Alma 36-38 Activities for Primary Children and Families
- Jul 29, 2024
- 6 min read
Here is a list of 14 different Montessori inspired activities families with young children could do to teach some of the principles learned in Alma 36-38.
Activity 1: Storytime and Drawing
Storytime:
Read Alma 36:6-24 with your children, focusing on the story of Alma the Younger's conversion. Use a children's version of the Book of Mormon or simplify the language as needed.
Pause after each major event to explain what is happening. For example, explain who Alma the Younger was, why the angel appeared to him, and what happened when he repented.
Discussion:
After reading, discuss Alma 36:18-20, highlighting the joy that comes from repentance.
Ask questions like, “How did Alma feel when he saw the angel?” and “What happened after Alma prayed for forgiveness?”
Drawing Activity:
Provide paper and crayons or markers.
Ask your children to draw pictures of Alma seeing the angel (Alma 36:6-11) and then experiencing joy after repenting (Alma 36:18-21).
Display their artwork and encourage them to explain their drawings, reinforcing the story's key points.
Activity 2: Role-Playing
Role-Playing:
Read Alma 36:6-24 together.
Assign roles to each family member (e.g., Alma the Younger, the angel, the voice from heaven).
Use simple costumes or props, like a white sheet for the angel and a dark room for Alma’s period of darkness.
Act out the scenes, starting from Alma rebelling against his father (Alma 36:6-14), the angel appearing (Alma 36:11), Alma’s suffering (Alma 36:12-16), and finally his repentance and joy (Alma 36:18-21).
Discussion:
After the role-play, sit together and discuss the feelings and lessons learned from Alma’s experience.
Focus on Alma 36:20-21, talking about the joy of repentance and how we can experience joy by following Jesus.
Activity 3: Memory Verse Challenge
Memory Verse:
Choose key verses: Alma 36:3 (“…for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.”), Alma 37:6-7 (“…by small and simple things are great things brought to pass…”), and Alma 38:5 (“…as much as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials…”).
Creative Memorization:
Write each verse on a large piece of paper or poster board.
Create hand motions for each phrase to help with memorization. For example, for Alma 36:3, use hand gestures to represent "trust in God" and "supported."
Sing the verses to the tune of a familiar song or create a simple chant.
Use colorful markers to decorate the verses and make the activity fun and engaging.
Activity 4: Repentance Object Lesson
Object Lesson:
Use a whiteboard or a piece of paper and a marker.
Write down a list of "sins" (e.g., lying, being unkind, disobeying parents) and explain how these actions make us feel sad and separate us from God.
Erase and Clean:
Discuss Alma 36:17-19, emphasizing how Alma felt sorrow for his sins but found joy through repentance.
As you talk about repentance, erase each "sin" from the board or paper to demonstrate how Jesus Christ can make us clean again, just as Alma described.
Say something like, “When we repent, Jesus helps us feel better and takes away our sins.”
Discussion:
Emphasize the importance of repentance and the joy that comes from being forgiven, as seen in Alma 36:20.
Ask questions like, “How do you feel when you say sorry and make things right?” and “Why is it important to repent?”
Activity 5: Treasure Hunt for Spiritual Treasures
Treasure Hunt:
Create a simple treasure hunt in your home or yard. Write clues that lead to different locations, with each clue referencing a scripture verse.
Spiritual Treasures:
At each clue location, read a verse or discuss a principle from Alma 37:6-7 (“small and simple things”), Alma 37:35 (“learn wisdom in thy youth”), and Alma 37:37 (“counsel with the Lord in all thy doings”).
Explain how these verses teach us about spiritual treasures like wisdom, prayer, and doing small good things.
Final Treasure:
When they find the final treasure (a small treat or a special note), discuss how spiritual treasures are even more valuable than physical ones.
Reinforce the idea that following God's commandments brings true happiness and treasure.
Activity 6: Service Project
Service Project:
Choose a simple service project to do together as a family, such as making cards for neighbors or picking up trash in a park.
Application:
Relate the service project to Alma 37:36-37, discussing how serving others helps us keep the commandments and follow Alma's counsel to his son Helaman.
Explain how Alma taught his sons to remember God and serve others, and how we can do the same.
Discuss how service helps us grow closer to God and feel His love.
Activity 7: Journaling Time
Journaling:
Give each child a small notebook to create a “Book of Remembering,” inspired by Alma 37:35 and Alma 37:47.
Explain that this is a place to write or draw about times when they felt God’s love, received answers to prayers, or repented for something they did wrong.
Writing and Drawing:
Encourage them to write or draw about specific experiences. For example, they might draw a picture of a time they prayed and felt peaceful, or write about a time they helped someone and felt happy.
Sharing:
Allow them to share their entries if they feel comfortable.
Discuss how remembering God's blessings helps us stay faithful, just as Alma taught his sons in Alma 37:13.
Emphasize the importance of keeping a record of spiritual experiences and how it can help us remember to trust in God.
Activity 8: Building Trust - Trust Walk
Scripture Inspiration: Alma 36:3
Materials:
Blindfolds
Safe area for walking (indoors or outdoors)
Directions:
Read Alma 36:3, focusing on trusting in God and being supported in trials.
Blindfold one child and have another child or adult guide them through a simple obstacle course using verbal instructions.
Switch roles so everyone has a turn being guided and guiding.
Discuss how trusting in the guide is like trusting in God, who supports us through our challenges.
Activity 9: Heartfelt Gratitude - Gratitude Jar
Scripture Inspiration: Alma 37:37
Materials:
Jar or container
Paper and pens
Decorative items (stickers, markers)
Directions:
Read and discuss Alma 37:37 about seeking guidance from the Lord and giving thanks.
Provide small pieces of paper and ask the children to write or draw things they are grateful for.
Decorate the jar together and place the gratitude notes inside.
Each day, take out a note and discuss what it says, reinforcing the habit of gratitude.
Activity 10: Sharing Light - Candle Lighting
Scripture Inspiration: Alma 37:6-7
Materials:
Small candles or LED candles
Matches or a lighter (for adult use)
Directions:
Read Alma 37:6-7, emphasizing how small and simple things can make a big difference.
In a dim room, light a small candle and talk about how one small light can brighten the darkness.
Give each child a candle and let them light it from the first candle, symbolizing how sharing our light (kindness, good deeds) can spread to others.
Discuss simple acts they can do to share their light with others.
Activity 11: Repentance Path - Footsteps to Joy
Scripture Inspiration: Alma 36:18-20
Materials:
Paper footprints
Markers
Tape
Directions:
Read Alma 36:18-20, focusing on Alma's steps to repentance and the joy that followed.
Create a path using paper footprints. On each footprint, write a step in the repentance process (recognize, feel sorry, confess, make right, never do again).
Place the footprints on the floor leading to a happy face or heart at the end.
Have the children walk the path, stopping at each footprint to discuss that step.
Celebrate reaching the end, reinforcing the joy that comes from repentance.
Activity 12: Faith Growth - Planting Seeds
Scripture Inspiration: Alma 37:41
Materials:
Small pots or cups
Soil
Seeds (flowers or herbs)
Water
Directions:
Read Alma 37:41, discussing how faith and obedience bring growth and blessings.
Provide each child with a pot, soil, and seeds. Let them plant the seeds, water them, and place them in a sunny spot.
Talk about how the seeds need care to grow, just like our faith.
Check the plants daily, using the growth process to discuss how nurturing our faith helps it grow stronger.
Activity 13: Living the Gospel - Commandment Chain
Scripture Inspiration: Alma 38:1
Materials:
Strips of colored paper
Markers
Stapler or glue
Directions:
Read Alma 38:1, where Alma counsels his son Shiblon to keep the commandments.
Discuss what it means to keep the commandments and how it brings blessings.
Write different commandments or good deeds on paper strips (e.g., be kind, pray, tell the truth).
Create a chain by linking the strips together with staples or glue.
Hang the chain in a visible place, adding a new link each time the children follow a commandment or do a good deed.
Activity 14: Listening to God - Whisper Game
Scripture Inspiration: Alma 37:37
Materials:
None
Directions:
Read Alma 37:37, emphasizing listening to God's guidance.
Play the whisper game: have the children sit in a circle, and one person starts by whispering a message to the next person.
Continue around the circle, with each person whispering what they heard.
Discuss how listening carefully to God’s promptings is important, and how sometimes we need to be quiet and still to hear His guidance clearly.
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