YOUTH CAN TEACH
Teaching Tools
HAPPINESS
HAPPY New Year
Activities to Make Learning Fun
YOUTH CAN TEACH, so please let them teach with you. The best way youth can learn to teach is to know they have to teach it and explain it to someone. This way their testimony grows and their love for teaching and serving increases.
HAPPINESS is a blessing we receive when something good happens to us or we create something good. Anyone can be HAPPY all year long as they learn principles that can make us happy.
These HAPPY activities are in FOUR areas to follow by TOPIC or # to find “A state of happiness which hath no end” (Mormon 7:7) found in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
HAPPINESS skills can be compared to fishing, as Russell M. Nelson says, we need to be PATIENT, as “real change requires time—often a lot of time.” He quotes the Apostle Paul who counseled us to “run with patience the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). He also said to have PERSISTENCE and PRAYER. See Instagram January 1, 2023).
Here Are the YOUTH CAN TEACH Activities to make this year a “HAPPY” New Year for children and youth
Use the following article to give you details (a preview) of the 25 HAPPY activities.
TEACH ANY OF THESE ACTIVITIES anytime or follow these four topics (below) and teach them day-by-day or week-by-week at CHURCH or HOME as you set and achieve these goals in the new year. Enjoy!
TOPICS:
PARTS 1-2 (this page)
• HAPPY Family (#1-5 Activities)
• HAPPY Service (#6-11 Activities)
PARTS 3-4 (see the following page HERE)
• HAPPY Choices (#12-20 Activities)
• Plan of Happiness (#21-26 Activities)
Part 1
HAPPY Family
Activities 1-5
HOW CAN WE BE A GOOD EXAMPLE TO OUR FAMILY?
YOUTH CAN TEACH children and other youth about HAPPY and sad decisions. Brainstorm Sad Camper and Happy Camper decisions by choosing and placing items in the backpacks; novel ways to remember how to be a good example to friends and family.
ACTIVITY:
1. Tell the story of a family camping in the mountains when a snowstorm occurs. The family couldn’t see the trail back to the campsite, so the father told his family to watch where he walked. Making a trail with his heavy boots, the father was able to lead his family back to safety. Tell the children or youth that we can all lead our families (and friends) as the father did by being good examples and making correct choices. Notice the boots in the activity reads “When your trail of life gets hard, you lean on each other.” This activity gets exciting as you read all the things you pack in a backpack that would help a family to be HAPPY.
2. Post the Happy Camper and Sad Camper backpacks, and ask children or youth to take turns choosing an object, reading it aloud, and taping it on the correct backpack (poster).
3. Talk about each action and how it will help your family be HAPPY Campers or Sad Campers. For example, “You can warm up a family by saying kind words.” Place the logs for the fire visual next to the HAPPY Campers backpack. Or, “You are blowing it when you are mean to your brothers and sisters.” Place the blow dryer next to the Sad Campers backpack.
THOUGHT TREAT Trail Mix or Camping Meal (wrapped in foil, e.g., potatoes, carrots, and meat; cooking it to share).
WHAT ARE THE TOOLS WE NEED TO BUILD A HAPPY HOME?
YOUTH CAN TEACH children and youth how they can build a happy home with three important tools: family prayer, family scripture study, and family home evening.
TO MAKE Print, color (or print in color), and cut out the images that follow. Use tape or magnets to mount visuals. Mount pictures on the board as shown with hearts under chairs or around the room.
ACTIVITY:
1. Place the tools under the home and talk about each tool that helps us build a happy home. When we face trials or problems come up, we can choose one or more of these tools to help us.
2. Ask children/youth to take turns finding a heart and reading the situation. Then tell what tool they would use to help. Point to the tool and say it: Family Prayer, Family Scripture Study, or Family Home Evening. Some situations may require more than one tool.
THOUGHT TREAT: Three Happy-heart Cookies. Give each child/youth three heart-shaped cookies. To make, cut out and frost heart-shaped cookies and frost a smile on each. Talk about each tool (pointing to visuals above) as you eat each cookie: (1) Family Prayer, (2) Family Scripture Study, and (3) Family Home Evening. Talk about WHO, WHEN, WHERE, HOW will you make these possible in your home and how they will make you happy.
HOW CAN HAPPINESS IN FAMILY LIFE BE ACHIEVED?
YOUTH CAN TEACH children and youth to memorize The Family: A Proclamation to the World Paragraph 7 (rebus): “Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
To Make: Print, color, and cut out a poster of your choice. If printing the larger size poster, mount the two parts on poster paper. The smaller cards are for children / youth to take home.
Ways to Motivate Children/Youth to Memorize Scripture:
• Give out small black and white scripture cards to memorize.
• Once they are passed off give out the colored version of scripture cards.
[video src="https://gospelgrabbag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/The-Family-A-Proclamation-to-the-World-paragraph-7.mp4" /]
WHO DO WE LOVE TO MAKE A HAPPY FAMILY?
YOUTH CAN TEACH children how to sing this song using the song visuals that can be mounted through two metal rings to flip the chart when the verse (words) come up.
Lyrics
I love mother*; she loves me.
We love daddy*, yes sirree;
He loves us, and so you see,
We are a happy family.
I love sister*; she loves me.
We love brother*, yes sirree;
He loves us, and so you see,
We are a happy family.
Words and music: Moiselle Renstrom, 1889–1956
From Merrily We Sing, © 1948, 1975 by Pioneer Music Press, Inc. (Jackman Music Corporation). Used by permission. Arr. © 1989 IRI. This song may be copied for incidental, noncommercial church or home use.
THOUGHT TREAT: Cookie House. With graham crackers and frosting have the family build a cookie house, or make gingerbread cookie dough, roll out and form house sides and room. Thought: Home Sweet Home – as you eat the house think about all the sweet things we look forward to coming home to and how we can make our home life sweeter.
HOVER OVER or ZOOM IN (to view)
HOW CAN WE DO OUR PART TO MAKE A CELESTIAL/ETERNAL FAMILY?
YOUTH CAN TEACH children ways to be thoughtful, cheerful, and considerate of others when they: SPEAK, PRAY, SING, and WORK together. Print this slideshow for each child to help them visualize.
In President Russell M. Nelson’s talk “Think Celestial!” he said, “When you make choices, I invite you to take the long view—an eternal view …” (to put the teaching of Jesus first). He said, “Obedience paves the way for a joyful life for you today and a grand, eternal reward tomorrow.”
TO MAKE VISUALS: Print in color, or color and cut out the visuals in color or black and white (to color). Put the two pieces of home and the slide strips together as directed on the visuals and laminate. Cut slits in the home on dotted lines and insert picture-strip through the home. Mount strip and home on a poster or chalkboard, mounting the left and right hearts only (allowing the house to move left to right). Place wordstrips in a container.
ACTIVITY
1. Tell the children, “We can make our home a happy home if we look for ways to be thoughtful, cheerful, and considerate of each other.” Show slideshow images by moving house left to right and say, “We can do this when we speak, pray, sing, and work together.”
2. Have the children take turns drawing a wordstrip and handing it to the leader to read, e.g., “Abby’s mother had to go next door to help the neighbors, and didn’t have time to do the dishes.” The answer is WORK, so the youth slides the house to the picture of the children working. All of the answers are SPEAK, PRAY, SING, or WORK together (some with several actions). Talk about the four actions and why they make a happy home.
Part 1
HAPPY Service
Activities 6-11
HOW DOES SERVING OTHERS MAKE US HAPPY?
YOUTH CAN TEACH children that when they help others they are HAPPY and it helps others to be HAPPY too. As you print and share this badge with each child help them ponder what it feels like when they are not serving (turn the smile upside down). Then ponder how serving helps us smile (turn the smile right-side up).
TO MAKE: Print or copy, color, and cut out the activity on cardstock paper. Poke a hole in badge where indicated and on the nose, and insert a metal or button brad. To make a button brad, sew two buttons together on opposite sides (threading thread through the same hole) to attach parts.
THOUGHT TREAT: Service with a Smile Sandwich. Make a sandwich with a cheese smile to remind them to smile when they serve.
HOW CAN WE HELP OTHERS TO BE HAPPY BY SHARING?
YOUTH CAN TEACH children that sharing with others makes them feel HAPPY.
TO MAKE:
1. Print or copy, color, and cut out the treat wrappers.
2. Tape the treat wrappers around candy bars and/or packs or sticks of chewing gum.
ACTIVITY: Share-treats – Present the wrapped treats in a small basket.
• Ask the children “How would you feel if I kept this candy all to myself?” “What would Jesus want me to do with these treats?”
• Talk about the importance of sharing with others and ways they can share.
• The wrapper(s) invite them to share. Since there are two sticks of gum, children could share one stick in class with a friend and take the other home to share.
GOLDEN RULER:
– Be kind
– Share with others
– Respect others’ property
– Return borrowed things
– Help others
HOW DO YOU LIVE THE GOLDEN RULE TO BRING HAPPINESS?
YOUTH CAN TEACH children ways to “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” found in Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31: Be kind, Share with others, Respect others’ property, Return borrowed things, and Help others.
TO MAKE Print or copy, color, and cut out the visual for each child on cardstock paper. Tape or glue part B to the bottom of part A where indicated and laminate.
THOUGHT TREAT: Golden Ruler Wafer Cookies. Purchase ruler-shaped yellow wafer cookies. Tell children that they will be happy when they follow the Golden Rule written on the Golden Ruler handout.
#9
HAPPY Times Are Sharing Times treats to share
HOW CAN FORGIVING OTHERS MAKE US HAPPY?
YOUTH CAN TEACH children or other youth that Jesus Christ is our greatest example of forgiving others. He taught us in the scriptures that HAPPINESS comes as we forgive others.
Youth can ask questions about Jesus and how He forgave others.
These are SITUATIONS (on the door) and WAYS we can forgive (found inside the doors): For example, “My sister lost my toy!” and so forth…
YOUTH can help children or youth open the situation doors on this FORTIVING FACES Activity. Help the children or youth understand FEELINGS and discuss ways they can respond to them.
ACTIVITY: Forgiving Faces
Enjoy opening the situation doors to discover forgiving faces. Help children or youth understand they can be happy when they forgive. Help them open doors to look and talk about the situations and the forgiving face responses.
TO MAKE:
1. Print or copy, color, and cut out the activity.
2. Glue situation doors over forgiving faces 1–4.
THOUGHT TREAT: Funny Face Cookies. Decorate round cookies with frosting faces or bake dried fruit faces into the cookie. Tell children that a face can tell us many things. It can tell how a person is feeling.
HOW DO I GIVE HAPPILY?
YOUTH CAN TEACH children and youth to be Christlike cheerful givers rather than begrudge giving to others with this cup full of cheerful HAPPY thoughts in word-strips topped with lemons. Youth can also brainstorm with the children or youth ways to create HAPPINESS through love and service.
• Discuss storms in life, difficult things we face, and how we can change our attitude and create a sunny day even when it rains.
• Help children memorize the poem by Emily Dickinson found on the cup label.
• Talk about how a good or bad attitude affects other areas of our life. Don’t be a lemon head.
Optional: Instead of lemon heads fill the cup half full of LEMONADE. Say, “An optimist says the cup is half full whereas a pessimist says the cup is half empty.” While the youth drink their lemonade ask them, which will you be?
TO MAKE print activity in color or black and white. Glue the label on a paper cup and fill it with Lemon Head candies.
• This song helps them to think about helping others as Jesus would. This will make them, their friends, and family happy.
Lyrics
When we’re helping, we’re happy,
And we sing as we go;
And we like to help mother*,
For we all love her so.
2 Corinthians 9:7-8
“Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.”
#11
“When We’re Helping” (we’re HAPPY) song visuals
HOW CAN HELPING MAKE US HAPPY?
YOUTH CAN TEACH children to sing “we sing as we go.” This song helps them think of ways to help “mother” and “father” and “brother” and “sister” and “grandmother” and “grandfather” or any person they want to help.
