Month: September 2013

Conference Watching Kit

Twice a year we have General Conference and do not meet on Sunday for class. The week prior, I like to hand out a “Conference Watching Kit” to each child. Those who are absent still get one when I bring it to their house later in the week.

Some time during class, I talk about what General Conference is, perhaps showing pictures of the First Presidency and 12 apostles. I testify that they speak for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I encourage them to watch it with their families. I tell them that I will be watching it too and that I have prepared some activities for them to do while they watch it. I hand the sack to their parent when they pick up from class to be sure the parent follows through and keeps it safe until next Sunday. Here is an example letter that I put inside the sack:

Conference Kit letter

Lesson #33 "I Can Be a Friend"

***Note: Please read the post called “10 Lesson Helps” found under “Primary Lesson Listings” before reviewing any of my Sunbeam lesson plan ideas.

“Study the lessons well in advance. When you are familiar with the lesson you are going to teach, you will be aware of everyday occurrences that you can use to teach those lessons. If you are teaching a course that has a lesson manual, it is good to have an idea of the content of the entire manual. Then you will be more likely to notice when a certain observation can be applied to a lesson that you will teach several weeks in the future” (Teaching, No Greater Call, p. 23).

Materials needed: shoes for visual aid, I pad or tablet, a small toy, picture of Christ, snacks and/or fruit loops and string.

Begin by asking them if they remembered to say their prayers last week. Praise those that respond positively. Remind them that last Sunday you learned how Heavenly Father blesses us with clothing and food. Who thanked Him for those things in a prayer? Encourage all to keep doing this every day.

Tell a story when some time in your life you have friends who helped you when you needed.  Share how you felt (grateful, full of thanks, loved, humbled, wanting to help others when they are in need, a burden lifted, etc.)

What are the names of your friends? Have each child answer. Can anyone tell a story like I just did about when a friend helped you?

Everyone in our class is our friend.  Everyone in Primary is our friend. I have a game we are going to play to see how well you know your friends in our class.

Have one child stand up in the front, with his/her back facing the class. Point to one of the class members who says, “Hi (say child’s name). I’m glad you are my friend.” The child up front will listen and try to guess who it is that spoke, just by discerning their voice. If they guess wrong, or don’t know, have them try again. Switch players and repeat as often as desired.

Hold hands and sing in a circle,  “Here We Are Together” (Children’s Songbook, p. 261).

Tell the story called “The Copper-Toed Shoes” from the Primary 1 lesson manual, p. 109.  Show some shoes for a visual aid.

Show the video “Can’t We Be Friends?” from a laptop or tablet. https://www.lds.org/children/videos-music/little-friends?lang=eng#talyas-kindness

Discuss Margaret’s response to the mean girls. How did she get an answer to her prayers? What happened when she was kind back to them and said, “Can’t we be friends?”

If the children are interested in watching another video about Friendship, show this one:https://www.lds.org/children/videos-music/little-friends?lang=eng#talyas-kindness

and discuss, “What did Talya do to help Rachel?” Talya was a friend even before she knew Rachel.

Show picture of Jesus.  Who is this?  Is he our friend?  Yes, Jesus loves us the most and is our friend.  Even though he lives in heaven and we can’t see him or play with him, he watches over us.  When he lived on earth, where we live, he had friends too. Briefly relate the story about Jesus raising Lazarus, Mary and Martha’s brother, from the tomb.

How did Jesus feel about his friends?  What did he do for them?

What can we do for our friends?  Get responses. We can share our toys.  Let’s pass around a toy and sing a song, “Sharing my toys is fun to do.”(Variation from the song on p. 253) We can also share other things like treats.  I have a treat that I will give to _______.  She will pass out the treats to everyone and share them while we sing “Sharing our treats is fun to do…”

If time, have the children string fruit loops and make fruit loop necklaces. They can keep the necklace if they share some fruit loops with friends or siblings. Note: I have found that this activity works best with young children if you tape down one side of the string or yarn to a chair or table top so the cereal doesn’t fall off the back end while they are stringing on the other end.

Challenge the children to look for a way to be a good friend this week and share your testimony that Christ said if we want to show our love to Him, we need to love our friends. Sing or play the song from the hymn CD “Love One Another”