Come Follow Me: Matthew 6-7 (February 25-March 3)

It has been a crazy week and I hope this post makes sense.  If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask :)  These ideas work well for families and primary classes.  You can find the free downloads at the end of this post.  There are a couple of ideas shared from past posts that you will need to click on those links to find the downloads for those activities.

I had a hard time picking a topic this week.  The Sermon on the Mount could easily be studies for weeks!  There are so many topics in these chapters.  As I was reading through the manuals both emphasized that different themes will stick out to us depending on what's happening in our lives.  I really wanted to make sure we didn't miss something that may be important to my children so I'm doing things a little different.  We are doing an overview of the chapters and then I'm letting them pick a topic to study a little more in depth. Update: I just read this article and thought it fit perfectly with this.

Superhero treasure hunt.  We are going to start with the quote page and then give the first clue to find the 1st superhero.  

This part can be done a few different ways depending on the age of your kids-1. read and talk about the different topics written on the superhero, 2. read the scriptures that correlate with each topic 3. Use the video clips on LDS.org and play each section as you come to each hero.

After you are done with your discussion give the next clue and continue.  

I included 9 topics-if there is one I missed that you would like let me know :) Use all of them or just a few of them.  Finish up with a clue that leads to a little treat and discuss how following Jesus helps us to be "super" people.  I know its a stretch but sometimes its silly things like this that they remember.

To create your game print and cut around each person.  I did include a black and white option for those wanting to save on ink or you can use them as a coloring page.  I did not include clues-I'm terrible at writing them and every home or church is different. 

Another way you can do this is hide them around the room and hunt for them if you don't want to do clues and this saves a lot of time.  You can also talk about each one on a different day and add your superhero under the quote page.  This makes a great visual reminder for the week.

UPDATE: I've now included a list of scriptures that coordinate with the superheroes.  You can cut them out and glue to the back or just write them down.  When choosing these words I wanted them to be something younger kids understand and I needed something short that would fit on these cute heroes :) I know some aren't perfect but I think they work.  There are a couple I wanted to explain my thinking-

1. Follow the prophet-the actual verses talk about false prophets.  We are going to talk about some of the things our prophet asks us to do and how we can know it comes from Heavenly Father.  

2. treat others kindly-comes from last weeks chapters but we didn't have a chance to talk about it so I added it :)

3. CTR-these verses are about alms/good works. we are going to talk about choosing the right even when no one is watching.  

If you have any questions on any of these please ask. Sometimes my train of thought is a little scattered and might not make a lot of sense haha.

We are really going to focus on letting my kids pick a topic for the week.  I made these little cards that they can use to write (or draw) what they learned this week.  For example one person might pick fasting.  They would write the scriptures that go with this theme and then add a few things they learned about this topic during family discussions or on their own.  I love these for our journals we are doing this year.

You can even let them plan an FHE or Devotional for your family based on the topic they picked.  I included some planning sheets for them to use-I have a kid that loves this kind of thing.  I did see a cute idea where a family picked a topic each week and a superhero came to visit and teach the family what they learned.  One example was "media man" came and taught the family about watching appropriate show and movies.  I thought this could be a fun tie in to the treasure hunt idea and who doesn't love dressing up.

Wise man and the foolish man activity.  

"The power of the Savior’s teachings to His disciples can change our lives, especially when we live by them. Then His words become more than words; they become a sure foundation for life that, like the wise man’s house, can withstand the world’s winds and floods." (I & F)

 There are so many ways to use this story to teach the importance of acting on the teachings of our Savior.  

I included a house template for you to make 2 mini houses.  (black and white one can be colored or print on colored paper). 

Cut on the solid lines and fold on the dotted lines.  tape the box together.  Cut out the roof and tape it to the box.

Here's what it looks like from the back.

 I didn't have any sand or a rock so we are going to use flour and a block.  I also didn't want a gooey mess so we are using a butter knife instead of water.  

Scoop some flour in a cup, pack it in, and dump on a cake pan.  

set your house on top

Use a knife to poke and move the flour around

watch it crumble and eventually the house will fall over.  Try the same thing with the block/rock.  The knife isn't going to do much to it and the house should stay in place.

I have a ton of lesson helps that go with this topic (found Here) including a cute interactive story board that can be used while you read the scriptures or sing the song.  You can also use blocks or jega to teach the concept of needing a strong foundation and what happens if we don't.

If you want to discuss prayer more in depth you might like this fun prayer sandwich object lesson found here.

and I did include this fun prayer activity in this weeks download.  Cut the page of cards apart, fold and put in a bowl.  Print the blank face and the hands.  cut the hand out.  As you draw a card talk about what you do with that body part during the prayer.  For example eyes-we close them.  Then have someone draw eyes on the girl.  The hands are glued or taped on like in the picture below.

I hope you found something helpful. I would love to know how you use any of these activities or any ideas you came up with to teach your family or primary class.

Download the lesson helps here

Adorable graphics from Melonheadz, Krista Wallden - Creative Clips,  Mather's Music, Creating4 the Classroom,  and Fonts by Hello Literacy