Because of General Conference, you have two weeks worth of materials to choose from.
Sept 25-Oct 1
Teach the Doctrine: Younger Children
The Holy Ghost helps me feel love, joy, and peace.
Young children can recognize the fruit of the Spirit. This will prepare them to seek the influence of the Holy Ghost throughout their lives.
Possible Activities
Display or show pictures of several kinds of fruit, and ask the children to describe how each fruit tastes. Explain that just as fruits have different flavors, we can feel the Holy Ghost in different ways, such as love and peace. Describe some of the ways you have felt the Holy Ghost in your life, and let the children share how the Holy Ghost feels to them.
Read Galatians 5:22–23 with the children, and explain words they may not be familiar with. Invite each child to select a fruit of the Spirit mentioned in these verses, and help them think of a time when he or she has experienced it. Invite the children to draw simple pictures of their experiences.
Jesus Christ wants me to help those in need.
The instruction in Galatians 6:2 is similar to Alma’s teaching in Mosiah 18:8 to people who were about to be baptized. Take this opportunity to help the children prepare for the covenants of baptism.
Possible Activities
Show a picture of a child being baptized (such as Gospel Art Book, no. 104). Ask the children what the child is doing. Explain that when we are baptized, we make covenants, or promises. Read Galatians 6:2 or Mosiah 18:8 to help the children learn one of the things we promise to do: bear one another’s burdens. Invite the children to draw pictures of ways they can help others who are carrying burdens.
Read to the children this phrase from Galatians 6:2: “Bear ye one another’s burdens.” To illustrate what this means, give one of the children something heavy to carry. Then ask for a volunteer to help the child carry the object. Explain to the children that many things can feel like a burden, such as being sick or feeling sad or lonely. What could we do to help a person with this kind of burden?
Fun way for the students to learn this scripture.
So disappointed when I couldn't get the caboose to fit.
Here is a smaller version with everything fitting on one page. I like to have things as big as possible, for teaching, but if you are sending it home with the children, this is more manageable.
Our actions, both good and bad, have consequences.
By teaching that we reap what we sow, as explained in Galatians 6:7–9, you can teach the children to consider the consequences of their actions.
Possible Activities
Display a seed and a vegetable. Read Galatians 6:7–9 to the children. Ask the children to pretend to plant a seed when they hear the word soweth. Ask them to pretend to pick a vegetable from a plant when they hear the word reap.
Make a line on the floor with tape. Place a happy face and a sad face on opposite ends of the line. Invite a child to stand in the middle of the line, and help the other children think of choices that will lead to happiness or sadness. For each choice, ask the child in the middle to step toward the happy side or the sad side. Repeat the activity several times, and let other children take turns standing on the tape.
Click on the image to be taken to Etsy.
Teach the Doctrine: Older Children
If I “walk in the Spirit,” I will receive the “fruit of the Spirit.”
When we are baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, we can receive the fruit of the Spirit more in our lives. How will you help the children recognize this fruit in their lives?
Possible Activities
Give each child a piece of paper (you could cut the paper into fruit shapes), and ask the children to find a “fruit of the Spirit” listed in Galatians 5:22–23. Invite them to write one of the fruits on one side of their paper and a word that means the opposite on the other side. (Help them understand words they aren’t familiar with.) Invite them to share their fruits with the class. What can we do to have the Holy Ghost with us always?
Invite the children to read about the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22–23 and write about or draw a picture of a time when they felt one of those fruits. Ask them to share their story or picture with another person in the class. Why is fruit a good way to help us understand how the Spirit influences us?
Our actions, both good and bad, have consequences.
Help the children understand that consequences of our behavior sometimes come immediately and other times may come “in due season” (verse 9).
Possible Activities
Read together Galatians 6:7–9. Provide a list of actions (or seeds we “sow”) and consequences (or fruit we “reap”). Ask the children to match the actions to their consequences.
Then you can have them match up the choices to the consequence.
Invite the children to list some of the blessings they hope to receive from Heavenly Father. Help them think of the “seeds” they must sow in order to “reap” these blessings.
Here is a very old cheesy seminary video, it's not what you expect, watch it to the end(:
Oct 14-20
Teach the Doctrine: Younger Children
Members of the Church should be friends and “fellowcitizens.”
Are the children in your class more like “strangers” or “fellowcitizens” with each other and with other ward members? Help them understand that although we have differences, the Savior helps us be unified and love one another.
Possible Activities
Place a picture of the Savior in the center of the room. Invite the children to stand in different parts of the room to represent “strangers” or “foreigners.” Help them understand that these words mean people we don’t know yet. As you read Ephesians 2:19, invite them to move toward the picture of Christ until they are standing close together. Tell them that as we come closer to the Savior, we can become united with others as “fellowcitizens,” or friends.
I recommend church approved pictures of the savior, but if you don't have one, you are welcome to this.
Find pictures of children from different parts of the world, and hide them around the room. Place a picture of the Savior in the front of the room. Invite your class to pair up like missionaries and take turns finding a picture of a “stranger” to place near the picture of the Savior. Help them understand that when people are baptized, they become part of our Church family, or the “household of God.” How can we help someone who is new feel welcome?
Here are some missionary name tags you can put on them as they go find the "strangers".
Hide these children around the room.
Click on image to be taken to Etsy.
Here are some missionary gift tags. Click on the images to be taken to Etsy.
Heavenly Father wants me to obey my parents.
As you read Ephesians 6:1–3, think of ways you can help the children understand why it is important to obey their parents.
Possible Activities
Cut out the shapes and pass them out to the children. Point to each group of words and read the scriptures together. Even if your children aren’t old enough to read the rhythm and written word are still really good for pre-readers to focus on. Have a child put the first shape on and read it again. Then the 2nd shape and read it again. Until the scripture is memorized and the picture is complete. Repeat if they are still interested.
Read Ephesians 6:1 to the class, or help one of the children read it. Help them think of times when they obeyed their parents. Ask them to share how they were blessed for obeying and how they felt when they obeyed. Why is it important to obey our parents?
Sing together a song about obedience, such as “Quickly I’ll Obey” (Children’s Songbook, 197). Let the children take turns naming something their parents ask them to do, and invite them to pretend to do that thing.
Show a picture of Jesus Christ being baptized (see Gospel Art Book, no. 35), and share how the Savior obeyed Heavenly Father by being baptized (see 2 Nephi 31:6–7). Share an experience in which you obeyed your parents and were blessed. Why does Heavenly Father want us to obey our parents?
Click on image to be taken to the churches website.
The armor of God can protect me from evil.
How will you help the children understand that doing righteous things is like putting on armor?
Possible Activities
Show a picture of a person wearing armor, such as the one in this week’s activity page or this week’s outline in Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families. As you summarize Ephesians 6:10–18, show the children how different pieces of armor protect different parts of the body. (See “The Whole Armor of God,” Friend, June 2016, 24–25.)
Bring several items to class that could represent the pieces of armor mentioned in Ephesians 6:14–17 (for example, a hat or an apron), or make simple pieces of armor from paper. Let the children take turns putting on the “armor.” Help them understand how we put on the armor of God (for example, by studying the scriptures, serving others, praying, obeying, and so on). Discuss how doing these things protects us from evil.
This is one of my very favorite things I have ever created on the website. Maybe not life size, but child sized(:
You can download the colored version HERE
Black and White version HERE
Click on the image to be taken to Etsy.
Someone asked how I attached the armor, mostly with clear packing tape, and you can see how I attached yarn to the helmet.
Some people can't download the "Child-size Armor". This is for my special friends(;
If you are doing this for a FHE lesson, it's great to have this description of each piece as you dress your child/children.
This is a video I watched in seminary, back in the day....so cheesy(: Watch it first before you show very young children, some might find it scary. But they is actual sword fighting, that show how important it is to have all the armor and protection.
Teach the Doctrine: Older Children
We are “fellowcitizens” in the household of God.
Children are strengthened when they have good friends in the gospel. How can you help them develop better friendships with each other?
Possible Activities
Read Ephesians 2:19 together, and discuss what it means to be a stranger or foreigner. Share an experience in which you felt like a stranger or foreigner and someone helped you feel welcome and accepted. Invite the children to share similar experiences. What can we do to become “fellowcitizens” rather than strangers? Are there any children in your class who do not attend often, perhaps because they feel like strangers? Help the children come up with a plan to help those members feel welcomed and loved.
To help the children strengthen their relationships with each other, write some questions on the board that prompt them to share something about themselves, such as When have you had a prayer answered? or What’s your favorite thing to do with your family? Divide the children into pairs, and invite them to ask each other the questions. What did we learn about each other?
Heavenly Father wants me to obey and honor my parents.
Think about ways you can help the children understand why it is important to obey their parents.
Possible Activities
Invite the children to read Ephesians 6:1–3 individually and identify phrases that stand out to them. Invite them to share these phrases and why they feel the phrases are important.
Help the children find and talk about examples of people in the scriptures who obeyed and honored their parents, such as the Savior (see Luke 2:42–52), Ruth (see Ruth 1), or Nephi (see 1 Nephi 3:1–8). Why is it important to obey and honor our parents?
Give each child a piece of paper with the word honor at the top. Discuss what the word means. Invite the children to write or draw on their papers something they can do to show that they honor their parents.
The armor of God can protect me from evil.
As you read Ephesians 6:10–18, think of some of the spiritual dangers that children face and how you can help strengthen the children against them.
Possible Activities
As one child reads Ephesians 6:10–18, ask another child to list or draw on the board the pieces of armor mentioned. Why is armor important in a battle? How can we put on spiritual armor every day?
Here is a movie with people fighting in armor.
Look in the Junior Primary section for more ideas on teaching the Armor of God.
Assign each child to draw and label a piece of armor described in Ephesians 6:14–17. How might these pieces of armor protect us from evil? What does the Lord promise to those who put on the armor of God? (see Ephesians 6:13). What does it mean to “withstand in the evil day”?
Here is some blank armor that the students can label.
Click on the image to be taken to Etsy.