Idea: I teach the 10-year-olds in
Primary. I was looking for something a
little different to get the children
involved in our sharing time class
presentation. I decided to play a game
very much like "Hollywood
Squares". We renamed it "Primary
Squares". I cut poster board paper
into smaller squares with an "X"
on one side and an "O" on the
other. Each of my 6 students came up to
the front where they had been instructed
to set up the chairs. We had 3 of the
small children's chairs in front and a set
of three folding chairs behind that.
Then we invited the Primary presidency to
join us. Three children sat on the small
chairs, the presidency sat in the middle
three chairs and the last three children
stood in back. We divided the group into
two teams. As in Hollywood Squares, the
child picks a "square" and
attempts to play tic-tac-toe by answering
the question correctly. The
"square" person answers the
questions about the prophets and then the
child must agree or disagree with his/her
answer. If correct they get the square and
the "square" holds up either
"X" or "O". Our
primary really seemed to enjoy the game.
One child picked a primary counselor who
was the center square and said "I'll
take Whoopie for the Block!" What was
really great was that they were involved
and could answer questions regarding the
prophets. I think we will do the game
Submitted by Carole Rivers, Healdsburg
Ward, Healdsburg, CA (email@example.com)
Idea: We played a game in junior
Primary sharing time to emphasize
the obedience Nephi showed when his father
sent him to get the plates from Laban.
All of the children sang "I will go,
I will do the things the Lord
commands" then they formed a large
circle. All of them sat on the floor and
were all potential Nephis. One child was
selected as "Laban". That child
sat in the center of the circle
blindfolded with a set of keys between the
legs. Another child was selected very
quietly from the circle of children to be
Nephi. Once chosen he or she was to
tip-toe and try to get the keys without
being heard by Laban. The children all
took turns being Nephi and Laban. It
was lots of fun!
Frankston, Australia Primary President
Idea: Follow the Prophet...We explained to the children what
"sustaining" someone meant, explaining that in helping mummy or
daddy around the house was "sustaining" their parents, by being
good in class they were "sustaining" their teachers...and so on
up to the bishop and then the Prophet. We then got a big roll of
wallpaper and had each of the children place their right hands (and a part
of their arm) on the wallpaper whilst we drew around each of them...they
then coloured this in. We headed the paper "Kirkcaldy Ward
Primary sustains the Prophet." -- Sister Sheena-Ann Brown
Primary President, Kirkcaldy Ward, Dundee Scotland Stake
Idea: Here's an idea we did for Mother's Day. This was an
activity day as well as sharing time activity. In preparation for
Sunday we took black and white pictures of each child or family of
children, took them to a one-hour development shop, and then mounted the
pictures on black construction paper. I decorated the borders with
Fiskers decorative scissor edges. A few grocery stores donated
cardboard boxes, which we cut down into 8x10 squares. The dads of
the ward donated noodles of all different shapes. I had
traced beforehand a 4x6 rectangle on to the cardboard and instructed the
children to create a design they thought their moms would like. It
was interesting to see the amount of work and time they put into making
them. My idea was if they had brothers and sisters, they all
decorated a square and used one per family afterwards. That
way, those who were not able to attend the activity would still have
something to give to their moms. After they finished, the
younger ones helped the older children clean up the room and then move
outdoors to finish their project. I had purchased glossy spray paint
(87cents) prior to the activity and handed over old shirts to the little
ones and reminded the older to be careful with the paint. They then
spray painted the frames that they had made and I added white and silver
glitter to the finished project. With the left over cardboard, we
cut out pieces of cardboard and hot glued a piece to the back of the frame
so as to create a stand for the whole picture. The final step was to
glue the picture to the frame. I wrapped their picture frames in
white wedding veil (it was really cheap!......77 cents the yard...I
bought about 9 yards) I used the left over wedding veil to tie a bow
on the top. The end result was a classic looking gift for less than
$5.00 total, but made with tons of love. Not only that but it
matches any room or
office in the house or work place. I thought this activity turned
On Sunday I handed out some scriptures that were placed within a bouquet
of flowers. Each scripture related to Mothers and parents. Those children
who had brought their scriptures in, were able to split up the bouquet and
hand that to their moms on that day. I also read the book I'll
Love You Forever. It is a great book about how much moms love their
children! They were all so reverent and so attentive....even the
little ones! It was great! We had closing exercises and then moved
to the RS room and sang a Mothers Day song to them and handed over
carnations to those moms that did not have children in the primary and
picture frames to those who did! There were no dry eyes or empty
hands! It was wonderful.
Z. Presley -- Orlando, Florida
Idea: As Stake Primary President in the Portsmouth England Stake,
I get to visit the Primaries within the Stake area and I was impressed by
one Sharing Time held in the Portsmouth Ward. The theme was on
testimonies and the Primary President related it to a pizza representing
each item in paper.
She started with the base telling the children that the foundation of
our testimony is, or should be, of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The
tomato puree is the testimony of Joseph Smith, the cheese topping is the
Book of Mormon and all the other toppings, e.g. mushrooms, pepperoni,
anchovies, ham, etc. are the other things which make up our testimonies
such as tithing, celestial marriage, scriptures, answers to prayers,
etc. The children loved to build up their pizzas and I felt they
gained from the activity.
--From Sister Angela Herridge.
Idea: To illustrate the principle of tithing, we handed out ten
M&Ms to each child. One group got to eat nine first and then
give their last one as tithing. The other group was asked to
give one first and then eat their remaining nine. Through this
simple exercise the children learned that it is easier to give tithing
upfront than to give it after nine-tenths had been spent.
Idea: The most attention-getting sharing time I did involved
detective work. I came dressed in a trench coat, carrying a
magnifying glass. I told the children that my name is "Detective
Hall," and that I had heard that the scriptures teach us about Jesus
Christ. I told them we need to search for clues to find out what
exactly the scriptures teach. (Prior to Sharing Time I had hidden
scripture references: "clues" that teach about Jesus Christ.) I
let each child take a turn holding the magnifying glass and searching for
a clue. When they found one, we read the scripture and discussed
what it taught us about Jesus Christ. That was over a year ago and they
still call me "Detective Hall."
Idea: We had a great Pioneer-themed sharing time in July. The
first 10 minutes or so we met in the Primary room and started off with
Pioneer songs. Then we divided the children into 5 "companies",
led by a Primary teacher. They then rotated through 5 different
"stations". The stations included: 1) a dress-up area with
pioneer attire... complete with "Photo Studio". 2) an older
couple taught very simple square-dance technique, and talked about how
pioneers might entertain one another around the campfire. 3) In the
kitchen, the children had little pieces of bread dough to knead, and made
butter in baby food jars with heavy cream (shake, shake, shake!). 4)
Outside they went for a lap around the baseball field with a handcart
(these were from a youth pioneer trek). 5) 3 empty 2-liter bottles with a
picture of a squirrel, jackrabbit and chipmunk on them. Add a slingshot
and a super-ball. We talked about boys helping the family to find food,
and sometimes using the slingshot to bring home dinner. We also had a
stick pull after the sling shot game. Each station lasted about 15
At the end of the stations, we all met in the Primary room for a fun
participation story (where they say a certain phrase everytime a person or
thing is mentioned), we closed with prayer, and the children each got a
small loaf of hot bread and their butter jars as they headed out the door
for home. It was great fun!
Submitted by: Susie Clayton (Highland 2nd Ward, Highland, CA)
Idea: Last month, I had to come up with a last minute idea for
sharing time, since our primary President called on Saturday night to say
she wouldn't be able to make it the next day. The theme for the month was
"My faith in Jesus Christ grows when I choose the right." So I
printed out a CTR shield and laminated it with clear contact paper. Then I
had junior and senior primary make a paper chain. To add a link, they had
to give an example of choosing the right, which I wrote on the link. It
was surprising to see how close the chains were in size. Senior primary's
was only about 5 or 6 links longer.
We attached to chains to the shield and hung it up on the wall as a
Submitted by: KeriAnne Z. Glen Burnie, MD (KeriAnne99@ivillage.com)
Idea: Role play Moses and the children of Israel crossing the Red
Sea. Obtain two large sheer pieces of blue fabric and place side by side.
Have a child be Moses, and some children be the Israelites and Pharoah's
people. Have the Israelites cross the Red Sea then cover the
Pharoah's people with the blue cloth so they drown. Children will
always remember a story they acted out.
Idea: Pass out a pencil and paper to each child in the primary.
Ahead of time write topics on separate strips of paper such as: Book of
Mormon, Old Testament, New Testament, Church History, People, Places, and
Things. Make a dice using common letters such as R, S, T, N, M. Turn the
topic strips face down. Have one child turn over a topic strip while
another child rolls the dice. If the topic strip turned over was
"People" and the letter rolled on the dice was the letter
"T", then each child in the primary must list as many people
(having to do with the scriptures) they can think of that start with the
letter "T", in one minute. Choose a new topic strip and roll the
dice for a new letter to continue play.
Idea: For Father's Day or Mother's Day, play the Dating Game
using mothers (or fathers) and their children.
Idea: Pass out cookie ingredients to various children before
class starts. Call children with ingredients up one at a time to put in
the mix. Talk about each ingredient as it is added to the mix such as:
only the finest eggs, two days fresh; cream straight from the farm;
vanilla from Mexico, etc. After all the ingredients have been added, dump
in two cups of dirt. Ask if anyone would want to eat these cookies.
Explain that we want only the finest "ingredients" in our lives.
We don't want any dirt added in our lives. Discuss what dirt in our lives
could be such as bad movies, bad words, lying, cheating, etc.
Idea: Pass out five puzzles to each class. (Each class will be
working on the same puzzles independently). The puzzles should be gospel
related and could include a word search, a small cross word puzzle, a word
scramble, instructions to list as many people from the Book of Mormon you
can think of, etc. Allow one or two minutes for each puzzle. Classes needs
to work together on their puzzles. They will not have enough time to come
up with all the answers to their puzzles. After all the puzzles have been
played, each class should add up their total score for all the puzzles.
(One point for each answer). Leader puts all the scores on a diagonal line
on the board, in order of lowest to highest. Explain that we are all at
different places in our lives. It doesn't matter where we are on the line,
just as long as we are trying our hardest. Heavenly Father cares that we
are traveling on the right road and trying our hardest. Over a lifetime of
trying hard we hope to end up with a "high score."
Idea: Indiana [Insert Primary leader's last name here]. Come
dressed with an archaeology hat on. Have a large box filled with sand.
Hide objects in the sand that will give clues to three people in the
scriptures (three clues per person). Children take turns digging up a
clue. Write the clue on the board under the appropriate column as it is
dug up. After all the clues have been dug up, have the children guess who
the three people are. Ideas: Nephi (boat, compass, bow & arrow), Ammon
(plastic doll arm, sword, sheep), Noah (boat, cow, dog).
Idea: Hand out a bag of objects to each class. Each class must
analyze the objects in their bag and figure out who their bag of objects
represents from the scriptures. Have each class come up to the front to
show the objects and describe how each relates to their person.
Idea: Pioneer matching game. Have the children play a matching
game matching things pioneer people used, versus what we use today, such
as a pan over a fire vs. a stove, covered wagon or horse vs. a car, modern
day home vs. log cabin, etc.
Idea: Hold a beauty pagent but talk about inner beauty we should
strive for rather than physical traits.
Idea: Matching game. Match a scripture verse (that the children
would have to look up) to a picture that depicts the main point of the
Idea: Missionaries. Bring an empty suitcase and a box of various
items such as scriptures, tie, football, radio, music tapes, video,
toothbrush, white shirt, etc. Have the children come up one at a time and
pull an item out of the box and decide if it should be packed in the
suitcase or stay home. Explain what it is like to go on a mission and why
you would take or not take certain items.
Idea: Charades. Act out people from the scriptures, primary
songs, or scripture verses.
Idea: Retype several scripture stories but don't include the
verse numbers at the beginning of each paragraph. Cut up the stories in
between each paragraph. Put one story in each envelope. Give one envelope
to each class. Each class must assemble their story into the correct order
(without referring to the scriptures). When all are done, each class may
paraphrase their scripture story for the rest of the primary. For younger
children, draw out scripture stories using stick figures. Put in envelopes
and pass out to each class. Each class must figure out the order their
pictures go in to tell the story.
Idea: "Two Masters". Pass out various experiments, one
to each class. Include instructions with each experiment. Experiments
should be things that are impossible to do because you are trying to do
two opposite things at one time. Experiment ideas: drinking two glasses of
water at the same time without spilling; writing your name forward and
backward at the same time; making two paper airplanes then throwing in
opposite directions with the hopes that they will land in the same spot;
chew gum and sing a song at the same time; sing "Mary Had a Little
Lamb" while writing the words to "I am a Child of God" etc.
After each class has had some time to experiment with their experiments,
have a member from each class explain to the rest of the primary what
their experiment was and what the results were. Then read the scripture
about serving two masters. Explain that we can't serve Satan and Heavenly
Father at the same time.
Idea: Play "hot potato". Have the children sit in a
large circle. Play music on the piano and pass the hot potato around the
circle. When the music stops, the child holding the potato must answer a
gospel related question.
Idea: I like playing Pictionary with the children during sharing
time. I use people from the scriptures. One child draws the clue on the
blackboard while the other children try to guess the person.
Editor's note: Many thanks to Christine from Southern California
who submitted many of the above ideas!
Idea: My senior primary loves to scripture chase.
You read the scripture or scripture summary first and then post the book
and verse on the chalk board. It is a great way to familiarize the
children with finding references and it can be adapted to any theme.
Idea: For Senior Sharing time, we had our second
Counselor in the Bishopric come in and "represent" the Holy
Ghost like the dove represented the Holy ghost when Christ was baptized.
The kids asked him questions about the Holy ghost and why we have to be
baptized by water before we are baptized by the Holy ghost. He an
excellent object lesson showing the importance of being clean. He had a
small jar representing a person. On the ourside, was stuck some sand and
the inside had wet sand in it. There was a lid on the jar. He washed the
jar in a glass bowl showing baptism, washing away our sins, but there was
still sand in the inside. He asked the kids if it was clean inside. Then
he took the lid off and washed the inside, showing the Holy Ghost washing
us completely clean. The kids really understood after that about the Holy
Ghost and how it works.
Note from another reader: In Teaching No
Greater Call it states that no one should ever portray God the father or
the Holy Ghost. Just thought I would let you know. (TNGC pg 166: Cautions
about the Portrayal of Diety)
Idea: (Pioneer-themed sharing time) For Sharing Time we made a pretend
campfire. ( I gathered rocks and and a couple sticks of wood and put some
red and yellow crate paper to look like flames.) I had an older
couple from our ward come in and share some of their pioneer
stories. While they were telling stories. We had a container
of cream and the kids shook the cream to make butter. We served it
to them on crackers. They were told how the pioneer wagons were so rough
the pioneers would attach the cream to the wagon and had fresh butter when
they stopped for the night. We would sing a pioneer song in between
Submitted by Dana from Bridgeland, UT (firstname.lastname@example.org)
Idea: We divided the children into groups. Each group was given a
piece of paper that named an attribute of Christ (for example, love,
power, obedience, humility). Then each group had to list examples
from Christ's life of how he exhibited those characteristics.
Afterwards, each group got to share their ideas with the entire
Primary. We pointed out that these were some of the things the
children could think about while partaking of the sacrament.