One of the highlights of our opening exercises each Sunday is “mail time”.  We have a little mailbox (that really could use a facelift at this point actually) and in it we put the assignments for the following Sunday (you know, opening prayer, scripture, talk etc).  This year we will also be putting in scripture hero clue cards.

Each week at the end of all our opening exercises and right before we transition into singing time, we pick a child who has been reverent to be our “mailman”.  It is quite the honor, and they do not take the responsibility lightly.  … Read the rest

Every Sunday feels like I am putting on a massive event just getting through Primary… am I alone in that?  For me, keeping parents informed with a nice newsletter serves multiple purposes.  I feel like if you hand them this nice looking, well thought out newsletter each month not only are they informed, but they know you care, you work hard, and hopefully they will feel more inclined to be involved! Today I am sharing a primary newsletter template that you can adjust for your ward along with some pointers and tips I have learned along the way!  Hope it helps you in your calling 🙂

Here is an example of what our finished newsletter looks like:

I think some important elements to a newsletter are:

1. The name of your ward
2. The month the newsletter is for
3. A list of upcoming events for both parents & teachers to mark on their calendars including
   1. upcoming ward events
   2. schedule changes (stake conference, general conference, 5th sunday, primary program etc)
   3. cub scouts & activity days
4. The months theme, scripture & song
5. Assignments for the month including opening prayer, scripture, talks & closing prayers
6. Birthdays for that month
7. Contact information of the primary presidency in case parents or teachers need to get ahold of you
8. Article of Faith or spotlight or whatever other important things you want to include
9. A nice seasonal image or picture (notice the apple for september=back to school).

Putting on a Primary Program is a HUGE task!  Especially if you are new to your calling- trust me I can relate!  When I first got called a few years ago it was in August, I was clueless to everything and had no idea that most primarys already had a date and possibly even a script for their programs.  When I realized that I went into a full blown panic attack.  Thank goodness for some kind-hearted soul who put their script online and I adapted that to our ward (which was really hard in itself since I didn’t even know the children yet!).  … Read the rest