Mid-Week Activities centered around...
Knowledge
 

Rice Krispie Treat sculpting competition using your knowledge of the stories out of the Book of Mormon. (Idea by Leanna Watson)

Have a New Era bowl. Ask everyone months in advance to read each issue of the magazine. At the bowl, ask teams predetermined questions about articles. Award small prizes to winning teams.

Numbered Chairs by Kristen Mayle - great idea for a Young Women's Activity to Review General Conference

Learn how to dip chocolates.

Car Maintenance - (Idea by Crystal Nay) We are going to a mechanics shop to work on a real car. Mine! Yikes!  I am trying to put together a little handout/booklet that they can keep with them in their cars that has basic instructions. Has anyone ever done this before? I'm thinking just a laminated card or 2 on a key ring or something....We are covering: How to change a tire, how to check the tire pressure, how to check the oil, how to calculate your gas mileage, how to use jumper cables, how to add washer fluid, what to do if your oil light comes on, what to do if your temp light comes on... [Click here for some extra helps with this activity idea]

Real Life Budgeting Activity by Sami Melinkovich

Stump the Bishop by Celeste Casey

Our Laurels had a "ToolBelt Diva" night. One of our Laurels Dad taught us to change a tire, check the oil and other fluids and gave us a handout on things to check and when on cars. The girls asked him and told him they wanted to learn how to take care of their cars since they were headed off to college soon and wanted to use power tools and learn basic "guy things" that they would need to know for living on their own.  They came up with the "ToolBelt Diva" title.   Unfortunately, we did the car maintenance in the spring, then four of them graduated. But, we plan on having some other nights to learn how to use tools, etc. It worked out really good having a Dad teach us. (Idea by Cherie Echols)

Go on a tour of the local university or college to see what facilities you can be taking advantage of right now.

Have career exploration nights. Arrange to visit a business that stays open in the evenings (like a newspaper, television or radio station, supermarket, etc.), and find out what it’s like to work there.

Library Scavenger Hunt - this would be a good back-to-school activity.  Take a tour.  Find out how you can get the most out of it. Did you know most libraries let you check out CDs and videos?

International Food Night - Plan a menu that includes food from all over the world (i.e. Mexican appetizer, Swiss salad, etc.).  The young women can volunteer if they would like to prepare a dish.  They then choose a recipe they would like to prepare.  On the night of the dinner the girls can get together to prepare the food.  Decorate the room with items from around the world and during the dinner tell about the food and the country it’s from.  You could also play games such as “country scramble” where the names of the countries are scrambled; match the country with it’s capital; have them draw the United States with their eyes closed, etc.

Book Bags - This is especially good for a Beehive activity.  Help all the class make and stencil a bag to carry their scriptures and Personal Progress book in.  This encourages them to bring their scriptures to Church on Sunday and helps them keep track of their Personal Progress book.  Hopefully they will continue to carry their bags with them throughout their years in Young Women.

New Era Bowl - Assign the young women to study several issues of the New Era.  At the conclusion of the study period it becomes a competition between classes to see who can answer the most correct questions about the issues of the New Era.  Prizes are given to the class with the most points.

Conference Bowl - A variation of New Era Bowl.  Encourage the Young Men and/or Young Women to take notes and listen carefully to General Conference.  Hold this activity the next Mutual night after Conference so it is still fresh on their minds and before the conference issue of the Ensign comes out.

Better Talks - Invite someone qualified to speak to young women on ways to begin a talk, contents of a talk, using notes (so you aren’t reading the talk) and closing.  Include poise and how not to appear frightened.

Book Review - Arrange a trip to the public library.  A librarian could share books that would be of interest to the young women.  (You will need to warn the librarian of the high standards of the girls).  Have each girl choose a book and set a date to hold a book review.  Fun refreshments would be a cup of pudding with crushed Oreos on top (to look like dirt) and a gummy worm on top.  This activity works best in summer.

“Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?”:  Play the game Carmen San Diego, only use Church History and geography questions instead.  The young women work in teams of 4-5 and can get prizes.  Have 3 rounds and use the cultural hall so they can travel.

Child Care Clinic - Pass around a sign-up sheet in Relief Society and priesthood for parents who would like to bring their children ages 3-8 to the Mutual activity.  Divide the girls into groups.  Assign them to one of the following activities:  story time, crafts, songs, snacks.  Four girls are assigned to walk the children from one group to another.  There is no charge for this.  The young women will really enjoy doing this and the children’s parents will appreciate it.

Jeopardy - Play using questions from the scriptures and from Church History.

Learning to Quilt - Find some fabric with large, cute shapes (animals, dolls, etc.) on it.  Put a think batting and backing behind it.  Teach the girls to quilt around the outside of the shape.  Then frame them in a large wooden hoop and decorate it with ribbon and silk flowers.

Check It Out - Give the girls several situations where they would have to demonstrate their ability to handle money wisely.  Have a mock checkbook made up for each girl and explain about such things as interest, credit cards, and savings.  Help each girl to realize that tithing needs to be paid also, and that it is easier if it is paid first.

Fruity First Aid

Mini First Aid Kit - Make mini first aid kits in 35 mm film containers to put in their backpacks for school. We are putting in: Band-aids, two quarters, cough drop, needle, thread wrapped around cardboard (maybe a little floss wrapped around too for when things get stuck in your teeth during lunch), tissues, safety pins, alcohol wipe, emergency phone numbers on small paper or contact numbers.

Invite someone qualified to give you a clinic in CPR.

Another Mini First Aid Kit - We made a first-aid kit for each girl using empty Altoid mint tins. They hold a little more than the film canisters. We included: band aids, wet wipe tissue, 50 cents for a phone call, hair elastic, safety pins, small chapstick, life saver candy.  We gave them each a card that was cut to fit in the inside of the lid of the tin. It had a place for their name, home address, 911 Emergency number, directions on making a collect call, and listed parents' work numbers, cell phone numbers, and emergency contact people.  We also gave them a list of optional items they could add at home. House key, nail clippers, Tylenol, cough drop, needle and thread, button, and shoelace.  We made a sticker to put on the outside of the lid that said "First Aid Kit". The girls enjoyed the activity and were excited to put the kit in their backpacks. (Idea by Cory Wood)

Visit your local television station and watch them do a news broadcast. (You’ll have to arrange in advance for this one.)

Learn a song in Sign Language

Book of Mormon Survivor

Planning nourishing menus - We used masking tape to make a food pyramid on the floor. Each girls brought magazines and favorite recipes. We cut out pictures of foods we liked and then placed them on the proper part of the food pyramid. we learned about servings and the difference between fresh and frozen or canned. The we went through the recipes and decided where they fit on the pyramid. One of our Laurels collected the recipes and made us recipe books for one of her projects.

Learn how to make placemat handbags

Mormon Cranium

Knowledge of Scriptures - Do you know your books?

Career Night - this was an all Young Women activity. We had a round-robin style evening where the girls could go to each class. We had a dental hygienist, a court clerk, a nurse, and a school teacher. They were all members of our ward. They gave a 10-15 min.  explanation of their profession, any education that was necessary, etc. The girls learned a
lot and it was fun. Of course, we ended up with refreshments also!

The Basics - Teach the girls how to iron a shirt, pillowcase, dress, sew on snaps, buttons.

Young Woman Conductors - We had an activity night and just taught the young women how to lead music.  We practiced several songs and each girl had a chance to lead the song of their choice.  You would be surprised how many young women don't know how to lead, but take advantage of it when they finally learn. 

Engineering Lesson - Learn about engineering and problem solving by building a structure with straws. Give each girl a handful of straws and a glob of play dough and a paper cup. (The straws are cheap at Costco or Sam's club or ask a business owner to donate them. The play dough can be homemade.) Tell them that they need to build a structure that will hold the cup off of the table. (You can make up your own rules) They can work in teams or by themselves but don't let them see each other while they are creating the structures or everyone will do the same thing. When they are ready, have them drop pennies in their cup one at at time until the structure falls over. The object is to see who's structure can hold the most pennies. It is a really fun activity. It makes them have to think and try to solve a problem.

Visit a country - The New Era has articles all the time about youth in other countries.   Go to the church website, www.lds.org, and click on Gospel Library, then click on HTML (text).  Then in the quick search bar, type in a country and choose to search through the New Era...and click Search.  I typed up "Netherlands" and got articles and recipes and more.   Print off some articles to give to your girls a week prior.  Have them come back and tell about their article.  Make traditional foods from that country, learn one of their dances, etc.

Scripture Dodgeball - You divide into teams and play dodgeball.  As they get out they have to answer a question about the gospel, whether its church, scripture, past prophets, anything. When they get one right they can go back in.

Invite someone who knows sign language for the deaf to come teach you a few things about it.

Sewing Basics - Learn basic sewing skills.  Learn how to mend clothes.  Have them bring something with them that needs repairing. 

Organization - Make ribbon bulletin boards and talk about organization. Have the girls cover the bulletin board with fabric to match their rooms.  Talk about the importance of having a clean room so the Spirit can preside there and create an environment of learning.  Have them post the scripture on their bulletin board, D & C 109:8. (There are several different ways to make the bulletin boards.  Check out some of these websites: One, Two, Three)

Compass Treasure Hunt - Help your girls learn how to use a compass. 

Have a "Get to know the Prophets" Night.  Assign each girl a different prophet and come prepared to share a story, music, favorite food, etc. of one of the prophets.

Young Women Knowledge Activity

New Era Challenge - this was an activity for all the Young Women. The girls were to read the New Era for the past month. We warned them in advance! They were to read it from cover to cover. We split the girls into 2 teams and used buzzers for the first team who knew the answer. One of the leaders asked the questions about the stories, talks, Mormon ads, etc. Another leader kept score. The girls were allowed to look at their New Era during the game, but only when the questions were asked. This was a lot of fun. The girls who read it really did great. Hopefully it encouraged the girls who didn't read it, to read it next time! (Credit Unknown)

The Amazing Knowledge Race - Basically, this is a list of 3 tasks to use for a life skills activity based on the television show, The Amazing Race.