Retreiving the Brass Plates

Well, we went for it! Our class made an attempt at dramatizing the story found in 1 Nephi 2-5. Here is what happened next:

Several of our guys have a ham bone, as you can see. It's too bad the girls got the shaft in this story. There weren't enough parts to go around! Luckily, they were willing to step behind the cameras and record this moving account.

Irreverent take on an a famous story

I just stumbled upon this wacky video while preparing for tomorrow's lesson. It's about 9 minutes long, and very ridiculous. Watch here.

I wonder if I could get my seminary kids to dramatize this story...

Thanks Mom!

My wonderful mother used to teach seminary in Glendale Stake. When I got my calling, she hooked me up with a huge box of lesson plans, games, and other goodies. It has been invaluable.

Today I used a scripture mastery game she made to get the kids out of their chairs. They chose partners and worked together to assemble the words of the verse in order. To make things interesting, I had them play for prizes ($5 in Mormon Money and a treat from the jar). I also played our 1 Ne 3:7 song over and over in the background. It seemed to be a success.

We also talked about 1 Ne 1:20 being a thesis statement for the Book of Mormon. I shared excerpts from Elder David A. Bednar's talk, The Tender Mercies of the Lord. I went on to describe some of the tender mercies I've experienced that prepared me for my seminary calling:

*My parents came out for a visit the week I was to be set apart for seminary. It was such a blessing to have them there. Also, my mom was able to give me "the box".

*My visiting teacher used to teach seminary before me and has shared tons of great advice and materials.

*I was able to finish my teaching degree and get some experience under my belt before moving to Ohio (and receiving this calling).

*I had an impression prior to receiving the call so that I had time to adjust to the idea and pray about it.

*In my preparations over the summer, I started listening to the Roundtable Discussions on the Book of Mormon. One of the professors that frequented the program used to be my Book of Mormon teacher at BYU. It was neat to here him teach again and be able to recall what I learned from his class 14 years before.

*This is a little silly...In January 2009 I started to teach the 5:30 a.m. aerobics class at the Y, proving to myself that I actually could get up early on a consistent basis.

All of these things sound like nice coincidences, but I know that they were tender mercies from the Lord given to me so that I "may accomplish the thing which he commandeth" me.

New songs for my I-Pod

There are a lot of products for sale out there to help out seminary teachers. Unfortunately, I don't have hundreds of dollars lying around to spend on my new calling. Luckily, I found a site with some pretty goofy "songs" for scripture mastery. They are free to download and produced by the Sons of Ammon (great boy band name, right?). Today I made the students listen to, and sing along with, 1 Ne 3:7 . I think the annoyance factor might help them memorize this one. Have a listen. My favorite is 2 Ne 2:25. It's very Simon and Garfunkel.

Today's lesson focused on record keeping. In my planning yesterday, I had so much fun searching for little gems to share from my personal history. What I discovered from reading my old journals was that I was pretty immature as a teen and not nearly as smart as my own 2 children. Thank goodness I don't have a classroom full of Audreys...

Scripture Mastery

I introduced the first scripture mastery scripture today. It's 1 Nephi 3:7 - "And it came to pass, that I, Nephi, said unto my father, "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded. For I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way to accomplish the thing which he hath commanded." Ha! I just checked, and I got it wrong. I was trying to type it from memory. Darn! See if you can recognize my mistake...

I brought in muffins and juice from Sister Costco so they could nibble (stay awake) while listening to a brief clip from John Bytheway's talk, "Get an Attitude". I have to say that this part of the day went well because I actually saw some of the students smiling as they listened! This is progress! I'm going to have use some Bytheway bits again. He's a lot more entertaining than I am.

Later I tried to have a discussion with the students about applying Nephi's obedient example in their own lives. It was like pulling teeth to get some of them to respond. Ho hum. I tried to share some examples from my life (i.e. accepting this calling despite feeling totally incapable)...

On another positive note, everyone stayed to help me set the room back up for Primary. They're good kids, just sleepy. They deserve this nice long weekend, and so do I!

Time!

Man, does TIME get away from me! There is so much to cover, and never enough TIME. By the TIME everyone rolls in, devotional is done, and bell work is finished, 10-15 minutes has gone by. It's impossible to get into anything beyond a surface level in just 30 minutes.

That's all I have to report today. I have no TIME for much else.

Take 2

How I got through my first day blues:

Skipped my bike ride to spend the morning with my hubby.
Went to Costco - just because.
Had DH take me to Chipotle for lunch.
Got a pep talk from my mommy
Snuggled with my daughter
Watched some uplifting CES videos
Planned Tuesday’s lesson for 5 hours (I’m getting faster!)

How things went the 2nd day:

I felt a lot more comfortable this time around. The kids opened up and talked. There was even some joking and laughing. Everyone came except one student. I’ll be praying for him. I introduced our seminary binders that we’ll be keeping throughout the year. In this we’ll keep study aids that the students can continue to use throughout their lifetime of Book of Mormon study. We talked about the keystones, the gold plates, and prophecy for our day. I skipped the DVD clip because I couldn’t get the equipment to work. I remembered the camera today, though I ran out of time to photograph our class. I did manage to take some pictures of the room after everyone left.

Can you tell I used to be a 2nd grade teacher? I'm glad I can put some of my old pocket charts to use again.

My wonderful mother deserves a lot of the credit for the cool stuff on the walls. She made this lovely map when she taught seminary. The cool posters are hers too. I like them better than the new ones I've seen advertized on the Internet.

My sweet husband made these "gold plates" for me using cardboard and gold spray paint. You wouldn't believe how hard it was to find the material for the rings. The Liahona I bought from Deseret Book. Cool, right?

Here is the puzzle we put together yesterday for the plan of salvation. I tried to tie that in with a quote from President Boyd K. Packer, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He has explained: “Individual doctrines of the gospel are not fully explained in one place in the scriptures, nor presented in order or sequence. They must be assembled from pieces here and there. They are sometimes found in large segments, but mostly they are in small bits scattered through the chapters and verses” (“The Great Plan of Happiness,” 1993 Church Educational System [CES] Symposium, 1). The Book of Mormon contains MANY of the pieces which were lost.

The chocolates were part of an object lesson on the 3 degrees of glory. I likened the telestial kingdom to a Tootsie Roll which I don't believe really counts as real chocolate. It does not tempt me in the least. I hold out for something much more tasty. The terrestrial kingdom I likened unto a Crunch bar. While it's preferable to a Tootsie Roll, it's certainly not the quality of chocolate I crave. It's much to waxy, and not chocolatey enough for my taste. The celestial kingdom I likened unto a Dove dark chocolate. It's delicious, rich, and full of chocolatey goodness. It satisfies me and makes me happy. I know - corny!