Have children sit on the floor with the small bowls in front of them.
Parcel out 10 kernels to each, pretty much using up one bowl.
Then ask each child if you can have one kernel, thanking each one who is willing to share, but just moving on from those who won't. Then, fill each bowl of those who shared overflowing with popcorn.
Before class make sure you have access to another room including your regular one.
In your regular class room you will need to spread a bunch of paper balls and torn up paper all over the floor. I also had chairs laying on the ground. I wrote on the board "How does our surroundings make us feel?" The girls will enter in wondering what happened.
Eventually lead them to a new room that is done up really nicely. I had a tablecloth set up with a plant and a framed picture of Christ. I had another table with a nice plate of cookies and flowers. I also borrowed some Relief Society padded chairs for them to sit in. I had the girls discuss the differences they felt as they entered each room.
The point was one room made brought unpleasant feelings while the other made them feel "at home."
(You could also use this during teacher training to teach the importance of classroom setup. See D&C 88 119-126 "establish... a house of order" - Jenny)
I used this to teach how unity strengthens us and dis-unity weakens us.
Have a YW take a pencil and break it. Talk about how it was easy to break because it was only one pencil.
Then get several pencils (10 or so) and have a YW try to break them. It's very hard.
Talk about how, when we stand together we are strong and hard to break, but when we stand alone, we are easy to break.
I used this to illustrate how when the YW are not unified, the ones that are left out are easy to "break" because they stand alone with no one to help them.
We used it to talk about specific girls that felt left out had had gone in-active, but that can be tailored to each class. In our class that worked, but it may not be appropriate to mention specific names in other classes.
Place a candy at each side of the room. Have two people come up and link arms, back to back.
Tell them they have 10 seconds to get their respective candy bar. When you say go they will each begin pulling the other one in the opposite direction, one will either get their candy bar or neither will.
The point is that had they worked together and cooperated to go to one candy bar at a time, taking turns (been unified) they both could have gotten their reward.
Have 3 young ladies come to the front of the class.
Give the first girl an unopened bag of M&M's.
Give the 2nd girl a bag of M&M's that have already been opened.
Give the 3rd girl a bag of M&M's poured directly into her hand.
Ask the girls which of the 3 would be the most tempted to eat the M&M's?
Which M&Ms will you be most tempted to eat? How does this relate to dressing modesty? Using illegal drugs or alcohol? Tobacco? Pornography?
I brought my cell phone and would play the different tones and asked them to listen to them and think what kind of promptings they would represent. The happy tones represented the Holy Ghost letting you know that something was good. The tones that sounded scary were warnings. The tones that were peaceful were comfortings. The different sounds from the cell phone could actually help them feel things and associate those feelings with promptings.
It really turned out great...hard to describe, but even the sunbeam kids loved it!
Explain that sin burdens our souls.
Then have someone put on the backpack.
Place several large rocks in the backpack, talking about the burden of sin, or small sins that one might commit. Have the person in the backpack describe the weight of the backpack.
Then say that repentance removes the load, and one by one take the rocks back out and have the person in the backpack describe how he feels to have these burdens lifted.
Explain that repentance is like that in our lives.
Items needed
I used a picture of the Savior and took the crayons, mostly darker colors, and colored over the picture so as to distort it and make it just a mess. When finished nobody was able to see the picture. This has to be done prior to the beginning of class.
During the lesson I asked the girls who would like to have the picture on display in their rooms. I used the crayons right then to add more scribbles with comments that they might hear or say negatively about another.
Then while talking about not judging another just by their bodies I proceeded to use the cleaner to wash off the crayons from the glass. It took a little work but allowed for a lot of class discussion about not judging but to look on the inside of the person. That Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ do not look at the out side but they look at the inside of a person to see their value. That we need to look at others and try to see them in the same way that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ see them. When I was finished I turned the picture around so that they could now see the picture of the Savior and then asked the same question of who would like to have it on display in their room.
One daughter recalls that her father demonstrated how children can fill each other's needs within the family.
"One time [dad] brought two buckets into the family room--one filled with water, one empty. Then he had each of us think of something that made us upset or frustrated or discouraged that day. For each thing we named, he took a cup of water out of the full bucket. Then he told us that we are like that bucket, and when things happen during the day that disturb us, a cup of self-esteem is taken out. Gradually we get closer and closer to … the bottom [until the bucket is completely empty].
"Then he turned to the other bucket. He asked us for suggestions on how we could help a person whose bucket was empty to fill it up again. With each suggestion, he had us step up and dip a cup of water back into the empty bucket.
"Then dad concluded that home is the place where we come to get our buckets filled, and that we should watch for and be sensitive to others, because we are responsible for helping to fill our brothers' and sisters' needs." (Eric G. Stephan and Judith Stephan Smith, What Happy Families Are Doing [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1981], pp. 57-58).
(There are a ton of applications for this lesson. Calling burnout, scripture study, church attendance.... Jenny)
Fill a small jar 1/2 full of water and another 12 full of Clorox bleach.
Our attitudes and actions do affect the atmosphere of our homes.
Relate the following story while squeezing small drops of food color into the water:
Mother didn't have her normal sunny attitude (drop of yellow coloring) She was upset because morning jobs weren't getting done.
Julie was red with anger (drop of red) because her sister wore her favorite shirt without asking. To make things worse she came home from school with a large stain on the front of the shirt.
Ryan was green with envy (green), because His younger brother has asked the girl that Ryan had his eye on for a date.
Dad came home from work tired and blue (drop of blue). His day at work had been long and hard. He was hungry and dinner hadn't been started.
Show the jar, and point out how the water has become cloudy and dark because of the attitudes and actions of others or family members. The spirit of the home is no longer pleasant or inviting.
Reverse the story so it is positive and as you tell the story add bleach to the mixture. The water will become clear again.. Challenge class to improve attitude and actions so atmosphere can be pure, happy or calm.
Can also be used to show sin, repentance, friendships influence, example, etc.
by Megan K.
