20
Time fillers
(by Jaci) |
Have you ever finished a sharing time activity a little sooner than planned and
didn't know how to fill the extra time? Or, how many times have you waited
for the last class to come back into the Primary room while everyone else is
getting restless? Well, here are a few ideas to fill those challenging
minutes.
Look over the following ideas and keep a
handful of them ready to use at a moment's notice.
- Have various children stand one at a time
and recite their favorite article of faith.
- Silently choose a child and begin
describing positive attributes about that child. Have the children try
to guess who you are describing.
- Ask the children a gospel-related question,
then gently toss a bean bag or small ball to the child and let the
child catch it. The child that caught it then answers the question and
throws the bag or ball back. Continue with other questions. (Be
careful with this one, as it sometimes becomes a game of dodge ball with you
as the target.)
- Play "Who Am I?" State a
list of facts describing someone or something in the scriptures or from
church history. Let the children raise their hands to guess who or
what you are describing.
- Have the children use the Topical Guide
and look up their favorite scripture and read it aloud.
- Keep a tape recorder handy and tape the
children expressing their love for Heavenly Father, Jesus, the bishop, or
their parents. Play it back at a later date.
- Prepare a sack of items that represents
someone from the scriptures or church history. Pull the items out one
at a time and let the children try guessing who the items represent.
- Copy the picture of the First Presidency
and the Twelve Apostles found in the conference issue of the Ensign.
You want to enlarge the pictures to make them easier to see. Mount the
pictures on heavier paper and list their name and make a few interesting
facts about each one on the back of their picture. Use them as
flashcards for the children to learn who they are.
- Make flashcards from pictures of all the
prophets, past and present. Write their names and interesting facts about
each prophet on the back of each card.
- Make flashcards from pictures of the
temples. Write the name of the temple and interesting facts about it
on the back of the each card.
- Gather three large (9" x 12")
colored envelopes. They can usually be found at a stationary or
printing store. Place in each envelope a picture of a prophet, temple,
event in the scriptures or church history, etc. Also include a short
story or description of the picture. Have someone choose one of the
envelopes. Take out the contents, show the picture, and tell the
story.
- Have the children take turns telling of a
time when Heavenly Father answered one of their prayers.
- Hum a favorite Primary song as group.
- Have the children recite the books in the
Old Testament, New Testament, and Book of Mormon.
- Make flashcards with the books of the Old
Testament, New Testament, and Book of Mormon listed on them. Hold up
the cards one at a time and have the children guess which set of scriptures
it belongs to.
- Using a file folder, write the words
"Who Am I"? or "What Am I?" on the front. Glue a
gospel-related picture inside. Write clues about the picture on the
back of the folder. Hold up the closed file so the children can see
only the front of the file. Read the clues on the back, letting them
try to guess who or what it is. When they guess, open the file folder,
revealing the picture.
- Use a bean bag or small ball to toss to
the children. When a child catches it, they must name a prophet (ancient
or modern). This can be done by naming the temples.
- Scramble the letters of various gospel
terms and write them on cards. Hold the cards up one at a time and let the
children unscramble the letters, revealing the gospel term. Once
guessed, you could have the children give the definition of the term.
- Create a "reverance jar."
Designate a certain amount of time (i.e., 30 seconds). Every time all
the children are reverant for that period of time, add a small object to the
jar such as a bean, a marble, a piece of macaroni, etc. When the jar
is full, reward the children with a special card, ribbon,
cookie, or candy.
- Ask the children a gospel-related question
such as, "What year was the Church organized?" Then, while
your back is turned, have the children pass a bean bag or small ball from
one child to another. When you turn around, ask the child holding the
bean bag or small ball to answer the question.
Continue asking questions as long as time permits.