Come Follow Me: Matthew 18, Luke 10 (April 22-28)

Hello everyone I'm excited to share the next set of lesson helps for Come Follow Me. You can find the lesson here.  This week we are covering Matthew 18 and Luke 10.  I decided to focus on the topic of forgiving others (Matthew 18:21–35) and kindness (The Good Samaritan).   Most of these activities are from my primary lessons I put together last year.  They are two of my favorites and decided they fit so well why not use them.  Those posts are very long so I compile the activities I thought would work best for this weeks lesson and included them in this weeks download at the end of this post. There are a few additional activities and coloring pages in the original posts that may work for you so I included the links below.

The Good Samaritan
I thought this video was cute-its little kids telling the story in their own words.

If you want to act out the story I included some cute character cards.  Print (cardstock works best) and cut on the lines.  Hole punch the top and use as a necklace so each person knows who they are in the story.

The rest of these ideas are from last years primary lesson-you can find the full post here.
Cute story about bread and jam-There are story cards you can use as you tell the story.  It would be fun to eat some bread and jam as a treat after the lesson.

Situation cards-Print and cut apart.  Have the kids take turns drawing one or hide them around the room.  Read the situation and answer the question.

I can be kind game-cake walk.  Print and cut out the hearts (there are 8).  Place them in a circle on the floor.  Have the kids each stand on one.  Play music (there are a few suggested in the lesson-Jesus Said Love Everyone, “Kindness Begins with Me”,  “A Special Gift Is Kindness”).  As the music is playing have them reverently walk around the circle stepping on the hearts as they go.  Randomly stop the music and have them freeze on the closest heart.  Ask each child how they can be kind to the person on their heart.  Once everyone has answered start the music again and play again.

reminder bracelets-Print and cut.  You can print them on colored paper or have the kids color them.  Once you are done tape them around their wrist.  For some of the smaller kids you might want to cut a little off the ends.

One other idea I had-There is a cute story in the friend this month called A Friend Like Mark.  Share this story and then take turn tossing a ball into a basket.  Each time it goes in the basket have them share a way they can be kind this week.

Forgiveness-The following ideas were all created for my primary lesson last year. I thought these would go well with teaching Matthew 18:21–35.  The following activities are found in the download at the end of this post.  YOu can find the full post with additional activities here.

This activity was based on some of the wording in a primary lesson. This is a great way to help your little ones understand what it means to forgive someone.

idea #1-cut around the pattern hearts BUT leave a little bit on the side so it stays connected but becomes like a little door. Glue the paper with the words directly behind it so when you open the little "door hearts" you can see the words.  Have the kids take turns opening the "doors" and read what's behind it.

idea #2.  Leave the pattern heart page as is.  Cut out the hearts with words and hide them around the room.  Have the kids hunt for them and when they are found glue them to the top of the patterned hearts.  

In addition to the scripture story in this weeks come follow me lesson I thought it would be great to use the following story of Jesus on the cross to show Christ's perfect example of forgiveness.  (all images are from lds.org). Each page  has the words from the last years primary manual.  These specific words brought the spirit into my heart so strong and I felt that I needed to share them word for word.  I teach the 7 & 8 year olds and will be using these with my class.  However, decide if your class (and age) group will be okay with seeing these pictures.  

In the download there are 4 pages with words for this story.  I've included both full page for each as well as the smaller story cards size that can easily be printed and cut apart.  For the full page you can print them or save some ink and show on your computer or phone.  If there is interest I can also include the jpeg. version that you can have printed at your favorite store. Let me know :)  

Story about Kent:  Instead of my usual story cards we are going to do puppets!  Cut around each image and attach to a Popsicle stick.

Discussion and Review activity: Going with the leaf theme I have 3 ideas for this game as well. 

1st idea: Print the leaves and the rake.  (cardstock for the rake).  Cut around the leaves and the rake.  Attach a magnet on the back side of the rake.  Add paperclips only to the leaves with numbers.  Mix and dump the leaves on the table. Have the kids take turns raking up the leaves until they find one that sticks.  Ask the question that corresponds with the number on the leaf. (I'll add some pictures of this in action soon)

2nd idea: Print just the extra page of leaves.  Number them 1-9 (you will need to take off 2 of the questions from the review page).  Place them in a bag and let the kids draw a leaf and ask the question.

3rd idea: Print and cut all of the leaves (not the extra page of leaves) and the rake (2 if you want to make it a race).  Spread them out on the table or floor.  Call out a number between 1 and 11.  Have them quickly find the correct number and slap it with the rake.  Ask the question that goes with the number.  You can add magnets and paper clips for some extra fun.

I love this paper airplane idea to teach the importance of forgiving others.  After decorate and make paper airplanes.  Here's a cute coloring page to go with the airplane idea

Another great visual idea: found here

Download Here

Come Follow Me:Matthew 16-17, Mark 9, and Luke 9 (Part 1) April 1-14

The Come Follow Me chapters for the next two weeks cover Matthew 16-17, Mark 9, and Luke 9.  Since we have two weeks to cover these chapters I decided we are going to use this week to learn about testimonies.  We are going to focus on how we gain a testimony, cover Matthew 16:13-17 (Peter's Testimony), and prepare for General Conference by getting to know a little more about the prophet and apostles and reading their testimonies of the Savior.

The first activity can be done two ways.  You can do it in one night OR you can do one or two a day and use it as more of a count down to General Conference.  Before I explain how we are going to do this activity here's a quick run through on what's included in the download for this activity.

Get to know you cards for the prophet and apostles.  Each card has their picture and some fun facts about them (pictures and facts found on lds.org).  Print preferably on cardstock. If you want to save some ink you can find a power point version in this post.  Easy to pull up on your computer each day.  I've updated the file and there is a fun fishing game you can use as well or instead of the activity below. 

Testimonies of the prophet and apostles.  I was so excited to find this article.  When they were in Rome for the temple dedication they shared excerpts from the Living Christ (I plan to show the video clip ) and their personal witness of Jesus Christ.  I put these on individual hearts.  They can be printed and left as is or print on the back of patterned or colored paper and fold into mini envelopes.  (you can find a tutorial here). You can place these in a basket, clip to a ribbon, tape them to the wall, or keep in a pile to pull out as needed. I need to finish cutting mine out but here's how I'm displaying my envelopes for the week.

 The 3rd part of this activity is the this quote page.  There is a black and white option.  To set up this activity read and display the quote below.  Each day pick a couple of hearts.  Read the testimony on the heart and find the matching person.  Read the fun facts about that person.  Display the heart and the fact card under the quote.  Add the hearts and fact cards through out the week.  I hope to have all of them displayed before conference starts.  This will be a fun reference to help your kids recognize the prophet and apostles as they speak.

After conference I plan to hole punch the top corner and add a book ring to create a mini book for our church bag.  I did laminate mine.  I like to spend some time introducing my children to the apostles and prophet before each conference because I've noticed if they recognize the person talking to them they are more likely to stop and listen.  They are little and sometimes they only stop for a couple of minutes but during those few minutes they hear the message of the gospel and have the opportunity to feel the spirit.  This is how they develop their own testimonies of the Savior and the gospel.  

The second activity for this week will be our FHE night. We are going to talk about gaining a testimony and how to find answers to our questions. To do this we are going to use steps President Nelson shared in his talk from last April's General Conference.  We did this fhe last year and I included the outline I used. I am following it pretty close when we do it this week.  I did change the game to a board game which is included in this post.  To play print the board and page of cards.  cut the cards apart and mix them up.  Place on the cards spot.  On your turn roll a dice and move the correct number of spaces.  Pick a card and do what it says.  Most are fun active movements.  There are 7 cards that are numbered and correspond with the steps in President Nelson's talk.  Set these aside and the player moves forward one extra space.  The goal is to find all 7 steps before every player reaches the end.  If you run out of cards mix the movement cards up and use again.   

In the original fhe post you will find the puppets I reference to in the outline and it has a life size version of this game instead of the board game.  Its played a little differently but has a lot of the same elements.

That's my plan for this week.  Early next week I'll be back with some updated Conference activities and a new game.  Next Friday I will post the 2nd half of this lesson covering much more of the assigned chapters and topics .  As always if you have any questions, find any mistakes, or have trouble downloading something please don't hesitate to let me know.  

Download this weeks lesson helps here

Come Follow Me: Matthew 14–15; Mark 6–7; John 5–6 (March 25–31)

This week's Come Follow me we are focusing on Jesus feeding the 5,000 and Jesus walking on the water.  These ideas go along with the Individual and Family and  Primary manual.  As always the printables can be found in the free download at the end of this post.  I loved spending time in the scriptues studying these stories and can't wait to teach my own children and primary kids. I'd love to hear what you have planned for the week.  Also thank you all for your kind comments on last weeks post.  I appreciate every single one and all of you for stopping by :)

(This post contains affiliate links. That means if you use my link, I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. As always, thank you for your support.)

Jesus Feeding the 5,000: I've included some cute and simple story cards that you can show as you tell the story.  Print and cut apart.  Follow up with this cute basket of questions.  

 Print and assemble the basket by cutting around the edge but NOT where the bottom meets.  fold in half and staple around the edge.  Print and cut out the bread and fish with questions and place them in your basket.  Take turns picking and answering the questions. (black and white option included)

With this story we are going to talk about how Jesus was kind and served those that came to listen to him.  We are then going to think of some ways we can serve others this week. As a visual reminder we are going to make this fun craft that goes along with the question basket above.  Print a set for each person.  Have them cut out the pieces (basket is just like the one above).  Let them color and write a way they can serve someone on each loaf of bread and fish.  To assemble the basket you can use glue, staple, or hole punch and use yarn to stitch together.  If choosing the sewing option I would print the basket on cardstock.  (there is also a colored set if you want to make a set as a family instead of individually and skip a step)

How cute is this basket from Blissful Domestication!  This would be an adorable substitute to the printable basket above.  Make and add the fish and bread.  It would also be cute to make an extra and fill with some treats and deliver it to a family.  Great way to serve.

As I was reading through the Individual and Family and primary manual I had the idea for this activity.  I hope you can follow my train of thought on this one :)  The title in the primary manual is our small offerings can make a difference and I really like this theme when talking about Jesus feeding the 5,000.  It was a young boy that gave what he could.  It was no where near enough to feed that many people but with the Savior it was not only enough but there was extra!  What an amazing miracle.  To teach this concept I created an I spy page with tiny images (if you have older kids and want the pictures even smaller print 2 to a page).    The images are of things that they can do to follow our Savior.  Grab a magnifying glass and look at all the different ways we can serve other, build our testimony, and follow Jesus. They may seem like small acts alone but as we "yoke" ourselves to the Savior he can help these acts become great in our lives and those we serve.  (You can find cheap magnifying glass at walmart in the office section or I love these jumbo ones found here but they are more expensive)

Here are a few additional activities I found

video clip of Jesus feeding the 5,000

Find it picture from the Friend 

Picture story from the friend- I love that it ends with "miracles still happen."  This would be a great conversation starter on some modern day miracles or miracles you've witnessed in your life.

Easy read picture story-my 5 year old loves these

This idea would be cute to go with the service theme 

If you want to talk about Jesus being the "bread of life" I liked this article  Importance of bread during Jesus's time.  If you didn't make bread last week this bread in a bag activity would be fun to tie into this topic.  

Jesus Walks on the Water: "What could have inspired Peter to leave the safety of his boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee during a boisterous storm? What led him to believe that if Jesus could walk on water, he could too? We can’t know for certain, but perhaps Peter understood that the Son of God came not just to do wonderful things for the people but to empower people like Peter to do wonderful things too." (I & F)  

Find the video clip here

Retelling board would be so fun to use while telling the story the first time or use it as a review activty.  Print the board and the cards and the next page.  Cut the cards apart.  I recommend cardstock and add velcro or magnets to each number and card.  Add the cards in order or mix them up and see if your little one can put them in order. (b&w also included.  would be really cute as a coloring page!)

This next idea comes from the primary manual "Ask the children to imagine they were present and had a camera when Jesus and Peter walked on the sea. Which moment would they choose to photograph and why?...Invite them to draw a picture of the moment they chose, share their pictures, and explain why they chose that moment."  Have them color the picture of the kid with a camera (ideally to look like themselves).  On the second page have them draw the moment they would choose and write why on the lines.  Cut the two pieces out and glue the kid to the top of the drawing page.  Display or take turns sharing their picture. 

I really loved this talk it would be a great one to share. It would be a great way to talk about some of the things that distract us from the Savior.  I included a quote from it in the download.

A few other ideas:

I love the picture in the I & F lesson 

To go along with the idea of "be not afraid" You can use this story board from my post a few weeks ago found here or there is a cute story in this months friend that would work as well (find it here)

That's all for this week.  I hope there is something that will work for your family or primary class.  As always if you have any questions or trouble with the download please let me know :)

Download Free Printable Here

Adorable graphics from Melonheadz,  Krista Wallden - Creative Clips, Mather's Music, Educlips,   Creating4 the Classroom, Graphics From the Pond , and Fonts by Hello Literacy and Kimberly Geswein Fonts

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!

Download your Free Printables Here

 Adorable graphics from Melonheadz,   DSart ,  Chirp Graphics, Glitter Meets Glue,  Krista Wallden - Creative Clips, Mather's Music, Creating4 the Classroom, Educlips  and Fonts by Hello Literacy and Kimberly Geswein Fonts