Thursday, April 17, 2008

Family Fridays

Something new that I would like to try doing is posting some thing Family Related on Fridays. This week I am going to post my quick Family Home Evening Activity that we are planning on doing sometime next week. Bryan works on Monday Evenings so we usually try and do them on Tuesdays, or Wednesdays. They are really quick since Bug has a very short attention span.



It is meant to only last about 10-15 minutes at the most. That is on the good days, but it has been known to only last 3-5 minutes at times, if it is a topic Bug is not interested in. I try to have songs he likes to sing, as well as a felt board activity since he is so visual and loves to look at pictures. And then I do try to do some hands on activity; whether it is a craft or something like a movement activity.



This Family Home Evening is taken from the Primary 1 Manual; Lesson 10.



I Am Thankful for Trees, Plants, and Flowers


“Lesson 10: I Am Thankful for Trees, Plants, and Flowers,” Primary 1: I Am a Child of God, 28

What you will need:


· A fruit, vegetable, or small branch in a cloth or paper bag.


o A Bible.


o If possible, obtain pictures of local trees, plants, and flowers, and a few small wooden objects, such as a pencil, spoon, and bowl.


o Some seeds, small paper cup, and dirt.


o Children’s song book or CD of music. Or if you have Internet access you can find the song on line.




Opening Prayer


Sing “In the Leafy Treetops” (Children’s Songbook, p. 240)


Attention Activity
Pass around the bag with the fruit, vegetable, or branch in it, closed so the children cannot see what is inside. Have the children feel the bag and guess what is in it. Let the children tell you what they think is in the bag. Take the item out of the bag, and talk about its appearance and usefulness.


Trees, plants, and flowers make the earth a beautiful place to live
Explain that Heavenly Father and Jesus wanted to make the earth beautiful with trees, plants, and flowers. Display the cutout of flowers and any pictures of trees, plants, or flowers you obtained. Let the children talk about experiences they have had with trees, plants, or flowers. Remind the children that everything on the earth was created according to Heavenly Father’s plan. On the third day of creation, Jesus created trees, plants, and flowers (see Genesis 1:11–13).

11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
12 And the earth
brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

Felt Board activity:
Print up the following pictures:
A little girl
A tree with blossoms on it.


Tell the following story as you place the pictures on the felt board:
Kelly has a favorite tree to play under. One morning her mother wakes her and says that she has a surprise for Kelly to see. Kelly’s favorite tree is covered with beautiful white blossoms that look like popcorn. Kelly asks how popcorn got on her favorite tree, and her mother explains the importance of blossoms.


Song
Have the children stand and sing “Popcorn Popping” (Children’s Songbook, p. 242), using hand actions as suggested by the words. Explain that in the springtime, apricot trees grow white flowers that look like popcorn.


I looked out the window, and what did I see?

Popcorn popping on the apricot tree!

Spring had brought me such a nice surprise,

Blossoms popping right before my eyes.

I could take an armful and make a treat,

A popcorn ball that would smell so sweet.

It wasn’t really so, but it seemed to be

Popcorn popping on the apricot tree.


Plants and trees are necessary for us to live
Show some items that are made of wood (pencil, spoon, bowl), and talk about the many uses of wood.
· • What other things do you know of that are made of wood?
Explain that we also use plants in many ways. One of the most important things plants provide for us is food.
· • What kinds of plants do we eat?
If any of the local pictures you have obtained show plants that are used for food, show them again.


ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES

· Give your child some seeds (such as flower seeds, beans, or wheat) and a paper cup full of soil. Show the children how to plant their seeds, and remind them that they will need to provide water and sunlight for the seeds to grow.

Repeat this poem/finger play during the activity and after the activity.
I Dig
I dig and dig and dig (make digging motions),

And then I plant some seeds (bend over and pretend to plant seeds).

I rake and rake and rake (make raking motions with long strokes),

And then I pull some weeds (bend low and make pulling motions).

The sun shines bright and warm (make arms form a circle),

The rain comes down, and so (bring arms down, wiggling fingers)

Right there before my eyes,

My seeds begin to grow (push fingers of left hand between fingers of right hand).


Have the children repeat after you the words to the song “Little Seeds Lie Fast Asleep” (Children’s Songbook, p. 243). Then have the children pretend to be the little seeds waking up and stretching while you sing or say the words again


· Closing Prayer

Afterwards
Go for a nature walk outside to look at different types of plants. If the weather does not permit going outdoors, the children might look out the window and take turns telling what plants they can see. If appropriate, explain the seasonal changes that affect the plants and trees.

Back home for a treat of apples and peanut butter and milk.



If you are interested in copies of the pictures that I have picked out for this Family Home Evening, just leave me a request in my comments and your email address if you think I don't have it, and I will be sure to email them to you.



They are saved in Word document form. I just print them up and then laminate them, and put a little felt on the back to help it stick to the felt board. You could easily just print them up and cut them out and hold them up to show your child or children and then let them hold on to them. If your child is anything like mine, they will love holding it. It keeps their little hands busy.

Let me know if you use the idea and how it went. Enjoy!

1 jittering comments:

Christensen family said...

Hey - That is sooo great that you are doing this. Now I can have some great ideas!!! You are so on top of things!!!

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