Saturday, July 27, 2019

Come Follow Me: Acts 22-28 (July 29-August 4)


I'm excited to share these free lesson helps for this week Come Follow Me lesson for Acts 22-28. These are perfect for families and primary.  I have several ideas that go with Paul in prison (Jesus comforts him and sharing his testimony), Paul is shipwrecked, and the viper.  I hope you find a few ideas that work for you.

All of three of these stories go with the intro paragraph in the Individual and Family and it would be great to share at the beginning of the week.  I then made these fun circles for each of the stories and below there is a quick idea for each one.  You can use these a couple of ways depending on time or the number of activities you want to do for each story.  You can use these as a display for the week OR lay the 3 pictures on the floor and use as a bean bag toss.  When you land on a picture summarize the story or read a few of the selected verses.


Activities included in the free download

Journal page: Draw or write about a time that was hard but you felt the Savior's love.

Coloring page: This coloring page go with Acts 23:11 or you can use it later on with the story about the shipwreck.  I love that this was the message the Savior gave to Paul while he was in prison and later Paul gives this same message to the men on the boat.

Testimony Cards:  Use these for your discussion, to play a match game (print 2 on cardstock) or a go fish game (print 4).  You can also print them smaller and glue to the coloring page in the primary manual. I can make a black and white version if someone needs it.  There are also several testimony activities in last weeks post found here.  And you can use the story sequencing cards in this post if you want to review the story of Paul's conversion.

Here are some cute hats your kids can wear while you tell the story of Paul and King Agrippa

The story of Paul being shipwrecked might be one of my favorite stories. It teaches the importance of listening and following the prophet.  I also love Paul's faith and testimony.  We are going to go with the boat theme and learn about some of the things President Nelson taught in last General Conference.  There is a page of quotes from his 3 talks and 2 pages of boats with numbers.  Assign the different quotes a number or you can glue them on the back of the boats if they will fit.  I have not tried it yet.  I did not assign the quotes numbers because you may want to find different ones.  These are ones I love and want to review with my family.  You may have other favorites :)  Anyway I plan to hide the boats around the room. When we find one we will read and discuss the quote.
Here's another idea that has some things a prophet (or apostles) teach us.  Print the bingo boards (as many as you need) and the calling cards.  Discuss how listening to the prophet can bless our lives.  You can also print out 2 sets of calling cards and use as a match game.  these are basically my general conference bingo cards.  If you already have them you don't need to print them again.  The only chage is I took off music and added tithing.

This was my favorite verse and I had to make something to display.  Print and display for the week.  Mine is going to be frames and hung in my laundry room :)

If you have older kids I thought this video was pretty great “Blessed and Happy Are Those Who Keep the Commandments of God”  Its found about half way down the page.

For the last story your little one is going to become the illustrator.   Share the story of Paul being bit by the viper.  Have your kids draw different scenes from the story, their favorite part, or whatever they want :)  Then have them share their pictures and the story.

I also included some puppets that you can use while you tell the story or your little ones can use to retell the story :)
 That's it for this week.  Thank you all for stopping by :)  It really means a lot and keeps me motivated to create and share each week. As always please let me know if you have any questions or trouble with the download.






Saturday, July 20, 2019

Come Follow Me: Acts 16-21 (July 22-28)


This week the Come Follow Me lessons cover Acts 16-21. At the end of this post you will find all of the free lesson helps that are perfect for families or primary classes.  This week is all about Paul's missionary journey.  I love Paul's example of repentance and change of heart.  I love how he boldly testifies of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We are going to talk about about ways we can be missionaries like Paul,  the importance of reading our scriptures, and that we are children of Heavenly Father.  These go right along with the topics in the primary manual this week.

To start we are going to work on these missionary pages.  There are a couple options-1 with cute kids to color and one that is blank for older kids, teens, and you :)  I thought this would be a great way to brainstorm what you know or believe to be true.  You can discuss some ideas as a family first and then write or draw as many thoughts that come to your mind.  Sometimes it can be scary to share our testimonies because we don't think its strong enough but I promise you even if there is only one thing written down its pretty special and something you can share.

Just like every week there are so many stories and topics to cover.  This week I decided to focus on the story of Paul and Silas in prison.  (Acts 16:25–34)  We love using these sequence cards to tell and retell the story.  I like to print mine on cardstock and add Velcro.  Magnets are also great especially if you want to take them to church and use during sacrament meeting.  I did include black and white that your little one can color, cut and glue.
 Our full time missionaries bring such a special feeling and we can learn so much from their example.  Maybe you know someone on a mission right now.  This would be a great time to write them a letter and ask about a recent experience they've had.
 I found this cute story in one of the old primary manuals.  Its such a cute example of sharing the gospel.
 The missionaries in our ward recently showed us this video and I thought it would be perfect for this week.

Missionary Game-Print 2 boards (or more if everyone wants their own).  Cut and put the scenarios in a bowl.  Take turns drawing and reading one of the scenarios.  If it is a good way to be a missionary then add one pop pom (gem, cheerio,etc) to one of the boxes.  If it is not a good way remove one pop pom. The first to fill all of their boxes wins!

After reading Acts 17:10–12 this would be a great time to discuss why reading the scriptures are so important.  I created these next pages with the thought of making a family book.  Each person will draw a picture of their favorite story.  There is plenty of space on the page so you can also write why that story is your favorite.  Staple or add to a binder to create your new family treasure.  This would be fun to continue adding to over the years.



The last topic we are going to discuss is Paul's teaching that we are the offspring of our Heavenly Father.  Acts 17:22–31  Before you begin your discussion or read this scriptures play this cute mommy and baby match game.  Talk about the word offspring.  What does a baby goat grow up to be?  What does a baby fox grow up to be?  Now read or discuss Paul's teachings.  What does it mean to us to know we children of Heavenly Father?

Last is a page for your little ones to draw a picture of themselves.
 That's all for this week.  I hope you find something that will help teach your family or primary class this week.  As always if you have any questions or find any mistakes please let me know :)



Thursday, July 18, 2019

Big Bad Wolf Blow Art


Last week we had our Fairy Tales mini camp and it was so much fun.  One of their favorite activities was this big bad wolf craft project.  I love that it gave them freedom to create and also a chance to try a new painting technique.
Seriously how cute is this picture!


We started by drawing/creating a house on one side of our paper.  I set out crayons, makers, colored paper, scissors, and glue.  They were able to use any of the supplies to create their house.


Then we cut, colored and glued the wolf to the opposite side of our paper.
 Next add a few drops of liquid water colors (affiliate link)  between the wolf and the house (closer to the wolf so you have room to blow.)  Use a straw and blow the paint towards the house.  Your little ones will have so much fun watching the paint spread as they blow it like the big bad wolf.
 Here are a few more finished projects.





Want to create your own?  Grab this download.  It has instructions, material list, and the wolf template for free!

Saturday, July 13, 2019

Come Follow Me: Acts 10-15 (July 15-21)


Good Morning!  I hope you are having a wonderful summer weekend :)  Today I have some fun lesson helps to go with Come Follow Me for the week of July 15-21.  We are covering Acts 10-15.  There are so many stories in these chapters it was hard to narrow down.  I hope you find something that will work for your family or primary class.

Acts chapter 10 we are going to talk about revelation (for the church and ourselves) and that Heavenly Father loves all of his children.  Peter was the prophet at the time and he had a vision revealing that they should teach the gospel to everyone.

Revelation-I thought President Nelson's talk from April 2017 goes perfect with this theme. He talks about revelation for the church (towards the beginning of the talk) and revelation for ourselves (2nd half of the talk).

I have used this talk a couple of times and this  game would be great for this week.

Option one Board Game Find this game here

Option 2-Same idea but life size board (find it here)

In this weeks download I included some bookmarks with the steps from the game.  it is the perfect size for scriptures.


9th Article of Faith is about revelation.  Cut the words apart and see if you can put them in the right order.  You can also work on memorizing it by taking a word or two out as a time. Update:  I forgot one of the "that"s but the file has now been updated.  I snuck it in that empty spot so I wouldn't have to redo the whole page.  Thank you to the sweet reader that caught my error :)

Acts 10:34–35 Jesus Loves all of his children. "In Peter’s time some people believed that God loved only some groups of people, but Peter learned that God loves all of His children, and He wants all of them to learn the gospel." (primary manual)

In the Manual it said  "It might be interesting to try a simple activity for the next few days: Whenever you interact with someone, try to think to yourself, “This person is a child of God.” As you do this, what changes do you notice in the way you think about and interact with others?"  I thought this would be a great challenge to try for the week.  I included a page to write or draw some of your experiences or feelings.

I love using songs to teach.  This week we are going to learn the song "I'll walk with you."  Print and cut the cards apart.  I like to hole punch and use a book ring to bind.  After we are done I put it in our church bag and my kids love looking at our mini books during sacrament meeting.  I did include a black and white version so you they can make their own mini books.  If anyone is interested in full pages for this song let me know and I'll add it.
Coloring page and question page.


Acts 11:26

In one of President Nelson's General Conference talks he talked about the importance of using the full name of our church.  I thought this went well with Acts 11:26 (they were called Christians). I found This great page in the friend a while back.  I took the wording from the friend and turned it into a game.  To start-if possible read or play some of President Nelson's talk.  I love to use any chance I can to have the children hear the prophet speak. There are a few different spots that would work well.  One suggestion would be after the first list where it says "Joseph Smith did not name the church..." Okay now on to the game. You will need to print the picture of the prophet, the question and answer cards, and the 5 quote bubbles.



Cut the question cards apart.  Mix them up and set them in a pile.


Cut out the Answer cards and glue to the back of the corresponding quote bubble.  



 Place the quote bubbles with number side facing outward on a wall or the floor.  Now you are ready to  play.  Have two players stand next to each other (in front of the numbers or across the room...you pick).  Draw a card and read the question, then the number below it.  Have to two people race to find the correct number and slap it.  The first person it hit it wins.  Read the answer on the back and place next to picture of President Nelson.  There is not a question card for number 5.  It is a quote from the talk.  You can have someone pick it up and read it or you can have them race to it as well.

Here are a couple of coloring pages to go with this topic.  The page with the church has space for the kids to draw a picture of themselves going to church.

I love the story of the angel helping Peter escape from prison (in Acts 12:1–17) I included some cute character hats that can be used to act out the story.  This would also be a good time to teach about Heavenly Father answering our prayers and why we pray for others.

UPDATE:  I had a reader request this quote.  It is now included in the download.  You can also right click on the picture below and save to your computer.  This way you can resize or send it to your favorite print shop.  Please remember all of my printables are for personal use only :)





 That's it for this week.  If you have an questions or have trouble with the download please let me know.  Thanks for stopping by :)



Saturday, July 6, 2019

Come Follow Me: Acts 6-9 (July 8-14)

Hello and sorry I'm so late this week.  We are in the middle of our week long family reunion at my house so thinks have been a little crazy.  I was hoping to have this done ahead of time but with the prepping it just didn't happen.  So I've been working on it a little at a time during a few minutes of down time/its super early or late so everyone is sleeping.  With that being said I am going to post this week in pieces.  Today I have a couple activities ready and tomorrow I'm hoping to finish up.  So check back because I'll be updating this post as I go.  I hope you all had a wonderful 4th and thanks for being here :)

UPDATE: I was finally able to update the file.  My internet stopped working yesterday but I think we are finally good to go :)  So this activity can be used as one big night or break it up into several.  It just depends on how much time, attention span, or whatever works for your family.  In the Come Follow Me for individuals and family it suggests reading Elder Uchtdorf's talk Waiting on the Road to Damascus.  I love how it makes the story of Saul so relatable  to our lives. He talks about reasons we may be stuck in our own conversion and what we can do to take the steps towards the path of discipleship.

This first page you are going to use to record the 4 different steps he mentions in the talk.  You will use this as you go.  For example you'll do the activity for the first step, read the quote, and write down the step on the bottom stone.  They are numbered and listed in the download.

Begin Summarizing the story-you can use the sequence board at the bottom of this post.  Then move to number 1.  Each step has an activity and quotes.  I placed the activities right behind the instruction page it goes with.  Here's a sample.

 #1 This is the puzzle-you just need to print and cut it out.  I like to hide my pieces around the room just for fun.

#2 This journal page.  There is also an optional story from the talk that you can use if you have time.  These journal pages can be adapted for little ones by turning it into a family journal or let them draw and color a way they can grow closer to the Savior.
 #3-Once they complete one of the tasks in the hearts they can color it in.  We do not want to limit their service so I added some little hearts they can color in as they continue to serve others.  For example-do the dishes with out being asked.  They can color in the heart that says helped someone in the family or one of the little hearts.
 4. Is all about sharing our testimonies.  You can use the cute coloring pages to emphasis ways we can be a missionary now. Have them write or draw a few ways they can do that.  There is a girl option as well.

To finish up this activity share and display this final quote.  I love leaving these printables up for a couple of weeks as a reminder of the things we are learning and to encourage us to continue using doing those things.


In the first couple of chapters we read about 2 great disciples.  The first is Stephen.  He stood up for the truth even though he knew his life was in danger.  Phillip followed a prompting and helped someone learn the gospel.  Use this page to think of ways we can follow Stephen and Phillip's examples.
I thought this game would be great for the story of Stephen.  Click here to download (ignore the last page)

I loved the idea in the primary manual for the story of Phillip.   It suggests you push two chairs together to create a chariot and act out the story.   
If you haven't already made these missionary badges or necklaces it would be a great follow up activity.  You can find and print them here.


This idea goes with the story of Simon.  He wanted to pay the apostles for the priesthood.  I created some props to go with the idea in the primary manual. I did tweak the idea just a little bit.  Pass out some play money to each child (included in the download-maybe print on colored paper).  The set up the objects for purchase around the room. Add price tags (optional).  Let the kids go shopping and buy the item with their money.  After brainstorm together some special gifts that can not be bought with money (testimony, priesthood, priesthood blessings, baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost, temple blessings, family, etc)

Update: Black and white option now included. Saul story board.  Use these pictures to tell the story of Saul went from making bad choices and persecuting those in the church to becoming a great missionary.  You can use them as puppets or add Velcro and use with the sequencing chart.  

That's it for now.  If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.  Also I'll be back with a few more ideas for this week later tomorrow.  Thanks for being so understanding and see you soon :)
Update: Thank you so much for being so understanding during this crazy week. You all are the best!  The post isn't pretty but hopefully there are some fun ideas to help you as you teach your family or primary class the gospel.