Letter to Nursery Parents

HELLO ALL MY BELOVED READERS!

Did you miss me?  I know I missed posting stuff.

Tons has happened since I last posted.  Mostly moving, military, unpacking, summer vacation, slacker blogger craziness, BUT...  Since the kids are back in public school I am hoping my blog posts will be more regular!  Yeah!

In our church leaders and teachers are not paid.  We are called by our Bishop to a position and we have the option to deny or say yes to that job.  In our new ward I have been called to the post of Nursery Leader!   I know what most would think when reading that.  You either cringed or thought, "Better her than me."  But seriously... who wouldn't want a calling where you get toys and treats?  I have always loved nursery.  And, while every church calling has it's hard spots, the "tough parts" of nursery are just not that hard to me.   The kids I work with are between 18 months and 3 years old.  Great age to be cute and forgiving!   Plus, I believe that many dismiss nursery as a drop off baby sitting point.  We teach a gospel lesson, we have singing time, and for most, this is their first time they are away from parents and with a teacher.  I love teaching those little ones that they are more than just the baby of the family.  The are children of our Heavenly Father!

Anyways, the Primary Presidency handed me this paper that is at the beginning of the Nursery Lesson Manual to hand out to all the parents.  It states a few simple ideas on how to introduce the Nursery to little ones and when NOT to bring them.  Most parents have seen that letter a millions times and over half just chuck it instead of reading it.  I am not normal, so the normal letter just would suffice.  o remedy that problem I took the letter and changed it into poem form!  Of course I had to make sure I could share it!  Simply Click the link below to download and print!  I printed mine on bright blue.  Harder to loose, easier to notice!

CLICK HERE to download.

I also created a blank business card to add along with the poem.  This way if the parents have any questions about the lesson or need to call for some reason they can.  Then they also know your name, since sometimes the kids never remember.

CLICK HERE to download the business card. 

 Print it on magnetic paper for added helpfulness!

Enjoy!

Article of Faith Posters

Welcome to 

Sundae Served Saturdays.

Where "Saturday is a special day. It's the day we get ready for Suuuuuunday!"

As part of our school at home this year I am using the Articles of Faith for copy work.  They copy them down to improve handwriting and... it backs up principles we would like to reenforce in our home.  I have see the Articles of Faith posted on most primary walls.  Thought I would share my posters!  Just click the links below each picture to download the size you would like.

 These are 8 x11.  I wanted mine big!

CLICK HERE to download.

 I figured smaller sizes would be good for someone!

CLICK HERE to download these 4 to a page!

And yet smaller still with 6 to a page! 

These would be good for clipping to a ring for easy memorization on the go!

CLICK HERE to download!

Printable Book of Mormon Charts

Welcome to 

Sundae Served Saturday!

Where "Saturday is a special day. It's the day we get ready for Sunday!"

My mommy was recently made Young Women's President!  Yeah mommy.  She was totally stressed and so I lovingly told her.  "That is the best one because all you have to do is delegate!"  She calls me the next night and says,  "I need some printable Book of Mormon Charts for my girls to color... for tomorrow!"  LOL  That came back to bite me!

Anyways, thought I would share!  The are all 8x11!  The links to download are below each picture AND at the end of the post.

Heart Chart

 Star Chart

 Heels Chart

This was their favorite!  Mine too...

 Flower Chart

Chick Chart

This specific chart came when my mom had printed off a ton and my daddy saw them.  He said, "Awe.  Why doesn't she make one for me!"  So I did!  I wasn't sure he would want to decorate it himself so I made this one in color.  He just started raising some chickens and is obsessed.  Just print in black and white if you want to decorate it yourself!  It's is pretty cute!

Here is a list of all of them right in a row so you don't have to scroll through each one.  These could work for anyone!  Maybe...  frame one and use a dry erase marker?  Then you can use the same one over and over again!

Heart Chart

 Star Chart

Heels Chart

 Flower Chart

Chick Chart

Lesson 41 Printable

OK...  call me lazy, but I didn't draw anything creative this week for my lesson.  I have a CD of fun printable that goes along with the lesson and I cheated and use that!  Turns out it was ok, because I spent this sunday at home with my sick little girl!  I was so sad I wasn't there because it was fast sunday!  The lesson went right along with it.  Plus, I LOVE listening to everyone's testimony!  What a great way for me to get to know the people in the ward right?

Anywas... My plan was to follow the lesson as usual and I did create an easy printable for you.  The lesson this week was #41 in the manual.  It was on Fasting and Part of the lesson had the kids pull specific questions out of a bag.  Pretty much just to help keep their attention.  My printable is just the questions for you to print out so you don't have to write them!   I had it all prepped so I sent my book, printed coloring sheet and my precut strips with my hubby to give to the sub I found! Yeah last minute subs!!!

CLICK HERE for the printable!

Wally the Worshipping Walrus

Yeah!  After a seemingly long siesta from blogging I am back!  We love our new ward and... big shocker... I was called to be a Primary teacher!  I wasn't surprised.  When I went to drop Tyton off at his class one of the counselors was teaching because they hadn't been able to call a primary teacher!  So I was like, "Umm...  you have enough to do!  I love teaching primary.  Just give me your book!"  Bam... next week I was called to be a primary teacher!

I am super excited to teach the CTR 4 class here in the Niceville Ward.  So excited I created my first printable!  This past weeks lesson was #40 in the Primary Manual on Worshipping at Church.  I did the lesson as usual, but there was no real fun coloring page for the class so I decided to create one!  Meet Worshipping Wally!  He is a walrus who is always hungry for those things that bring him closer to Christ.  Some of the fish that he eats are ones we talked about in class and others we left blank and the kids though of on their own.  They had so much fun cutting him out!  It gave me ample opportunity to review the lesson while cutting out the mouths and taping the sides for the kids!

To download Wally CLICK HERE.

To create him you simple fold under the picture and tape the sides.  Then cut out the mouth so you can slip the fishies in!

To download the Fish CLICK HERE.

You will only need half this sheet for each Wally Printed.  

Apostle Handout

Today's lesson was on Apostles.  Part of the lesson asks us to show a picture of the current First Presidency and 12 Apostles.  I knew our library would only have one copy and I wanted to download a list of their names anyway.  We usually finish early (is it just me or do the New Testament lessons seem shorter than the Old Testament?)  Anyways.  I create a little handout for the kids.  I couldn't help myself.

Primary 6 Lesson 20

Today's lesson was all about keeping the Sabbath Day holy.  To view the lesson online from the church manual click here!  We were encouraged to teach the children to "observe the Sabbath as a day of worship and joy."  We talked about how the Isaerelites recieved manna from heaven and on the day before Sabbath they were to gather extra so they wouldn't have to work on Sunday.


All that I truly am doing differently is I had some mason jars with holes cut in the top for a primary activity. (See that activity online here later!)  I brought out pieces of paper at the end of the lesson and we all listed activities that we thought would be fun for a Sunday.  At the end of the lesson they had a Sunday Activity Jar!  It was fun to have different ideas from all the kids.  I made one for us right along with them.  Our jars were to help us to make good choices on Sunday.  I gave them all extra sheets of paper and encouraged them to us the extra as a family home evening lesson.

The major point that I stressed is that different families have different ideas about what is right.  If they aren't sure if they are doing something to keep the Sabbath holy they should ask their parents.  We also talked about how some people do have to work on Sunday and that doesn't make them bad or wrong.  People all get to make their own choices.  One kids suggested that doing dishes was work so we shouldn't do that on Sunday!  We talked about paper plates or maybe doing dishes as a family while doing a dishes dance and singing a dishes song!  That way it was a game and not work.  (Family Dishes Dances song ended up in our jars.  I think that would be a fun one for throughout the week though!  lol)

I love teaching Primary!  To download my weekly handout with highlights from this lesson and "homework" for the children for next week click here!

Primary 6 Lesson 19

This lesson was a snap!  Partly because there are so many movies about the story of Moses that the kids new the story well.  I just made sure I read the scripture well so I would know what to tell them actually happened and what was just part of a movie.

Today's story was the portion where Moses goes to ask Pharaoh to let the Hebrews leave Egypt, then the plagues, then the crossing of the Red Sea.  It focused on teaching the children that "the children that the priesthood is the power of God." To view the lesson online click here.


For this lesson I created a mini matching game to help them teach the story to their families!  My hope was that they would use it as a Family Home Evening on Monday.  Just download the file and print onto heavy cardstock.  Some kids wanted to color.  Others didn't... I left it up to them.  I do wish I would have remembered to bring paper bags for the kids who ended up cutting theirs at church!  Silly me.


To download my matching game click here!
Most of the clip art was found at freeldsart.com, the fly I found at arthursclipart.com, and the Red Sea at fundraw.com!  Thank you!


I also created my usual handout for the kids to take home.  The top portion has highlights from today's lesson and a scripture reading assignment for the next week!  Click here to get that!

Primary 6 Lesson 18

Nothing spectacular this week!  Just wanted to share my handout for the lesson. Click here if you would like it!

The lesson online is here.  This week it's about Moses.  It includes scriptures talking about how he was found and then called to lead the Hebrews our of Egypt.  The actual leading out of Egypt is next week.  This week is focused on how we are all "called" here on a mission.  Great lesson!

If you look at the handout... Instead of assigning tons of scripture reading I have asked them to come prepared to talk about how the Priesthood has made an impression on them for the following week.  Funny... in preparing for this lesson I got some ideas for the following week... I'm way to scatter brained!

Teaching Sites

Being in a Primary Presidency has made me become extremely thankful for the talents that others are willing to share!  (Yours included!)  I thought I would share some sites and tips that have helped me through my calling!  The following is a worksheet I created for the teachers in our primary.  The hopes was that they would find other was to creatively teach their classes.  This list does have more for primary than any, but most of the other sites listed are awesome for any calling!

Click here to download the handout.  Feel free to edit it as you might need!

Primary 6 Lesson 17

This week the lesson is on Joseph forgiving his brothers.  First, obviously, you are going to need your lesson this week! Click here!   This week we are asked "To help each child have the desire to forgive others."   


My only difference this week was with one of the extra activities!  Instead of giving the kids a piece of paper to tie around their neck I created a whole page that I packing taped to their backs!  First I had then all stand and repeat after me.  The pledge went something like this.  "I, _________, promise my most beautiful and favorite primary teacher and myself that I will forgive others to the fullest extent."  Something like that.  I then reminded them that they must even forgive me for taping a large sign on their backs!  It was really cute to see people stopping them on the way to sharing time and ask why they had those.


"Because I promised!"  


I asked that they place these signs in their home, somewhere they would see them all the time.  I love them!  To download my sign click here!
I had 2 out of 7 read the scriptures so they could help me tell the story!  I was glad... there were alot of scriptures on that list.  I did give less for this reading this week.  The handout with topic discussed today and the scriptures for next week can be downloaded by clicking here.  My most favorite part of this was watching how much more careful they were with their assignments when they realized that I really wanted hem to read it!


I can't wait for next week! 

Primary 6 Lesson 16

Hooray for teaching primary!!!!  They just released me as Primary President in my ward because... well... we thought we were moving.  Turns out last minute, we aren't leaving for another 6 months.  Now I live in a house of boxes, but.... I get to teach primary!  I'm so excited.  It makes me sad when I here people complaining about teaching primary.  I know how hard it is to keep primary teachers.  Right now.... I just don't get it.  I never have!  Maybe one day I will need a primary break, but.. not yet!   It's a rare few who appreciate the simplicity and honor it can be to be a primary teacher.  As a teacher you are simply called to teach a lesson every Sunday.  It comes from a manual and the lessons are VERY well outlined.  For the most part you just need patience!  As parents job is to teach their children first, I consider it an honor that some would allow me to teach a lesson to their children that could very well impact the very way they look at and handle life.  Parenting is such a great resposiblilty.  I thank those of you parents who are subjecting your kids to my crazy personality every Sunday.  I promise to try hard and teach only things you and our Father in Heaven would have them learn....

***Steps down from her Soap Box....***

On to my lesson idea! Lesson 16 is on Joseph in Egypt, click here to view the lesson online.  The manual asks us to read  Genesis 39-41 as preparation.   The purpose of the lesson is "To encourage the children to keep themselves pure by staying away from temptation and living close to the Lord."  In the beginning of the lesson if gives an attention activity where you place 2 magnets on the table with a paper clip in the middle, one to represent our Heavenly Father and one Satan, the paper clip is us.  The activity is to show how the closer we place our standards to those Heavenly Father would have us follow, the stronger his pull is and the weaker Satan's power can be.  I choose to make magnets for the kids in my class to take home.  I already had the stuff to make them.  A tutorial on how to make these can be found by clicking here!  I cut out pictures of Christ from the Ensign, a church magazine, to place behind my marbles.

Another thing the lesson suggests is to bring a fan and some paper and show the blow of the air.  It's the same idea, but the further away from the fan the less the paper blows.  I brought a roll of toilet paper and a hair dryer instead... (See mom!  Toilet papering in high school does help with something later in life!)  I placed the roll on the end of the wooden spoon blew it with the hair dryer at the class and toilet papered them!  After everyone calmed down I explained that, while in class this is funny, in real life the bad actions we make can affect those around us.  When we choose wrong, those who love us hurt for us.  

After passing out the marble magnets at the end, I also gave them each one of these! (Next week I will pass out something similar, but with no cute paper on the back... the boys ripped if off and started making airplanes with the back paper!  At least they kept the front right?  lol)

It's an overview of the lesson from this week as well as the scriptures that the manual asks to review for next week!  To download the file click here!  I told them that I wasn't going to teach next week.  I wanted them too.  I plan on handing out next weeks "gift" by how well they teach the lesson!  I will of course be directing the teaching and probably leading most of the class.  We will see how it works out!