Saturday, March 16, 2024

Come Follow Me: 2 Nephi 31-33

*Originally posted in 2020

Hello, I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.  We are in the middle of tax season (meaning my husband works all the time) and my 2 year has a stomach bug.  So life is a little crazy over here :) But I am so excited to share these lesson helps with you!  We are covering 2 Nephi 31-33 this week.  These ideas are perfect for families or primary classes. This week I went with the topics found in the primary manual.  I have found this helps my kids prepare for their upcoming primary lesson and helps them participate a little more.

Let's jump right in.  Jesus Christ taught me how to return to Heavenly Father. 2 Nephi 31 This is a fun cut and paste activity that helps teach the Doctrine of Christ.  You'll cut and glue in the correct box to discover the different steps along the path to returning to live with Heavenly Father again. This can be done as a group or individually.  There is a boy and girl option.  Also I did include color and black and white option.

This is also a great week to review the 4th Article of faith.  Point out that these steps are very similar to the ones mentioned in 2 Nephi.  The first activity is a number puzzle.  You will need to cut out the green number 4 along the black lines.  Then you can use the next page to build your puzzle.  Each pieces has a picture that correlates to the 4 steps.



This activity has the same pictures but it can be used with playdough.  You will want to laminate or place in a sheet protector.  You can use the playdough to create the number 4.  Then Make balls of playdough and place on each circle.  As you say the Article of Faith you will smash the ball as you get to each matching picture.
This week we are also talking about baptism.  It is one of the steps above :)  I included a journal page where the kids can write some of their memories about their own baptism.

and a coloring page option.  In the blank space they can draw a picture of themselves on their baptism day.  For the little ones they can draw a way they are preparing or what they imagine their baptism day will be like.
 In 2 Nephi 32:3 talks about feasting upon the words of Christ.  I don't know about your kids but mine are super picky unless there is pizza involved.  Suddenly they are starving.  My plan is to make pizza with my kids and then do this activity.  We'll talk about what it means to feast and compare that to feasting on the scriptures.  Then we'll use this activity to discuss some of the things we can learn about when we feast on the words of Christ.  To prepare print the page below and the page of pepperoni.  Cut out the pepperoni and tape on the circles.  To use take turns pulling off a pepperoni, identify the picture, and share something you have learned about that topic studying the scriptures.
(*pictures include: temple, sacrament, prayer, commandments, Holy Ghost, Savior's example, repentance, and kindness/love one another)


 That's all I have for this week.  I did want to mention that there are so many topics in this week's lesson that we have already covered.  Use the search bar and it will take you to some of the past lessons.  I know there are several on the Holy Ghost, baptism, and the sacrament.  As always thank you for stopping by and let me know if you have any questions.





Saturday, March 9, 2024

Come Follow Me: 2 Nephi 26-30

*Originally Posted 2020

Marvelous & Wonder Cards
Included in the download is a Marvelous show and tell word cards.  Show the first card and ask what comes to mind when you hear the word marvelous?
Let your family show or tell you about something they have that is marvelous.
Show the next card and ask what comes to mind when you hear the word wonder?  Open your scriptures and read 2 Nephi 27:26. Do you know what event referred to in this verse?

Story Sequence cards of Joseph receiving the plates.  You can read or use this account here as a reference and this video clip

The Book of Mormon is precious story and book/journal pages.  I included a story from this talk and then there are pages to create your own book about all the things you learn from reading the Book of Mormon.

Line upon line puzzles.  Hide the puzzle pieces and give a clue to find each one.  Discuss how you would put the puzzle together one piece at a time instead of trying to do it all at the same time.

You can also teach this by making a dessert. Do not tell them the finished treat but give one ingredient at a time.  For both activities compare this to how Heavenly father gives us a piece at a time and how it works to give us a full picture (or treat :) )

Come unto Christ coloring page & journal pages

I'll walk with you mini book or song flip chart.

Download free printables here







Monday, March 4, 2024

March 2024 Holiday Calendar

 

I found 31 fun and unique holidays to celebrate with your family in March. Every day there is something new. I love that these calendars provide a jumping-off point for fun conversations and memories. My kids love picking new holidays to celebrate and being part of the planning. We don't celebrate all of these holidays but we do have fun checking our calendar daily to see what unique holiday lands on that day. You can find the free download below and I'd love to hear how your family celebrates or your favorite March holiday.


Download Here

Monday, February 26, 2024

Come Follow Me: 2 Nephi 11-25

*Originally posted in 2020
  This week we are covering the Isaiah chapters and decided to stick pretty close to the primary manual.  

First I made a couple of temple prints that you can display throughout the week.  I'm going to print or 2 and frame.


This next idea goes along with the 2nd idea under teaching young children.  It says to make a path along the floor that leads to a picture of the temple.  Then talk about the phrase "walk in his  path."  This reminded me of our jumbo board game we played for fhe a while back so I adapted it to fit this theme.
I'll try and get some pictures of it in action to help you out but this is our old game we played and it will look very similar.  The first page in the download has blank squares-these are your fillers and print a few of these on colored paper.  Next is the action cards-print and cut.  Finally are the hearts (this go with the coloring page lesson in the manual-I thought it would be great to tie the two activities together).  Once everything is printed and cut out you are going to lay them in a path mixed up. There really isn't an order. Place your temple picture at the end.  Roll a dice and if they last on a blank spot they don't have to do anything.  If they land on an action card then the action is performed (if you have some shy kids maybe the whole family or class can do the action together), if they land on a heart read and discuss.

I also made some temple boxes (I'll get a picture posted asap).  You are going to print (cardstock recommended) and then cut along the outer lines and around the top of the temple.  you are going to fold and tape to create a little box with an opening on the top.  You can have them fill it with strips of paper on ways they can prepare for the temple or blessings that come from the temple, or a treat :)

I also have posted other temple related activities in the past that would work great for this lesson.
This post is packed with ideas to go with the temple theme-it includes a coloring and journal page, bingo game, and links to stories and activities.


This one also has some fun ideas including a match game and a few more journal and craft page.


2 Nephi 19:625:26 “We rejoice in Christ.”-One of the ideas was to share a story about Christ bringing joy to people.  After you can create this fun mini book.  It has a few things he did while on earth and the last page there is space for the kids to draw a way Christ brings them joy.  They can color, cut, and then staple to make their little book.  Or if you want to save some time or have little kids leave it as is and it makes for a fun coloring page.


UPDATE:  I fixed the card that says fox-it's suppose to say wolf and it's a picture of a wolf!  Not sure why I wrote fox.  The image below is wrong but the download is correct. Thanks for letting me know :) 
Final idea-animal match game that goes with 2 Nephi 21:6–7.  (print 2 sets on cardstock and cut) As you read these verses you can show them an image of the animal.  talk about some of the differences between them and then how they will treat each other during the millennium. I love the question in the manual that asks "How can we follow the example of these animals in the way we treat each other?" After your discussion you can use these animal cards to play a match game.  
That's all I have for this week :)  If you have any questions or trouble with the download please let me know.  Thanks so much for stopping by :)

Sunday, February 18, 2024

Come Follow Me: 2 Nephi 6-10

As I was reading through the manual this week, I was reminded of a poem that was shared by one of the youth in our ward a few weeks ago. It is called Holes and I was able to find a copy of it here. It's so beautiful and worth the read.

*Originally posted in 2020

This week for Come Follow Me we are covering 2 Nephi 6-10.   I am actually following the primary manual topics pretty closely this week. I learned so much this week and one strong feeling I had over and over as I read and studied is how much the Savior loves us.  He volunteered to come down and suffer and die for us.  He didn't have to but he chose to.

These story cards go with the very first idea in the manual.  Its a about a person who falls into a pit and how someone helps him.  Its a great way to help the children understand how Jesus saves us from death and sin.  You will need to use the picture with the pit and Jesus twice. (Also forgive my clipart of the pit-umm I know it's actually a hole with grass but hopefully it gets the job done :)

The next suggestion was to sing a song about the Savior's love and then draw pictures of things that help them know the Savior loves them.  I have two options for you.
The first is this heart mini book.  This is the cover and then there is a blank heart where they can draw their pictures.  Print as many blank ones as you want to create the book.  Cut out the hearts and staple along one edge.  Another option if you don't want to make a book is to use this page to color or decorate.

 Another option is this adorable journal page.  They can write or draw their answer in the box.

Another more hands on option that is great for discussions are these adorable match games.  With Valentine's day this week I thought it might be fun to include a themed activity.  The idea is to play like a regular match game but when a person finds a match they share a way they know the Savior loves them OR a reason the love him.  There are 2 different games included.  You only need one of the boards and print two of that board.  The first one is a full blown Valentine's theme (I had a lot of adorable clipart and wanted to use it)  the 2nd is just hearts.  Pick the one that works best for you :)

In 2 Nephi 9:49 Jacob talks about something he loves and hates.  This is a fun intro activity to this verse.  There are 12 things that you are going to ask the kids if they like (page with the pizza, frog, etc).  You can print this page and cut the pieces out to use as a visual.  Show one of the cards and if they like it they can give you a thumbs up or if they don't like it a thumbs down.  Go through the cards and then talk about Jacob and the thing he loves (righteousness) and the thing he hates (sin). A few extra options I included are printable thumbs that you can print and give to each person to use.  I also included a recording page where they can sort their answer to the page. *The cards are a little big to fit all of them in  the columns.  If you would like an option of printing 2 sets to a page or a black and white option please let me know!

Next I have a few ideas that go with choosing the right brings us joy or happiness.  This board game is actually from an old post found here.  There are tons of ideas in that post on this topic.

If you don't want to play the game you can use the scenario cards and these cute puppets.  The kids will hold up the happy or sad face depending on if its a good or bad choice.  

I also included this free printable that can be displayed throughout the week.



This idea goes with the last one under teaching younger kids.  It suggests singing the song when were helping we're happy and then take turns pretending to be the parent and asking the others to do something.  Then they practice doing it joyfully.  Sometimes kids have a hard time coming up with something on the spot so I made this fun dice they can take turns rolling.  Also you can use it with the "fun to do" song.  So it would go something like "Sweeping the floor is fun to do, fun to do...." while they pretend to sweep.

One of the ideas under teaching the older children talks about Adam and Eve.  This story sequence activity from last week would be great to review the story or provide a visual ( you can find it in this post)



That's all for this week.  If you have any questions or trouble with the download please let me know :)



Saturday, February 3, 2024

Come Follow Me: 2 Nephi 1-5

New Bonus Activites for 2 Nephi 3-5! There are tons of ideas below but I added a few more to cover the topic of Joseph Smith and temples. The "seer" page and Joseph page can be used as visuals to help you teach the lesson. There is a page to write/draw your testimony of the prophet Joesph Smith. Last, there is a hunt-and-match activity. If you have young ones (or those young at heart :) It would be a lot of fun to introduce the topic of seer by starting out by playing eye spy. (You can even make a spyglass for your game and hunt :) Then you can explain how a seer differs from looking at something with your eyes. For the temple, I included two different puzzles. It might be fun to put them together to introduce the topic or share something about the temple every time you add a piece. I always like to get kids up and moving so I like to hide my pieces around the room or in a sensory bin. You can also use the search bar on my page and find additional activities on these topics. There are quite a few!
Download New Bonus activities Here!


New Bonus activities for 2 Nephi 1-2. While studying these chapters this week I continued to go back to the following two themes-Joy and Friendship. Joy is one of my favorite words and it always jumps out at me. I made a simple printable that can be decorated. If you want to elevate the activity a little, write or draw things that bring you joy. This can be done inside the letters or around the page. I'd love to see your finished pages!
While I was listening to a podcast this week the words Lehi spoke to Zoram touched me and I have been pondering on Zoram's experience. With Valentine's Day around the corner, I thought it would be fun to talk about what it means to be a true friend and share Nephi and Zoram's story. I added some cute cards that can be colored and given to a friend this week. Fold the card in half and write or draw a special message to your friend. 
Download these bonus activities here 

*In 2020 all 5 chapters were included in one week when I made these activities. It looks like we've now divided these chapters into two weeks and I just now noticed this change. I think there are quite a few ideas that work for chapters 1-2 and I'll work on adding a few more for 3-5 and try and have those ready for next week. Let me know if there is a specific topic or activity you would like me to include.

I am so excited to share these free lesson helps that go along with this week's Come Follow Me lesson.  I tried to pick a few topics and ideas from the Individual and Family manual as well as the primary manual.  These are perfect for families or primary classes.  I have to apologize for posting this so late.  We had some thing come up yesterday and didn't have time to finish.  Thanks for sticking with me :)

This first activity goes with 2 Nephi 5 and one of the ideas towards the bottom of the individual and family manual.    We are going to talk about what it means to be happy and some of the things that bring us happiness.  Then we are going to read some of the verses that describe the things that brought Nephi and his people happiness.  These are probably the a lot of the things that bring us happiness as well.  You can cut out the pictures and glue them to the boxes.  in the last box draw a picture of something that makes you happy. *Now includes colored pictures too!  It would be cute to print out 2 copies and use as a match game.  Another idea is to use them to play pictionary and add some of your own too!


Next Lehi teaches his family about opposition. (this goes with 2 Nephi 2:11 and 2 Nephi 2:16. and the third idea under God gave me the freedom to choose in the primary manual.)  Use the puzzle cards to teach about opposites and then how opposites help us make choice.  You may want to give a few example.  

2 Nephi 2:22–27 and the first idea under God gave me freedom to choose in the primary manual.  You can use this story sequence to help the kids tell the story of Adam and Eve.  If you need some help identifying the pictures let me know :)  You can cut out the pictures and the kids can glue them in the correct order.  I like to print on cardstock (and laminate) and use velcro dots so its reusable. 


Last we are going to talk about 2 Nephi 1:20 and the topic I am blessed when I obey.  However this also can go with God gave me freedom to choose.  These ideas are actually from a lesson a couple of years ago and I thought they would be perfect for this lesson.  I did update some of the activities a little.  Most of these have more to do with obeying laws.  I like this because I think its a little easier for kids to understand rules or laws and their consequences compared to commandments and the consequences.  All of the these activities we will have a discussion after about Heavenly Fathers commandments and how they keep us safe and make us happy.

This first activity would be great with the opposite puzzles above.  Stop and Go activity.  Print, cut, color (*I just added a color option too), and attach to Popsicle sticks. 
1. You can use them to play red light, green light (reverently).  Switch it up by having them tip toe, hop, move slow like a turtle.
2. Use them with the coloring pages-When you hold up the go sign they start coloring and when you hold up the stop sign they have to stop.  Switch it back and forth sometimes quickly.  I've done this with my own kids at home and they thought it was hilarious.  Their coloring wasn't quite as nice as it normally is because they are rushing during the go time but its a lot of fun. I went with a stop light to go with the theme but you can use any coloring page or use the blank one and let them draw fast or slow.



I am blessed board game.  You'll need some buttons or game pieces to play and a dice.  roll the dice and if you land on a heart draw a card.  The cards have different scenarios about obeying. I did include blank cards that you can add your own scenarios or questions.


This is my favorite ideas and its so cute!!!  The animals and fence stand on their own. I love this idea for teaching that Heavenly Father gives us commandments to keep us safe.  Set out the little animals and talk about ways a farmer takes care of them.  He feeds them, gives the water, milks the cow, etc.  Part of his job is to protect them. He needs to keep them safe from other animals or keep them from wandering off and getting lost or hurt.  Ask if they can think of a way he can do this.


Now pull out your fence. (There is enough room inside the fence for all the animals.) Explain that fences are good because they help keep animals safe.  Can you think of something that keeps us safe?  Rules at home or school keep us safe, can you think of any rules that keep you safe?  Laws keep us safe, can you think of any laws?  Heavenly Father gave us commandments.  Can you think of some ways commandments keep us safe?  These are like fences!  They help to keep us safe and happy.


I do recommend cardstock if you have it.  I tested this out to make sure this idea would work. I did cardstock for the fence and it easily stood up.  I used regular paper for the animals and it worked but they tip over easily.


I also included a story with some cute story cards that help teach we have laws to protect us and help us to be happy.  This is a great way to lead into a discussion about ways commandments keep us safe and happy.  For the story cards print and cut apart. 



That is everything for this week!  As always if you have any questions or trouble with the download please let me know.  Also thank you for stopping by!

Thursday, February 1, 2024

Free February Holiday Calendar




Can you believe it's finally February! I may be one of the few people that actually love January but I am excited for a new month. My kids were asking for this calendar all day, they love it!. I hope its something fun your family can use as well. There are so many fun holidays in February like Ice Cream for Breakfast Day, RAndom Actos of Kindness Day, and of course Valentine's Day. I'm already brainstorming ideas for some of these other fun and unique holidays. Let me know if you have any fun plans :) Enjoy!

 Download February Holiday Calendar Here!