The YW can set up a 3-hour time slot on a Saturday before Christmas that they can babysit for Moms to do their Christmas shopping!! The YW can set up fun stations (games, music, crafts, etc.) for the children.

Good Works Value Experience #6

"Spend at least three hours giving service outside your family. Ask your ward or branch Relief Society president or a community leader for suggestions for service. For example, you might take care of children while parents attend the temple; collect, make, or recondition toys or games for a nursery; accept an assignment to clean the meetinghouse; or perform errands for or read to a homebound person or others in need. Record in your journal the reactions of the person you served and possible goals for future service opportunities."

I'm not sure if I originally saw this idea HERE or not, but we did this at Girl's Camp a few years ago. We bought a paper punch LIKE THIS ONE and punched CUTE PAPER to make our ornaments. We used a PAPER PUNCH to put holes for RIBBON and made these cute ornaments. When the YW would perform service at camp, they would write their service on one of the ornaments and hang it on our tree. They worked really hard to get our tree decorated!

We used a large punch and actually decorated a tree outside. If you have good weather, this works well! Our ribbons were the value colors!

This would also work really well at Christmas time to decorate a Christmas Tree!

*This could be adapted for a Value Project idea!!

A lady came into my work today to have some file folder games laminated. She said they were for the Humanitarian Center. I think this is a great idea for a service project! You can find game templates or books of ideas online.

Have the girls do the coloring, cutting, and pasting. Then you get them laminated and cut them out again. Check with your humanitarian center to see if they have kits, and also, what their requirements are for the kinds of file folder games they are looking for.



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Some books you might like:

Instant File-Folder Games for Reading: Super-Fun, Super-Easy Reproducible Games That Help Kids Build Important Reading Skills-Independently!

Colorful File Folder Games, Grade PK: Skill-Building Center Activities for Language Arts and Math (Colorful Game Books)

File-Folder Games in Color: Numbers & Counting: 10 Ready-to-Go Games That Help Children Learn and Practice Early Math Skills-Independently

Last night we had a mother/daughter dinner. It was a lovely evening. Our class presidency planned it and made assignments. They did all of the cooking and we ate outdoors. Plastic was down on the picnic tables and the girls fed us enchiladas and salad and lemonade. Brownies for dessert!

After dinner we played a version of the Newlywed Game where there were ten questions about the daughters and ten about the mothers. Then answers were tallied and shared. Hilarious!

Some of the questions about the daughters included: What is your daughter's least favorite chore? Who is your daughter's best friend? What does your daughter want to be when she grows up? Moms and daughters both answered the questions (daughters about themselves, obviously). Some of the questions about the Mothers included: When is your mother's birthday (including year!)? What actor does your Mom find attractive? When is your parent's wedding anniversary? Again, both answered the questions - this time Moms about themselves.

Simple activity and a lot of fun!

Before attending camp this year we decided that we needed an incentive program... something to keep the YW motivated to help with chores, perform service, etc. We decided that because we had a SAFARI theme this year we would have the YW earn beads for their deeds. Then, each day we would have a store full of goodies where they could shop. We literally had YW fighting over who got to do dishes! Amazing! We will do this forever - at camp and youth conference.

What we did:

• We purchased inexpensive beads for our currency. You can use ANYTHING. I recommend giving the YW drawstring bags or something in which to keep their "money."
• We purchased goodies - candy bars, crystal light on-the-go packets, water bottles (and other items YW may have forgotten!), bubbles, etc.
• We purchased plastic containers to put store items in.
• We marked on the containers the cost - 1 Bead, 2 Beads, etc.
• We determined the cost of each item (based on about .25-.50 per bead) and put items in the corresponding containers.
• Each leader was given a bag full of beads to distribute as they felt appropriate. YW earned beads for filling the water jug, doing dishes, helping cook meals, taking out trash, doing service for other camps, etc. They were constantly looking for ways to earn beads. 
• The store was open at different times throughout the day and the YW were allowed to shop with their beads. Make sure to have a lot of small items (like the on-the-go drink packets) and some large ticket items. We actually threw in an ice cream party to earn the last day of camp (clean-up day) if they earned a certain number of beads!
• Throughout the day items that were left around the camp (blankets, jackets, water bottles, whatever) were picked up and placed in "Mom's box." Before purchasing anything from the store, the YW had to buy back their own items that they had left lying around camp. This really kept our camp tidy - especially after the first day!

Many of the Beehives have probably been babysitting for awhile, but have they been taught what to do in an emergency? Can they stop a bleeding cut, care for a minor burn; do they know how to treat a bump on the head, or other things that happen to kids? Do they know what to do when siblings fight, a child is defiant, or what to do with bored kids? While we might assume the girls know these things, many do not. Hold a babysitters class where these things are addressed, as well as ideas for being an active babysitter, not a sitting sitter!

Have the girls make a babysitter's bag with first aid information, as well as "surprise" things she can bring for the kids. This can include movies, games, toys, coloring books, play-dough, or other crafts. This is helpful because the kids are excited about the surprises, and the babysitter can change it all the time.

Active activities are always a good for babysitters and the kids they watch. You can teach the girls how to make basic puppets and how stage a puppet show. The library has books on plays for children, which could be a fun activity. A babysitter can play sports with the kids, make obstacle courses, and other outdoor games. Have the girls compile a list of things they like to do that they can do when they babysit.

It is important to have ideas for kids of all ages so the babysitter knows what to do for a variety of age groups!

Here's an idea for a thank you gift or as a craft to take as a service to people in the Ward who may need a pick-me-up. Simply purchase some glass vases and fill them with the candy of your choice (Skittles, Jolly Ranchers, M&Ms, whatever!) and add some silk flowers. There are many different looks you can achieve.

Another idea is to get a soup can and use double-sided tape or hot glue to attach candy sticks around the can and then put live flowers inside. You can do this with candy canes for a festive Christmas look or just use regular candy sticks.

Recently we had a sister in our ward come visit with the YW about homemaking skills. She talked with them for a few minutes about how everyone has different talents, etc. and we don't all have to do all of the homemaking crafts. She talked about cooking and cleaning and their importance and then discussed other skills.

Then we all went upstairs and tied lap quilts. The Sister who spoke helped the YW with the quilting instructions. We borrowed frames from the Relief Society.

We had set up two frames and had the edges already bound so that once they tied them, they were finished. The YW them presented these quilts to the two graduating seniors. These quilts could be given to new mothers in the ward or donated to a local shelter.

There are several areas of Personal Progress where the YW could use this skill, including Knowledge Experience #2.


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Lap Quilting Lives!

Have people from your ward who served missions set up a display with their mission memories: pictures, cultural clothing, art pieces; anything that they brought home from their mission that shows the place they served. Also, have them bring some food from the country or area for the girls to sample.

Allow the girls about 10 minutes to look at the displays, then have each person give a 5 minute talk about where they served, what they learned about the people, culture, and of course, their testimony about serving. After the presentations, have a Q&A session with the presenters. Follow that with food sampling.

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Missionary: Impossible LDS Game

We had a sister in our ward come speak to the YW. She had served a mission and talked with us about what the YW needed to do to prepare to serve a mission. She explained that we prepare for a mission the same way we prepare to go to the temple and talked about how the YW didn't need to make the decision today. Then she shared some of her mission experiences.

The YW made a care package for a sister missionary who was serving from our ward. We asked her Mom ahead of time some of her favorite treats, etc. We also played a trivia game with questions from For the Strength of Youth.

Every year at camp we do Secret Sisters. Here is our Secret Sister Form that we have the YW fill out. This really helps to get an idea of what the YW like and don't like.

We have purchased a shoe hanger like this one to use. We let the YW decorate their "cubby" with their name, etc. In the extra cubbies, we had paper & pens so they could write thank you notes to one another. We encouraged them to find the opportunity to write to each of the other YW while at camp.

YW can put things in their secret sister's cubby at any time throughout the day, but we scheduled a time each evening to get our mail. The YW sang the Blue's Clue's song when it was mail time! We have had good success with the secret sister program.

If you have a difficult time with equality for your secret sisters (even after setting a price limit, etc.) you may want to do what some wards have done - have each girl make one item for all of the other YW and give them during the week. So, maybe one YW makes a large cookie for each of the other girls and then puts it in their box. Any other secret sister ideas? Share them in the comments!

This makes a great combined activity with the YM!

A couple weeks before the activity, announce to the ward (and get it in the bulletin) that the youth will be doing a service scavenger hunt, so on the date of the activity, would they please participate with the youth.

As leaders, create a list of service for the kids to do like: wash 4 windows inside and out, wash dishes, weed a garden, wash a car... anything you can come up with.

The night of the activity, divide the number of kids attending the activity into even groups. Divide the ward boundaries into sections, having the same number of sections as groups. Assign a leader to drive.

Each group goes through their section of the ward boundaries (they can go to those who aren't members too, if you know them and they would be friendly towards the kids) and they ask the members if they can perform a service. The kids can ask to do something like "Can we wash your windows?" or if they have a lot on their list, they can say "What would you like us to do for you?"

While the kids are working, the leader should take a picture to "prove" the service was done. If cameras aren't available, the member should sign their list next to the service the kids did. Pictures are fun though because you can make a poster or bulletin board for the ward to see!

First team back gets bragging rights!!

One of our young women had tested, compiled, and published a book of recipes for one of her value projects. Quite an accomplishment! For another value project, she taught a combined mutual activity on the basics of cooking. She had the girls put together a meal of chili, cheese biscuits, and a homemade punch. As she helped each group with their tasks, she talked about basic kitchen skills such as measuring, reading a recipe, quick pantry meals that they could do without help, and how to use kitchen equipment and utensils. At the end of the evening, they were able to sample their work! (which was quite yummy!)

I called the children's social worker at our local hospital and asked what kinds of things we could do to help the children's unit there. First of all, there may or may not be a children's social worker or child life specialist at your hospital. You may have to speak to someone else. But, there are always kids in the hospital who need things to help entertain them!

Our project was to make activity bags. We sewed double handled bags and collected books, coloring books, crayons, and puzzles to put in them. The hospital may have recommendations or requirements for what kind of things you can put in. We also read books on cassette tapes (this was several years back) and had the book with the cassette.

Another thing you can also do is either collect stuffed animals, or teach the girls how to sew them to donate to the children there. You could do a movie drive where you collect VHS or DVD movies for kids and their families to check out while they're in the hospital. Again, check with the hospital for what they need.

Last night the laurels made these amazing no fail chocolate chip cookies for the priests in our ward and then hand delivered them. This was an activity based on this article in the New Era and was an idea from the same New Era for a youth activity. As the YW made the cookies, we talked about the article, specifically we discussed this section...

Be friends first and sweethearts second. University professor Lowell Bennion once said that relationships between young men and young women should be built like a pyramid. The base of the pyramid is friendship. And the ascending layers are built of things like time, understanding, respect, and restraint. Right at the top of the pyramid is a glittering little mystery called romance.

Now, you don’t have to be very smart to know that a pyramid won’t stand up very long if you stand it on its point instead of its base. In other words, be friends first and sweethearts later, not the other way around. Otherwise, people who think they are sweethearts may discover they can’t be very good friends, and by then it may be too late.

We talked about how doing things like baking these cookies was a way to foster friendships and build the base of the pyramid. The laurels had a great time and it was a simple, low-cost activity.