Help!
As the “Ward Literacy Specialist” I’ve been assigned to do sharing time this week. I was going to do a short presentation on computer safety but then I was made aware that Pioneer Day is coming up. Now I’m thinking that I should do something on the pioneers. I’m completely at a loss to figure anything out.
Does anyone have any fabulous Primary Sharing Time activities that may have to do with the pioneers?
Frankly I’d appreciate any sharing time ideas because my computer safety idea was lame too.
[Associated radio.blog song: Jack Johnson – The Sharing Song]
You could teach what the pioneers believed!
Assign everyone into imaginary polygamous families. (Send most of the boys on “missions” to Europe to simulate an abundance of wives.) And deliver sermons out of the Journal of Discourses once they arrive.
:-)
Comment by Jeff Day — July 20, 2006 @ 10:37 am
Wow! Better you than me. Can you hunt up some info on how pioneer children were taught to read? Or to “do sums?”
And how did the Ward Literacy Specialist get into doing Sharing, Time, anyway?
Comment by Mogget — July 20, 2006 @ 12:00 pm
Mogget,
Having been in primary for the last 3 years, I can say, without fear of contradiction, that the Ward Literacy Specialist is going to do sharing time next week because the primary presidency got so tired of doing sharing time every week that they started looking for anyone else they could ask to do it. I am guessing it went something like this:
“Hey, look over there, it’s the ward literacy specialist. She probably doesn’t do much for her calling. I bet we could sucker her into doing sharing time next week. bwahahahah”
Comment by Jacob — July 20, 2006 @ 12:11 pm
I think Jacob is right about that accept it went like this:
“Oh no, the whole presidency is goin to be out of town this weekend! Who the hell (that’s for you Jacob) can we get to sub?”
I walk by unsuspectingly at that moment.
Actually this is the 2nd time I’ll be doing sharing time. Last time it was on a 5th Sunday. I’m just the chump monkey sub I guess.
Comment by Kristen J — July 20, 2006 @ 1:35 pm
Hey, there’s a dairy farm not far from here. Maybe I should go “gather some chips” and then we can race to see which team can light a chip fire first.
That would take up all of the time I had too!
Comment by Kristen J — July 20, 2006 @ 1:37 pm
Kristen,
Nice job working in a swear. It was especially great that you were able to put it in the mouth of a member of the primary presidency [grin]. My hat is off.
Since it looks like you could do basically anything, you should play a game (at least, that is what I always do in primary given the chance). One thing I did recently in primary that went pretty well was a tug-of-war. Me verses the kids of course. I started against one and then if they did something good (according to whatever you are trying to teach them–insert lesson here) then they could add another person on their side of the rope. Once the got enough people to beat me we started over. I learned that 10 six-year-old girls can beat me in a tug-of-war, which was quite depressing for me.
Comment by Jacob — July 20, 2006 @ 3:46 pm
That’s not so depressing. 10 six year old girls probably weigh about 400-500 pounds. That’s quite a bit don’t you think.
How about this: I’ll start a cow chip fire and anyone who has done a good deed in the past week gets to throw on a patty?
Comment by Kristen J — July 20, 2006 @ 4:15 pm
Or maybe you can let the good-deed kids stomp the fire out at the end of sharing time. (Hmmm, or maybe the bad kids should do that…)
Comment by Geoff J — July 20, 2006 @ 4:25 pm
Stomping should be done by the kids whose parents have most irritated you recently…
Comment by Mogget — July 21, 2006 @ 7:37 am
Hey, I like that one even better. The line might be a little longer than would be proper though.
Comment by Kristen J — July 21, 2006 @ 9:04 am
As one who will be in that sharing time – I vote for no cow patties. I wouldn’t mind so much but I’m right in the front.
Thanks
Comment by Laura — July 21, 2006 @ 8:06 pm
Oh, you party pooper! Maybe I’ll just have you stand away from the fire and you can choose who gets to stomp the fire out.
Comment by Kristen J — July 21, 2006 @ 10:56 pm
Kristen,
I’m hoping for a report back on what you actually ended up doing. (I plan to use it next week in primary.)
Comment by Jacob — July 23, 2006 @ 10:38 am
I plan on asking the kids what they do for fun in their free-time. I’m assuming it’s a lot of video games, tv, etc.
I’ll then explain that pioneer children didn’t have any of these things and so they had to rely on games, books, etc.
I’m then going to introduce them to a pioneer game called “Dumb Crambo” and have them play it.
Since we have the 2.5 hour meeting I really only have to entertain the kids for about 10 minutes.
I’ll let you know how it works.
Comment by Kristen J — July 23, 2006 @ 12:44 pm