I believe it is important to incorporate Personal Progress in every aspect of YW. If the girls are constantly thinking about it, and incorporating it into their lives their testimonies will grow and they will have a deeper personal knowledge of the gospel.
How I do it...
Welcome Meeting.
The Second Counselor accompanies me in meeting with each new Beehive and her mother at their home. At that time I bring a folder with all of the things she needs:
· Personal Progress Book
· Personal Progress Journal
· Pen
· Notebook with the mutual theme on it (because the journals are so small)
· Small file keeper (to file cards in when they are completed or before they are being worked on)
Folder (from Staples)
Contents of Folder
Flower Mirror Hanger: Each experience or goal card I give the girls has a hole punched in it so they can hang it on their mirror and be reminded daily of what they are working on. I bought the suction cup hooks in the home improvement section of Walmart and the flowers with wire on the back from Michaels. Then you just wrap the wire around the suction cup hook and viola!
Monthly Value.
The first Sunday of the month I give each girl a card to set a goal of how many and which experiences she would like to complete for the value that month. I found the artwork HERE and added this at the bottom: I will complete Value Experience #____ Date Completed:_____
You can download all of these in PDF HERE.
New Goal Cards: I have come to the end - Virtue. So HERE are the new goal cards for the next round with a different look. I found this beautiful value artwork HERE.
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The first Sunday of the month I give each girl a card to set a goal of how many and which experiences she would like to complete for the value that month. I found the artwork HERE and added this at the bottom: I will complete Value Experience #____ Date Completed:_____
You can download all of these in PDF HERE.
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Monthly Lesson Theme.
With the new lesson program I pick a value experience that goes with the lesson theme for the month. This way each girl can complete a value experience that will help her strengthen her understanding of the lesson theme. I send a card with the value experience on it home with them the second Sunday of each month. I email these to the leaders before the month begins so they can help incorporate the experience(s) into their lessons. The lessons on www.lds.org/youth/learn give value experiences that go with the lesson theme. I choose the one I feel the girls should work on and then list the rest at the bottom so they can work on those as well. You can download the PDFs for the entire year HERE!
With the new lesson program I pick a value experience that goes with the lesson theme for the month. This way each girl can complete a value experience that will help her strengthen her understanding of the lesson theme. I send a card with the value experience on it home with them the second Sunday of each month. I email these to the leaders before the month begins so they can help incorporate the experience(s) into their lessons. The lessons on www.lds.org/youth/learn give value experiences that go with the lesson theme. I choose the one I feel the girls should work on and then list the rest at the bottom so they can work on those as well. You can download the PDFs for the entire year HERE!
Last Sunday.
On the last day of the month she will get a reminder handout/treat to encourage her to complete a value experience for the value of the month (monthly goal card). Some of my handouts I come up with on my own, find on Pinterest and on this site HERE. Click on the Monthly Value tab above for some of the most recent ones I have done, tags included!
Personal Progress Nights.
Nights where we meet together as a class and complete/start a value experience together. We often do this in our pajamas. After we do an experience together the girls write in their journals or start working on another value experience while I try to meet with each girl. When we meet I update my records of what she has done, help her set goals, and discuss project ideas, etc. Sometimes these are done as an activity for all classes and sometimes with just one class. We do an All Girl Night at least twice a year and the separate class activities as needed.
Mutual Activities.
Occasionally (let's be honest - most of the time), we will have a mutual activity that correlates with a value experience. When this happens I send a value experience card home with the girls so they can complete the one started at the activity. I attend most mutual activities and try to alternate between which class activities I go to. See some of the mutual activities we have done by clicking on the Activities tab above!
Parent Letter/Email.
I send an email quarterly to each of the parents. This email explains how I help their daughter with their personal progress (just like this handout), how she can help her daughter, and includes an updated record of what her daughter has completed according to my record. The purpose of this letter is to motivate the parents to help or thank them for encouraging their daughters.
I send an email quarterly to each of the parents. This email explains how I help their daughter with their personal progress (just like this handout), how she can help her daughter, and includes an updated record of what her daughter has completed according to my record. The purpose of this letter is to motivate the parents to help or thank them for encouraging their daughters.
Value Projects.
I give the girls lots of opportunities to do value projects by coordinating with presidencies in other auxillaries and events that are coming up in our ward.
I give the girls lots of opportunities to do value projects by coordinating with presidencies in other auxillaries and events that are coming up in our ward.
General Conference Notebook
Before General Conference I printed out instructions for a 10 hour value project that they could complete during conference and tied a colored pen to it. I also emailed the girls a binder cover and pages they could print out to make their journals – found HERE. I made one for myself and love it! You can get the PDF for the handout HERE.
Serving in the Ward
Have girls be in charge of the Youth Ward Bulletin Board, New Beginnings, Camp Fundraisers, helping with Primary Activities or other activities/needs in the ward so they can complete Value Projects.
Help from Advisors and Leaders.
One of my Beehive Advisors has the girls over on a Sunday at least once a month to work on Personal Progress or read the Book of Mormon and make a treat.
They allow me time at the individual class activities to talk about the value experience that correlates with the activity so the girls can complete an experience at the activity.
I email them what experiences I will be highlighting that month so they can encourage the girls to work on it and allow them time to work on them in class if they feel prompted to do so and give them ideas of how to incorporate them into their lessons.
I email them an updated personal progress record sheet of what the girls in their class have completed.
Time In Opening Exercises Every Sunday.
My YW President gives me time every Sunday during opening exercises to present and explain the cards, and/or award ribbons and certificates, and most importantly bear my testimony about the subject. This way the girls get to know me, see what others accomplish, and are thinking about Personal Progress at least every Sunday.
My YW President gives me time every Sunday during opening exercises to present and explain the cards, and/or award ribbons and certificates, and most importantly bear my testimony about the subject. This way the girls get to know me, see what others accomplish, and are thinking about Personal Progress at least every Sunday.
new beginnings gift.
Our ward always gives the girls something with the mutual theme on it so they can have something in their rooms that remind them daily of what it is. Since chalkboards are so in right now, I came up with this cute chalkboard. It only cost about $3.15 a piece to make.
I found the print HERE and had it printed as a 5 by 7 photo, not glossy. We had a long plank of wood cut and then I painted each board black with black acrylic paint and then sprayed the front side with 2 layers of chalkboard spray paint. Then we mod podged on the picture and added some twine with a staple gun, tied a twine bow and hot glued a paper flower on it. And then tied the polka dot ribbon around it. They turned out super cute!
new beginnings 2013.
We held our New Beginnings event last Tuesday. One of our mia maids, Elise, helped organize, plan and conduct the event. She did a great job and is able to count it towards one of her value projects. We welcomed two new young women that will be turning twelve this year. It was a lot of fun and a beautiful evening. Here are some pictures and downloads to use if you'd like them!
I used a shoe in each value color for my talk and they ended up as the perfect decoration for the mutual theme that I tied into personal progress.
I also gave the new girls a small jewelry box to put their young women motto necklace in so they don't lose it between now and the time they enter young womens. I forgot to take a picture but will try to get one for you. They turned out really adorable...a bright blue heart shaped box and I enlarged the cupcake topper with the high heel on it and printed it on bright pink paper, cut it out in a heart shape and mod podged it on the lid.
Thanks to Elise and Kayoko the evening was amazing!
mutual theme notebook.
I also made these notebooks for each of the girls to write notes, their testimonies, etc. during their Sunday lessons. Their advisors will pass them out in the beginning of class and collect them at the end each Sunday. Thanks to Walmart I found these notebooks for 10 cents! Then I printed THIS on shiny cardstock, stapled them on the front and added their name with a ribbon.
