Latter-day Village Square

	Hi! May Visiting Teaching Bookmarks have been added to the Relief Society category in our Free Sampler KB. They feature a portrait of President Monson with a quote from his latest conference address. I hope you enjoy them. I was just called to our ward Enrichment Board. Do you have such a thing in your ward? I am excited to be in a calling where I actually get to rub shoulders with other adults. Mostly my callings are things I do all by myself or with little children, so this is a treat. I hope the fact that I am now serving in RS will improve what we have to offer you at LDV.
	NEW!! - Relief Society Rubber Stamps! Come see these fun new products!
Enrichment Board Planner - I just attended my first Enrichment Board planning meeting and decided to design a planning sheet which I have added to the KB.
Enrichment Board Annual Calendar - this is a one page calendar for planning the year.
YOUR IDEAS - Please send in your ideas of what has been successful for you in your ward - many other sisters can benefit from your hard work and creativity! You can submit your ideas using our idea submission form, and send any files by email to me directly at debra@latter-dayvillage.com
	HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! You will just love this sweet Mother’s Day digital clipart collection by popular LDS illustrator, Elise N. Black. It includes lots of fun designs and projects!
Happy May! Debra Woods Hamilton debra@latter-dayvillage.com

For some time now, we have not been able to get our knowledgebases indexed by the major search engines. Due to our membership management system, which restricts access to our subscription areas, anyone or anything (e.g., a search engine-indexing spider) without a login password cannot view the knowledgebase content. That software company tried to provide a programmatic fix, but it has never really worked. With no access to the article pages, the major search engines do not know of all the wonderful content we have available.

As we became increasingly aware of the importance of keywords and search engine placement as part of our site marketing efforts, I finally worked out a solution. Our membership system has a protection method designed specifically for PHP files, which powers our knowledgebases. I finally figured in during one night of tossing and turning over this issue, that I had enough PHP troubleshooting (very different from actually writing code) experience to give the method a go.

I was finally able to make the change work, although there is one hiccup. The first time a registered member visits a newly configured knowledgebase (KB; e.g., Seminary, Primary, Primary Music, Sampler) they will see an obscure error message. This is due to the new handling of the information in their login cookie. If the member hits backup and tries the article link again, they should get a good response. I have not been able to find a solution for this; however, the workaround is easy enough to figure out; Go back, retry.

The result of this change is that non-registered users can traverse the category trees of the KBs mentioned above, where they can view up to 400 characters of the article contents. Previously, they could not even see the KB home page. These same article previews (almost 7000 counting all KBs) should now eventually appear in the major search engines, increasing our visibility and search page ranking accordingly.

We just finished adding the entire line of LDS scrapbooking rubber stamps from Sunbeam Stamps to our online store. Laura Cooke, the designer of these unique stamps has created products that help you LDS scrapbookers and crafters add an LDS flair to your creations. There are over 150 new stamps in the line; here are a few samples:

There is a stamp for almost any occasion or LDS theme, from Primary to Relief Society and Aaronic Priesthood/Young Men to Missionaries. You can create special remembrance scrapbook pages; invitations, place cards, bookmarks … the list is endless. We invite you to look over the whole line.

In our online store, click Scrapbooking in the category list and then Rubber Stamps. Here you will see that we have organized the new stamps by LDS organization or purpose.

You can also click Sunbeam Stamps in the Authors / Brands list to see an ordered list. Be sure and set aside plenty of time as there are over 15 pages of stamps to look at. Please select a few to kick your creativity up a notch!

Lori Nawyn has designed this delightful new YW Valuez memory book - and we have put together an instant download product with all the artwork and photographs with complete instructions!  If you look closely, you will notice that the book is made with white envelopes bound together with metal rings.  It takes 8 white envelopes that you decorate with print outs of Lori’s designs, scrapbook chalk, ribbons and embellishments.  Girls can put little quotes in the pockets, and there are places for photos - so they can use the book both as a reference for talks, devotionals and lessons as well as a way to remember special events and keep their YW values on their minds.  Making their Valuez books would be a great project to have the girls get together and work on.

See what’s included in the kit and more photos here.

I searched on the web for a source for all the ribbons and chalk etc - and found this website - Creative Images Rubber Stamps - they have almost everything you will need to complete the book, and your local craft or scrapbook store will probably have everything as well.

~Debra

I’d like to introduce a new artist to our LDV Neighborhood - Elise N. Black!  She has designed the sweetest Mother’s Day Collection that is currently in The Club - and if her illustrations look familiar, it is because she is one of the most frequently used illustrators for the Friend magazine for the past several years!

Elise visited with me a few months ago and I was so delighted with her work, I am just tickled that we can feature some of her work in our Download Depot!

This collection includes both line art and color illustrations, scrapbook papers and some very fun special projects, such as

• Greeting Cards
• Stationary
• Lined envelope
• an adorable Hatbox gift box

I look forward to future collaborations with Elise.  We are planning an LDS ABC Book later this year.

You can see some of her wonderful illustrations on her website - www.illustrationsbyelise.com

~Debra

A number of new items have been added recently to the Primary KB and Primary Music KB.

• April Monthly Theme Poster and Bookmarks - http://latter-dayvillage.com/primary/article.php?id=1548
• April Primary Scripture Search with a fun Thomas S. Monson Puzzle -http://latter-dayvillage.com/primary/article.php?id=1551
• April Newsletter Template -http://latter-dayvillage.com/primary/article.php?id=1550
• Lesson Supplements for Primary 4 Manual -http://latter-dayvillage.com/primary/category.php?id=205
• Revised Lesson Supplements for Primary 2 Manual -http://latter-dayvillage.com/primary/category.php?id=229
• New Games added to 2008 Scripture Power Activity Day -http://latter-dayvillage.com/primary/article.php?id=1508
• Updated General Conference Activity Page and Worksheet -http://latter-dayvillage.com/primary/category.php?id=34
• We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet - song idea - Music KB only -http://latter-dayvillage.com/primarymusic/article.php?id=1462
• A new April Sharing Time about President Monson - http://latter-dayvillage.com/primary/article.php?id=1563

PRIMARY OPEN HOUSE

New Primary Stake Leader Training the week before conference -
http://www.lds.org/pa/display/0,17884,8029-1,00.html

NEW IN OUR STORE:

• Baptism Clipart Collection - perfect for planning, decorating and scrapping your child’s baptism!
• NEW - Thomas S. Monson - Follow the Prophet Stickers - just in time for General Conference and the April theme.
• Prophets of the Restoration Activity Book, with activities and lessons for all the latter-day prophets - with new coloring pages and links for Thomas S. Monson.
• Scripture Mastery Stickers in 3 sizes - a great way to recognize children who are memorizing monthly scriptures or bringing their scriptures to Primary.

Today, April 1 (this is NOT a joke) we switched to a new online store and shopping cart system based on Zen Cart, a popular open source product. After an exhaustive search we determined that Zen Cart’s flexibility, extensibility, and feature set made it our best choice, even better than some system was evaluated that cost thousands of dollars. One of our main criteria was the ability to support and even expand our drop- ship and download sales capability. We believe Zen Cart fills the bill.

NOTE: the new cart system requires that every shopper create an account. Rather than integrate this cart with our membership management system and create a login for all of our members, we chose to keep them separate. Why? Simple, we have many store customers that never register for our other site features. We felt it was not necessary for them to create a full site membership simply to shop in our store.

However, creating a store account does have some advantages over our old cart system:

1. Customers can log into their store account and check that status of any order.
2. Customer who purchase download products can login and re-download a product, up to five times or for 14 days, whichever comes first.
3. We will offer account holders special discounts and can transfer gift certificate values to their store account.

Some additional Zen Cart benefits.

• Better classification of products. We revamped the store category system to make it easer for shoppers to find what they need. You can find most products using more than one category.
• A list of Artists / Brands allows shoppers easy viewing all of the products that we offer for a particular vendor.
• We display specials and reduced items on the main page, in the side boxes, and with every category page displayed. We are committed to aggressive pricing and this new interface allows shoppers to more easily find our bargains.
• Email lists – we can inform you of specials and discounts based on your purchase history. We promise not to constantly fill your email inbox, and you can always unsubscribe.
• Gift Certificates - we will be offering gift certificates, which we believe will expand our sales opportunities.
• Permanent Cart - Any products added to your online cart remain there until you remove them, or check them out.
• Address Book - We can now deliver your products to another address other than yours! This is perfect to send birthday gifts direct to the birthday-person themselves.
• Order History - View your history of purchases that you have made with us.
• Products Reviews - Share your opinions on products with our other customers.

Finally, we will be expanding our product lines by adding more and more manufacturers. There are also many other Amazon like features (e.g. others bought this and similar items, purchase items together and save) we will be adding as soon as we have the cart tweaked for maximum performance.

I hope you take a look around.

http://latter-dayvillage.com/store/

Warning, this is still a work in progress, so you may see missing images and a few warts/knots here and there. Do not hesitate to write us about your impressions and with any questions you may have.

This is a bit late in the season, but we are still getting snow storms here in Wyoming.

Are you struggling with colder weather, morning darkness, and lack of student attention? It’s the wintertime blahs. Warmer weather and sunlight always help to solve these problems, but what co you do in the mean time. We present just a few teaching strategies here that can shake things up enough in your class to re-stimulate those young minds you are nurturing, and help both you and your students have meaningful teaching moments.

Remember, telling is not teaching. Teaching is ‘presiding’ over learning. You preside and are charged with orchestrating learning classroom situations. Here a few suggestions to change up your normal teaching routine; in essence shed to bright light on what can be learned and taught at such an early hour.

SEMINARY HIGH SCHOOL

Seminary High School is a method of presenting your lesson concepts using a rotating class schedule, based on ‘subjects’ that you students might be studying during their regular school coursework. E.g., teach a mini class in History, going over the historical settings and happenings in your lesson block. Then teach another mini class in English, reviewing the writing techniques employed by the author in several verses. Get into the meaning of words, any similes, metaphors, etc. Give a vocabulary quiz. Teach another mini class – PE. Go to the gym for a short session of Sm Messy Basketball or SM Broom Hockey.

Well maybe you get the idea. Yes,this takes lots of prep time, but spring it on a Monday and your students will be engaged differently for the rest of the week. Follow up with mini-high school class sessions for the remainder of the years.

Here are several example outlines to help you plan your Seminary High School:

1. Isaiah 36-47 Seminary High School
2. Seminary High School - Sections 129 and 130
3. Isaiah 48 - 52 Seminary High School

SILENT LESSON

Can you teach an entire lesson without uttering a word? Silence is golden, especially as a change up from the sometimes normal boisterous seminary classroom. Key to this type of lesson; you NEVER utter a word, but give directions to your students through overheads, flashcards, or a PowerPoint presentation. But NEVER SAY A WORD. E.g., create flashcards with pre-printed questions and answers, such as “Read Verse :12 and tell me what Joseph was instructed to do.” The silent lesson is most effective if you maintain the silence throughout the class period. Here are a couple of examples:

1. PowerPoint: Gethsemane Silent Lesson
2. Silent Lesson

Be sure and close with your written testimony, perhaps in a handout or card that they students can take with them.

I can tell you from personal experience that this technique can also work with a group of stodgy old High Priests. After I once taught a silent lesson to our HP group, several came up afterwards and thanked me for the most spiritual lesson in years. This can really work!

OUTSIDE TEACHER

Students tire of the same droning voice day after day (did I really write that? You don’t drone on do you? Remember, telling isn’t teaching, in many cases it is droning). Well change the voice at the head of the class. If you have a special topic and there is a spiritual giant or giantess in your midst, get them to each your lesson for one day. You could use your Bishop or a bishopric member, a member of the Stake Presidency, a Relief Society president, a Ward Mission leader, or even full time missionaries. The most important points are to

• Select the topic well in advance.
• Provide lesson materials, even photocopy the manual pages if necessary,
• Announce for several days prior that a special teacher is coming on (insert day).
• Make sure you are there to introduce the guest teacher and to help with class discipline (chances are there will no problems out of respect to the new teacher).
• Follow up in the days following the lesson with quizzes and quotes from the presentation.

STUDENTS TEACH THE LESSON

Assigning a student to teach a particular lesson has multiple benefits. Your students will pay different attention to a peer who is teaching, you can get a small break, and the student assigned will gain more from preparation and teaching than will ever get from just being a student. It is a proven fact that teaching a subject dramatically increases retention. If you have a student who might be struggling with a topic, assigning them to teach is a perfect opportunity to gain special knowledge.

Lots of advance preparation is required; you must provide a full set of lesson materials and lots of follow up as the student prepares to teach. You must also be there to provide classroom help and reinforcement. Any student who acts up during the presentation is a perfect candidate for the next student presentation, which is something you might announce to a more rambunctious class…

Lots of praise in front of the other students is very positive, as well as a private ‘atta boy or atta girl.’

Here’s how I solved a problem using this strategy. I had a particular female in one of my classes who was so bright, articulate, and dynamic, that she could frequently hijack an entire class period. She reveled in asking obscure questions that lead the class into off-subject discussions. She was a handful. I asked her to teach a lesson. She accepted the challenge with the look on her face of “this will be a piece of cake.” It was, until I asked her patented kind of obscure, off-topic question from the back of the room. In an instant I could tell from the look on her face that she got it. Her actions were causing chaos in the classroom and disrupting my efforts to lead her class though teaching moments. She now felt it. In the simple turn of the tables, and without a word being spoken between us, she changed completely and never again did lead us off the path. She turned out to be a wonderful contributor from that point forward and her lesson was pretty great too!

Examples:
Outline: Helping Students Teach Lessons
Students Teach Prophets
Student Taught Object Lesson

You can use this method to bring out some of your shy students as well as give your prospective missionaries a taste of teaching the gospel. It works!

MARCH MADNESS

If you have not started already, March Madness is a scripture mastery activity from Linda Harper, a master teacher in South Carolina. I will not take the time here to explain all of the rules, but here is a link to the Old Testament version: OT SM March Madness Scripture Chase. I will say that the March Madness theme plays on the NCAA (and high school to some point) basketball tournament and the way that some Cinderella teams can make it through the bracket.

Classes that I used March Madness with got so caught up in learning the scripture masteries and their subjects in general, that is was like a shot of nitrous oxide into our classroom (that’s NOS in student language). NOS supercharges are engine for a short powerful burst: March Madness can do the same for scripture mastery in your classroom.

The most important things I have learned in using March Madness:

• Make it a reward. It is so fun and chaotic that I used it as an end of day activity when the class was engaged and cooperative. If they weren’t, no MM.
• The more Madness the better; nothing causes more fun and confusion than outrageous consequences. If you class is super competitive, MM is ideal, teams are so much in flux that strong students are always paired with weaker students. Make them participate together.
• Use a nerf basketball and something to shoot into. It has to be real, the basketball portion. I had a basketball team starter that could NOT get that nerf ball into the waste basket from three feet. He could hit three pointers on the court all day long, but was completely inept with the nerf ball. That just added to the madness and thrilled non-athletic kids who could outshoot the star, in a good natured way. It is all in how you handle the class.
• Have a good reward for the winning team. I usually hosted the wining team for breakfast at my house, with mini-candy bars for everyone else. Of course that winning team and it’s members was not decided until the very last shot and question, so everyone stayed in engaged.

Well, that’s it enough for now. I hope these ideas will give you something to try with your classes and that you will have some special experiences in the coming months!