Next Year's Primary Theme

The end of the year is almost here and people are already asking about NEXT YEAR'S PRIMARY THEME.

If you haven't already heard, next year's theme is "I Am A Child Of God". 

On lds.org you can find a complete copy of the year's topics and see what we will be learning month to month. I have created a new section on the website where you can click on and get ideas for every

topic and song visuals as well. If you go to the home page you will find a banner across the top of the page called "Primary Helps". If you click on this banner, you will find game and activities that will help with many of the topics throughout the year. You will also see that this same topic was done in the year
2008 and you can purchase (while they last) those sharing time books for only $2 each. I am working
on the songs and have most of them available now, but those that aren't there will be there by January
1st. Also this year, the senior Primary children will be learning about church history and the Doctrine
& Covenants...while junior Primary children will be learning from the CTR B manual and the Sunbeams
from the "I Am A Child of God" Primary manual #1. All the necessary handout books will also be found
in this Primary Helps section. Individual handout downloads will be available along with the books if you
wish to own your own complete set. If we don't manage to put ALL the ideas you might want to use for
these monthly topics, be sure to just check on the site using the "Quick Search" to look up topics you are
wanting to teach about during sharing time and see what there is on the site. We are always happy to
receive any comments on things you like or things you wish we would do but you can't find on the site.
We want our site to be the FIRST place you go to for helps in teaching and working with your own family
in family home evening. We appreciate you SPREADING THE WORD to all those who are looking for fun
and helpful teaching aids for their classroom and family. This month we are offering a special "THANK
YOU" to all those who are ordering books or CD's from our site! If you order ANY BOOK OR CD, you
will be sent a FREE BOOK called "I Know My Savior Lives" plus a CD that allows you to print in black and white or color a lot of great games and activities for classroom, sharing time or family home evening!

This book and CD is currently selling for $14.95 on our site...so it is a SUPER VALUE! Tell all your friends
and let them get in on a great deal as well! Have a wonderful holiday and we hope this helps you get a


head start on the coming year in Primary!

Fun Christmas Game Ideas

With Christmas just around the corner, I wanted to share with you some of the fun ideas I have used over the years for Christmas games at family parties, ward parties, school parties and just for fun! When choosing games to play I look at some of the old favorite games we used to play all the time and turn them into unique and fun Christmas style games. Here are some of our favorites!

1) Christmas "Taboo": If you can't remember how "taboo" is played... you divide the group into two teams. They pick someone from their team to come up and are given 30 seconds (or maybe a minute) to get their team to say as many of the words on their cards as they can without using the five words below the main word on the card. For example: Get your team to say "Santa" without using the words "Presents", "Jolly", "Fat", "Red", "Man". Create your own cards on green or red card stock. Think of different Christmas words and then write below the five words you might use to describe this word. The cards are easy to make and they love to play!

2) "All I want for Christmas...": This is a fun pencil and paper game. I run of a sheet of paper with some Christmas clip art on it and the words "All I want for Christmas..." Written across the top. I also write..."If money was no object, what would you like for Christmas?" Each player writes something they would really like and then hands in their paper without putting their name on it. After all the papers are collected, the leader reads each Christmas wish and the group tries to guess who's Christmas wish it is! It's fun and pretty interesting to find out the deep wishes of the people at your party. Young children can play this by having an adult help them write what their wish is.

3) "Christmas ABC's": This is another pencil and paper game. Make a sheet that has the letters of the alphabet on it in a vertical manner. Each letter has a short line following it on which to write an answer. Give the group about 5 minutes or so to write a Christmas word beside each letter (For example: "A" = Angel, Antlers, "B" = Baby Jesus, Bethlehem, "C" = Candles, Candy Cane, Etc.) Once time is up, each player takes his turn to read his words. If they say a word that you also said, then you cross it out. You receive one point for each word that no one else thought of... so be original and creative! We also do "Happy Birthday Jesus" with this game idea and each person writes something they would give Jesus beside each letter... this gets interesting. You will have to be the judge if you think it was a useable answer.

4) If you have an old "Gestures" game, use the plastic timer that you put cards in and make some of your own using the original cards as you master for the correct size. Write Christmas words on them that the player needs to get his team to guess before it drops through the slot! Christmas words might be: Santa, Reindeer, Tree, Lights, Presents, Candy Cane, Elf, Stocking, Ribbon, Wrapping Paper, Egg Nog, Ornaments, Etc.

5) Bingo and Concentration Games always are a hit. . . especially with younger children. We have some fun ones on the website, but you can make your own using small pictures from coloring books, magazines, or clip art from the internet. 

6) We love to make up our own "Christmas Minute-To-Win-It!" Think of some fun tasks they can do in one minute.  Players come up in front of the group and just try to accomplish the task to entertain everyone else! Ideas might include: 1) Christmas Junk in the Trunk! - (Get a large tissue box and fill with a dozen large circle bells or ping pong balls. Run a small twine or rope through the box so it can be tied around the player's waist. Place the box behind them and then they shake and jump and do whatever they can to get the bells to jump out and fall out of the box. 2) Stack Attack! - Use 49 Red Solo Cups and one green one in a vertical stack. They must remove the cups one at a time placing the top cup to the bottom using one hand and trading from left to right hand each switch. Once the green cup has gone from the top clear through the stack and back to the top, the game is over. 3) Face the Cookie! - Use a small Christmas cookie and place it on your forehead. When the leader says "Go", everyone starts moving their eyebrows and facial skin to move the cookie down their face and into their mouth. If the cookie falls off, they replace it on heir forehead. . . everyone plays this at the same time. . . young and old love this.

Use your imagination and create some fun activities for your group to do. . . it was a real hit with our group last year!

Check out your Christmas section on the webstie to find some more fun game ideas for the whole family! Have a great holiday!

Sunbeam Lesson Helps

Last fall I was so excited to be called to serve in the Nursery.  I loved my little Nursery kids and had fun getting them ready to be a Sunbeam.  Luckily for me, I got to move up with them into Sunbeams.   I love to go to Primary Singing Time with them.  My cute Sunbeam Class, so far, does a wonderful job of sitting still and trying their best to follow along with the songs.  It's wonderful to see kids this age singing I am a Child of God and they really love singing Scripture Power and the all time favorite, Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam.  I realized this past Sunday that they do learn things in Nursery because even the CTR 7 class still squats down low on "Sun" and bursts up on "-Beams".  Coming right out of Nursery I know it was taught there!  I believe that things like this are not all that our young children are learning in Nursery and Sunbeams.  They are developing their testimonies by the testimonies we are sharing with them.  So even if one Sunbeam won't sit down through the lesson, I have faith that he is getting something too.  There was a quote on the teacher instructions I received in my teacher binder,

"Although there may be times when a child does not listen with a believing heart, your testimony of Jesus will remain in his or her mind and soul...If a child is not listening, don't despair.  Time and truth are on your side.  At the right moment, your words will return as if from heaven itself.  your testimony will never leave your children."
Elder Neil L. Andersen

This quote will see me through this year with these cute, rambunctious, boys.  I know a big help on keeping young Sunbeam aged kids' attention is being prepared.  The more prepared you are the better they will listen.  I also understand that their attention span is is short so you also have to be creative and energetic.  

This is where Finch Family Games comes in to help.  There are three volumes of games and activities that go along with the entire year of Sunbeam Lessons.  These books are Nursery Time Vol. 1, Nursery Time Vol. 2, and Nursery Time Vol. 3.  (Don't be fooled by the name, up until a couple years ago the Nursery and Sunbeam Classes used the same manual.)  

 

Another great resource for Sunbeam Lesson Helps is the Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeam book.  This book has black and white handouts and crafts that are easy to prepare for every lesson in the Sunbeam Manual.  Finch Family Games has come up with lots of Sunbeam Lesson Helps for you to use.  

The Nursery Time books skip around a bit so I want to list the games and the Lessons they go with for you.  You can follow the games with links if you would prefer to use the colored digital download.  The handouts from Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams are sold in groups of 4 as downloads. 

Lastly, remember there are many other games and Primary Lesson Helps at FinchFamilyGames.com.  If you don't feel that one of these suggested games is the right fit for your class you can always search for other games using the Quick Store Search on FinchFamilyGames.com.

I hope you find these games useful and fun for your Sunbeam Class.  I know I will be using them and making learning the gospel and coming to Primary fun for my Sunbeams.

Sunbeam Lesson Helps

Lessons 1-4 Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams Downloads
Lesson 1	I am a child of God	Craft: "I am a Child of God" Headband
		I Am A Child of God Presentation
Lesson 2	Heavenly Father Has a Body	"Look at Me" Mirror
		Joseph Smith Prayed Puzzle
Lesson 3	Heavenly Father's Plan for Us	The Perfect Plan
		Earth Card
Lesson 4	I Can Pray to Heavenly Father	I Can Pray All Day
		"I Can Pray" Figure
Lessons 5-8 Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams Downloads
Lesson 5	Jesus Christ is the Son of Heavenly Father	Jesus Once Was a Little Child
Lesson 6	Heavenly Father and Jesus Love Me	Gifts of Love
		"Jesus Loves Me" Necklace
Lesson 7	The Holy Ghost Helps Me	"I Will Listen To The Holy Ghost"
Lesson 8	I Am Thankful for the Day and the Night	Our Day and Night Lights
		Sun, Moon, and Stars Mobile
Lessons 9-12 Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams Downloads
Lesson 9	I Am Thankful for Water	Our Working Water
		"I Am Thankful for Water" Booklet
Lesson 10	I Am Thankful for Trees, Plants, and Flowers	Ready Set Grow
		"I am Thankful for Flowers" craft
Lesson 11	I Am Thankful for Fish	Our Water World
		"Under the Sea" Craft
Lesson 12	I Am Thankful for Animals	Animal Kingdom
		"I Love Animals" Headband
Lessons 13-16 Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams Downloads
Lesson 13	I Am Thankful fo Birds and Insects	Bird and Bug Bingo
		"I Am Thankful for Birds" Craft
Lesson 14	Adam and Eve were created in Heavenly Father's Image	The Garden of Eden
		Creating Adam and Eve
Lesson 15	The Sabbath Is a Day of Worship	Sabbath Day Bingo
		"Sabbath Day Play" Picture
		Sabbath Search
Lesson 16	I Have a Body	Busy Body Bingo
		My Body
Lessons 17-20 Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams Downloads
Lesson 17	I Am Thankful for My Hands	My Hands
Lesson 18	I Am Thankful for My Ears	Sound Search
		Art Activity: Listening Ears
		"My Ears" Headband
Lesson 19	I Am Thankful for My Eyes	Art Activity: Look and See
		"My Eyes" Craft
Lesson 20	I Am Thankful That I Can Smell and Taste	The Tasting Table
		"My Taste and Smell Puppet"
Lessons 21-24 Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams Downloads
Lesson 21	I Have Feelings	Find Our Feelings
		"Color Us Happy!"
Lesson 22	I Can Do Many Things	I Can Do...Can You?
		"I Can Necklace"
Lesson 23	I Belong to a Family	Our Family Tree
		"Family Tree Sewing Card"
Lesson 24	I Love My Brothers and Sisters	"Brother and Sister Puppets"
Lessons 25-28 Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams Downloads
Lesson 25	I Love My Whole Family	Families are Fun
		"I Love My Family" Hat
Lesson 26	Families Can Be Together Forever	Temple Time
		"Temple Time" Wristband
Lesson 27	We Can Pray As a Family	Pray Together...Stay Together
		Family Prayer Puzzle
Lesson 28	I Can Be Obedient	Let's Obey All Day
		"I Can Obey" Doorknob Hanger
Lessons 29-32 Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams Downloads
Lesson 29	I Can Say I'm Sorry	"I'm Sorry" Craft
Lesson 30	I Can Forgive Others	Follow to the Forgiving Face
Lesson 31	I Am Thankful for My Home	The Happy Home Hunt
		I Love My Home
Lesson 32	I Am Thankful for Food and Clothing	Food Fun!
		I Am Thankful For Food
Lessons 33-36 Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams Downloads
Lesson 33	I Can Be a Friend	Fun Friends
Lesson 34	I Can Love Others	Love Makes the World Go 'Round'!
		"Bee" Kind Mobile
Lesson 35	I Can Be Kind to Animals	The Kind Zoo Crew
		Art Activity: Zoo Crew
		I Love Animals
Lesson 36	I Can Be a Good Example	Just Like Jesus
		I Will Follow Jesus' Example" Necklace
Lessons 37-40 Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams Downloads
Lesson 37	I Can Be Honest	The Beary Honest Bear
		I Am Honest
Lesson 38	I Can Be Reverent	Reverent Ways
		"Reverent Ways" Coloring Page
Lesson 39	Music Makes Me Happy	Music Makers Craft
Lesson 40	The Sacrament Helps Me Think about Jesus	Pass the Sacrament
		Thinking of Jesus
Lessons 41-44 Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams Downloads
Lesson 41	Heavenly Father and Jesus Gave Us the Scriptures	Scripture Picture
		Scriptures are Special
Lesson 42	I Belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints	"I Belong to the Church" Hat
Lesson 43	We Have a Living Prophet	We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet
Lesson 44	We Can All Help at Church	Helpful Hands at Church
Lessons 45-46 Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams Downloads
Lesson 45	The Resurrection of Jesus Christ (Easter)	Easter Lesson
Lesson 46	The Birth of Jesus Christ (Christmas)	Christ Is Born
		Christmas Stick Puppets

Nursery Time Fun!

I just got called to be a Nursery Leader!  I am absolutely thrilled.  I am excited to help the older nursery children be prepared for Sunbeams.  These first two weeks have been wonderful.  We have 8 boys and no girls that attend regularly.  Much to my surprise these cute, rambunctious, boys love lesson time, singing time, and anytime that we read a story to them, sit and do File Folder Games with them, or help them build with Lincoln Logs or put puzzles together.
 
I was on the phone earlier with a Finch Family Games customer who has been in Nursery for 6 years and still loves it.  Some things she does that I thought were great suggestions and I will learn to follow her example are:

1. Have 20 minutes of singing time, she uses several Finch Family Games song visuals for Primary Singing Time.  Here is a list of some Primary Singing Time song visuals that will be fun to use for Nursery Time:The Family
   It's Autumn Time
   I am a Child of God
   The House Built on the Rock
   Song of Thanks
   I Pray in Faith
2. Make each of the kids a Finch Family Games file folder game at least 4 times a year.  These are very nice gifts to share with the nursery kids.  They can be used during sacrament meeting to help these young children be reverent.  My 2 year old looks forward to after the sacrament is passed so he can sit with the file folder games and match shapes or colors or patterns.  Suggestions for File Folder Games to make for Nursery children: Missionary Mix N Match
    Nephi's Ship Shapes
    Ark Animals
   Food Is Fun
   Super Sunday Shapes
   Make A Manger
   Mom's Purse 
   My Happy Family
   and much, much more
3. According to this sister Nursery is the best calling and she loves it.  I think this is a great attitude to have for any calling we have and I very much admire her devotion to her calling for six years and has kept a great attitude and doesn't burn out.

I would love to see your LDS Nursery Ideas.  For all my fellow LDS Nursery Leaders here is a Freebie:  Get My Happy Family file folder game for free with the coupon code: ILOVENURSERY.

LDS Primary Singing Time Helps, Making It Fun

Trying to keep the attention of a group of 3 to 11 year old children long enough to teach them the words to a new song can be a challenge.  In some cases this group can be rather large, like a ward in Cedar Hills, Utah that is on the verge of splitting and running three Primaries in the mean time.  Or completely opposite in a small Branch in Ibapah, Utah where sometimes there are regularly 2 primary children present and on occassion 25 children attending when family comes to visit.  Whatever the circumstances for your particular ward, the challenge is still the same...keeping their attention!  In this post I want to share some ideas of ways you can keep the primary children's attention during Primary Singing Time and Primary Sharing Time by "Making It Fun"!

THREE Ideas to Make Primary Singing Time Fun

1.  PARTICIPATION:  Primary Children love to be able to come to the front of the room and hold up a picture or some words to the song.  It is great to be prepared with visuals to go along with the primary songs you are teaching.  There are lots of great resources available for Primary Song Visuals on the internet as well as in the Friend.  If you are like me you have a couple of boxes full of Church Magazines just sitting in storage, just waiting...to be used.  These magazines are full of great Primary Song Visuals.   Holding visuals includes a handfull of primary children which usually end up not singing because they can't see the visuals they are holding and are happy to be in front helping, while the remainder of the children are trying to sing their best with hopes that they will be noticed and get called on to help the next time.  I have seen some very creative Primary Music Leaders encourage participation from the entire primary, including...get this...the TEACHERS!  My favorite Attention-Getter was when our Primary Music Leader brought a couple wigs and challenged each class to sing their best.  The classes who sang the best got to have their teacher(s) come to the front and wear the wig while they sang the song again.  You can bet every child in the Primary Room was singing their best. 

2.  VARIATION:  To avoid feeling like you have practiced that song for the Sacrament Program a thousand times, practice each song in a variety of ways.  One week you can use visuals to learn the words, the next week hide them around the room, then the next week sing the song while playing a game to see who is singing the best.  Have variety in the way the song is sung each time.  (See LDS.org for suggestions on "How to Teach a Song.")  Another very creative Primary Music Leader brought some cute stuffed animals to Primary with her in a basket.  A child was chosen to come up and choose one of the stuffed animals.  Based on the characteristics of the stuffed animal the primary children were to sing the song in a matching style.  For example if a soft bunny was picked they would sing "softly", if an alligator was picked the primary children would sing "SNAPPY" with quick, snappy notes, if a lion was picked the Primary Children would sing "loud", and if an elephant was picked they would sing "slowly".  Before you know it the Primary Children have already practiced the song four times in a variety of ways and it was fun! 

3.  PLAY GAMES:  Of course, playing games is a FINCH FAMILY FAVORITE!  Children love to play games and learn while they are having fun.  All of the Finch Family Games Primary Song Visuals come with instructions and ideas on how to turn the visuals into a game.  I want to encourage you to not only use these ideas but to also be creative yourself and see how other games and activities can be used during Primary Singing Time.  For example, a new game was added to FinchFamilyGames.com today named Faithful Flowers it has been created to go with Primary Sharing Time Lessons, Primary Lessons, or Family Home Evening Lessons that teach about Faith in Jesus Christ, but it could also be used as a fun game to play during Primary Singing Time.  It is a game that is played by seeing which team gets to the top first.  You could split your Primary into 2 teams or have each class be a team.  Create your own rules as to how the teams advance based on how well they sing.  There are many games at FinchFamilyGames.com that can be used for Primary Singing Time without being designated that way.  Some games that come to mind right off are:

• He Is Risen
• I Will Follow God's Plan
• Follow the Prophets: Noah Presentation
• Joseph Smith Prayed - Puzzle
• Holy Ghost
• Being Just Like Jesus Bingo
• Obey Today
• A Mighty Missionary

Be sure to prepare in advance.  When you are prepared you will be able to use your time more wisely and transition from one activity or song to another without losing the children's attention.  Lastly, have fun yourself, if you aren't having fun then neither will they.

(Please feel free to share your ideas and things that have worked for you by writing a comment below this post!)

Family Home Evening Fun!

Last night for Family Home Evening I printed off Pass The Sacrament.  We had a lesson on being reverent during the sacrament and the kids always love it when I pull out the games Grandma makes.  I followed the outline from Lesson #38 I Will Remember Jesus Christ During The Sacrament in the CTR A Primary Manual. 
I made some adaptions since only one of my kids is Junior Primary aged and two are Senior Primary.  Pass The Sacrament is designed to help you move through your lesson by playing while you teach the lesson.  We made 2 teams and each team took a turn answering a question.  Then they would draw a card that would tell them how many kids to pass the sacrament tray to.  It's all luck as to who gets to the end the fastest.  I was impressed when my 11 year old said, "It's OK if you didn't win, because really it means you took more time to think about Jesus while the sacrament was being passed."  Here is a list of some of the questions I asked. Download sacrament.pdf

Feel free to Post your comments on this Family Home Evening Lesson Idea.  You can share your comments on Pass The Sacrament or on teaching Reverence during the Sacrament to our families or primary classes.

HALLOWEEN FUN TIME!

It's great to be in fall! I don't know about you....but fall is my FAVORITE time of year! I love the colors, kids are back in school...and the HOLIDAYS are the BEST! Speaking of holidays...I think Halloween has got to be one of my all time favorites (Christmas is still on the top of my list!)...but there is something about the fun and excitement everyone has for the Halloween parties and games and activities we all do with friends, school and family. Because it is such a favorite of mine, I have TONS OF HALLOWEEN FUN in this months web site and in this month's blog. Today I want to share with you a fun game that I created several years ago for my own family and it quickly became an all time favorite. It is called "FRANK-EN-FUN!" and it is a super fun game for all ages (even for grandma and grandpa!). So it is yours for FREE..just add it to your shopping cart and use the coupon code: FRANKIE! I know your family will love it and it is great fun for those Halloween parties and classroom Halloween activities that you room mothers are in charge of! Check out all the other games we have (and we have a bunch!) for you to use for those fun parties or just to pass those long hours before the big day! Thanks for checking us out and I'll see you in a couple of weeks!