POST-AND-PRESENT. GO BANANAS OVER SERVICE Action – Reaction match. Youth will learn not to monkey around but to go bananas when it comes to service. Why? Because by serving others they are free to serve. Turn banana pieces over to match up names to learn who does what. Then hang them on the monkey. See treat idea (below).
Use for COME FOLLOW ME Primary and Home, Young Women, Young Men, Seminary, Family Home Evening, Primary Sharing Time or Activity Days, Sunday School, Bible Study
POST-AND-PRESENT Activity
Go Bananas! Over Service: Action and Reaction Match game
OBJECTIVE: Help children desire to serve others as they learn of the reaction others feel when we offer an act of service.
ACTIVITY: Go Bananas Over Service
Showing the visuals, do the following:
1. Tell youth, “Because others serve us, we want to serve too. Service is catchy. Have you ever heard the saying, ‘One good turn deserves another?’ Well, with the service there is a chain reaction. Every time you serve someone, that someone you served wants to turn around and serve someone else.”
2. Tell youth, “Let’s start out by serving our monkey here, whose motto is ‘Let’s not monkey around; let’s go bananas over service.’ Monkeys swing by their tails so their hands are free to gather food. They really go crazy when they find a banana! (Point to the monkey.) Let’s help feed the monkey by matching up the banana pieces, to learn how two people served each other in a chain reaction.” Then serve the monkey by hanging bananas on his arms (as shown). Use tape to connect banana pieces, and attach each banana to the monkey with the paper clip already hooked on the monkey’s arms.
3. Ahead of time, mix up banana pieces, and place them faceup on the board. Tell the youth, “Let’s go bananas to find out how others are served.” Read one sample match. The name of the person being served, who then turns around and serves another, is in all capital letters so that youth can easily make a match.
4. Divide youth into teams and have them take turns turning over two banana pieces (top and bottom halves) to make a match. For example, Ben shoveled the snow in MRS. WALKER’S driveway (top half of banana). Then MRS WALKER had time to bake cookies to congratulate the Roper boy for receiving his mission call (bottom half of banana).
5. Tell youth, “When you draw a SOMEONE SUPER SERVED ME card, find another card that reads the same and tell how someone super served you.”
TO MAKE: Print activity in color or black and white on cardstock paper. Cut out the monkey parts, 12 bananas, and wordstrips. Cut out each wordstrip, then glue part 1 on half of the banana and part 2 on the other half. (View the name written in CAPS written on both matches, e.g., BEN and BEN.) Laminate all images and cut out again. Then connect monkey parts with paper fasteners, allowing arms to move. Attach a paper clip on the bottom of monkey’s arms by piercing a hole with the clip. (Bananas will be attached to clips later.) Mount monkey on a laminated poster.
*THOUGHT TREAT: Youth can munch on a half a banana as they play this game. Or: Go Bananas Splits, Boats, Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches. Banana Bread. Really “Go Bananas!” on this one. Anything bananas. Talk about the term “going bananas” could mean going crazy or simply going the extra mile on doing something great — like SERVICE.
GREAT FOR SHARING TIME OR FAMILY HOME EVENING
See A-Z INDEX (on the above menu to find activities on subjects: SERVICE, CHARITY, FAMILY).
USE IN NOVEMBER: November: “Spiritual and Temporal Self-Reliance” |