Thanksgiving is fast approaching. This time of year is special because it bring a spirit of gratitude. We hope that the lesson bundle for this week will invite that grateful spirit into your homes!
Download this week's Lesson Bundle below!
➤ L E S S O N
Open the lesson with a song and a prayer.
🎶 O P E N I N G S O N G : "My Heavenly Father Loves Me"
➤ P R E P A R A T I O N
You will need a large bowl, 5-10 small rocks, a paper boat (or toy boat) and a way to add water to the bowl in small increments (something like a small cup or a measuring cup).
Place the rocks in the bottom of the bowl, and then place the boat on the rocks. Invite the children to think of things that they are thankful for and let them add a scoop of water to the bowl each time they recognize something they are thankful for.
Explain that life can get “rocky” sometimes. When we learn to be truly thankful for what we have, it can fill our hearts with love and lift us up above the “rocky” things.
You could also talk about some of the opposites of gratitude (things like complaining, blaming others, whining, jealousy, etc.) and then scoop the water out of the bowl incrementally to make the boat sink back down to the rocks.
After you complete the activity, discuss the following questions:
1) Why do you think our hearts “rise up above the rocks” when we are thankful? (Discuss.)
2) Does Heavenly Father want us to be happy? Or does He want us to be stuck on the rocks? (He wants us to be happy.)
🎥 V I D E O : "Being Thankful" | Animated Scripture Lesson for Kids"
Say: “Now we are going to watch a video about being thankful. Watch to see which characters are the most happy at the end of this story.”
Discuss the following questions after watching the video:
1) Which characters do you think were the happiest at the end of this story? (The Toy Maker, and the girl wearing purple.)
2) Why do you think they were the most happy? What did they do? (Discuss.)
3) What happened when the girl in purple paused and thought about the toy maker for a while? What did she find out about the toy maker? (The toy maker cut down the wood by himself, he carved the toys by hand, and he skipped his lunch!)
4) Did knowing how hard the toy maker worked make the gift more special? (Discuss.)
5) What do you think would happen if we found out more about Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. Do you think their gifts to us would be more special too? (Discuss.)
➤ S C R I P T U R E
Explain that you are going to read some scriptures about the Jaredites when they were inside the barges traveling across the ocean to the promised land.
8 And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were driven forth before the wind.
1) What do you think it sounded like inside the barges? (Discuss.)
2) What do you think it smelled like inside the barges? (Discuss.)
3) What do you think it felt like? Do you think it was comfortable? (Discuss.)
9 And they did sing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord.
1) What do you think “singing praises” unto the Lord means? (Discuss.)
2) What did the Brother of Jared do? (He sang praises and thanked the Lord all day long!)
3) Imagine you are inside one of the barges in the middle of a big storm in the middle of the ocean. What are some things you would be thankful for? (Work as a group and see if you can come up with ten things!)
12 And they did land upon the shore of the promised land. And when they had set their feet upon the shores of the promised land they bowed themselves down upon the face of the land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his tender mercies over them.
1) What did the Jaredites do when they arrived at the promised land? (They bowed down and shed tears of joy and they humbled themselves.
➤ C O L O R I N G P A G E
Pass out the activity page.
Invite the children to complete the “Toy Store” activity page. Your challenge is to draw a toy for each person who is with you in the room! After you have finished your drawings, show the toys to the people you drew them for. When someone shows you the toy drawing they made for you, practice being thankful!.
➤ T E S T I M O N Y
Bear testimony of the truths found in the scriptures.
This week's lesson and video were brought to you by our friends at PRIMARY SCRIPTURES!
'Come, Follow Me' is a resource offered by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is designed to be used in the home to support personal and family scripture study to build faith in Heavenly Father and His plan of salvation and in the Savior Jesus Christ and His Atonement. Come, Follow Me is self-contained and adequate, when used properly. Products and materials designed to supplement this resource, though they may be helpful in some instances, are not necessary for a successful home study program.