THANK YOU for  all of your wonderful ideas that you have shared about what you do for General Conference!

I have been so inspired and impressed!!!  And I cannot wait to try some of them!!!!

Here is a list of some of your… and some of my ideas.  Take a look and see which ones work for you.

1-  Conference Traditional Meals

A LOT of you mentioned food (and food will appear on some of the other ideas), but I LOVED the ideas of having traditional Conference Meals that your family looks forward to!!! Some of your great ideas were:

• Pizzafest (buy pizza on Saturday, and make it on Sunday)
• All your food has to start with “C” for “Conference”
• Whatever you eat, you throw out a blanket and have a picnic in front of the TV
• Gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches
• Enchilada Night with all of the extended family on Priesthood Night
• Italian Sandwiches that you just wrap up and keep in the fridge

2-  Big Conference Breakfasts

Lots and lots of you mentioned that you have a big breakfast (especially on Sunday morning). Here is some things you mentioned you make:

• Every possible breakfast food is on the table.  Yum!
• Your kids get their favorite sugar cereal for breakfast
• Crepes
• Cinnamon Rolls
• German Pancakes

I also think it would be fun to make Spring or Fall themed Breakfasts.  Like Pumpkin Pancakes in the Fall and Rainbow Pancakes in the Spring. Check out these rainbow pancakes from Chocolate on My Cranium

3-  Conference Packets

Here is my Conference Packet I posted last week. If you want some that are better for younger children, Sugardoodle has some great ones here And the church posted several awesome ideas here

4-  Conference Sacks

Give your kids a gift sack full of Conference goodies.  With things like:

• One of the packets above
• Pens/pencils/markers
• Fruit roll ups, candy necklaces, jolly ranchers…
• Quiet crafts
• Conference Bingo cards
• Etc…

5-  Sticky Notes

I loved this idea from Liz! She put up pictures of all of the Apostles on the wall in the Family Room and then everyone gets a stack of sticky notes.  Everyone writes, or draws what that Apostle spoke about and then you put your sticky note on their picture.  As conference proceeds you get more and more sticky notes on the wall AND you can still see who hasn’t spoken yet.  Then after conference you can use the sticky notes as a review or a game.

6-  Conference Bingo Cards

Here is some clipart from The Friend magazine that you could use. Or Sugardoodle has several on her site. Or you can have your kids make their own.  Ask them to draw pictures of things they think the Brethren will talk about.  I like this idea the best because they will be more invested in what is on the card and be anticipating what their talks may focus on. Here is a blank card:    Conference Bingo Card

 7-  Tents

A lot of you mentioned that you put up tents or forts in your family rooms and have your kids climb in like King Benjamin’s people and point their doors toward the Prophets.   FUN!!!  I love that idea.  You could put up pictures of King Benjamin’s address inside of their tent (so they understand why they are in such a strange Family Room situation) and then fill it with quiet conference crafts.

8- Family Room Transformation/Quiet Zone

Liz also gave this idea…

My children range in age from 12 years down to 18 months and they look forward to General Conference almost as much as Christmas. They love waking up Saturday morning to see our family room transformed into a “Conference Room”. We move the couches and the coffee(“hot chocolate”) table to better point to the T.V. The entry to the room has a big sign that says, “Quiet Zone”. The table just beyond the Quiet Zone sign, outside of the “Conference Room” is ready for quiet crafts that I have planned knowing that they will be able to do the crafts quietly and without adult help.

9-  Conference Viewing Party

I have overheard a lot of my students talking about how they are going to get together and watch Conference.  I imagine that a lot of you make it a family occasion; however, I know that some of those I saw making plans do not come from homes where it is a priority and so Conference has not been a big deal for them in the past.  After doing this trivia game, and then giving them this packet andthese make your own trivia cards… they started making plans with each other to get together and watch Conference.  Hallelujia!!! If you have teenagers at home, you may want to ask them if they have any friends that may want to come and experience a Conference Saturday or Sunday session with your family.  Show them some of your traditions and let them feel the Spirit in your home.  It could have huge impact! 

 10- Conference Treasure Hunt

This idea comes from Hailey.  Check out her blog here.

Have an empty treasure chest. Tell your family that your treasure chest is empty. Then tell them that we need to fill it up, but not with just normal treasure. We need to fill it up with ‘Spiritual Treasure’. Explain to your family as you listen to Conference we will be filled with the Spirit, we will hear the things that we need to do, we will hear from our Prophet, Pres. Monson, etc. And that is the treasure we are seeking! We learn many great and important things during Conference, so this year we are going to go on a ‘Conference Treasure Hunt’. You could then talk about the different topics that might be discussed during Conference or you could talk about the First Presidency and the 12 Apostles. Tell your family that those are the ‘treasures’ that will fill up our treasure chest.General Conference Treasure Hunt: The treasure hunt will happend during General Conference. For the treasure hunt you could have picture of jewels (just find some online and print them off), treats, boxes (with something inside), etc. On each item you could attach a picture of a topic that might be discussed during Conference, you could put a word (prayer, temples, etc.) or you could put a picture of someone (Pres. Monson, Pres. Eyering, etc.).During Conference have your children listen to each talk. At the end of the talk discuss with your family what was being taught. Then have your children find that treasure and place it in the treasure chest. You could, ahead of time, hide the treasure and make a treasure map for your children telling them where each treasure is: example: ‘Prayer Treasure’-in Mom & Dad’s Bed; ‘Temple Treasure’- in the Laundry Room, etc.At the end of Conference, or each session, go through your treasure chest and discuss what was taught. Then enjoy your ‘Treasure!!’ Read more: http://littleldsideas.blogspot.com/#ixzz1IIBvkwA1

11-  CTR Dollars

We use CTR dollars that they earn during conference. They earn for completing pages, taking notes, being quiet and kind.

12-  Quiet Crafts

If you missed my post on this.  Here it is!

And Don’t forget…

that you can go here to get this Famiy Fun Recip Cards so you can write down all of the ideas you want to keep on file.

Have a wonderful Conference weekend everyone!!!

 

Here is a note-taking packet for you and your family for General Conference!

There is a page for each Apostle with a few fun facts about them.

It would also be a great thing to give to your youth if you are an advisor!

Here is the PDF:  general conference note taking packet

Also…. If you are looking for a fun Family Home Evening Activity next week.

Check out this post for some trivia questions.
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So HERE MY QUESTION FOR YOU AMAZING WOMEN:

WHAT DO YOU DO TO MAKE GENERAL CONFERENCE EXTRA MEANINGFUL FOR YOUR FAMILY?

I would LOVE to hear your ideas and for you to share them with each other!

So… I am wrapping up my nursery decorating, organizing, dreaming and all things of the sort, and I thought to share a few things.

First… this is the proposed name.  I just think it is beautiful, and especially meaningful.

I have always loved Hannah from the Old Testament, and I would love to have her be special to my daughter too, and that thought was just driven home when I learned that my husband’s great-great-grandmother’s name was Hannah and it is HER pumpkin pie that my husband looks forward to every single Thanksgiving… in fact his mother makes him his VERY OWN pie!  She was a very special lady, and her descendants still speak of her, what a great honor.

And Joy is my middle name.  So everything traces somewhere special.

Now let me just say that this is not her official name.  My wonderful husband wants to hold her first and make sure this name fits.  I can’t wait for that.

So I started thinking… if this little girl is named after an ancestor, then it is important for her to know about this person.

So step one… I wanted to put a family tree in her room.

As I was making this project, it just really hit home how my marriage really was the coming together of two families.  And how this little girl is a product of that.  What an amazing thought.  I mean, when it is out on paper like this, you can see it!

So I drew and colored a tree and then I cut out a bunch of little pieces of paper and wrote down the names of each mother and father that she descends from.

I used new.familysearch.org to find most of the names for the family tree.  It was super helpful and interesting!  Plus I found a few holes and issues that needed to be resolved.  Turns out this project had more than one purpose.

AND… upon getting the names, we found out that she has ANOTHER Great-Great-Great Grandmother with the name Hannah, and a Great-Great-Great-Great Grandmother named Hannah!!

So, I wrote out the names and I taped them into place.  I wanted the names to stick up for a little 3-D effect, so I rolled up the tape and used it that way.

I actually highly recommend doing this because when you are arranging and fitting in such a large amount of names, there is going to be so much re-arranging, that gluing would have been very frustrating!

Oh… and I also took a gold paint pen and colored the outsides of each name to give it a little pop.  I used watercolor paper too, I wanted the texture and sturdiness.

And then I framed it.  You can see that the names aren’t perfectly straight, and that was fine with me.  I wanted it to look crafty and like I made it.

And then on the bottom I added a little heart that says, “We all love Hannah”.  I mean… how often do we think of that?  How often do we think of the love that those who came before us had for us?  Their descendants?  I know I think about those that will come after me, so I am sure that they did as well.  We all come from a long legacy of love.

And I kind of think that it is good for kids and teenagers to know that there are A LOT of people rooting for them.

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If you want to make one of these for each of your kids, or for you…

Here is the PDF of the tree:family tree

And here it is in a JPEG:

If you want to make it for a boys room, You could open it in your photo editing program and then play around with the tones, and maybe change it to a sepia color.  If one of you tries this successfully, send it my way (through my contact info) and I will share it with the rest of you.

Also, I think this could make a GREAT YW’s activity.  And it could probably actually be a personal progress project or experience depending on if she has to actually research, find and plug in names into her own genealogical line.   Wouldn’t it be cool to have these lined up at YW’s in Excellence?  If I were to do this with the YW, I would show them a picture (or make your own to display), and then give them a deadline to have all the names by (on my tree above it goes up to her great-great-great Grandparents).  And then for the activity, you would could adapt the following directions to fit within the activity’s time slot.

How to Make a Tree:

1-  Print one tree onto and 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of water color paper (my watercolor notebook is larger than this, so I just cut the page down before)

2- Cut out 63 small rectangles, plus a few extras.  You can see that I made “Hannah’s” name larger, and then each generation got a little smaller, you can determine however you want to do this.  And my rectangles were not perfect, and I was fine with that.

3- Use a gold paint pen to outline each rectangle (this really does add dimension and make it look really nice).

4-  Use a thin tipped pen or marker to write each name out.  You could print them out as well on your computer.

5-  Place the names out on the tree as you go.  Start with the descendant in the very center and then her mother and father above and below her.  Then put the maternal lines on the right side of the paper and the paternal on the left side.  So, next to my husband, on the right was his mother’s name, and then next to her name was her parent’s names, and so on.  If you are doing this as an activity for your YW, you may want to draw a diagram out for them to follow.

 

 

 

This post is part of a series of tutorials of different ways to use your TOPICS journals.

All of the tutorials will be about REPENTANCE.

I am hoping to show you different ways you can be creative in your studying, and keep things fresh and fun. (Even if you don’t have one of these journals… I hope this will still show you some ways to consider studying your scriptures.)

This is the second of the tutorials, here is the first.

I started by putting “Repentance” right in the middle of the right side of the page.

I printed that off on my computer, but if you look closely, you can see that I am covering up my own writing that I wasn’t so happy with.

By the way… this is a good technique you can use as you are teaching a class or your family.

Have them write, or glue, the topic right in the middle of their journal page and as you discuss the topic, they can write all around the topic what they are learning.

This could also be great for family scripture study.

You could have a CHAPTERS journal dedicated to family scripture study,

and you could write down thoughts your family had as you study, and you could have a TOPICS journal dedicated to Family Home Evening.

What a great way that could be to record those family moments.

After I put “repentance” in the middle of the page, I just started writing things around the topic.

I thought of things I may want to use or share

if I were to teach about this topic in a lesson or talk sometime.

Also, I think about one day when my children inherit this journal,

these are some things that I would want them to think about.

And last, if my children ever come to me with a question about this topic,

we can just turn to my journal page together and read what is there.  Because, lets face it, when they come to me I may not be having the best day, but clearly they are ready to learn, so I need to help them because they are ready.  I really believe the Spirit can prepare us far, far in advance, and by writing down what we have learned, we have it at our fingertips and we can learn, again, what the Spirit had taught us long ago.

Above you can see that I wanted to differentiate between being sorry we were caught doing something wrong

with having godly sorrow for having sinned.  Underneath each attitude I thought of fruits of that attitude.

For example, if I am repenting because I was caught,

then I fear man’s judgment of me and that is my motivation.  I am probably not yet being motivated by what God thinks of me.  Embarrassment could be one of my main feelings.  I probably had no intention of confessing had I not been caught.  I may feel sorry that the sin has been made known to others.

Godly sorrow is very different.

What God thinks of me is far more important than what others think of me.  I feel sorrow that Christ had to suffer for what I did.  I feel sorrow for the damage I did to my spirit.  I feel sorrow for damage I did to others’ spirits.  I feel sorrow that I loved what the world offered more than what Heavenly Father had been wanting me to do.  And I start to understand  the eternal perspective of my actions.

You could list a lot more things here.

This could be a great conversation to have with your family.

I also listed some talks on this page that I know have excellent stories or teachings about repentance.

I just included a brief description along with the reference so I can find it quickly.  

Here is another one.  Such a GREAT talk!

 

Here I just did a simple breakdown of the consequence of Sin and if we do or don’t repent.

If you look closely, I think you can read most of what is there.

This is a GREAT conversation to have with your children.

Somehow, Satan makes people think that when they are rebelling and sinning that they are “tough”.  That couldn’t be a greater lie, and this list helps reveal that.  

This question stemmed from the breakdown in the previous picture.

“What characteristics or qualities must someone have in order to truly repent?”

I think it is so important that we all realize that those who repent are strong and courageous.  They aren’t “sinners”, they are “repenters”.

The Celestial Kingdom is going to be full of them.

Here I wrote down 6 elements of repentance.

Every year we would give the seminary kids a doctrinal competency test that would be sent to seminary headquarters.  We would get the results back and I could use them to know what things I needed to focus on more directly in class.  The only short essay question was about repentance and what must be involved in order to have full and complete repentance.  These are the six elements they were looking for:

1. Faith in the Atonement
2. Godly sorrow
3. Confession
4. Abandonment of sin
5. Restitution
6. Righteous living

Here is where you can record appropriate quotes and scriptures.      

Here is another set of Young Women lesson titles (for manual 1)

These are made for Avery Templates for 1″ x 2 5/8″ labels

The compatible products are:

 5160, 5260, 5520, 5620, 5630, 5660, 5810, 5960, 6241, 6460, 6461, 6498, 6560, 6970, 8160, 8250, 8460, 8620, 8660, 8810, 8860, 8920, 15510, 15520, 15660, 15970, 15971, 15972, 16460, 18160, 18260, 18460, 18660, 28660, 32660, 38260, 48160, 48360, 48460, 48860, 48960, 55160, 58160, 58660, 75160, 85560, 88560

These stickers are meant to be printed and put at the top of each Young Woman’s Arise and Shine Forth Journals!

Plus… this set has a little something extra…

Some stickers of the theme.  I was thinking that you could have the girls paperclip these into the front of their journals…

And then throughout the year you can ask the girls how the lesson applies to the theme – then they can put the sticker on that page and write about what you discuss.

Alright here are the PDF files… I hope they line up for you.  If they don’t for some reason, you can still print them onto an 8 1/2 x 11 full page label sheet and cut them up into rectangles.  I hope it works for you though.  I used the template…

Here is the PDF for page 1:

 YW Lesson stickers manual 1  

Here is the PDF for page 2:

 YW Lesson stickers manual 1 page 2      

 

This is GREAT for missionary prep!

It is not a memorization test, it is a comprehension test…. so do you comprehend the scripture and have the ability to apply it in the correct way?

I let my students use this scripture mastery sheet while they are taking test as well as their scriptures.

You will find that it gets easier and easier as you get further into it because the scriptures will be going through your mind… so the beginning is the hardest part.

The answer key is attached to the same PDF file, if you are using this in seminary, I would have the students correct it themselves.  You will notice that when I make a key, I don’t include answers like “c”, or “a” for the multiple choice answers.  I include the actual answer like “Moses 1:39″ so that they have to think of the actual answer and hopefully look further into it if they had gotten it incorrect. 

Alrightee…. here is the PDF:  ot sm test

Now that so many of you have the Arise and Shine Forth Journals

I wanted to give the leaders a few tips on how to use them with your lessons.

The youth will want to use their journals, they just need to be shown how!

So here are some tips and ideas for you:

1-  I have talked with some leaders who are planning on keeping the journals for the youth so they don’t forget to bring them on Sundays.  The pro of this is that they will always have them, the con is that the youth can’t look ahead and prepare themselves for the lesson.

2-  There are many chalkboard activities in your manuals.  In my classroom I have the expectation that if it goes on the board, it should go in their journals.

3-  If you teach YW, having a variety of colored pens and pencils will work wonders!

4-  If there are quotes in your lesson, print them out and have the youth glue or tape them into their journals.

5-  Keep glue and tape on hand at all times.

6-  You can download label templates of various sizes and print out quotes on the labels.  How fun it would be to make a quote into a sticker like that!  You could also print them onto 8 1/2 x 11 full label sheets and fit  several quotes onto one page and cut them up.

7-  You can find a lot of fun stickers at Deseret or Seagull Book that would go with many of the lesson topics.  It would be so fun to use some of them in your lessons!

8-  If you want to use a General Conference Talk in your lesson , you can format it into a pamphlet that can be taped right into the youth’s journals.  Go to this post for a tutorial on how to make format it on your own computer.

9-  Encourage the youth to bring something for everyone’s journals for a specific lesson.  So if the lesson is about “Service”, encourage everyone to bring a quote to hand out to everyone for them to put into their journals.

10.  Use diagrams, outlines, etc and have the youth draw them in their journals.

11.  If there are meaningful questions you want to ask the youth during the lesson, have them answer the question first in their journals.  When you give them time to ponder and respond quietly, you will give the Spirit a chance to teach them and you will likely have better participation from them when you ask them to share their answers.  Personally, I don’t like to be asked questions on the spot, but if you give me time to think about it, then I don’t mind sharing.  Your youth are likely the same way.  Make sure you give them plenty of time to write.  It is also a good idea to give them an idea of how much time they have:  ”I will give you 4 minutes to answer this question in your journals,”  but then if you find they are all still writing, re-evaluate and give them more time.  If the Spirit is teaching them, that is really important to recognize.  Also, when you can see they are wrapping up, it is good to say, “one more minute…”  And because you had them write their answers in their journals, it won’t just be a question they answered in class, it will be something they will always  have.

12.  Sometimes the manual will suggest a quiz, a fill in the blank activity or something like that.  Using your basic Word document, you can format it to fit into their journals.  When making the handout, make it into “columns” and then make multiple handouts on one sheet and then cut it up.  So I may make 2 columns and put the quiz in the first column and then copy and paste it into the second column.  Now it will fit just great!

13.  Using the same technique as above, you can give the youth things like:  descriptions from Preach My Gospel, excerpts from the For the Strength of Youth Pamphlet, etc.

14.  Have the youth write to each other.  For example, under a topic like “A Righteous Example Influences Others“, have the youth write in each person’s journal how they are influenced by that person’s righteous example.

15.  In short, make the lesson “journal centered”.  All handouts should go into their journals.  That way all of your prep and work will be filed into a meaningful place rather than stuck into their scripture case or lost in their van on the way home.

For other ideas, see this post.

Alright… if any of you have any more ideas, spread the love and leave them in the comment sections below!  :)

Here are some PDF files of the YW lessons for 2012 that will fit on label sheets!

So no cutting required!

These are meant to go in your Arise and Shine Forth Journals.

I want to give a HUGE thanks to Megan Poulton who tweaked my PDF file to fit the standard 1 x 2 5/8 mailing labels.

Again that is 1 inch x 2 and 5/8 inch mailing labels.

Seriously… thank you SO much Megan!!!

If these do not work for you, try these that I have also recently posted.

Here are the PDF files… you need to print off both, there are 2 pages.

YW Lesson Labels – page 1      YW Lesson Labels – page 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since its the new year, and we are all on the “new goals” bandwagon… here is a fun idea you can do with your family tonight:

Make a Family Time Capsule

1-  Find a small box, pens, pencils, ,markers, tape, envelopes, a bowl and paper

2-  Write the following questions on small pieces of paper and put them in the bowl.

• What is your favorite memory from 2011?
• What is the funniest thing that happened in 2011?
• What is the most important lesson you learned last year?
• What was one of your greatest challenges last year?
• What is something that you improved in, or became better at, last year?
• What is something you gained a stronger testimony about?
• What is a prayer that was answered in your life?

3-  Give everyone a piece of paper and then take turns pulling the questions out of the bowl, answering the questions on your own paper as you go.

4-  Go around and share your answers

5-  Previously review, then share one or all of these stories from Heber J. Grant’s life about how he achieved excellence:  Heber J Grant – aim high – goals

6-  Have everyone write a letter to themselves for 2012.  Have them include the spiritual, physical, social, etc. goals that they have, what they want to get better at in their lives, and specifics about the kind of year they hope to have.

7-  Seal up their letters in individual envelopes, and have each person address it to themselves.

8-  Put everything in the box and then wrap up and decorate the box.  You could have everyone sign it and put, “To be opened on ____________(date of first Family Home Evening in 2013)”

9-  Select a spot in the house to put the time capsule that is out of the way, but a place where each person will see it often and be reminded of their goals for the year.

other options:

• Choose a family theme scripture for the year.  Put that theme scripture on the box.
• Put items in the box such as pictures from 2011, special things from the year (awards, etc), notes to each other, etc
• Keep a family time capsule scrapbook – so do this each year, and after you open the box a year later, put the contents in a scrapbook

Here are some fun helps that are meant to go along with the Arise and Shine Forth Journals!

Throughout the journal experience, the youth are prompted at different times to find stories or things that apply to this theme.  They can either find some on their own, or they can come to this website and read through some options provided here and pick out their favorite ones!

They can either come to this post, or even easier,

find the book on the “shopping” tab and click on the appropriate link under the “Arise and Shine Forth Journals”.  It is all very easy and explained to them in the journal – they shouldn’t need your help at all.

Once they find what they are looking for,

they can either print it and then cut and paste it into their journal, or they can simply write about it or copy it word for word.

OK…. Here is what I have for them:

 

ARISE AND SHINE FORTH QUOTES

 

The youth will have an opportunity in their journals to find some quotes that help teach about this theme.

They can simply just print off this page of quotes, read through them all and then cut and paste their favorite ones into their journals. There are some GREAT quotes in this bunch.

Here is the PDF for the quotes:

arise and shine forth quotes  

ARISE AND SHINE FORTH STORIES

At another point in their journals, the youth find a story about someone who is a great example of this theme.

Again, they can find their own, or they can come to this site where there are three really great options they can read through and choose from. They are formatted in a way where they can print them off and cut them out and then glue or tape them into their journals.

Here is the PDF for the stories:

Arise and Shine Forth Stories      

ARISE AND SHINE FORTH STANDARDS QUOTES

At another point of the journal experience, the youth will choose some of the standards from the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet and write about how and why it is important to “arise and shine forth” in that area in their life.

With each standard they choose, they will find a quote about the importance of this standard.  I have provided them with several options here. Also, you may be aware that there is a revised For the Strength of Youth pamphlet including some adapted and new standards.  The quotes provided took all of this into consideration.

Here is the PDF for the standards quotes:

standards quotes