Come Follow Me Journals

We had an activity this past week that our girls loved! Thought I would share!!!
Our Laurels had decided that they wanted more ways of getting involved in the new YW curriculum.
Their idea was to have every young women make a 
"Come Follow Me" journal...
...a notebook they could bring to class to write down their thoughts or
 use during the week as they studied the lesson outlines.

I found a bunch of journals at the dollar store and bought one for each girl.

For the activity, we brought a bunch of old ensigns where the girls could cut out 

some of their favorite pictures and/or quotes & sayings.

They created collages on the front of their journals with the pictures 

and topped them off with the circle "Come Follow Me" title above. 

To organize their journals, I created the tabs below that each girl cut out to create sections in their notebooks.

The tabs coordinate with the YW Come Follow Me lesson curriculum. 

The idea is that the young women will be able to write down notes in class, glue in handouts, and capture inspirational thoughts & revelation as they study up for the lessons during the week.

The girls were really cute as they put thought and creativity into their journals.

You could tell that they were something they were all very excited to use.

I am so mad at myself for not taking pictures of the final projects,

 but trust me when I say they were darling....

all very special and unique to each young women.

I think this is a great activity that could be used in any YW organization.

Feel free to use and share!

I am having some problems sharing the tabs and title, so if you would like to download,

feel free to right click the images above and "save image as".

You can then insert the image to a word document (etc.) and print off as needed!

YW Activity: Time Capsules

We have a really fun Laurel activity planned for this upcoming week that I thought I would share!

The girls wanted to create time capsules that they could use to capture their senior year.

We decided to do a slight spin on the time capsules, by using these cute sandwich bags I found at Target

(I found them in the dollar section and they were 3 for a dollar).

I created some cute cards that the girls could fill out to capture all the things they loved, 

things the hoped for in the future, qualities they wanted to develop, etc.

They will be able to put the cards in the bags when they are finished (which closes with Velcro)

The idea is that they will open up these "capsules" in 5 years and look back at how far they progressed.

We are really excited for the activity and think it's going to be a big hit!

(I think it would it would even be a hit in organizations like achievement days!)

Feel free to share and use any ideas!

YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE PRINTABLES HERE!

Cupcake Delivery Activity

This past Wednesday we had a great mutual activity that turned out quite darling.
The girls had decided that they wanted to make some sweet treats and give them to members in the ward.
I found the cutest cupcake containers at pebbles in my pocket and made a tag to top them off.
The girls made and decorated chocolate peppermint cupcakes, wrapped them in tulle,
 and topped them off with a cute little tag.
It was such a simple and cute activity, that the girls loved.

So far, I am just loving the holiday season.
I love the fact that everyone is focused on others, I love the holiday spirit,
I love the chance I get to remember the Savior... it's just a wonderful time of the year.

More Christmas ideas and updates to come!

General Conference Notebooks

Okay, just another quick idea!

I can't resist---this one was just so easy, and turned out great!

This week for mutual, the girls decided they wanted to make 

GENERAL CONFERENCE JOURNALS.

I mean seriously---what a darling idea, right?

We decided to keep the project simple. 

We bought some cheap leather composition notebooks.

I went ahead and created some tabs for each of the general authorities.

We cut out a tab for each of the apostles and first presidency.

(The tabs included their name and picture).

We took tape and gave the pictures a quick laminating job in order to keep the tabs a little more firm. 

After laminating the pictures, we layered the tabs throughout the notebook 

(giving a few pages to each general authority in order to use the notebook in the future).

 We are all sure excited to use our general conference notebooks this weekend!

It will allow us all to record some of the sweet promptings we receive.

Feel free to use and share this idea...

It sure was a huge hit with our young women! 

You can download the tabs I created HERE! 

Scatter Sunshine

This past week for mutual we had a really fun night.

The idea was to create a original activity based on service. 

The young women and men came up with an idea to have a "Service Scavenger Hunt."

The youth were split into teams with 1 leader (about 4-5 per group), 

and given a list of tasks with coordinating point values. 

The activity turned out to be a blast.

Not only that--- it was a real eye opener. 

At first the kids were in a rush to get from house to house 

(trying to accumulate the maximum amount of points), 

but by the end, they were doing extra tasks at the home...

 just because.

After the activity, we pulled the youth together

 to hear their experiences with the service expedition.

It was awesome to hear how touched the youth were

 to hear things from the people they were serving like, 

"You just made my day..." or  "You have no idea how much this means..."

I think all in all, it was a great reminder of 

the impact the smallest acts of service can produce. 

It was an awesome activity and I would definitely recommend it!

The Worth of Souls Activity

As I have mentioned on numerous occasions, I have loved serving in with the

young women so far. What examples. They are so full of light and desire to do good.

Truly inspirational. 

Last week, the Laurel class presidency planned an activity that turned out quite sweet. 

It was a spin off from our Sunday lesson, "A Righteous Example Influences Others".

At the beginning of the activity we briefly talked about the worth of their examples.

 We talked about how they each possessed unique talents

and strengths that are valuable to Heavenly Father and His plan. 

We concluded with the point that the each girl in the room was of worth

and had the potential to influence everyone around her. 

We started the activity by making some yummy banana splits then proceeded to sit in a circle. 

We gave each girl a piece of paper and an envelope that said, "You are of Worth". 

Each girl put their name and the top of the piece of paper and folded it up and put it in the envelope. 

We sat in a large circle and passed everyone's envelopes around--- writing a small note

 to each other about HOW and WHY that particular individual had influenced our lives.

 Everyone received an opportunity to write a small message to each other.

 It was a really great activity. 

The spirit was definitely strong as the girls faces lit up with joy as they would read 

the thoughtful notes and compliments each class member and leader had written. 

I think it is easy to sometimes be hard on ourselves because we tend to focus on our imperfections...

when in all reality,we are all so special, especially in the sight of our Heavenly Father. 

It was good to have the girls reminded of their strengths. 

To be reminded that they ARE special. 

And to be reminded of the fact that they DO make a 

difference in the lives of others around them on a daily basis.

Each girl was encouraged to take their envelopes and put it in a special place, 

as a reminder of their abilities to influence the lives of others around them. 

____________________________________________

____________________________________________

Let your light so shine before men, 

that they may see your good works

 and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 5:16

Weeknight Activity: Project Runway (YW Style)

Can I just say that I have LOVED working with the young women thus far.
The youth truly inspire me. When I was first called to be the yw president in my ward I was super
 nervous... the magnitude and responsibility of the calling really made me feel SO overwhelmed.
 Even though the calling is keeping me really busy, I feel as though I am learning so much.
I adore the girls. They teach me so much on a daily basis. They each have so many strengths
and I admire their courage to stand strong in the face of adversity. They are beautiful. They are
 examples of believers. I can't help but feel and think to myself just how much their Heavenly
 Father loves them as I watch and interact with them.
The youth of the church are amazing! 


Sometimes I feel as though we can get caught up in trying to understand the deeper meanings
 behind the principles of the gospel, when in all actuality, they are simple and direct. Being able to
 serve with the youth has reminded me of this. The Church of Jesus Christ is TRUE and
 it's principles ARE simple.  If you want an amazing experience just start interacting with the
youth of the church. They will remind you of the foundation of your testimony.


For instance, these past couple weeks we have been talking a lot about how we as women
can support young men who hold the priesthood. I was so impressed with the girls when they came
up with the idea that they could be more modest.  We decided this week to incorporate
some of our lesson to the activity and let me tell you, it was a huge success.
We called the activity "Project Runway- Young Women Style". It was seriously a blast!

For the activity we split the young women up into groups of three

 (there were about 5 girls to a team... 4 designers and 1 model). 

The girls had 30 minutes to design a head to toe MODEST ensemble. 

What was the catch? Well everyone knows that project runway doesn't hand out the 

easiest of designing assignments. Usually there is always a twist or some type of absurd 

material they are having to create with. For this YW assignment we gave each team a bag 

filled with random materials (some of which included duct tape, tissue paper, toilet paper,

 ribbon, decorative scissors, etc). Boy, did the girls give a new definition to "making it work". 

They came up with the cutest and most creative modest outfits! Below is a picture of the models

 from each team. Following the design process, we held our own mini fashion show. 

Everyone had a great time and it was such a blast! 

I just love getting to spend time with these girls. They always make me smile. 

They make me want to stand a little taller. They make me want to share my testimony more often.

 They make me want to be a happier person and to be more grateful for the things I have in my life.

 I can't express enough how grateful I am for them 
and their examples and for the opportunity that
 I get to serve them. 

It truly is a sweet and tender blessing in my life.