Primary Secretary Helpers

I recently got called at church to be the Secretary in the Primary Presidency.    At the church I attend we are not paid to teach or help we are asked and called.  The Primary Presidency is responsible for making sure that all the children ages 18 months to 11 years old have a teacher and that that the teachers are taken care of.  We are also responsible for those who teach Cub Scouts and Activity Days (the younger girly version of a Wednesday youth activity for girls 8-11).  On Sunday we teach a lesson to half the kids (Junior Primary) during the second hour of church and the other half (Senior Primary) during the 3rd hour of church.    Have I confused you yet?

Anyways, as Secretary I am responsible for taking roll, getting the numbers to leadership at the quarter and making the assignments for talk, prayer, and scripture for the kids.  Those are my major things anyways.  There are a few little ones as well.

To make my job a little easier I made a chart where I can write down what child did what on what Sunday.  This way the weekly assignments are a little more spread out, I have an easy access to see what parents to call and remind that week, and an easy way to see how long it's been since a child had a turn speaking.

CLICK HERE to download
the Dated Assignment File

I also created a very simple substitute sign up list.  This will help me create a list of other people at church who don't mind subbing if one of our teachers can't make it that day.  We encourage our teachers to ask parents of kids in their class first, but sometimes that doesn't work out!  I will probably have to update my list a lot as we have several military in our area who move.

CLICK HERE to download 

the substitute list.

We really appreciate when people volunteer, especially since many times it's last minute RIGHT before class starts.  As a thank you the secretary before me create some cute gifts for those who help. I updated it a little and changed the words.  This is nice because your could pair it with Andes Mints, regular mints, mint patties, or Junior Mints!  I haven't actually made any because there are a TON in the closet.  But here is the printable I created!

CLICK HERE to download

the sub thank yous.

There are a few helpers.  Hopefully I can help out at least one other secretary with these!  I know that usually people like to start this stuff at the beginning of the new year.  Hopefully I am not to late to help another!

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!

Spin-a-Kid Song Review

Welcome to

Sundae Served Saturdays

where "Saturday is a special day, it's a day we get ready for Sunday!"

In our church everyone has a "calling" to which they are assigned.  We are set these jobs based on inspiration and need.  My husband and I have both been primary teachers since we moved here.   Usually married couples teach together, but they needed teachers so we separately classes between 4-6 and 8-11 year olds.  When we heard the military was possibly moving us they decided to release one of us so that when we did move they would only need to find one new teacher instead of two.  

So, the ended up releasing me.  Sad day, cause I LOVED my calls.  That and my new calling is going to be a challenging.  You see, our Primary Chorister's husband has moved away for about 6 months trying out a new job.  She stayed here with the kiddos in case it doesn't work out and... she has family here to help her out a ton.   She has a sweet new baby girl who is sometimes is difficult to hold while leading music.  My new calling is....

Drum Roll please....

Holding the Baby!  See... I told you!  Hard right. HA HA HA!  Of course, if she needs to go out to nurse the baby then I will take over and lead the music, so I suppose I am more like her assistant/substitute if her kids happen to be sick.  Which, is exactly what happened two Sunday's ago!

Our primary chorister called to tell me her little boy was sick.  She gave me a list of songs she wanted the kids to review and what verses needed the most work.

Introducing...

Spin-A-Kid Song Review!

I actually got this idea from a leadership training meeting I had a few years ago.  I have been waiting and waiting to use it!  YEAH!

I pulled out a few pieces of plain card-stock and wrote different ways to sing on them.

The idea is to place all these squares facing down on the floor in a circle around a spinning chair.

Then you pick 2 kids, a spinner and a spinee.  

The spinee keeps their feet together and you pick up the square they land on!

Simple, easy fun.

The kids had so much fun!  We ended up putting them in the Primary closet for future use!

The "Big Mouth" is where you sing while opening your mouth as big as you can!

The "One Big Breath" is where you sing for as long as you can with ONE BIG BREATHE!

The rest are pretty self explanatory.

This could be a good one to have on hand for emergencies!!!

Primary Teacher Coupon

When serving in the Primary Presidency it was hard to find gifts that all the teachers would love and were cheap!  LOL  Food is always a big hit, but I wanted to find something that would let them know that we REALLY did appreciate the work they do for the kids.

CLICK HERE for the file to download.

I just cut them out with cool scissors and tied them to a candy bar.  (Because who can say no to chocolate!)

Family Proclamation ABC's

So my kiddos have finally used up all the coloring pages I printed for them for Sacrament Meeting, so one thing on my TO DO list this week was print color pages.   I saw this post on BeingLDS and knew it was fate!    I just decided to take it a step further and create something that could be used during FHE, Family Scripture Study or  as a coloring book during Sacrament Meeting!

I went through The Proclamation and found the letters A-Z in order!  It was hard!  I did have to take some creative liscensing and misspell a few words.  (LiQley... Unother...)  I also had to kinda insert the word Join.  I think the place I put it will help to memorize, but you don't have to actually remember the word itself?  I dunno... It was MUCH harder than I thought!

Tree Wrapped Gifts

This wasn't my idea, but it was to cute to NOT post about!  Our Primary Presidency gave all the teachers thank you gifts for Christmas!  First... A little about our Primary Presidency.  I LOVE them, for several reasons, but mostly because I KNOW they have my back.  If I need help in class or need a sitter during Activity Days...  They are so sweet and have done a Fantabulous job of keeping reverence and teaching the children.  Now... about the gifts!

2010 Primary Lesson Schedules

OK... so I know this is several months late, but the site wasn't created when I made these!  Since they have recently released me and the new presidency asked for copies I thought.... Hmmm.... somebody else MIGHT want a copy.  I know that everyone's ward schedule is different, but they are easy to edit.  It's a long shot, but I'm posting them in case!

The schedules are all on one file.  There is a separate schedule for Valiant 12 - CTR 7, CTR 6 - CTR 4, Sunbeams and Nursery.

Click here to download!

Dud Cookies

This could work for fun or for a thank you!  Who doesn't like chocolate, caramel and sprinkles!  Introducing the Giant Milk Dud Cookie!  These cookies are moist and gooey when fresh, but.... if you end up packaging them for a gift it would prolly be good to add a note to microwave so they get the full gooey milk dud effect.

I used these as a Teacher Appreciation gift with a tag saying, "Thanks for not being a Giant Dud."  I guess it could sound harsh, but... my teachers had great personalities!  To download the tag I created click here!

The recipe to create the cookies is relatively easy.  You could roll them in powdered sugar or a different sprinkle.  I actually got the idea from a farm themed party.   They had theirs smooshed a little flatter to resemble... well... what would you find on the floor of a barn?  It was cute... and creepy, but the kids loved it!  Click here to download the recipe.

I used the Magic Rainbow Kit by Rhonna Farrer to create the recipe page and tag.  It can be downloaded for free from Twopeasinabucket.com!

Sub Sheets

Here are some sheet's I created to put in the teacher's binders. This way when they if they know they are going to be gone the sub has a little more info about their class!

Click the links below for the appropriate classes.

Nursery

Sunbeams

CTR

Valiant

Door Signs 2

Ok... I made another one just because the kit was cute and I was trying to see if I could make something using word only. So... hopefully my goofing off will benefit someone! hee hee!

To download click here!

I Need Help!!!

These are some cards I printed to card-stock to kinda help the teachers a little. Being a teacher myself for a couple of times, I know there is always those moments where you are in the middle of teaching and you realize that you forgot something simple that would help you in your lesson. Thus... the Helper Cards were created! hee hee....

I simple printed these cards to different colors of card-stock and put them into photo holders for the teachers binders. That way when they realize they need something they can just slip it under the door and our "hall wanderer" for the day can run and go get it for them!

To download my file click here and then here!

*Artwork was found through google search or jennysmith.net!

Meeting Agenda

Here is an agenda that I use when we are going to have a presidency meeting. It's not much, but it helps me to stay on track!

Click here to download.

Caught Being Reverant

Ok... One of the things we struggled with the most when we came into the Primary Presidency is reverence. I would say we have a medium size Primary of around 45-50 active children. One thing that has worked WONDERS are these badges one of the counselors came up with. I'm certain she got the idea from sugardoodle.net, but I can't find the link!

We cut out and tied these CBR (Caught Being Reverent) Badges to yarn. We place one in each teachers roll. We started by handing them out, but it's hard to keep track of what kids have gotten them, plus we wanted to encourage more reverence in the classrooms. Also... the teachers know the kids a little better and know if one kids is... well... not the most reverent, but is defiantly improving in their efforts. It's amazing the effect these badges have had on our primary. I'm SURE thankful to Sister Heather Shirley for finding them!

Feel free to download the CBR badges I created by clicking here!

Ok... I found the link here and she even got it from someone else! Still, thank you to whoever came up with the idea!

Weekly Assignment Bands

Here are some bands I created to make it easier to assign talks and such to the kids on Sunday. We just cut them into different strips and tape them to the inside of the teachers rolls. That way the teachers can put them around the kids wrist and we have a little less interruption!

To download the file click here!

Apperantly I have 2 different ones! I thought I lost this one from when I was secretary!

To download my long lost file click here! lol

*I used clipart from jennysmith.net

Music Fishin'

Here's an idea I created for when our chorister isn't able to come last minute! Print, laminate, and cut out the fish and worms so they will last. On the fish write the names of some songs for review, on the worms write how to sing it! (Normal, opera, standing, humming....) Make a fishing pole by using a dowel, string and a magnet. I ended up using a kiddy Spiderman one. The senior primary loved it!

Stick a paper clip to the mouth of each fish and spread them out on the floor. Place the worms in a bucket! Have the kids draw out a worm first, because you can't get a fish without a worm. Last, let the kids fish away!

To download the fish click here and for the worms click here!

It may also be helpful to download the songs to CD. This way if your music leader doesn't come either you are covered! You came download primary music for free from the church website or just click here!

*I found the clipart by doing a Google search. I can not find the same art again to give credit, but trust me... I can't draw so they aren't mine!

Door Signs

Here are some signs I made for the doors at our church. I lamented them, then I put the class name in the circle, teacher at the bottom and the kids names all over! The original file that I created also had our wards name over the top, but I removed it for the post. That would be silly to leave it!

To download the file click here!

*I used the French Countryside kit from The Shabby Shoppe.

Golden-plate Cupcakes

When we moved, I made these cupcakes for my daughter's nursury class. They are super simple, and kinda cute. All you gotta do is...

1. make cupcakes
2. frost them with chocolate frosting
3. mix some green food coloring with coconut and sprinkle them on the cupcakes as "grass"
4. place some yellow starbursts (or other similar yellow taffy) in the microwave for a couple of seconds. Take it out and roll it flat. Cut it into squares, and roll little pieces to be the "rings" on the gold plates. Then arrange them on the cupcakes.

Chair Covers

We recently were blessed with a new church building and I decided that meant new chair covers!

1. Purchased about 5 yrds each of Red, Yellow, and Blue fabric (the Primary colors.) Also about 3 yrds of the cheapo muslin.

2. Created my design on the computer and printed onto plain ol' printer paper.

3. Cut my muslin into 9 by 12 inch pieces and traced the pattern from the paper onto them!

4. Colored them with Crayola Crayons. Next heat up your iron, place wax paper over the crayon drawing and carefully iron the image. This will seal the wax crayon into the fabric.

5. Cut my colored fabrics into 8 inch strips and sew sew sewed them into Red/yellow/blue panels!

6. Figure our how far down you want your covers to go on the back of the chairs, double that measurement and add 2 inches for a hem. The cut your panels to this length. BUT WAIT!

7. First you will want to sew on your muslin pocket! I recommend find the center of your panel and putting the pocket 2-3 inches down... of course this will depend on how long you want your covers!

8. Finally place the right sides of your fabric together, making sure you colors are touching themselves. Sew up the sides and hem the bottom!

Yes... I did get fancy and round my corners, but don't worry... even if you don't do this people will think they are amazing! I LOVE the pocket. This way your secretary doesn't have to run around the church handing out rolls or teacher gifts!

To download the images I used for the pockets click here!

To download the images for the Prayer, Scripture and Talk click here!

*Please note that the images I used were from freeldsart.com.

* When tracing I didn't trace the face of the sun, the lines of the man behind the Valiant letters and I put the numbers behind the CTR shield.

Life Saver!

Ok... I saw a lifesaver hand out and thought they were cute, but we noticed that the file wasn't quite the right size to fit around a roll of lifesavers! Silly. So, I create my own! They should fit perfectly and I even cutsied them up a bit!

To download my file click here!