children & youth bulletin board

My chapel’s a bit of a fixer upper.

Many Saturdays have been spent decorating and tidying up the spaces that are ours, (the yw organization’s) and there’s a lot of them!!!

There’s only one ward that meets in our building, so instead of us fighting over who gets each bulletin board and space, we lament at how many there are for us to fill.

I think right now we have 5 to go? 

Yep. 🤦🏻‍♀️ So brace yourselves for a ton of bulletin boards in the shop! 

I felt like a good one for them could be Children & Youth/#strivetobe themed lineup, but recognized that the bright and flashy colors may not suit everyone. So this kit was created with a splash of flowers, femininity, and lots of super fun stuff!!

You will love the beautiful quotes and posters and how many options there are for decorating. Here’s a quick overview of everything inside!

Strive To Be Poster

In so many sizes! I did research on all the shops and different places to print things and made PDFs & PNGs accordingly.

A big purpose of this bulletin board is to look nice, to make our building look nice and be informative for when visitors and investigators may come.

Not everyone in your ward has probably watched Elder Gong’s Face2Face, and if they aren’t a member, no matter how cute it is, strive to be will mean nothing to them. 

So this poster adds a little something to the meaning of everything we do, say, learn and teach here. It’s all about becoming more like Christ!

Luke 2:52 Poster

It’s fitting that for the program based on this scripture, there’s an art print for you to put on a bulletin board that goes with it.  This has flowers and calming, cool colors like the rest of the printables you’ll receive. 

Strive To Be Banner

This has the cutest colors and will be great for filling in any extra space in your bulletin board. I love how the “to” is one word in cursive, it turned out great. Cute cute!! 

Goal Arrows/Process

These come from the children and youth guidebook and describe the goal setting process. I like how they promote actually planning out the goals instead of sitting back and just expecting your life to change. You gotta plan and carry out the plan. Or as they say, discover, plan, act, repeat!

Goal Setting Planning Sheet

You don’t have to put this on the bulletin board, it’s a bit open ended and can be used as a handout, decoration, be put in a frame for a whiteboard, etc. If you don’t know what to do with it, you could write a quote or scripture about each category in each margin.

I would do:

• Physical // Know ye know that ye are the temple of God? (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)
• Social // When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God. (Mosiah 2:17)
• Spiritual // Seek ye first the kingdom of God. (Luke 12:31)
• Intellectual // The glory of God is intelligence. (D&C 93:36)

If you noticed that every verse referenced Heavenly Father, you’re right! 🔆🔆 As 1 Co. 10:31 says, “Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” We want to  mindfully set goals that will help us become more like Him. 

SMART Goals & Quote Sheets

These three printables are designed to help inform and encourage the youth as they set their goals. We have a #strivetobe challenge quote, a quote from President Nelson, and a SMART goals printable. They turned out so cute and I hope you enjoy!

Illustrations 

These are a lil big for a reason — if you have any awkward space that needs filling, add in an illustration going along with the four focus areas.

If you want to set up your own bulletin board or you have a spare, try this kit! 

You can purchase it on my shop here or favorite the shop, follow the blog Pinterest and Instagram if you enjoy freebies and what we do! Best of luck on implementing the Children & Youth in your ward! 😉

january 27 - february 2 -- 1 nephi 16 - 22 -- I will prepare the way before you

Another week of Come Follow Me! So fun. This week we have this beautiful verse.

The first part is God as our light. As we learned earlier, God is love and God is light, and we see this play out in the way He inspires, leads, and guides His children through the gift of the Spirit.

The second part is that He provides a way. As David Archuleta sings in this 2020 theme song, He eases our burdens and He always provides a way.

As Michelle D. Craig said, “Nephi, the brother of Jared, and even Moses all had a large body of water to cross—and each did it differently. Nephi worked “timbers of curious workmanship.” The brother of Jared built barges that were “tight like unto a dish.” And Moses “walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea.”

They each received personalized direction, tailored to them, and each trusted and acted. The Lord is mindful of those who obey and, in the words of Nephi, will “prepare a way for [us to] accomplish the thing which he commandeth.” Note that Nephi says, “a way”—not “the way.”

Do we miss or dismiss personal errands from the Lord because He has prepared “a way” different from the one we expect?”

The final part of this is that we will be led to the promised land. I think this represents seeing the promises and prophecies of God be fulfilled. As it was recently Christmastime, in sacrament meeting, a talk discussed prophecies that were fulfilled by the Savior’s birth. I think of all the people who preached and believed of that day, and never ended up living long enough to see it happen. But, finally, the glorious day did come.

As we follow the Spirit’s light, keep on the strait and narrow, and wait patiently for promises to be fulfilled, we live this scripture.

why is joseph smith's mission important to me?

ok yass it's yet another come, follow me lesson! This one is about Joseph Smith's mission and -- y'all!!! I actually have so many helpful resources and ideas for this one.

A few years ago (omigosh that makes me wanna cry I'm so old I've been in YWs so long!) I had to teach a lesson on Joseph Smith's role in the restoration. And I'm sorry if you don't feel this way (like "hehe talking about Joseph Smith is just the most exciting thing everrrrr") but I was worried that my lesson was gonna be a snoozefest. 

Soooo, I made a stations activity and other fun printables and it was actually a really fun lesson. Everyone got to learn a lot about what he actually did and ummmm like the lesson is almost identical to this one, I've created a bunch of printables and they're FREE so y'all will not want to miss heading over there if you're teaching the lesson.

I also just love silhouettes so that's what I created for him for this lesson. Praise to the Man. #27. Short, simple & sweet. I like it. You can print it for yourself here. 

yay thx everyone for reading to this point! if you love freebies and what we do, support us for free by following on Pinterest or Instagram. Best of luck with everyone's lessons!!

january 20 - 26 -- 1 nephi 11-16 -- armed with righteousness and the power of God

We’ve made it! We’re at 1 Nephi 11:17! Y’all this is one of my favorite verses ever and it is finally time for it to shine. 😉

I love this verse so much because it acknowledges how we have an earthly perspective. Sometimes things look very different to us than they look in the Father’s infinite knowledge and plan.

As Lawrence E. Corbridge says in his talk, “Stand Forever,” there are primary and secondary questions in our faith journey. Do we really believe in God and Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon? If we truly know these answers, it can get us through the rough patches of earnestly seeking answers as they don’t come right away.

I don’t know everything, this verse confesses. But I know enough to press forward with faith.

There aren’t any Book of Mormon videos to go along with what we learn this week, but if you have time to read a talk, you will love “Stand Forever” as I mentioned previously. You can check that one out here!

valentine's day quotes!!

this holiday is all about love!! so fun, I'm so over Christmas and ready to celebrate, and so, I've lettered these four valentine's day lds quotes!

Here they are.

This is such a sweet little quote from President Oaks. It kind of shocked me that it was from him because he always seems so straightforward, and serious, but I think this shows a side of him we don't always see. Love is so powerful! And that can be an inspiring thought to consider amidst the chaos of today.

Alright, okay, I'm not going to be all like "omigosh such wisdom I can't believe he came up with that" bc I'm pretty sure he was just quoting a common saying during a talk, but whatever... who cares who made it up iss true! 😂 You know all those other cliche statements you see everywhere ... if you care you will make time. What you spend your time on really shows your priorities.

And this one! Yep. It's actually just a Book of Mormon verse but I think those still count as quotes, in this case from Moroni! The more I study Spanish, Portuguese, and other languages + cultures, the more I realize how stupid English really is. One fun lil example is the word "love." 

I can "love" this, "love" that, her, him, it, God -- and none of those would be romantic. Which is confusing. Why even use the word, then? Moroni helps us out by clearing things up here. Charity is the pure love of Christ. Christlike love is charity.

And charity never faileth! I always just thought "that's the RS motto" but with the NT reading last year I was like "ooooooh so fun that's like actually a scripture." I was really disappointed when I found out that the KJV doesn't translate that Corinthians section as love, it calls it charity.

 I was so mad bc I was like "ummmmm I want to do a 12 days of love blog post thing and Valentine day and grrrrr" but ig with the Book of Mormon and this verse we have an expanded understanding and the verse makes more sense.

And here is the final quote that we have!! Yayyyyyy so love is the defining characteristic of a disciple of Christ. If you follow this principle, a disciple of Christ shows Christlike love. 

Lolll ok this is sooo random and kind of unrelated to the kind of love I'm talking about but you know the quotes that are like "if someone's dating you they'll be nice to you but look at how they treat others bc that's how they'll  eventually treat you."

yep. how we treat others... really does say a lot more about who we really are than how we act when there's some sort of punishment or incentive on the line...it is really so important and it is so hard but that's something that is clearly the ultimate thing we can hope to achieve in discipleship.

If you enjoyed these quotes, please Pin and share them! If you love the blog, follow us on Pinterest and Instagram! (or one or the other hehe)

I hope y'all have an amazing holiday!!

come, follow me -- for yw: why was a restoration necessary?

New curriculum, new lessons, super fun + exciting! This week I have a quote from the restoration lesson for you to print and share.

I thought it would be relevant and current and cute and fun to share the quote from President Nelson about what we need to do to prepare for April, for which I don't know if I should be excited or scared. 😂 It also teaches us about the restoration itself -- all about light. You know -- pillar of light, glorious light, etc.

which reminds me!! aaaah I've been reading that book, "A Pillar of Light" by Gerald Lund, in the Work and the Glory series and I was amazed by how much it taught me. 

I love reading, but I would never just sit down and read a Church History book. Maybe I would do that if I needed to fall asleep. Honestly, I don't even have the attention to read Saints, even though it is a definite step up from previous Church history books. 

But the Work and the Glory series books are basically historical fiction turning the restoration into a story, so good and I went to Sunday School and actually knew some of the answers and I was like "what !! I thought I was reading but I'm like learning here!" 

So if you own those or have desert bookshelf plus, (or live in Utah and have them at a library or smth) maybe check them out prior to preparing this lesson for some great helps & insights.

You can get the 8.5 x 11 printable of this quote here. To find more YW lesson helps, follow the blog Pinterest account! Nothing outdated over here. 😉

january 13 - 19 -- 1 nephi 8-10 -- come & partake of the fruit

I’m back for another week of Come Follow Me! Happy Monday, y’all. This week is going to be so fun to revisit! I’m so familiar with 1 Nephi until the Isaiah chapters because that’s usually where I stall out but this year we’re going to push through, right? Additionally, we only have 2 chapters to read this week, so I’m sure we’ll be able to dive deep into those.

A big lesson Hank Smith taught me (not personally 😂 but you know...through his books, etc) is that the big lessons in scripture lie in the details - the word choices that stood the test of time or that signal what really happened. An example of that within this verse is “joy.”

That’s what we’re all really seeking, right? And this verse is different than the instant kick of pleasure you get when you eat...let’s say, chocolate or smth. Although there’s food in this analogy, the joy we get from the gospel provides so much more than an energy spike or fleeting moment of happiness.

Another thing is that in order to feel the joy, you need to partake of the fruit. Knowing about it won’t nourish or save you, but going up and taking a bite, despite who is up there mocking and looking down at you, really living the gospel by your actions, choices, and deeds, is where true joy comes from.

Watch the Book of Mormon video the Church made about Lehi's vision below!

So good! Be sure to subscribe to their channel. It's so great being able to see these Book of Mormon stories we study coming to life through their work.

Good luck with your study!

january 6 - 12 -- 1 nephi 1 - 7 -- I will go & do

It’s the new year! Aaaah! We are totally over Christmas (😢ok I really do miss it a lot though!!) and driving into 2020! I don’t think I’ve heard of any member who isn’t totally excited about a whole year dedicated to the BOM. I’m so thrilled to be doing it — last year I had to stay on top of the 4 gospels for seminary, NT CFM, and of course, do the daily Book of Mormon reading.

It is going to be soooo nice to be able to give my all to the Book of Mormon this year — diving deep into its words and getting to devote my study time just to this scripture. And I’ll be sharing a hand-lettered quote for each week of the CFM. This week, it’s 1 Nephi 1:14... which is seriously such a beautiful verse!

The context is that it’s Lehi praising God after his vision. If I got a memo that I needed to pack up everything and live in the forest, I’d be a little disturbed. If my siblings tied me to the roof of our car like a Christmas tree, I’d be bitter and enraged.

But that doesn’t happen for them. Lehi goes on and praises the Lord for the new knowledge in this verse, despite how troubling the new knowledge may be. Nephi sings hymns all day as he is strapped to a ship, in the middle of a storm. They are strong gospel examples, I’m so excited to learn more about them.

Here is a Book of Mormon video that the Church made covering topics in this lesson & this specific verse. It is so good and and I am so in awe of the Church's in-depth filmmaking skills!

To see all of the Church's Book of Mormon videos, head over here.

Enjoy your first week of CFM BOM study!

children and youth goal setting motivational quotes

well, we're about a week into january at this point! 

are things getting hard yet? needing any inspiration to push forward and keep going? 

Here are two cute goal setting motivational quotes to inspire as you seek to set goals in the Children and Youth program. I've even formatted them so you can give them out as handouts to your Young Women or Activity Day girls. 

(Or dudes. These are gender neutral color schemes and ideas so they can use these too!)

I like this quote because even if you fail at a really hard goal, you'll likely have still grown a lot. Thx, President Kimball!

And then this one -- all about being doers of the word and making it a part of our lives.

Keep doing, keep aiming, keep trying, keep shooting for the stars! Y'all got this.

Get these as printables, 2 to a page, here. 

2020 mutual theme resources

The 2020 youth theme for the church is "Go & Do!" I love this theme and have created a LOT of designs to go with it...maybe I did go a little overboard! But now you have so many choices of items to help you incorporate, teach, display, and apply the theme in your group.

FREE THEME POSTERS

Last year there was 1...this year, how does 10 sound? To be honest, I am never making this many again!! It was crazy overwhelming to do so many, but I did, and this year you have so many options to choose from for a free little 8.5 x 11 mini poster, binder cover, or art print.

I've ranked them by their popularity. You'll want to keep scrolling to see them all!

1. (&2.) Arrow Theme

This one has been so popular and wins the race by a long shot! I have never had a printable go as viral as this one has! I really love its classy color palette and its simple nature. We'll see if I do more to develop this one! For now, you can print a free copy (of which there are 2 versions).

3. Minimalist Theme

This isn't my usual style, but it did turn out looking simply cute! It's great to use for youth groups because it has a gender-neutral color palette. I made a bulletin board kit and enhanced posters off of this one. You can check it out this original poster.

4. Traffic Light Theme

I am loving the extensive amount of cuteness!! This one is also great for young men and young women and can remind us of how the Spirit guides us to go and do. Go see this poster!

 5. Shoes Theme

This has a pretty bright color palette (it kinda hurts my eyes) but it was cute and fun to make!! The design is modeled off of a popular t-shirt pattern I kept on seeing everywhere; now it's on this printout, which you can get for free.

6. Hot Air Balloon Theme

This theme is soooooo whimsical and adorable and I love it a lot! You can get this for... gasp...free.

7. We can do It Theme

 

Rosie the Riveter was THE first thing that popped in my mind as I brainstormed ideas to go with the new theme. Check out that post from a lil while back!

8.,9.,&10. Multilingual Posters

I created these most recently, so it makes sense that it hasn't had as much time to be popular as the ones that came out in...you know...August. I'm really trying to market and share these more because they're free! They're pretty great! They're in French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Check out the last 3 posters.

BULLETIN BOARD KITS

Need a snazzy bulletin board? I have 2 options: a Rosie the Riveter and Minimalist theme.

Check out the Minimalist-themed kit here.

This packet is cute with bright colors! You can see it on my Etsy shop here.

TEACH THE THEME PACKET

This is finally here! Those 2 pictures convey the tip of the iceberg of all the good stuff in the 46 page teach the theme packet. You can check out a detailed blog post all about this and you can head straight to the product by going here.