Our Y.W. and R.S. had a joint meeting where they discussed the "necessities" of what all girls should know: cleaning, sewing/mending, etc. Then we had skills contests like: sewing on a button, setting a formal table setting, adding a contact in a cell phone, jumping rope, peeling potatoes, ironing a shirt, finding information on the internet, sorting cooking measures, and folding laundry.

They divided into teams for nearly equal R.S. and Y.W. in each group. There were tables set up around the gym, and you had 5 minutes at each station, with 2-3 contests during that time. It was a Y.W. vs. R.S. lady. The person manning each station kept score. When each group had made it around the gym, they totaled the scores to see who won each skill!

It was fun to get to have girls of all ages having fun together in friendly competition. It was fun to go up against a beehive while jumping rope and facing off against a Laurel to search the internet for which new temples were announced in Oct. conference.

General Conference is coming before we know it and so I thought I'd remind us all about this awesome Value Project. It would be a good time to remind the YW to finish up their Value Experiences in Knowledge so they can work on this Project. Also, I just found this adorable craft that would go along great with this project.

Our class presidency (we only have one for all of our YW) decided to have a back to school activity where we have two teams compete in the following:

LABEL MAP

We will have blank maps printed out (one for each team) and the two teams will have to compete to see who gets all fifty states labeled correctly first.

CEREAL EATING

We will have bowls of cereal for each YW. Each YW will be blindfolded and have to eat it that way. This represents how sleepy they are in the morning when school starts.

OBSTACLE COURSE (Relay)

We will have two obstacle courses set up with chairs that the YW have to navigate around (one from each team at a time). They will be wearing a backpack with books in it and carry their jacket and purse and have to keep a pen/pencil behind their ear as they go through it and back and give the stuff to the next person in line.

RELAY

We will have two notebooks, pencil sharpeners and pencils sitting on a table. There will be a garbage can at a distance from the table. One person from each team will run down, sit at the table, sharpen their pencil, write their name and the date at the top of the page, tear out the page, crumple the page and make a basket with the paper. Then run back and tag the next person in line.

TIE BREAKER

If we need a tie breaker we will do the shoe game. In this game everybody puts their shoes in a big pile in the middle. The shoes are mixed up and then the teams must race to get all their shoes back on their team first.

PRIZES

We will have notebooks and pens for each player on the winning team.

Before the games, we will have a speaker talk about the importance of education. This can be an activity with an emphasis on the KNOWLEDGE value or an emphasis on For the Strength of Youth, EDUCATION or both. :)

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Egg Relay Game Party Supplies

We may assume that all the YW know how to play the common sports: softball, volleyball, and basketball. However, many do not, and a lot of times they are scared to admit that they don't know or that they're afraid of making mistakes so they don't play. They may not know the rules or the proper stance (batting, or volleyball), how to properly shoot or swing a bat. They may have never played before. Have a sports night where you not only play a game of the chosen sport, but you go over rules and techniques as well. This can help girls gain confidence, especially if your stake is active with these sports! Have a YW who excels in the sport help with the planning. This could pass off a personal progress goal.

You can also include other sports the girls are interested in like field hockey, tennis, soccer, golf, bowling, etc.

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!

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!

Most towns have a museum of some kind. Take a trip to a local museum or two. Take time with the girls to discuss what is in the museum, and help them understand the importance of what they see. Discuss history, art, etc.

A fun idea is to pick up some postcards of specific art before you go. Give one to each YW and have them research the artist or work of art before you go. Then, when they spot that piece of art at the museum they can give a report about it - sort of like a tour guide!

Also, remind the YW that this activity can go towards Personal Progress Knowledge Experience #3. They must have the 13th Article of Faith memorized ahead of time so remind them in advance!

This is a good activity for older Mia Maids and Laurels. Have a "how to get a job" night. Have classes on job searching, filling out applications (making sure they are complete, what everything means, proper writing style... hint: no abbreviations or text-ese, etc.), how to interview (how to dress appropriately for an interview, what to say, etc.), and how to be a good employee and a hard worker.

If you have someone in your ward who hires/fires people in their job, ask them to speak about what they look for in hiring, and why people get fired. If you don't have people who do that in your ward, ask the employment specialist in your ward, or invite someone in management from local stores to come speak to the girls. You might also consider inviting more than one manager to get different perspectives since each type of job is different: fast food or restaurant vs. other retail stores.
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How to Get Any Job: Life Launch and Re-Launch for Everyone Under 30 (or How to Avoid Living in Your Parents' Basement)

As the girls prepare for their future, learning to cook is very important!! Many girls are learning how to cook at home, or perhaps you've had a cooking night for an activity. A fun activity is to have a tasting night and recipe swap to encourage the girls to try new foods, and to learn to enjoy cooking.

Have each girl bring 5 recipes (you can have them bring less if you have a lot of girls in your group), and have them cook and bring one for everyone to taste. For the 5 recipes, have them bring them in different categories: drinks, salads, main dish, cookie, dessert, etc. Either purchase cute recipe cards, or bring the large size index cards for the girls to copy recipes on. Or, have the recipes typed up and copied so they can cut out and glue or tape the recipe on the card.

For a craft, the girls can paint their own recipe box.

Once the dust clears from Youth Conference and Girls Camp (whew!) this Summer, we will be starting a Relief Society mentoring program.

We have had our Young Women sign up and tell us a specific skill that they would like to learn. We have YW interested in photography, car repair, cooking, needlework, etc.

We are planning to take that list and pass it around Relief Society and ask that sisters volunteer to help mentor a young woman in an area they are comfortable with. We will explain to them that they have the opportunity to work on their Personal Progress if they would like, but if nothing else it will be a good bonding experience and a great way to help with the transition between YW and RS!

After 6-8 weeks we plan to have a dinner to thank the sisters who have helped with the skills. We will have the YW display the projects they have been working on with their mentors.

Have a banker, financial adviser, or other person with a good knowledge of finances come talk to the girls about money: how to manage it, save it, and how interest works, and the like. This activity should include things like: paying tithing first, how to manage a check book, how interest works when you save, and credit interest, budgeting, and how to save etc.

Here's a link to some Church resources on this topic! Here's a link to a lesson in the Young Women manual (Manual 2) on this topic!

See Personal Progress Choice & Accountability, Value Experience #7 and Knowledge, Value Experience #2

Some girls are experts at styling their hair. Others... not so much. Have a "hair" night! Invite ladies in your ward who are expert braid-ers, up-do-ers, and curl-ers, and ask those girls who always seem to have perfect hair to share what they do and how they do it! Let the girls practice on each other, or let them practice on themselves so they can learn how to do it for themselves! It's a fun way for the girls to interact with each other, and helps those who struggle with their hair, by giving them ideas, tips, and confidence to try something new.

There are some other ideas in this "Makeover Night" post!

*When you advertise this activity, you may want to put a note asking all the girls to come with freshly washed hair!

So I recently joined my sister in creating a Sharing Station for BYU Women's Conference (the link will work once our booth is posted). It was quite the project! The theme was "How do you spell love? T*I*M*E" from President Uchtdorf's talk in October Conference, 2010.

Because our theme was about TIME, one of our objects for our table was a clock. I really wanted a "Families are Forever" clock, but I also wanted it to match the color scheme of our booth. SO, I decided to make my own clock face.

This would be a simple project to do with the YW and they could put the yearly theme - or a favorite scripture - or whatever they want on the face of their clock. HERE is the .jpg for the one I made for the booth. HERE is one with this year's theme. Feel free to use either or to make your own template! Here are a couple of blank templates: | TEMPLATE 1 | TEMPLATE 2 |  You can download them and add your own graphics, words, etc.*

I found instructions HERE and followed them almost completely. Before you do this, I highly recommend their advice of purchasing a clock with a PLASTIC face (I am speaking from broken glass experience on this one). The project is fairly straight forward. You remove the plastic cover with a butter knife, turn the hands to 12 and carefully slide them off, insert your new clock face (gluing if necessary), put everything back together and voila!

* Photoshop hint: If you want to do the letters around in a circle in Photoshop simply create a circle path and then select your horizontal text tool and type onto the path - it will follow the circle!

"Find purpose in your life. Choose the things you would like to do, and educate yourselves to be effective in their pursuit. For most it is very difficult to settle on a vocation. You are hopeful that you will marry and that all will be taken care of. In this day and time, a girl needs an education. She needs the means and skills by which to earn a living should she find herself in a situation where it becomes necessary to do so." - President Gordon B. Hinckley

If you live near a university or college, arrange to take your Laurels (and older Mia Maids) to the college for a tour. Make sure to tour places like the admissions office, career advising center, and learning labs. (I have a daughter who is a bit afraid of the work required in college, but by showing her the helping resources available, it can help alleviate some of those fears.) Take them to the student center, and help them appreciate the fun and social aspect of college. Visit the library, art galleries, music studios, etc.

If you know someone who teaches there, ask them to talk to the girls about what kind of work is expected from college students. Also, have them share their passion for their subject. Maybe take in a concert or play while there. Even if the girls do not attend the university or college where you visit, it could light a spark or flare the fire in them to be excited about college, and give them a boost in doing well in their high school work.

If you live near a technical college, cosmetology school, medical careers school, take the girls to tour those as well. They will get great ideas, inspiration, as well as seeing what is out there for them when they graduate!

On another night, ask women you know who have degrees (either college or technical), to come share with the girls why they selected that degree.

We did this as an activity days group, but it would be fun with YW too!

In a nutshell, geocaching uses a GPS or GPS enabled phone to locate "treasure" that has been specifically hidden for this activity.



Where I live, the geocache trail is in a large park. We got the co-ordinates from THIS WEBSITE. You start with one set of coordinates, then you find the hidden object that contains the next set of coordinates. I believe we had to find 4 sets of coordinates before finding the treasure. There may not be a geocache in all areas.

The coordinates and treasure can be hidden in all sorts of ways. We found one set of coordinates rolled into an old film container and hung in a pine tree. One was in a water proof plastic pouch that was magnetically held on a metal box. The treasure, or cache, was in a big coffee can, hidden in a rocky outcropping.



Inside the cache were all sorts of silly objects: golf balls, a mirror, a small compass, and things like that. If you take treasure, you must put something in the container for someone else to find. There should also be a "guest book" to sign. It's fun to see where people have come from, who also found the cache!

This is a good combined activity as you will need boys for partners! Have someone (more than one someone is best!) come and teach the kids how to do basic ballroom dance steps like the Waltz. Then, at the next stake dance, have the kids show off their skills!

In a previous ward, there were several older couples who were magnificent dancers, and who would have loved to teach the youth how. Perhaps you have some couples like that in your ward!

I'm a big believer in teaching the girls practical homemaking skills in a fun way. Sewing is one of those arts that is fast disappearing. Let the girls pick from some simple projects: tote bag, apron, shorts, pajama pants, simple skirt, stuffed animals, quilt blocks for a humanitarian quilt, etc. Some church buildings have sewing machines in the R.S. room, but you can ask ladies in the ward who sew if they would come and bring their machines and help teach the girls.It was fun seeing the girls enjoy sewing and making something that was fun and useful.

Another night could be about hand sewing and how to mend, sew on buttons, cross-stitch, and simple craft sewing (like felt Christmas ornaments).

This is really good for all the girls to know, but especially those of driving age. We did this for a R.S. activity once too and it was well received! This was a required learning experience for me and my sister before we could get our licenses, and it amazes me how many of my kids' friends do not know how to change a tire, but they all drive. What will they do in an emergency?

Have a brother in the ward, or a couple of them, come teach the girls about basic car maintenance: how to check the oil and other fluids (as well as adding fluids when needed), and how to change a tire. The girls will have a test on the information. So have the demonstrations, then take the girls one or two at a time and have them actually do everything: check the oil, fluids, and change a tire.

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!)

While attending a Stake Leadership Training last fall, our high councilman talked about value gardens from back in the day (lol). He recommended planting them at the different buildings around our stake.

We loved this idea and got together with the other ward in our building to do this as a combined YW activity. We purchased bulbs for flowers in the different value colors (you can see recommendations in this LDS Church News article from 1992) and spent the evening planting bulbs all around the Church in the available flowerbeds.

And now - they're popping up! I can't wait to see them bloom. I live in Northern Utah so it may be a few weeks, but they are going to be a beautiful reminder to the YW of the values!