Matching Game

We struggled for weeks in trying to find some sort of activity that was Sunday appropriate, would teach the kids to share, and teach them what behavior is acceptable during Primary.

What we came up with (after many failures) was a matching game. We simply took what the lesson was about, printed 8-10 pictures on regular 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper, cut them in half, mixed them up and used magnets up on the board to put them face down and let the kids try to match as many as they could.

We usually have 8-10 kids in the class, so we purposefully have at least that many pictures (we used food the first time, for the lesson I am Thankful for My Body, then colored smiley faces for I Have Feelings). This way we can make sure that each child makes at least one match. They know that they need to wait patiently (reverently) in their chairs since we simply go around the room one at a time and let them try to make a match. They get to come up to the blackboard, pick whichever two papers they want, and we flip them over to see if they match.

For some reason this keeps all the kids interested in what is going on, even when they're not the one up at the blackboard and they are actually learning how to sit still and wait their turn. I also like it because it teaches them that it's okay to try something, even if you fail at it (or don't make a match) and eventually if you keep trying you will succeed (by making a match).

This game is easily tailored to each lesson and we use it about every third week or so. They don't seem to be bored with it yet, so we'll keep using it as long as it works!

Field Trip

This week seemed to be an especially difficult one with all of the children being extra cranky. There’s always one or two each week that are having a bad day, but this week, EVERYONE was having a bad day. We were battling it through the lesson, not very effectively, and the spirit definitely wasn’t in the room. I had to resort to ‘counting to three’ to get the children back into their chairs and pay attention. Just before I was about to loose it totally, on the brink of tears, the Primary Secretary said, “Who’d like to go on a walk?”

The children were so excited about this mini field trip they immediately jumped into the line behind the Secretary and were at attention. She had in her hand a piece of yarn about 5 feet long and each child had to hang onto the string. She discussed with them the rules for this walk. “There is no talking, and you must not let go of the string.” When we were all on the same page, we began our trek through the halls. We only made it down one hall and came back to the classroom, but the kids weren’t having that. We explained that because they were talking in the halls and one of the children let go of the string (they bolted toward an exit door, which we luckily caught him before he ran outside) we had to come back to the classroom. We asked them if they wanted to go out again and they were very enthusiastic about it and promised to follow ALL the rules this time. We made it down 2 hallways this trip (there were only 2 in the building…) and came back to the classroom.

After this little trip, the kids were still anxious and wiggly, but we were able to have the spirit with us and enjoy the last part of the lesson. This was an excellent example of thinking on your feet and being prepared to make changes to the lesson plans. Thanks again so much to that special lady who had the brilliant idea to ‘go on a walk’. She not only saved the lesson, but my sanity!

Reverence: Sara and Sam Sunbeam

I found a cute idea here with new ‘friends’ Sara and Sam Sunbeam. My husband was a bit skeptical, but I was determined to give it a try. I was working on this the day before the lesson so I didn’t have time to print out nice colorful versions, laminate them and so on. I simply put the images into Paint, colored them in, and printed them. I cut them out and slapped them on some Popsicle sticks and we were good to go. The kids paid total attention while I was introducing my new ‘friends’ saying that they had never been to primary before and needed to learn how to act. I went through questions like “What do our hands do in Primary?” “What do our feet do in Primary?” and the kids never looked away. I printed out extra sheets with black and white pictures of Sara and Sam Sunbeam that the kids colored in and they ended up wanting to cut them out and have their own ‘friends’. Anytime during the lesson that followed, I would simply say, “What do our ___ do in Primary?” (Insert whatever they are using to be distracting to the other kids) and point at the figures that we taped to the chalkboard. Sara and Sam Sunbeam are a huge success in our Primary class. The whole ordeal took all but 10 minutes (including the coloring – which only happened the first week) but the lesson they learned will (hopefully) last a lifetime.

Thank you Sugardoodle for a wonderful idea!

What do you use to help your kids be reverent?