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Below
are a few ideas to get started in Achievement Days:
A
great way to start an Achievement Day year is to decide when
you want to do each area. The areas of achievement do not need
to be done in the order they are listed in the AD booklet. After
you have assigned each month an AD area jot down ideas that
would work under each area. This way you will have a few different
ideas to work with. Each area of achievement should have two
goals in it. This should work out to two meetings a month. Sometimes
a goal is big enough that it can be started one week and finished
the next.
Plan
on handing out some sort of announcement or invitation to the
AD girls and boys a week or two before the meeting. The best
way to do this is at church. A reminder call the day before
the meeting will also ensure a greater attendance.
Here is a sample list of AD ideas:
January-
Personal Preparedness
1.
Organization Night- Hand out AD booklets and go over what AD
is all about. Read each area of achievement and see if the girls/boys
have ideas for the areas. Brainstorm with the youth. This is
a great way to branch out and get more ideas for the upcoming
meetings. Handing out the Gospel in Action booklet is also a
great idea for this meeting.
2.
Goal Setting- Talk about how to set goals, how to achieve them
and how to keep them after achieving them. Have the girls/boys
write down what kind of goals they would like to achieve as
they grow up. A great way for the youth to remember these goals
that they set is to have some nice background paper that their
goals can be written down on or computer printed. These goal
sheets can be taken home and hung up on their bedroom wall where
it can be seen and remembered daily.
Goal ideas
could be- Choose the Right everyday. Pray morning and night.
Be married in the Temple. Be a soccer coach. Be a mom. etc.
February-
Health & Personal Grooming
1.
Healthy Snacks- Create a handout on what healthy snacks are.
Give out a few recipes for them. Plan on making a few to be
sampled. Making the treats in front of the youth will show how
easy it is to make a healthy snack as opposed to grabbing something
unhealthy. It will also give them a chance to taste the yummy
snacks. Try doing three or four different smoothies and taste
testing them.
2.
Hair& Nail Care- Here is a great opportunity to bring in
some outside help. Is there a sister in the ward or branch that
is a hairdresser or nail tech? Have them come in as a guest
speaker. Nothing in AD says that the leader has to be the sole
teacher of every meeting. Take advantage of others knowledge.
The
AD youth can learn the correct way to wash hair, how often it
should be washed, how to dry it, curl it, etc. Each member can
also try manicuring their own nails after learning the correct
way to do it.
March- Safety & Emergency Preparedness
1.
CPR- Have a local EMS or paramedic
come in and teach the basics of CPR and rescue breathing.
2.
First Aid- Have handouts ready and teach the youth about how
to stop bleeding, what to do if someone is choking, bites, burns,
poison, etc. There is a great lesson and handouts in the Primary
Partners, Achievement Days for Girls book. More on this great
book and other resources at the end of the article.
April- Spirituality
1.
Temple Grounds Tour- If you have nearby temple to tour, this
is a wonderful Saturday activity for the group. Make sure to
get the necessary permission and permission slips for the trip.
After
arriving at the temple grounds, find a quite spot and talk about
what the temple means to those worthy to enter. Talk about worthiness
and always choosing the right.
Take
pictures of each girl/boy in front of the temple to remember
the trip by.
2.
Bake Bread for Sacrament Meeting- Arrange this with a member
of the Bishopric before hand so they know what to expect.
This
is another good Saturday activity. Have the girls/boys take
turns making enough dough to supply the amount needed for Sacrament
meeting. Hand out the recipe used and let the youth know that
is takes awhile to rise and bake. This will need to be completed
by the leader. This is very uplifting for the AD girls/boys
on the Sunday that their bread is used. Before the AD
meeting is over, talk about the importance of the Sacrament
and why it is taken.
May- Family Skills
1.
Kitchen Skills- PIZZA- Teaching chopping, cutting, grating and
kitchen safety all under the guise of a pizza party is a lot
of fun. Have the crusts pre-made into individual sizes. Have
each member of the AD group bring a specific pizza topping,
pepperoni, cheese, mushrooms, etc.
Let
each member cut, chop or grate the appropriate ingredient while
learning the safe way to do it. Pile on the toppings, bake and
enjoy.
2.
Chore Charts- Making simple chore charts during a meeting will
help the group understand the importance of helping out at home
and learning to be organized while helping out.
Talk
about the kind of chores each member does at home. Don’t forget
to include morning and evening prayers in the list each child
has.
June- Outdoor Fun & Skills
1.
Gardening- Get some disposable cups, soil and a few seeds and
plant. Talk about what plants need to survive, how to transplant
a seedling, and how to care for flowers and vegetables.
2.
Take a Hike- Take the group on a nearby hike. Point out interesting
sites, objects, plants, etc. Enjoy nature! Before the hike,
place masking tape on each girl/boy’s wrist with the sticky
side facing away from the skin. Have each child make a nature
bracelet with soil, leaves, flowers, etc. that they find on
the hike.
July- Sports & Physical Fitness
1.
Jump rope- Teach different types of jump rope, from double Dutch
to Chinese jump rope.
2.
Exercising- Talk about different ways to exercise. Running,
walking, weight lifting, aerobics, etc.
Try
a short aerobics program. Encourage them to make up their own
and share it at the next meeting.
August- Education & Scholarship
1.
Visit a nearby Library- Call ahead to the library to see if
someone could help the AD group learn how to use the computerized
card catalog. Find books and have them check some out. Help
those who do not have a library card get one.
2.
Career Night- Invite some of the parents to share with the group
what they do at work. Have them mention the type of schooling
and training they needed. Have the group write down some of
the careers they would like to do.
September- Service & Citizenship
1.
Church Service Project- Meet together to clean the chapel, nursery,
primary room or classrooms at your meeting house. Ask for permission
and what needs to be done in the specific area
2.
Flag Etiquette- Learn how to fold a flag, how to take care of
a flag and when are the proper times to fly a flag.
October- Family History
1.
Visit a Family History Center- Take the group to a nearby Family
History Center and learn how to look up ancestors on the computers.
Fill out a Pedigree Chart.
2.
Make a Journal Jar- Work with the group to come up with interesting
subjects to spark journal writing. Write the subjects on small
pieces of paper and fold them up and place them in a jar. Each
child should go home with his/her own journal jar.
November- Hospitality
1.
Table Manners and Place Settings- Talk about what table manners
are and how to improve them. Show a formal place setting and
an informal setting. Let the group practice each setting. Send
home handouts about each.
2.
Plan a Party/Practice Introductions- Let the group help plan
a party that can be used as a Recognition Night. Talk about
a theme, food, decorations, and any activities. Set a date and
give out the assignments.
Also
practice how they will introduce their parents or guests to
the rest of the group.
December- Arts & Crafts
1.
Make a Christmas Ornament- Find a simple ornament that can be
made during the time set aside for AD. Make enough ornaments
to be given away to other members of the ward (i.e.. widows,
widowers, new members, elderly, etc.).
2.
Caroling Party- Take the ornaments from the previous meeting
and go caroling to give them away. Have hot chocolate and donuts
waiting for afterwards.
Achievement
Days can be a fun, learning and rewarding experience for all
of the members as well as the leaders. Plan ahead and it will
be more relaxing and enjoyable.
More
Ideas
For
more great Achievement Day ideas go to primarypage.com.
Also
look for these great books at your local LDS bookstore.
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1.
Plan a simple get together with the girls/boys and their parents,
in the Primary room to hand out the recognition awards.
2.
Daddy/Daughter Progressive Dinner. Make it simple with only
four courses, salad, breadsticks, spaghetti & meatballs,
and dessert. Hand out the awards at the last home after dessert.
3.
Pajama Party. Invite the group over for pizza in their pajamas.
Hand out the awards and watch a movie. Home by 10 PM!
4.
Mom & Me Lemonade party. Serve small sandwiches and lemonade
before handing out the recognition awards.
5.
Achievement Day Fair. Invite the families for some fun in the
cultural hall. Set up small game booths that can be unmanned
like a ring toss, ball toss, penny pitch etc. Make sure there
is a picture booth to capture the fun times.
Set
up a few tables that have the girls AD activities profiled.
Let the families see the hard work that has been done through
out the year.
Have
every family contribute a cake or pie, to be judged, for dessert.
Plan on an award for each cake.
6.
Game night or day. Plan an hour of the girls favorite games
before handing out the awards.
7.
Spotlight Night. Simple meeting at the church for all of the
families. Spotlight each girl individually before handing out
the recognition award. This could turn into a great guessing
game too.
Tips
For Leaders
by
Mary Ann Perkins
“They are wild.”
“They won’t listen to a word you say.”
“Good luck, I’m glad that’s not my calling.”
“Please tell me if my son acts up. I know he’s a troublemaker.”
“The boys insult each other all the time and can be really cruel.”
Such warnings
were given when the Bishopric offered the calling, and such
were the words of congratulations and support we received after
my husband and I had been sustained as the new Achievement Day
leaders for the 8-11 year old boys. Outside the US boys do Achievement
Day instead of the Boy Scout program.
I am not the
type to be overwhelmed by a calling, or to be scared off by
well-intended warnings. In fact, just before receiving this
calling I had boasted to some friends that I could fulfill any
calling in the church—any calling—without feeling insecure or
inadequate. With the help of hindsight, I can see that my perspective
was limited to the kinds of callings I had already had. I had
never experienced a calling like this before, and the horror
stories about the boys kept coming in. How would I ever keep
them busy for an hour and a half, and where would I get ideas
for activities? What would I do if there were discipline problems?
“If only I had been called to work with the girls,” I thought
to myself hopelessly. As a woman, understanding, teaching, and
keeping the attention of girls would have been mostly intuitive.
But boys? “Any calling in the church—no problem.” Those words
haunted me.
The initial shock
of the new calling did eventually wear off, and my thoughts began
to center on some key principles I believe in when it comes to
working with children. The first principle, children who
are not bored are not troublemakers. If we wanted the boys to
be good it was our duty to make sure we had an engaging activity
planned each time. Principle two, children who feel loved
and accepted are much easier to work with than ones who don’t.
Each boy should be able to answer a resounding ‘yes!’ if asked,
“Does your teacher like you?” This may seem easy and obvious,
but in practice it is very difficult to show love and acceptance
to children who misbehave. I knew it would be hard, but not much
harder than (week after week) keeping 10 wild boys interested
in a single activity for an hour and a half. The third principle
has to do with church policy. I have heard that a chief goal of
primary is to help children learn that they feel good when they
are at church. So there you have principle three,
ensure that the boys feel good about the Church and themselves
at the Achievement Day activities. I
focused my energy on those three points and have made them my
goals. It made my task seem much more manageable because
now I had a plan.
It has been six
months since we received this calling; in that time we have seen
some very good and some very bad activities. Although there are
lots of resources on-line for Achievement Day activities, most
of them are intended for girls. Some cross over nicely, but others
don’t. My
best resources for finding ideas were the boy themselves and
my parents. Unfortunately, I can rarely tell in advance if the
activity will truly succeed, but there has been a pattern to
the activities the boys have enjoyed most. By far, our most
successful activities are ones that allow the boys to learn
hands-on about the topic. If you choose to do such an activity,
be prepared for all kinds of questions about “what would happen
if” and be sure you know what you can and can not allow the
children to do. Some hands-on activities can be dangerous,
especially for children who don’t understand the potential for
hazard.
Here are some
helpful hints that we have learned along the way:
- Always begin
and end with prayer. No matter what the activity is,
it will go much better when one of the children says a prayer
at the beginning.
- Have a backup
plan ready in case your first idea is a flop. You don’t have
to plan two activities—just have a game ready in case the
kids aren’t into your planned activity.
- Be firm.
If you have rules, you must universally enforce them. Try
to keep rules few and simple and let the children choose what
the rules and consequences will be.
- Know that
any object you take as a visual aid, tool, or part of the
activity will quite likely be broken or damaged during the
evening. If it isn’t replaceable, don’t bring it.
- Frequently
tell the parents how much you enjoy working with their child.
They need to hear it, and you will believe it more if you
say it. Thank the parents for their support.
- Ask the
children what they want to do, and what activities are fun
for them. Some of the ideas won’t be practical, so incorporate
as much of their feedback as is possible.
I am continually
amazed by how excited the children are to learn about all the
things around them. The three foundation principles aforementioned
have really allowed the boys to learn and be creative. For me,
those ideals are just as important now as they were 6 months
ago. They have allowed us to create engaging activities that
the boys have enjoyed. Sure, there are plenty of times when
they don’t pay attention, or behave themselves, or follow our
instructions; but that is to be expected. Lucky for me, my job
is always the same: keep them interested, show love and acceptance,
and help them feel good at church. |
