Girly Ghosts - Holy Ghost take home

To remind the girls of their Holy Ghost lesson (and because it was Halloween time), we made these Girly Ghosts.

Cut a dinner-plate sized circle from lace (I used scrap on hand; you could buy a remnant for cheap from the fabric store). Wrap it around a 1-1/2" styrofoam ball and tie at the neck with ribbon to form the head. Glue on eyes and attach sparkly stickers and bows. Push a floral pick into the top of the ghost's head and thread a length of ribbon through it to hang the decoration.

Holy Ghost Lesson

To pass off a Faith in God "Living the Gospel" requirement, we tackled a lesson about the Holy Ghost. With our newest girl just being baptized a couple weeks ago, this was a perfect opportunity to remind the girls of the gift they received upon their confirmation.

We talked first about gifts they may have received for their baptism: a new dress, some scriptures, a CTR ring, or a letter from a parent. Then one girl was presented with a gift she was invited to open. Inside she found a super-hero cape emblazoned "HG" -- it was her gift of the Holy Ghost. With this gift, she -- and all of the baptized girls -- have with them the Power of the Holy Ghost.

The girls completed this worksheet that reviews what it means to have the Power of the Holy Ghost:
- Talks to my heart (as opposed to an audible voice that talks to your ears)
- Gives me ideas
- Brings peace
- Burns in my bosom (a phrase often used in scripture; explain what this means)

However, just like some gifts you get come with rules (e.g. you can only play with your video game for an hour a day; if you are given a cell phone, you have to limit your minutes and follow your family's rules), the gift of the Holy Ghost comes with rules. To be able to use this gift, you must:
- Be obedient
- Listen carefully
- Act on what you are told

We completed the worksheet, put it in our binders, and marked the scriptures outlined in the Faith in God book:
- John 14:16-17
- 2 Nephi 32:5
- Moroni 10:5

We held this lesson in the fall -- so the Girly Ghost craft was a fun follow-up and take-home reminder for what they'd learned.

Activity Day Parade Day

Summertime fun with Activity Days! We held our own patriotic parade decorating our bikes, helmets, and taking a spin around the neighborhood.

Pick up inexpensive supplies at the dollar store. Each package can go a long way!

- Crepe paper streamers

- Foam star stickers

- Tinsel in patriotic colors

- Red, white, and blue ribbons

Shrinky Dink Charms

We made these charms as Mother's Day keychains, but you'll see all kinds of possibilities for fun projects!

Purchase Shrinky Dink paper from a craft store (I found it at Michael's, about $6 for 10 sheets). Some blogs say you can use recycle plastic #6 (like clear salad containers), but I haven't tried it.

To save time, cut out the shapes before the activity. We used two circles and one tag shape per keychain. Cut 2-inch circles with decorative-edge scissors. Trace a gift tag (about 1.5 x 3 inches) for the larger piece. Use a regular paper punch to place a hole about 1/8" from the edge. (Too far from the edge, and you'll have a hard time attaching the split ring.)

Write and color on the charms with colored pencils or permanent markers. Bake at 300 degrees for 3 minutes and let cool.

Attach charms to split ring findings and thread onto keychain ring.

YW version
Write the name of each value in marker and color the full charm in the matching value color. After shrinking, attach charms to split rings then a 2-3" chain. Put a lobster claw finding at the top of the chain so the charm grouping can be attached to a necklace, purse or scripture zipper pull.