Happy Birthday!

I received a very sweet and unexpected birthday surprise Tuesday morning. When I arrived early to set up, I found the seminary room decorated with tons of balloons and streamers. The chalkboards were also covered with love notes and drawings from the students. I was completely taken aback by the students' thoughtfulness. It made me feel so good!!!

When the students arrived, they brought cake and cards. They sang to me too! My favorite part of the morning though, was that some of the students hugged me and told me they loved me - even the boys! I still can't get over it. What a memorable birthday!

Doughnuts and The Word of Wisdom

Our little seminary class has been abundantly blessed of late, and I just have to report out successes. For the month of November, we've had devotional every day by the students. Also, we've all memorized the last 2 mastery scriptures. Our attendance is improving by degrees and we've not had a napper yet. I know some prayers are being answered here!

An additional blessing arrived this week on my route to the church. You've guessed it - a doughnut shop! It opens at 5:00 AND it has a drive-thru window. Isn't that perfect? I treated my class to 2 dozen just this morning.

Now for a related story...

In the middle of my lesson this morning, one of the students raised his hand to ask a question. He said he had a concern about his doughnut. I thought he was just being funny but I let him continue. He went on to ask if the doughnuts I bought were in line with the Word of Wisdom. Suddenly, I realized where he was going with all this. His doughnut was coffee flavored with a mocha creme center! Ewwww! Of course I had him toss the thing and we all had a good laugh. Lesson learned - no more variety packs!

Liahonas

We made these Liahonas weeks ago, but I'm just now getting around to posting the pics.

P.S. I'm looking for a better camera.

Leaps and Bounds!

The past few weeks I’ve not written much as I’ve gone through a period of humbling and testing. I find it’s best for me not to vent in public while my emotions are so close to the surface. Now that a little time has passed, I’m ready to record some of my challenging moments so I won’t forget what I’ve learned. Boy! I’m sure growing leaps and bounds lately!

Lesson #873 – Teenagers will hold you to your word, so be careful what policies you make

In attempt to appear flexible at the beginning of the year, I made my tardiness policy rather lenient. We are supposed to start every day at 6:00 am. To be “fair” to extenuating circumstances though, I decided to make the cut off time for tardiness at 6:10. This has really come back to bite me with some kids, because they consistently arrive at 6:10 (or later) every day. They miss out on devotionals, announcements, and scripture mastery practice. It’s hard on the rest of the students who are timely, and it often slows the pace of our mornings so I’m scrambling at the end of class. If I had this one to do over, I would not implement that policy because teenagers will hold you to your word. Who doesn’t want 10 more minutes of sleep? Duh!

Lesson #874 – Incentives for students = expensive for teachers

Students arriving before we start the opening hymn are considered “early birds” and can pick a treat from the “Treats for the Timely” jar. This wasn’t an original idea of course. One of the ward’s previous teachers had used this incentive to motivate kids to be on time. I thought it was brilliant. It’s always better to motivate and encourage, rather than punish, right?

Another incentive I use is Mormon Money. I give my students a little $ when they present devotionals, give a great answer, win a scripture mastery challenge, etc. The fun part is the auction we have in conjunction with this program. At the end of each quarter, the kids will get to spend their Mormon Money to buy fun things like movie passes, baked goods, CDs, gift cards, etc. The kids are excited about this, and I am too.

Here’s the problem though…That stuff costs money. That’s why I’m so grateful for the one parent who has made contributions (plural) to my candy stash and the auction. Every bit helps! I just wish more parents would respond to my plea for help. It just might save my marriage…HA!

Lesson #875 – Competition does not belong in a seminary lesson

This lesson has been the most painful to learn so far. Before I launch into this story though, I want to give some background info on myself.

I am not a game person. I don’t like competition or conflict of any kind. I’ve never been good at debate. Confrontation makes me break out in a sweat. I will ever be a people-pleaser, a lover not a fighter.

Also, I used to be an early childhood educator. Working with youngsters, I avoided having kids compete with each other because that kind of situation almost always ends in tears. It’s just not an effective teaching tool for that age group.

Now back to my story…For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to bribe my seminary students with Mormon Money so that they would be more eager to give comments in class, read passages, memorize scripture mastery, etc. Unfortunately, this quickly escalated to the point where students have been falling all over each other just to earn Mormon Money. The gap is widening between kids who are already assertive and comfortable in class, and those who are not. It’s created bad feelings and chased the spirit away. It has not worked out the way I envisioned.

I am happy to say that some of the students felt comfortable enough to give me some of their feedback on this whole issue. Their words confirmed what I was already thinking, and also brought me to my knees. It is very painful to hear a teenager talk about how she can’t feel the spirit in your classroom. After much prayer and counsel with close friends, I’ve decided to revamp the whole Mormon Money thing. Money won’t typically be passed out in class. Instead, it will be given on the down-low for reasons that are tailored to each student. Money can still be earned for devotionals, memorization, etc. It just won’t have such a dominant place during the actual lesson.

Lesson #876 – Everyone deserves a second chance, or a third, or a fourth…

Because of the Mormon Money disaster, I have some students who are “rich” and some who are “poor”. A couple of kids were so motivated by the fact that they’d earn $5 for every memorized scripture that they’ve already memorized all 25! Isn’t that incredible? I can barely remember my own address.

On the flipside, I’ve got students who’ve only memorized 2 scriptures. Or, they aren’t comfortable speaking up in class, so they haven’t earned $ that way either. Won’t the auction be lame for them? That’s hardly motivational.

With these things in mind, I’m going to limit the number of auction wins to 2 per student. Everyone will have the opportunity to bid on something, not just the “rich”. For the second quarter, everyone’s balance will start again at zero to even out the playing field once more. My hope is that other kids will have a chance to shine next quarter.

Lesson #877 – Someone always has a more difficult challenge

In talking with other teachers at in-service meetings and such, I’m finding that there are many different kinds of classrooms out there. One teacher I know teaches to just one student, who only shows up half the time. Another delivers her lessons via Skype because the distance is too great. Other teachers, like me, struggle with tardiness and student apathy. It’s a hard job for everyone! I’m sure grateful for the challenges I have though, and I wouldn’t change these experiences for the world.

Wow! You’ve made it through this lengthy post. You get $5 in Mormon Money!

Class Picture

Here's our crew! Cute pic, lousy camera.

Looking Up

Wow. Last week was tough! General Conference was exactly what I needed to get recharged. I was so proud of my class today. Everyone came, and some of my "surly birds" came early or on time. Yes!

Last Friday I held individual interviews with students so that we could go over their binders, attendance records, and scripture mastery verses. It was a neat time to talk with them personally and express my care and concern. I had them evaluate themselves, based on the information noted previously, and then I sent copies of that information to their parents and Bishop for a progress report. I think it was a good idea for the parents to see where their kids were at, especially right around Conference time. I'm hoping it will revitalize our group.

I'm trying some new tactics for lesson planning too. Rick and I went over my outline together last night so I could practice a Reader's Digest version of the lesson. He pointed out some of the holes and helped me work through some of the activities I planned. Things went so much better today!

Late start or not at all?

Problem #427:

In our school district, we occasionally have late start days so the teachers can hold morning inservice meetings. Our first late start occured this morning. So, in an effort to motivate the students, I pushed seminary back to 8:oo am and made them breakfast. I thought for sure they would be excited about this plan. I guessed wrong. I only got 7/12. Now what am I to do with all the cinnamon swirl bread and muffins?!

Should I scrap seminary altogether on future late start days? I really hate to do that because I know we'll have unexpected cancellations due to weather come winter. I also want to wrap up our 160 days by mid-May, when everyone has spring fever.

Problem #428:

We're in the 5th week and the kids are starting to lose momentum. I've got students showing up later, or even not at all. I'm trying really hard not to take it personally, but I can't help but wonder what I'm doing wrong. I know the Lord called me to teach these kids and he thinks I can make a success of it, so why do I feel like I'm failing?

Scripture Mastery Rap - Updated

1 Nephi 3:7
First Nephi chapter three verse seven
Go and do with my three brethren

1 Nephi 19:23
First Nephi nineteen twenty-three
Liken scriptures unto me

2 Nephi 2:25
Two Nephi two verse twenty-five
Adam fell for mortal life

2 Nephi 2:27
Two Nephi two verse twenty-seven
Freedom to choose, given to all men

2 Nephi 9:28-29
Second Nephi chapter nine
Twenty-eight - nine, learning’s divine

2 Nephi 28:7-9
Second Nephi twenty-eight
Seven - nine eat, drink, and wait

2 Nephi 32:3
Second Nephi thirty-two three
Feast on Christ’s words, which are holy

2 Nephi 32:8-9
Second Nephi thirty-two
Verse eight and nine say pray and do

Jacob 2:18-19
Jacob two, eighteen, nineteen
God’s kingdom first, then feed the lean

Mosiah 2:17
Mosiah two verse seventeen
Serve all men and join God’s team

Mosiah 3:19
Verse nineteen of Mosiah three
Nat’ral man’s God’s enemy

Mosiah 4:30
Mosiah chapter four, verse thirty
Watch yourself and don't get dirty

Alma 32:21
Verse twenty-one of Alma thirty-two
Faith is not perfect knowledge too

Alma 34:32-34
Alma thirty-four, thirty-two - four
Don’t procrastinate anymore!

Alma 37:6-7
Alma thirty-seven, six and seven
Small things yield great things, like heaven

Alma 37:35
Alma thirty-seven, thirty-“fife”
Learn wisdom early in your life

Alma 41:10
Verse ten of Alma forty-one
The unhappy wicked one

Helaman 5:12
Twelfth verse of Helaman five
On Christ’s rock, we will survive

3 Nephi 11:29
Twenty-ninth verse, third Nephi ‘leven
Contention never comes from heaven

3 Nephi 27:27
Third Nephi twenty-seven squared
Be like Jesus to be fair

Ether 12:6
Ether chapter twelve verse six
Receive a witness after this

Ether 12:27
Ether twelve, verse twenty-seven
Weakness into strength for all men

Moroni 7:16-17
Verse sixteen of Moroni seven
The way to judge comes straight from heaven

Moroni 7:45
Moroni seven, forty-five
Charity is long, hopeful, and kind

Moroni 10:4-5
Moroni ten, verse four and five
The Holy Ghost - gain testimony by

Help!

This summer I ran across this Magic Square idea for teaching the scripture mastery verses. I passed it by because I couldn't make sense of the actions, and I didn't like that the rhymes didn't include the whole reference.

As another scripture mastery "expert" introduced his verse today, one of the girls requested that we make rhymes to help us remember the reference and the key words. My brain has been firing all day, trying to come up with the following chants:

1 Nephi 3:7
First Nephi three verse seven
Go and do with my three brethren

1 Nephi 19:23
First Nephi nineteen twenty-three
Liken scriptures unto me

2 Nephi 2:25
Second Nephi two twenty-five
Adam fell for mortal life
(or Adam fell, now I’m alive – or Father Adam took a dive – or Adam fell, so did his wife?)

2 Nephi 2:27
Second Nephi two, twenty-seven
Freedom to choose, given to all men

2 Nephi 9:28-29
Second Nephi chapter nine
Twenty-eight and nine, learning’s divine

2 Nephi 28:7-9
Second Nephi twenty-eight
Seven through nine eat, drink, and wait
(or do not take the foolish bait?)

2 Nephi 32:3
Second Nephi thirty-two three
Feast on Christ’s words, which are holy

2 Nephi 32:8-9
Second Nephi thirty-two
Verse eight and nine say pray and do

Jacob 2:18-19
Jacob two, eighteen, nineteen
Seek first God’s kingdom, then feed the lean

Mosiah 2:17
Mosiah two verse seventeen
Serve fellow men and join God’s team (or serving others isn’t mean?)

Mosiah 3:19
Verse nineteen of Mosiah three
Natural man is God’s enemy

Mosiah 4:30
Mosiah chapter four, verse thirty
Watch your thoughts, your words, your deeds
(Watch yourself, and don't get dirty?)

Alma 32:21
Verse twenty-one of Alma thirty-two
Faith is not perfect knowledge too

Alma 34:32-34
Alma thirty-four, thirty-two through thirty-four
Don’t you procrastinate anymore!

Alma 37:6-7
Alma thirty-seven, verse six and seven
Small things bring to pass great things, like heaven

Alma 37:35
Alma thirty-seven, thirty-“fife”
Learn wisdom early in your life

Alma 41:10
Verse ten of Alma forty-one
It’s the unhappy wicked one

Helaman 5:12
Twelfth verse of Helaman five
On Christ’s foundation, we survive

3 Nephi 11:29
Twenty-ninth verse of third Nephi eleven
Contention never comes from heaven

3 Nephi 27:27
Third Nephi twenty-seven squared
Be like Jesus to be fair

Ether 12:6
Ether chapter twelve verse six
Receive a witness after this

Ether 12:27
Ether twelve, verse twenty-seven
Weakness into strength for all men

Moroni 7:16-17
Verse sixteen of Moroni seven
The way to judge comes straight from heaven

Moroni 7:45
Moroni seven, forty-five
Charity is long, hopeful, and kind

Moroni 10:4-5
Moroni ten, verse four and five
The Holy Ghost - gain testimony by

So, I've borrowed some from the original magic square rhymes, but now they have all the verses too. Some of these rhymes are pretty lame, so I'll gladly accept my readers' revisions. Do you think my "update" makes it even more confusing? I'm thinking the hand gestures we're making up will help...

Fireside

Sunday night we had an authentic fireside for the youth. We drove out to Genoa to the other seminary teacher's "back 40" and held a bonfire on her property. Bishop used the fire and coals as an object lesson to teach the kids the importance of going to seminary, church, activities, etc. Like coals, when individuals are separated from the group, they quickly lose their heat. The reverse is true also. When a lone coal is placed back in the group of hot coals and fire, the coal will become bright again.

Several other comparisons were made that night. My favorite one was from the Young Mens President. He said that when dating, the youth should avoid the"wet blankets" that will extinguish their fires. I also pointed out how fire is essential in a wilderness survival situation. It can mean the difference between life and death. I likened that to our spiritual survival. Without a burning testimony, we will die spiritually.

I hope the messages hit home with the kids that were there. It was hard for me to tell. I know the evening gave me something to think about. I'm especially grateful that I find myself in the middle of the fire right now. All this sleep deprivation is worth it when I think of the spiritual benefits of being in the heat of things.

Good Times

Sorry for my last post. The video is too big, so I can't figure out how to post it on here.

In other news... I went to an inservice meeting on Tuesday in Bowling Green. As always, I was glad I went. We have a wonderful CES coordinator in our area, Brother Karl Anderson. He has been instrumental in preserving much of our church history, particularly in Kirtland. He spoke to us and gave us some neat tools to enrich our lessons. We also got a chance to share some of our successes and sorrows with each other. The other teachers gave me some great ideas and encouragement that I was immediately able to use.

From Wednesday on, things have gone much better in seminary. We touched on Lehi's dream and created a mural as a class. All of the students that came to class today passed off 1 Nephi 19:23. For kicks, we made our own "band" and performed the scripture to the tune of When the Saints Go Marching In, as performed by The Sons of Ammon. It was hysterical! The students really got into it. We're thinking of taking our act on the road...

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!

First Day

First Impressions:

I just taught seminary for the first time, and I feel like a deflated balloon. All my praying, planning, and preparing just wasn't enough to knock the socks off my students. I still remember the first day of my seminary experience. My teacher did a tremendous job of getting us fired up about the scriptures. He was funny and dynamic. I knew that it would be a great year and that I would learn so much. I'm afraid I didn't evoke the same feelings in my class.

What didn't go well:

My nervousness was a little too obvious.
I forgot my camera.
I called one of the students by the wrong name (dang it)!
I pretty much sang a solo for the opening song.
I was BORING despite all my planning.
I didn't give the students time to interact with each other much.
We only scratched the surface of the plan of salvation.
I forgot about the closing prayer and the students had to remind me (duh).

What did go well:

My classroom room was ready with bulletin boards decorated.
I actually slept okay the night before (thank you, Benadryl).
I started and ended on time, give or take a minute.
An additional student joined our class.
Every student that enrolled showed up.
Students participated when asked.
My plan of salvation puzzle came together, and I was able to transfer it to my unfinished bulletin board.
The students seemed to like my chocolate analogy for the three degrees of glory.

What's Next:

Tomorrow I will try, try again! We'll be jumping into the title page and introduction to the Book of Mormon. I also want to spend time doing some relationship building activities with the students, including a group picture. My 2nd day goal is to bring more energy into the class. I want to see that they are excited!!!