My first assignment, besides showing up and helping out on Sundays, is to teach a lesson in two weeks on being thankful for our eyes.  I just read through the lesson and it’s going to be totally fun to adapt it to the younger kids and come up with Eye-related actvities.

Sorry to those of you who relied on my Sharing Time lessons, but anyone who is a Nursery worker, stay tuned for my wild Nursery lessons and activities.

Heavenly Father planned for me to come to a family. I can strengthen my family now. “The family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children” (“Proclamation,” paragraph 1).

…and I’m in charge of Sharing Time next week.  Next week’s lesson in the Outline goes like this:

1. Families in the scriptures teach me how I can strengthen my family (1 Nephi 8; 16; Mosiah 27; Primary 3,lesson 39).

Divide the children into three groups and give each group a picture, a Primary song, and scripture references.

• a. GAK 102; “Follow the Prophet,” third verse (CS, 110–11); Moses 8:18–20; Genesis 6:9–14, 22; 8:20.
• b. GAK 301; “Nephi’s Courage,” third verse (CS, 120–21); 1 Nephi 3:1–7.
• c. Picture 1-69 or 4-53; “Dare to Do Right” (CS, 158); Ether 1:38–43; 6:2–12.

Write the basic events of each story on the board as each group displays the picture, sings the song, and tells the story. (For example: surrounded by wickedness, gathered together, followed God’s plan, showed gratitude to the Lord.) Ask, “What did these families do to strengthen each other?” Ask the children to write or draw three ways they can strengthen their families.

The Friend for May hasn’t come out yet, but it will eventually be here.

We’re starting on a Jr/Sr Primary schedule next month, so I can do a lesson for little ones and another for older kids.

Junior Primary Sharing Time:

My three-year-old son loves to do treasure hunts, so I’m guessing that the kids in my Jr. Primary will enjoy one too.  I’d like to use pictures from different scripture stories as clues, then have a box with stickers in it for everyone at the end.

Tell the kids that we’re going to do a treasure hunt, and that we’re going to get clues about how to find the treasure from families in the scriptures.  I’ll have one class start with a clue (picture) that has a clue about where in the room the next clue is on a post-it on the back–I’ll find a way to relate the clue to the story somehow when I write it.  They can either tell the story on the picture or have their teacher tell the story while one of the kids in the class holds up the picture for everyone to see.  We’ll decide as a group how the families in the pictures show us how to strengthen our families.  Then they can read the clue to the group and go try to find the next one.  When they find it, they hand it to the next class and the system repeats until the treasure is found.  In order to retrieve their sticker, each child (some with the help of their teacher) says something they can do to strengthen their family, then we can sing “We are a happy family” (CS 198).

Senior Primary Sharing Time:

We’ll do what the Outline suggests, above.

Last night we didn’t do my Repentance lesson for FHE because I’d forgotten that we’d invited the missionaries over to teach the lesson!  They came over to teach us a lesson on the Preach My Gospel book that they use to help them learn to be better missionaries.  I’ve been trying to read through it a bit at a time for a couple of months, and discovered there’s a lot of helpful stuff in there for me, too, and not just as a “member missionary.”  There’s stuff on setting goals, time management, and basic gospel doctrine.  I’ve found that it’s really helpful when I’m preparing for a Primary sharing time–I like to check my facts about the basic doctrine in it sometimes just to make sure I don’t accidentally veer off into a “Bethany opinion” tangent with the kids.

Anyway, the kids really enjoyed having the missionaries over since they got to climb all over them and look at the pictures in their books.  We sang “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam” as the opening and closing songs at Degen’s request, with a “The Wise Man Built His House Upon a Rock” and several “Popcorn Popping” songs sprinkled into the lesson.  The missionaries gave us a tour of the book and helped us practice with a role-play giving a pass-along card to a friend or stranger.  We had a great time and it was good to get to know our missionaries a little better.

So, if you’re out of Family Home Evening ideas or just need a change, call the missionaries in your ward and invite them to come give a lesson in your home.  They’re probably supposed to visit and teach members anyway and may not have gotten to you yet (or are too shy/busy to ask you).

Sharing Time ideas on Repentance

and more Sharing Time ideas on Repentance

Coloring picture Jonah Repents

Roller-box story about a boy repenting for taking some toys

Roll-play the following stories: GAK 309 (Alma Baptizes in the Waters of Mormon), GAK 310 (Ammon Defends the Flocks of King Lamoni), GAK 311 (The Anti-Nephi-Lehies Burying Their Swords). Each of these stories tells of people who lived lives of rebellion, repented, and turned to serve the Lord.

FHE Resource Book lesson on repentance.

Momorize Article of Faith #3 or #4

An online compilation of these and other Repentance lessons.

An object lesson using “sins be as scarlet” Isaiah scripture.

Watch the Book of Mormon Stories video segment on Alma the Younger.

Steps to repentance lesson with printable word strips.

Now, for our family, here’s the plan:

Song: Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam

Prayer

Lesson: I think we’ll do the object lesson with the food coloring, then watch the segment on Alma the Younger.

Activity: Duck, duck, Goose

Song: I am a Child of God

Prayer

Treat: Strawberries, or maybe a piece of candy out of the Halloween candy stash in the cupboard