Changes

So we've all heard about the boundary changes in the ward...if you haven't...here they are;

This change is bitter sweet but we know it was needed and will be better for us all in the long run. We are nervous but excited about the changes and ask you to please be patient with both bishops as they get leadership called and things get settled. Thank you!!

Give The Sacrament Back To The Savior (part 2)

The Sacrament activities we have been providing for our primary children before the meeting seems to be helping and we couldn't be happier about that! We have more fun Sacrament appropriate activities coming up...here is a preview! Our books won't be exactly like this but we will have an alphabet quiet book ready for them the first week of September! Remember these are one per child and they are for the children to keep! We have many fun ideas for the next few months but if there is anything you would like to see us do or any way we could help you with anything, please let us know!

Give the Sacrament back to the Savior

The First Presidency of the church has asked us as ward leaders to help our fellow brothers and sisters to help in any way that we can to make the Sacrament a spiritual experience and not 'just another meeting'. As primary leaders, and parents ourselves, we know how hard it can be to feel the spirit when you are trying to keep young children still and quiet for an hour! We have decided to provide a monthly, Sacrament appropriate 'activity' for the primary aged children to engage in. Our hopes are that it will help the children think more about the meanings of the Sacrament, the Savior's sacrifice for us, and help everyone present more easily feel the spirit. We began this in July with a packet of crayons and Sacrament activity sheets that the children can fill out based on the words the speakers say.

We have several other activities for the upcoming fall months and we are very excited about this new change! If there is anything else we can do as a Primary Presidency to help or anything you would like to see us do, please let us know!

Children's Choir

We have discussed having a children's choir and love the idea!!! If your children are interested, we will be meeting before Sacrament in the back of the Primary room from 12:30 to 12:50. This choir will be singing a musical number in Sacrament once a month. The first song will be sung on July 19th and will be "Saturday Is A Special Day" from the children's song book. We are very excited about this new opportunity!

June Journals!

April was a busy month with college graduates leaving and our loss of teachers so we let the kids have a break from our challenges. Even though June is half way over...we began June Journals at the beginning of the month and will be continuing it throughout the month!

We are asking the children to write a journal entry this month about one of several topics; • 3 things that matter most to me are…because… • Today I was inspired by… • My house is my home because… • Today I was very happy because… • The best part of my day today was…because… • My best friend is…because… • Today I heard a funny story and it was… • The most important thing in my room is…because… • The nicest thing anyone ever did for me was… • Today would be perfect if… • I am looking forward to… • Things I love about me are… • If I could do today over, I would… • The thing I love most about my dad is… • The thing I love most about my mom is… • Today I meant to…but instead I…because… Once they complete this entry they can turn it in to a member of the presidency and the first Sunday of July we will be having snacks and sharing journal entries for those who want to share and singing fun songs as a reward for completing this challenge! :) The children are so amazing and we love to hear their stories and share their sweet spirit with us!

March Madness!

The children did amazing things during February! They completely filled the doughnut poster and will be having a doughnut party this Saturday, March 7th in the gym at 5:30! We are so proud of them and their efforts!! March is here and this month we will be doing MARCH MADNESS! We will be explaining to the children that sometimes we get mad, everyone does, and for our March challenge we will be helping them learn various coping mechanisms they can practice when they get mad.

We will be talking about it each week and seeing if they have noticed a change in their attitudes and how happy they can be when they think about what they do or say when they are mad and make good choices! It may be an easy challenge for them, we know they can do this! However, hopefully they will find a variety of ways that will help and they will notice that they feel more peaceful! If you as parents and caretakers have any ideas to add, we welcome any comments below!

Yay...More Changes!

We are trying some new things this year...the sunbeam chics have made a difference and have been going great! We have been thinking about what else we could do to make primary more enjoyable and see what other positive changes we can make! For February we will be implementing 'February Friends' month. We will have a 'Donuts Day' poster up during primary and explain to the children that Jesus Christ is the savior and Redeemer who died to help us back to our father in Heaven but that every one of them can do their part by telling their neighborhood friends about the gospel and bringing them to church one Sunday during February. When children talk to their friends about the gospel or bring them to church we will fill up a little more of our doughnut...

...if we fill it up before the month is out, we will have a doughnut party! Hopefully this will encourage the children to reach out to the less active in the neighborhood and ward, not only letting them know that we love them but that we want to see them back at church! Parents, we encourage you to help your children with this endeavor, we believe it will really help them as well as those they invite!