Okay, I realize this post will only be helpful to a handful of you guys out there.  However, if you’re like me and are responsible for managing a class full of little kids for 2 hours each Sunday…you might find this tip invaluable.

I’ve been teaching the 5 year-olds in my ward (that’s an LDS congregation) for over a year now.  As much as I love the cute little kiddos, sometimes keeping 10 kids reverent for 2 hours of Primary can be a little tricky.  I learned quickly that if I didn’t come up with a way for them to manage themselves, I’d never make it through.  I tried several ideas with only moderate success.  Then, a few months ago, I started the badge system.  It has worked like a charm ever since.

To introduce the system, I taught a simple mini lesson about ‘Choosing the Right’.  We talked about how we can choose the right during sharing time and lesson time.  I taught them that being reverent involved participating in class as well as following three basic rules about our hands:

1:  Keep Your Hands Free - when the kids come in they have to put everything they brought in under their chair (papers, scriptures, jackets, etc.)

2:  Keep Your Hands to Yourself - it can be tough for kids to keep their arms folded for the entire 2-hour block, so I encourage them to keep their hands in their laps or (if they still have trouble not bugging each other) tuck their fingers under their legs.

3:  Put Your Hand in the Air - this one is pretty self explanatory.  When the kids have something to add or need to ask a question they have to tell me with their hand, not their mouth.

We practiced a bit in class and once they had all the rules down I taped a simple CTR bracelet to their wrist (you can find the free download below).  I also showed them the CTR Class Chief Badges and told them about our new plan that would begin the following week.  Essentially, here’s how the badges work:

When the kids come into Primary I hand each of them a badge.  The goal is for the kids to keep their badges for the full 2-hour block.  They keep their badges by participating in sharing time and class and by keeping our three class rules.  When I spot them breaking a rule, I give them a quick warning.  If they continue, they have to pass me their badge.  They can earn it back as soon as they show me they can keep the rules again without reminders.  At the end of class, the kids that still have their badges can turn them in for a small treat (lately it’s been two gummy worms).  If they didn’t manage to keep their badge, I give them a challenge to do better next week and give them one gummy worm.   

Thankfully, the badges don’t just help with reverence.  The little numbered stars I added to the back of the badges help me manage volunteers as well.   As I’m sure you teachers know, little kids love to be the helper.  If I ask for a volunteer to hold a picture, answer a question, or say the prayer, I invariably get 10 little eager hands in the air.  Rather than try to pick one person and risk playing favorites, I simply call out a number.  The kids then flip over their badges and check to see if they’re my secret helper for that specific task.  They love the mystery of the number system and I love not having to worry about hurting anyone’s feelings.  

We’ve used the badges in our class for over three months now and I’ve seen fabulous results.  Don’t get me wrong, my class isn’t perfect…they are still only 5 after all…but the CTR badges have made a big difference.  To make your own badges, just download, print, and laminate the free file below.  I found the badge clips in the office supply area of Kmart, but I’m sure you could find them at Office Depot or Staples as well.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

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After over two years of creating, testing and refining this bright idea, it’s finally time to post it.  Hopefully you’ll be as enthusiastic about it as I am.

Two years ago my husband and I decided to purchase scriptures for each of our kids.  Although they were pretty excited to have them at first, the scriptures quickly lost their luster for my young, non-reading kids.  I needed a way to show them that the familiar stories they’d heard about in Primary and Family Home Evening were actually in their scriptures.  I struggled to find an inexpensive solution when it suddenly hit me.  Why not put the pictures we use in Family Home Evening and Primary right onto the pages of their scriptures?   

I spent the next several weeks downloading and adapting the free Gospel Art Kit images from the LDS website.  With the help of some powerful graphic design software, fabulous specialty sticker paper, and a lot of trial and error I was finally able to create the perfect set of scripture stickers.  They were vivid, transparent, durable, and ultra-thin.  Best of all, they were inexpensive and incredibly functional!

My kids loved having them in their scriptures.  All of a sudden they were able to “chase” each other to find familiar scripture stories scattered throughout their scriptures.  In fact, most of the time, they could find them faster than I could.  Not one to be outdone by my 3 year-old, I decided to make an adult version as well.  I didn’t want large stickers in my scriptures, so I resized the images and moved them down into the footnotes area.  They worked beautifully. 

Over the course of the next two years, I created loads of other incredibly useful scripture stickers for our family.  I made custom book plates for my kids and my young women class, replaced my old flimsy bookmarks with full-page reference stickers, and made my scripture mastery scriptures more searchable with margin tags. 

Overall, I can honestly say that these simple, inexpensive scripture stickers have drastically improved the way my family enjoys and uses our scriptures.  Naturally, when I find a solution that works this well for my family, I’m more than happy to pass it on to you.  After all, it seems a shame for you to waste your time creating all these files when I’ve got them sitting on my laptop.  Starting tomorrow, I’ll be posting the files I used for my stickers as well as easy, do-it-yourself  instructions.  The custom book plates will not be available for download, but the finished stickers will be available for purchase.

I’ve created the new MeckMom Store to give you an opportunity to buy all the supplies you’ll need at big cost savings.  So why not put something special under the tree this year?  In addition to great family Christmas gifts, they’re also the perfect choice for Primary birthdays, Baptisms, Young Women/Men gifts, Seminary class awards, and Missionary milestones.  I offer all the paper and packaging materials in the store as well as bulk pricing and gift packaging for large group orders like the one shown here. 

I’ll be posting the various files and the instructions over the course of the next few days, so pay a visit to the MeckMom Store and stock up on your sticker supplies today!  Trust me, this is a MeckMom solution you don’t want to miss.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

This post is the 1st in a series of 4 scripture sticker posts.  To view the others, click the links below:

Part 2: Gospel Art Kit Sticker Tutorial

Part 3: Bookmark Scripture Sticker Tutorial

Part 4: Scripture Mastery & GAK Margin Tags Tutorial

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As a secretary in the Primary Presidency, I was constantly trying to find creative ways to make things run more smoothly. One area we managed to improve was the Talk and Scripture reminders.

Giving kids a paper reminder to show their parents seemed worthless. Most of the time I’d find their paper on the floor in the form of an airplane or fan. Although it was tempting to write it across their forehead, we came up with the next best thing. We used shipping labels. I printed out tons of white 2″x4″ shipping labels (I bought them in bulk at Costco) . I typed in the theme and date info, but you could print out a more generic version and write it in those details as well. When new assignments were made in Primary, I would stick these simple labels directly onto their shirts. The kids liked to show off their sticker and the parents liked getting the information.

I had tons of these labels, so I used them for reminders about Primary activities and Ward parties too. They really improved our attendance. Just thought I’d pass it on.  You can find the free file downloads below.

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