Duct Tape Jars and Tithing

This amazing idea is from Leigh Anne over at your homebased mom.  Not only is she one of my favorite bloggers, but she is an AD leader!  So we can reap the genius of her great ideas with the wonders of the internet!  Hop on over to the link above for this great idea.  And while you're there, you might want to stay awhile and browse her other fabulous, fun, pretty, and delicious ideas!  Seriously, I have loved every recipe I have tried from Leigh Anne.  Thanks for graciously letting us "borrow" this, Leigh Anne!  

Babysitting Kit Update 2014

from simpleasthatblog.com

A lot of you probably know Rebecca from Simple as That.  I am a fan of hers from a few years ago when I found one of her amazing books on scrapbooking.  Now she makes all of these adorable creations:

  

She contacted me a few weeks ago and asked for permission to use an idea that has already been on here to create some new FREE printables for her AD girls.  Of course, I jumped at the chance!  So, I am happy to feature this adorable, new babysitting kit from her blog.

  

You can find it HERE.  Thanks for sharing your amazing talents with the rest of us, Rebecca!

Conference Roundup-Round 3 or whatever...

Just a few more quick and cute ideas that you could incorporate:

This is such a cute idea from mishmashmom.blogspot.com. You can view the post HERE.  She took the printables everyone created after conference and made mini copies.  Then, they were "preserved" in a jar for whenever her VT ladies needed a boost.  This could be a great way for the girls to remember main ideas from conference!  

This cute printable is made all to go on one sheet!  It is from lifesjourneytoperfection.blogspot.com and you can get the file HERE.  I love that it is mini and you could tie it up with a little bag of m&ms or whatever for their bingo game.  

This next activity is something that would work best with older girls, but they could definitely get the whole family involved.  It's Fantasy General Conference Brackets! 

You can go HERE for the 2014 version.

 I think it's a super cute and creative idea to keep the whole family engaged.  This would also be a great idea for YW.  

And another FABULOUS printable from courtneyaitken.blogspot.com.  This might be my new favorite!  You can get the pdf  HERE.  Have fun!  And enjoy this weekend!

Conference Roundup Spring 2014

I absolutely ADORE the website all things bright and beautiful, aka courtneyaitkenblogspot.com.  She designs the most amazing printables for YW and Primary and everything else.

from courtneyaitken.blogspot.com

This is one from last conference that I didn't see in time for the roundup.  Find it here.  I love it!  I think it would be super cute to hand out with some chocolate gold coins!  

from ldsnest.com

These printables are from LDS Nest and can be found at this link here.  You might want to use them with your older girls, because they are maybe geared more toward their age group.  They are available in both color and black and white. 

from ce.byu.edu

This cute idea is from BYU Women's Conference 2013.  They have a virtual sharing station you can view at this link here.  You would have to adapt this for the girls, sincesome of the steps are reading your patriarchal blessing, etc.  But the ideas are fun!  

from sugardoodle.net

Here is a terrific, as usual, packet from sugardoodle.  You can click on this link HERE to download the PDF.  

                                                                            

 from littleldsideas.blogspot.com

This is a superfun activity idea from little LDS ideas.  You could probably adapt it for an AD night, or put together a packet for the girls to do with their families, or use it as an after conference activity.  Either way, it involves ice cream.  I'm in.  Go HERE for the printables.

That's it for now.  I will keep an eye out for any other ideas.  Feel free to email or comment and share if you come across something or have a brilliant idea you want to share!  

Easter Activity: Resurrection Eggs

From momtheintern.blogspot.com

 Easter is only a few weeks away.  We live here in the south.  You can find Resurrection Eggs everywhere here.  Walmart, Hobby Lobby, the checkout of the grocery store.  I had never seen them before moving this direction.  They are really neat.  They go through the Easter story and talk about the different events leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection of the Savior using a familiar Easter symbol-eggs.  I used them in singing time and last year we made our own sets for Activity Days.  You can find a great version here. 

from momtheintern.blogspot.com

 There are several different versions on the internet.  If you want to substitute a scripture or an item for a different one, then listen to the Spirit and customize it for your group. 

from momtheintern.blogspot.com

Sometimes, you are limited by budget, availability, time, and size constraints.  That's why these are just ideas and you can adapt them to fit your needs! 

Here is an idea for a cute treat that is NOT sugar.  

Sorry, the only source I have on this is this pinterest pin.  

Just some cheesy bunny crackers in a plastic bag (cone-shaped, it might be a piping bag) tied with a green bow.  Easy-peasy!

 Happy Easter!

My Body is a Temple

This is a super cute picture from overstuffedlife.com.  I love her design and the message is inspiring!  I made this graphic into a print 4-to-a-page pdf.  You can find it here .We did an activity last spring ( I know, I am really behind-more on that later) that incorporated this theme.  We talked about how important it is to take care of our bodies and what Heavenly Father expect us to do with them.  You could take this lesson in several different directions.  We chose to do fitness.  So we went outside and played some games.  We did relays involving jumping rope, running, skipping, jumping jacks, etc.  

When the girls were nice and worn out, we had some of this:

Yummy fruit salsa!

And....

cinnamon tortilla chips!  Yummm!!!

This was a delicious healthy snack, easy to prep beforehand, and we make it all the time at my house now.  Here is the recipe (from allrecipes.com):

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

2 kiwis, peeled and diced 2 Golden Delicious apples - peeled, cored and diced 8 ounces raspberries 1 pound strawberries 2 tablespoons white sugar

1 tablespoon brown sugar 3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor 10 (10 inch) flour tortillas butter flavored cooking spray 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, Golden Delicious apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.
2.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3.	Coat one side of each flour tortilla with butter flavored cooking spray. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Spray again with cooking spray.
4.	Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture.

2 kiwis, peeled and diced

2 Golden Delicious apples - peeled, cored

and diced

8 ounces raspberries

1 pound strawberries

2 tablespoons white sugar

1 tablespoon brown sugar

3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor

10 (10 inch) flour tortillas

butter flavored cooking spray

2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar

1.

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, Golden Delicious apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.

2.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

3.

Coat one side of each flour tortilla with butter flavored cooking spray. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Spray again with cooking spray.

4.

Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture.

-

Secret Sisters

One of the best activities we did this past year was Secret Sisters.  We asked our Relief Society President for the names of some sisters who could use an adopted granddaughter, and each girl was assigned one as her older "sister".  We started off the relationship by making a simple card and dipping a caramel apple for them.  The apples were super easy!  Just follow the instructions on the back of the Kraft caramel bag!  And then to jazz it up a little, and give it the seasonal touch, we dipped it in white chocolate and added some fall sprinkles.

Add a little cellophane bag and some ribbon, and you have a little party on a stick.  I delivered these the next day, so the girls could be "secret" for the duration of the project.  

For phase two, we had the girls make these little cuties at the same activity:

It's just a dressed up roll of toilet paper!  Take a sheet of orange tissue paper, tuck and wrap it around the roll.  Tuck a little piece of green tissue in the top along with a smidge of raffia.  Cut out a jack-o-lantern face from sticky back black felt and PRESTO!  A cute Halloween decor item, and an emergency roll of toilet paper in one!  We delivered these on a different day.

For phase three, we made wreaths similar to this one:

You can find the tutorial HERE.  This was a separate activity night.  It does take a while, and I would suggest having all the fabric cut ahead of time.  We had the girls bring their fabric and we were really pushed to finish them.  These were also delivered secretly.

For the last phase of the project, we had an after church munch and mingle with our secret sisters.  Each girl met her sister and visited with her.  We just had some simple refreshments and played a little icebreaker game.  It was really rewarding for the girls to develop this relationship over a few weeks and be excited to serve someone.  They love to see each other now!  You can use this activity to incorporate several different requirements, and adapt it for the needs of your own group.  I would highly recommend it because it really opened the girls eyes to the lives of others outside their own age group.  

Who is Your Scripture Superhero?

A couple of weeks ago, we did a scripture superhero activity.  I asked the girls to think about who was their scripture superhero and be prepared to talk about their superpower. ( I made these little invitations with clip art from the ldsblogtrain.  They did a month of scripture hero digital art.  Supercute!  And free, although some of the links no longer work. )

For a snack, we kept it "super"simple and just bagged up some cookies-to-go with a cute bag topper.  I also sent the girls home with mini notebooks and printed some of these covers and adhered them to each one.  They were little scripture journals for them to write their thoughts in as they read the scriptures.

So, on to the activity:  

After opening song, Scripture Power, of course, and prayer, I shared a quick message.  I used a talk by Pres. Ezra Taft Benson, called In His Steps, as my basis.  He talks about how there is a great battle going on and how we need to fight.  "Great battles can make great heroes, but heroes will make great battle.  You will never have a better opportunity to be a greater hero in a more crucial battle than in the battle you will face today and in the immediate future."  You can find the talk here.  

I then asked each girl to tell us who her scripture hero was and what his/her superpower was.  I was amazed at the insight of these little girls as they shared.  Here are a few examples:

Ammon showed up several times.  He had superpowers of service, obedience, and work.  One of those girls said his superpower was doing what he was asked to do!  That is truly an amazing character trait nowadays!

Nephi was a hero because he was humble after he broke his bow and went to the prophet to ask where he should go to find food.  The girl who shared this said his superpower was not murmuring.  I wish I had that one!

Ruth was a hero because she followed her mother-in-law to a different place.  Her superpower was courage.

Esther was brave.

Joseph Smith was a superhero because he saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  His superpower was that he knew he could talk to God.

Moroni, the son of Mormon, was a superhero because he stayed faithful and righteous all his life, and all on his own.

When everyone had a turn, we used these little "capes" to write some goals and ways that we could be like our superhero. 

I have to say, this is probably my favorite activity we have had so far.  It was super simple, but the spirit was so strong as the girls talked about the people they loved in the scriptures and shared the qualities they admired.  I know it is really fun to do crafty things with fun games and super snacks, but sometimes all you need is the gospel.  These sweet girls are truly amazing in their capacity to learn and understand the gospel!  Depending on how many girls you have, you may want to add a couple of different activities.  We had about 14, so it took our entire time to just do a couple of things.  I thought maybe a superhero obstacle course would be fun-maybe make a lego tower with a sign that says "temptation" on it for them to leap over.  Maybe some giant "barbells"  made of styrofoam balls and a dowel with labels of  "trials" and "adversity" on it.  I am sure there is a lot you could do!  Enjoy!

P.S.  You should be able to click on the images above and then right click and save.  They are made to print on 81/2x 11, but they are jpegs, so hopefully you can resize them for whatever you need.  If not, email me!  

here is the invite in word so you can put a text box with your details on it.  Email me if it doesn't work!

FHE lesson

This activity is super quick and easy...seriously.  We are having a lesson tonight on a recent talk by the prophet.  I chose the Race of Life from the April session of conference this year.  I am going to share with them the main points of Pres. Monson's talk-the plan of salvation, enduring to the end.  Then we will put together our own file folder for family night.  I printed off a lesson plan which can be found here.  I will have the girls draw their own diagram of the PofS and also jot down any other ideas they have that would specifically work for their family.   The rest of the time we will spend making this super simple ornament
found here

image from http://pinterest.com/pin/143481938099107665/

I am making it even easier for the girls by pre-cutting the red paper, cutting a black belt out of sticky-back felt, and using a tiny piece of gold pipe cleaner for the buckle on the belt.  We have 14-16 girls, so it has to be super simple and self-explanatory or we don't get finished in time.  I will post a pic of a finished one later. Have fun!

Tami

Mother Daughter "Part of a Wonderful Bunch" Activity

This Mother daughter Activity was one of my favorites! The Theme was centered around the Family Proclamation, titled "Part of a Wonderful Bunch!" We first had a prep activity the week before the actual activity where the girls made invitations, made letters, and were filmed for their part of a movie we made, "A-Z in the Family Proclamation." You can find a copy of the ABC quotes for the family proclamation at www.beinglds.blogspot.com Both Mothers and daughters read a part of the proclamation with their letter and then I pieced it together to one movie and we showed the film on the evening of our activity. It was fun but took some work!
We also asked each girl to tell us a famous "quote" or "saying" their mother uses often. Some of the answers included "this place is a pig sty!", and "believe in possibilities". I wish I could remember more. We had the girls guess who said what the night of the activity.

Here's a look at the invitation. I do not have this to share with you as it was a cut out used by another leader not on the computer. The girls cut it out and put it together. the stem opened up and read...

A family doesn't "leaf" you hanging on a vine
with a Mothers love you'll always be fine

Families "cling" together and help each other.
making you feel close to one another.

If you come to our party, I have a hunch
you'll "proclaim" you are part of a wonderful bunch!

and of course then we had the date, time, and place

This stand of grapes greeted our Mothers and daughters as they entered the cultural hall where our party was at.
When they first arrived we had a few tables set up in the back where we had a craft project for the girls to make with their Moms. They started it by painting a 4x6"wood block black and letting it dry while we waited for everyone to get there.
directions...
At the end of the activity, the girls finished their craft by adding this saying we printed on cardstock, distressed with some stamp ink, and made into a sticker. All they had to do was peel and stick.
A little ribbon was added to the top to finish it off. You can download the quote HERE
The Mothers/daughters were asked to bring a food dish special to their family to share. This table was set up to hold all the yummy food items.
We gave them these cards to label their special food. Unfortunately I don't have a copy to share but it would be easy to make your own!
here are a few things the girls brought to share...
Favorite treats, Christmas eve dishes, braided bread their grandmother made, homemade salsas from their gardens, and foods that are a tradition were things that showed up at our table.
It was a great mix of food we enjoyed. Notice the letters behind the table...They are the letters the girls made for the movie we made and the part of the proclamation they read. We used them to decorate too!

We used this decorated wall to take a picture of each mother and daughter together.

These balloons were our table centerpiece.
These were the place settings. All going along with our Grape theme.
I loved the little touch of candy grapes tied to the forks. All the party supplies came from Party Land.

A glance at the decorated room. To my right in the back was the craft table and to the left was the food table. We had the projector set up in the center for our special movie presentation.
So a run down of the activity went like this...
Girls arrived, put their food on the table and painted a wood block
Then they got their picture taken with their mom and had a seat
Next we had our opening prayer, shared the family proclamation movie we made(lots of giggles watching ourselves speak!)
Then we ate dinner
After eating for a bit and visiting we played our game of famous quotes and tried to guess which mother said what?!?
Next we talked about families and motherhood and shared a special Mormon message from Stephanie Nielsen about Motherhood which you can find here. I was able to download it for free from ITunes to my computer and then project it on the screen for everyone to see.
Lastly we had a prayer and then the girls finished their craft project to take home.

We also had a packet for each family to take home that included the family Proclamation and a FHE Lesson about the Family Proclamation which you can find on www.beinglds.blogspot.com
Both the ABC quotes we used for the movie and the packet can be found and downloaded for free through this site. Be sure to leave her a comment of appreciation!

It really is wonderful to be part of a bunch!

I hope you enjoy these ideas for your next Mother/Daughter Activity!

Kristen :)

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,CLICK HERE

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