Thursday, March 28, 2013

Easter

Tonight we started with coloring!  I printed off  and egg shape and let the children design their own Easter eggs.  As they finished, I hung them on the wall for everyone to admire.  They were very creative!!



Next we had an Easter egg hunt.  I had gone to the church early to hide the eggs.  There were twelve eggs to find.  Since we have 7 children, some of them were able to find two.  After all twelve eggs were found, we sat in a circle and I told them the story of  Easter using visuals from the LDS picture kit found here.



Inside of each egg was an item that went along with the story of  Easter.  We discussed each item and its significance. The children are so insightful and eager to learn and we had a really wonderful discussion filled with the spirit.



  



Here is a copy of the lesson that I used as an outline.  (I don't know the original source.  I've had this in my files for years.)  However, it's much better to just tell the story with visuals than to try to read to them.




For a treat we had these "empty tomb" treats.  Found here:  empty tomb rolls.





Happy Easter everyone!

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

The Sacred Sacrament

I love this activity because it could really count for 3 different activities....LLG #1- "Explain how taking the sacrament helps you renew your baptismal covenant   In FHE, teach other about things we can do to remain faithful."  It could count as Serving Others because we are making the bread for the congregation to use in the Sacrament service.  Finally, this lesson could be used as Developing Talents because they are learning to make bread!  I love it!

This activity is based on an idea I found in this book, "Faith in God Activities" by Lori Hogge and Mitzi Deeter copyright 2003.

We started the activity by making sure the table surface was clean and that everyone had washed their hands!  I told them that we would be having a very special service project tonight.  We would be making bread for the sacrament!

I had gathered all of the ingredients and supplies beforehand so that I could divide them into 3 groups.  We would make 3 loaves of bread.

Since the gathering activities have been working so well for me, I created another word search using words that had to do with making bread and the sacrament.  The link is here.    These are the words that I used:  sacrament, bread, water, Savior, love, repentance, priesthood, yeast, milk, oil, flour, sugar, reverent, prayer, hymn, quiet, rising, salt, Last Supper, remember, forgiveness, promises.  A couple of them really got into a little competition to see who could complete it the fastest.

We made the bread together adding each ingredient one by one.  We also discussed each ingredient as  it was added and why the ingredient is important  and also how it could relate to the sacrament.  It is always fun to hear their responses!

This is a very good and very easy bread recipe!

Here is the recipe:
1 TBS yeast................makes the bread rise..................Jesus rose from the tomb making it possible for all of us to rise again.                                                                

1/4 cup warm water........bonds the ingredients together
1 C warm milk     ........ We "bond" ourselves to Christ when we take His name upon us.
1/4 cup oil                                                                                                         
                                                                                                             
1/4 cup sugar...............makes the yeast work..............We make the atonement "work" when we repent.

1 tsp salt......................adds flavor.............................The gospel adds flavor to our lives.

3 1/2 cups flour...........gives body and substanance to the bread.....The Savior sacrificed His body for us.
                                     
Combine the yeast, water, sugar, and milk and let stand for 5 minutes.  Add salt, flour, and oil.  Knead for 5 minutes.  Place in greased loaf pan and let rise til doubles.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  1 loaf.

While letting the yeast sit for 5 minutes, we reviewed the purpose and comparison of each ingredient.  Let them think up other comparisons!  They are so smart!




Once the loaves were rising, we went on with the lesson.  We discussed the Last Supper and the events surrounding the Last Supper.  Matthew 26.  We discussed loving one another as found in John 13.  And finally, we discussed the meaning of the sacrament by reviewing the sacrament prayers (Moroni Chapters 4 & 5.) and how we should behave as the sacrament is being administered and passed.  I was so pleased at how many questions they had and what a great discussion was sparked!  They asked some very thoughtful questions!

Just as each ingredient has an effect on the outcome of the bread, so do the promises we make at baptism and renew at the sacrament table have an effect on the outcome of our lives!

For refreshment, we had a slice of bread from a loaf that I made beforehand.  This is a delicious and hearty recipe!