing time to solidify.  Next, cement the roof pieces to the walls with some more icing.  This step was very defining.  We added the 2 roof pieces and held them together for a few minutes and when we thought we were set we let go!

Ta-da!

It was supposed to be the big unveiling of the lovely house we just built but instead it was the collapsing of the house we clearly hadn’t built well at all.  The whole thing collapsed right before our eyes.  My 5-year-old gasped in horror.  My 2-year-old shrieked.  I just sat there dumbfounded and wondered what happened.  I followed the instructions step by step, putting the pieces together in the correct order.

It didn’t take me long to realize I had been working quickly without enough patience.   I hate to admit it, but I was trying to sqeeze this project in to appease my children’s constant pleas when I actually had a number of things on my own agenda that I wanted to do.  And admittedly, I was not being patient, thinking I could build the base of the house with less time and effort.  Clearly, it didn’t work.

How often do we try to hurry things along to the detriment of the overall outcome?  I find myself doing this all the time.  Stop and breathe, Michelle.  Unplug.  Relax.  Live in the now.  Look at your children.  Enjoy this moment, you will never get it back.

I can certainly apply this to my personal life.  It can also apply to Primary.

I like to plan, do you?  I like to have things tidy and organized and carefully thought through.  Add children to the mix, and tidy, organized and carefully planned don’t always work.  What happens when I am teaching a lesson and a child asks a pertinent yet unexpected question?  Do I take the time to stop?  Answer the question thoughtfully?  Look at the children, feel the Spirit?  Enjoy the moment?  Or do I find my spot in my lesson plan and continue onward telling myself that I need to get through this material to feel fulfilled?

Funny how building a gingerbread house can make you stop and think.  What has made you stop and think this week?  We’d love to hear your stories!

~Michelle

You’ll be happy to know we finally got it right!