Activity Days: Cleaning the Nursery Toys

For Activity Days last month we decided to do a service project.  My partner, Mechelle, and I both have little ones that go to nursery.  And as many moms out there know, the nursery toys get gross.  Fast.  We figured they hadn't been cleaned in a while, so we worked it into our Activity Days plan.

One of the goals in the Serving Others section of the Faith in God books is to read and discuss the parable of the good Samaritan as told in Luke 10:30-37.  Plan and complete a service project that helps a family member or neighbor.  After completing the project, discuss how it helped your faith grow stronger.

We went to the church and inventoried the situation in the nursery.  And as we expected, the nursery toys hadn't been cleaned in a while.  We told the girls to look at the nursery and smell the nursery and tell us what they thought.  They thought it could use a good cleaning.  Then we discussed the parable of the good Samaritan and how it related to us as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

After the lesson, we got to work.  We gave each girl a cloth and had a bucket of cleaning solution to use.  We removed each toy from the cupboard and scrubbed.  We had to change the cleaner in the bucket several times because the toys were so dirty. When all the toys were clean, we wiped down the cupboard where they are kept and also all the tables and chairs.  We then organized the toys in the cupboard.  When we finished the nursery looked and smelled great!  The girls were really excited about what they'd done.

For this activity you'll need:

• Scriptures
• Rags or cloths for cleaning toys
• A bucket with a cleaning solution that doesn't require rinsing  (That is very important since many nursery toys end up in children's mouths)

We felt like this was a great way to encourage the girls to give service and teach them how important it is.



Goals Completed:  Serving Others #1

Activity Days Mommy Daughter Activity

I am just kicking myself right now!  We had such a fun activity last week and I forgot to take my camera along.  ARGH!  Even if I don't have any pictures to share, I'll fill you in on the fun.

We decided to hold a Mommy Daughter Dinner at a nearby picnic area and focus on modesty.  As these amazing girls transition from kids into young women, we wanted to remind them of the importance of being healthy and modest.  We served a healthy (and delicious) dinner that emphasized the 4 food groups.  After dinner we had a really great activity-modesty paper dolls.  I found some great paper doll patterns at Wendy's Activities.  We used scraps of fabric that had been donated by ward members.  The girls created their own modest fashions.  It was really fun to see how creative they were.

Picture courtesy of Wendy's Activities.

You will want to set a time limit on this activity.  Some of our girls came up with some really involved outfits.  The girls that didn't finish their 3 outfits were able to take some fabric scraps and finish at home.

We invited a member of our bishopric to speak about modesty.  He talked about how people wear uniforms to work everyday.  (Some of the girls dads are policemen, fire fighters and construction workers)  He pointed out that the uniforms and safety equipment are worn to keep their dads safe.  As young women in the gospel, their modest clothing is to help keep them safe as well.  He also spoke about how the way the girls dressed affected the young men around them.

Next, we invited the Primary president to speak.  She did a great job and was really creative in her presentation.  She brought along one of the young women (who was also her sister in law) to do a demonstration.  While she was talking about the importance of being modest, wearing well fitting clothes and sitting properly in dresses, the young woman was sitting in a skirt with her knees apart (she was wearing biker shorts under her skirt), she bent over to pick something up off the ground and her shirt came up and showed her back and the shirt she was wearing was too big and kept sliding off her shoulder.

We could hear the activity days girls whispering and in some cases gasping at the young woman.  They were shocked.  The Primary president then talked about how modesty wasn't just the clothes we wear, but also our behavior.  One of the girls even asked the Primary president if that was how they looked in primary.  They really got the message!  She ended her presentation by sharing her testimony of her love for the girls and the importance of being modest when most of the world doesn't think its important.

It ended up being a fun and spiritual activity.  We got a lot of great feedback from the moms and we felt it went over really well.

Goals completed:  Developing Talents #9 and Serving Others #7 (If you involve the girls in the planning)

Marbleized Paper Cards

This is the freshly dried cards.  After a little while in the envelopes they will flatten out and look really cute!

For our first Activity Days activity, we made Marbleized Paper thank you notes.  It was great because we passed off a goal in both the developing talents and the Serving Others sections of the book.  I found this great project at a site called Unplug Your Kids.

For this project you'll need a shallow pan that is large enough to fit the paper.  We used 9 x 13 pans.  You'll also need food coloring, cooking oil, white card stock (we used blank greeting cards that I found in the craft/scrap booking section at Walmart.  Regular paper doesn't work nearly as well.),  water and eye droppers.

Put just enough water in the pan to cover the bottom.  If the water is too deep, the color will sink if you don't work quickly enough.

Put about 1/2 tablespoon of oil and 1 teaspoon of food coloring in a glass or small bowl.  The ingredients won't mix.  Beat it hard with a fork until well blended.  Its like mixing an oil and vinegar salad dressing and will take a minute or two.

Using the dropper, place drops of colors on top of the water.  The drops will stay in a blob or maybe explode a bit.  Experiment with different colors and putting one color inside another.

When you have dots of color all over the surface of the water, use a toothpick or a fork to make patterns in the colors.  When you are happy with the designs, gently place the paper on top of the water.  Leave it for about 30 seconds or until the oil starts to show through the back of the paper.  Then gently peel the paper off of the water.  It will leave beautiful, colorful patterns on the paper.  Let the paper dry completely.  Be sure to use clean water and fresh drops of food coloring/oil for each card.

Use a lot of food coloring for a bright vibrant look, or less for a more pastel look.

To make the cards:

Since the oil soaks through the paper and leaves stains, we took cute scrapbook paper and cut it to fit inside the cards.  The girls wrote a note to someone to tell them what they appreciate and respect about them.  Then we used a glue stick to glue the notes inside the cards.

**The cards will curl and warp from the water.  But don't worry!   After a little time in an envelope they will flatten out and be beautiful!**

Goals Completed:  Serving Others #2, Developing Talents #4 or as an alternate activity.