Stake Activity Day - "There's No Place Like Home"

I am currently serving as the secretary in our Stake Primary Presidency.  I loved this recent Stake Activity Day event! Feel free to copy anything you'd like from the activity. 

We had a committee of around 20 people working on it and it was incredible.  Everyone magnified their responsibilities and I have to say it turned out to be quite a memorable event for the girls.

This was our poster (I took our stake name off to make it generic).

Our invitation. We printed them as 4x6 pics at Costco.

We based the theme around the Wizard of Oz but adjusted it to fit our desired goal.  Our theme was "There's No Place Like Home with Our Father in Heaven and our Savior Jesus Christ."  Our focus was trying to prepare the girls to attend the temple someday and then eventually return to live with Heavenly Father.

Outside entrance area.  They made poppies out of tissue paper and also had pictures of Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and the Scarecrow.

When the girls entered the building, they were greeted with a yellow brick road and some giant lollypops.

These lollypops were made of pool noodles and duct tape. Clever!  I'm pretty sure we took a lot of these ideas from Pinterest and then just did our own variation.

The sign told the girls to follow the yellow brick road to the cultural hall where everyone was meeting up.

We borrowed this sign.  Super cute!

We had a sign-in table where each of the leaders grabbed a basket with all the information and booklets for their wards (one leader per ward).

Hey, that's me at the table! 

Everyone met in the cultural hall and the theme was introduced.

This was the Gospel Standard we focused on.

Here's a close-up on the stage decorations.

Someone in our stake strung lights across the room and then they hung these fun clouds on them (made out of batting).

Photo area where they could take pictures of individuals or groups of girls.  We had little props for them to hold up too if they wanted them.

There were 5 stations for the girls to visit, each with their own theme and activity.  Each station lasted for 20 minutes.

We made booklets for the girls to take with them and use at the stations.  It will put the various pages with the stations they went with.  Here's a link to the PDF folder that has the booklet and some door signs.

Cover of the booklet

First page inside the booklet.

Back cover of the booklet.

Station 1: If I Only Had a Brain

Faith in God: Developing Talents #4  - Make an item from wood, metal, fabric, or other material, or draw, paint, or sculpt a piece of art. Display your finished work for others to see.

Gospel Standard: I will live now to be worthy to go to the temple and do my part to have an eternal family.

The girls each made these cute temples with a Gospel Standard on them.

They had two tables for painting the wood and then two tables for making the paper tag to attach with ribbon.

The girls used old t-shirts to stay clean while painting.  We just took old t-shirts from around the house and then cut the back so the girls could put them on as a smock.

 The leaders dressed up as scarecrows and the sister missionaries were great helpers that afternoon.

Station 2: If I Only Had a Heart

Faith in God: Serving Others #3 - Make a list of the qualities you like in a person.  Choose one quality to develop in yourself.  Discuss how showing respect and kindness strengthens you, your family, and others.

Gospel Standard:  I will seek good friends and treat others kindly.

Loved how these leaders dressed up as Tin Women.  They even had silver faces! 

They gave an analogy about relating the Tin Man and his oil can to the Parable of the 10 Virgins.

From the Faith in God booklet, the girls were challenged to "Make a list of the qualities you like in a person.  Choose one quality to develop in yourself.  Discuss how showing respect and kindness strengthens you, your family, and others."  They wrote their quality on a paper "brick" and added it to the yellow brick road.

After they made their brick, they played a game called "Fruit Salad" using the qualities they discussed.  It was nice for them to get to be active and move around.

Station 3: If I Only Had the Courage

Faith in God: Learning and Living the Gospel #6 – Tell a story from the Book of Mormon that teaches about faith in Jesus Christ. Share your testimony of the Savior.

Gospel Standard: I will choose the right.  I know I can repent when I make a mistake.

At this station, the girls were able to learn about Abish from the Book of Mormon.  They wrote down how they would be brave like Abish.  They also roll played various hypothetical situations and how they could be brave like Abish in those cases.

Abish’s father taught her to believe in Jesus Christ. In her city, not many people believed in Jesus. After Ammon came to her people and taught King Lamoni, Abish knew that Heavenly Father wanted her to share the gospel with the people. She was finally able to tell everyone about Jesus.

Our cute leaders dressed as courageous lions!

They made these "lion" popcorn bags for the girls to take home with them.

Basically they just copied lion faces to glue on the bags and then cut fringes on the top of the bag and folded it over to look like a mane.

Station 4: T-shirts and Dresses and Skirts, Oh My!

Faith in God: Developing Talents #9 - Learn about and practice good nutrition, good health, and good grooming, including modest dress.  (We only did the modest dress portion.  The rest of the requirement would be done at home.)

Gospel Standard: I will dress modestly to show respect for Heavenly Father and myself.

We took an idea from an article called “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” by Laurie Walker in the November 2009 New Era magazine and based our station off of that.

HEAD: Put your hands on your head and make sure your shirt doesn’t pull up and show your skin.

SHOULDERS: Put your hands on your shoulders to see if they are covered.  Make sure you aren’t showing more under your armholes and that the buttons on your shirt aren’t straining.

KNEES: Make sure your clothes go to your knees.

TOES: Touch your toes.  Make sure your shirt doesn’t droop down in front and that your shirt doesn’t slide up in back.  Make sure your skirt and shorts are modest when you bend over.

The focus wasn't to make girls feel guilty but rather to inspire them to be prepared for the temple. "Dorothy" showed them ways to take a questionable outfit and make it modest and gave them wonderful advice on preparing for the temple.

The room was decorated with white clothing - blessing outfits, baptism dresses, wedding dresses, etc.

She encouraged each girl to "see yourself in the temple." We had a giant mirror with a temple outline on it that each girl had the chance to look in and imagine herself going there someday.

 Station 5: I Have Been Changed for Good

Faith in God: Learning and Living the Gospel #7 – Read Doctrine and Covenants 89. Discuss how Heavenly Father blesses us when we faithfully live the Word of Wisdom.  Help plan and conduct an activity to teach the Word of Wisdom to others. (We only discussed how we are blessed by living the Word of Wisdom. The rest of the requirement would be done at home.)

Gospel Standards:

I will keep my mind and body sacred and pure, and I will not partake of things that are harmful to me.

I will use the names of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ reverently. I will not swear or use crude words.

I will only read and watch things that are pleasing to Heavenly Father.

I will only listen to music that is pleasing to Heavenly Father.

This station had a continuation from the "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" class.  We had Glinda the Good Witch and Elphaba to represent good and evil. They also decorated the backdrop to show the contrast.  These ladies stayed in character and helped the girls learn how to make good choices.

EYES: I watch movies and shows that are good and make my “spirit” happy.  I will look for the good in others.

EARS: I will listen to good music.  I won’t listen to gossip.  If I hear crude words, I can sing a Primary song in my head.

MOUTH: I will not gossip.  I will not swear.  I will live the Word of Wisdom by eating good food and saying NO to things that are bad for my body. I will stand up for others.  I will always tell the truth, even when it is hard.

NOSE: I will not be “NOSEY.” I will be respectful of others.

They served these delicious fruit pizzas at the beginning of class. They were a ton of work and we really appreciated all those that created them in the super hot kitchen.  They were dressed like "Auntie Em."  We included the recipe in the booklet in case the girls wanted to try making the fruit pizzas at home with their families later.

COOKIE CRUST

¾  cup butter (softened)

¾  cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1 ½ cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, cream butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla.  Add in egg, then add flour, and mix until thoroughly combined (do not overmix). Roll cookie dough about ¼ inch thick. Place on pizza pan or cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes until golden brown on edges.

FILLING

½  of 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

6 oz package cream cheese (softened)

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla

In medium bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk, cream cheese, lemon juice, and vanilla.  Mix well.  When crust is cool, spread cream mixture on top of crust and top with fruits of your choice such as strawberries, pineapple, bananas, kiwi, etc.  

At the end of the activity, everyone met up again in the cultural hall and had a re-cap of the theme. They sang all four verses of "I Am a Child of God."  This emphasized our theme of wanting to return home to be with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ again someday.