Baptism - One Page Information Sheet

I found this in this Friend magazine article.  It is a simple summary for young children to better understand baptism.

Father's Day Poem - You're the peanut to my butter...

I found this saying on pinterest and decided to create my own version of it.  I'm going to buy Peanut Butter MnM's, Starbursts, Pop Tarts, Froot Loops, etc. to give to my hubby in a basket for Father's day.  We'll also give him some biking clothing he wanted but I wanted to do something cutesy with it and he loves junky food unfortunately.  Luckily the long distance biking sort of counteracts that.

I did two different versions of this Father's Day printable:

I also modified it so it could be used for a friend on any occasion.  Have fun!

Father's Day - You're the BEARY best dad!

For church on Sunday, we are making a small Father's Day gift for each of the children to give their dads.

We put around 20 gummy bears in each 3"x 4" ziplock bag and then I made some tags to staples to the bag.

I designed a graphic to be printed as 4"x 6" pictures at Costco (or wherever).  There are four tags that are 2"x 3" big that fit perfectly when stapled to the top of each bag.  I stuck a little tuft of green tulle behind the tag when I stapled it on.  I hope the dads enjoy them!

Here's the graphic in case you'd like to do this too.

Book Reviews - Suggested Reading for 4th and 5th ALP Classes

I was asked to review the curriculum for the 4th and 5th grade self-contained gifted classrooms in our school district.  Here's a list of suggested books that I have collected information on.  I have only read a handful of these books myself so I am not necessarily providing my own opinions but rather just posting info and links I have found online.  Many of the books seem to be biographical (or autobiographical), historical fiction or realistic fiction.  Many also deal with social and cultural issues.  The teachers are not required to include these books - they are suggestions.

This post is long so read on if interested...

Primary Talk - "If I Live Worthily, the Holy Ghost Will Help Me Choose the Right"

Imagine you have a special friend that you really love to be around.

A friend who helps comfort you when you are sad or scared. 

A friend who makes you have a warm, happy feeling in your heart. 

A friend who encourages you to do kind things for others.

A friend who helps teach you right from wrong. 

You’d probably want to invite a special friend like this to your home.  You’d probably clean your house and plan some things to do that would make your friend feel comfortable and welcome.  When your friend arrived, you’d listen carefully to that friend.  You may even tell your friend how glad you are to be with him or her.

The Holy Ghost is a special friend to you. The Holy Ghost can bring feelings of warmth, love, peace, joy, and can help you want to do good. When you feel the Holy Ghost with you, thank Heavenly Father for this blessing. The Holy Ghost is one of the greatest gifts Father in Heaven can give you.

Just as you’d like to nourish a good relationship with a friend, the companionship of the Holy Ghost can be encouraged in much the same way.  We need to be our best and be worthy to have the Holy Ghost with us.

Here are five ways to live worthy to have the Holy Ghost with us.

Keep our bodies and minds clean.

Have faith.

Avoid sin.

Pray.

Read and ponder the scriptures.

If you do these things, you never need to feel alone, for you will have the most important companion and friend of all—the Holy Ghost.

The above talk is based on these articles from The Friend magazine:

Courting the Holy Ghost

The Holy Ghost Can Help Me

Poem - Help From the Holy Ghost

I love this poem by Erin Renouf Mylroie that was in children's magazine called, The Friend.  This could be used in conjunction with a talk or lesson.

I’m learning how to choose the right.

I’ll do my best both day and night.

But when I’m not sure what to do,

The Holy Ghost will help me through.

In math my grade is not the best,

So when I have to take a test,

I sometimes wish that I could look

At Jenny’s work or in my book.

But then I feel the still, small voice,

And I will make the righteous choice.

There are some big boys at my school.

They fool around and act so cool.

They tell me I should say bad words

And join them to throw rocks at birds.

But then I feel the still, small voice,

And I will make the righteous choice.

My buddy Tom has some neat toys,

Like video games made just for boys.

But if the game makes me feel strange,

I’m shy to say, “Let’s make a change.”

But then I feel the still, small voice,

And I will make the righteous choice.

I’m learning how to choose the right.

I’ll do my best both day and night.

But when I’m not sure what to do,

The Holy Ghost will help me through.

Primary - Theme and Purposes

Here's the theme and four purposes of Primary in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I think it is important for all of us who work with the children to keep our focus on these important points.  Everything we do should be fulfilling one of these purposes.

They say if the Savior came to visit church, the first place He'd would be to see the children.  I feel blessed to be able to serve in Primary with the children who have such pure and kind hearts (even if they are wiggly and chatty too!).

Tips for Effective Scripture Study

We had a great Stake Conference this weekend and I took a ton of notes because I wanted to remember everything.  One of our Stake Presidency members, who is also a seminary teacher, taught us how to more effectively study the scriptures.  I made this handout based on his talk (not his exact words, but it is what I learned from it).  We are trying to use these tips as we study the scriptures personally and as a family.

The Wacky World of English Pronunciation

This shows the craziness of our English language.  Click HERE to read this awesome poem.  (I know this one is super small but you can copy and enlarge it if you want to see it or just click on the link)