13th Article of Faith - preparing for YW

I took this idea straight out of the Faith in God book. One of the Preparing for YW items is to study the 13th Article of Faith and then make a list of things that are uplifting and virtuous. Then talk about how we can seek after those things.
Since there are quite a few difficult words in the 13th Article of Faith, we first talked about what all those words meant. Then each girl spent some time making a list of things that they felt were virtuous and uplifting. We let each girl share a few items and encouraged the other girls to add those to their list if they liked them.
We then talked about how the girls can implement those things in their lives.

Halloween Tales

Halloween was coming up when we did this activity. I found some story starters online and had the girls write a short story based on that first line. The girls got really creative; some of the stories were the scary sort and some were pretty silly and funny.
I compiled all the stories and put them together with some Halloween themed pictures in a word document. I took one copy to Kinko's and printed out a book for each girl. The girls were really excited to get a book with their own story as well as their friends' stories all together.

Some starter examples:

As I carefully entered the haunted house, the door shut behind me and...
It was a cold Halloween night when...
The black cat started to hiss when...
The large cauldron of purple liquid started to boil when...
The mad scientist was creating a new monster that...
Something in the closet was making a strange noise so I opened the door and...
On October 31st, I was carving a pumpkin when...
The Halloween pumpkin slowly transformed into...

Easy to learn 10 Commandments

I found this idea in an old Achievement Days activity book. I have included the template which you can save and print out on cardstock.
I had the girls cut out their own cards and color them if they chose. As they did this, I quizzed them on the commandments and had them tell me about them without looking at the cards. By the end of the evening, several of the girls could tell me what the commandment was just off the number!

Conducting Music

For this activity, we learned the basics of conducting music.

I went the simple route and used the information from the back of the hymn book. We talked about eighth, quarter, half and whole notes and what they meant while conducting. We tried out a couple of different hymns from the book with various time signatures while one of the girls played the piano. I taught them how to look for the time signature and which beat pattern to use for them.

Some of the girls already had quite a bit of knowledge about music and they were able to assist me in teaching the other girls. It was also a good opportunity for the girls who could play the piano to practice in front of others.

Scripture Scavenger Hunt

Here is a game that we played on a nice summer night. Divide into two teams. Give each team a copy of the scriptures listed, a copy of the standard works of the Church, and a bag to put their “treasures” in.

Each team looks up the first scripture and reads it carefully to discover what they need to find that will fit into their sack. After they find the first object, they read the second scripture and find that object, and so on. Each scripture will tell them what they need to find, except number ten, which has special instructions. The first team to collect all nine items and complete clue number ten wins.

1. Matthew 7:25 [Matt. 7:25]

2. Psalm 102:11 [Ps. 102:11]

3. Jeremiah 8:8 [Jer. 8:8]

4. Doctrine and Covenants 45:37 [D&C 45:37]

5. Mark 10:38

6. Ezekiel 37:16–17 [Ezek. 37:16–17]

7. Matthew 10:30 [Matt. 10:30]

8. Exodus 3:5 [Ex. 3:5]

9. Moses 1:41

10. Mosiah 2:17–18.

To finish the game do something this scripture is talking about.

After both teams have finished, share what you did for number ten with the other team.

Scripture Scavenger Hunt Key

(1) rock, (2) grass, (3) pen, (4) leaves, (5) cup, (6) stick, (7) hairs, (8) shoes, (9) book, (10) service, love.

Reports on Famous Artists

Two weeks before this activity, the girls were asked to pic a famous artist from a list I prepared in advance. I chose easily recognizable names from various artistic periods and genres. They were asked to present a short report on the artists life, including trivia and examples of their artwork. The girls learned a lot about the artists and about art in general during this activity.

Father's Day Dinner Plan

For this activity, my partner and I brought several cookbooks and had the girls look through them and write out recipes on index cards that they would like to try. We encouraged them to start their own recipe box or book that they could add to as they grew up.
We encouraged them to use the recipes they selected to plan, shop for and prepare a meal for their father on Father's Day. We told them to try to pick recipes that would be easy for them to prepare on their own or with just a little help from Mom. For those girls that do not have a father in their home to celebrate Father's Day with, we suggested that they prepare this meal for their family.