You are my hands...

We had a fantastic Activity Day a few weeks ago. First, we told the story of the statue of Christ as told by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s April 2010 Conference talk You Are My hands and had a brief discussion on what the story meant and how we can become the hands of Jesus Christ.

Our Activity is based on the following Activity from the Faith in God Book: “Learn about and practice good nutrition, good health, and good grooming, including modest dress.” Since we discussed using our hands for good, we decided this would be a good activity to teach the girls how to properly care for their hands and nails… manicures!

Here’s what you need:

• Nail Polish Remover
• Cotton Balls
• Nail Clipper
• Emery Board
• Hand Lotion
• Soap
• Water
• Bowl or container to soak hands
• Hand Towel
• 2 Washcloths
• Nail Polish (optional)
• Nail Brush (optional)

Items like nail polish remover, cotton balls, hand lotion, emery boards & soap can be provided pretty inexpensively. You can ask the girls to bring a small Tupperware container, nail clippers, 2 washcloths, a hand towel and some nail polish that they already have at home (although I found that the nail polish ended up being a total mess and took more time than we actually had). That makes this activity $7 or less:

• Nail Polish Remover - $1
• Emery Boards - $1
• Cotton Balls - $1
• Hand Lotion - $3 (or less)
• Soap - $1

If your budget permits, you could consider putting together manicure kits for the girls. I was able to put together these individual kits for about $2.50 each and the girls loved them! Here’s what I included in a small Ziploc baggie:  

• Lotion – Bath & Body Works - $1
• Emery Boards - Walmart - $.88 for 10
• Nail Polish Remover Pads – Minimus.biz - $.05/each
• Nail Clippers – Walmart - $.49/each
• Nail Brushes – Amazon.com - $.59/each

I also provided hand soap, tupperware containers and nail polish, but those items were not included in the kits. Here’s how we did our manicures:

1. Set up. Lay out a hand towel and gather the following materials: Cotton Balls, Nail Polish Remover, Nail Clippers, an Emery Board, Lotion, Soap, Small Bowl or container to soak hands, 2 Washcloths, Nail Polish (optional), Nail Brush (optional).
2. Clean up. Use nail polish remover to get rid of old nail polish. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and if you have a nail brush, use it to get all of the gunk out from under your nails. Sing the “Happy Birthday” Song twice to get your hands really clean.
3. Trim down. Use nail clippers to trim your nails straight across. Don’t cut your nails too short… make sure you only cut the white part of your nail. Cutting them too short will hurt and may cause bleeding.
4. Shape up. Use an emery board to shape your nail into an oval shape. Use the emery board in one direction… never back and forth.
5. Soak down. Fill a small container or bowl with warm water and a little bit of soap. Soak your hands for about 5 minutes. When you’re done, dry your hands on the hand towel.
6. Moisten up. Squirt a dollop of lotion onto your hands. Massage the lotion into your hands until the most of location is absorbed. Dampen two washcloths in warm water. Wrap each of your hands in a washcloth and relax for 2-3 minutes.
7. Push down. Gently psuh your cuticles down off your fingernails using one of your damp washcloths. Don't push too hard... just enough to make them look nice.

That’s it! You’re done…

…unless you’d like to paint your nails. If so, here are some tips:

• Use nail polish sparingly… a little goes a long way.
• Start painting at the base of your nail and go up.
• Make sure you give your nails plenty of time to dry.
• Have a friend paint your nails, it’s always easier to paint someone else’s nails than your own. You can take turns. 

Download printable instructions for handouts

My Modest Fashion Collection

This was an activity that I did in May, Just as the weather was getting warmer to remind the girls to dress modestly, but really it can be done any time of year. For this activity, download My Modest Fashion Collection file via Google Docs:
My Modest Fashion Collection

Materials Needed for Activity:

1. A copy of “My Modest Fashion Collection” for each girl (4 Pages total)
2. Tracing Paper
3. Scissors
4. Crayons, pens
5. Yarn
6. Scrap Fabric, ribbon, buttons
7. Glue
8. Wiggly Eyes (optional)

Activity

First, read through the first page of the Modest Fashion Collection with the girls. I had the girls take turns reading each paragraph. We discussed big words and concepts to make sure that the girls understood modesty. I also had the girls highlight key words that they should incorporate into their fashion designs.

Next, start designing modest outfits! The Collection has 3 different looks: Swimming Suit, Casual wear and Sunday best.

The tracing paper allows the girls to draw outfits on top of the paper “models,” and then use them as patterns for cutting their fabric. They used small pieces of ribbon to create accessories like belts.

• We used yarn to create fun hairstyles. My girls were so creative and came up with pony tails and braids!
• Use glue to adhere the outfits and hair to the models. I used Aleeene's Orginal All-Purpose Tacky Glue
• Many of the girls used crayons to color the skin and give their paper models faces.

Suggestion: Remind the girls where the knees are; my girls seemed to overlook that detail on the paper models.

Note: This activity actually took a bit longer than I expected. The girls were only able to finish 1 or two outfits. I sent my girls home with extra fabric scaps to finish their outfits.

"Bee" a Great Sitter!

Our Activity Day Girls were invited by our Enrichment Committee to babysit for one of our Relief Society Meetings. To prep the older girls for the challenge, I held a "Bee a Great Sitter" night, where we discussed the basics of babysitting, safety tips and fun games that the girls can play with the kids.

I derived most of my ideas from LDS Activity Day Ideas, another Activity Days Blog that I love! I used their content and put my touch on it, giving it a "Bee" theme. All of the content adapted from LDS Activity Day Ideas has been reposted with permission.

To download my "Bee a Great Sitter!" Files via Google Docs, click the links below:

Handouts
Babysitting Tips
Safety First
Important Information Forms
Fun Games
Primary Songs
Things to Add to Your Kit

Labels

Labels for Folders
Labels for Games

Great Finds for this Activity

Home Goods, which is essentially TJ Maxx with all home goods, has fantastic large, reusable shopping bags for under $1 each. I found some on clearance for only 70 each. They have fun, decorative designs on them that the girls loved. They are large enough that the girls can add virtually anything to them including old sheets, dress up clothes, coloring books, etc.

 Wal-Mart had some really fun folders on clearance for 25 cents each in the clearance isle. They were more colorful and durable than the plain ones I was planning on getting! I am always amazed at the cute stationary finds in the clearance section at Wal-Mart.

The Clearance isle at Wal-Mart was also great in finding items for the games that we put together. I found socks for the Sock Guessing game and misc. items for the Sink or Float game. I was amazed how little I spent on the activity!

Preparation
I made each girl a folder with one of each of the hand outs. The only files I printed in color were the Labels for the Folders and the Labels for the Games (which I printed on full-sheeted sticker paper). Black and white copies of the handouts were fine.

I purchased/found materials for the following Games: 

1. Sock Guessing Game (1 cute sock per girl, found on clearance of course!)
2. Blowing Cotton Balls (6 cotton balls and a piece of twine for each girl)
3. Ribbon Matching (Just brought all of the spools of ribbon I had laying around my house)
4. Sink or Float? (found a number of random items on clearance and around my house. Mine included a piece of sponge, practice golf ball, plastic bracelet, straw, binder clip, plastic spoon and a fishing bob)

Our Activity

For our activity, we all sat in a circle, and I gave each girl a folder. We went through the Babysitting Tips and Safety First handouts together. The girls took turns reading each bullet point, and we discussed each one. I then showed them the "Important Information for Sitters" handout, and told them they could make copies and take them to each babysitting assignment they had.

Then, I briefly touched on the remaining handouts - Things to add to your kit, Primary Songs, and fun Games. Then, we spent the rest of the activity assembling the four games I had prepared. They cut out their labels and assembled all of the items for their kits. They took everything home the great bags that I found. The girls learned a lot and had a lot of fun!

Activity Day Purse: Pattern & Instructions

As promised, here is my Activity Day Purse Pattern and Instructions. To ensure the proportions are correct, this file should be printed on 11x17 paper.

The purse took us two 2-hour activities to complete. Check out my other posts that document our activities:

Activity Overview
Sewing Part I
Sewing Part II

Click the link below to download the pattern and instructions via Google Docs:
Activity Day Purse Pattern and Instructions

January Sewing - Part 2

The Second part of our sewing project conisted of machine sewing and finishing. I enlisted the help of our Primary President and a mother to help with this project. We had 3 sewing machines and 1 iron. 3 of us taight the girls the basics of machine sewing, one on one, while the 4th helped the girls with the basics of ironing. It all went pretty smoothly. With 7 girls in attendance, it took exactly 2 hours to finish everything up.

Since each of us were only able to help one girl at a time while sewing and pressing, I set up a table with copies of coloring and game pages from the Friend. This gave the girls something to do while they were waiting for their lesson.

Here are a few photos from the activity:


The girls hand finished the top of their purses with the same decorative craft thread that they used for the inside pocket.

When the girls finished their purses, they used craft glue to attach buttons.

A completed purse; waiting for the buttons to dry.

A Summer Salad

Betty Crocker’s Summer Layered Chicken Salad is one of my all-time favorite meals. I showed the girls how to make it at one of our summer evening Activities. After teaching the girls basic washing and knife skills, I divided them up into three teams. I put each team in charge of preparing and chopping up a different ingredient for the salad: chicken breast, strawberries and lettuce. I let each of the girls help me add the ingredients for the salad. Then, I showed them how to make the homemade salad dressing. They took turns whisking it up. They were all amazed that you could make your own salad dressing at home!

We set the table, opened some store bought rolls and shared a meal together. The girls LOVED the salad and really enjoyed putting it all together. I sent them all home with the recipe to share with their families.

Note: I checked with the girls' parents to make sure I wouldn't be dealing with any food alergies. Better safe than sorry!

January Sewing - Part One

Today was our first sewing activity and all-in-all, things went pretty well. My Co-Leader, Chelsea, just started a new job, and was unable to come. So, I called up my BFF Stepahnie, who of course came to my rescuse to help out with the activity. I gave her a quick overview of putting together these simple bags and she was able to jump right in and help the girls.

I sent out invitations ahead of time, asking the girls to bring a 1/2 yard of cotton fabric. I gave them the option of bringing two 1/4 yard pieces, one pattern for the outside of the bag, and another for the inside of the bag. The girls all brought very fun fabric! Some of the girls who only brought 1 pattern, traded with the others to make the fabric combinations even more interesting. I provided:.craft thread (almost like an embroidery floss), needles (with large heads), Felt (for the pocket) Ribbon (for the purse straps), pins and scissors.

For this activity, we focused on cutting and hand-sewing.

We showed the girls how to pin the pattern pieces to their cloth and cut out their fabric pices. Some of the girls were naturals and some had trouble with the whole pinning process--they were either bored or frustrated by it. They only had 3 pieces to cut: the outside & inside bag and the pocket, so the process went by relatively quickly.

We then showed the girls how to hand sew their felt pockets into their purse liners. I simplified the whole pocket process by making them out of felt and having the girls do a simple stitch to apply them. It gives the purses a cute rustic feel. Some of the girls had never sewn before and found it absolutely fascinating! I had no complaints once they got into the actual sewing portion of the activity.

After they sewed on their pockets, we had them pin the inside and outside of the purse to prep for machine sewing, which will be part two of this activity. Then, we helped them cut a length of ribbon for their purse strap (they got to decide how long they wanted their purse to hang).

We organized all of the girls' stuff for next time in paper bags labeled with their names.