Parables: Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

I was really pleased last night when my 5 year old retold the Parable of the Good Samaritan to his dad at dinner time.  Yay!  Maybe things are sticking in their little minds. :)

Today we talked about the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant.  I have found that they really soak up the videos that I find for them to watch so we watched a number of them today.

Bible Video:  Forgive Everyone Their Trespasses: Unmerciful Servant

Bible Video:  Forgive 70 Times 7 (I did this math problem on our white board beforehand and we talked about how we should ALWAYS forgive)

The Unmerciful Servant (modern version- they have really been liking these)

The Shiny Bicycle

Forgiveness:  My Burden Made Light

We did a Reader's Theatre found at Sugardoodle.  They absolutely loved this and did it a dozen times so that everyone had a chance to be each part more than once.

I also tired up a rope of licorce into a knot and explained that when we aren't willing to forgive it is like always walking around with a big knot in your stomach.  (source:  sugardoodle.net)
Check out Primary 7 Lesson 22 and Chicken Scratch 'N Sniff for more ideas.

Parables: Good Samaritan

Today we talked about the Parable of the Good Samaritan. I think this parable is has such a wonderful message.  We watched several videos today.

Bible Story: Parable of the Good Samaritan
Love One Another
The Good Neighbor (modern version)
New Testament Stories:  Parable of the Good Samaritan
Dayton's Legs
The Good Samaritan Lego

They also did this word search and my middle son wanted to do a coloring page so he did this one.

We talked about doing kind things for others, serving others, and loving everyone.  Then I had them each go somewhere separate and write down each person in our families name (minus themselves) and had them come up with one way they would serve each person this week.  I told them it was top secret so no one else was allowed to look at their list.  They had fun coming up with ideas and we've already seen a little bit of service.  I didn't take any pictures, but I feel like it was a good day.

You can also check out:

Primary 7 Lesson 20
Chicken Scratch 'N Sniff has a great list of ideas

Parables: Prodigal Son

Today we talked about the Parable of the Prodigal Son.

We watched these video clips:

Bible Video Prodigal Son

The Other Prodigal Son

Lego Parable of the Lost Son

I did our own version of this idea (you can find more ideas on that website as well).  I gave them each 5 dimes and we went for a little walk then we came to a "store" and they spent their money on toys and candy.  After they had spent their money and enjoyed their purchases I asked them how they were going to pay for real food, shelter, clothing, and so forth.  They decided they would need to get a job so I told them the only job they could find was feeding pigs.  Then we proceeded to act out the rest of the story.  We then talked about the meaning of the parables and the different themes we have seen in all the parables this week.

I only took one picture today, but we also read "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein.  This site has some ideas on comparing this book to the story of the Prodigal Son.

Also check out Primary Manual 7 Lesson 19 for more ideas.

Parables: The Parable of the Lost Coin

Today we talked about the Parable of the Lost Coin.  It is a short parable that goes along with the Parable of the Lost Sheep.  In fact in the Primary 7 manual lesson 19 combines those along with the Prodigal Son (which we will talk about tomorrow).  I wanted to spend a little time on each one though so I didn't clump them together.

Here are some video clips we watched:

Parable of the Lost Coin

Lego Parable of the Lost Sheep and Lost Coin

We also read this online illustrated story of the Lost Coin and talked about the meaning behind the parable.

I didn't want to hide coins for them to find since we did that with sheep yesterday so we played a game that I grew up playing with my family called "Penny, Penny.  Who Has the Penny?"  One person has a penny (we said "coin" instead) and each player has their hands like my kids do in this picture.

 The person with the penny pretends to pass the penny off into one players hand, but will actually drop it in one of the hands.  The goal is to trick people into thinking that someone else has the penny.  After the person has gone through each player they ask, "Penny, penny.  Who has the penny?"  Everyone tries to guess.  The person who actually has it can try to throw people off by guessing other players.  Then when you discover who has the penny it is their turn to pass it off to someone else.

 My boys also did this coloring page of the woman with the coin she had lost with her friends.

These sites are also helpful in finding ideas for this parable.

Sugardoodle 

Chicken Scratch N Sniff

Parables: Parable of the Lost Sheep

Today we talked about the Parable of the Lost Sheep.  

We watched these videos:

Bible Story: Parable of Lost Sheep

Parable of the Lost Sheep (computer animated clip)

Lego Parable of the Lost Sheep

I hid sheep around the room so they could practice being a shepherd looking for their lost sheep.  They did that many times taking turns who lost the sheep and who found them again.  You can find this and other ideas here.

I read this story from The Friend Magazine called "You Found Me, Bishop!"  It is a story about President Monson as a bishop gathering a lost sheep.  We discussed ways we can be a friend at church and at school to everyone and also ways we could make people feel welcome and wanted at church.  

We made some edible sheep.  We used pretzels for the legs and marshmallows for the body, head, tail, and ears.  We attached them by using pretzels, you could also use toothpicks.

Here's a close up of my youngest's sheep. They had fun making and eating these little guys.

 We made this cute sheep craft as well.

Here are some other helpful links:

LDS Primary Manual 7 Lesson 19

Chicken Scratch N Sniff's Link about this lesson

We sang "Friends are Fun" from the Primary songbook and "Jesus Said Love Everyone".

Parables: Parable of The Wheat and The Tares

Today we talked about the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares.  

We Watched these video clips:

Bible Video of Wheat and Tares

The Parable of the Weeds

Lay Hold Upon Every Good Thing

I found this printable very helpful when explaining the meanings behind the parables. The other half of the printable is about the Parable of the Sower which I used yesterday.  I also found this webpage helpful in showing them wheat and tares.

 After talking about the meaning behind this parable the kids each did this maze.

 Then we did a little sponge activity.  You can get all the details for this activity here.  I had them feel an old, hard sponge.  Then talked to them about ways that we can be followers of Christ.

We added water to the sponge with each thing and watched the sponge become moist and "teachable".  I pointed out that if we continue to work on doing things like reading our scriptures, praying, going to church we can be true followers of Christ and be receptive to the Spirit.

Be sure to also check out:
Primary Manual 7 Lesson 17
Chicken Scratch N Sniff has some great ideas as well.

My plan is to do parables three times a week for a while, then we will probably move on to some other things in the New Testament and if we have more time beyond that we'll do something else.  Mondays are kind of more of a freebie day, perhaps the library and park.  Fridays are going to be movie days for us with some fun activities.  I may decide to post those here as well.

Parable of The Sower

Today we talked about the Parable of The Sower.

We watched these video clips:

Bible Video Parable of The Sower

Lego Parable of The Sower

We talked about the meaning of each thing in the parable.  I found this printable from Rachael's Book Nook to be super helpful with this.  

I also read "The Tiny Seed" by Eric Carle.  The seed encounters some of the same things that are contained in the parable.  After I told the story, I went back and used the story to make up my own with the meaning behind the parable using three boys.  It was something I just made up as I went, but they encountered friends and other people who gave into Satan's temptations or fell away because they had stopped reading the scriptures and going to church, but the three boys had strong testimonies and flourished in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I had the boys draw pictures of different things that happened to seeds in the parable.  (I found the idea here, keeping scrolling down the page to see it.)

 Here is my 9 year old's picture.

 My 5 year old's picture.

 My 7 year old's picture.

 Here they are together.  My kids like to draw, especially my 7 year old.

We also made pudding and crushed oreos up in it to represent "good soil".  :)

 Also check out Primary Manual 7 Lesson 17.

Parables:The House Built on a Rock

This Summer I am going to start things off talking about some of the parables that Jesus taught in the New Testament.  Today we talked about the wise man who built his house upon a rock and the foolish man who built his house upon the sand.

Here are some great video clips to watch that go along with this parable:

Built Upon a Rock Part 1
Built Upon a Rock Part 2
Lego Wise and Foolish Builders

After collecting some rocks and sand I had my boys make some Lego houses.  Then we printed off these "tools" that have different labels on them and the kids took turns deciding if that thing was something that would build our foundation on a rock or on sand.

 We talked about each thing as they picked them out.  This is what it looked like when we were finished.

 Then it was time for rain!  They each got to take a turn making it rain with a water bottle.  The house on the rock with stood the rainfall.

 The house in the sand eventually fell over.  They got a big kick out of that.

 Throughout this whole process we talked about all the things we can do to give ourselves a firm rock foundation; go to church, pray, read our scriptures and what things we should avoid.

We also made this cootie catcher.  You can find it and a cute printable here.

We also read Helaman 5:12 and sang "The Wise Man and The Foolish Man"  a few times.

Other helpful links to check out:
Primary 7 Lesson 12 from the Manual
Sugardoodle's Idea page for this lesson
Chicken Scratch 'N Sniff's post for this lesson

This was a lot of fun!

Payson Temple Open House

We had the opportunity in May to visit the Payson Temple Open House.  Boy, is it a beautiful temple.  This is the third temple open house we've been able to attend in less than four years.  I feel quite fortunate about that!  When we went through the Ogden Temple Open House I posted some ideas of things I did to prepare my boys for it.  Here is that post.

It was really cold the day that we went and we actually lucked out because it started to rain as we were leaving.  As a result most people stayed on one side of the temple and didn't linger long.  We went all the way around though, and it paid off because we were able to get some pictures without crowds of people in the background. 

The temple open houses that I have attended all begin with meeting either in a stake center across from the temple or another building nearby.  They show you a short video and then you are able to go through the temple.  It guides you along and volunteers are throughout the temple making sure there aren't any strays.  Sometimes I have felt rushed, but for this particular temple I felt like we could take a short amount of time to look as we slowly walked through every part of it.  My kids all really enjoyed the experience.  My oldest and youngest said that their favorite part was the baptismal font, my middle son said he enjoyed all the artwork throughout.