Time for New Testament Scripture Mastery Stickers! How I do it is, I read the scripture mastery verse - and almost immediately a visual idea comes to mind - a way to depict the verse visually - not so much a beautiful illustration as a simple icon that can evoke an instant idea that can be associated with the verse. I really have a lot of fun thinking of the ideas and now my design skills can match up to my ideas.

25 designs is a lot. To make the task reasonable for my brain, I set the goal of doing five a day. And I strictly followed that plan. In six days (I did not design any on the Sabbath) I had done all 25! And they were fun for me and I was pleased with how they turned out.

My sons have oft been my guinea pigs and testers. Sometimes I would show them the design and ask what scripture they thought of when they saw it. They did pretty well, but not 100%, yet I figure even if the first time students see the design they have to have a bit of explanation, or at least read the verse first and then see how it applies - ever after, that little image will bring to mind that particular scripture. The stickers are now in our store.

COMING SOON

I also did greyscale versions to use in our printed New Testament Scripture Mastery Posters - a set of 25 posters we have printed and ship to customers - great for the classroom. They are 11×17 - a good classroom size.And the same artwork is used in our digital New Testament Scripture Mastery Clipart Collection, now in our store. It includes full page posters, half-page flashcards and a set of playing cards and this year I had fun creating a game I call SCRIPTOPOLY for this set that come as a digital download and can be printed as needed.

	Hello, Happy May! I hope it is warmer where you are than it is where I am! I bought seeds and starter plants at the nursery a few weeks ago, and I am certainly glad the nursery worker told me not to plant the potted plants in the ground till after May 10 here in Utah! I hope by then it is even safe. I wanted to let you know about some new material added to the Primary KB. May Poster & Bookmarks May Sharing Times May Newsletter Template May Primary Scripture Search Primary 4 Lesson Supplements Primary 4 Picture Index NOTE - we have made the KB article titles and descriptions viewable to the public (not the actual articles and attachments) and as a result, you may see an error message when you first try to access any of these articles while you are logged in - just press the back button in your browser and select the article again and it will open.
	With Mother’s Day approaching, you may want to look at the wonderful new Mother’s Day clipart collection - I think you will recognize the artwork of Elise Black - one of our favorite illustrators from the Friend magazine! In fact, the May issue cover art is by Elise. The collection includes sweet images, coloring pages, cards, a gift box, and fun paper craft Potted Flower photo gift. There is also a cute Mother’s Day Purse as an extra in the Club this month - so it is a great time to join The Club
	Father’s Day Clipart Collection by Aaron Anderson is now in our Village Download Depot Club - and what a fun collection for children to focus on the importance of fathers. This collection includes super fun images, coloring pages, cards, gift box, gift coupons, a gift jar label and more. There is a free Father’s Day bookmark in our Club Sampler this month - it costs nothing to join for a great sampling of the artwork included in for The Club - just go to your membership page to sign up.
	2008 Primary Rub-Onz - these fun rub on transfers come 12 to a page and can be applied to any hard surface. You can give the children the transfers to use as desired or you can apply them to something you want to give as a gift. The possibilities are endless.

Let me know if you need anything!
Debra
debra@latter-dayvillage.com
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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.

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!

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

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

• 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.

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.

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!