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!

You Are Special

This blog has been neglected!  Holy cow!  I took a break from doing activities to take care of my now 6 week old baby but now summer is winding down, I'm feeling great and we are back at it!  We started off the new school year with a spiritual activity, ending with a lot of laughter.  I guess you could say I'm a little rusty as far as activities go, so the first portion of this activity is an idea I got from my sister.

First of all, you will need the book You Are Special by Max Lucado.  Are you familiar with it?  I picked mine up on half.com for 99 cents but I believe you can also find it at Wal Mart.

If you aren't familiar with the book, listen to it here.

We prepared for the activity by purchasing gold star stickers at the dollar store and my partner cut out black dots about the size of a quarter (any size would do).  You don't even have to do that, regular stickers would do just fine. 

We sat the girls in a circle and I began reading the book.  Many of them were familiar with it but paid attention just fine.  While I was reading my partner went around the circle sticking the stickers and dots (with tape) on the girls.  The more stickers the better!  Once we got to the part of the book about Lucia, she started removing the dots.

After we finished the book we talked about what different people and events in the book represent.  We then began talking about how we are each different and our unique qualities are what make us each special.  At this point we passed around a mirror and had each of the girls look at themselves and name one thing that they really like about themselves.  Even though the girls are young, it was still challenging for them!  The other leader and I reinforced each good thing they said and even gave each girl a compliment.

We also discussed that sometimes we are told something so much, good or bad, that we begin to believe it.  To close this part of the activity we talked about people at school that may need a friend because they might be feeling like a Wemmick with a lot of gray dots.  I asked the girls is they could think of someone who may feel this way and they all said yes.  We then challenged them to reach out to them and lift them up. 

This part of the activity only took about 20 minutes so we filled the rest of the time with a little improv.  I filled two bags with a few random items like plastic fruit, potato masher, fairy wand, sunglasses, toy cash register, etc.  The girls were split into two teams and given a bag.  They were given 2 minutes to come up with a skit using every item in the bag.  I could not believe their creativity!  They about had us rolling on the floor laughing.  It was so fun we did about 4 rounds of it and they all asked if we could do it next time.  You have got to try it!

Getting To Know the Missionaries

We recently invited the missionaries to an activity.  They talked with the girls about what a typical day is like for them and then the girls got to ask questions.  There were all kinds of questions from what the worst thing they have had to eat was to what life was like before their mission.  We learned that one of the missionaries had really long hair and was in a band!  The missionaries were great sports and kept things really interesting.

Here's a few more ideas you could incorporate.

FHE in a Can....DONE!

Today we did the FHE in a can activity.  It was a huge hit with the girls and a total success.  Here's the run-down:


We purchased enough cans and lids for all of our girls (80 cents per can and 21 cents per lid).
We also rented a canner
Using this great site, I found a lesson that was perfect for my girls, Being an Example.

We gave the FHE lesson to the girls and played a few rounds of Draw or Drama.  After that we helped them assemble the cans.  Here was was included:

FHE Plan
Copy of FHE Game

Copy of FHE Story

Treat Recipe

Cake Mix
M&M's


Each girl folded up their papers and placed them in the can.  For the treat, we chose to do cake cookies.  We included the mix and 1 cup of M&M's.  It's really just what we had on hand, but the possibilities are endless!  You could do plain cake mixes, s'mores, many different varieties of cookies, candy bars, etc.  Depending on the time of year, you can get smoking deals on cake mixes, brownie mixes, s'mores stuff and lots more.  

If you choose to do this FHE lesson, be sure to tell your girls that after they cut the strips up, to use the can to play out of.

 
The girls loved watching their cans being sealed as well.  If you aren't able to get your hands on a canner you could try using paint cans that can be purchased at Home Depot or Lowes or even using the cans and just buying the white plastic lids.

Family Home Evening in a Can

If you can get your hands on a canner from the cannery, this would be a great idea! Of course you could do it without a canner, just use a small bucket or paint can. Help your girls come up with a lesson idea after including everything you need, seal it! They could even decorate it the can if you have time so that it can be counted towards Arts and Crafts.

From the website:
Inside the can, try to put everything the family needs to hold a family home evening. A lesson could be in any form: a story, games or puzzles from church magazines, or numbered cards to be passed out and read in order. These can be done using scriptures, hymns, and quotes from church magazines. These could be put in a decorated envelope. Also include the ingredients to make a simple treat. This could be purchased mixes for cookies, brownies, cakes, or drinks. Make-it-yourself mix recipes are also available and could be packaged in fun fabric or paper bags. A simple craft could also be included with the supplies in a Ziplock bag. If room allows, include napkins, handouts, and anything else you would like.

I think we might add this to our list of activities to do!

Tithing

*Thanks to Jamie for submitting this idea!

A couple weeks ago, I threw together an activity for the 8-11 year old's at church. (We have about 9 girls who show up regularly.) We talked about tithing and the importance of saving money. I learned that most of them had never filled out a tithing slip, so it was good to go over that with them. We also talked about tithing settlement since that is one of the Faith in God requirements. I had found some ceramic farm animal banks on clearance (they ended up costing less than $2 each after I pointed out some flaws on them to the cashier and got an additional 20% discount off the clearance price...bargain of the century!!) I wanted the girls to decorate and personalize their banks and boy was I surprised with the creative results!!! I had prepared small squares of cardboard (which they covered in scrapbook paper) as a platform and then I let their imaginations run wild. Here are some pictures of what the girls made.
This really cracked me up. She made a nest for her chicken bank and even included eggs made out of puff balls.

This is a very sassy chicken. Not only does she have flowers and a feather boa around her, but the chicken has a ruby red necklace made out of puff balls.

Mooo! This cow is living large in her barn yard complete with a fence made out of pipe cleaners.

I thought this one was very simple, but very clever. You'll notice that her pig is a little muddy from rolling around in the pigsty.

If I were to do this again, I would allow for more time to decorate the banks. I could have talked to them for at least an hour about how to calculate tithing, the importance of saving money, the importance of wanting something but not having to buy it just because it's there, what a credit card is and to impress upon them how expensive things are and that they shouldn't expect their parents to buy them whatever they want. We ended up spending at least 45 minutes decorating the banks and the room was a disaster afterward, so help with cleanup would have been very much appreciated.

Prayer and Recognizing the Spirit

My partner gets all the credit for this one!

For our most recent activity we discussed prayer and recognizing the Spirit. We began by discussing when to pray and not being repetitive. We also gave the girls a paper titled "Prayer Ideas." They had room to write 15 ideas of things that they could pray for. We encouraged them to think outside the box.

We then talked about how sometimes we can't hear the Spirit, even though we are doing good things. We did a little object lesson that really hit home. Here's how it went:

We told them it was Saturday and that we they preparing for Sunday by playing church music. Using a CD player we played a song quietly for a second. Then we said that their mom asked their little sister to work on her chores so she began vacuuming. We turned a vacuum on and ran it across the floor. We could no longer hear the music so we turned it up above the noise of the vacuum. While all that was going, we then said "your other little sister decides to practice the piano." I started playing and although it was songs from the Children's song book, it was too much noise. My partner tried to get a few of the girls to talk in their normal voices but no one could hear!

Although everything that was going on were good things, when we don't take time to listen and concentrate, we might get lost in the noise of the world.

After discussing that we had one more object lesson in store. We paired the girls off in two with partners that they don't normally hang around with. We said that they had 1 minute to talk to each other, study each others voices and come up with a plan. They were going to have to find each other without saying each others names and without seeing each other.

We then had one girl from each partnership go with me and the other with my partner. We were at the church so we were able to use the High Priest room that has more than one door. She entered in one door with her girls and I went in the other with mine. We had closed the room off with the partition and on the count of three they all started talking and tried finding their partners voice. Some of them used code words, which was pretty clever. One girl hit the nail on the head when she said "it's too hard to hear when everyone is talking."

They loved it! It was fun to see them when we opened the partition and they got to see if the person they were talking to on the other side was actually their partner.

Now, a side note: if you decide to do this object lesson, I would recommend using a sheet or blanket draped from the ceiling. It would be much easier for the girls, but still a challenge.

I hope this makes sense! It was a difficult activity to put into words. Contact me if you need help!

Scripture Study

*This great tip was submitted by Jessica

I have found it very difficult to know which activities will take up the entire time, and which will not. Sometimes I would show up with an activity thinking that there would be nowhere near enough time to finish... and the girls end up done a half hour early! To fill that extra time, we started doing scripture studies.

I asked the missionaries in our ward, if they could provide each of the girls in my group (I only have 5) with a Book of Mormon. The girls wrote their names in the cover, but I keep them with me and bring them each week. That way, no one will ever forget to bring theirs and be without. Although, a couple of the girls bring their own scriptures from home each week to study and mark.

I dedicated one class to teaching them how to mark their scriptures using the "color code" system found at this site. I printed out a key (Red = words of God, or Christ... etc.) that was small enough for them to glue into the front cover of their Book of Mormon.

Each week, I print and hand out the study guide found on this site. I printed off all of the charts found on the site on the smaller scale so that they could glue those in the back cover of their Book of Mormon. We fill them out as we read. We use whatever extra time we have at the end of our activity to start on the Scripture Study activities on the study guide that I have handed out. I encourage them to finish the rest of it at home during the week.

The girls have loved our Scripture study time a lot more than I thought they would. They feel so "grown up" marking their own set of scriptures. The study guide breaks it down to a child's level so that it isn't so overwhelming to them.

Extreme Makeover

This site has a great idea for teaching the girls where real beauty comes from.

Learning a new song

The music person in my ward asked if the AD girls wouldn't mind singing "I often go walking" for the Mother's Day program. We only have one activity day before Mother's Day to learn it so we have to get creative. If your girls need an Activity in the Developing Talents section, consider asking if your girls can be a part of the program.

Picture Yourself in the Temple

Submitted by Sue

I found some very nice individually wrapped gold picture frames at All a Dollar---a real bargain that I have rarely seen. I had each of the girls bring a picture of themselves and then I Xeroxed just an outline of a temple onto a transparency. The girl's pictures went inside the picture frame and we put the transparency on the outside (stuck it on with cute little stickers to hold it) so there was a little space between. The girls could see themselves through the outline of the temple. I had a poem that went with this called "Picture yourself in the temple" and it talks about preparing now for the day they would be able to go to the temple. The girls LOVED making that and I hope it will mean something to them. I asked them to put the picture somewhere so they would see it often and let this picture help them make their choices and decisions in life.

Here is the poem.

Family Home Evening

Help the girls create a Family Home Evening Lesson. We made a lesson about Joseph Smith that had pictures, a simple lesson, a game and a dessert idea. I did the lesson for the girls and then helped them put their own together. I also gave each of them a folder to keep the lesson in as well. Here are a few sites with tons of ideas:

Family Home Evening in a Snap

The Family Home Evening Spot

My FHE Lessons

Family Home Evening Planner

Family Home Evening Blog

Spiritual Egg Hunt

A few of my girls have requested this activity. It would be a great one to get them ready for Easter.

Easter and Articles of Faith

Here's a great idea that combines Easter and the 13 Articles of Faith!

Easter Activity

Visit this site for a fun way to prepare the girls for Easter.

Spirituality is a Thing of Beauty Part II

For our activity yesterday we used the pictures that we took for this activity to make these wall hangings.

The best part is that they are SO easy!

Here is what you will need:

photos (We used 4x6 and trimmed them down)

tiles (we used 6x6)

Modge Podge (you can also use Elmer's Glue All with a small amount of water added to it)

Foam brushes

Using a small amount of Modge Podge, all you have to do is brush the area of the tile where the picture will go, place the picture and brush over the entire tile with more MP. So simple! It takes about 10-15 minutes to dry completely. We added ribbon to the back using hot glue so it could hang.

6 B's Pop-up Book

Patty has shared detailed instructions on how to make a super cute 6 B's pop up book. Thanks, Patty!

Starting with a square piece of cardstock, fold in half and open then fold in half the opposite way and open (you have four equal square fold marks) Cut one fold to center. Then fold one of the square across the diagonal as shown here:

At the cut area, cross and glue two squares together leaving you with this: This is one "room" and can be closed to make it the size of one of the folded square sections. Make four of these rooms and if you set them next to each other 1-2-3-4, you will have four rooms.

Glue the back of 1 to the front of 2.
Glue the back of 2 to the front of 3.
Glue the back of 3 to the front of 4.

Now you have your book with no cover.

Make your cover how you like. Either a rectangle and fold it down the middle or make two squares out of chip board or some stiff paper and cover with your choice of paper.
Glue book into cover (glue front of 1 to inside front cover and back of 4 to inside back cover) and you can use ribbons for closure. Not that it is easier to decorate the pop up book while it is laying flat! We also use pop ups within the pop up book too, which was fun.

Download Pres. Hinckley's 6 B's from the site like this (for example) and the girls can use that to add to their books.

Journal Jars

We used these jars from Ikea to start with but any jar would do, really. We also made a gigantic list of questions, like the ones here for example. We let the girls be in charge of cutting the questions into strips and then they folded them into quarters and stuffed them in the jar. To top it off, we gave them pieces of ribbon cut into 4 in. or so lengths and then they tied them to the top. With the right ribbon it can turn out so cute!

This wasn't an acutal journal jar, but it's where I got the idea. Ours looked just like this.

Gratitude Journals

During the month of November we made each of the girls their own Gratitude Journal. We also wrote a short note to each of them on the front page expressing our gratitude to them for all that they do and for who they are.

We then talked about things and people that we are thankful for. Each girl chose one person that they were thankful for and wrote them a letter. Suprisingly, some of the girls even wrote us letters!

Letters from Mom

This is one of my personal favorites. We took our girls had the girls wear a Sunday dress and took them to the Temple where we talked about what it means to be sealed as a family, how we should act when we are there and how we can feel when we are there. We had asked our girls' mom's to write their daughters a special letter ahead of time and to keep it a secret and then handed them to the girls at the Temple. They were each to go and find their own spot, away from everyone and take a while to read the letter and ponder on it. The girls loved it! Before we left each girl got their picture taken in front of the Temple as well as a picture with their leader and a group shot.

Later we gave them these pictures:

Email me and I can send you a PSD file of this picture.