Week plan for FEBRUARY 18—24, Matthew 5; Luke 6
Young children
Activity ideas for up to a week of Come, Follow Me for Families. (I never accomplish everything I have listed, just in case you were wondering. But it is nice to have options!)
Monday
Doctrine: I can be a peacemaker.
Song of the week: Choose the Right Way (CS 160)
Draw three pictures, each on their own paper. 1) A stick figure standing in front of a path that splits into two directions, one leading to a volcano and the other to a home. This represents the line "choose the right way." 2) A happy face for "and be happy." 3) A CTR shield for "we must always choose the right."
Sing with a crescendo on the final phrase, starting very quietly hunching your body over and holding your hands close together as if ready to clap. Then as you sing through "we must always choose the right", stand up taller and pull your hands further apart until you are all singing fortississimo (very, very loudly). (Ideas from Rachel Lautenschlager)
Scripture story
Watch: The Sermon on the Mount, Illustrated New Testament Stories
Memorize: "Let your light so shine" (Matthew 5:16)
Prepare a flashlight letter hunt for your kids by writing each word (or each letter if they are up for a challenge) of the scripture phrase on rocks or scraps of paper. Hide the words outdoors or indoors, after the sun goes down. Turn off the lights, if inside, and send your children to hunt for the words with flashlights. Have them put the words in order once they are all found.
Coloring page
Activities
Share stories of notable peacemakers, then dramatize them together. Examples: Abraham (see Gen. 13:5–12), King Benjamin (see Mosiah 4:11–15), Melchizedek (see Alma 13:17–18), righteous Lamanites (see Alma 24:17–19). (Idea from 1994 Sharing Time)
Sing the fourth verse to “I Feel My Savior’s Love” (CS 74) and discuss with your children how sharing and serving and giving are part of being a peacemaker (Idea from 1994 Sharing Time). Then make a Peacemakers/Peacebreakers poster with words/pictures categorized as adding peace to the home or removing peace from the home.
Ask your children if they know who is the PRINCE of Peace. Read Isaiah 9:6 to find out. Look at some gospel art pictures and find pictures of Christ doing the things on the Peacemaker side of the poster from the above activity. Watch (and narrate for young children) The Prince of Peace, and hang up a Prince of Peace printable in your home as a reminder.
Trace the letters: Blessed are the Peacemakers.
Use these Preventive Teaching strategies to role play specific scenarios in which your children struggle with fighting or adding contention.
Tuesday
Doctrine: I can be a peacemaker.
Song of the week: Choose the Right Way (CS 160)
Engage your children's senses and teach about the Holy Ghost's guidance by doing this warning sounds activity before singing the song. You will be playing audio clips of dangerous sounds that provide a warning (i.e. thunderstorm) and comparing to audio clips of comforting sounds (i.e gentle rain). The Spirit can use a warning or a comforting voice to direct us in choosing the right.
Scripture story
Watch: Sermon on the Mount: Beatitudes, Bible Video
Memorize: "Let your light so shine" (Matthew 5:16)
Hang up this Bright Idea poster and let your children underline the phrase they'll be memorizing.
Coloring page
Activities
Cut to separate each of these peacemaker examples. Gather a pile of shoes from every family member and slip the papers into random shoes. Then bring your children over and teach them what it means to walk in another's shoes. If you have the time, this Red Riding Hood activity can help teach the concept. Then try on each other's shoes and walk around in them. As papers of peacemaker examples are found, discuss how that individual was a peacemaker and tried to think of things from another person's point of view.
Cut this Blessed Are the Peacemakers poster into strips (adjust the width according to your desired difficulty) to make a horizontal puzzle.
Peacemaker Wanted! Have your children put the pictures in order from first to last to see how a child’s desire to be a peacemaker affected her family. Also consider reading President Eyring's counsel from the link. Make these Wanted Posters.
Help each child draw a picture of your house and write "PEACE" inside the house (or behind a partially glued flap door). Have a discussion about what peace feels like. Do your children recognize when your home has peace and when it does not? Refer to the Peacemaker/Peacebreaker poster made on Monday.
Answer these multiple choice Cease from Anger questions together, or in turns, about not reacting in anger.
Trace each others hands to make this peace craft to emphasize working together instead of fighting.
Wednesday
Doctrine: Jesus wants me to be a light to others.
Song of the week: Choose the Right Way (CS 160)
Sing the song through one time and have your children count how many times you say "right." Then talk about how in music, the main idea is often repeated. (Idea from Lindsey McIntire Carson)
Draw and cut out a large CTR shield together. Then sing the song and take a photo of one of your children posing with the shield every time "choose the right" is sung. (Idea from Patty Zollinger)
Scripture story
Put together this Beatitude Book and read the scriptures on it. Invite your children to repeat important phrases or words.
Memorize: "Let your light so shine" (Matthew 5:16)
Gather five flashlights (though the activity can be easily adapted to only one flashlight). Without your children looking, remove the batteries in each flashlight and insert a rolled up word from the scripture phrase. Screw the covers back on and give the flashlights to your kids, explaining that we can be like a flashlight to others by showing our good examples. Let them discover that the flashlights don't work and that they have paper in place of batteries. Put the papers together to read the scripture, and then explain that the light of Christ is like our battery. The light we shine to others is Christ's light within us.
Coloring page
Activities
Have a candlelight dinner and read this Let Your Light Shine article. Afterwards, play the puzzle charade game that is included with the article.
Cover the bulb end of a large flashlight with a cupcake liner held by a rubber band. Then cut a circle out of black construction paper to glue onto the cupcake liner (tutorials here and here). Turn on the flashlight and talk about what it means to hide your light (here is a short explanation you can use). Help your children think of ways that they personally can be a light to others (i.e. smiling, playing the piano, talking to someone who is sitting by themselves, etc.) Each time something is named, let them poke a hole in the paper with a toothpick. After many holes, shine the light on a dark ceiling for a display of "stars." To extend this activity, draw Ursa Minor (the Little Dipper constellation) on the black paper circle and have your children poke their holes in the dots. Then proceed with talking about the North Star as described in the following activity.
Find the North Star in the night sky. Talk about how the North Star shining steadily in the sky has helped lost sailors find their way home. Ask your children how they can be like the North Star, guiding others to God.
Sing "I Am Like a Star" in jumping jack position (five points of a star) with massive smiles and swaying back and forth.
Read about these children being shining stars and how everyone is a star in their own way.
Try sledding by lantern light.
Thursday
Doctrine: Jesus wants me to be a light to others.
Song of the week: Choose the Right Way (CS 160)
Use an object small enough to hide in your hand to illustrate a teaching of Jesus Christ—for example: a coin (tithing), mustard seed (faith), rock (wise man). Discuss the teaching and how the children will be happy as they follow the Savior’s teachings.
Have the children line up against the wall at the back of the room. Place a picture of the Savior on the front wall. As the children learn the song, they advance toward the picture. Have the children listen as you sing the first phrase; then they sing it with you. Next they sing it by themselves. If they do it correctly twice in a row, they all advance one step; if not, repeat the process. Do this with the remaining phrases until the entire song is learned and the children have reached the front wall. Bear testimony that every time they make a right choice in their lives—such as when they choose to do the right and learn the song—they move closer to the Savior. (Idea from the August 2003 Friend Sharing Time Suggestion)
Scripture story
Read The Sermon on the Mount, Illustrated New Testament Stories
Memorize: "Let your light so shine" (Matthew 5:16)
Practice writing the scripture with invisible ink using a lemon and cotton swabs. Let it dry, then hold it up to lamp.
Coloring page
Activities
Share with each of your children one way they have been a light to you on your bad days. Make it something specific to their own talents and spiritual gifts. Dance together to "You Are My Sunshine."
Put together a "jar of sunshine" filled with yellow odds and ends to deliver to someone in need of your children's warm smiles and some cheer.
Match these pictures of people shining their light like Jesus.
Sing “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" with jazz hands and jumping from a crouched position.
Watch the Light the World Christmas message video.
Do a sun craft (with pasta, paper plates, or hand prints).
Read about Brothers Who Light the World.
Friday
Doctrine: Jesus Christ wants me to love everyone.
Song of the week: Choose the Right Way (CS 160)
Teach your children these simple actions and rhythm pattern.
Scripture story
Watch: Sermon on the Mount: The Higher Law, Bible Video
Memorize: "Let your light so shine" (Matthew 5:16)
Split your family into two groups separated by a door. While one group recites the scripture phrase softly, the other group will try to hear them by holding thin drinking glasses up to the door (open rim touching the door and ear pressed to the bottom of the glass). Switch turns.
Coloring page
Activities
Sing “Jesus Said Love Everyone” (CS 61) with these actions: Jesus said love ev’ryone (outstretch arms); Treat them kindly, too (turn to neighbor and shake hands). When your heart is filled with love (place hands on heart), Others will love you (hug self). (From lesson 32: Love One Another,” Primary 2: Choose the Right A, 168)
Watch this Love One Another music video to see examples of showing love.
Play "Loving Actions." Take turns coming up with creative ways to show love (such as greeting someone, opening the door for someone, kissing boo boos, or offering a drink) which you can do as a game of silent charades. Act out your “Loving Action” without words so that the your children can guess what you are doing. You may like to use photographs to inspire ideas for showing love to different people such as grandparents, friends, teachers, and strangers. Sometimes we show love to different people in different ways and it is important to know the appropriate way for each person. (Idea from Moments a Day)
Do a Love Your Enemies Bean Bag Toss. The lesson provided may be helpful as well.
Snack on one of these healthy and simple orange hearts, heart carved fruit/veggies, or a heart apple sandwich.
Read the story Helping Violet and discuss with your children if there are any people in their lives who are kind of like Violet from the story.
Saturday
Doctrine: Jesus Christ wants me to love everyone.
Song of the week: Choose the Right Way (CS 160)
Do a missing words activity to drive home the keywords of the song.
Scripture story
Memorize: "Let your light so shine" (Matthew 5:16)
"Write" the phrase on a wall or ceiling with small flashlights/penlights (best done in a closet or after dark). For non-readers, display the words so they can "trace" with their light beam.
Coloring page
Activities
Action Rhyme about loving others as Jesus does: What I Know.
Learn how to spell "love" in sign language. Take a picture of everyone combining one or two letters apiece to complete the word (extra individuals can form hearts with their hands). Then practice different ASL versions of "I love you" on each other. Video your children signing it and pray together about who would be a good recipient of the short video.
Read this illustrated version of "I'll Walk With You" and then sing it. The message of the song goes well with the video Dayton's Legs.
Pull out a standard deck of cards and tell your children to sort them and find all the hearts. Then put a sticky note on each heart card. Together, write a name on each sticky note of someone they can show love to, and then let them illustrate specifically how they will show their love to that person (i.e. send a card, give a hug, help with a chore, etc).
Make a Love Bug craft and use a few of them as puppets for role-playing scenarios of showing love to everyone, including (or especially) those who are different, mean, or unfriendly.
Sunday
Hold a family council inviting all opinions about how to create a more peaceful environment in your home.
Figure out which ancestors need their temple work done and let your children keep track with this Temple Tracker. Show pictures of different temples to your children.
Give President Nelson some valentines! Cut out paper hearts and on each, write a line from a Primary song. Tape the hearts around the room for your children to find one at a time. When found, let your child guess the song. Sing it together. Place the finished hearts around a picture of our prophet, President Nelson, since he was surrounded by hearts in his career. (Idea from Trisha Wright)
I would absolutely love to hear how Come, Follow Me has been going for your family. Comment and tell me how one of the activities went!
I was happily surprised how well my daughter learned from the putting together the peacemaker poster...probably because I gave her a lollipop to keep her still... Now whenever I ask her to be a peacemaker, she points to 1) the top of the fridge where we stash the lollipops and then 2) a painting of the Savior. And then—the best part—she actually remembers that it means she is supposed to make her little brother smile!
Which activity ingrained a principle into the heads and hearts of your children?
