Primary Program

It's that time of year! Primary Program time. The Primary Program, for those not in the know, is when the children in our church get the...err....opportunity to use the whole main meeting time to teach the congregation what they've learned that year.  We, the Primary presidency, write up a program, usually around July/August...then in September thru October we practice, practice, practice. Every child is given a part to say...and we sing songs...lots of songs!

This year, I came up with a format to where the kids wrote their own parts. I'd give them questions like "Who is Jesus Christ?" or "When I serve my neighbors, I serve Heavenly Father. How can I serve my neighbors?"
My favorite was: "How do you serve your family?" and one little girl answers: I serve my family by serving them food and picking up around the house. Silly. But um, yes, very true.

Every year is a challenge...this one was no different. Children are children...they don't like to sit still, some don't like to say things into a microphone, let along in front of a crowd....some like to say things all silly and irreverent....some memorize their parts per-fect-ly, holy canoli. You just never know.
But if it wasn't a challenge, it wouldn't be worth it. I'm so grateful for my calling at church, for the...err...OPPORTUNITY {cause it really is, no seriously it is!} to serve these children. They are truly angels, even the one who won't quit banging his feet on the ground because it makes a loud sound andhegetsintroubleandwontlistenwhenitellhimtostoporwhenisendhimtohisparents. Ahem.

Ü

Now....a few months rest and I'll start planning the one for next year!
Next years theme: I know the scriptures are true. So cool!!

Little things...

I have several websites and blogs that I pull ideas from. I'm SO thankful for these blogs...I think the people that come up with stuff to help with Sharing Times, Primary ideas, etc...are just angels! I seriously would be lacking inspiration (and probably bored without a project) without these lovely ladies....it's one of the reasons, too, that I love the blog-o-sphere. I don't know any of these crafty chicks personally and without their blogs I would probably never come across them in my lifetime. They make their wonderful ideas so readily available, I wish I DID know them so I could give them a hug and thank them!

So, over on Beehive Messages....she posted about an idea for a Relief Society "Getting to Know You" activity (which sounds way cool, by the way). They played a bunch of getting to know you games...and then at the end, the RS President gave them each a notebook and challenged them to "Get to Know" the Savior. I love this challenge! I feel like all the different auxillaries are giving us such a chance this year to step up and REALLY get to know our Savior. And to get to know Him through the power of the scriptures. President Monson said:

“I know from personal experience, the spiritual power that can flow into your life if you follow this practice (scripture study). You will feel the love of God and a cleansing, purifying regeneration of your spirit. You will experience moments of revelation, when the Spirit whispers to your spirit to be a better father, a better mother, a better son or daughter, a better disciple of Jesus Christ.”

So, here is my version of the notebook. The scripture reading schedule started the week of January 17th...and ends the week of Easter (perfect, no?). Which also happens to be the week of Jaxson's birth... couldn't think of a better way to bring a new spirit into the world than to do everything I can to become a better mother.

On the inside of the notebook, I pasted the scripture schedule and a list of questions to ponder.

You take the scripture and read it the whole week...then switch to a new one each Sunday. Ponder what the scriptures means to you.

12 Week Scripture Reading Schedule…

January 17-23 Helaman 5:12

January 24-30 St. John 14:23-27

Jan 31-Feb 6 3 Nephi 13:14-21

February 7-13 Alma 5:14-16

Feb 14-20 Proverbs 31:30-31

Feb 21-27 D & C 8:2-3 & 9:7-9

Feb 28-Mar 6 Moroni 10:18-23

March 7-13 Matthew 7:7-8

March 14-20 D & C 6:14-16

March 21-27 D & C 88:118-119

Mar 28-Apr 3 Revelations 7:15-17

April 4-8 Mosiah 4:9-12

Onto another idea....I came across this one on Sugardoodle.net. Usually we give out pencils and stickers in Primary for birthdays...but I wanted to do something else this year. And this picture block was just perfect! It's like a 2x4 or maybe a 3x4 with a passalong picture of Christ on it. The kids seems to love them so far.

I added the Articles of Faith to the back....just as a little nudge and reminder. Ü

See? All these little projects I have to do. Like I really HAVE to do them....but they clog up my mind until I get them done!

Look who's a SUNBEAM!!!

That's right! Yesterday was Aubree's first official day in the "big kid class". We were so excited to have her (though I have to admit I was scared she'd be clinging to mommy's leg as I tried to lead the music! But she did fabulously) and I only had to get on to her about 25 times for talking (Thats my girl).
Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam,
To shine for Him each day...
In every way try to please Him,
At home, at school, at play...
A Sun**BEAM***, a Sun**BEAM**
Jesus wants me for a SUNBEAM.
A Sun**BEAM**, a Sun**BEAM**
I'll be a SUNBEAM for Him!

"For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth" Job 19:25

Our Primary theme for 2010 is "I Know my Savior Lives" and the General Primary Presidency has really set us up with some good stuff for this year! One of which is the new song for the year: I Know that My Savior Loves Me. We learned parts of this song today and I wanted to share it!



As I was sitting in Testimony meeting today listening to the different testimonies, this theme was running thru my mind. The outline for this year gives the children opportunities to KNOW their Savior, Jesus Christ and to gain a testimony of Him. I feel so grateful that I have the chance to help teach these children and learn right along with them.
I have a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I know that it is true, and I know that by making the effort to learn along with the children, my testimony will be nurtured and grow!

Phew!!!!

No matter how much I love being in the Primary organization...I can't help but breathe a huge sigh of relief now that the Primary Presentation is OVER! :) Yay! We've been practicing long and hard for this thing (can you say...started back in July)...and it was totally worth it. The kids knew their parts...they sang confidently!! We hand out 'comment cards' to the congregation, so we can get positive feedback to read to the kids later on....and everyone was quite impressed at how well the kids did this year. I, personally, was so impressed on how strong these kids sang...I had my doubts at the practice yesterday...they were pretty wimpy ;), hehe...but man oh man! They belted it out today. To a chapel full of a bunch of nonmembers, no less. I love that this program gave these awesome children a chance to be missionaries today.

Total success in my book! Even if Bella refused to say her part....she did, however, sing 'I am a Child of God' with this other kid at the pulpit for prelude. So...a few months of rest...then back to the grind Ü.

Our Primary Temple Trip.

Saturday we took our Primary Temple Trip. I've never done anything like this before, so I didnt know what to expect. But it truly was amazing! When we first got there, they had the kids sit in this big waiting room just off the foyer. The spirit was so strong even in those first few moments...the kids were so reverent and I was so happy to see that they KNEW they were in a sacred place!
The Temple President and Matron came in and had an opening prayer with us, then spoke a bit about the temple and we sang a couple songs. He then handed us the Temple scrapbook (the format that I took the books I made in the last post from) and sent us out into the BEAUTIFUL afterrnoon. I seriously couldn't have ordered a better day for this activity.

Truthfully, this is the part I was scared of...the Temple lawns are vast and I just knew those kids would take off running....but of course, they proved me wrong and we stayed in a semi-together group. I thought that someone from the Temple would do the tour...but again, wrong. So, I was very thankful I had put together those books and read thru the material put in them...and I have to say I gave a half decent tour....please keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times...permanecer sentados por favor. Haha...or not. Bishop took some FANTASTIC pictures of the kids and I'm trying to work up something great for them as a keepsake. "Say PIZZA!!!" Our cute little primary. We had a decent turnout. I love these kids!
The end of our tour....the Bishop explaining the importance of being worthy to enter the Temple and showing the children what an Temple recommend looks like.

During the tour Bella says to her daddy: "Are you going to marry me at the temple?" I thought that was THE cutest thing...a girl's first Prince Charming is always her daddy. And of course, I get teary-eyed now thinking of one day sitting in the sealing room watching her kneel across the alter from a boy who is worthy. There are so many things to look forward to in this life, aren't there? I'm so grateful for the ordinances the temple provides so that these experiences don't have to end...being sealed for time and all eternity.

I love to see the temple.
I’m going there someday
To feel the Holy Spirit,
To listen and to pray.
For the temple is a house of God,
A place of love and beauty.
I’ll prepare myself while I am young;
This is my sacred duty.

I love to see the temple.
I’ll go inside someday.
I’ll cov’nant with my Father;
I’ll promise to obey.
For the temple is a holy place
Where we are sealed together.
As a child of God, I’ve learned this truth:
A fam’ly is forever.

I love to see the Temple.

One of my responsibilities in my calling in Primary is to help take care of the Quarterly Activities. Our next one was scheduled for September and I had been throwing around ideas, including one that included taking a "flight" to other countries and explore other cultures (such a cool idea I found on Sugardoodle.net, of course). But, our Bishop made a request that we take a trip up to the temple. So, we moved our activity up a month because this months theme in Primary is Temple Blessings Unite Families. Very fitting way to end the month!

The temple president will take us all on a tour around the temple. At first I was scrambling, trying to think of what else to do for this activity....cause a tour would only last what? 10 minutes, maybe? But then the Primary president sent me this "scrapbook" they use when giving tours...which was just a few sheets of paper with some facts about the temple on it. So, we went and turned those few sheets of paper into "My Temple Walk About Book" and I was SO AMAZED at how much info this tour will include. I'm hoping the kids will enjoy it, too!
The inside of the booklet.

I'm hoping it let you click on each picture.... Ü

I've been published!

Well, kinda. But I did submit the Sharing Time Presentation I put together. Check it out over on Sugardoodle. I felt that I should contribute, since I *steal* all my ideas from there! lol. I love that site...there are seriously so many talented people out there and I'm so glad they share their ideas!!

Welcome to Camp!

For the primary activity, we put together a Camp Out themed activity (found over on MormonShare.com)...I threw around several ideas in the planning stage, but this one just fit...esp with Cub day camp and siblings going to Girls Camp or High Adventure, etc.

We set it up in 4 stations. When we were waiting for everyone to arrive, I had them color their "backpack" (a picture of a backpack on a paper sack). I think this picture is funny, since the girls are coloring and the boys are refusing to color, or course...such is life.
Sis Ram...explaining the goings-on. I love to plan and help put everything together, but she is MUCH better and getting those kids to listen ;). hehe.

Station #1: Nature Preserve
I got a pack of pass-a-long cards, which the kids glued to a piece of cardboard and then decorated with leaves, sticks, rocks, feathers and glitter.

Station #2: First Aid Hut

Brother Hill (Chief of Police for our city...complete in his cop uniform) spoke about basic first aid. He did a great job...I wanted the kids to gain some basic knowledge to help them this summer, whether it was how to judge the severity of a cut, a rash, etc or even basic CPR.

(In this fussy pic - sorry- you can see Bella covering her ears...shortly after this, she came out of the room crying, she wouldn't say why. Bro Hill apologized since he thought his story was a bit too scary, lol)

Station #3: The Cave of Wonder

This is an idea we enhanced from the original idea...creating a "cave" on the stage out of a ginormous tent and twinkle lights hanging from the ceiling. The sister I put in charge of this did a FANTASTIC job explaining to the kids that they needed to be quiet as to not to disturb the bats.

Once they got in there, the room was pitch black and she told the kids that the bats had woken up. The only way out is through a small opening at the top of the cave. One person will have to boost the others up and out, but he or she will have to remain behind and perish. She then asked the children if any of them would be willing to die for the rest of the group and reminded them that our Savior, Jesus Christ, made a very similar choice when he came to this Earth. (then the twinkle lights turned on and you could see the picture of Christ hanging in the tent) Then she spoke more about Christ, focusing on the scripture John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

As we follow the example of Jesus and do what He has taught us to do, we are blessed with the influence of the Holy Spirit. During times of trouble or when we feel afraid, the Holy Ghost will be with us, and we can feel this peace in our hearts. The Holy Ghost helps us remember Jesus and obey His teachings.

We have been learning all year about having faith in Jesus Christ. We must learn who our Savior is, that he died for us and was resurrected. We need to understand that he loves each one of us. He knows our hearts and has experienced all that we experience. Jesus Christ wants us all to return to live with our Heavenly Father. If we follow his example, having faith in Him, we will live with our Savior and Heavenly Father again.

As they left the tent/cave, the kids were given glow sticks :).

Station #4: Camp Sing-a-long

The kids were taught different songs around this cool campfire the Cub Scouts let us borrow. Then they performed afterwards, all together in a round. It was a lot of fun! And of course, every one is a winner and were rewarded with SMORES! :) What's a campout without smores?
This is our group. We may be small in numbers, but large in Spirit and heart. Such a great group of kids!

Spiritually fed.

Today (yesterday, really) wasn't any kind of special day...I woke up with a rotten headache and tired from being up so late with a child that didn't want to sleep in her big-girl bed. We hadn't been to church in 2 weeks because of travelling, so I was actually looking forward to being there and feeling the Spirit. Our stake high-councilman spoke to us in Sacrament meeting about Repentance, and it hit home. I'm obviously not perfect, with my share of things to repent about. He spoke about 3 things we can do to make our repentance more meaningful:

1~Sacrifice. Sacrifice the worldly things to make room for the spiritual. (examples: sacrificing time to go visiting teaching, sacrificing 2 meals a month in fasting to help the needy, etc.)
2~Study the Book of Mormon. It's never too late to challenge yourself to read. The Atonement is mentioned numerous times throughout the pages, thru it we can truly understand the Infinite Atonement that was made. (2Ne 9:7)
3~Live each day with remembrance of what the Savior paid for the things we've done and will do. Accept that great debt and lovingly acknowledge what we owe to the Lord. Cleave to the pure. Testify of the Atonement to others.

Some real noteworthy stuff.

In Primary, our theme for this week is: My family and I will be resurrected.
The scripture: Alma 11:43, which reads:
"The spirit and the body shall be reunited again it its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our guilt."
I read this scripture 3 times today during primary, once in our presidency meeting. Once during Sis. Smith's talk, talking about the resurrection brought her to tears and she couldn't get thru the scripture, so I stepped in to read it for her (her husband is in the ICU, unresponsive for over 2 weeks after a stroke). The the 3rd time with a child who was giving the closing scripture and prayer.
Reading 3 times the words, "and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our guilt" with conflicting feelings. A feeling of joy...thinking of standing there, with God, in my perfect form. But also a feeling of sadness, not wanting to have that bright recollection of guilt.

So, for me, Sacrament meeting and Primary merged completely and perfectly together. And I have this feeling in my soul of happiness for these truths that I know and have learned. Repentance is key, just as living a worthy life is key to salvation....emphasis on LIVING, the ACTION.

I am a Child of God

"...All of you are Children of the Most High"
Psalms 82:6
This past Sunday was our Primary Program at church. The Primary has been practicing like crazy for the last month or two and then for a couple hours this past Saturday and the Saturday before. They did such a wonderful job. I got to sit in the back with the big kids, watching the faces of the parents in the crowd.....some smacking their foreheads b/c their child was stealing bread from the sacrament table, others tearing up during Sis Ram and her daughter singing "Mother, Tell Me the Story", and seeing no one care that we went 30 minutes over our alloted time. These children are just extraordinary.... one girl who just turned 8 had been given a whole paragraph to read, she went up to the mic and recited it all from memory with a smile on her face. I saw one of the older boys, pat a Sunbeam on the back and give him a thumbs up "good job" after he braved his speaking part.
I was so overwhelmed with the Spirit, it leaked out my eyes.
Poor, poor Bella...she had never really had to practive her speaking part until the Saturday before (hmmm, and mommy slacked on practicing with her), then promptly refused to say a word when asked. When it came to the real thing on Sunday, after hours and hours of practicing "Heavenly Father gave me a family" and "I can follow the Prophet"....she stood at the podium saying nothing, picking a wedgie (giving the primary a good laugh). But the second time came around and she walked right up there and said "I forrow the prophet" and I just wanted to clap for joy. YAY Bella.
I came across an idea on Sugardoodle.net for comment cards to give the congregation during the program. They said some of the nicest things and the primary kids loved hearing what they wrote!
Thank goodness it's over, though...I didn't even have much of a hand in it, but I know the stress it caused the music leader and primary president! We sang this cute song to them at the end of the 3rd block (a little cheesy, but totally fun!).

I just cannot express how grateful I am for the Church and this organization for the little children. They are the future and deserve to be taught with love and encouragement. I feel that being a Primary worker is one of the most important callings a person could be given! Of course, I haven't always felt like that. I know that I've felt "stuck back in Primary" before, you kind of get lost, not getting to get that adult time in Relief Society. But the blessings that come from taking the time to prepare lessons and getting to know the children, can be overflowing!