Others who have submitted their ideas for this week's lesson plans:
Angie Christensen - THANKS!
 

 Start with a prayer.
 Recite the Pledge of Allegiance and/or family motto.
 Song, "Book of Mormon Stories"
 Scripture - Recite and Memorize 2 Nephi 2:27

Object Lesson - Have one of your children volunteer to help you with an object lesson.  Sit on a chair and have your child sit on your lap.  Put your arms around him or her so they are snug and tight, holding the child in place.  Proceed to tell your child that you and the child are going to sit there the rest of the day and that they can't go anywhere....no food or friends today!!  Ask them, "You didn't want to go outside and play today, did you?" or "Now did you really want to eat again today?  You ate yesterday!"  Playfully tease until they get the idea and have them sit back down.  Get them to think about what it might be like if they didn't have any choices.  Ask your children some of the following questions:

* How did it feel to have me hold you tightly on my lap and not let you move around as you wished?
* What does the word freedom mean?
* What would it be like if all your decisions were made for you by someone else?

Freedom is an important part of lives, and many have given a lot to have it.  Whether a long time ago, like in the Book of Mormon, or even today, we continue to fight for this privilege.  We are led by different leaders.  Our nation has had several presidents. 

History - You will need to print out these cards for this activity.  You will also need a large map of the United States (I rented mine from the library).  Using one set of cards, locate the states on a large wall map of the United States. How many states have been the birthplace of a President? Have any Presidents been born in your state? Tally the number born in each state.  If you'd rather not use one big map, give each child a copy of the United States and have them put a hash mark for each president in the state he was born.  Your children should be able to see that more Presidents were born in the eastern states, especially those states which were settled earliest.

Spelling - Have them write out the following words: freedom, justice, America, liberty, pledge, president, flag, united, military, war, Congress.  If your children are younger, you write the words on a paper and have them trace what you wrote.  If they are older, have them write them a few times.

Snack - Uncle Sam Ice Cream Cones

Math - VOTE!  (You will need to print out these cards for this activity).  Have your child cut out each card.  Then tell them, "Several people were asked which President of the United States was their favorite.  You have been assigned to tally the votes.  Put each answer in similar piles.  Tally the votes on a piece of paper and submit the winning President.  Who do you think it could be?"



 Start with a prayer.
 Recite the Pledge of Allegiance and/or family motto.
 Song, "Book of Mormon Stories"
 Scripture - Recite and Memorize 2 Nephi 2:27

Explain and discuss the words in the Pledge of Allegiance:

Allegiance: loyalty, faithfulness, devotion, United States of America (show a map)
Republic: a political unit where people are elected to exercise the power of the people and to make decisions for the people
Stands: symbolizes, represents
Nation: a group of people who function under one government, Indivisible:  freedom, the ability to exercise your own judgment and make your own decisions
Justice: fair treatment for everyone
For all: every citizen of the United States
 

Nephi wrote down the things on the plates that he had allegiance to.  For example, he was loyal and faithful to Heavenly Father, to his family and to himself.  We can read his history in the Book of Mormon. One of the things he told about was how he was blessed while he built a ship as the Lord had commanded him.  Nephi and his family had been journeying in the wilderness for eight long years.  Tell Nephi's story in your own words using the following flannel board figures:
 

Click to View Larger Format
Illustrated by Shauna Mooney Kawasaki

Science - Nephi's Water Powered Boat.  For this experiment you'll need a one quart milk carton, paper cup, pencil, straw and knife.  Carefully cut an empty 1-quart milk carton in half (length-wise).  You only need on half.  Set your half down on the table so you can see the inside of the carton.  The front of the milk carton will be the bow and the back will be the stern.  Poke a hole of the same size in the side of a paper cup (1/2 inch up from the bottom).  Bend your straw into an "L" shape.  Put the long end of the straw through the hole in the boat's stern.  Now put the short end of the straw through the hole in the cup, and set the cup inside the boat.  Fill your kitchen sink (or bathtub) with water.  Put the boat in and make sure that the straw poking out from the boat is below the water's surface.  Hold a finger over the end of the straw in the paper cup while you fill the cup will water.  Take your finger off the straw and watch your boat move.  It doesn't need a motor or sails in order to make it go!

Art - Take a piece of cardboard (rectangular shape) and make your own brass plates like Nephi.  Carefully cover the piece of cardboard with tinfoil.  Tape in place.  Then, very gently, using a toothpick, draw your own symbols and make your own plates.  What would be the most important thing you would want the world to know??

Make Believe - Have the children pretend they are digging for ore, making tools, and building the ship as Nephi did.

Scripture - If your children are older, make a written copy of 1 Nephi 3:7 for each child. Cut it apart by lines and have the children glue the strips in order on a piece of paper. Encourage them to memorize the scripture.



 Start with a prayer.
 Recite the Pledge of Allegiance and/or family motto.
 Song, "Book of Mormon Stories"
 Scripture - Recite and Memorize 2 Nephi 2:27

Art - Give each child some play dough and let them create their own coins. Toothpicks can be used for fine detail. They can then write up a history on their coin.

Budgeting - (This activity would be fun to do if your children are a little older).  For this activity, save those grocery flyers that come in your mail.  Give each child a set of flyers from different or the same stores, doesn't matter.  Tell the children they have $50.00 to spend on 3 meals for one day. The meals need to be nutritious an include foods from all the food groups. They should choose the food from the stores provided and compare prices. Then have them students analyze their results. How much money did they spend on each meal? How much money do you have left over? Compare the results of each child.

Science - Fun with ketchup.  What you need: old grungy pennies, paper towels, ketchup, a plastic tray, placemat or cookie sheet, old toothbrush, soap and water.  Wash your pennies first. I like to put all the pennies in a container with a lid, add warm soapy water, seal and shake. Rinse.  Then, squirt a bunch of ketchup onto your work surface, add pennies and have the kids let them sit for at least 2 minutes to get the vinegar in the ketchup to start working on the copper oxide. Hand your children a toothbrush and let them scrub, scrub, scrub away. Toss the pennies back into the washing container, rinse and you're done!

 

    
Scrubbing the coins!            Licking fingers - gross!                              Whala!

Scavenger Hunt - Use a newspaper to find a number of money related symbols, words, and values, and cut them out. Make a collage on an 8-1/2 x 11" paper.

Math - How valuable is your name?  Print out cards that give each letter of the alphabet a dollar value (A=$1, B=$2, C=$3, etc.)  Using monopoly money (or any pretend money), have your child count out the value of their name.  Make a pile of money for each letter and then add it up.  Do this with your child if they are young and practice counting.  If they are older, have them do this on their own.  To make it more challenging, you could have them do their middle and last names.  Or on a piece of paper, write several names of family members.  Have them find out which name is worth the most?  Which name is the least valuable?  What is the average? ..etc.



 Start with a prayer.
 Recite the Pledge of Allegiance and/or family motto.
 Song, "Book of Mormon Stories"
 Scripture - Recite and Memorize 2 Nephi 2:27

There are a lot of similarities between the founding of the United States and the story of Captain Moroni and his people. The founders of the United States were great defenders of freedom, and Moroni fought for the liberty of the Nephites. He became a wonderful example for me of someone willing to stand up for what he believed in. 

Use the following graphics to tell the following story in your OWN words.  Mount each picture on a popsicle stick to make it easier to tell the story (if desired).
 

Click to View Larger Format
Illustrated by Dick Brown

STORY - He loved freedom, his home, and his family. He had great faith in Jesus Christ. A wicked man named Amalickiah wanted to destroy the Church and take away the Nephites’ freedom by becoming king. He drew many people away from the Church with his flattery and lies.

Angry with Amalickiah for leading the people astray, Moroni tore his coat and wrote a message on it to the Nephites: “In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children” (Alma 46:12). Then he fastened the coat to a pole and called it the title of liberty.
 

Next, Moroni prayed that his people would remain free as long as there were righteous people in the land. When he had finished praying, he went among the people, carrying the title of liberty and inviting them to covenant with the Lord that they would not forget their God or their families and that they would fight to keep their freedom. Many entered into the covenant, and they numbered more than the followers of Amalickiah. Moroni’s army captured most of Amalickiah’s army, and there was peace for a time.
 

Moroni had the title of liberty flown from every tower in the land so that the people would remember and keep the covenant that they had made with the Lord.
 

Discuss righteous leaders of today. How do we know that they are righteous and that we should follow them? (We will be prompted by Holy Ghost.)

Video - Firm in the Faith of Christ - A grandfather uses Captain Moroni as an example of a true hero for his grandson. (14 minute video clip)  Clip #6 from Book of Mormon Video Presentations



 Start with a prayer.
 Recite the Pledge of Allegiance and/or family motto.
 Song, "Book of Mormon Stories"
 Scripture - Recite and Memorize 2 Nephi 2:27

What do you know about our flag? 

- Should be raised up a flagpole quickly and lowered slowly

- Should be flown from sunrise until sunset

- Should never touch the ground

- Completed its first trip around the world in 1790
- First flew on the moon in 1969
- The first official national flag was approved by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777.
- It is widely believed, but not confirmed, that Betsy Ross sewed the first American Flag.
- The flag had 13 stars and 13 stripes to represent the 13 original colonies.
- The flag is nicknames "Old Glory".
- On August 3, 1949, President Truman officially declared June 14th Flag Day.
- After many design changes, the flag currently has 50 stars.  The last star was added when - - Hawaii became a state on July 4, 1960.
 

What does our flag look like?

The number of stars on the flag has always represented the number of states in the Union.  The original flag had 13 stars: one for each of the 13 original colonies (Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island).  The flag now has 50 stars-one for each state.  The red and white stripes represent each of the original 13 colonies. 

Art - Make a flag using your child's footprints.  Paint their feet with red and white paint for the striped, and blue paint for the blue portion of the flag.  Then  use their fingers dipped in white paint for the stars.

Writing - "What are the most important qualities that a person running for President of the United States should have?"  If your children are younger, ask them this question and get a verbal response.  This would be a great opportunity to talk about values and how important they are.

Snack - Make red flavored Jell-O jigglers.  Cut out stars using a star cookie cutter.  Then add blueberries and vanilla flavored yogurt.  OR you could make a Flag Cake.

Testimony - Express your gratitude for living in this land, where you are free to worship as your wish.  This is something not everyone enjoys today, or even in the times of the Book of Mormon.
 

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