Tiny Testimonies, Big Adventures

  Week 3 December: Learning About Jesus Through the Old Testament and Christmas Traditions The Old Testament teaches me about Jesus. You and your children can use Christmas decorations to start a conversation about Jesus Christ. Talk about how a Christmas star, lights, or a gift can remind us of the Savior. Then explore scriptures that symbolize Him: Genesis 22:8 – Jesus as a lamb Numbers 24:17 – Jesus as a star Psalms 23:1 – Jesus as a shepherd Psalms 27:1 – Jesus as light Activity Ideas: Children hold up a picture or decoration that matches each scripture as you read it together. Discuss: How is Jesus like a lamb, star, shepherd, or light? Sing a Christmas song together, such as “Stars Were Gleaming” (Children’s Songbook, 37). Visual: Picture of baby Jesus (for Isaiah 9:6) Ask children to point to the baby Jesus when they hear the phrase “a child is born.” Share your testimony that prophets in the Old Testament knew Jesus would be born....

  Week 2 December: Learning from Malachi About God’s Love, Tithing, and Family Malachi 1:2 The Lord loves me. Ask your children: How would you answer Malachi 1:2—“Wherein hast [the Lord] loved us?” Share reasons you know Heavenly Father loves you. Children could draw pictures that remind them of His love. Activity Ideas: Pass around a ball; when a child holds the ball, they share one reason they know Jesus loves them. Look out a window and name blessings or ways the Lord shows His love in your home or neighborhood. Visual: Parents and a young boy looking out a window Discussion: Talk about ways God shows His love in daily life. Sing “I Am a Child of God” (Children’s Songbook, 2) and discuss how it teaches God’s love. Malachi 3:8–12 The Lord will bless me as I pay tithing. To help children understand tithing, ask them to count 10 small objects (like coins). Then separate one object—this represents what we give to the Lord as tithing. Discuss why the L...

  Week 1 December: Learning from Haggai and Zechariah About Covenants and the Messiah Haggai 1:2–8 “Consider your ways.” As you read Haggai 1:2–5 with your children, help them understand why the Lord was not pleased with the people. Children could pick a phrase from verse 6 and draw a picture of it. They could show it to each other and guess what phrase each drawing represents. Discuss: When we spend time on things other than what the Lord wants, how is that like eating but not being filled? Read verse 8 and invite children to pretend to “go up to the mountain,” “bring wood,” and “build the house [of the Lord].” Children could make a list of daily activities and circle what the Lord might say are the most important. Home-centered teaching: Discuss how to put God first in family life, following President Russell M. Nelson’s counsel that the home should be the “center of gospel learning” (“Becoming Exemplary Latter-day Saints,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2018, 113). Activiti...

  Week 5 November–December: Learning from the Minor Prophets About Jesus, Promises, and Joy Micah 5:2 Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem. Your children may not know that it was Micah’s prophecy that helped the Wise Men find the baby Jesus. Using Micah 5:2 and Matthew 2:1–6, your children could reenact the Wise Men’s journey. Discuss why Jesus’s birth was so important that prophets knew about it many years before He was born. Activities: Reenact the Wise Men following the star to Bethlehem. Talk about how prophecies help us know God’s plan. Visual: Three Wise Men gazing at the new star ( The Holy Child Is Born , by Dana Wood) Math Connection: Count the number of Wise Men, gifts, or stars in illustrations. Ask: If each Wise Man brought 3 gifts, how many gifts were brought in total? Nahum 1:7 “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble.” After reading Nahum 1:7, children could build or draw a simple “stronghold” or fortress. Discuss: What make...

  Week 4 November: Learning from Amos and Jonah About Prophets, Obedience, and Mercy Amos 3:7 Prophets are messengers of Jesus Christ. To help children understand Amos 3:7, you could whisper a simple message to one child and have them share it with the others. Discuss: How is this messenger like a prophet? Why does the Lord give us prophets? Activities: Review recent messages from the current President of the Church. Sing “Follow the Prophet” (Children’s Songbook, 110–11). Practice memorizing Amos 3:7. Write it down and repeat together. Gradually erase or cover words until children can recite it from memory. Math Connection: Count the number of words in Amos 3:7. Ask: If each child memorizes 2 words at a time, how many rounds are needed to memorize the whole verse? Amos 8:11–12 The Restoration of the gospel ended the famine of apostasy. Invite your children to pretend to be hungry while reading Amos 8:11–12. Discuss: What does it feel like to be hungry ...

  Week 3 November: Learning from Hosea and Joel About Covenants, Seeking the Lord, and the Holy Ghost Hosea 2:19–20 I can faithfully keep my covenants. In Hosea, the Lord compared His covenants with His people to a marriage. To help your children understand this comparison, show a picture of a bride and groom and discuss how a husband and wife should treat each other. Activities: Find words in Hosea 2:19–20 that describe how the Lord feels about His people. Discuss ways to show the Lord we love Him and will be faithful to Him. Math Connection: Count the words in Hosea 2:19–20 that describe God’s love and promises. Ask: If we add 3 more ways we can be faithful, how many total ways are there? Hosea 10:12 “It is time to seek the Lord.” Hosea 10:12 uses sowing, reaping, time, and rain as examples for seeking the Lord. Activities: Draw a clock and write down ways to seek the Lord at different times during the day. Sing “Anytime, Anywhere” (Gospel Library)...

  Week 2 November: Learning from Daniel About Faith, Choices, and Prayer Daniel 1; 3; 6 Jesus will help me do what is right even when it’s hard. To help your children learn from the inspiring stories in Daniel, you could find pictures of the events in Daniel 1, 3, and 6 (see the Gospel Art Book, nos. 23, 25, 26). Place the pictures face down and invite a child to turn one over and tell what story it represents. Activities: Read “Daniel and His Friends,” “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego,” and “Daniel and the Lions’ Den” (Old Testament Stories, pp. 154–65). Discuss situations where children might feel pressured to make a wrong choice. How can Jesus help us make the right choice? Sing “Choose the Right” (Hymns, no. 239). Math Connection: Count how many stories from Daniel you read. Ask: If each story has 3 main events, how many events are there in total? Daniel 1:1–17 Heavenly Father wants me to take care of my body. Reading about Daniel and his friends re...

  Week 1 November: Learning from Ezekiel About Prophets, Scriptures, and Temple Blessings Ezekiel 3:17; 33:1–5 Prophets are like watchmen who warn us of danger. Young children can act out Ezekiel 3:17. For example, they could point to their eyes, ears, and mouth when you read the words “watchman,” “hear,” and “mouth.” Activities: Go on a hike—outdoors or just around the room. Warn children of pretend obstacles like rivers to jump over, branches to duck under, or animals to avoid. Have one child pretend to be a “watchman,” looking out a window and telling others what is happening outside. Watch the video “Watchman on the Tower” (ChurchofJesusChrist.org). Discussion: How is our living prophet like a watchman for us? Why is it important to listen to the prophet’s counsel? Math Connection: Count how many “warnings” the children give or hear during the hike. Ask: If each child gives 3 warnings and there are 4 children, how many warnings are there in total?...

  Week 4 October–November: Learning from Jeremiah and Lamentations About God’s Love, Covenants, and Courage Jeremiah 31:3 Heavenly Father and Jesus love me “with an everlasting love.” Read Jeremiah 31:3 together and talk about what “everlasting” means. Children could help find objects (or pictures of objects) that last a long time, like a metal coin, and objects that do not, like a piece of fruit. Activities: Share experiences of feeling Heavenly Father’s everlasting love. Sing “God Is Watching Over All” (Children’s Songbook, 229). Draw or write ways we can feel God’s love every day. Discussion: How does knowing God’s love is everlasting help us make choices? How can we share His love with others? Math Connection: Count the number of “everlasting” objects found in the room or pictures. Ask: If we find 3 lasting objects and 4 temporary ones, how many objects did we identify in total? Jeremiah 31:31–34; 32:38–41 God will help me keep my covenants. ...

  Week 3 October: Learning from Jeremiah About Heavenly Knowledge, Prophets, and Guidance Jeremiah 1:5 Heavenly Father knew me before I was born. Introduce the truth of Jeremiah 1:5 by showing a picture of a baby—or, if possible, pictures of your children as babies. Ask: Where did we live before we were born? How did Heavenly Father know us? Activities: Sing “I Lived in Heaven” (Children’s Songbook, 4). Look up “Premortal Life” in the Guide to the Scriptures and answer questions like “Who was there?” “When were we there?” and “What did we do?” Discussion: How does it make you feel to know Heavenly Father knew you before birth? How can this truth help you make good choices today? Math Connection: Count the number of children in the family or class and imagine Heavenly Father knowing each one before birth. Jeremiah 1:4–19 Prophets are called to speak the words of the Lord. Show pictures of living prophets or prophets from the scriptures (Church magazin...