Sacrament Lesson

Tonight for Activity Days we are doing something super simple yet really important.  We are going to work on the requirement under Learning and Living the Gospel about the sacrament.  My lovely assistant will be teaching a short lesson on the sacrament and the covenants we make/renew.  Then the girls will be coloring and decorating this card, which is 4x6.

We are going to put some ribbon at the top so they can use it as a scripture/bookmarker.  They will be able to pull it out and look at it during the sacrament each week.  Also,they can use it to help them remember the principles they need to teach for FHE.  If you want to use this, go here for the sacrament card.


I also whipped up some little treat bags for them to take home, because the more reinforcement they get, the better.  (Plus, as we all know, if it is laminated, it is TRUE!)  So I made these:

Each bag has a take 5, some lifesavers, and some conversation hearts.  They were going to be Reese's hearts, but someone who shall remain nameless couldn't stay out of them!  Ok--I confess.  It was me.  I attached the following card with ribbon, but since I can't figure out how to crop this image, you get to look at it four-fold:

If you would like to use this, go here for the lifesaver card.  

To wind up our meeting, we will be practicing the hymn Choose the Right.  We will review the concept of agency.  This is also a requirement under Learning and Living the Gospel.  Ordinarily, this would involve having the Primary Chorister come and help us, but as luck would have it, I AM the Primary Chorister and I just happen to be available!

Hope some of these ideas are helpful to y'all!

Tami

Budget and some NO COST Activities!

Just saying the word budget kind of makes ya cringe huh?! Working with a budget in Activity days is tricky sometimes. I have received some emails asking about our budget. I will share with you my wards budget and I hope this doesn't create any hurt feelings. In my ward we have 2 groups totaling 16 girls. We get 45 cents per girl per activity for our budget. We also have been told not to use our own money! That is the hardest part for me. But the reason for this is to make it so that the person after us doesn't feel like they have to spend their own money to do fun activities. We also get a $75 budget for the mother/Daughter and Daddy/Daughter activity.

To work with these guidelines I try to do several FREE activities and then do one that costs money. Also, if I have supplies for an activity at my home I use them and I don't turn in a receipt for it. I consider it a donation. There are lots of fun things you can do with your girls that don't cost money like...

-Going for a bike ride

-visiting a church history site

-Taking a tour of different work places and seeing what they do

-Cleaning the sacrament trays

-Doing yard work for a neighbor

-Learning how to garden at your house! Let the girls help with your yard work!

-Having an Article-of-faith-a-thon (more details on that soon)

-Learning how to sew with leftover fabric scraps from ward members(we printed dot to dot papers for practice)

-Learning to play a new sport

-Visiting the temple visitors center and watching a movie there

-Doing a recipe exchange

-Writing letters to missionaries

-Writing to pen pal's (more on this soon to come)

-Learning to bake bread (I'm already making this each week so why not let them help and learn. You could even use some of the bread for the sacrament on Sunday)

-Swim party or splash pad-cosider inviting a life guard from your local pool to teach the girls safety tips. we did this and it was a hit!)

-Visit a bank and learn about budgeting and how the bank is ran. They might even have free giveaways for your girls

-Visit someone with animals like horses and have them share how to care for them Make sure to get permission slips if any riding takes place.

Think about your ward and the skills people have and consider having someone come to talk about what they do.

I do lots of these simple activities and the girls actually love them just as much as making a craft or doing something that costs money. SIMPLIFY your Activity DAYS and spend more time getting to know your girls. You will find a lot of enjoyment even on a small budget!

What is your budget? I would like to know. Please share in the comments your ideas for NO COST Activities so we can all benefit!

Bring an Ancestor to Activity Days!

This week we are going to talk about family history.  I thought it would be fun to have the girls think about it in advance so I made this invitation.  The font is kind of hard to read, but basically they are going to "bring along an ancestor" by learning a story about, or dressing up as, or bringing an item that belonged to an ancestor of theirs.  I thought I would start with a 5 minute lesson on why we do family history work and why it is so important.  Then we will be taking turns introducing our ancestors to each other.  This will probably take most of the meeting, because we have 15 girls!  Then we will begin to fill out our pedigree charts.  I found this one at sugardoodle

I thought this one would be a good starter.  It's not the official church one, but we have some girls who don't know all their family info, have stepparents, etc.  So it is just a start for them.

To encourage them to finish this up, I am going to send them home with one of these:

A Family Histo-tree!

I found this at chasingmolly.com!  So cute!  The idea is you put treats in the bag, and then the leaves have some kind of family history assignment on each of them.  As they complete each assignment, they can get a treat out of the bag.  I am going to use Hearts instead of leaves, to emphasize the "turn the hearts of the children" aspect.  I will put the following assignments:

Finish your pedigree chart

Interview an ancestor (parent, grandparent)

Gather some family pictures of each side of your family

Write down a fun childhood story in your journal

Put everything in a box or folder so you can continue to work on your projects.

  

I actually made the pdf available here

I will try to post a picture of my tree when I finish it.  Still in progress!  :)   For our treat I thought it would be fun to have something to do with family history, but the only thing that came up when I googled was johnnycakes.  Seriously?  Did the people back then even want to eat them?  I am going to make a round sugar cookie and decorate it with a family tree (brown outline of branches with heart sprinkles).  I figure sugar cookie recipes get handed down right?  More pix to come!

Here is my family histo-tree!  The instructions are really simple:
Take a lunch bag and cut the top into 5 sections lengthwise, until you reach about the bottom 1/3.  Open the bag up and place candy inside.  Then take each of five sections and twist, like rope, to make the branches.  Tie around the base of branches with ribbon and then glue on leaves/hearts.

Here are the family tree sugar cookies I made.  I am not a cookie artist.  But I thought they turned out cute.

Valentines - Soap & Scriptures

Last year we had a very fun activity. The girls made heart shaped soap (imprinted), then had a "Love" scripture search and made cards.

Glycerin soap, alcohol, water, scents, dies, mold. Simply melt & pour!

I have metal stamps that we used to imprint "Love" and other words.

While we waited for the soaps to set up we did a scripture search. I found this great idea from SugarDoodle for searching for "heart". They loved it!

Then we made up some simple cards. I usually have a sample or two for them to follow. It helps them create ideas off it.

...and I don't know why this photo won't rotate! Sorry!

Money Money Money!

This week our activity was all about Money. How to earn it, save it, and a bit about spending. We threw in a story & discussion about tithing (story from the Friend) as well.

First - each girl got this hand out and took turns reading & discussing. We spent too long on this part...should have paraphrased so we had more time for the fun stuff.

MONEY handout pdf.

MONDY handout editable

Then they made savings banks out of plastic containers (margerine, yogart, sour cream). The idea was they would write on it what they were saving for so they wouldnt loose site of their goal.

Finally they played the Game of Life. They didn't have nearly enough time for this but they had fun getting it started!

Project Valentine

Are you looking for a fun service project for your AD Girls? I have got a fun one for you! Project Valentine makes life a "little sweeter" for individuals undergoing cancer treatment. They distribute donated items for hundreds of gift bags. These gift bags are lovingly assembled and hand-delivered each year to men, women and children undergoing cancer treatment on or around Valentine's Day. Would you like to get involved? How about having a craft day with your Activity Day girls and making and donating something fun! Go HERE for information on how you can help.

Kristen

Once There Was a Snowman, Snowman, Snowman!

Where we live we rarely get snow. When we do, they cancel school, and everyone has a snowman in their front yard! By afternoon all the snow melts and all that is left is the snowman for a few days. I thought it would be fun to make some cute snowmen that could hang around a little longer!

These were a few I made in December with my own children. You can go HERE for directions on how to make them. I bought socks at Target for $1 and used buttons and twine I already had. To make our noses we clipped real twigs from our trees and painted them orange with acrylic paint.

Happy Crafting!

Kristen

Journaling and Goals!

So, this is the time of year when we all think about setting goals.  I love this post from darling doodles--it is hilarious!  I think I could achieve the goal of eating more chocolate!  :)  Or gaining 25 pounds!  Or spending more time on Pinterest!  Anyway, I thought we would do a short lesson on goal setting.  Love this acronym to help the girls remember principles of goal-setting:

from mariettamcclurefitness

Then, darling doodles also has a darling printable for setting goals

from darlingdoodles.blogspot.com

I am printing these off and we will set some goals that night.  One goal that I want each girl to work on is writing in a journal.  I plan on getting some inexpensive notebooks next week and having them do their first entry that night.  Found this super cute poster for journal prompts:

from inkablinka.com

I am going to give each girl a little paper cup of m&ms, one in each color.  As they write about each prompt, they can eat the corresponding color!  What could be better than cuteness+chocolate to help motivate them!


Anyway, I hope this helps inspire some other great activities!  You can download the journal prompts printable here.


Download the goal printable here.


And you can find the SMART poster here.


And anyone who wants to join me in my resolution to eat more chocolate, I will be your goal buddy!  Call me anytime you need encouragement!  :)


Tami

Learning New Hairstyles!

This was one of the girls favorite activities! I was a cosmetologist before having children so I know a few things about hair. If you don't consider inviting someone in your ward to come talk to the girls about taking care of their hair or use my handout. Young women always like to help as well!
First off when the girls came I had a long table set up with all kinds of hair supplies for doing hair. I had a comb for each girl. There were also flat irons, curling irons, different rubber bands, hair wax, hairspray, and gel. I first shared a few hair tips with the girls on taking care of their hair. This is the hand out I made and gave a copy to each girl as I went over it.

HAIR CARE TIPS

Washing your hair-

First comb all of the tangles out. Next wet your hair thoroughly with warm water to open up the scale like cuticles of the hair. Next apply shampoo to your roots massaging in a circular motion. Rinse and repeat a second time. Next add a dollop of conditioner and work through to your ends. Rinse with cool water to close the hair cuticle and to retain moisture and have shiny hair! For an extra condition after washing squeeze the moisture out of hair and apply conditioner and put a shower cap on. Heat up with a blow dryer for a few minutes and then allow to cool. Leave on for 10-15 minutes and rinse with cool water. Wash your hair no more than every other day.

Dandruff-

What is considered the best homemade remedy to dandruff is a vinegar wash. Mix two teaspoons of vinegar with six teaspoons of water and rub it against your scalp before you go to bed, then wrap your head with a towel. Apply the same solution to your hair once again in the morning when you wake up, then rinse it with water. You do not have to worry about the smell of vinegar in your hair, as the smell of vinegar does evaporate eventually.

Dry Hair-

* Placing 1 or 2 drops of safflower oil in your palms and rub them together.

* There should only be enough to make your hands "shine" in the light.

* Carefully take your hair (while dry) and "scrunch" the small amount of oil to the ENDS first and work toward the scalp.

* Leave this in your hair.

* 1-2 drops of safflower oil on dry hair is so small, you won’t notice it is there.

Oily Hair-

Do not wash everyday. The cleaner your hair is the more it can seep into your glands and harder it is to get rid of. The more you strip the oils the more oil your scalp will produce. For a quick fix, rub a little Talcum Powder on your dried hair at the roots. Just make sure you wash it out.

You can also use a dry shampoo that you leave on.

Healthy Hair starts with a healthy body! Drink plenty of water. Eat foods rich in protein, minerals and vitamins. Dark green vegetables, fish, meats nuts seeds, and FRUITS and VEGETABLES!

After I went over this hand out I showed a video clip on my laptop of how to do a fun messy bun on long hair. Then I showed them a fun braid bun on my daughter. I handed out a list to each girl of my favorite hairstyle websites so they could search them for fun styles for their hair.

Here is my list...

Websites with fun hair ideas.

Princesshairstyles.com

Cutegirlshairstyles.com

Babesinhairland.com

Allthingsribbon.com

Shedoeshair.blogspot.com

Girlydohairstyles.com

Cutiepiehaircreations.blogspot.com

Afterwards all of the girls got their hair done! Me, our other leader and 1 young women, helped to style the hair. If you don't do hair consider inviting several young women to come and help that like doing hair. Just plan on half of them not showing up! (They are busy:)

Here are a few of the hairstyles we created. A couple of our girls got away before I snapped pictures.

Search the websites above for lots of fun braids, messy buns, twisty braids and more! The girls loved this and I even got text messages from Mom's after telling me how much fun their daughters had.

Have fun!

Kristen

BOO!

I don't have a picture for this one, but for one of our activity days, we made some "BOO" bags.  I thought this would be a fun service project.  I was able to pick up some little halloween colored cloth bags for 4/1.00 at Michael's and also a big container of sticky foam halloween shapes.  They decorated the bags, made a card, and then we filled them with candy and little halloween treats I picked up at Target, sticky hands, pencils, spider rings.  We then left a goody bag for each house in our cul-de-sac.  The girls were very giggly and had a great time going out on their stealth missions!  They all took a bag home to boo someone in their neighborhood.  It was a fun time!

Caroling and Cookies

From ldsclipart.com

Hi there!  My name is Tami and I am the Ad leader as well as the primary chorister in my ward.  I love seeing what everyone else does and "borrowing" their fabulous creativity!  I hope some of the things we do can help someone else!  I know Christmas is over, but maybe this will help for next year.  For our last activity, we went caroling around my neighborhood.  Because we have a large group, we wouldn't fit in even two cars, so my cul-de-sac gets lots of service from us!

First, we practiced singing several carols.  We picked a couple of sacred ones, as well as secular.  Who doesn't want Rudolph sung to them?  Then we headed out the door.

by evanrudemi from photographyblogger.net

I had made a couple of batches of cookies ahead of time. What is caroling without a treat, right?  When the neighbors came to the door, we sang them a couple of songs, and handed them a plate.  We ended with "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and then went to the next house.  The girls had a great, giggly time, as usual!

To finish up, we had cider and donuts back at home.  Then we sat and talked about what we could give Jesus for Christmas.  And then what they were giving someone in their family for Christmas.  It was a great way to focus on giving to others and the joy it brings!

Hope you enjoy this activity as much as we did!

Christmas Crafts

I posted previously about my planned Christmas activity.
This shows the story book, ornament (OTC) and a Gumball countdown.
For the gumball countdown I bought bags of wrapped gumballs from the $ store, grabbed some index cards and an old bag of bows. They stapled the gumballs together (or taped) and created the tag for the top. I think this was their favorite part.

This activity filled they 1.5 hours and they loved it!
Note - I had them bring glue guns + the ones we purchased last year so they each had one. Made it much easier!

Prayer Mats

This was a recent activity that the girls really enjoyed. I bought placemats from the $ store and squeeze fabric paints from JoAnns (w/coupon). We read some poems & stories about prayer out of the Friend.

Then I had them do it all in pencil first, then paint. They were very proud of their creations and Moms say they put them right in their rooms.

*I will note this was an acitivity that did not fill our 1.5 hours. Cub Pack meeting was going on so they went in there to play their games. So plan a little filler of some sort.

Calendar for 2012

I'm a planner - I can't help it.

I usually plan out 6 months of activities, right now I've got all of next year sketched out - mostly for budget planning. I print the calender for the girls and they have it in their folders and I know they watch it because they will ask about a future activity often. So, after some searching the web for ideas and using the FiG booklet, here is our baseline calendar for next year. Hopefully it will help some of you plan ideas for yours!

Download 2012 calendar

Editable Download

Just as an FYI this version has some detail notes that wont be on the girls calendars. I like them to have the activity title and what FiG topic it cooresponds with (if any).

I will post detailed activity plans as they come about. I'd love to hear what all of you are doing!

Last Activity of the Year!

My name is Anndee and I've offered to post my AG activities as well. I hope someone can find them useful! I thought I'd start with what we have planned for next week.

Nativity Ornament-I cheated and ordered the kits from oriental trading ($9.25 for 12):
http://www.orientaltrading.com/wooden-nativity-ornament-craft-kit-a2-48_1720-12-1.fltr?Ntt=nativity+ornament

12 days of Christmas stories-
I put together these stories from The Friend. I looked for stories featuring girls. I then grabbed clip art for each story so they can color them. I made copies in the library. We'll be 3-hole punching then putting them in 3-prong clear cover folders that I had left over from a years-ago project. Thus a free project!

With left over time we'll sing Christmas Carols.

Next post will be our activity schedule for next year.