Mormon

Easter Activities For Kids 2023

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Easter is approaching quickly! I like to try to give as much attention to Easter as we do to Christmas. You might have seen my #LightTheWorld for kids bucket list based on the list provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I liked that style, it worked well for us to just have a list to choose from in the weeks leading up to the holiday. So I made a similar bucket list with activities to help lead up to Easter. A lot of these we’ve been doing for several years and the kids love them.

Here’s my list:

– Visit a zoo w/ donkeys & discuss the Triumphal Entry
– Plant a Resurrection Garden
– Resurrection Rolls (we tell the story of the crucifixion, tomb, and resurrection as we prepare and eat the rolls, the butter is the anointing oil, the cinnamon and sugar are the spices put on a dead body, the dough is the linens, the oven is the tomb, the cooking time is the time spent in the tomb, etc.)
– Easter Movie Night (we like the Easter Carol from the Veggie Tales)
– Simon carried Jesus’ cross, help someone going through a hard time
– Sing Easter Songs
– Jesus healed the sick– make a get well soon basket
– Jesus helped the poor– make homeless care bags
– Wash each other’s feet
– Jesus prayed for all of us– pray for someone you love
– Jesus’ light won’t go out– trick candles and cupcakes (talk about how they tried to put out Jesus light, blow out the candles, but then it came back, and it will always come back!)
– Jesus helped create the earth – do something creative
– Jesus is our friend– have a playdate with friends
– Palm Frond crosses
– Jesus grew in wisdom– learn something new
– Jesus grew in stature– get some exercise
– Consider the lilies of the field– go on a nature walk

More ideas here from the Friend Magazine. Some of the ideas are pretty similar, and there’s only 7 if that’s all you have time for!

Here’s my Easter printable. The document includes a blank list for you to fill in with your own ideas if you want. My kids are known to write in extra activities at the bottom of my list 🙂 I highly recommend using a print shop like Staples and doing a blueprint or engineer print to make it nice and big to hang on your wall.

easter-for-kids-2023Download

Light the World for Kids 2022

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Oh man, it has been a long time. But I’m back at it for a quick Christmas post.

This year’s Light the World campaign is a bit simpler than years past with just a list of 50 simple suggestions to spread light and cheer.

50 is more than I can handle right now, and I wanted something geared more towards my kiddos needs and abilities to participate. So I put together my own simplified list with 17 ways to Light the World. I also made a blank one if you wanna fill in your own with some of my ideas and other things that work for you.

I have recently discovered the awesome ability to print things on GIANT paper using a printing service. Through Staples it’s called a blueprint under their document printing, I believe other services may refer to it as engineering prints. It’s regular paper, not a poster (read lots cheaper than a poster), but you can print it real big and put it up on your wall so the kids can see and enjoy it better than a little 8.5×11. I’ve been doing this with a quarterly calendar and bucket list since the beginning of the summer and they love it. I printed my Light the World as an 18x 24 but you can go as big as 36×48.

– Tell Christmas jokes

– Learn to say Merry Christmas in a different language

– Make a card for someone far away

– Gingerbread stables

– Temple lights

– Donate food

– Donate a toy/book

– Sing Christmas songs

– Spend time with friends

– Nativity movie night

– Read a Christmas book

– Live Nativity

– Celebrate miracles (Hannukah)

– Giving Machine

– Christmas Devotional

– Christmas Sequencing (3 part sequencing for little littles) (6 part for pre-school- first grade) Older kids could cut and glue pictures from magazines

– Bethlehem Dinner (we eat Middle Eastern food for Christmas Eve reminiscent of the types of food Jesus would have eaten)

light-the-world-for-kids-listDownload
light-the-world-for-kids-blankDownload

Light the World with your Kids!

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I LOVE LOVE LOVE the church’s Light the World campaign each year and have had so many wonderful experiences finding ways to keep the kids involved. They love it and have become very service oriented because of it. I also like to find ways to focus on Christ through any activity we participate in throughout the month.

This year is obviously going to look very different, but I think with some creativity we can make it even more special and meaningful this year.

The calendar produced by the church this year is very social media heavy in order to promote safe socialization which is a little hard to involve little kids in so here’s some ideas to bring it beyond social media and on the kids’ level. Take pictures and videos of what your kids are doing and share them as you are comfortable on social media or just with family and friends, and then at the end of the month look through the pictures and videos together of everything you have done to light the world.

1- Giving Tuesday- choose an organization you want to donate to. Use physical cash or money if possible so the kids can actually see it. You could use a physical donation slip and envelope at church for the humanitarian fund and have the kids put the money in and hand it to the Bishop. Or if you can find one of the fun coin drops (you know the ones where the coins circle around until they drop in) gather whatever change you can find and have some fun while you donate.

2- Hero Highlight- write letters/ color pictures to send through Operation Gratitude.

3- Peace on Earth- learn about another culture (or a few cultures) that has a celebration this time of year. There are tons of children’s books available on Youtube. Here’s two that I really like:

The Story of Hannukah

Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns

4- The Christ Child- watch The Christ Child then make gingerbread/ graham cracker stables. We typically use a peach ring for the manger, sour patch kids to make the Holy Family, and animal crackers for the animals.

5- Pay it Backwards- make a Thank you card for someone

6- Fast Relief- depending on age and other health factors- consider having your kids fast in a way that is appropriate for them and for your family. While a traditional fast suggests we go without food for two meals you could shorten that to one meal, or only eat very simple and plain foods. Then select food items to donate to a charity. (You could also do a typical fast offering- however for young kids they will understand better if they see the actual food being donated.) Tonight is also the First Presidency Christmas Devotional

7- Signs of Christmas- decorate someone’s door or do sidewalk chalk in their driveway.

8- Health Caring- decorate disposable masks with Christmas stickers so the kids can have a festive mask when needed. Discuss how we can show appreciation to health care workers and help keep everyone healthy.

9- Words of Love- read some Christmas books together, then pick a book to send to a friend or charity (or both!)

10- Light the Family Tree- Print pictures of your family as far back as you can (I have a set that goes back to mine and my husband’s great grandparents). We use them regularly for family home evening so they are worth having and laminating. You could put them on your actual Christmas tree, get a mini tree (or rosemary bush!), or make a fake tree on a wall or fridge.

11- Treats Times Two- make (or buy) treats to drop off

12- Shop with Care- find a small local business to support- we love going to petting zoos in December to remind us of the animals in the stable. You could also just find a small business to buy some Christmas presents from, or find a small restaurant.

13- Serene Sunday- try to get out and spend some time in nature or just enjoy your Christmas tree and talk about how Heavenly Father and Jesus created the earth for us to enjoy.

14- Social Sing and Serve- more info will be coming about an online event this day so check out LightTheWorld.org/sing but if that event doesn’t work out with the kiddos just gather the family and sing your favorite Christmas songs. Some from the hymn book, some from the Children’s Songbook, and some just for fun. If you can convince your kids to sing on camera you could do some virtual caroling to loved ones near and far!

15- Love Mom and Dad- make cards or crafts for grandparents/ or adopt some grandparents in your neighborhood or see if you can drop off something to a local nursing home.

16- Shining Star- make star frames out of popsicle sticks and let the kids pick whose picture they want in their star.

17- Christmas Dinners- Donate more food to a food bank, or make some freezer meals (or sides) and take to someone who could use some help (either financially or timewise) with their holiday meals.

Green Bean Casserole is easy (and pretty inexpensive) to put together in bulk then divided into disposable pans to be frozen. Or there’s a lot of breakfast foods that can do the same so they can just pop them in the oven the day of!

18- Christmas Stories- snuggle up for a Christmas read-a-thon and movie marathon. Some of our favorite Christmas movies:

  • The Star
  • VeggieTales- Little Drummer Boy, Saint Nicholas, Christmas Star, etc.
  • The Grinch (great for talking about repentance)

19- Letters of Light- write letters/ draw pictures for missionaries you know in your family, serving in your ward, or serving from your ward/stake.

20- Looping Luke 2- Use one of these sequencing activities to help your kids learn and tell the Christmas story. Film them telling the story. You could also take turns telling part of the story.

This page has a 3 part (great for really little ones) and a 4 part sequencing coloring pages.

This page you have to sign up for the newsletter to get the free printable. It’s a 6 part (good for right around kindergarten) that comes pre-colored and in black and white to be colored (great for the older kids to get more involved!)

Even older kids could get involved by drawing their own or using pictures from church magazines to make a collage.

21- Together Time- Continue your Christmas story and movie marathon- there’s plenty to go around! Invite friends or family from far away to watch at the same time so you can feel connected across the miles and talk about your favorite parts of the movie after.

22- Sharing Light- find a light display to visit

23- Gifts from God- wrap a box in paper that can be written/ colored on (most gift wrap won’t work super well). Have everyone write or draw pictures of the gifts they have received from God on the outside of the box. Keep it under the tree as a reminder.

24- Goodwill to Fam- Have a special family dinner (we eat Middle Eastern food to get a taste of what Jesus would have eaten and use an oil lamp like those that were used in Biblical times) talk about why you love each other. Write down what the kids say to each other so they can look back on it down the road.

25- Light of the World- Put mini flashlights or glowsticks in the kids’ stockings. Read John 8:12 together about Jesus being the Light of the World. Look at all of the pictures and videos you made throughout the month as you worked to Light the World!

26- Light 2021- Use the printable below to set goals for how you can continue to Light the World throughout 2021. We like to use this dice activity from the Friend to help us set goals.

wisdom-stature-God-man GoalsDownload

Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay

I Will Show Unto You a God of Miracles

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This is a talk I gave in church on 11/8/2020. The prompt came from the weekly Come Follow Me Lesson.

In all the craziness, uncertainty, and inconsistency of this year, I’m grateful we have had studying Book of Mormon as our constant.

As we wind down our reading of the Book of Mormon, this week we studied the last few chapters in Mormon, however most of it was actually written by Moroni who was finishing his father’s life’s work.

Additionally, Moroni was granted a vision of our day so he would know what we needed to know and focus on so that we could endure the last days.

Here’s how he discusses one of these areas of focus:

“Behold, are not the things that God hath wrought marvelous in our eyes? Yea, and who can comprehend the marvelous works of God?

Behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles.” (Mormon 9)

Why of all things that we are faced with in our day would he want us to focus on miracles?

There are many in our day who deny God’s existence, deny his miracles, or claim that miracles ceased after the New Testament times.  We need to know that he continues to be a God of miracles because:

“If there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.” (Mormon 9)

Our understanding of the nature of God is a vital part of our doctrine and our testimonies.  To deny miracles is to deny the nature of God as being unchanging.  And yet:

“For every infirm man healed instantly as he waits to enter the Pool of Bethesda, someone else will spend 40 years in the desert waiting to enter the promised land. For every Nephi and Lehi divinely protected by an encircling flame of fire for their faith, we have an Abinadi burned at a stake of flaming fire for his.” (Elder Holland)

The same God who provided manna in the desert for the Israelites made Nephi hunt for his own food.

The same God who gave Hannah a son, lets others struggle through indefinite infertility.

The same God who visited Joseph Smith lets some of us struggle with deep questions for years, potentially our whole life.

The same God who protects faithful armies let the people of Ammon die.

The same God who makes weak things become strong would not remove Paul’s thorn in the flesh.

The same God who led the Prophet Samuel to anoint David a ruler by looking on his heart asks us to individually research and vote for our leaders.

Does this mean that God changes?

Mormon warned:

“The reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust.” (Mormon 9)

But was that Nephi’s problem?  Was that Abinadi or the People of Ammon’s problem?

Four years ago, the last time that we were studying the Book of Mormon as a church, a dear friend of mine was struggling through a fertility battle.  She was in her early 40s and had tried so many different fertility avenues as well as adoption, nothing was working.  When we studied this portion, she had just received more bad news, and when the Sunday School teacher said, “If you don’t have miracles happening in your life it’s because you aren’t righteous enough,” it crushed her.  She texted me after church needing to talk through what was going on.  She asked if the reason she wasn’t seeing this miracle come to pass was because she was doing something wrong.  But she felt like she was doing everything she could.

Has anyone else ever felt this?  And wondered where is my miracle? 

As I reflected on her questions and concerns two things came to me:

Timing and Type

Maybe the miracle just hasn’t come YET- and in her case that was what it was.  She now has a 2 ½ year old little miracle girl.

But what if it’s not just timing.  What if it’s one of those Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego “But if not…” moments.  Are we back to this question of if the day of miracles has ceased.

Where does our mind typically go first when we talk about miracles.  Insert special musical number from Fiddler on the Roof– Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles.

We like to think about the lion’s den, the parting of the Red Sea, the Walls of Jericho coming down, people saved from fiery furnaces, and other miracles of biblical proportion.

But what if the issue isn’t timing or the ceasing of miracles, what if we just need to look for a different type of miracle.

The Bible dictionary says: Miracles should not be regarded as deviations from the ordinary course of nature so much as manifestations of divine or spiritual power.

While the miracles that DO deviate from the ordinary course of nature are the easiest to recognize, they are not the only type.  Any time divine or spiritual power is manifest it is a miracle no matter how big or small.  The Bible dictionary goes on to say:

“Some lower law is in each case superseded by the action of a higher.”

I think what we need to do in most cases is think outside the miracle box.  After all, if miracles are a manifestation of God’s power and his higher laws- then let’s not box him in by the constraints of our lower lawed minds.

Let’s consider a few of the examples I brought up earlier.  Joseph Smith was granted a remarkable vision in response to his question- he certainly got one of those deviations from the ordinary.  When I have questions that’s not how it goes for me- anyone else???  In fact, Heavenly Father rarely actually gives me a straight answer.  He likes to play jeopardy or something and responds to me in the form of a question for me to contemplate.  So let’s play that question game right now…

What if the miracle of the Restoration isn’t just about the vision, what if it’s not just about the answer?  What if the bigger miracle is that a 14 year old boy was so concerned about the state of his soul that he poured himself into the scriptures all on his own?  I don’t know any of the 14 year old young men here, but I have two brothers and I taught high school for a little while, and I can tell you that this is not typical 14 year old boy behavior. 

And what if part of the miracle was also being led to ask the right question? 

Throughout the scriptures we read about groups who were protected in war because of their faithfulness.  However, the People of Ammon converted then made a covenant with the Lord that they would never fight again and buried their weapons of war in order to keep that covenant.  It was within God’s ability to keep them safe, and yet the Lamanites came upon and killed them- unarmed.  Where was the miracle?  What if the miracle wasn’t about their lives being spared? What if the miracle was their strength to keep their covenant at all costs.  What if it was that more people were converted that day than were slaughtered?

In the Oct. 2007 Women’s broadcast Pres. Monson said “My dear sisters [and brothers], do not pray for tasks equal to your abilities, but pray for abilities equal to your tasks. Then the performance of your tasks will be no miracle, but you will be the miracle.”

 Early in my mission I developed what I have coined as my “angel complex.”  Maybe it’s a sister thing, maybe it’s a Southern thing, but people called me an angel all the time.  And I know it was meant as a compliment, but I felt like a fraud.  I was no angel.  I struggled with a bad attitude and disillusionment from the awkwardness and constant rejection that came from tracting.  If I were an angel then people would actually listen to me instead of shutting me down.  Then to make things even more frustrating, when I was studying in Alma and came across the familiar “Oh that I were an angel” verse it had never dawned on me before that a few verses later he says, “But I do sin in my wish.”  So I already felt like a fraud being called an Angel.  Now Alma’s telling me that it’s a sin to even wish you were an angel.  And I was like, “Seriously Alma, it is not a SIN to wish you were an Angel!!!!”

So this sort of boiled in the back of my mind for several months until I hit a particularly rough day and I thought, “I just want an angel to come down and tell these people…..”  And then it hit me….but I do sin in my wish, because if God wanted to send an angel, he would, but instead he sent me.  What if the miracle of my mission was less about getting all of Florida to listen?  What if the miracle of my mission was me?  That maybe, not in spite of, but perhaps because of my weaknesses the Lord chose me.  That like the Brother of Jared and his ordinary stones made to shine in darkness, the Lord took ordinary me and used me to light people’s way.  And so while I still struggled with accepting being called an angel, if you operate under the definition of an angel being a messenger from God, then to a select few- but very important and amazing people, that’s what I was.  And they were my miracle, and I was theirs.

And you, each and everyone of you can be a miracle every day.

This week has been collectively stressful as we have watched and waited for election results.  Especially here in AZ, where last I checked we were still too close to call.  There are good and faithful people on both sides of this election who have been hoping and praying for the outcome they think is best.  For those who will inevitably be disappointed by the results- will it seem that miracles have ceased?

But what if the miracle is less about who ends up in the white house?  What if the miracle is more about us looking deep down inside to determine what we can do individually to heal and unite our nation?  What if the miracle will be found in following the recent counsel of our leaders to love our enemies, to forgo the anger and hatred with which political choices are debated or denounced in many settings, to avoid anger and hostility toward those with whom we disagree and even be willing to learn from them, to peacefully accept the results of the election, to lead out in abandoning attitudes and actions of prejudice, and to choose to let God be the most powerful influence in our lives? [Taken from Pres. Oaks’ Love Your Enemies and Pres. Nelson’s Let God Prevail.]

In closing let’s bring it back to Moroni.  He doesn’t actually discuss very many specific miracles in this passage, the ones that he does are the Creation, the Fall, Redemption, Resurrection, Judgment, and our final reward.  Let us remember and keep in perspective that the most important miracle is the Plan of Salvation.  So when All You Need is a Miracle and it seems that it isn’t happening- consider the timing, look outside the miracle box, and then look forward with hope in Redemption and Resurrection through Jesus Christ because he is the miracle and then you will also be a miracle.

Photo Credit to Laci Gibbs

Come Follow Me Family Home Evening for Little Ones Nov and Dec 2020

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The end is in sight! 2020 is almost done, and for all it’s crazy and inconsistency, I’m glad that this one area- Book of Mormon Family Home Evenings- has been our one constant.

I figured life doesn’t get any less busy and crazy through the holiday season so I’m just going to finish out the year right here.

Side note- sorry that the songs and Book of Mormon Stories don’t have links- I’m struggling with getting those pages from the Church Website to load- have been for a few weeks???? Other things load fine, but not those.

Nov 2-8 “I Speak Unto You As If Ye Were Here”

Scriptures: Nothing specific for this week

Song: Book of Mormon Stories- 119, The Books in the Book of Mormon- 118, The Books in the New Testament- 116, The Books in the Old Testament- 114

Materials: World Map, Pictures of Book of Mormon and Bible Stories

Post a world map on the wall. Put a picture of the Book of Mormon by the Americas and a picture of the Bible by Israel. Or just use the printout from Come Follow Me for Primary. Print or pull pictures from the Gospel Art Book and help the kids to sort the stories into the Bible or Book of Mormon by hanging them on the wall on the side of the Earth they came from. Talk about the different stories. Explain that while there are different people and stories because they happened on different parts of the Earth, they both tell us about Jesus and how much he loves us.

Nov 9-15 “Rend That Veil of Unbelief”

Scriptures: Book of Mormon Stories Chap 50-51; Book of Mormon Stories for Young Readers Traveling to the Promised Land; My First Scripture Stories The Jaredites, Shining Stones; Heroic Stories from the Book of Mormon The Brother of Jared

Song: Faith 96

Materials: glow in the dark paint, rocks (or just glow in the dark rocks), blocks, popsicle sticks (or other boat making materials)

Do some activities to discuss the events at the beginning of Ether. Build a tall tower out of blocks or legos and explain that they were trying to build a tower to get to Heaven instead of keeping the commandments. Knock over the tower and then begin saying phrases in languages that the kids don’t understand (or just gibberish). Discuss what it would feel like if we couldn’t understand each other in our own family. Explain that the Brother of Jared was commanded to take his family and righteous followers across the sea. Build some small boats. Discuss the darkness inside and tell the story of Jesus touching the stones and making them shine. Either paint rocks with glow in the dark paint or give them a glow in the dark rock (glow in the dark stuff should be easy to find on clearance right after Halloween!) Save the rocks for next week!

Nov 16-22 “That Evil May Be Done Away”

Scriptures: Book of Mormon Stories Chap 52 (first 4 frames); review last week’s

Song: Thanksgiving songs

Materials: Glowing rocks, boat

Go in a dark room with your glowing rocks and pretend you are on a boat. Discuss the preparations that the Jaredites made to cross the ocean- the things that they did on their own or had to figure out and the things that the Lord did for them. Then “arrive” at the promised land and sing their favorite Primary songs as hymns of praise. Then ask the kids if they can think about any other groups who crossed the ocean by boat to get to the promised land (Nephites and Pilgrims!) Make the Thanksgiving connection by talking about the Pilgrims coming to America for religious freedom. Then talk about our own journeys and how we can work hard to prepare ourselves and also watch for how Heavenly Father helps us.

Nov 23- 29 “By Faith All Things Are Fulfilled”

Scripture: Book of Mormon Stories Chap 52

Song: Our Primary Colors 258

Materials: identical boxes/containers, weights

Find identical boxes or containers. Put weights or other heavy objects in one and leave the other empty. Have the kids try to lift the heavy box (try to make it heavy enough that they can not lift it). Explain that they are too weak to lift it because their bodies are still growing. Sometimes we have things that are hard for us to do that don’t have to do with lifting. Discuss some things that can be difficult for everyone in the family. Then explain that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ can make weak things strong. Give the kids small hand weights or cans and take turns calling out things we can do to strengthen our spiritual muscles (church, pray, read, temple, FHE, listening, etc.) lift the weights as you call them out. Now ask the kids if they think they are strong enough to lift the other box. Mom and Dad can take a turn and make it appear that they are struggling to pick up the box so the kids feel extra strong when they pick it up with no problem.

Nov 30- Dec 6 “To Keep Them in the Right Way”

Scriptures: Book of Mormon Stories Chap 53

Song: I like My Birthday 104, I Love to See the Temple 95

Materials: Covenant PathDownload

Use the Covenant Path printable to discuss the covenants and ordinances Moroni discusses- plus the temple. You could create an actual path around your house for the kids to follow. The full size sheets are the ordinances, the smaller pictures are the promises, blessings, and opportunities that come from the ordinances.

Dec 7- 13 “May Christ Lift Thee Up”

Scriptures: Book of Mormon Stories Chap 49 (the end goes over Mormon’s teachings recorded by Moroni)

Song: Christmas

Materials: Service Project materials

Have your kids repeat the phrases “Charity is the pure love of Christ,” and “Charity never faileth.” Talk about what it means to have charity. Show love by completing a service project to get ready for Christmas. Some ideas to help get kids involved:

-If you live close to a giving machine let them pick out an item

-Grab a Christmas Tree Angel

-Make cards for elderly members of the ward

Dec 14-20 “Come Unto Christ”

Scriptures: Book of Mormon Stories Chap 53 (the end)-54; Book of Mormon Stories for Young Readers Moroni’s Special Promise; Heroic Stories from the Book of Mormon Moroni; My Book of Mormon Friends Me

Song: The Golden Plates 86

Materials: Cake, licorice, yellow frosting, Black frosting (to write Book of Mormon on the the cake), Gifts of the Spirit supplies

Stealing this idea from my in-laws. When my husband was growing up, every time they finished the Book of Mormon as a family they would have a Book of Mormon party. They would make the gold plates out of cake by putting two cakes next to each other, frosting them with yellow frosting, and then using pull and peel black licorice to connect them to look like the rings the plates were bound with.

I’m going to add gifts to go along with the gifts of the Spirit described in Moroni 10. Gather little items and wrap them up:

Teaching– pencils or other school supplies

Great faith– a pocket sized picture of Christ

Healing– fun bandaids

Miracles– something color changing, or the markers that only work on certain paper (like Melissa and Doug Color Blast- there’s a few different types made by other companies- these are perfect for the church bag!)

Prophesy– something to help them follow the Prophet- like something small for the 72 hour kit (whistle, mini flashlight, pocket poncho, etc.), or a scripture marker, pocket sized scriptures, etc.

Tongues/ Interpretation of Tongues– a treat from a different country

To make the party extra fun you could make other treats to go along with different stories. Here’s some ideas I thought of with help from Pinterest and my Sister-in-Law:

-Honey with sopapillas for the Jaredites

-White treats to represent the fruit from the Tree of Life- divinity, Oreos dipped in white chocolate, etc.

-Pretzel rods for the Iron Rod

-Rare steak for dinner- for when they were able to eat raw meat in the wilderness

-Sunflower or other seeds for the seeds of faith

-Something with peanut butter or other high protein snacks for all of the stories about strength

If you come up with other cute ideas please share!!!!!

Dec 21-27 “He Shall Come Into the World to Redeem His People”

Scriptures: Book of Mormon for Young Readers Samuel Teaches about Jesus; Book of Mormon Stories Chap 40; My First Scripture Stories Samuel the Lamanite; Heroic Stories from the Book of Mormon Samuel the Lamanite;  Book of Mormon Stories Chap 41; My First Scripture Stories Jesus is Born

Song: Christmas Songs

Materials: Costumes or toys for acting out the Nativity

Act out the Christmas story using costumes, figurines, or pictures. Make sure to include Samuel and the Nephites side of the story. Check out my Christmas countdown post when it’s up for more ideas on making Christmas Christ centered throughout the month. You can start perusing old ones if you want for ideas:

2017

2018

2019

Come Follow Me Family Home Evening for Little Ones- Oct. 2020

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October 12-18 “Ye Are Children of the Covenant”

Scriptures: Young Readers Faithful People Followed Jesus; Book of Mormon Stories Chap 46

Song: Family History pg. 94

Materials: Family Tree flashcards, time capsule items

Combining two corresponding topics from this week- Turn the hearts of the children to the fathers and fathers to the children, and Christ asking to see the records.

Last year I made two sets of family history flash cards using pictures going back to my kid’s great great grandparents. These come in handy for a lot of lessons so if you haven’t made some I definitely encourage you to do it. I made them using publisher, but word or paint would probably work as well. We like to play a matching game with them.

Create a time capsule with information about your family. Have the kids create pictures of the family and what they like to do. Older kids could write a little about the family and their interests, their testimony, what it’s like living during the pandemic and presidential election, etc.

If you want to get fancy here’s a cool idea. When I was in young women’s for an activity one of the leaders brought in #10 cans for us to fill with a questionnaire and anything else we wanted to bring. They then took the cans and sealed them up for us to open 10 years later. I found mine again right before we moved, it ended up being just shy of 20 years. It was less cringy than I thought it would be to open it and go through everything. But I have no idea where you actually go to get #10 cans sealed, so I’ll probably just use an empty container.

Oct. 19-25 “There Could Not be a Happier People”

Scriptures: Book of Mormon Stories Chap 47-48; My First Scripture Stories The Three Nephites

Song: I Belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints pg. 77

Materials:

Straight and Narrow Path GameDownload
Name of Church PuzzleDownload

Game Day! Play hide and seek to talk about 3 Nephi 27:30-31 “none of them were lost.” Play the Straight and Narrow path game to discuss the principles taught in 4th Nephi that righteousness leads to happiness and unity and wickedness leads to sadness and contention. Use the name of the church puzzle to help the kids learn the full name of the church.

Oct 26- Nov 1 “I Would That I could Persuade All to Repent”

Scriptures: Book of Mormon Stories Chap 49; Young Readers Mormon Writes on the Golden Plates; My First Scripture Stories Mormon; Heroic Stories from the Book of Mormon Mormon; My Book of Mormon Friends Mormon

Song: Seek the Lord Early pg 108

Materials:

Mormon TimelineDownload

Make a timeline for the events and opportunities that Mormon had at a young age. Make similar timelines for yourself. Have the kids make a timeline up to now and then have them put future goals as well such as baptism, priesthood, mission, college/ career training, future family, etc. Crepe paper could make an excellent timeline, then use the pictures in the printable to match with ages or hopeful age ranges.

I tried to make the printable pretty generic but there’s a few things that are specific to our family as far as college (Go Cougars!) and careers. I’m a former teacher, my husband is a computer programmer, my son wants to be a farmer, and my 4 year old daughter wants to be a doctor. You can search for pictures specific to your family!

Come Follow Me Family Home Evening for Little Ones- Aug. 2020

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Sorry I missed July, we were in the middle of moving into our new house!  I’m going to try really hard to keep up the next couple of months, but if you see my last post, we made the very difficult decision to do online school for first quarter so….. I’ll probably have tons of time and not be crazy at all….Please send prayers, chocolate, and some Dr. Pepper.

July 27- Aug 2 The Great Plan of Happiness

Materials: Bury Swords, Showing and Strengthening Faith, Baptismal Covenants, 10 Commandments, People of Zeniff Preparations, Natural Man-Saint Printable, Straight and Narrow Path Printables, Manner of Happiness Printable, Fruits of the Spirit, Righteous ammo

One of the suggestions for this week is to go over the law of chastity.  This discussion needs to happen repeatedly, I’ve already posted a lesson plan for it in the past so you can go over that again and use the videos they suggest in the manual.

Here’s another fun activity for this week:

Print out some or all of the old printables I linked above, cut out the pictures and spread them around the room.  Set a timer and have the kids pick up as many as they can in the time given (you could repeat the activity with a few different times set on the timer).  Then talk about Alma 42:4.  We have been given a certain amount of time in this life and we’re supposed to use it to improve ourselves and serve Heavenly Father.  Talk about the pictures and how each of them helps us be better and serve.

 

Aug 3-9 Stand Fast in the Faith of Christ

Children’s Scriptures: Book of Mormon Stories Chap 31- 33; Book of Mormon for Young Readers Captain Moroni’s Flag; Heroic Stories from the Book of Mormon- Captain Moroni; My First Scripture Stories- Captain Moroni and the Title of Liberty; My Book of Mormon Friends- Captain Moroni; Girls Who Choose God- The Maidservant Spy

Materials: fabric, paint/ markers

Make your own Title of Liberty using pieces of fabric (if you sew you probably have a closet full of random fabric like my mom, but you could also cut up an old worn out sheet, pillow cases, old towels, etc) or large pieces of paper.  Pull out fabric paint or permanent markers.  This is great for varied ages because everyone can draw or write on their own level.  For little ones the pictures can be super simple like a heart for love, stick figures for a family, the Sun to remind us of Jesus, a rectangle with squiggles for the scriptures, etc.

 

Aug 10-16 Preserved by His Marvelous Power

Children’s Scriptures: Book of Mormon Stories Chap 34-36; Book of Mormon for Young Readers The Stripling Warriors; Heroic Stories from the Book of Mormon- Helaman; My First Scripture Stories- The Army of Helaman; My Book of Mormon Friends- A Lamanite Mother; Girls Who Choose God- Mothers of the Stripling Warriors

Materials: Pin the Shield to the Stripling Warrior

Use the shields from the printable to talk about different attributes of the Stripling Warriors.  Then post the picture of the Stripling Warriors on the wall and play pin the shield (like pin the tail on the donkey).

 

Aug 17-23 Rock of Our Redeemer

Children’s Scriptures: Book of Mormon Stories Chap 37; My First Scripture Stories- Nephi and Lehi

Materials: Rock, sand, house materials (legos, cardboard, etc.)

Build two little houses.  Put one on some sand (or sugar) and one on a rock (or brick) in a large plastic container.  Then read Helaman 5:12 and create some of the storm conditions it talks about and see which house is able to stand.  (You might need to use tape or something to ensure that the house on the rock doesn’t move.)

 

Aug 24-30 Remember the Lord

Children’s Scriptures: Book of Mormon Stories Chap 38-39

Materials:Prophet Counsel Printable

Show the kids a picture of President Nelson, explain that he is the Prophet.  Prophets warn us and tell us what Heavenly Father wants us to know.  Use the printable to go over his counsel from last General Conference. Maybe tape the pictures around a picture of Pres. Nelson.

Note: I did leave out fasting which was a major point he made, but because fasting is generally not recommended for young children I did not include it (my kids would LOVE an excuse to not eat meals).

Mask and social distancing– General Conference April 2020 Opening Message “…as part of our efforts to be good global citizens and do all we can to limit the spread of COVID-19.”

Church Newsroom Follow public health agency recommendations for using a face mask. Maintain at least six feet (two meters) distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing.

First Vision- Opening Message This year, we commemorate the 200th anniversary of one of the most significant events in the history of the world—namely, the appearance of God the Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to Joseph Smith.

Hear Him– Now as we contemplate this significant time in the history of the world and the Lord’s charge to gather scattered Israel in preparation for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, we, the First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles, issue the following proclamation.

(The video of him reading the Proclamation is embedded in the talk, I would suggest watching that with the kids).

Silos- Opening Message The Lord has told us that “if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.”1 Of course, we can store our own reserves of food, water, and savings. But equally crucial is our need to fill our personal spiritual storehouses with faith, truth, and testimony.

Church Name- Opening the Heavens for Help As we commemorate the event that was launched in 1820, it is important to remember that while we revere Joseph Smith as a prophet of God, this is not the church of Joseph Smith, nor is it the church of Mormon. This is the Church of Jesus Christ. He decreed exactly what His Church should be called: “For thus shall my church be called in the last days, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”2

I have spoken previously about a needed course correction in the way we refer to the name of the Church.

Picture of Christ- Hear Him However, messages from our Heavenly Father are strikingly different. He communicates simply, quietly, and with such stunning plainness that we cannot misunderstand Him.  As we seek to be disciples of Jesus Christ, our efforts to hear Him need to be ever more intentional. It takes conscious and consistent effort to fill our daily lives with His words, His teachings, His truths.

Temple- Hear Him We can also hear Him in the temple. When these temporary COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, please schedule regular time to worship and serve in the temple. Every minute of that time will bless you and your family in ways nothing else can.

Family History- Hear Him While worshipping in the temple is presently not possible, I invite you to increase your participation in family history, including family history research and indexing. I promise that as you increase your time in temple and family history work, you will increase and improve your ability to hear Him.

Dove- Hear Him We also hear Him more clearly as we refine our ability to recognize the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. It has never been more imperative to know how the Spirit speaks to you than right now.

First Presidency- Hear Him And, finally, we hear Him as we heed the words of prophets, seers, and revelators. Ordained Apostles of Jesus Christ always testify of Him. They point the way as we make our way through the heart-wrenching maze of our mortal experiences.

Home- Go Forward in Faith make your homes true sanctuaries of faith, where the Spirit of the Lord may dwell.

Gavel- Go Forward in Faith In every country, this Church teaches its members to honor, obey, and sustain the law.5 We teach the importance of the family, of being good parents and exemplary citizens.

Blessing- Go Forward in Faith (Read the whole blessing) Dear brothers and sisters, I express my love for you. During this time of tension and uncertainty, and invoking the authority vested in me, I would like to confer upon you an apostolic blessing.

I bless you with peace and increasing faith in the Lord.7

I bless you with a desire to repent and become a little more like Him each day.8

I bless you to know that the Prophet Joseph Smith is the prophet of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fulness.

Should there be illness among you or your loved ones, I leave a blessing of healing, consistent with the will of the Lord.

Heart- Go Forward in Faith I so bless you, adding once more my expression of love for each of you, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Photo credit

Come Follow Me Family Home Evening for Little Ones- June 2020

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Happy June! Sorry this is late but…. I had a baby last month!  She sleeps really well at night- but not so much during the day.  Which obviously if she’s going to have a hard time sleeping I would rather it be during the day, but it makes it hard to get much done.IMG_20200510_170702

 

June 1-7 Have Ye Experienced this Mighty Change in Your Hearts?

Children’s Scriptures: sorry I got nothing

Song: Family History pg 94

Materials: Pictures of Ancestors

Get together pictures of Ancestors.  I made flash cards with names and pictures going back to our great grand-parents (great great for the kids).  Have the kids pick out pictures and talk about that ancestor and share stories of faith, courage, etc.  If you feel up to making them into flash cards, I made two copies so we can play an ancestor matching game.

 

June 8-14 Jesus Christ will Come to Redeem His People

Children’s Scriptures: Book of Mormon Stories chap 22; My First Scripture Stories– Zeezrom

Song: I will Follow God’s Plan for Me pg. 164

Materials:Plan of Salvation Printable

Review the Plan of Salvation.  I paste my kids’ faces on the blank “gingerbread” man to be their physical bodies

 

June 15-21 Enter Into the Rest of the Lord

Children’s Scriptures: Book of Mormon Stories chap 22; My Book of Mormon Friends- Alma and Amulek; My First Scripture Stories– Alma and Amulek in Prison

Song: Faith pg 96

Materials: Showing and Strengthening Faith

Tell the story of Alma and Amulek in prison.  Emphasize that they were strengthened to break out because of their faith.  Make a prison out of couch cushions or boxes, etc.  Use the printable above to discuss ways we show and strengthen our faith.  Have the kids pick out some of the pictures then when they are “strong enough” let them break out of their prison.

 

June 22-28 I will Make an Instrument of Thee

Children’s Scriptures: Book of Mormon Stories chap 23-25; Book of Mormon for Young Readers Ammon’s Good Example, Abish Shared the Gospel; Girls Who Choose God– A Lamanite Queen of Great Faith, Abish the Daring Missionary; My Book of Mormon Friends– Ammon, Abish; My First Scripture Stories– Ammon and King Lamoni, King Lamoni’s Father, Lamoni’s Father’s Conversion; Heroic Stories from the Book of Mormon– Ammon, Abish

Song: I Want to Be a Missionary Now pg 168

Materials: Ammon Sequencing Abish Sequencing

Read/watch/tell the stories of Ammon and Abish.  Then cut out the sequencing pages and have the kids put the stories together and tell them in their own words.

 

This is not so much for the kids, but the woman who plays Abish in the new Book of Mormon videos made a video about the thoughts and insights she gained as she prepared for the role.  I have always loved Abish, but after watching this, I love her even more!

 

June 29-July 5 They Never Did Fall Away

Children’s Scriptures: Book of Mormon Stories chap 26, Girls Who Choose God– Mothers of the Stripling Warriors; My Book of Mormon Friends– A Lamanite Mother; My First Scripture Stories– The People of Ammon

Song: I’m Trying to be Like Jesus pg. 78

Materials: Bury Swords

Read/watch/tell the story of the People of Ammon burying their swords.  Using the bury swords printable discuss ways that we might hurt other people.  Talk about ways to stop doing those things, model and talk through good behaviors.  Then go outside, dig a hole, and bury the swords.  I left one page with blank swords so you can add more that you think about, or adults and older kids can think of their own things to bury.

I included a sword specifically for racism besides exclusion and mocking (which certainly go hand and hand with racism.)  This is a difficult topic to discuss with young kids, and typically I try to just focus on positives, but I feel like that just isn’t enough.  We need to be having deeper talks.  I found three books read on Youtube that work well for younger kids:

Something Happened in Our Town

The Day You Begin

We’re Different, We’re the Same (best for toddlers)

Come Follow Me Family Home Evening for Little Ones- May 2020

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I am SOOOOOO pregnant right now.  For the record, I do not recommend homeschooling while pregnant during a pandemic and then selling your house on top of that.  But here we are!!!!  Baby is coming super soon, really tired, and to be frank, very grumpy.  So, this month’s ideas are going to be much simpler than others, but I figured I needed a plan or else it won’t happen so I’m getting something together and sharing it.

All the good birthing thoughts, prayers, and vibes would be much appreciated!

 

May 4-10 A Light that Can Never Be Darkened

 

Use the 10 Commandments printable to go over and teach these concepts.  You could cut out big heart shaped tablets to glue them on so we can keep the commandments in our hearts.

I used a picture of fighting for “thou shalt not kill” because on a kid level they need to understand more that we don’t use our bodies to hurt other people.

To explain “thou shalt not commit adultery” go back and review the concepts from the law of chastity lesson– we don’t keep secrets; if someone touches you in a private place tell them to stop, get away, and tell an adult right away; grown ups who are married may share their private places only with each other.

 

May 11-17 We Have Entered into a Covenant with Him

 

Sing a few of the baptism songs from the Children’s Songbook.  Use the Baptismal Covenants printable to discuss the covenants we make when we are baptized and how they can start preparing now.

 

May 18-24 They Were Called the People of God

 

Probably just going to watch the video on Living Scriptures.  Could be fun to pull out some makeshift costumes and act it out after watching the video or reading the story.

 

May 25-31 They Were Steadfast and Immovable

Use the activity page at the end of the Come Follow Me for Primary lesson for this week- but cut out and discard the distractors.  For young kids, well, they’ll just be distracting, especially for toddlers and preschoolers it’s better to just focus on the right things to do.  Have them pick a few that they want to include and color and paste them on a paper.  Have them practice talking about them in their own words and make plans for them to share at a family testimony meeting for the upcoming Fast Sunday.

 

This activity is a good example of something that works really well for multiple age groups.  For your emerging talkers, they could just identify the pictures.  For your toddlers they can give one liners.  Preschool and early elementary could explain a little in their own words.  Upper elementary could differentiate what does and does not belong in a testimony and then write theirs out a little more.  Teenagers could write out their own.

 

Come Follow Me Family Home Evening for Little Ones- April 2020

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Soooo…..how’s quarantine going???  Anyone else going crazy yet?  Anyone else have cute Easter outfits hanging in closets that will only be seen on Social Media?

I’m gonna come right out and say it- I’m not digging this whole quarantine thing.  I’m respecting it, I understand the need, but I am a pretty social person.  Also I’m pregnant and I specifically planned this pregnancy around the school year so I could have a break from my older kids.  So…..Covid-19, you are kinda the worst.

I’m going to try and give a few ideas for activities each week now that we have a lot more time to fill.

 

March 30- April 12 Easter: He Shall Rise with Healing in His Wings

Children’s Scriptures: New Testament Stories Chap 44 (begins the last week of Christ’s mortal life)- 54; Book of Mormon Stories Chap 42-47; New Testament Stories for Young Readers Jesus Taught about the Sacrament, Jesus Gave Us the Sacrament, The Easter Story; Book of Mormon Stories for Young Readers: Jesus Visits the Nephites; My First Scripture Stories: The Last Supper, The Atonement, The Crucifixion, The Resurrection, Jesus is Crucifies, Jesus Visits the Promised Land, The Three Nephites; My Book of Mormon Friends: A Young Girl in Bountiful; Girls Who Choose God: Girls and Boys Blessed by Jesus

Song: Easter Hosanna pg 68

Materials: Ingredients for Resurrection Rolls (start putting in a grocery order early in case things are out of stock so you can try again-One can of crescent roll dough, 8 large marshmallows, Melted butter, Cinnamon sugar), selected movies, glove, Gospel Art Book

-Make Resurrection Rolls, and tell the Easter story as you do it

-Easter Movie Night, we will probably watch To This End Was I Born, and one of the VeggieTales Easter shows

-Use a glove and your hand to explain the Resurrection.  Explain that your hand is like your spirit, wiggle it and talk about the pre-earth life.  Show a picture of Christ’s birth and explain that when you are born you receive a body, put the glove on your hand- the glove is like your body.  Show that they can now wiggle and move together.  Show a picture of Christ when he was grown and explain that our bodies grow with us.  Show Christ in the garden, explain that sometimes our bodies feel pain and that we can use our bodies to pray.  Show Christ on the cross and explain that he died for us.  Take the glove off and put it in a tomb (under a bowl or something), explain that when we die our body stays here on earth and can’t move anymore but our spirit goes to Heaven and waits.  Show Christ resurrected, explain that after 3 days Christ was resurrected and because of that, someday (a long time from now) everyone will also be resurrected, put the glove back on.

-Book of Mormon connection- watch videos depicting Christ’s visit to the people in America:

  • Testaments Of One Fold and One Shepherd (this is over an hour long so kids might have a hard time sitting through it, you might just want to show some highlights)
  • Living Scriptures Savior in America- if you have the subscription watch the whole thing there, but there are also some clips available on Youtube
  • Mark Mabry Photography slideshows:
    8 minutes all still images from his Another Testament Shoot- very thorough representation of 3rd Nephi
    7 minutes images and video from his Reflections (New Testament) and Another Testament shoots set to my FAVORITE song pretty much ever

 

April 13-19 Filled with Love Towards God and All Men

Children’s Scriptures: Book of Mormon for Young Readers: King Benjamin Teaches his People; Book of Mormon Stories Chap 12 (first half); My First Scripture Stories: King Benjamin; Heroic Stories from the Book of Mormon: King Benjamin,

Song: When We’re Helping We’re Happy pg. 198

Materials: tent or fort making supplies, service project supplies, Natural Man-Saint Printable

-Set up a tent in your living room and watch videos about King Benjamin- Book of Mormon Stories for Young Readers, Book of Mormon Stories, Book of Mormon Videos

– Discuss some ways you can serve people while still social distancing.  There’s a lot of projects that can be done from home based on age and skill level

  • older kids (and if you know how to sew- which is not me) could help with making masks or hospital gowns
  • draw pictures or make cards to mail to people
  • draw pictures and/or write inspirational sayings on the sidewalk in your neighborhood

-Use this printable to discuss the natural man vs. a saint

 

April 20-26 A Mighty Change

Children’s Scriptures: Book of Mormon Stories Chap 12 (second half)

Song: I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus pg 78

Materials: Steps of Repentance, Grinch book or video, candy or other treats

  • Use the Grinch to help children understand repentance and a change of heart.  Read the book or watch the movie (the old classic one is available on YouTube).  Then use the Grinch steps of repentance printable to talk about the steps of repentance and having a change of heart.
  • Give a parent a bag of candy or plate of treats, don’t share them around yet.  Have the kids take turns asking for treats.  Explain that in life some people have more than others, and people with less sometimes need to ask for help.  What should we do when they ask? Find a way to help.  Discuss different ways your family can help- donate fast offerings, donate old toys or clothes that you aren’t using, etc.  If possible make a donation or pick something out to donate. (Some places are not accepting donations in kind right now, but you can still do some spring cleaning and hide it until things open back up, or select a group to make a monetary donation to.)

 

April 27- May 3 In the Strength of the Lord

Children’s Scriptures: Book of Mormon Stories chap 13

Song: Latter-day Prophets pg 134

Materials: looking devices, toilet paper rolls, tape, picture of Jesus, People of Zeniff Preparations printable

  • Gather whatever devices you can- glasses, binoculars, telescope, microscope, magnifying glass, anything that helps you see things you couldn’t otherwise see.  Make binoculars out of empty toilet paper rolls.  Use the devices you can find to look at different items.  Explain that these help us see things on Earth and in Space that we couldn’t see without them.  A seer is able to see spiritual things that Heavenly Father needs us to know.  Use the binoculars you made.  When the kids put them on put a picture of Jesus in front of them.  A seer uses his gifts to help us come closer to Jesus Christ and do what He wants us to do.
  • Use the People of Zeniff Preparations printable to discuss what they had and did in their battle with the Lamanites and what tools we have today to be safe in our battles.

 

Consolidated Materials List:

Ingredients for Resurrection Rolls (One can of crescent roll dough, 8 large marshmallows, Melted butter, Cinnamon sugar)

selected movies

glove

Gospel Art Book

tent or fort making supplies

service project supplies

Natural Man-Saint Printable

Steps of Repentance

Grinch book or video

candy or other treats

looking devices

toilet paper rolls

tape

picture of Jesus

People of Zeniff Preparations printable