Welcome to Primary!

The new year is an exciting time for our Primary kids. It brings with it new classrooms, new teachers and a new Primary theme for the year. This year, the theme is "Choose the Right", along with the scripture from Joshua 24:15: "Choose you this day whom ye will serve;...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." As a presidency, we look forward each Sunday to helping every one of these precious children learn ways to always Choose the Right. The monthly themes will be:

January: Agency is the Gift to Choose for Ourselves
February: When We Choose the Right, We Are Blessed
March: Living Prophets Teach Me to Choose the Right
April: Jesus Christ Teaches Me to Choose the Right
May: I Choose the Right When I Am Baptized and Confirmed a Member of the Church
June and July: I Choose the Right by Living Gospel Principles
August: I Choose to Fill My Life with Things that Invite the Spirit
September: The Ten Commandments Teach Me to Love God and His Children
October: Blessings of the Priesthood Are Available to All
November: I Can Choose to Be a Missionary Now
December: Jesus Christ is the Son of God

We are ever grateful for the inspired leadership of the General Primary Presidency and the thoughtful work that these sisters put into making each year a fabulous learning experience for the Latter-Day Saint children across the world. We hope that 2012 will be a time for the children of the Providence 5th Ward to grow in their testimonies and knowledge of the gospel. We also pray that each of them will feel of our love and desire to help them Choose the Right.

We have two sweet new additions to the P5 Primary this year!  Bransen Stout and Lydia Stauffer graduated from Nursery and joined the Bowens in Sunbeams on January 1st.  Congratulations, Bransen and Lydia!  Welcome to Primary!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

What a great time of the year to be in the Primary!  There is just something magical about being around children at Christmas time. 

This month, we have focused on the birth of Christ, of course, but also on His death, resurrection and Second Coming.  Sister Francom blessed us all by reading her favorite childhood Christmas Story, Davey and the First Christmas.  The children listened intently as she read the story of Christ's birth from the point of view of the donkey and his young owner. 

This past Sunday, we had an Easter celebration, complete with jelly beans and plastic eggs.  We talked about the correlation between Easter and Christmas, and the idea that without Easter, there would be no Christmas.  Each child got an ornament to take home to their Christmas tree.  (We do have extra, so if you missed this week, let Sister Murphy know.)

It is our wish that each of the primary kids will feel the true spirit of this Christmas season.  Merry Christmas!

r-e-s-p-e-c-t, Find out What it Means to Me

If there's one word my kids at home hear more than almost any other, it's the word "respect."  I often remind them to be respectful of their teachers or their classmates, and sometimes they even need to be reminded to respect themselves.  I'm not sure when respect became such an important thing to me, but it really, really is something that I value and that I hope my kids will also learn to value.  You see, I firmly believe that all good characteristics and habits are born of respect.  If we respect others, we will love them.  If we have respect for ourselves, we will make good choices.  If we respect our Father in Heaven and our Savior, we will show reverence for those things and places that are sacred to Them.

The theme for Primary this month has been, "Reverence is Love and Respect for God."  When I started preparing for this month and noticed the theme, I was thrilled!  As a presidency, we were excited to teach of the important role that respect plays, not only at church on Sundays, but in our daily lives.   We learned to be reverent at church and at home, with our family AND with our friends.  We were taught of the importance of being reverent during the Sacrament.  Shelby explained in a talk that being reverent during this sacred ordinance not only shows respect for our Savior, but also for those around us who are trying to be reverent.  I was able to explain the reason that I wanted all of the primary children to dress in their Sunday best for our Saturday program practice last month.  The chapel is the most sacred place in our church buildings because of the ordinance performed there, and it shows respect for us to be dress appropriately when inside it.  We also learned about showing respect toward the other parts of the church building, the Temple, our homes and at school.  Finally, yesterday, we learned that Reverence for God helps us respect and love others.  What a fun time we had singing songs about respecting ALL of God's children, while the primary kids took turns learning how to lead the music.

I'm grateful for the opportunity that I have to work with these fantastic children who have been extraordinary examples of respect and reverence.  I am also grateful for the inspired lesson plans that we have been given to teach from.

Next month's theme will be, "The Scriptures Teach Me about the Savior's Birth and Second Coming."

Prayers and Puppets

Our theme this month is, "Prayer is Reverent Communication between God and Me."

This past Sunday, we heard a wonderful talk from Sam Schaaf, who recounted the story of the First Vision.  He read to us from Joseph Smith History and reminded us of the importance of praying in faith.  Thank you, Sam, for the great reminder!

Sharing time was the perfect blend of fun and reverence, thanks to some inspiration from our neighbor friend, Tracey Critchley, who graciously loaned her collection of puppets and puppet theater to the primary children.  The kids were divided into four groups, and each group received a topic from which they prepared a short play to present to the rest of the primary.  The amount of effort that the children and their teachers put into their presentations was incredible!  They varied from a story taken from The Friend magazine to a modern-day rendition of Little Red Riding Hood praying for protection as she ventured through the woods.  As a presidency, we were very pleased with the spirit that these short presentations brought to sharing time.  We will always be grateful to Tracey for listening to the promptings that she felt and lending the Primary her beloved collection.  Thanks, Tracey!

Ghosts & Goblins (and Spiderman, too)

Thanks so much to the Young Men and Young Women for putting on a fantastic Halloween Party for the Primary kids.  It was great fun to see so many of our neighborhood friends join us!  It was also Sister Olney's first activity as a Primary Worker, and she was so happy to be there.  Thanks again to the YM/YW and their leaders.

I Know the Scriptures are True

What an amazing spirit we had about us in Sacrament Meeting this past Sunday.  The kids were all very comfortable with their speaking parts and did an incredible job singing.  We may be few in numbers, but we are mighty in spirit.

The primary theme this year - I Know the Scriptures are True - is one that is very close to my heart.  As it says in 2 Nephi 4:15, "...my soul delighteth in the scriptures, and my heart pondereth them."  We have learned this year that the scriptures are the word of God and they they teach of Heavenly Father's plan for us.  We learned that Heavenly Father speaks to us through his prophets, and the the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored.  We learned how the first principles and ordinances of the gospel make it possible for us to live with God again and that Jesus Christ is our savior and redeemer.  We also learned that not only is the temple the House of God, but that our bodies are temples and need to be treated as such.  We have learned about missionary work and prayer and reverence and respect.

Through both sharing time and singing time, your children - our children of the primary - are building testimonies of their own.  Inspired leaders have given us, as leaders and teachers, the tools to help these little testimonies grow.  It is my prayer that through our righteous examples, each of these children will be able to say, along with me, "I know the scriptures are true."

Oh, How Time Flies!

I can't believe that it's been so long since I've posted any updates.  I promise to do better in the future!  Here are some random photos from this spring and summer that I meant to post before time got away from me.  I so love all the children of our neighborhood!  Just look at their happy faces.

Activity Days Treasure Hunt

The Wellsville Mile