As I repent, I can be forgiven: 1st Week Sharing Time for May 2012

Sharing Time Idea from the 2012 Primary Outline

ENCOURAGE UNDERSTANDING (participating in an object lesson): Give each child a pebble.  Ask the children to put the pebble in their shoe, and invite them to stand and walk.  Ask the children how it feels to walk with a pebble in their shoe.  Ask how sin is like the pebble.  (It doesn't feel good; it makes us unhappy).  Have them remove the pebble, and ask how repenting and receiving Heavenly Father's forgiveness is like removing the pebble from our shoe.  Explain that because of Jesus Christ, we can repent and receive forgiveness of our sins.  Bear testimony that repentance is a wonderful blessing from Heavenly Father and that it brings us happiness

Sharing Time Idea from Little LDS Ideas

I love the object lesson from the outline. So, I decided to build off of that idea. Begin your Sharing Time with the above idea. Then use my idea as an activity to reinforce the idea.

Forgiving Feet:

A Sharing Time Activity From Little LDS Ideas

You will need several pairs of shoes for this activity. You will also need small rocks/pebbles and several scenarios/questions that have to do with repentance.

Example: "You had a test at school and forgot to study. 

You decide to cheat, so you don't get a bad grade."

In each of the shoes place a small pebble. Then attach a scenario/question to each of the shoes.

Show the children all of the shoes at the front of the room. Explain that each of the shoes has a scenario where you made a bad choice and need to repent. Tell them that you will invite a child up to the front to pick a pair of shoes to put on. With the shoes on you will then read the scenario/question aloud.

Once you have read it they will need to tell you what they need to do in order to be forgiven. Explain that just saying 'Sorry' isn't always what needs to be done.

(You could go over the steps of repentance)

Once you have gone over the steps of repentance for that scenario have the child take the pebbles out of the shoes and place them into a jar.

Then invite another child up to the front.

Another idea for a scenario: 

You woke up mad this morning, so when your Mother 

asked you to help her with something you yelled at her.

Then you were playing with your toys when your sister came

to play with you. You got mad at your sister and hit her.

(After reading have the child add more pebbles to the shoes)

Ask the child how it feels to walk. They'll probably say it feels worse! Explain why it's important that we repent so that we can be forgiven.

At the end of Sharing Time show the children your jar of pebbles from all the shoes. Bear testimony of the importance of repentance. That if they don't want to walk around with pebbles in their shoes, then they need to remember to repent. :)

A cute idea for a handout idea for this lesson:

Have you seen those candy rocks? A friend of mine just used these as part of her son's birthday cake. How cute would it be to place theses candy rocks into a little baggie with a note attached.

Have the note in the shape of a shoe and add a quote or scripture about repentance. You could even say something like:

"Keep those 'pebbles' out of your shoes by remembering to repent when you make a bad choice."

Just an idea I had that would be really cute.

OK. That's it for me. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a great Sharing Time.

FYI: The look of "Little LDS Ideas" is going to be changing soon. So, be on the lookout. And excuse any technical difficulties that may occur while I change a few things.

Thanks again for stopping by!

I Feel My Savior's Love When I Try to be Like Jesus: 4th Week Sharing Time Idea for April 2012

Sharing Time Idea from the 2012 Primary Outline

ENCOURAGE UNDERSTANDING (singing a song and making choices): Sing "I Feel My Savior's Love" (CS, 74-75).  Write several case studies that illustrate how a child could follow one of Christ's teachings.  Also include a scripture reference where that teaching can be found.  Below are some examples:

Sara had asked her younger sister not to use her crayons, but her sister used them anyway.  To be like Jesus, Sara could:
a. Get angry with her sister.
b. Hide her crayons.
c. Forgive her sister.
(Matthew 18:21-22.)

John is playing soccer with his friends, and he notices another boy standing by himself watching the game.  To be like Jesus, John could:
a. Make fun of the boy for being alone.
b. Ignore the boy and continue playing with his friends.
c. Invite the boy to play soccer with them.
(John 13:34)

Ask a child to read one of the case studies.  Then ask him or her to read the answers one at a time.  Invite the other children to stand when they hear the answer that would be following Jesus' example.  Invite a few children to read the scriptures out loud, and discuss what Jesus taught.  Discuss how following Jesus' example in these situations can help us feel the Savior's love.  Repeat with each case study.

ENCOURAGE APPLICATION: Invite the children to do what Jesus would want them to do this week.  Tell them that next week you will ask some of them to share what they did and how they felt the Savior's love.

Sharing Time Ideas from Little LDS Ideas

When I saw this week's idea and saw the case studies I immediately thought this would be a great week to play 'LDS Squares'.
I used this as a Sr. Primary sharing time a few years ago and it turned out to be a great game.
'LDS Squares' is played the same way as the TV show 'Hollywood Squares'. Here's a quick explanation:
'LDS Squares' is a game where 2 people (or teams) play tic-tac-toe. But instead of using a regular tic-tac-toe grid, you will use people as the game board. The teams will take turns choosing a person to answer a question. If answered correctly their team will get that square. If not the other team gets the square.

Once you get 3 in a row, you WIN!!!

Now that you know a little about the game let's talk about what you need to do to get started.

First, you will need to come up with several questions (like the case studies above). You can do multiple choice or even add a few scriptures in there where the children will have to answer a question or fill in a missing word. Ask questions about songs that you are learning that have to do with the topic that you are teaching. You could ask them 'What does it mean to be like Jesus?' You could even have questions discussing some of the stories of Jesus. Have pictures of the stories and have them guess what the story is: Jesus Healing the Blind Man, The Sermon on the Mount, etc.

Type/write all of your questions onto a piece of paper.

Next, you will need to find 9 helpers to be your tic-tac-toe grid. When we played this I asked teachers and parents of the children. Once you have your 9 helpers you will need to make name tags for them.

I typed up their names onto pieces of cardstock that were about 3"X10". I punched a hole on either side and strung a piece of yarn through. They wore the name tags like necklaces around their necks.

You will also need an 'X' and 'O' for each person. I made mine as big as I could and printed them onto an 81/2 X 11" piece of cardstock.

Now for the detailed instructions:

In the Primary room you will need 3 rows of 3 chairs for your helpers to sit in (this will be your game board). You can have the first row in little chairs, the second row on big chairs, and the third row standing. 

Hand out the name tags to each helper and have them sit down. Then introduce each one to the children. Explain to the children that today they are going to be playing 'LDS Squares'. Tell them it is alot like Tic-Tac-Toe.

Split the primary into two teams, the X’s and the O’s. 

Then choose a team to go first and have one child from that team come to the front (beside you). Have him/her pick an adult that will answer their question.

Ask the helper/adult the question and then have them answer it. They can answer correctly or try to trick the player by answering incorrectly. Once the question has been answered you will ask the child if the 'Agree' or 'Disagree'.

 If the team agrees and the answer is correct, they get the square, and the adult then holds up either the ‘X’ or ‘O’ sign. If the team agrees with the adult when the answer is wrong the opposing team automatically gets the square, unless that causes the opposing team to get three in a row. In that case, the opposing team has to win the square on their own, having the adult answer a new question.

If the child knows the answer that was given is wrong and 'Disagrees' they will then need to provide the correct answer. If the answer is correct, they get the square. If the answer they provided is incorrect the other team gets a chance to answer the question to win the square.

Another way of winning the round is: if no one has gotten 3 in a row, but has 5 squares marked with their ‘X’ or ‘O’ they win.

We played a few rounds of this, and kept score of how many rounds they won. 

That's it! Have a great week and a great Sharing Time!

Jesus Christ taught me the right way to live: Sharing Time Idea for Weeks 2 & 3 of April 2012

Sharing Time Idea from the 2012 Primary Outline

IDENTIFY THE DOCTRINE (singing a song): Sing "Choose the right way" (CS, 160-61), and ask half of the children to listen for how we can be happy and the other half to listen for what will help us and show us the way.  Discuss what the children learned from the song.

ENCOURAGE UNDERSTANDING (playing a guessing game and reading scriptures): Prepare wordstrips containing the following words and scripture references: 

- hunger (Matthew 5:6)
- shine (Matthew 5:16)
- love (Matthew 5:44)
- pray (Matthew 6:6)

Show a picture of the Sermon on the Mount.  Explain that Jesus went up on a mountain to teach His disciples; the things He taught are now called the Sermon on the Mount.  Show one of the wordstrips to half of the children, and ask them to act out the word for the other children to guess.  Read the corresponding scripture together, and help the children understand what Christ taught and how we can follow His example.  Repeat with the other words and scriptures.

ENCOURAGE APPLICATION (discussing case studies): On four pieces of paper write the following teachings of Jesus:
(1) Hunger and thirst after righteousness
(2) Let your light shine
(3) Love your enemies
(4) Pray to Heavenly Father

(Consider using pictures that illustrate these teachings for younger children.)  Display the papers in different areas of the room.  Prepare case studies (see TNGC, 161-62) that help the children understand how to apply these teachings.  For example, "Someone at school is teasing you and calling you names.  What would you do?"  Review the scriptures from a guessing game described above, and point out that the papers displayed around the room correspond to the scriptures.  Read a case study to the children, and invite them to stand and face the paper with the teaching that would help them choose the right.  Ask a few children to share what choice they would make.

Sharing Time Ideas from Little LDS Ideas

I hope all of you are having a wonderful week. We finally made it back from our vacation, and are getting back to normal. We had a blast! It was so good to go back home and see friends and family.

I have an idea for you today that will be great for this Sunday's Sharing Time. I saw an idea on lds.org from March 1984 'Friend' magazine (Sharing Time: Eternal Treasures, "The Friend' Mar. 1984).

For this Sharing Time you will compare the teachings from the Sermon on the Mount to a treasure. Here is what was in 'The Friend':

"Do you ever wish that you had a lot of money? People often think that money or possessions will make them happy. Jesus gave us something more valuable than earthly treasures. He taught us how we should live.

After Jesus told His disciples to follow Him, He taught them what they could do to be like Him. He went up on a mountain near the Sea of Galilee and gave a sermon. The truths He taught the people then can help us today too."

At the front of the room you will have an empty treasure chest. You will also need some treasure. Here are some jewels that came from this Sharing Time idea

You can use the jewels above or make your own. Next you will have the children go on a 'Treasure Hunt'. Have a child find a jewel and as they find each one read the scripture aloud.

You could also combine this with the idea from the outline by having the child that found the jewel act out the key word from that scripture.

As they find the scriptures have them place the jewels inside the chest.

For the next activity you will need 4 more treasure chests, boxes, or any container. You will also need to label each box with one of the phrases: 

(1) Hunger and thirst after righteousness

(2) Let your light shine
(3) Love your enemies
(4) Pray to Heavenly Father

On several jewels have different scenarios. Scenarios could be:

"Someone at school is teasing you and calling you names.  What would you do?"

"Your friend doesn’t choose you to be on his team."

"You tell the store clerk she has accidentally given you too much change."

"You defend a classmate who is being teased."

"When someone in a group starts to tell an unclean story, you leave"

"There is a big test at school coming up. You've studied, but are still really nervous."

Have the jewels scattered around the room, in a bag, inside of balloons, underneath chairs, etc. Have the children take turns finding a jewel and then reading the scenario. After they have read the scenario have them answer what they would do and then place it inside the appropriate treasure chest.

Another game option:

To go along with the song, "Choose the Right Way", you could have everyone sit in a circle. Have the treasure boxes on the floor in the middle. Have the jewels scattered on the floor around the chests. Have the pianist begin playing the song. As you sing have the children pass a 'Jewel' around. When the music stops have the child who is holding the jewel pick a jewel on the floor. Read the scenario and then have them place it in the appropriate box.

This idea is very similar to the idea given in the outline with just a little twist. I think the children will have a great time learning about the teachings of Jesus Christ as they go on their Treasure Hunt.

That's all I have today. Have a wonderful week and a great Sharing Time!!