Blog – Page 5 – Search For Seven

find the rhyme

March 5, 2022March 18, 2022 Keira

Dear Reader,

While planning for our learning activity and looking at the rhyming worksheet in the dyslexia activity book, and seeing the paint bags I’ve been trying to decide what to do with now, I had an idea and decided to add a tactile element to today’s lesson. So I made my own worksheet! If you have the dyslexia workbook, this activity will work with it, too. (To see what workbook I’m talking about, click to read what books we use).

After creating the worksheet, I took an alcohol wipe to the logo on the ziplock bag of paint. It was really easy to get off, actually! And then I taped it to the worksheet and taped the worksheet to the table (I suggest painters tape but I took the risk since my painters tape is currently packed up while my craft room is under construction (don’t ask. It’s taken way too long). The tape is pretty important, since the bag is kinda slippery.

I put a lot of work into this worksheet, so it is for sale over in my products. The products part of my site is still very much in its infancy, so watch for more products coming soon!

To get this worksheet, click here!

Anyway, she had to show everyone that she could find the rhymes and has gone back to it off and on all afternoon, so I think it’s a success! The nice thing is that you can do it over and over without having to have a grownup reset it, because as you move the paint around it re-covers the pictures. I was worried that would be an annoyance, but I think it helped reiterate which words rhymed as she rediscovered them.

You could still play with this worksheet like the original idea and cut 1.75″ squares and play it like memory match. Or you could just cut the pictures out, too. But if your kids learn kinetically, this is definitely a better idea than I ever would have hoped, and I intend to use this learning method again!

Age Range

Preschool

Prep Required

print and go +
throw together

Time Needed

she keeps coming back! 15 minutes is a good start.

Supervision

3/10

Help to hear the rhymes and then just let them play.

mess-free painting

March 3, 2022March 18, 2022 Keira

Dear Reader,

I think we are gonna have a lot of toddlers-want-to-be-like-sisters posts in our future. This one, included. When they say sister using paint for apples, they wanted to paint, too. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with that huge of a mess, even if I made sure to buy the washable paint, so I filled a few quart bags with the same red paint, taped them shut, and handed them to the twins.

They liked the squishy aspect, and kinda drew with the paint, but their favorite thing to do was to squish their handprints into the paint bag. It was a really good sensory experience for them, actually! And I totally just came up with it on the fly, since I was in the middle of helping big sister with /a/ apples.

And naturally, since sister was using an apple to stamp with, we had to eat apples at the same time. Since my toddlers are learning colors, it was also a good time to reiterate that their apple was red and their paint was red.

Age Range

toddler

Prep Required

throw together

Time Needed

30 minutes

Supervision

3/10

FHE

Heavenly Father and Jesus Love Me FHE

March 1, 2022February 28, 2023 Keira

Purpose: To help each member of the family feel that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love and know each of us personally and that they have worth as children of God.

Possible scriptures: Matthew 18:11-13; Mark 10:13-16; John 3:16; John 13:1; John 15:9; Romans 5:8; Ephesians 3:19; 1 John 3:1; 1 Nephi 11:22; Alma 26:37; 3 Nephi 11:13-15; 3 Nephi 17:6-7, 11-2, 21-24 (remember to scroll down); Doctrine and Covenants 18:10, 15-16; Doctrine and Covenants 19:16-19; Doctrine and Covenants 138:2-4; Moses 1:39;

Possible Songs: How Great the Wisdom and the Love, hymn 195; ‘Tis Sweet to Sing the Matchless Love, hymn 176 or 177; God is Love, hymn 87; God Loved Us, So He Sent His Son, hymn 187; Our Savior’s Love, hymn 113; Where Love is, Children’s Songbook page 138; Because God Loves Me, Children’s Songbook page 234; My Heavenly Father Loves Me, Children’s Songbook page 228 [my favorite choice]; God’s Love, Children’s Songbook page 97; I Feel My Savior’s Love, Children’s Songbook page 74; Jesus Is Our Loving Friend, Children’s Songbook page 58.

Possible Materials: A crisp dollar bill and a simple puzzle. the pictures from the “Young Readers,” version of the parables of the lost.

Preparation: Begin with prayer. Read the suggested scriptures, as well as some of the additional talks listed below, as directed by the spirit. Ask yourself if you believe that God really loves you. How do you know? Is there anything keeping you from believing He loves you and from knowing of your own worth? Read through the lesson, including the entire talk by Elder Groberg, any links, and carefully select the most relevant material for your family. Children: Ask a grownup to help you get a crisp dollar bill. Watch these videos about lost things (1, 2, 3… or for littlest lesson helpers, you may watch the young reader version). Ask a grownup to help you print the pictures from the young reader version. Then go get a puzzle and hide a piece in your pocket right before the lesson.

Lesson:

Discuss how last week’s challenge went.

Introduction: Take a crisp dollar bill (doesn’t have to be a dollar, but dollars are easier to come by and hold onto…). Ask the family what it is. How much is it worth? Now wrinkle it up, crumple it, stomp on it a few times, and get it looking pretty haggard. Ask the family how much it’s worth now? Did the value change? Ask your family to think about the lesson about being a child of God. If we are Heavenly Father’s Children, he must love us and think we are valuable like this dollar bill. We have value no matter what we look like or what we have been through (if you have a smart-alecky family member who points out that if you rip the dollar or shred the dollar, it’s worthless, point out how you can tape that dollar back together and a bank will still trade it in).

Now get a simple puzzle out and have your family put the puzzle together, but have one piece hidden in your pocket. Encourage the natural reactions that come with a missing piece. Ask if the puzzle is complete. Tell your family you used all the pieces that were there, isn’t that enough? Talk about how just as a puzzle isn’t complete and that missing piece is glaringly obvious, so it is with us. That puzzle is like our family and our church and our earthly life. We are as important to the gospel and to Heavenly Father as a single puzzle piece is to a puzzle. God loves us and knows if we are “missing.”

From the Scriptures: Tell your family that Jesus liked to use stories to teach things he thought were important. Have your family read Luke 15:4-32. For younger families, hold up the pictures from this “young readers,” version. Ask your family how they feel when they lose something. How are we lost like the lost things? How will Heavenly Father feel when we are “found?”

Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to return to Him. He knows each one of us personally.

From Church History: President Monson’s entire time serving the Lord was out of love for his brothers and sisters. His desire to serve those around him was instilled from childhood by parents that loved others. As a family, watch any of the videos about President Monson’s love from the Prophets of the Restoration section, including his testimony. Emphasize that God knew the people President Monson served. President Monson knew God loves us. How did knowing of God’s love change President Monson’s focus?

From World History: [okay, this is still technically church history. I’m taking liberties since they made a movie about this story. And technically it’s not really that distant of history, since he’s still alive. But hearing his testimony in his own words is just too powerful an opportunity to miss!] Hold up a picture of John H. Groberg. Tell your family that he served his mission to Tonga and you’d like to share some of his words about his mission. Have your family read about Elder Groberg’s experiences in Tonga. Elder Groberg thought he had a testimony of Heavenly Father’s love before, but when he needed more strength, God gave him more love. Ask your family to share their thoughts about the story.

Further Discussion:

Elder Uchtdorf has given many talks about how Heavenly Father loves us. Why do you think he feels this message is so important? Have your family read the talk, “You Matter to Him,” and then watch the video, “Our True Identity.” Ask your family how they feel hearing those messages. The feeling of love and peace come from Heavenly Father.

Recent Conference talks to consider in your discussion: Trust Again, by Elder Gerrit W Gong; Hold Up Your Light, by Marcus B. Nash; “Lovest Thou Me More Than These?” by President M. Russell Ballard; The Things of My soul, by Elder Ronald A Rasband; Addressing Mental Health, by Erich W. Kopischke; God’s Love: The Most Joyous to the Soul, by Sister Susan H. Porter; The Love of God, but Elder D. Todd Christofferson; The Greatest Possession, but Elder Jeffrey R. Holland; God Loves His Children, by Taniela B. Wakolo; What We Are Learning and Will Never Forget, by President Russell M. Nelson; What Has Our Savior Done for Us?, By Elder Dallin H. Oaks; Bless in His Name, by Elder Henry B. Eyeing; This Is Our Time!, By Elder S. Gifford Nielsen; God Among Us, by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf.

Challenge:

Encourage each member of the family to take better care of themselves and others this week by remembering that each person is important. Have the older kids write down any negative thoughts they had about themselves each day and how those thoughts were not in line with what they know about their divinity. Invite them to tear those papers up as a mental reminder that those thoughts are not true. Heavenly Father sends positive reinforcements and ways to improve, but never negative or demeaning thoughts.

Giving due credit: as usual, I read and learned from the Behold Your Little Ones lessons 4 and 5; Sunbeams Manual Lessons 6 and 34; I also read through the Family Home Evening Resource manual section entitled “Unconditional Love.” Really, most of the direction of this lesson came from the many many talks and articles I read on the topic of God’s love for us. Some of my favorites were: The Lord Has Not Forgotten You, by Linda S. Reeves; Where Is the Pavillion?, by Elder Henry B. Eyering; Sugar Beets and the Worth of a Soul, by President Thomas S. Monson; Our Divinely Based Worth, by Barbara Day Lockhart; The Worth of Eddie Porter, by Ray Goldrup.

Kids Need Play

Mini-School Day 3: /a/ sound

February 26, 2022March 15, 2022 Keira

Dear Reader,

Today we made apples on an apple tree using… apple stamps. I mean, of course! The hardest part of this activity was wandering around Walmart looking for the darn paper rolls! For the record, the white paper is down the craft aisle, by the poster boards. And the brown paper was in the paint aisle. There was paper in the packing aisle, but it was a huge roll for a lot more money. I didn’t figure I needed anything heavy duty, so cheaper definitely wins.

The second hardest thing was carving the apple and ***REMEMBERING TO DO IT BACKWARDS*** yeah, don’t forget that. Ahem… Lucky I had a bad apple I could carve into.

Anyway, after reading day 3 of Teach Your Child to Read and lesson 1 of Learn to Read, I made a large plateful of paint and let her stamp the tree we had drawn up together (Maybe cut the trunk out ahead of time, but honestly it wasn’t too time consuming that she got antsy). Then I handed her a white piece of construction paper for her to stamp on for our book of sounds.

Age Range

Preschool

Prep Required

run to a store
+
time to cut and glue

Time Needed

15 for the lesson
about 10 for the apple

Supervision

7/10

Kids Need Play

Color-sorting

February 24, 2022March 18, 2022 Keira

Dear Reader,

I found these little counting muffins on Zulily and I’ve had my eye on them for a while so I couldn’t resist getting them for $10 cheaper, so I splurged. You’ll probably be seeing them a lot because there are lots of ways to use them. Since this was my girls first time seeing them I mostly just let them play with them, but since my toddlers are getting pretty excited about colors lately (it’s starting to click), we also used the time to focus on colors! I asked them to sort the muffins by colors. “Can we find all the red muffins? Let’s put the red muffins in this tin.”

They’re also a good size for little fingers to pincer grasp practice. And they’re are enough of them that my girls don’t fight over them, which is definitely a thing lately.

I mean, you can use anything and a muffin tin to sort colors (and we have), but these little muffins were fun, too. And they spark imaginative play, too because they’re muffins! There was lots of pretend eating happening while we sorted the colors (make sure your kids stick to pretend eating! They definitely don’t pass the toilet-paper-tube-test).

Age Range

toddler

Prep Required

on the fly

Time Needed

15 minutes

Supervision

9/10

(choking hazard + teaching time)

FHE

Testimonies FHE

February 22, 2022February 28, 2023 Keira

Purpose: To help your family gain and grow their testimonies and learn how to share them through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Possible scriptures: Job 19:25-26; John 7:17; John 8:32; James 1:5-6; 1 Nephi 10:19; Alma 5:45-47; Alma 30:41-44; Ether 12:6; Moroni 10:3-5; Doctrine and Covenants 6:22-23; Doctrine and Covenants 76:22-24; Joseph Smith – History 1:24-25;

Possible Songs: The Spirit of God, hymn 2; How Firm a Foundation, Hymn 85; I Believe in Christ, Hymn 134; My Redeemer Lives, Hymn 135; I Know that My Redeemer Lives, Hymn 136; Testimony, Hymn 137; I Know My Father Lives, Hymn 302, Children’s Songbook page 5; Families Can Be Together Forever, Children’s Songbook page 188;

Possible Materials: The articles from the friend about Elisa and the Testimony Plants, and the article by Elder Uchtdorf. Scripture figures of Nephi and his family. A picture of Boyd K. Packer (see Church History below). A picture of Joan of Arc.

Preparation: Begin with prayer. Think about how your testimony is doing. Are you living in a way that will grow your testimony? Strong testimonies do not just happen. Read the suggested scriptures, along with 1 Nephi 2 (Starting with vs 16) and Alma 32 (starting with verse 27). Read through the lesson, including any links, and carefully select the most relevant material for your family. Gather paper and things to draw with, and possibly seeds and planting supplies. Children: Read or listen to the story about Elisa and the Testimony Plants. Watch the video of Alma teaching about Faith and the Word of God. Gather paper and things to draw with, and possibly seeds and planting supplies.

Lesson:

Discuss how last week’s challenge went.

Introduction: You may consider singing “Faith is Like a Little Seed,” from the Children’s songbook if it was not your opening song. Have someone read the story about Elisa and the Testimony Plants (or summarize it) and show the picture on the second page. Ask your family what the word, “testimony,” means. As they are discussing answers, pass out paper and drawing utensils, and ask them to draw their testimony. As they are drawing, read Alma 32:27-43. If your family is older or does not feel comfortable drawing their testimony, an alternative is to start planting your seedlings for your summer garden. I plant my tomatoes and peppers at the end of February, so this lines up nicely with planting season for us. Make sure to highlight that testimonies do not just appear. They take work to cultivate and grow slowly.

Talk about what should make up the foundation, or roots of a testimony. They are:

Knowing that Heavenly Father lives and loves us.
Jesus Christ, God’s son, lives and atoned for us.
Joseph smith was the prophet of the restoration.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Savior’s church on the earth today.
Our Church is led by a living prophet, seer, and revelator.

If we seek to grow these root principles, our testimonies can grow to include all other principles of the gospel. Ask your family why they think these 5 points are so important and the foundation of a testimony.

From the Scriptures: For younger families, introduce Nephi and his family by using these scripture figures. Read 1 Nephi 2:16. Ask the family what steps Nephi followed (first he desired. Then he asked Heavenly Father. But is that all? Lastly, he acted upon it. He didn’t rebel like his brothers did. He applied faith to his testimony) to gain a testimony. Read the July 2015 article from the Friend by Elder Uchtdorf. Talk about the steps Elder Uchtdorf says we should take. Why is it so important to work and cultivate our testimony?

From Church History: Each and every conference, we are given an opportunity to hear the testimonies of our prophet and the apostles. President Boyd K Packer shared regularly that his testimony didn’t have to be perfect to be enough. Hold up a picture of Elder Packer (maybe the military one from this bio?) Have your family read both of his testimonies shared in April 2014 and October 2007 (the sections marked out). President Packer says that he felt that if he could have such a witness, anyone could. He also points out that any amount of a testimony is a good place to start; a good foundation. This is a reassuring idea! Reiterate to your family that their testimonies do no have to be perfect to be enough as long as they’re willing to hold on to it.

From World History: Hold up a picture of Joan of Arc. Joan of Arc was known for her testimony. She was unlike any girl in her era, doing things even the men couldn’t do, and she was a 17-year-old girl with no esteem or aristocracy. Ask a family member to read the excerpt from a 2006 talk by Elder James E. Faust about Joan of Arc. Joan of Arc was told she could either deny she had been inspired and die quickly or hold to her testimony and die slowly. She was scared and chose to die quickly, but the morning designated for her execution, she said she had been reprimanded by God and that she could not deny her testimony any longer. She was set on fire and died slowly because she would not deny her testimony. Elder Faust points out that just like Joan of Arc, we have a right to our testimony and a responsibility to act on it, even if that makes us different. By holding true to what we know, we can change history.

Further Discussion:

Ask your family to read all of 1 Nephi 2, instead of just vs 16. Lehi wished all of his children could have strong testimonies. But some of his children chose different directions for their life. No matter how strong your parents’ testimonies are, it isn’t enough unless you also grow your own.

Read Elder Bednar’s summary of a 2012 conference talk as well as Elder Eyering’s First Presidency Message in 2015. What is the difference between having a testimony and being converted? Make a graph and list the differences your family found in each article. Discuss what you list.

Recent Conference talks to consider in your discussion: Click here to find the most recent talks about testimonies.

Challenge:

Challenge each family member to be prepared to bear their testimony at the beginning of next Family Home Evening. Help them to be comfortable with the idea, and tell them it is a safe environment to practice where they know that everyone loves them and will benefit from their testimony. If anyone does not feel comfortable doing so next Family Home Evening, do not make them. Offer to help younger children.

Giving due credit: as usual, I read and learned from the Family Home Evening Resource Manual Lesson 16. I also studied Gospel Topics on Testimony and its included links.

Kids Need Play

Rainbow Smoothies: because she kept asking

February 19, 2022February 19, 2022 Keira

Dear Reader,

Okay, so this was on the fly… And it was a lot of work and mess so I probably won’t do it much in order to perfect it… so this is a super rough and casual draft.

Today, we made smoothies! Rainbow smoothies. Because I have been asked every day for a month if we could try it.

Purple: it was still way too red, but there wasn’t any fixing it. I started with my base of liquid, banana and pear. Then I added blueberries and huckleberries. I added 2 raspberries and that was a bad choice. Don’t do that. But honestly it was too red even without the raspberries because the huckleberries are pretty red. I added a blue little Gatorade powder and it made it good but tart. Not much purple-er.

Blue: let’s be honest, this blue is purple. It is almond milk, baby cereal and fresh blueberries because I hate frozen blueberries. And the pear and banana again. I can’t explain why, it is a texture thing. So the cereal is there to thicken it. If you like frozen blueberries you could skip the cereal. Or if you wanted to add oatmeal powder, that works too.

Alternative blue: I googled how to actually get a blue smoothie and there is something called spirulina powder. I might try that. My husband wouldn’t though. He’s not an adventurous foodie. Especially if it’s deemed healthful.

Green: by now everyone knows how to make green smoothies. Spinach is great for color and doesn’t have much flavor. Then I added lime juice (go light on that… I added too much), banana and pear.

Yellow: the easiest. Lemonade, mangoes, banana, and pear again.

Orange: I’m not sold on the orange. I did pineapple juice, mangoes, bananas, pear, and 2 strawberries. It was too light. But I wasnt about to open another juice with so many in the fridge. maybe no pear this time? Or no banana but I need bananas in my smoothies. I’m pretty picky. In a mango smoothie I probably wouldn’t notice it missing as much. I thought about adding peaches but tried to stick to few ingredients instead of opening everything.

Red: the juice from the can of pears, strawberries, raspberries banana, and the last pear. I though it was too pink so maybe no pear next time. I could have done straight raspberry but I don’t like all the raspberry seeds, lol. See? picky. Actually, one year when I had extra raspberries I made myself smoothie ice cubes that I’d strained all the seeds out of. That was when I was consistent at making smoothies for breakfast.

I made her fill her own cup with droppers to strengthen her pincer grasp. She got bored so maybe next time I’ll use the turkey baster? And it kept the smoothies separated by color instead of mixing together.

It tasted good, so there’s that. A little too tangy with the blue Gatorade and too much lime juice, but the flavors blended well together. The little girls liked it, too. They drank all of mine! And since their throats are pretty sore (sister gave everyone her cold because she hasn’t figured out how to cover her mouth…), They haven’t wanted much else to eat.

you may need to make a shopping list, though.

A Day in the Life, Kids Need Play

Things that are different about potty-training twins:

February 17, 2022March 11, 2022 Keira

Guess what I’ve been doing this week? Except I refused to rush this process so I’ve actually been doing this for a couple of weeks, but we’re kinda in the thick of it right now. Send a soda and a carpet cleaner!

Anyway, I was sitting on the edge of the tub and musing on how potty-training twins is just different than potty-training singletons. I mean, in a lot of ways, it’s the exact same, but some things caught me off guard and I figured I’d post what I’ve learned. I’m not claiming to be an expert! I stink at potty-training! But if you have twins, and come across this post, I hope you get the advice you’re looking for.

first of all, there is someone to fight over your toddler’s underpants selection. Seriously, I let each girl pick out a character on their training pants, so I thought we’d be fine. But somehow, we get home, get into the potty-training process, and one twin suddenly wants the Cocomelon underpants that the other twin picked. Needless to say, we now have 2 sets of Cocomelon training underwear.

Also, you will need 2 training potties. with my older kids, I hardly ever used the little potties. It just seemed like 1 more step to get to independence. Besides, there is soooo much more cleaning involved! Invest in a good step and maybe a little potty seat, and you’re good to go! But with twins, you need 2. Not just 1. I’m sure you can guess why you need one… guaranteed your toddlers will have to go to the bathroom at the same time! But let me enlighten you on why you need 2: Both will want the toddler potty! Then you have two kids crying and peeing on your floor and pushing each other off the little potty, and … yeah. You get the idea. You need 2. And, in case you didn’t read the paragraph before this one, they need to look the EXACT SAME!

Another learning curve I didn’t expect involves rewards. I’ve always had the rule that anyone that celebrates in the potty victory gets a treat. So if big sister sees them go, she can get a treat. This is the way my mom always did it, and it worked! It gets the older kids to encourage the process. But there was an unexpected snag with twins… When everyone gets a treat for going potty, the twin that didn’t go doesn’t think they need to. They get the reward for zero effort. Ugh, I had so many puddles in my life until I changed that rule. Now, you only get a treat if you’re the one to go. Big sister doesn’t seem too offended by the change; but still, do yourself a favor and just not make it a thing that needs to break. Besides, with twins, you have a built-in cheerleader without the reward system.

And that built-in cheerleader is a special joy. I love watching my twins remind each other to go potty. I mean, sometimes it’s that one had an accident and so the other realized they had to go, but they’re so happy for the other kid’s success! And when one gets candy the other one decides they want candy, too, so they hurry to the potty for their own treat.

Something else that I wouldn’t say caught me by surprise, but was definitely highlighted is the fact that twins are two different people. I know, that sounds obvious. But each kid has their own way of doing things, so when you potty train individually, you tweak the system to fit what that kid needs. But when you’re potty training 2 at once, you have to use a little more finesse. For instance, my twin A is very go-getter. She’s bold. She goes potty for the success of being a big kid. She likes “special” underwear (i.e. not the training pants) and so having an accident in her special panties is so sad and worth staying clean and dry. Twin B could care less about special underwear. She totally goes potty to get the treat. Also, twin A has a stronger bladder. She needs to run to the bathroom less frequently. But twin B drinks a ton and runs potty a ton. I mean: All. The. Time! So, a potty timer just wont cut it! In fact, the potty timer really annoys twin A. She’s gonna go when she wants to go! So, twin A has special underwear, is reminded less frequently, and often would rather quickly go back to play instead of demanding her piece of candy. She’s methodical in the entire process. Twin B demands her candy every time, loves the praise for staying clean and dry, and has to go about 4 times as often. She also needs watched closer on washing her hands because she’ll try to take shortcuts.

Lastly, I never realized how much free time I had before I spent so much time in a bathroom! I mean, for REAL! I barely get anything done in its entirety in one sitting right now. Case in point: I am just plain typing this from sitting outside the bathroom, because I got sick of the walk from my regular writing spot all the way to the bathroom and back, just to repeat the process after one sentence. I am greatly looking forward to the day they’ll be self-sufficient enough to go on their own.

FHE

The Holy Ghost Helps Me FHE

February 15, 2022February 28, 2023 Keira

Purpose:

Possible scriptures: John 14:16-21,25-27; Romans 8:16-17; 2 Nephi 32:8-9; 3 Nephi 11:35-36; 3 Nephi 28:11; Moroni 8:26; Doctrine and Covenants 11:12; Doctrine and Covenants 42:17; Doctrine and Covenants 46:7-33; Doctrine and Covenants 130: 22-23; Doctrine and Covenants 132:19;

Possible Songs: I Know My Father Lives, Children’s Songbook page 5; Listen, Listen, Children’s Songbook page 107; The Still Small Voice, Children’s Songbook page 106; The Holy Ghost, Children’s Songbook 105; Let the Holy Spirit Guide, hymn 143

Possible Materials: my treasure hunt; some small prize at the end (perhaps a picture for each person of the family); this picture of Christ ordaining his Apostles,

Preparation: Begin with prayer. Read the suggested scriptures, along with John 14-16. Read through the lesson, including any links, and carefully select the most relevant material for your family. Children: listen to the story about Harold B. Lee and Wilford Woodruff. Ask a parent to help you print, cut, and hide the clues for a treasure hunt.

Lesson:

Discuss how last week’s challenge went.

Introduction: Remind your family that we learned about Heavenly Father. He loves us. He wants us to be like Him. He sent His Son to show us how to be like Him and to create the path back to Heavenly Father. We have to remember to stay on the path that Jesus made for us. There is another person that can help us to be like God. He is called the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost does not have a body like Heavenly Father does, because he needs to speak to our spirits. He couldn’t do that if he had a body.

The Holy Ghost helps us to stay on the path by helping us know when we are drifting or which way we need to go. He gives us clues to make it back to Heavenly Father. Tell your family that we are going to go on a treasure hunt and learn about the Holy Ghost by following the clues. To make it easier, I’ve made a printable document of the chart. You can find it by clicking here. At the conclusion of the treasure hunt, you can pick what your family will need to “find” but it will need to be something little and easy to hide. You don’t have to have any prize if you don’t want (especially for older families), because the prize is eternal life! as given to us in the last clue! Along with all the roles and gifts of the Holy Ghost we collected along the way.

	Where	Scripture	Role of the Holy Ghost/clue
1	Give this clue to your family	3 Nephi 28:11	Witnesses of the Father and Son: The Godhead is a group of three, Heavenly Father, the Holy Ghost and Me.
2	A picture of Jesus Christ	Moroni 10:4-5	Testifies of Truth: Go to the bookshelf, o seeker, o sleuth, Pick out the book full of gospel and truth.
3	Book of Mormon on a bookshelf	Moroni 8:26	Comforts us: This item of comfort found in a bed, Fills us with warmth, like love that is spread.
4	Blanket or other lovey	Doctrine and Covenants 8:2-3	Sends inspiration and confirmation: Beit phone call or text, this device sends us word, Likewise inspiration, sometimes felt, sometimes heard.
5	Someone’s phone	Alma 5:46	Delivers messages from Heavenly Father: Sometimes God has a message for me, The Holy Ghost makes that delivery!
6	A box on the front porch or taped to the mailbox	Alma 24:8 or Acts 2:37-38	Softens hearts: A softened heart can feel cozy and sweet, It’s pliable, akin to a pillow you eat.
7	Wherever you store your marshmallows.	Hebrews 4:12 or 1 Nephi 4:10-11	Sends warnings: Don’t touch! Be careful! Watch what you do! The Holy Ghost can be a warning to you.
8	Something your kids know is dangerous (the oven or knives)	Doctrine & Covenants 33:15	Dwells with recipients of the gift of the Holy Ghost: When we are baptized we are given the power To call upon gospel light in a dark hour.
9	Light switch or flashlight	1 Corinthians 12:7-11	Grants the gifts of the spirit: The Holy Ghost knows what we need Like a bag full of supplies to help us succeed.
10	Purse or backpack	Ephesians 4:30 or D&C 76:53	Seals on earth and in heaven: When we go to this place as husband and wife And always keep our covenants, we earn eternal life.
11	Picture of the temple	x	x

From the Scriptures: Hold up the picture of Christ ordaining His apostles. Talk about how Jesus had 12 apostles to help Him lead his church. He knew He was about to go back to Heavenly Father. Read John 14:16-27. Discuss how Jesus knew his Disciples would miss him when he was gone, so he said that he would ask Heavenly Father to send a Comforter to help them feel better. Discuss how that comforter is the Holy Ghost and he can comfort us when we are sad and lonely, too. He promised that if we would listen, and be baptized and confirmed, the Holy Ghost would always be with us.

From Church History: Read this story about Harold B Lee as a boy {the link takes you right to the paragraph to read. Otherwise, it’s the 5^th paragraph} by Elder Harold B. Lee and discuss how the Holy Ghost is a voice of warning. Sometimes, but not always, the Holy Ghost is a voice we can hear. For younger children, use this version with pictures that is found in the friend.

Then tell the story about about how President Woodruff listened to the Holy Ghost and it kept him safe. For younger audiences, use this graphic story. For older audiences, it is found starting at the 16^th paragraph of Prayer and Prompting by Elder Packer. The Holy Ghost has the important job of warning us! If we listen, we will never lose that voice of warning. And even when hard things happen, the Holy Ghost can comfort us. Bear your testimony of how the Holy Ghost has helped you in your life. Point out that sometimes the Holy Ghost can be loud, but usually He will just send a quiet feeling.

Further Discussion:

The spirit is not always with us. It never abandons us, instead we make it leave. Discuss times that the spirit withdraws from our lives and what we need to do to get it back. Focus on profanity, uncleanliness, disobedience, rebellion, sin, and anger. Discuss what would have happened in any of the previous stories had the people not been receptive to the Holy Ghost?

Read The Unspeakable Gift of the Holy Ghost, by Jay E. Jensen and The Sacred Roles of the Holy Ghost, by Kevin R. Duncan. Look for the ways the Holy Ghost works for our salvation.

Recent Conference talks to consider in your discussion: Click here.

Challenge:

Remind your family of the lesson where we learned the first article of faith. We learned that God is our Eternal Father. If your family only learned the first part, tell them that we have now learned 2 more members of the Godhead: Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. Challenge your family to memorize the entire first article of faith this week.

If your family has already memorized the first article of faith, memorize Doctrine and Covenants 11:12 instead.

Giving due credit: as usual, I read and learned from the Sunbeams Manual Lesson 7 (Nursery Manual lesson 6), Gospel Principles Chapter 7, True to the Faith on the Holy Ghost, and Gospel topics on the Holy Ghost. If you want an amazing article that teaches a lot, check out What is the difference between the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Christ, and the Light of Christ? from the June 1989 Ensign. I learned a lot!

Educational, Kids Need Play

Mini School Day 2 /s/ sound

February 12, 2022March 15, 2022 Keira

Dear Reader;

I am so giddy at how well these little mini lessons are going! I always told myself that “someday,” I’d do fun letter activities but I just never felt good enough or like I had the time to do such fun things. But I made a goal to spend more time with my kids, and then I made the goal to focus on letters. And it’s been so rewarding.

This activity was about the /s/ sound. And squishy slimy rainbow-colored spaghetti was just so fun to make! My kids wished I would have let them help, but I was the mean mom that did not feel like cleaning up food-colored clothes or kids or carpet.

To make rainbow spaghetti, just cook the spaghetti to done, add 20 drops of coloring and 2 tbs of water into a sandwich bag. mix it up and then add some spaghetti into the bag. It was about 2 pinches full of spaghetti, but really it’ll depend on how much spaghetti you cook.

For red, I simply did 20 drops of red.
For orange, I did 15 drops of yellow and 5 of red (and I could have favored the yellow even more than I did.
For yellow, it was easy peasy. 20 drops of yellow.
For green, I did 12 drops of neon green, and 3 drops of true green. it was such a pretty color!
For blue I did 15 drops of my cyan from the neon set and 5 drops of straight blue.
Purple was made by 12 drops of the neon purple, 5 drops blue, and 3 drops red. Honestly it was dark, so maybe it doesn’t need all 20 drops?
I had extra spaghetti so I decided to make some teal (12 drops cyan, 2 drops blue, and 5 drops of green) and some magenta (I only did 10 drops on this one because I wanted it to be more of a pink than a red. 7 drops neon purple and 3 drops red). You can look for them in the picture above if you want.

You’re supposed to only leave the spaghetti in for a minute… but I have kids. Yeahhhh, that spaghetti was in there for more like 5. And it didn’t end up all evenly colored, because ideally I would have at least mixed that spaghetti around every so often. But eh, my kids didn’t care and honestly, I didn’t either.

After it’s been in for the “minute,” rinse each color individually. after rinsing, I dumped them all back into the pan, and I’m telling you not to do that. Keep them all in their own bowl until right before serving/giving to your kids, them to keep the blues from dying the yellows.

Now that that is done, time for our little mini-school! We read the second lesson in our Teach your Child book, the letter S from the activity book, and then we made s shapes and traced them with our fingers. then I just let her and her toddler sisters play in the spaghetti (after they washed their hands… because I totally intended to count the munching I knew would happen as lunch)! Sensory play for the win.

I pulled out a few noodle colors and let them dry in S shapes so she can have something to trace throughout the week. I tried to dry them onto the paper so they’d just glue themselves to the paper but the noodles shrink as they dry and the paper got all curly. So before they ruined the paper and their shapes, I pulled them off and flipped them over to dry the rest of the way. As the lessons progress I’ll have her trace them with her fingers to include kinetic input into learning.