This month we have five Sundays, which gives us a fun opportunity to be creative. I love how the church organizes things for us every week, and makes it so simple to do sharing time, but sometimes it is really fun to be able to be creative and think outside the box. When I was thinking about what would be fun to do this week there were a lot of possibilities.
1. Practice for your Primary Program if you have that coming up. I know many wards and branches have already had theres, but if you haven't, this may be a good time to do it. This is kind of neat because you won't have to skip another lesson to do this. It's kind of a free week.
2. Do a scripture chase. You could do the classic one with the senior primary and a younger version with the junior. One idea I had to make this a little easier for younger kids was to tell them part of a story and they can kind of finish up or say who the story was about. You could get pictures from the library and use those. I liked this because it helps the children get more familiar with their scripture stories before they can read. It's a nice foundation to build upon when they're older. To make this even more fun you could involve snack size candy or a homemade treat.
3. Keep on subject with the 10 Commandments. You could play a game to get the children to understand them better/memorize them. I have a punch out board I made for a sharing time a while ago, you could have scenerios in each one and have the children match it to the commandments. You could have something along the lines of "Your mom told you to clean up your bedroom. You chose to go outside and play soccer." This would be breaking the commandment of Honor thy father and mother. You could have some in there that follow the commandments. My kids really love the punch out box, you could put anything in there and they would think it's the coolest thing ever. I don't have a tutorial of mine, but this is very close to mine. I don't have that nifty circle cutting tool, so I used an exacto blade and cut squares, it was easier then trying circles.
4. Play a General Conference game. A few months ago I did a Sharing Time on the First Presidency and Apostles. We played a little bit of a matching game with them. One thing I liked about this is I found out some fun interesting facts about a few different ones and read them to the kids. I then would read out some of the fun facts and have them match who it was. We had a neat experience because Dieter F. Uchtdorf was a pilot, and we have a child who is interested in doing that for a career. So it was neat to see that child draw a connection to him. I think it helps to view them as real people with families and hobbies, it makes them more relatable to us. To me, this is so important for our children. The more they can connect and relate to a speaker, the more they will listen and trust what they have to say.
5. The next idea I had was to do October 2012 week 1, since we will have general conference that week. You can find some thoughts from me here. And you can find the outline from the church for this week here.
6. Movie and snacks. This is a really simple, really fun thing for the kids to get to do. You could bring in a couple big blankets, push the chairs to the wall, pop some popcorn and enjoy a movie together. My family has The Living Scriptures, The Prodigal Son. We watched this a few weeks ago for FHE, and it was so cute. My son was a little to young to appreciate it, but I think it's perfect for the primary aged kids. The great thing is they have so many different movies that you can find one to fit whatever lesson you want to teach. You do have to pay for these, but chances are if you don't have some, someone else in your branch/ward will. Ask teachers, councelors, or other moms. If you can't find any, the church library always has some fun movies to watch.
I hope you guys were able to find something fun to do this week and think outside the box. Let me know what you guys end up doing!
Monday, September 24, 2012
Friday, September 21, 2012
Prophet Thomas S. Monson Coloring Page
I have been thinking a lot about General Conference and what we as parents can do to prepare for the inevitable struggle with our children during this time. I know my son is too little to understand what is going on, or to get anything out of General Conference, but he won't be for long. I have been researching a lot of different ideas for what to do with the kids during conference, things to keep them occupied or things to help them stay focused. I've found so many great ideas out there that I really liked I wanted to hopefully compile a few different ideas into one place. That is something I'm going to work on over the next couple of days so please check back by Monday night hopefully I will have everything up, and a few of my own added.
What I wanted to share tonight was a project my husband and I worked on together. As I was looking through all of these ideas, I noticed that there weren't very many options for a coloring page of the prophet, Thomas S. Monson. I thought it was strange because it was something basic I wanted to include in a packet for my primary kids. Anyways, I decided that I can draw a little bit (a VERY little bit) and my husband can draw really well, so between the two of us, we can do this! Anyways, below is a link to print the page out. I thought it turned out well, so I hope you do too. :)
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Sharing Time September 2012 Week 4: I Should Respect Others
This week I am in charge of doing Sharing Time at my church. It is about a 20-25 minute lesson for the children aged 3-11. Most of the churches around us break it up into two age groups within that, but we're so small that we don't. It's difficult sometimes to target everyone within that age group, but I usually find some way to not lose the younger ones while getting the older ones involved. Anyways, I wanted to post my thoughts to maybe get some people brainstorming.
The first thing I'll do is share a short story about a friend of mine and how we are really great friends but have different talents. I am doing this to illustrate that everyone is good a something, even if it is just being kind to others, it doesn't have to be the piano, singing, or drawing. I am then going to have the children go around and say one thing that makes them unique. It could be something like the piano, or it could be something along the lines of "I really like bugs." (We don't have very many children so I think we'll be able to go through this quickly, you may have to nix this idea if you have lots of kids.) Again, the point of this is to illustrate that we are all unique and special in our own ways. I have some stickers my mom gave me a while ago that say "I am special" and "I am a child of God," I am going to hand these out while they're doing this.
Then I am going to draw a parellel between the idea that we are all unique and special, and Heavenly Father loves us, to the idea that we need to be kind and respectful to others. This should be pretty simple. I just want them to understand that we need to remember that everyone is special in their own way so we should be kind and loving towards them. I will probably use the word respectful instead, and that way they can brainstorm what it is to be respectful.
I got this idea from someone posting on Sugardoodle. The link for Sugardoodle is at the bottom of this page and her comments are in that section. I'm not sure how to work it in quite yet but I really like it. I'm thinking maybe at this point would be a good place. If not, I will just veto the whole idea and move onto the next part. What you do is start by inviting a child up to talk about something. It can be to read a scripture, talk about their week, share an experience, it doesn't really matter what it is they're sharing. I am going to go and talk to another adult in the room a little noisely. I am probably going to choose for them to read a scripture. Maybe the ten commandments? The whole point of this is for the children to be a little distracted and to illustrate how disrespectful it is to talk while someone else is supposed to have the floor. I am going to ask the child who stood up how it felt when I was being rude.
I try to use scriptures as often as possible in these, so I am going to have an older child read Mosiah 18:21, and then hopefully explain the idea behind it.
Then I want to tie in the idea of the Good Samaritan. I may be short on time, but I really like the idea of using scriptures, to get the children used to pulling them out and being familiar with them. So I am hoping to make it to this part so we can read it outloud and discuss why this demonstrates respect. I also found a good coloring or activity page about the Good Samaritan for them to take home (or if this, by some miracle, is really short, can fill in the remaining time). You can see where I got it here.
I will close by sharing my testimony on loving thy neighbor, the ten commandments, and how respecting others can make us happier and our lives better.
Here is a link to the official guideline from the church for this week. (On Sugardoodle)
The first thing I'll do is share a short story about a friend of mine and how we are really great friends but have different talents. I am doing this to illustrate that everyone is good a something, even if it is just being kind to others, it doesn't have to be the piano, singing, or drawing. I am then going to have the children go around and say one thing that makes them unique. It could be something like the piano, or it could be something along the lines of "I really like bugs." (We don't have very many children so I think we'll be able to go through this quickly, you may have to nix this idea if you have lots of kids.) Again, the point of this is to illustrate that we are all unique and special in our own ways. I have some stickers my mom gave me a while ago that say "I am special" and "I am a child of God," I am going to hand these out while they're doing this.
Then I am going to draw a parellel between the idea that we are all unique and special, and Heavenly Father loves us, to the idea that we need to be kind and respectful to others. This should be pretty simple. I just want them to understand that we need to remember that everyone is special in their own way so we should be kind and loving towards them. I will probably use the word respectful instead, and that way they can brainstorm what it is to be respectful.
I got this idea from someone posting on Sugardoodle. The link for Sugardoodle is at the bottom of this page and her comments are in that section. I'm not sure how to work it in quite yet but I really like it. I'm thinking maybe at this point would be a good place. If not, I will just veto the whole idea and move onto the next part. What you do is start by inviting a child up to talk about something. It can be to read a scripture, talk about their week, share an experience, it doesn't really matter what it is they're sharing. I am going to go and talk to another adult in the room a little noisely. I am probably going to choose for them to read a scripture. Maybe the ten commandments? The whole point of this is for the children to be a little distracted and to illustrate how disrespectful it is to talk while someone else is supposed to have the floor. I am going to ask the child who stood up how it felt when I was being rude.
I try to use scriptures as often as possible in these, so I am going to have an older child read Mosiah 18:21, and then hopefully explain the idea behind it.
Then I want to tie in the idea of the Good Samaritan. I may be short on time, but I really like the idea of using scriptures, to get the children used to pulling them out and being familiar with them. So I am hoping to make it to this part so we can read it outloud and discuss why this demonstrates respect. I also found a good coloring or activity page about the Good Samaritan for them to take home (or if this, by some miracle, is really short, can fill in the remaining time). You can see where I got it here.
I will close by sharing my testimony on loving thy neighbor, the ten commandments, and how respecting others can make us happier and our lives better.
Here is a link to the official guideline from the church for this week. (On Sugardoodle)
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Angry Birds Toss Game
I work with the children aged 3-11 at my church, and for Labor Day we had a big party for everyone. Myself and the two other ladies I work closely with decided we wanted to have a lot of fun activities for the kids. We had a moon bounce there for the kids but we also wanted a couple other activities to try and break up the crowds. So, naturally, I got on Pinterest and started looking. I love when I can find a way to justify my Pinterest addiction. ;) Anyways, I found a few ideas for the Angry Birds Toss game. All of the ones I've found do not link back to a blog to show you how to do it. It's fairly simple, but I figured I would try and do a walk through to answer any kind of questions, plus I did mine a bit differently, of course.
First I used empty Ravioli cans. I washed them out and peeled the wrapper off. I used construction paper instead of paint, because I chose to do this at about 1:00AM (one of the many joys of motherhood, nothing is done on your ideal schedule, ha!) and I didn't have any paint that would work. So I measured how tall it needed to be and I used my paper cut to make it that tall. When I peeled the label off the can it had a bit of a sticky residue, I chose to use this to my advantage. I stuck the end of the construction paper on it, and painted Mod Podge around the can one little bit at a time. Once I painted the Mod Podge on there, I would pull the construction paper tightly against the can. I did the the whole way around the can and trimmed the excess off with a scissors. I did overlap them a little bit, but you don't have to.
Once this was done a cut the eyes out placed them on with Mod Podge. I just used a sharpie for the pupil. I used a lighter green for the nose. I wanted that to overlap the eyes a bit, which is why I chose to do the eyes first. Then for the mouth I just kind of faked it. I tried to do them all differently. I would suggest if you are going to do one with teeth to glue the teeth on the back of the nose and then apply the nose. The mustache I would suggest to do in a similar fashion. All the black on them I used the sharpie for.
For the ball I wanted to use a plain red one and draw a face on it, since the red bird seems to be the most famous. But you would not believe how hard it is to find a plain red ball! I ended up with a yellow one on clearance at Walmart for about .75. I was lucky that the characters in this game are really easy to draw, because I am certainly not an artist!
When I brought it to the activity I was nervous about how they would react, after all, I was competing with a moon bounce. But I think the kids really liked it, I'm not saying the kids chose this over the moon bounce, because really, I didn't expect that. But they did have fun while they were taking a break from bouncing, or while we were giving the littler kids a turn. They enjoyed trying to knock them over and rearranging them differently, putting it closer to the edge or further away. I found that the little kids liked it and the older ones around 9 or 10 did also. I was really happy with how it turned out, and it wasn't hard to make.
Until next time,
BBNO
First I used empty Ravioli cans. I washed them out and peeled the wrapper off. I used construction paper instead of paint, because I chose to do this at about 1:00AM (one of the many joys of motherhood, nothing is done on your ideal schedule, ha!) and I didn't have any paint that would work. So I measured how tall it needed to be and I used my paper cut to make it that tall. When I peeled the label off the can it had a bit of a sticky residue, I chose to use this to my advantage. I stuck the end of the construction paper on it, and painted Mod Podge around the can one little bit at a time. Once I painted the Mod Podge on there, I would pull the construction paper tightly against the can. I did the the whole way around the can and trimmed the excess off with a scissors. I did overlap them a little bit, but you don't have to.
For the ball I wanted to use a plain red one and draw a face on it, since the red bird seems to be the most famous. But you would not believe how hard it is to find a plain red ball! I ended up with a yellow one on clearance at Walmart for about .75. I was lucky that the characters in this game are really easy to draw, because I am certainly not an artist!
When I brought it to the activity I was nervous about how they would react, after all, I was competing with a moon bounce. But I think the kids really liked it, I'm not saying the kids chose this over the moon bounce, because really, I didn't expect that. But they did have fun while they were taking a break from bouncing, or while we were giving the littler kids a turn. They enjoyed trying to knock them over and rearranging them differently, putting it closer to the edge or further away. I found that the little kids liked it and the older ones around 9 or 10 did also. I was really happy with how it turned out, and it wasn't hard to make.
Until next time,
BBNO
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
DIY Tile Coasters
I was recently over a friend's house and my son destroyed their coasters. So I had to figure a way to replace them, I didn't want to just go buy coasters anyone could have, I wanted something special. Then it hit me, tile coasters! I bought the supplies for these a few years ago in hopes of making cheap Christmas presents, and figured, why not now? These were so incredibly easy to make, and not expensive at all (and we know I'm cheap). They turned out so cute I didn't want to give them up. :/
{What you need}
What you need:
Tiles (I used 4)
Paper or pictures to decorate with
Mod Podge
Sissors
Enamel Sealer
Paper Cutter
Felt
When I bought the tiles, a year or two ago, I paid about .08 each for them. I bought the cheapest ones I could get away with. You don't want to get anything too textured or lumpy on top, because when you apply the paper you want it to go smoothly on. So I got a basic white shiny tile. They measure about 4.25 x 4.25 inches.
The next step is to choose your paper. You want to keep in mind you will have a trim of the tile showing around the edge, like a border, so choose something that matches well. I got this paper at Target a while back for $1.00 a pack and have been waiting for a project for it. I chose to use scrapbook paper because the quality seems to be a little bit nicer and they make such beautiful prints.
{The paper is on!}
{Before spraying with the Enamel}
{After spraying. As you can see, it doesn't change the color of the paper}
The last step is just to put some felt on the bottom of it. I just used Mod Podge to stick it on there. I have seen people just do a few spots underneath, and I'm sure that will be okay if that is what you want to do, but I chose to cover the whole thing, just in case. You just cut a square out 4.25 x 4.25 inches, the same size as your tile. You put the Mod Podge on the bottom of the tile and stick the felt on there. The one thing I would suggest is to buy a nice quality felt. This is going to be what separates your table from tile, so make sure it's nice and thick. Or even invest in cork. Voila, you're done!
{A back view all finished}
{All the fronts finished}
The neat thing about this project is that there are a thousand ways to do this different. You could do photos, pictures the kids drew, designs with paper, just plain squares like I did, or a millon other things. The sky is the limit! It's something personal and thoughtful to give to someone. With so many holidays coming up it's a great way to show someone you care, without breaking the bank. To me, that's what it should be about. Not the amount of money you spent, but how much thought you spent on their gift. Luckily with this, it doesn't take a lof time, but it looks like it would!
{Add a bow and you're ready to go!}
Until next time,
BBNO
5 Tips For Gifts For a New Mom
I recently saw a list of things you could do to help a new mom. I thought some of the things on the list were good, but I thought I could do better, so here I am. ;)
1. Offer to help clean/do dishes/start a load of laundry/ vacuum/whatever. She may not take you up on your offer, but she'll always remember that you did offer. And if she does, great! That is what new mom's need, an extra set of hands. Don't offer to hold the baby so she can do these things (you wouldn't believe how many times I had people offer that to me), because, lets get real, she WANTS to hold her baby. She doesn't want to do the dishes. Letting her enjoy her time with her baby and not worry about other things, that is a huge help.
2. Bring in a dinner. In my experience, don't say "Would you like me to bring you a dinner?" Say "When can I bring you a dinner?" And make a lot. The first few weeks after having a baby can be a blur. If you make more, she can have left overs. Therefore, you're giving her dinner and lunch the next day.
3. If you are not the best cook and you'd rather just buy something, get things to put on the end table while their nursing/bottle feeding the baby. For new mom's, it's hard to find time to grab snacks or something to read while they're sitting. Try and grab snacks that are on the go, and healthy. But it doesn't hurt to add a few junk foods in there too. ;) Crackers, bottles of water (Nursing moms get really thirsty!), beef jerky, granola bars, or trail mix. Also, anything like face wipes (I can't tell you how many nights I didn't get to wash my face), new bodywash that smells great, nice lotion, or anything else that is going to help her feel great. It doesn't all have to be for the baby ;)
4. If you want to buy baby clothes, go for it. But try and buy in bigger sizes, and give gift receipts. I got lots of duplicates and lots of little clothes. My son barely got to wear a lot of his 0-3 month sizes. It doesn't hurt to ask what she has either. Sometimes everyone thinks of bigger sizes and no one thinks of smaller. For me, it was really hard to see my son go from size to size, but having an adorable outfit I was excited to put him in helped.
Sometimes people already have all the clothes they need. A friend of mine just had her sixth child, yes, sixth. But it was only her second daughter. So she got all these adorable things with her first and she was excited to use them again (Luckily they were the same season.). So I got her head bands, tights, sunglasses, that sort of thing. Also, diaper and wipes are awesome. I know they seem boring, but it's a favorite of parents.
5. Think outside the color box. If you are buying headbands, bowties, outfits or socks, think outside of pink and blue. You see sooo much pink and blue (especially with your first), you get tired of it. They make so many adorable outfits, accessories, and blankets in other colors, you still have awesome options.
Hopefully this helps with the next baby you have coming along. :)
Until next time,
BBNO
2. Bring in a dinner. In my experience, don't say "Would you like me to bring you a dinner?" Say "When can I bring you a dinner?" And make a lot. The first few weeks after having a baby can be a blur. If you make more, she can have left overs. Therefore, you're giving her dinner and lunch the next day.
3. If you are not the best cook and you'd rather just buy something, get things to put on the end table while their nursing/bottle feeding the baby. For new mom's, it's hard to find time to grab snacks or something to read while they're sitting. Try and grab snacks that are on the go, and healthy. But it doesn't hurt to add a few junk foods in there too. ;) Crackers, bottles of water (Nursing moms get really thirsty!), beef jerky, granola bars, or trail mix. Also, anything like face wipes (I can't tell you how many nights I didn't get to wash my face), new bodywash that smells great, nice lotion, or anything else that is going to help her feel great. It doesn't all have to be for the baby ;)
4. If you want to buy baby clothes, go for it. But try and buy in bigger sizes, and give gift receipts. I got lots of duplicates and lots of little clothes. My son barely got to wear a lot of his 0-3 month sizes. It doesn't hurt to ask what she has either. Sometimes everyone thinks of bigger sizes and no one thinks of smaller. For me, it was really hard to see my son go from size to size, but having an adorable outfit I was excited to put him in helped.
Sometimes people already have all the clothes they need. A friend of mine just had her sixth child, yes, sixth. But it was only her second daughter. So she got all these adorable things with her first and she was excited to use them again (Luckily they were the same season.). So I got her head bands, tights, sunglasses, that sort of thing. Also, diaper and wipes are awesome. I know they seem boring, but it's a favorite of parents.
5. Think outside the color box. If you are buying headbands, bowties, outfits or socks, think outside of pink and blue. You see sooo much pink and blue (especially with your first), you get tired of it. They make so many adorable outfits, accessories, and blankets in other colors, you still have awesome options.
Hopefully this helps with the next baby you have coming along. :)
Until next time,
BBNO
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers Review/Tweeking
Who doesn't love Cheesesteaks? I grew up close to Philly, so when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. I followed mostly everything she did, just with my own tweeks. I used three green bell peppers, halved. I used one large sweet onion and a small container of fresh baby bella mushrooms. I used 8 slices of provolone cheese, and I ran out so I used a little bit of cheese I had on hand, which was a mexican blend, and it tasted fine. You'd never have known it.
One of the things I did differently then her was to make it with Steak-Umm's instead of roast beef. Being someone who grew up so close to the "real deal," I couldn't do roast beef. I'm sure thats healthier then what I did, and I'm sure it tastes great, but I chose to mix it up a bit. If I had more time I would have done something more authentic then Steak-Umm's, but I was short on time and they are quick.
Another thing I did, which I don't know if she mentioned or not, was I baked the green peppers in the oven empty for about 10 or 15 minutes before hand so the pepper would be cooked a bit before I added everything in. I thought it added a nice touch.
Overall, I thought they were really good. My hubby has already requested them again. :) This is a good option for someone who wants to cut out the bread. And there you go! Enjoy!
Until next time,
BBNO
One of the things I did differently then her was to make it with Steak-Umm's instead of roast beef. Being someone who grew up so close to the "real deal," I couldn't do roast beef. I'm sure thats healthier then what I did, and I'm sure it tastes great, but I chose to mix it up a bit. If I had more time I would have done something more authentic then Steak-Umm's, but I was short on time and they are quick.
Another thing I did, which I don't know if she mentioned or not, was I baked the green peppers in the oven empty for about 10 or 15 minutes before hand so the pepper would be cooked a bit before I added everything in. I thought it added a nice touch.
Overall, I thought they were really good. My hubby has already requested them again. :) This is a good option for someone who wants to cut out the bread. And there you go! Enjoy!
Until next time,
BBNO
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