Minute to Win it - Old Testament Bible Style Games

I have a new Minute To Win It game.  It's a New Testament version.  Just click on the picture to check it out.

In Seminary this year we are studying the Old Testament.  For our Christmas party I thought that it would be fun to have a review of the year so far with Minute to Win it games.  Here is what I came up with.

I gave each team 5 apples and had them do their best to stack them.  The team who had the most apples stacked at one minute won.

You could also have a person from each team eat an apple and the person who eats most of the apple wins.

For this one you will need 2 jars and a bunch of plastic animals.   I taped a picture of Noah's Ark to the outside.  Each person puts the jar by their feet.  

While standing straight each person tries to drop an animal into the jar from their nose.  The teams that has the most animals is the jar at one minute wins.

Each team is given a stack of cups.  The team who has the tallest tower at one minute wins.

For this one you will need 2 empty tissue boxes, 2 belts and 16 ping pong balls. Put slits on the two sides of the tissue box to slip the belt through.  Fill each tissue box with 8 ping pong balls.  Each person playing ties the belt around his waist with the box in the back.  They both have one minute to dance around until all of the ping pong balls (seeds) have been bounced out of the tissue box.

For this you will need 2 straws, 40 marshmallows, and two plates. Each person will have one minutes to get 20 marshmallows (sheep) into the plate (the pen) with the straw.

For this challenge you will need 10 3"x 14" pieces of poster board and about 40 cups.  Give each player 5 pieces of poster board and a stack of cups.  Each player builds a ladder with the poster board for rungs.  The team with the tallest ladder wins.

Each team gets a copy of Joseph's coat to color.  They have one minute to color it on their head.  Each player must use at least five colors.  The team is allowed to give advice on how to color in the lines.  The team that does the best job wins.

This one I did not end up doing.  Here's how it could be done.  You will need 20 old Bibles.    Each team will have one member help another team member stack 5 Bibles in each hand.  Then they will have to walk across the room with all 10 Bibles without dropping them.  The team that gets all 10 Bibles across the room first wins.

This challenge is in reference to Deuteronomy 33:17.   Give each team a bag of Honeycomb cereal.  Each team will have one member lie down on the ground while another team member stacks the honeycomb cereal, one on top of the other, to look like a unicorn horn.  The team that has the tallest horn wins (without cheating).

For this challenge you will need to print out two pictures of the brick wall below onto cardstock. Fold the cardstock in half like a card.  Place the cards at one end of the table.  Both teams have a member blow the card across the table and then try to get the card to hang off the edge without falling off.  If the card falls off then they have to start all over.

Bounce a ping pong ball at least twice to knock over Goliath.  The first person to do it in under a minute wins.

Here's a printout for you to use.

For the Champions I made these trophies out of Toblerone.  Just print out the picture below.  Cut it out and glue it to the top of a Toblerone.  The students loved it.

This is all the further we have studied this year.  If we come up with more games I will be sure to post them on here. 

Good Luck!

Noah's Ark Rainbow Covenant Activities for Youth

Check out my other New Testament Minute to Win it game.

Here's another fun game to play with scriptures.

I also have Grinch Minute to Win it Games

And Alice in Wonderland Minute to Win it Games

And Frozen themed Minute to Win it Ideas

Celebrating Hanukkah in My LDS Seminary Class

I don't know how your seminary year is going, but I am having a hard time keeping up with my lessons so that I am on track for the assessment test.  Since it is Hanukkah I really want to incorporate the holiday into my daily lessons. This week is a four day week for my class.  I thought that I would just touch on a little bit of Hanukkah every day this week.  

I will give you an overview of what we did to celebrate.



Day one: 
I introduced the holiday to the class. I decorated with some Jewish garland that I bought at Hobby Lobby for half price.  Below is a outline of the holiday with a link for more information.  Since we are studying Numbers 15 where the children of Isreal were commanded to wear the blue tassels I could tie it into the Jewish blue of the Hanukkah holiday. Here is a great explanation of the blue from the Institute manual.

The ribbon of blue also symbolically suggested concepts of deep importance. Blue signifies the heavens and so symbolizes the spiritual realm or godliness (see Fallows, Bible Encyclopedia, s.v. “colors,” 1:440).

“The zizith [tassel] on the sky-blue thread was to serve as a memorial sign to the Israelites, to remind them of the commandments of God, that they might have them constantly before their eyes and follow them, and not direct their heart and eyes to the things of this world, which turn away from the word of God, and lead astray to idolatry.” (Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary, 1:3:104.)

Here is a link to great explanation of Hanukkah:
http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/102911/jewish/What-Is-Hanukkah.htm

Aish.com has this amazing Hanukkah information sheet on how to celebrate Hanukkah.

http://www.aish.com/h/c/mm/Hanukkah-Infographic.html








Day Two:
I brought the class some of the Hanukkah Gelt (chocolate gold coins) that are used during Hanukkah.  I gave each student a few of them.  I reviewed the scripture mastery Exodus 19:5-6:

 5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

 6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

We discussed what it meant and what we need to do to be a peculiar treasure.  I explained that it is part of the Hanukkah tradition to give out this candy.  

The Jewish Outreach Institute has a great explanation for the Hanukkah Gelt:

Day Three:

I told the class about the Apocrypha.  You can read about it here in the D&C Student Manual.

“Speaking of the Apocrypha the Lord says: ‘There are many things contained therein that are true, and it is mostly translated correctly; There are many things contained therein that are not true, which are interpolations by the hands of men. Verily, I say unto you, that it is not needful that the Apocrypha should be translated. Therefore, whoso readeth it, let him understand, for the Spirit manifesteth truth; And whoso is enlightened by the Spirit shall obtain benefit therefrom; And whoso receiveth not by the Spirit, cannot be benefited. Therefore it is not needful that it should be translated.’ (D. & C. 91.) …

The Latka comes from the story of Judith that is in the Apocrypha. So does the story of Hanukkah.  Without going into a lot a detail, I gave them this explanation of Judith.  When the Assyrian armies were attacking  a town near Jerusalem,  a beautiful woman named Judith wanted to save her town.  Judith snuck into the invading armies camp where the general spotted her and invited her into his tent for dinner.  She fed the general salty cakes to make him thirsty for wine.  When he was drunk she chopped off his head with his own sword and took his head back into town.  When the army found their general headless, they left town. Judith saved her town from the invading army.

I cooked the class some potato Latkes. I combined a couple of different recipes that I found online.

You will need onion, salt, potatoes, eggs, flour and peanut oil. While the recipe works with any type of potato, using Yukon Gold is recommended.

Potato Latkes 

2 cups peeled and shredded potatoes

2 Tablespoons of flour

1 Tablespoon grated onion (fried if desired)

3 eggs beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup peanut oil for frying

Drain and dry the potatoes the best you can.  Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.  Heat the peanut oil in a heavy frying pan.  Using either a 1/3 or a 1/4 cup measuring cup drop the potato mixture into the oil.  Use the back of the measuring cup to flatten the potato mixture into a flat pancake.  Fry 2-3 minutes.  Flip when the potatoes are golden brown.  Brown on the opposite side for 1-2 minutes until golden brown. Serve hot with sour cream and green onions or apple sauce.

I also found this frozen hash brown latkes recipe on aish.com. It's much easier for those of us who are teaching early morning seminary.  Just click here for the recipe.

Day Four:

We played the dreidel game at the end of class.  I used a honey cereal for the markers.  I also served donuts to the class in honor of the Jewish tradition to have donuts made in oil.  For a fun article you can read "The war is all about the oil" on Chabad.org.

I bought some dreidels at Hobby Lobby. Luckily they were half price!  Target sales them in packs of 8 for $1, but they were sold out.  

For rules on how to play the dreidel game from MyJewishLearning click here.

Here's a printout that you can use:

Here's a paper friendly version:

An even friendlier paper version:

Here are some fun music videos that you can use:

The Maccabeats - Miracle - Matisyahu - Hanukkah

Hanukkah - Dreidel - music video by Jewish a cappella group Shir Soul - Happy Hanukkah!

Weekend Update: Adam Sandler and the Hanukkah Song - Saturday Night Live

Light Up the Night - Fountainheads Hanukkah

The Maccabeats - Latke Recipe - Hanukkah

The Maccabeats - Candlelight - Hanukkah

We had a great time discovering the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.

To see other ways that I have celebrated Jewish holidays click here.

To see all of my Old Testament seminary ideas click here.

Each of us in an Inn Keeper - quote by Neal A. Maxwell printout

I bought each of my seminary students a mini manger at the 99 cent store and needed a good quote to go with it.  I found this quote and thought that it was perfect.  I put together this printout to attach to the manger.  I have it in two different forms.  One you can printout onto the paper of your choice.  The other is done in the chalkboard style.  If you would like to use it for Christmas then just click on it and save it into your pictures, or copy and paste it into your printing program.

To see all of my seminary ideas just click here.

And to see all of my Christmas ideas just click here.

Let your LDS Seminary Students Teach the Book of Leviticus - Handouts of the summary of the lessons.

For the lessons in Leviticus I let my students teach it to the class. I went through the manual and made a handout for each of the Leviticus lessons.  Then I divided my class into 5 groups and gave each group a printout of the handouts below.  I let each group decided how they wanted to teach it and who would teach what.  I gave them about 15 minutes to prepare.  I then had the students give their lesson a group at a time.  It took a couple of days and they did a fantastic job.

For all of my Seminary ideas click here.

Handout from the Conference Talk "Blessed and Happy Are Those Who Keep the Commandments of God by Elder Von G. Keetch

I found these awesome Gummy Blue Sharks at the Industrial Costco for $4.50 for a box of 12! 

I just had to use them with the Conference Talk "Happy Are Those Who Keep the Commandments of God" by Elder Von G. Keetch of the Seventy.  

I decided to make a handout to go with the Gummy Blue Sharks that I could use for a Visiting Teaching handout this month.  I will also use it for my Seminary class in the future.  Here is a copy of the handout.  I printed mine on blue paper.  To use it just click on the picture to make it large. Then save it into your pictures, or copy and paste it into your printing program.

To see all of my Seminary ideas just click here.

RED Read Every Day - Help your students to remember to read their scriptures every day! Bookmark and Gift Idea

Several years ago I started the Read Every Day RED theme in my Seminary class at the beginning of the year.  You can read about what I originally did below.  Since then I have used it every year.  I have my red bucket of candy by the sign in sheet.  I start the year off by giving them a small piece of string to tie on to something to remind them to read.  This year my year end gift to my students revolved around the same theme.  

Here's how the gift came to be:

I started with the red pens. 

 You can get pens from many different companies.  

I got mine from National Pen Company.  

I had a Doctrinal Mastery scripture printed on it:
D&C 6:36
Look unto me in ever thought.
DOUBT NOT, FEAR Not

I also purchased the little black velvet bags to make them seem fancy.

Then I found these journals for 1/2 off at the 99 cent store.

I added the names with iron-on cricut vinyl in silver.  It wasn't that hard.  It only took about an hour.

Then I needed something to tie it all together and make the RED theme obvious.  What better than a bookmark?

As you can see, I laminated them and put a ribbon on the top.

Here's the printout if you want to make some:

The students loved this gift better than any that I have done so far!   The entire gift came out to be under $2.50.  

Here's the lesson that I started with a few years ago:
In my Old Testament Seminary class I am trying to get the students to read their scriptures every day. I had a friend who told me about RED - Read Every Day.  I loved the idea!  So I gave each of my students a small piece of string to tie onto their clothing, or back pack, or purse, etc. so that they would remember to read.

I started out by just giving them the string and having them tie it onto an item of clothing that they see every day.  I didn't tell them what it was for.  We have been studying Moses and I had a student come up who had a U of U back pack.  I asked how many of the students loved his back pack, and how many hated his back pack. Then we talked about other symbols that they loved.

After that I showed them all the items that were in the tabernacle and talked about what they symbolized.  Then I asked them about the color red.  What had we talked about that was red?  The answer was mostly the blood that Moses had sprinkled on the congregation and the red on the door at the Passover.  

This is when I brought up reading their scriptures.  I compared it to the Passover and the atonement.  If Jesus could die for use, we can at least Read Every Day!  I told them that the RED string was a symbol to remind them to Read Every Day.  I asked them how the destroying angel would pass them by if they were reading their scriptures.

The lesson went great!  I ended by giving all those who have been reading some RED candy.  I will continue to give the students who are reading RED candy every so often.  I am hoping to see the students reading their scriptures on a more regular basis.

Here is the string that I used:

I just wrapped it around my hand once for every student.  Then I cut it.

I stored it in a plastic bag.

Then they tied on something that would help them to remember to read.

About once a week I put out a big RED bucket full of RED candy.  It's a treat for all the students who have been Reading Every Day!

It's been a few weeks and some of my students still have their string tied to their item.  The reading has improved in my class.  I have one student who has completed it for this semester, and several who are getting close.

Update:  It's been a year and I actually have a few students from my last year who are still wearing their RED string!  And did they read?  YES!!!

I had a day where we did a Book Worm Wednesday reading competition.  I passed out a few gummy worms to each student while they read a chapter that I was teaching about.  I also timed them to see how long it would take to finish reading the chapter.  The first student to finish got a bag of gummy worms.  The student who won read the chapter in a minute and a half! Then I pointed out that they can get their reading done in just a few minutes every day!

I also keep a bag of various kinds of RED candy. Every few days I pass it around for all the students who have read that day.  

Another thing that I do at the beginning of the year is have the students give a unique way to get their reading done during the day.  I have them tell me as part of their devotional.  I make a large list that I keep next to the sign in sheet so that it reminds them of all the ways that they can get their reading done.

To see all of my Old Testament Seminary ideas click here.

The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)

Exodus 34

 22 ¶And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end.

Leviticus 23

 42 Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:

 43 That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Here is an explanation from the LDS Institute Manual: The feast of Tabernacles (also called the feast of Booths or the feast of Ingathering) occurred five days after the day of Atonement on the fifteenth day of Tishri, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, which corresponds to our late September or early October. The feast of Tabernacles began and ended on a Sabbath and so was eight days in length.

A distinctive part of this celebration was the erecting of temporary huts or booths (succoth, in Hebrew) made from the boughs of trees. The people stayed in these huts for the duration of the feast. This requirement reminded the people of the goodness of the Lord during their forty-year sojourn in the wilderness of Sinai and the blessing that was theirs to live permanently, if they were obedient, in the promised land.

Here is another good article called When Jesus Attended the Feast of the Tabernacles by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem.

Knish

I found some Knish at Costco that I served to the students.  If you can't find any  knish, here is a recipe “Gabila’s” Style Potato Knish

There are some great images of booths (sukkah) that I shared with the students from Google images.

and I told them about waving the Arbah Minim which is a citron, a palm frond, three myrtle twigs and two willow twigs.  They combine them all together, bless them and then wave them in six different directions. They represent Israel joining together.

http://www.sukkahworld.com/pages/index.php?title=waving/

What Is Sukkot? to see what it means click here:

I also found a really fun video to show the students before class:

Livin' in a Booth - Fountainheads Sukkot

Sukkot songs - Sukkot 2016


To see the other Jewish customs that I have celebrated just click here.