News on Primary Class/Sharing Time Changes

Submitted by Jenny Smith on

The Primary General Board came to speak to this area this past weekend. While I am not in the Primary Presidency, our Primary President updated us on some changes to the Primary program.

  • No more Sharing Time lessons in the Friend. From now on, sharing time lessons will not be published in the Friend. Lessons will be found in the Sacrament Meeting Presentation booklet, or you can use the lesson online.
  • No more Class Sharing Time Presentations. All Sharing Time lessons will be given by the Primary Presidency only.
  • Shorter Sharing Time = Longer Music Time Sharing time is now 15 minutes, and music time will be 20 minutes to allow music leaders more time to teach the songs for the Sacrament Meeting Presentations.
  • Class Name Changes It used to be that Primary classes were named for the age you'd be turning during the upcoming year. For example, if you were going to turn 8 during 2010, you'd be in CTR 8. Now, classes will be named for the age all children in the class are on January 1. So if you are 7, you're in CTR 7. That means that all class names will move up with children this year -- CTR 5s will be CTR 5s next year, too, but after that they'll be CTR 6s.... Hope that made sense.

Please comment below if you have more information on the changes!

Forums: 

Auxilliary: 

Callings: 

Tags / Keywords: 

Previous Question:
News on Young Women Policy Changes Next Question:
Enrichment Getting to know you
Anonymous's picture

in the handbook under sharing

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

in the handbook under sharing time it says that 15 mins is for the gospel instruction and 20 mins for singing .
Does that mean that all the children aged from 3 up to 11 are all together for the whole time or could you have the ctr's having the gospel instruction while the valiants are doing singing and then after 20 mins each they change over so the ctr's are having gospel instuction and the valiants singing time .Thanks

Vaiomanu Faavae's picture

I would like to know more

Submitted by Vaiomanu Faavae (not verified) on

I would like to know more information with changing of classes, because in the handbook 2 that if you turn 8 on January the 1st every year you move up to the CTR 8, but if you turn 8 after January 1st you still stay in CTR 7 until the following year.....I would like to confirm that if its changes please....

Anonymous's picture

What's with the Primary that

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

What's with the Primary that does not adhere to the changes in Handbook 2? I'm a counselor in primary and our primary still goes by the old, discarded handbook in doing opening,closing exercises & sharing time format. In our Primary, one counselor conducts opening exercise after which the sr primary is dismissed to class; another counselor does sharing time for the jr primary, and the President would do sharing time for the sr kids. It's weird. I'd read to the president and the other counselor the current handbook's instructions and explained how we need to stop having opening/closing exercises and follow the Sharing Time outline only, but to no avail; they look blank like they don't get it and I feel I'm losing my mind at how they don't get something so simple. We don't have kids doing talks, scripture, article of faith and such assignments in sharing time so there's No organization, no reverence in primary. And we always go overtime when they are in charge. I don't know if it's because they don't understand the Handbook or they cannot change from the old way but it's hard to feel the spirit. I try to follow the Handbook in doing sharing time but it clashes with how the other two do things as we're not on the same page. I'm up against two who are stuck in their ways. How else can I make them "see" we need to follow the Handbook or should I just give up and follow them for the sake of unity even though it's not the Lord's way? Frustrated

Jessica's picture

Thanks so much for doing the

Submitted by Jessica (not verified) on

Thanks so much for doing the primary logos in French for me, I really appreciate all the time you spend on this site, it makes my calling so much more fun and easy. I am excited to put up our bulletin board for the Belgian kids today!
Jessica Tran

Jenny Smith's picture

The handbook is pretty clear

Submitted by Jenny Smith on

The handbook is pretty clear that we follow it for the sake of consistency throughout the church, so your problems need to be passed on to someone who can help. You've done what you should in trying to teach your other leaders out of the new handbook, so it's time to pass this job along to someone else.

You have a couple of options here. You can address your concerns with the counselor in your Branch Presidency or Bishopric in charge of Primary. You can also address your concerns with the Stake Primary Presidency, whose responsibility it is to train Primary leaders. After that, just let it go. Those leaders with stewardship over the Primary presidency are responsible for taking care of the issue.

Clipart, Young Women, Primary, RS

Anonymous's picture

Hi, I understand your

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Hi, I understand your frustration. I would talk to the Bishopric counselor that oversees our primary and let him know about my concerns. Also I'd pray(even do a special fasting if you feel like) for them to open their minds and their hearts to new teachings and to follow the manual. :)

Anonymous's picture

I hope things are going much

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

I hope things are going much better in your Primary by now. I would talk with your Bishopric counselor over the Primary and have him be the one to talk with your president and counselor. It should come from him after you explain and show him the handbook. It could also be brought up to your Stake Primary Presidency and they could be of assistance in training them about the new changes. They should actually be keeping in touch with the ward Primaries and updating them on any changes that happen. We do that in our stake. We each take turns emailing our presidencies once a month on upcoming events or things we think they should know. I hope it all works out.

Anonymous's picture

Have you confirmed these

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Have you confirmed these changes with the Church? In my review of the 2010 Outline for Sharing Time, I could not find any of the changes that you have stated, other than we are to use the booklet to prepare to teach a 15-minute lesson. I could not find anything in the booklet that stated no more class Sharing Time Presentations and that all Sharing time lessons will be given by the Primary Presidency only. Perhaps you could post the actual written notifications of these changes.

Jenny Smith's picture

The Church's FAQ (linked to

Submitted by Jenny Smith on

The Church's FAQ (linked to above) says "Starting with the January 2010 issue of the Friend magazine, the sharing time ideas for leaders will no longer be included. These ideas are incorporated into the outline for sharing time. The sharing time for children will still be in the magazine. "

I couldn't tell you what the difference between "sharing time for children" and "sharing time for leaders" is, however. Maybe those lessons are like home study Primary lessons or something. They'd make good real sharing times or FHE lessons, imo.

Clipart, Young Women, Primary, RS

Cristina's picture

Hey Jenny, it's your cousin

Submitted by Cristina (not verified) on

Hey Jenny, it's your cousin Cristina. Just wanted you to know I love your website and use it all the time! I was just looking for a talk for Natalie to give in sharing time on Sunday. Thanks for all your hard work!!

SalGal's picture

I'm glad that they aren't

Submitted by SalGal (not verified) on

I'm glad that they aren't going to have the Primary teachers teach Sharing Time anymore!! I was actually thinking about this just last night... "I need to find that list so I can see when my class (actually I) have to teach!" I'm very happy to hear that I don't have to do it! :)
Great website! I'm glad I found it! I'll show it to all of my friends!

Machinato's picture

My wife was recently called

Submitted by Machinato (not verified) on

My wife was recently called to help with our ward's sunbeam class. that's all fine - she's been a Primary President multiple times but it's been quite a few years since she last served there. Yesterday she told me, "As of this past Sunday" (the first Sunday in June), Primary children must be picked-up from the class by one of their parents and not by an older sibling. Then she asked me if I could locate on-line the direction published discussing this subject so she could help the parents of her students better understand the new rule? I've tried and failed, so I'm writing to see if anyone knows something about the issue. Thank you so very much.

jordan's picture

Hi, I was just called to be

Submitted by jordan (not verified) on

Hi,

I was just called to be the Primary secretary in a ward that hasn't had one for a while, so I am trying to get everything up to date and organized. I was asked to make a Sharing Time Class presentation schedule but thought I had heard somewhere that the church had changed that....that classes were to no longer teach sharing time once a month. However when I googled it to double check all I could find was this reference one your site. I followed the link you posted in the beginning just to confirm and show the primary presidency, but I can't find where is explains the class presentations being cut. Can you help me? THanks!

Jenny Smith's picture

I didn't realize this change

Submitted by Jenny Smith on

I didn't realize this change was church wide. We also changed this past Sunday, too.

The instruction that came down to us was confusing. First they said all Junior Primary children would be picked up in their rooms and passed out handouts with classroom numbers and ages. I happened to be subbing in Primary for CTR 7 unexpectedly, and waited with my class. After about 10 minutes, the Primary secretary came around after a little while saying that the new rule only applied to kids aged 5 and younger.

I'm not serving in the Primary right now and don't know the direction. I will ask Sheena over at http://littleldsideas.blogspot.com/ to see if she knows more.

Clipart, Young Women, Primary, RS

Jenny Smith's picture

Yes, class presentations

Submitted by Jenny Smith on

Yes, class presentations during Sharing Time were discontinued in January 2010. The information on who teaches the Sharing Time Classes is in the front of the Sacrament Meeting Presentation book. The classroom teachers don't teach regularly, but they may be called on to assist the presidency.

Here's a new FAQ from lds.org on the topic:
http://lds.org/pa/display/0,17884,8883-1,00.html

and I've reproduced it below:

The 2010 Outline for Sharing Time: I Know My Savior Lives will be posted soon. Copies were mailed to priesthood leaders in June 2009 and are available through the online Church distribution center and your local distribution center. Here are answers to frequently asked questions regarding this outline.

* What do we do for sharing time for the fifth Sunday of the month?
“When there is a fifth Sunday, use this time to review previous lessons” (2010 Outline for Sharing Time, inside front cover).

* Do we still do class presentations during sharing time?
Starting January 2010, there will be no class presentations. However, “occasionally you [the Primary presidency] may invite teachers and their classes to help you with parts of the gospel instruction” (2010 Outline for Sharing Time, inside front cover).

* How should we divide up sharing time and singing time?
Fifteen minutes should be for gospel teaching and twenty minutes for teaching music (see 2010 Outline for Sharing Time, 1).

* Can we use pictures in the sacrament meeting presentation?
“Visuals, costumes, and media presentations are not appropriate for sacrament meeting” (2010 Outline for Sharing Time, 1).

* Have class names been changed?
The Primary class names have been aligned with the ages of the children on January 1. For example, the CTR 4 class is for children age four on January 1, the Valiant 8 class is for children age eight on January 1, and so forth (see 2010 Outline for Sharing Time, 1).

* Will sharing time ideas still be in the Friend magazine?
Starting with the January 2010 issue of the Friend magazine, the sharing time ideas for leaders will no longer be included. These ideas are incorporated into the outline for sharing time. The sharing time for children will still be in the magazine.

* The outline indicates curriculum for 2010 is either “General Curriculum” or “Basic Curriculum" (2010 Outline for Sharing Time, 1). What is the difference?
Basic curriculum is used where the Church has been recently organized or where general curriculum materials are not available. General curriculum is used where the Church is well established. Information about curriculum materials can be found in "Information for Priesthood and Auxiliary Leaders on Curriculum: 2009 through 2012."

Clipart, Young Women, Primary, RS

Jenny Smith's picture

The answer to the question

Submitted by Jenny Smith on

The answer to the question "Does the Primary secretary conduct sharing time" is no. Secretaries do not conduct Sharing Time. "Members of the presidency take turns conducting sharing time." (CHI 11.4.2) Secretaries are not part of the presidency. (See 11.2.2)

The answer to the question "Does the Primary secretary teach sharing time" is also no. The handbook says in section 11.4.2: "Gospel instruction [during Sharing Time] by the Primary presidency. This portion lasts about 15 minutes. Members of the presidency use the scriptures and follow the current outline for sharing time as they prepare and teach."

Presidency members may call on classes (or even the secretary) to participate (as per the Sharing Time Outline), but presidency members teach Sharing Time lessons. Secretaries are not part of the presidency and have different duties, many of which are carried out during lesson time. They should not be part of a regular teaching or conducing rotation. (See 11.2.2)

Clipart, Young Women, Primary, RS

tkme63's picture

Hi everyone, I just had a

Submitted by tkme63 on

Hi everyone,

I just had a couple of comments to make...the Sharing Time used to be 40 min in the handbook. In the 2009 My Eternal Family Outline booklet - it said 30 minutes for sharing time and half of that was for music. So really they didn't cut it down for next year, they only added 5 minutes for more music....I'm surprised they didn't make it longer since class time rarely takes up all 40 minutes...?

Also, they are encouraging us to "supplement the ideas provided here with some of your own". They are not providing class ideas for all weeks. Some of the weekly themes or ideas are for 2 weeks combined. It actually says "this booklet provides complete lessons for some of the weeks in the year. Ideas, but not complete lessons are included for the other weeks."

And last...they have done away with class presentations, but they say this on lds.org..."Starting January 2010, there will be no class presentations. However, “occasionally you [the Primary presidency] may invite teachers and their classes to help you with parts of the gospel instruction”. So it doesn't have to be Primary Presidency only.

love this site! and fyi - lds.org has also updated the FAQ's on the Primary page answering all sorts of questions like these...and others.

Thanks!!! Kerry

kerry
kid giddy

Jenny Smith's picture

Well, the Primary class names

Submitted by Jenny Smith on

Well, the Primary class names have always been confusing to me, and I was raised in the Church.... I personally think (**CHURCH POLICY ACCORDING TO JENNY SPECULATION ALERT**) the reason for the class name change was the difficulty in translating the instructions for each class into a foreign language. I think it's just easier to say on January 1: "Today you are 7, go to CTR 7" rather than "Today you are 7, but you'll be going to CTR 8. Why? Because you're turning 8 this year."

As for class presentations, (**MORE SPECULATION**) I expect it's a training/stewardship issue. Primary leaders are trained to follow the "rules" like get your lessons from the Friend, how to supplement appropriately, how long to take, etc., where class teachers may not be. In many of the wards in which I've served, newer members who may never have attended Primary are assigned to be class teachers. There are many reasons for this (encourage attendance, easy lessons to teach, strengthen knowledge of gospel principles...), but it also means these less-experienced Primary teachers may not have the training or experience the Primary General Presidency would prefer them to have for teaching these types of lessons.

From a strictly stewardship perspective, a classroom teacher has the stewardship and inspiration to teach those in his/her classroom, not the entire Primary. Primary leaders -- on the other hand -- do have stewardship over the entire Primary.

Further, requiring a class teacher to be responsible for a Sharing Time lesson takes her/him away from weekly lesson time and messes with the curriculum. Preparing for the lesson requires the teachers to skip lessons in their manuals or double up lesson preparation, which could cause a gap in learning for the student. And there's always the time/money/effort factor.

Personally, again I think it's great; I DESPISED giving the Sharing Time lesson when I taught Primary. If it bugs you, just give it a few years and another Primary General President will just change the whole thing anyway! :D

To clarify, Primary class members may still be used in presentations. It's just the Primary presidency who'll be leading the lesson rather than the Sunday teachers.

Clipart, Young Women, Primary, RS

Jenny Smith's picture

The explanation of the

Submitted by Jenny Smith on

The explanation of the Primary curriculum is at the Primary FAQ here:
http://lds.org/pa/display/0,17884,7701-1,00.html

Just scroll down to the table.

CTR 7 is still in the CTR A manual. The curriculum changes after children are baptized to a scriptural Rather than conceptual emphasis.

CTR 8 should have been taught out of the CTR A-B manuals, too, or at least that's what we did when I taught that class.

Clipart, Young Women, Primary, RS

D Good's picture

I am the secretary for the

Submitted by D Good (not verified) on

I am the secretary for the primary in my ward. I am always concerned about running things by the book (church handbook). The Sacrament meeting outline has the class manuals outlined as well as the church handbook #2 and there is no longer a CTR 8 class. The classes are Sunbeams, CTR 4-7, Valiant 8-11. Check it out in the book. There have also been minor changes to the way attendance and records are reported. Of course, that is more for those secretaries out there pulling their hair out trying to figure out which children are on record and which are not.
By the way, this is a wonderful site.

Jenny Smith's picture

There isn't a mention of any

Submitted by Jenny Smith on

There isn't a mention of any type of Activity Day event besides the "no more than twice a month" activities in the new handbook. But the Faith in God Booklet says: "At least twice a year, a Primary activity day (or a Cub Scout Pack meeting) should include opportunities for the children to share what they have learned and accomplished." I assume that might be what you're calling an achievement night. Those twice a year activities have not been eliminated, as far as I know.

As for a Daddy/Daughter or Mother/Daughter event, I think those would be up to local Activity Day leaders. There's certainly no prohibition against it in the handbook or anywhere else. I think those activities are a great way to involve parents with the program.

Clipart, Young Women, Primary, RS

Pages