Valentine's Activity

UPDATED!! 

These Valentines have been updated!

Hey! So I made this 14 days of Valentine's for my husband last year. I had a LOT of fun with it... probably more than my husband:

I put this up on my family's blog and didn't think about it until just the other day I logged in and noticed I had A TON of comments on its post. Turns out over 200 people wanted me to e-mail it to them for Valentine's day!!

That got me thinking that maybe we could tweek it a little and do it for activity days!! So I changed the sayings just a little bit and I think it will be really fun for the girls! We haven't done it yet but I wanted to post this on here early so that if you wanted you could do it in time for Valentine's day also.

So my plan is to have the girls pick someone... a friend, family member or even parent that they would like to do this for. Maybe we can have them think about a friend at school that may not have very many other friends or someone who needs service. Then we will spend the activity putting it together. I changed the sayings a little bit and made the sayings so that they could color them in and then we'll just tape them to the candy. I think if we do this with mini-sized candies it won't end up being too expensive.

Here is what I plan on doing cause I think it will be the easiest and cheapest...this is subject to change based on what they have at the store...

1. I am nuts about you: any mini candy bar with nuts.

2. You are o’fish’ally awesome: Small bag of Swedish Fish

3. I’d be in KNOTS without you: Pretzels (get one big bag, put some in a ziploc)

4. You stole a piece of my heart: Reeses piece

5. I am stuck on you: A sucker or gum

6. You color my world: Skittles

7. + Scripture. You are a sweetie: Sweet tarts

Here are the others:

• You are a hot tamale: Hot tamales
• You are the star in my eyes: Starbursts
• Be my friend now and later: Now and Later
• You are priceless to me: 1000 Grand
• Thanks for going to bat for me: Babe Ruth
• I like the way you roll: ROLLO
• I have a crush on you: Crush soda
• You rock my world: Rock Candy
• Being your friend is a joy: Almond Joy
• I ‘soda’ think you are amazing: any soda
• You are the apple of my eye: apple or apple candy (I know at my dollar store they have apple suckers. If you don't do "I'm stuck on you" using suckers, you could use this one)

I also plan on including a picture of Christ or at least this scripture on the last one,  explaining the true meaning of LOVE.

Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Matthew 22:37-39

If you would like me to e-mail you the word document in case you want to change the sayings more, I'm happy to e-mail them to you. I try to check my e-mail around once a month. If you would like them right now, you can get them HERE.

Slice of Heaven Pizza Party (Developing Talents)

We have a few activities that we repeat each year and this is one of them! I wanted to teach the girls how to make something for dinner that they could do all by themselves in hopes that they would go home and make pizza one day... maybe even for thier families. I also think the girls love the idea of making THIER OWN pizza just how they like it, all to themselves.

 So really the hardest part about this activity is getting all the ingredients. Here is a sample shopping this:

1. Dough (you can make this yourself or if you are like me... rhodes rolls works great (this can also teach them how you have to get them out early and let the rolls rise, 1-2 rolls per girl is perfect), or you can buy dough from papa murphys and i'm sure lots of other places)

2. Sauce (tomato is great but in my house we like BBQ and alfredo sauce too)

3. Toppings: Pepperoni, pineapple, ham, olives, mushrooms, peppers, bacon....

Then give each girl a piece of tin foil and let them go to town! When they are done you can put the pizzas/tinfoil on a cookie sheet for ease in getting them in and out of the oven. If your oven has two racks, you should be able to fit 12 pizzas in at a time.

I didn't get my own picture of this but found this on online to give you the idea

Family Home Evening Packets (Learning and Living the Gospel)

   UNDERSTANDING   DIFFERENT   

 

I wish I could take credit for this activity... but it was all my partner. She is GREAT! And so good with the girls. We made Family Home Evening packets for the girls to take home with them and be in charge of an FHE with thier families. At the beginning of the activity Trinity read a story to the girls about animals and how they are different and that different is OKAY.

"And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye unto them likewise" Luke 6:31

Trinity said she got most of the materials online... so I'm sure if any of you would like to recreate this, you can get inspiration from these pictures but choose exactly what you want to go in them yourselves. Here is what we used:

1. A folder for everything to go in:

 2. A write-up on the activity with what is included in the packet for the girls to use as a guide when they are teaching FHE.

 3. A song for them to sing

4. These are the animals that we had the girls color and put together. It went along with the story of how being different is okay.

5. The Animal Story. I tried finding it online to share the link but I couldn't :(

6. An easy recipe for the girls to make for FHE before or for FHE

7. After reading them the story and talking about how it's okay to be different, we let them color their animals and put their packets together.

Burp Cloths (Serving Others)

For this activity we had the girls choose someone in the ward that was either pregnant or had just had a baby to make a burp cloth for. It actually took us two weeks because the first week we made the burp cloths, then the second week the girls delivered them to the (new) moms.

You'll need:

1. Cloth diapers. Some examples: (http://www.amazon.com/OsoCozy-Prefolds-Unbleached-Cloth-Diapers/dp/B003AJHDQW/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1358791045&sr=8-4&keywords=thick+cloth+diapers) or http://www.amazon.com/Kushies-Washable-Pre-folded-Diapers-White/dp/B0000649E5/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358791294&sr=8-1&keywords=thick+cloth+diapers)
2. Cute fabric for the middle.
3. Ribbon to decorate.


All you do is sew the cute fabric down the center of the cloth diaper, and then add the ribbon to make it cute... then mom will be burping thier babies in style!

I didn't get very good pictures, sorry :(

Gift Making: Bead & Fabric Necklace (Serving Others)

For this activity we made necklaces with fabric and wooden bead balls. Our plan was for each of the girls to make 2 and be able to have a second one to give away as a gift... turned out only having time to make one, but I think the girls were very happy with thier one :).

What you will need:

1. Pieces of fabric that are about 3 inches wide and 40 inches long (or how long the fabric comes). Bascially very long and skinny pieces. A tip: the smaller the print, the cuter the necklace. Where the piece is only 3 inches wide, you only get to really see the fabric if the print is smaller. Small polka-dot and stripes seem to be really cute.
2. Beads that are about 20 mm. This is the best deal I could find for them online: http://compare.ebay.com/like/110832991940?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&_lwgsi=y&cbt=y
3. Sewing machine and thread
4. And if you're really good... an iron (we skipped ironing)

What you do:

1. Fold the piece of fabric in half the long way and sew it together with the wrong side out
2. Using a safety pin to help feed through, put the fabric right side out
3. Now that you have a tube, put some beads in the tube and tie knots between them
4. After you have your beads where you want, sew the two ends together... and Voila!

One of the girls sporting a few of the necklaces. Sorry it's blurry!


 

Sewing the fabric together. It was important to me that each girl did the sewing themselves. Some of the girls were nervous while others were experienced sewers. I think it was really good for the girls who have never used one before... some of them were at least able to learn that there is a peddle that drives the machine. 





The smaller the print on the fabric, the better you will be able to see it once it's a necklace





A very pregnant me helping one of the girls turn her fabric right side out.



Article of Faith PowerPoint

At my house, we have our computer hooked up to our TV. I have been doing this for a while but it just occurred to me to put this on the blog. Its really nice when some of the girls get to activity days a little early, or if we finish early... to have this up for the girls to look at. Basically it's a PowerPoint to help them learn their Articles of Faith where I take more and more words away with each slide. Here is an example of Article of Faith 1:

  

*** UPDATE *** I have put these calendars on my new ETSY, along with many of the other files!! If you would like these files, along with many of my other files right away... you can visit: www.etsy.com/shop/snapshotplace

Articles of Faith Pass Off

Last year we had an Article of Faith Tournament where the girls were able to pass off quite a bit of their Articles of Faith. We are going to do that again this year and in preparation for that I made an Article of Faith Pass-Off for them. I did it in Word, so if anyone would like me to e-mail to them, let me know. Here is what it looks like in Word:

 I fit two per page and last year we bought little star stickers so the girls could put a sticker on each article they passed off. If you don't want to get stickers though... you can just color in the star. So I printed this off, trimmed the edges and glued it on pink card-stock.

And Voila! Each girl can have their very own pass-off list with the articles to reference. If I were really good, I would get these laminated and I would have made it a little smaller ( like I did last year) so the girls could fit it in their scriptures... but this year I wanted the text to be a little bigger.

 

*** UPDATE ***

I have put these calendars on my new ETSY, along with many of the other files!! If you would like these files, along with many of my other files right away... you can visit: www.etsy.com/shop/snapshotplace

Frame The Proclamation on the Family (Developing Talents)

For this activity, we got free copies of the The Proclamation on the Family from the distribution center and then got poster board that we cut in half. The girls decorated the poster board around the proclamation with what thier family meant to them. We told them to decorate it with what thier family is now and what they want thier family to be someday.
We also read a few sections of the Proclamation and talked about it for a minute. Here is what some of the girls came up with:

“I am a child of God” Plaque (Basic Requirements)

I am a child of God,
And he has sent me here,
Has given me an earthly home
With parents kind and dear.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
To live with him someday.

I am a child of God,
And so my needs are great;
Help me to understand his words
Before it grows to late.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
To live with him someday.

I am a child of God.
Rich blessings are in store;
If I but learn to do his will
I'll live with hime once more.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
To live with him someday.

I am a child of God.
His promises are sure;
Celestial glory shall be mine
If I can but endure.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
To live with him someday.

For this activity we made "I am a child of God" plaques! Because the only thing we didn't have already (paper, glue, scissors...) or got for free (wood) was the "I am a child of God" di-cuts, each girl got to make a plaque for a total of $5! What you would need:

• Wood (I used some wood that my parents had left over from building their house)
• Scrapbook paper, colored paper
• Ribbon, stickers, bows... whatever you would like to decorate them.
• Glue
• "I am a child of God" di-cut (my sister has a machine and made them for us. She charged us for the materials - $5. I'm sure you can buy them or just use letter stickers)
• Scissors

So at first each girl got a piece of wood. Then we had them pick out their scrapbook paper.

Then they shaped the paper around the piece of wood, making creases in the paper to know where to cut the extra paper out of the corners.

Then they glued the paper to the wood (it was actually MDF, which I think worked better for these). Then the girls picked out what colored paper they wanted, placed the "I am a child of God" di-cut onto the colored paper, then glued the colored paper onto the scrapbook paper.

Then they glued their ribbon on, put some thumb-tacks on..... 

 

 AND TADA!

We even had time left over for some of the girls to make a second one for girls who coudln't make it to the activity :)

Eat Healthy! (Learning and Living the Gospel)

For this activity, we talked about the importance of being healthy. I was actually pretty impressed with what the girls already knew. We started with talking about "my plate". It's no longer the food guide pyramid, but this. I actually like this much better, especially for kids to know what they should be eating.

                                                        

Then we went thru two other "10 tips" from this website: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/index.html. These were the two I chose to go over. My first vision of this activity was to make a few healthy snacks that the girls could go home and make themselves. I think by giving them some general guidelines and then some snack ideas, we were able to accomplish that.

• http://www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/downloads/TenTips/DGTipsheet1ChooseMyPlate.pdf
• http://www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/downloads/TenTips/DGTipsheet11KidFriendlyVeggiesAndFruits.pdf

After going over the information from the choosemyplate website, the girls were able to pick a few things from Sister Thomas's garden. We talked about some of the healthiest things for us to eat are FRESH fruits and veggies... and you don't get much fresher than right from the ground! (we also talked about frozen being better for you than canned, and steaming veggies in as little water as possible to keep more nutrients)

 Then with some of the veggies from the garden and some we got from the store beforehand, we used my juicer (Yes...I watched the movie "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" and immediately got a juicer) to make some yummy juice! We used apples, carrots, spinach and some peaches. The girls loved it. We only had enough juice for each of the girls to try, but they all wanted more :)