The Game of Budgeting

I made this game for my Activity Day girls (8-11 year olds) and it was a lot of fun! We had a lesson about tithing and budgeting and followed it up with this game. We had 14 girls that night and split them into two equal teams. Here is how the lesson was broken down:

Theme: Tithing and budgeting
Source: For the Strength of Youth booklet pgs 38-39
Faith in God goal: Developing Talents #1
Lesson: We talked about the who, what, when, where, why, and how of paying tithing. We talked about where tithing goes, why we pay tithing, how to fill out a tithing sheet, and we read a story about tithing blessing people's temporal needs because that concept was confusing to them. We talked about the blessings that come through tithing and I shared a personal experience about how I have been blessed and I bore my testimony about the blessings of paying our tithing.
Game:

The Game of Budgeting!

So there are three sets of cards- blue is jobs, yellow is pay, and red is earn. We had the two teams make up a family name (i.e. Smiths). The first person took a turn and drew a blue card to find their job and salary. Then they had a choice to pay their tithing. The tithing road had fewer spots. We then would take away 10% of what they had and kept going. Each person would roll the dice and either take a red or yellow card depending on where they landed.

If they landed on an "e" space then would draw a earn card and if they landed on a "p" they would draw a pay card. They had to stop at each corner and pay or earn for that spot. The first spot was $30 for groceries, the second was $150 for bills, and the third was the bank. The bank was where you would roll again and if you got an even you would get $50 out of the bank and if you rolled an odd it would be $50 into the bank. When they got back to pay day they drew a new job/salary.

Afterward we talked about how even if you pay your tithing you will still have unexpected expenses and stress of not having enough money but you burdens will be lightened through the blessings of paying tithing.

The jobs were:
Teacher- $300
Mailman- $275
Daycare Worker- $250
Chef- $275
Hairstylist- $225
Scientist- $400
Clothing Store Cashier- $225
Secretary- $250
Photographer- $250
Firefighter- $300
Computer Engineer- $350
Doctor- $350

The Earns:
Babysit for nieces and nephews- $20
Make some jewelry for friends- $30
Return some clothes you got as a present- $15
Find money on the sidewalk. After trying to find the owner you get to keep #10
Dogsit for neighbor- $20
Lemonade stand on hot day- $15
Babysit for friend's 2 kids- $30
Happy Birthday! It's your birthday. Your grandma sends you $20
Have a yard sale. Sell your used junk! $40
Sell cookies at bake sale- $15
Find money in wallet $10
Sell some old books on eBay. Goodbye, Good Night Moon, Hello, $5.

The pays:
Cell phone bills $30
Forgot to bring lunch to work $15
Out to ice cream $10
Sick! Go to the doctor $30
Need new shirts $20
Out to eat $10
Fill up car with gas $40
Need milk at grocery store $5
Girls Scout cookies. Yum! $10
Stay up law watching infomercials. Decide to buy $20
Throw party for friend $40
Amusement park fun with your family $30

Activity Days - Lesson on Repentance

We recently had a lesson about repentance in our FIGGs (Faith in God Girls/Activity Days/8-11 year old girls class). It was super fun! This lesson could be fun for a Sunday, FHE,  or even in YM/YW.

Theme: Repentance
Lesson materials: Faith in God for Girls booklet (Learning and Living the Gospel #9), Gospel Principles chapter 19, For the Strength of Youth chapter on repentance
Before prep: Gather materials including pencils, old pennies, vinegar and salt mixture (outlined below), and make copies
Lesson:  Talk about what repentance is. Read from the FTSofY booklet and write on the board what you find repentance is. Here is what I came up with:

• Through the Atonement
• Cleanses us from sin
• Forgiveness
• Change of heart and mind
• turn away from sin and turn to God
• Motivated by love
• Promised to us
• Bring peace and joy
• Gives us strength
• Helps us become more like Christ

Give girls this handout:

Have the girls write what repentance means to them which can include the phrases you wrote on the board. Talk about the steps to repentance.

Give the girls the dirty pennies. Pour a mixture of 1 cup of vinegar to 10 tablespoons of salt into cups for the girls to drop their pennies in to. Talk about how repentance is like the mixture. Although we are dirty and even sometimes REALLY dirty with a lot of dirt and time built up, we can become clean again. 

Give the girls the handout

Today is Jordan's birthday! Leave her a comment to wish her a happy day!!

Olympic Gold Medals

Did you know that the Paralympics start today? 

Right before the start of the Olympics at the end of July we had an activity with our 8-11 year old girls at church, celebrating the games. Since it was also close to Pioneer Day we did Pioneer Olympics. We made whirligigs, did a stick pull, and jumped rope. Afterward we also had a medaling ceremony. I made clay medals for each of our girls. It took a while since we have over 20!

Here is how they turned out:

FIGs is the name of the organization

I made them out of gold Sculpey. Each medal was about 3/4 of a block. So each package made 5 medals. I kneaded the dough and flattened it into a round shape. I used the first one as an approximate size for each of the other ones. I used clear stamps to add the words and a flower at the bottom. I made a hole with a straw at the top and got some cute red polka-dotted ribbon. With permanent marker I wrote the date and activity on the back.

How did you (or will be) celebrate the games?

Etiquette Night

I am an assistant leader in one of the organizations in our church for the 8-11 year old girls (Achievement Days or FIGs). I was recently in charge of an activity where we worked on etiquette. We have TWENTY girls and they rotated between four different mini classes.

I had some awesome helpers to teach the classes which were:

1. Conversation- eye contact, sloppy language, gossip

2. Conversation continued (obviously there are a lot of things to talk about)- compliments, introductions, and phone conversations

3. Dress and Appearance- confidence, hygiene, modesty

4. Parties and Dining - setting tables, thank you, RSVPs

Each room had a table set with a table cloth and props. I had leftover flowers from from Valentine's day from the bouquet that my hubby gave me. I divided them up, along with some fake flowers,  and put them in vases for each room. I made each girl a book with 6 pages- 3 double sided sheets. I trimmed the pages below down and glued them on quartered sheets of 8 1/2" x 11". I punched holes in the corners and put them on key rings. The girls had a great time. I hope this gives you some inspiration!

Here are the documents that I used for the books.