{Sharing Time} We Believe in Being Honest.
IDENTIFY THE DOCTRINE(hearing a story and reciting a scripture): Tell a story about a child who tells another child about his fishing trip and greatly exaggerates the size of the fish he caught. Ask the children what the child did wrong and what he should have done. Invite the children to think of one of the Articles of Faith that would help them remember to tell the truth. Repeat together the beginning of the thirteenth article of faith (“We believe in being honest”).
ENCOURAGE APPLICATION(responding to situations): Present a situation in which the children may be tempted to be dishonest, such as when a parent asks who left toys on the floor. Invite the children to stand when they know what they could do to be honest. Have a few children share their answers. Repeat with different situations as time allows. Encourage the children to think, “We believe in being honest” when they are tempted to do otherwise.
Sharing Time Ideas from Little LDS Ideas
I really liked the idea of the fishing story in this week’s ‘Identify the Doctrine’. I decided to
use the story for a fun ‘fishing’ activity for the ‘Encourage Application’ part. Hope you like it!For this idea you will need a fishing pole: a dowel, string, and a magnet.
Tie your string to the end of your dowel and then attach the magnet to the end of the string (this will be used as the hook).
Next, you will need to cut-out fish. You can cut some out of construction paper or find some fish clip art online and print and cut.
To follow the outline, have several different situations written on the back of each fish in which the children may be tempted to be dishonest.
Take turns inviting a child up to the front to go fishing. Once they have caught a fish have them read the situation on the back and have them tell you what they could do to be honest.
Continue fishing until all the fish have been caught or until time runs out.
Another Way to Play!
Split the Primary into 2 teams (children vs. teachers would be fun). Have your fish on the ground, but for this version you will have scenarios {good & bad} on the back of each fish. You will also have a certain amount of points. Good fish will receive points, but dishonest fish will get points taken away.
Have the children take turns fishing for fish. Have them read the scenarios on the back of the fish. If they catch a good fish award them the points on the fish. If they catch a dishonest fish then they will have that number of points taken away.
Continue playing until all the fish have been caught or time runs out.
One Last Way to Play!
For this idea the whole primary will be a team trying to reach a certain amount of points. The children always seem to love a good challenge. :)
Have scenarios or situations on the back of each fish as well as a certain amount of points (2 points, 5 points, 10 points, etc.).
You will also need to have 3-4 ‘dishonest’ fish that have a short phrase like:
{You got ‘Caught’ being dishonest!}
When these fish are caught they must throw them back into the pile and lose a certain amount of points (10 points, 15 points, etc.). You could also share a short little scenario ‘how’ they were caught being dishonest and then have them share how they could right the wrong.
Have the children fish until they have reached their goal or until time runs out.
Do you like my ‘You Got Caught’ tags (shown above)? I created a printable that you could use to attach to your ‘dishonest’ fish.
A Few Ideas from The Friend
Here are a few more ideas that I found from previous ‘Friend’ magazines.
Place two large paper strips on the blackboard or wall. On one, print True; and on the other, Not True. Prepare one set of statements that are true and another set of statements that are not true. Example(s): Snow is white. Rain is wet. People need water to live. Salt is sweet. The sun is dark. Ice cream is hot. Arrange the chairs in the middle of the room with one less chair than there are children. Have the children march around the chairs as they sing “I Believe in Being Honest” (Children’s Songbook, page 149). When the music stops, have the child who does not have a chair choose one of the statements and place it under the True or Not True sign. Ask the children what truth is and what it means to be honest. Remind them that we believe in being honest (see A of F 1:13).
Prepare a list of situations such as: (a) David found a dollar bill on the floor at school. What should he do? (b) Mary was riding her sister’s bike and ran into a tree. Now the bike is broken. What should she do? (c) Anne wrote on the wall with a crayon. Her mother asked who did it? What should Anne say? (d) Jimmy ate all the cookies mother made for dinner. Mother asked who did it? What should Jimmy do? (e) Susan sees some girls teasing a younger child. What should she do? Clear a space in the middle of the room. Have the children sit on the floor. Pass a beanbag around while singing “I Believe in Being Honest” (Children’s Songbook, p. 149). When the music stops, have the child holding the beanbag suggest an honest way of dealing with one of the situations. Make a list of the situations for each child, and suggest that they play this game with their family.
I hope you enjoy my Sharing Time Ideas that I have shared today and are able to use them for your Primary. I would love to hear how your Sharing Time goes and any changes that you made.
Thanks so much for stopping by. Have an amazing day & a great Sharing Time!
