Book of Mormon Read-a-Thon

At the start of the year our Relief Society president shared a sad statistic about how few members have read the entire Book of Mormon.  So we made one of our goals to encourage the sisters to read.
We decided to have a Book of Mormon Read-a-Thon.  We took a lot of ideas from those online, mainly off of Sugardoodle. 
Beforehand we passed out reminder handouts in doc and publisher.
Here is our adjusted reading schedule.  One thing we didn't do was last until 10:30 that night.  We stopped at 10:10 and finished up that part at 8 the next morning.  We had asked for Cameos but somehow the message wasn't passed on.  It worked out well though.  We just listened to those chapters. 
One of the YW played the chapters we listened to on her ipod so we could listen at 1.5 speed.  It helped keep us on schedule. 

Two of the Young Women who joined us

 Care of the activity, one of the young women was able to complete and receive her Young Women's Medallion.

This is when we didn't make it until 10

Saturday we had little ears join us

 

True and Faithful

 

For our first Sunday lesson this month I decided to introduce the new manual we will be using: Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith, in a fun way.  I put together a concentration game of dates and numbers that apply to President Smith's life.  The room will be divided into two teams and each member of the team has to try to match the number or date with the correct event.  Encourage each team to work together and help each other.  The point is to get them using their manuals, not to stump them.

All of the facts come from the manual and this month's Ensign magazine.

Here is the list of dates and items in Excel, put each one on an index card with the number on the opposite side.  The first column has the manual page numbers where the answer can be found.  Put the number side out in 2-4x5 grids on the board.  Numbers 1-20 are dates/numbers and Numbers 21-40 are the events.

Here is the list of stories/quotes that go with some of the events from the Ensign in Microsoft Word.  Dates have been removed to hand the items out to have read if desired.  Also is a copy of the events to print out if so desired.

Chapter 24: Reflections on the Mission of Jesus Christ

I haven't had as many opportunities to share handouts as a RS counselor, but this week our teacher is sick and I get to step in.  I am so excited for the Christmas season (even if I am putting lessons together for 3 out of 5 Sundays).  And I LOVE that two of the lessons get to be about Christ!  I don't know who plans the manuals, but this year and next, the December lessons are fantastic!
So for the lesson tomorrow I have 5 quotes and questions.  Here is my lesson plan in Word.
I also am going to use a video with clips of prophets and apostles bearing testimony of Christ.  I LOVE this compilation.  I received a CD as a missionary with the audio for it and just found this video on YouTube.

Baby Shower

I am hosting a baby shower for my boss and am having WAY too much fun!  It is still 20 days away, but most of my items are ready or in the process of being ready. 
Simply McGhie Soaps is making a custom soap for the favors and I am getting a few extra bars for game winners.
The diaper cake is in-process.  Thank you Crafty Chicks for the instructions.

AND today I made labels for water bottles, how cute are these!

Thank you Life Sweet Life for giving me all the info I needed!
This is why I don't do things early.  It just gives me more time to make more crafts!
Here is the link to print the labels (5/page) in Publisher.

Amazing Race

My husband teaches seminary and his favorite activity is The Amazing Race. 

He comes up with all sorts of clues and sends the kids all over the building.  The kids love it too.  The last time we did this activity there were a few other adults helping out, but every time is different.
This time, to make the activity more like the TV show, he had me find the pictures on the clue envelopes.  I spent forever searching for these and figured I should share them.
Some of the pictures are in black and white for those who want to color/make their own.  Happy racing!
Here are the links: word, publisher, pdf, xps

RS First Sunday

Being in the RS presidency, I get to teach every so often.  July 1st was my Sunday.  I knew this was coming and was completly prepared...that is until the Saturday morning before.  I woke up and the got that unmistakable feeling that everything I had prepared was wrong and I had to start again.  Don't get me wrong, I love having the gift of the Holy Ghost.  I just wish it worked sooner.
Instead of my prepared lesson, I was prompted to turn to the talk "And They Were Armed with Righteousness and with the Power of God in Great Glory" given by Ruth Todd at the 2012 BYU Women's Conference.  Here is a video of the talk.  The transcript was not up at the time, so I spent that Saturday morning typing out what I could and compiling it into a lesson.  Here are my notes.
I just loved the reference to the latter-day fist pumpers and had to make a handout for it.

I uploaded this and printed it out as 4x5 pictures via Walmart's 1 hour photo.  I also did a 8x10 for the table.  I think it went well.

Home School - Summer School

For the summer I wanted to keep our 15 year old's mind busy and active.  I searched all over online and couldn't find any programs that I liked that were free (for teenagers) so I've been inventing my own program.
Here is the 6 week Schedule. 
I try to mix things up and give him a day off of the intense learning.  I have taught him to sew on a machine this summer already.  Believe me, it would be a whole lot easier to just sit back and let him do whatever, but he really is progressing and seems to like it...most of the time.
Here are some links to classes I have been using or things I have found helpful:
Learner.org  We use the science, but this site has some great helps.
Math Assessment  I gave him some of the assessments here before starting up the pre algebra course.
NROC We use the pre algebra course as the entire book is online.  I also like that it has tests and lessons that keep him interested.
IXL  This website has a daily limit for free questions, but I like the format.
Weekly Reader  An online health magazine with helps for teens.
Teen Health on Webmd.com
Creative Writing

Jurisdiction Cards

As our family is growing, we have decided to share our household chores.  We decided to change the word "chore" to "jurisdiction" (thank you Duggar family). 
Here are what the cards look like:

Garbage

Bathrooms

Mail, Newspaper and Outside Chores

Floors

Kitchen and Dining Table

School Work

Garbage (Own room)

Vacuum, Dust and Windows (Own Room)

Dusting, Straightening

Make Bed, Clean Floor, Clothes Put Away

Here is the printable version: (publisher) (xps)

Chopped/Black Box cooking

One of the favorite activities we ever had for mutual was a cooking event that my husband just put on for our YM/YW here.  The youth are split into different groups (he did 3 groups) and sent to different kitchens with a bag of the same 20-25 ingredients.  They are then given the task to create two dishes/plates with NO adult assistance (other than safety precautions).  The youth had a great time cooking and I was a daring judge.
This is from the group that stayed at the church building:

One leader biting her tongue to keep from helping

Primary Manual 4, Lesson 11 Abinadi and King Noah

Hi everyone.  I know it has been awhile since I posted anything here, but life in Relief Society does not call for many handouts.  Tomorrow I will be subbing in primary though and so, of course, I came up with a handout.  It's rather simple, but here's the pdf.
And here is the link to the lesson on lds.org.
Happy creating!