Developing Talents: Christmas Jewelry

We would like to say good-bye to Alexa, who turned 11 and moved out of our group and into the 11-year old group.

We wrapped up the year making some Christmas-y earrings and bracelets. The girls quickly made the jewelry and were eager to move on to our next activity. We read a Christmas story and ate donuts. It was a great way to wrap-up the year.

December Caroling

These are pictures from our combined activity with all the Activity Days Girls. We met at Sis. H's and then caroled around her neighborhood. It was so nice to have such a large group of girls who sang beautifully. Afterwards, we went back to Sis. H's house for hot chocolate and cookies.

Learning and Living the Gospel: The Sacrament

For our activity today, we focused on the sacrament. At a Relief Society meeting, I got a super-easy recipe for bread, so we used that recipe to make bread. The girls were split into two groups and each made a loaf of bread. (It was a quick recipe, but we had to work fast in order to get it done before the end of the activity. In my haste, I only got one picture of one of the groups and not even a finished shot of the bread!) The girls had fun making the bread. The bread turned out beautiful and was delicious on Sunday when the sacrament was passed.

While the bread raised and baked, we watched a clip from one of John Bytheways' talks on DVD. In the clip, he broke down the sacrament prayers and explained the different parts. He did it in a great way which educated and entertained. After the video, I shared a couple of quotes. I also gave the girls a handout. On the handout were some scriptures (D & C 59:9; 3 Nephi 9:19-20; John 6:51,54,56; 1 Corinthians 11:29) that taught about participation in the sacrament service. There was also an idea list for the girls to help them get more out of their sacrament meetings.

The last thing in the handout was a poem that I had found, also one that John Bytheway said in his talk.

A Meeting Meant for Him

by O. Willard Pilling

There was envy in the glances that a lovely woman cast,

at the hairdo of a neighbor while the Sacrament was passed.

And a teenage girl I noticed, though a timid lass and shy,

watched a youthful priest intently through the corner of her eye.

As he sat behind the table where the water trays were spread,

she was not remembering Jesus nor the prayer the priest had said.

There was nothing reverential in the things the Cub Scout drew,

on the pages of the hymn book till the Sacrament was through.

Not a thought of Jesus' passion entered careless elders' minds,

as they whispered to each other and the girls they sat behind.

And the high priest's brow was furrowed as he stole a secret glance,

at his checkbook's dismal story of his failures in finance.

There were hundreds in the chapel but the worshippers were few,

and I couldn't help but wonder what the Lord Himself would do.

I couldn't help but wonder what the Lord Himself would say,

had he walked into a meeting where His saints behaved that way.

would His loving eyes be saddened, would His countenance be grim;

While He there observed and listened to a meeting meant for Him?

Developing Talents: Budgeting

Happy Birthday to Kayleah!

This was her last activity with our age group. We've had a fun time getting to know her.

Sis. H planned a great activity that taught us about budgeting. There was a lesson portion. The girls played a game about good and bad financial decisions. (They ended up getting stuck in one section of the game and we had to adjust the rules just so we could finish the game!)

The girls also each made envelopes that were labeled to different categories that their money could be budgeted into - tithing, spending, education, short-term savings, and long-term savings. The envelopes reminded me of my early days of being married because we did the same thing, only with different categories (car repair, mortgage, utilities, groceries, etc.). I know that this method of budgeting works because we did it for many years, until we modernized it and used a computer instead of actual cash. We do have the categories, still, and use them to help budget our money. I hope that the girls each learned a little bit about budgeting, because it is a skill that will be used their whole lives.

Developing Talents

This month we are talking about Developing Talents. To start our activity, the girls each listed the talents they have and shared them. Sister H then shared talents that each girl's parents had said the girls have. Some of the talents were the same as other girls, but each girl had at least one unique talent. (These talents were packaged inside cute little boxes like the one pictured above.)

After our discussion and lesson about talents, the girls decorated some yummy sugar cookies. We played name that tune and pictionary - drawing talents.

Articles of Faith Carnival

We would like to welcome Bailey to our group, who just moved into our ward.

We would like to say good-bye to Morgan, Lacee, and Alaia. Each of these girls has turned 11 and is now with a different group. It was fun to get to know them.

Our second meeting of the month began with making Halloween cards for the Ronald McDonald House.

After the cards were completed, we worked on one of the activities for "Serving Others." We talked about the 12th Article of Faith, learning definitions of unfamiliar words, solving different scenarios, and talking about being a good citizen.

After our lesson, the "carnival games" began. There were two different games - a tic tac toe game and an Article of Faith Dash. The girls who played tic tac toe tossed rings to giant tic tac toe boards that were numbered with Articles of Faith that the girls got to recite. The girls who "dashed" quickly matched up summaries to the actual Article of Faith. They had to run from one side of the gym to the other to find the matches.

The final game (that we had time for) was the balloon popping (since we couldn't use darts). The girls were divided into teams and had to pop the same-colored balloons and unscramble the mixed up words from certain Articles of Faith. The girls really enjoyed popping the balloons, even though some were tough to pop.

This week's cards

Getting to Know You

We started out our activity with a service project. Each time we meet, we will spend about 15 minutes working on a service project. The service project that we worked on will benefit the Ronald McDonald House. We made birthday cards that the residents will be able to use.

After our service project, we all took turns sharing what we brought in our paper bags. During this time, I realized what a fun bunch of girls are in our group. It was so fun to listen to the girls tell about themselves. In our group, we have silly bands collectors, singers, artists, readers, a scorpion hunter, a jewelry maker, a squeezie collector, athletes, and dancers. The girls are all so talented, and will all be beneficial to our group.

After we got to know the girls better, we talked a little about the Articles of Faith. The girls knew where they originated from, The Wentworth Letter. I also told a story about a boy who while traveling on a train, was able to share the Articles of Faith with a stranger. Ask the girls, to see if they remember, how the Articles of Faith became scripture (they were accepted in 1880 at General Conference, by the members raising their hand in common consent, as scripture).

These are the cute birthday cards the girls made.

I love how each one is different and unique.

Stake Activity: "It's a "Purse"onal Day"

What an awesome first activity I was able to attend!! Our stake put together a wonderful morning of activities for the girls that centered around the scripture found in 1Samuel 16:7:

"The Lord seeth not as man seeth for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."

We arrived at the church bright and early in our Sunday best. The girls looked so nice in their cute clothes with their hair done so stylishly, some with fancy flowers in their hair. We met in the chapel for some opening comments. We watched a portion of a talk given by President Uchtdorf about the story of The Ugly Duckling. You can re-read it or watch it here. President Uchtdorf sums it up, "My dear young friends, this knowledge allows you to see your own reflection in the water. It assures you that you are not ordinary, rejected, or ugly. You are something divine—more beautiful and glorious than you can possibly imagine. This knowledge changes everything. It changes your present. It can change your future. And it can change the world."

President Anderson showed us some optical illusions, illustrating how people see things differently. In one picture, a young, elegant lady appeared. At the same time, there was an elderly woman. In another picture, some could see a person playing a saxophone, while others saw the picture of a woman. This illustrated how people see things differently. After these speakers, we headed for our rotation stations.

"What's in your purse?"

Sister Felix spoke with us, using her wonderfully huge Mary Poppins-esque purse filled with oversized reminders of things in our purse that can remind us of how we should act. In her purse we found a tube of lip gloss which can remind us to speak kind words, and never anything that can hurt another person. There was also a very blingy cell phone, which she likened to the scriptures. We should cling to the scriptures as some cling to their phones, because there are many answers that can be found in the scriptures. There were some sunglasses which remind us to look for the good in others. She also encouraged us to be the friend that you want to be remembered as.

"Developing Talents - Music"

This was a surprise to me. I didn't think that as I walked into the primary room that I would be transported to a recording studio, but there I was. The girls practiced singing, "Hum Your Favorite Hymn" while being directed by Sister Ellsworth. After a couple times singing it, they were recorded. It sounded so nice. Each group that rotated through this station sang a different song, all of which were recorded. These songs will be burned onto a CD for each girl. That will be so fun to hear them all together.

"Design your Purse"

What would a stake activity day be without a craft? The girls always do a great job making things, so this craft was no exception. Each girl was given a bag which they were able to embellish with felt circle flowers, ribbons, and jewels. Each bag was unique and totally cute!

"True Beauty"

Our last rotation was a class about true beauty. Sister Dewitt spoke with us about how things in your heart are more important than outer appearance. She gave us the following beauty tips:

For beautiful lips

-say only good things about others.

For sparkling eyes

-look for the good in everyone.

For a slim figure

-work hard helping and sharing with those in need.

For lovely hands

-use them often to lift others.

To develop poise and grace

-walk with the knowledge that you are a Daughter of God.

After the last speaker, we went to the cultural hall where we found lunch waiting for us, along with a beautifully decorated room. Each table had a darling centerpiece. I think the girl's favorite part of the room was a toss-up between the cupcake bar and the lemonade fountain. While we ate our lunch, Sister Martineau and Sister Harris spoke about manners. Tied to a fork, was this quote by Emily Post: "Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have awareness you have good manners no matter which fork you use."