Friday, March 15, 2019

Come Follow Me: Matthew 13; Luke 8; 13 (March 18–24)


Hi everyone! I have some really fun FREE lesson helps to teach Matthew 13, Luke 8, and 13.  This week it's all about parables and these ideas are great for families and primary.  Today I'm going to take a minute to get real with you.  I don't do this really ever because I honestly like to be the behind the scenes person.  Every time I publish a new post or idea I have so much anxiety just pushing that publish button.  Not because I'm afraid that someone may not like my idea-it happens and I'm okay with that.  But its more about putting myself out there, talk about major introvert over here.  These Come Follow Me lessons have taken that worry to a whole new level.  I worry that I'm not teaching something quite right or maybe I don't know the gospel well enough and there are so many people that know so much more then me.  However I am so grateful for this new curriculum.  Its pushed me to study, to pray and then listen to the spirit as I work on these lessons for my family and primary class each week. I have been learning so much and I can see my own children's testimonies grow.  It has been such a blessing.  I also feel so much joy that some of these posts have helped others teach their families and class.  And I want to thank all of you that stop by, for your kind words, and just for taking a chance on me.  I'm sharing this because I know there are some of you that may have felt these same insecurities when it comes to teaching your own family.  Its easy to look at others and think they have it all together.  The truth is there is no wrong way to do this and you are doing great!  Last week I was planning and studying the wrong lesson and luckily caught my mistake in time to prep the right lesson.  I'm grateful for that extra week to study this lesson because I sure needed it.  This is one of those lessons that really stretched me and pretty much lead to the rambling above :)  Anyway I hope you find something that works for your family or primary class.  I know I learned a few things this week and I can't wait to teach my little ones about some of Christ's parables :)

This week we are covering 6 parables!  Its totally up to you if you want to do all of them or just 1 or 2.  Each parable has a couple of ideas.  There is so much so break it up or use just what works for you.  My plan is to use the parable of the sower one day, the wheat and tares the 2nd day, then combine the pearl of great price and hidden treasure on a day, and then the leaven and mustard seed the last day.  I pulled ideas from the Individual and family, primary, and even a couple of quotes from the Sunday school manual.

Each parable has one of these puppets.  You can add it to a Popsicle stick and hold it up while you read or tell the parable.  Sometimes its just nice to have a visual especially since little ones might not know what wheat or a pearl is. 

The Parable of the Sower
In the download I've also broken it up with a cover page for each parable with a list of ideas.  This one is the longest and some just have one idea or a link if I referenced another post.  You do not need to print these pages its just to help you out so you don't have to scroll through this post so much.

The first idea is to use these jumbo puppets to tell the story.  I did include color and black and white.  Hold them up with you read the parable or I thought it would be really cute to dress one child up as the sower and give them some seeds (maybe jellybeans!) Have them walk and drop a few seeds and then have another child bring the birds in and pretend to eat them.  Then keep moving to the stony ground, the thorns, and the good soil dropping seeds.  

These pictures have rectangles on the page and an additional one on the top-now I haven't tested this yet but hopefully it works :)  Cut along the bottom straight edge and around the top of the picture and the extra rectangle.  Tape the ends together to create a circle (like a crown) and have your little prop stand up.  Your sower can drop the seeds into the center of this circle.  Another option would be to just cut around the picture and glue it to a Popsicle stick and use as a puppet.  The thorns do look like grass hopefully a little like weeds.  The main reason is I didn't have the right clip art but also I ran with it because my kids don't really know what thorns are but they definitely know what weeds are. Its kind of the same idea where their seed is planted among the thorns or weeds and there is so much extra stuff that the little plant cant' grow.  Its a lot like when we allow all of the extra worldly stuff into our lives that that we can't grow.  I really love this talk by Elder Oaks. It really helped me understand this parable so much more and I am going to reference some of his example while teaching my older children.
I included a notes page.  This would be great to slide into a journal.  And I included a little recipe page for dirt cups!  These would be so fun to make and kids remember treats haha.  One additional idea I thought of would be to plant some jellybeans in your dirt to carry on with the theme.

Here's pin the seed in the dirt game.  The idea is just like pin the tail on the donkey but you are trying to plant your seed in the good soil.  The picture below shows the easy version of the game.  I also included another one for the kids that want more of a challenge. It has a lot more of everything on it and small good soil spots.  If you see a page that looks like a jumbled mess you've found it :)  There is also a page of seeds-print on brown paper or color them.  Write each child's name on their seed and add tape to the back.  Blindfold and have fun!

There are also 2 coloring pages with space to answer the question at the top of the page.  One can be done individually the other would be fun to do as a family.

You can also find smaller puppets for this parable in this post


Wheat and Tares:  I love how this parable is explained in the primary manual.  We are going to talk about good and bad choices.  If you played my choosing the right makes me happy game then you might recognize these scenario cards.  To play roll the dice and move the correct number of spaces.  Then pick a card, read it, and decide if its a wheat choice (good choice) or a tare choice (bad choice). I've also included a quote page (the quote if from the Sunday School manual).  We are going to use this quote for our discussion that there is wickedness around us and sometimes its hard to recognize.  The wheat and tares look a lot a like in the beginning and relate that to somethings in their lives that may seem okay at first but turn out to be not so good.  We actually had an experience with this not too long ago with a tv show we were watching.   It was a cute one that we really enjoyed watching together but one day they introduced a new plot line that we were not comfortable with. We decided together to stop watching the show.  It was a great teaching moment and an example I will be using when we go over this parable. 

mustard seed- This is one of those activities that I was hoping to have a sample for you but I didn't make it to the store.  I share mine as soon as we do it!  I'm hoping my extra images will help out with my explaniation.  I'm going to get some mustand seeds and we are going to glue one in the cirlce.  Then we are going to draw a tree in the empty space where it says after.  You can make your tree however you want.  Paint, construction paper, etc.  We have been loving directed drawing lately so that's what we are going to do.  I found one for a tree here

If you have't heard of directed drawings (I hadn't a few weeks ago) the idea is you and your kids draw a picture step by step together often with you modeling it.  I'm not very good at drawing so I usually show them the instructions and we draw each step at the same time. Even my 3 year old joins in.  The fun part is they all end up a little different and it gives those little ones that may not be that comfortable with drawing enough help that it really boosts their confidence in this new skill.  Anyway after we draw we either color it or outline it in sharpie and use watercolors.  If you are going to use watercolors I strongly suggest printing this page on cardstock.

leaven-This one I do not have any printables for you.  We are going to make homemade pizza and observe what happens when we add the yeast and what happens to the dough after its had some time to rise.  If you don't want to make pizza bread is another good options.  I added a link for bread in a bag that looks like a lot of fun.

Hidden treasure-We are going on a treasure hunt!  I've included some gems with pictures that make the gospel a treasure.  I also included some coins without pictures.  First you want to assemble your treasure box.  It's simple print the 2 pages for the treasure box-color or b&w.  Careful there are 2 colored lids-you only need one of these pages.  One has colored coins and the other has b&w coins. Its up to you which ones you want to use.  After you print your treasure box cut around the outer edges.  Staple the lid at the top on the top (on the blank white part) so your lid can open.  You will glue your treasure to the white part after you find it.  Cut all your gems and coins.  Hide them around the room and let your little ones hunt for them.  After all the of the treasure is found read the parable of the hidden treasure.  Talk about the pictures on the gems and how they are a treasure to you.  Pass out the coins and have everyone draw something about the gospel that is a treasure to them (they can copy some of the ideas you already discussed if they want to).  I've also included some mini treasure boxes and  coins to go with each.  You can lets your littles decorate their own box and treasure.

pearl of great price-We are going to "search" for the missing pearl.  You can play this 2 ways.  The first is to get a bead (pearl) and 3 cups. Hide the pearl under one of the cups and mix them up.  The other player has to guess what cup the pearl is under.  The second option is the same type of idea but I wanted to add a printable in case you didn't have a bead to use.  There are 5 colored squares and one pearl.  Lay out your 5 squares.  Have someone leave the room and hide the pearl under one of them.  Have the person come back and try and guess which square the pearl is under by lifting each square.  Let them continue guessing until the pearl is found.  Continue playing until everyone has had a turn. I also included a story from the Sunday School manual that goes with this parable. 



Okay that's it for this week!  I hope you found something that will work for your family or primary class.  As always if you have any questions or are having trouble accessing the download please let me know!








45 comments:

  1. WOW! You shared so many great ideas this week! THANK YOU SO MUCH for the ideas & materials, and for sharing your vulnerability in the thoughts you posted! You are very appreciated and I look forward to your ideas every week!

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    1. Thank you so much for your very sweet comment :)

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  2. I feel so grateful that you press post each week. You are so talented and we are lucky you are sharing your ideas. My family has learned so much and the time we take to study together is blessing our lives. Thank you!

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  3. Your resources are my go-to every week when I am preparing for the Come Follow Me program for the week. I love the cute graphics and the thoughtful preparation. I too am grateful you press post every week! Your kids are lucky to have such a wonderful mom, who wants to teach them in fun ways, and we, your readers, are lucky to have someone to help us teach the gospel to our children! Thank you so much!

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    1. I was also wondering if it would be possible to get black and white printables of your cute parable circles, and the diamonds for the treasure box. Someday I might have a nice color printer, but for now I just have to use black and white. Thank you again for all you do!

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    2. Thank you so much Kimberly :) And yes I am pretty sure I have those graphics in black and white I'll add them this afternoon :) Thanks for asking and reminding me to include the b&w option!

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    3. I added the parable clip art in black and white. I do have the gems in b&w but the images on them most I only have in color. Do you want a page of blank gems or black and white gems with the pictures in color? Let me know if one of these options would work.

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    4. Thanks so much. I will just use your blank gems from one of your other posts! Thank you so much for all you do!

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  4. I love coming to your blog each week to prepare to teach my family the new come follow me curriculum. It helps me so much since I’m just not awesome at coming up with kid friendly things to do and you have ideas that I love. I’m so grateful I found you as a resource!

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    1. Aww thank you so much for this very sweet comment. I'm so happy to help!

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  5. You're doing an amazing job and I come here every week for help with the lesson for my 4 and 2 year old. I truly appreciate the time you put in to do this for us and I hope you are richly blessed for it.

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  6. I count on you EVERY week and I'm always so appreciative of your time and talents and that you share them with US! Thank you Thank you-

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  7. Wow!! You are amazing!! My girls always love your lessons, we learn a lot and they always have fun! I know how you feel, I've been there, but what really matter is what our Heavenly Father think of us. You are helping a LOT of families to have their FHE or preparing their Primary class. And I hope you can see the huge difference you are making in those families, including mine. So keep the good work because Heavenly Father is watching, and I'm 100% sure he is pleased of what you are doing.

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    1. Thank you so much for your comment. It really touched my heart :)

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  8. Thank you so much for your time and talents! My husband even comes to your site when it's his turn for our lesson. We have teens tweens and toddlers and everyone learns and loves the material you share!

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    1. Thank you :) I love this! It sounds like your children are similar in age to mine. So fun!

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  9. I have come here for ideas for quite a few weeks now and it's definitely past time to say THANK YOU. THANK YOU for giving ideas and giving them for free . You are sharing your talents and I'm so grateful.

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  10. Oh thank you so much! I'm happy to do it :)

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  11. Thank you so much again! I come to your blog every week! My kids are going to LOVE the treasure boxes and treasure hunt idea! Thanks for sharing your thoughts as well. Your ideas and printables are amazing!

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  12. I've just found this page and I really like the way you explain the activities and is easy to imagine the kids having fun and learn the gospel at the same time... thank you so much!!!

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    1. Welcome! Thank you for your very sweet comment and for stopping by :)

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  13. I'm so excited for this week's lessons - there's so much! <3 Before I look at it all, though, I wanted to give you a huge thank you for all your hard work. We are so grateful for you here at our house - and my husband especially appreciated the "cans and giving our burdens to the Lord" lesson. We've had some great moments because of your creativity.

    And don't think I didn't notice you and your awesome self, putting the links in reverse order, with most recent at top. You made my day!! Thank you!

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    1. Haha that was a very good suggestion :) Also thank you so much your comment made me so happy tonight.

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  14. As everyone else has said, thank you for all you do. Your site is my go to for ideas and printouts for the weeks lessons. You make it so easy to teach my 5 and 3 year olds.

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    1. Thank you so much Becky :) So happy to help.

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  15. I love your site! Thank you for putting yourself out there and sharing your talents with us! Your content truly enriches our lives!

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  16. I just found your page and have now bookmarked it! YOU are a treasure!!!

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    1. Oh thank you so much! So happy you found us and welcome!

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  17. I stumbled across your page through my Pinterest search, and I wanted to say WOW! Thank you so much for this treasure! I wish I had found you earlier, but I am so excited to have found you now. You are truly amazing and inspiriting. I was in a rut, and now I am excited again to continue on! Thank you.

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    1. I'm so happy you found us and there are some ideas that work for you :) Thank you so much for your kind comment.

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  18. Since i found your blog about 2 months ago, i have shared it with many friends and family. I love all your great ideas and they work perfect for our kids. Thank you! I can't imagine how much time this takes you each week and i thank you for sharing it with all of us for free. I'm sure you are blessed for it!

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    1. Thank you so much for your comment and for sharing my blog with others. I appreciate both so much :)

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  19. I stop by here every week as I am preparing my lesson and even though I don't comment every time, I am ALWAYS grateful! Thank you so much! And I can totally identify with the feelings you shared at the beginning of this post. I have to say that I have learned so much from you and I have been inspired by so much of what you share. Thank you so so much!!!

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    1. Thank you so much Becky. This really means a lot of me and I'm so happy you stop by :)

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  20. I can always count on your page to be just what I need for that extra touch for my lessons. Thank you for putting yourself out there to benefit the rest of us. I appreciate your talents so much.

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  21. Thank you for these wonderful ideas. You have made my life so much easier. I work and have 3 kids and I'm in nursing school and was called to be the sunbeam teacher. I prayed that I would find away to manage this year doing all of this. I truly feel like the spirit led me to your pages. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
    By the way this week the URL says it is not working when I try to print. I don't know why and I'm not sure if I am the only one this is happening to.

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    1. Thank you so much :) I'm so happy to help. Is it the link in this post that isn't working? Please let me know so I can check on it and if you ever can't get one to work email me and I can send it to you that way.

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  22. hey crystal! i just sent you a message on fb with a picture of our FHE tonight with some of the above post. you are AMAZING and i wanted you to know!!!

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  23. As you can tell from the comments, you are so appreciated! When that anxiety sneaks up on you, please know that you are making a difference and thank you.

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