This last weekend we had stake conference, and I was really anxious about helping my kids sit through two hours of speakers. About an hour before the meeting was to start I ran downstairs to sort through some old Friend Magazines. I figured I could quickly put an activity book together that would help keep them reverent.
I did not get a book together before the meeting. However, I do have three completed as of 10am this morning! And I love them!
Reid usually enjoys the "For Little Friends" stories, and in 2013 six of those stories were about the life and teachings of the Savior. The artwork in those six stories is beautiful. And all 12 of the 2013 magazines had a coloring picture of the savior with an accompanying scripture. Before our stake conference I was able to laminate six of those coloring pages, and those occupied my kids and husband for several minutes. I should have taken a picture of their coloring, I loved that Ben worked on his own page as well.
My book is not a perfect compilation, as I used pages right from the Friend, but if you were to print the pictures and stories off the Church's website you could get a really fabulous timeline of Christ's life. And, I have to say, these would be great for children of any Christian faith (gift ideas!).
I'll put all the links you'd need down at the bottom of this post, in the order that I wish mine were in (more chronologically accurate). In the end, using the articles straight from The Friend is much cheaper than printing them (yay, my hoarding paid off!). My desire to save money (ink) overcame my desire for perfection. Because I used stories straight from The Friend, I did have to find a few random fillers -- like the cover:
The boy praying is actually the end of the story titled "Jesus Calms the Tempest." The real life application reads: "Sometimes when scary things happen, we feel afraid. But Jesus is near. Thinking about Him can help us feel safe and calm." Each story has a coordinating coloring page and one even has a maze. The coloring pages all have quoted scriptures with supporting references.
This really is a scriptorally rich book to put in the hands of little ones. If you have them, go dig out your old 2013 Friend Mags, if not (or if they've been loved too heavily for upcycling) follow the links below to make your own fabulous book. I really think these would make excellent gifts! Add a package of dry erase markers or crayons and you have hours of spiritual learning. I know both Reid and Nell can enjoy them now, but I think kids as old as eight would also appreciate using the book more than once. At that age they could read the stories independently and feel accomplished for studying Christ's life and the scriptures on their own. I expect to get a lot of use out of this beautiful book.
Jesus is Born, story
Jesus Christ is Born, coloring page
Jesus Christ is Baptized, coloring page (link is for entire magazine, coloring page is on p.33 of the PDF)
Jesus Calls His Disciples, story and coloring page (link is for entire magazine, story runs from p.34-37 of PDF)
Jesus Heals a Sick Man, story and coloring page (entire mag, p32-36 of PDF)
Jesus Christ Feeds 5,000, coloring page
Jesus Calms the Tempest, story and coloring page (click on images to enlarge and print, two images on link)
Jesus Blesses the Little Children, story and coloring page (click on images to enlarge and print, two images on link)
Jesus Teaches the Parable of the Lost Sheep, coloring page
Jesus Christ Heals the Ten Lepers, coloring page
Jesus Walks on the Water, coloring page
Jesus Appears to the Nephite People, story
Jesus Appears to the Nephite People, coloring page
Jesus Blessing the Nephite Children, coloring page
I did not get a book together before the meeting. However, I do have three completed as of 10am this morning! And I love them!
Reid usually enjoys the "For Little Friends" stories, and in 2013 six of those stories were about the life and teachings of the Savior. The artwork in those six stories is beautiful. And all 12 of the 2013 magazines had a coloring picture of the savior with an accompanying scripture. Before our stake conference I was able to laminate six of those coloring pages, and those occupied my kids and husband for several minutes. I should have taken a picture of their coloring, I loved that Ben worked on his own page as well.
My book is not a perfect compilation, as I used pages right from the Friend, but if you were to print the pictures and stories off the Church's website you could get a really fabulous timeline of Christ's life. And, I have to say, these would be great for children of any Christian faith (gift ideas!).
I'll put all the links you'd need down at the bottom of this post, in the order that I wish mine were in (more chronologically accurate). In the end, using the articles straight from The Friend is much cheaper than printing them (yay, my hoarding paid off!). My desire to save money (ink) overcame my desire for perfection. Because I used stories straight from The Friend, I did have to find a few random fillers -- like the cover:
But hey, what a great beginning for the life of Christ.
The thing I love about the stories is that they teach pure doctrines and then apply them to the child's life.
 |
| (the first two pages teach the doctrine) |
 |
| (the final pages relate to the child's life and invite coloring) |
This really is a scriptorally rich book to put in the hands of little ones. If you have them, go dig out your old 2013 Friend Mags, if not (or if they've been loved too heavily for upcycling) follow the links below to make your own fabulous book. I really think these would make excellent gifts! Add a package of dry erase markers or crayons and you have hours of spiritual learning. I know both Reid and Nell can enjoy them now, but I think kids as old as eight would also appreciate using the book more than once. At that age they could read the stories independently and feel accomplished for studying Christ's life and the scriptures on their own. I expect to get a lot of use out of this beautiful book.
Jesus is Born, story
Jesus Christ is Born, coloring page
Jesus Christ is Baptized, coloring page (link is for entire magazine, coloring page is on p.33 of the PDF)
Jesus Calls His Disciples, story and coloring page (link is for entire magazine, story runs from p.34-37 of PDF)
Jesus Heals a Sick Man, story and coloring page (entire mag, p32-36 of PDF)
Jesus Christ Feeds 5,000, coloring page
Jesus Calms the Tempest, story and coloring page (click on images to enlarge and print, two images on link)
Jesus Blesses the Little Children, story and coloring page (click on images to enlarge and print, two images on link)
Jesus Teaches the Parable of the Lost Sheep, coloring page
Jesus Christ Heals the Ten Lepers, coloring page
Jesus Walks on the Water, coloring page
Jesus Appears to the Nephite People, story
Jesus Appears to the Nephite People, coloring page
Jesus Blessing the Nephite Children, coloring page
3 comments:
Thank you so much for this! I am using this in Primary this year to tell the stories of Jesus. We will be reading one story of Jesus each week in our sharing times. Finding this many stories organized in one place was wonderful. Thank you!!!
THANK YOU So MUCH!!!!! Thank you for putting this together. I have been wanting to make something like this with the stories of Jesus but I never thought to put coloring pages in it. That is a great idea. YOU made this so wonderful and thank you for sharing for free. alot of the ones I have come across you have to pay to download. YOUR amazing for putting this together. I appreciate it so much!!!!
Thanks so much for this. I have just printed 2 for my grandchildren who are in different families. I hope this will help them be reverent in Sacrament meeting.
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