Tuesday, August 23, 2011

I Am Thankful For Many Things Handout




Have the children draw pictures of the things that they are thankful for. You could also cut pictures out of a magazine and glue them on.

Psalm 100:4 reads, “Be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” We can live with a thankful heart and be grateful for all that we have.

A cute poem from the Friend on being Thankful:
http://lds.org/friend/1982/11/im-thankful-for?lang=eng&query=thankful


A Thankful puzzle out of the Friend:
http://lds.org/friend/2007/11/be-thankful?lang=eng&query=thankful



Here is a cute Thankful Turkey coloring craft that you can make:
http://hollyshome-hollyshome.blogspot.com/2011/11/thankful-turkey-coloring-kraft.html


Sunday, August 7, 2011

Sharing the Gospel is like Blowing Bubbles, LDS Missionary Ideas, use with the story of Ammon from the Book of Mormon


This idea can be used for many different missionary lessons, from Primary, to Family Home Evening to Seminary.

This post I wrote a few years ago when I had just started blogging.  It used to be one of my most popular posts.  Recently it has gotten lost behind many of the more recent posts.  Yesterday, as I was preparing my Seminary lesson (LESSON 83 Alma 19–20)
on Ammon the lesson suggested how a rock dropped in water creates many different ripples.  Suddenly this old blog post came to mind.  My bubble theory.  When you use a wand to blow bubbles, that one wand can create many different bubbles.



When one person shares the gospel it can bring many different people into the gospel.  And those people can bring even more people into the Gospel.  Just like making bubbles.  From one bubble, you can make many beautiful bubbles.

As many of us know, Ammon through his service to King Lamoni was able to convert an entire kingdom of Lamanites to the gospel.  So to teach my lesson I basically drew the picture below up on the chalkboard.




As I gave the lesson I would write down the names of the people, or groups of people that Ammon converted.  At the end of my lesson I showed this amazing video Priesthood Duty: Preaching the Gospel.  It's about a young man who's example has brought many people into the gospel.  

I also handed out this journal sized version of the bubble picture.  The students were to write ways that they can be a good example to others.



I gave each of my students a mini bottle of bubbles to help them to remember to be a a good example to others.  They actually loved it!  Sometimes it's good to have a little fun every now and then.

 I found these bubbles for only $2 at Walmart in the party section 



You also can easily make your own bubble solution at home.  Here are some easy bubble recipes to use:

Make your own bubbles:
Cyndi's Easy Bubble Recipes
1/2 cup of dishwashing liquid (Dawn or Joy)
2 cups of water
2 teaspoons of sugar
Cyndi suggests adding a dab of food coloring for colorful bubbles. Mix the solution and place in a shallow pan (or refill your old bubble containers). NOTE: More recipes and fun with bubbles are available at the website link above.

National WIldlife Federation Bubble Recipe
from NWF Backyard Buddies

1/4 cup liquid dishwashing detergent
3/4 cup cold water
5 drops of glycerin
(available in pharmacies or chemical supply houses)


I got the bubble recipes from this website:
http://bubbleblowers.com/homemade.html


You can take the kids outside in the grass and let them blow the bubbles.  You can point out to them all the beautiful colors in each bubble.  It is just like the gospel; it brings beauty into our life.

If you are doing it as a Family Home Evening you can add a glow stick to your bubbles.  Then take everyone outside in the dark.  The bubbles will be really hard to see unless it is really dark, but the glowing bottle is really cool.


Here is a handout for the kids to color.  If you want to use it just click on it to make it large.  Then right click and save it into your pictures or copy and paste it into your favorite printing program.





Article from the Friend:





                        I Can Share the Gospel Now                           
By Margaret Lifferth
It has a story of how a 5 year old shared the gospel and how many people were converted years later.  It also has Sharing Time ideas.
It includes a "I Can Be a Missionary Now" box that the children can make.