General Conference Round Up

My favorite time of year is here--General Conference Time!  Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will be eagerly sitting at home or in the conference center in Salt Lake waiting to hear the words of the prophet and apostles.  I love being uplifted by the wonderful messages shared.

Each year I like to have quiet activities for the kids while they listen to conference.  This makes it a more enjoyable experience for all.  I have scrounged around and found a couple of conference activities, traditions, packets, etc. that you can enjoy with your family.

Activities:

• Build a Temple: Use legos, sugar cubes, marshmallows, pillows, or blocks to build a temple.

• Conference Basketball: Set up a basketball hoop (or a bucket the kids can throw a ball into).  Make three different lines where the kids must shoot out of masking tape.  On the masking tape write different words for them to listen for.  If they hear the word they get to shoot a basket and earn a treat.
• Conference Binoculars and I-Spy: Make some toilet paper binoculars.  Let kids look through the binoculars as they watch conference.  Have them look for certain things (eg: the prophet, a blue tie, a plant, a picture of the conference center, etc.). 
• Conference Board: Make a conference board full of activities.  Click the link for more.  This conference board is darling! - Jon Lund Our Family Blog 
• Conference Cash: Give your kids conference cash.  As they sit quietly to listen they earn more.  Then they can buy prizes.  Click the link to see more.  Super cute! - Somewhat Simple

• Conference Corners (4 corners): Fill up 4 buckets with treats.  Label them with a code word to listen for.  Place the buckets in 4 separate corners of the room.  When a word is heard let the kids run to the corner and have a treat. 
• Conference Jenga: Set up a game of Jenga.  Put words or pictures of things that might be spoken of at conference.  Whenever the word is heard, remove the block.  Play until the tower falls over.  Click the link to see more detail. - Little LDS Ideas 
• Conference Popsicle Stick Puzzles: Make your own set of popsicle stick puzzles using church-themed pictures. There are LOTS of other ideas on this site.  Check it out! - We Talk of Christ, We Rejoice in Christ
• Hang up pictures of the First Presidency and Twelve Apostles.  Draw pictures or write down what you heard them say and hang it up underneath the picture.  A simple and sweet general conference activity.  - Lessons Line Upon Line
• Lacing Cards: Find gospel-themed pictures, laminate, hole punch, and use as lacing cards.  
• Sing Follow the Prophet: Do in between sessions of conference.  Discuss what was spoken.  
• Stations: Set up a couple of quiet stations for coloring, word searches, etc.
• Tying a Tie: Pull out some of daddy's ties and teach the kids how to tie a tie.  
• Words of the Prophets - Origami Talking Mouth: Let the kids make origami snappers and write what they hear on its tongue.

Packets:

• Activity Packet: I used this one with my kids.  They loved drawing the faces on the members of the First Presidency. - Deseret News
• October 2013 Packet - Sugardoodle
• The Ultimate Packet - Food Storage and Beyond

Printables:

• Apostle Pom-Pom, Dot-a-dot, or Magnet Pages - Moms Have Questions Too
• Church Dot-to-Dots - My CTR Ring
• Color the speaker's ties - Scribd published by AlchemyJunk  We did this last year and the kids loved it!
• Conference coloring pages, and Conference Squares Bingo -  lds.org
• Don't Eat Me! (Don't eat Pete game) -  Cookie Nut Creations
• Magnetic Letter Match: Spell church words using the printables and magnetic letters.  We printed some of these out and laminated them so we could use them over and over.  They were a hit with the kids.- Moms Have Questions Too
• Milk Cap Game: Print out the milk cap printable.  Put each picture on a milk cap.  Cut holes into a box large enough for the milk caps to go into.  Paste a picture next to each hole.  When the child hears the word associated with the picture they can put it in the box.  Or they can just match the pictures if they are still too little. Click on the link for more detailed instructions. - Moms Have Questions Too
• Temple Match Memory - A Little Tipsy

Traditions:

• Conference Countdown: The week before conference do a countdown to get the kids excited.

• Conference Tie Pancakes: Make them before a morning session of conference  - Pieces by Polly
• Fort: Build a fort or set up a tent in front of the TV.  The night before conference talk about King Benjamin.  Explain that the people in his kingdom came from all over to camp out and listen to him teach the word of God.  Talk about how lucky we are to get to hear the word of God from the comfort of our own homes.
• Fruit Loop Necklaces: I remember making these when I was a little girl.  I created a printable for the kids so that they have a different topic/word per color to listen for before they can eat the Fruit Loops.
• Wear Church Clothes: Some people will wear their church clothes to help them have the proper spirit for conference.
• 25 Traditions: Here are 25 more traditions you can start with your family. - The Red Headed Hostess

Prepare your family before conference with THIS family home evening lesson and game.  

I hope this helps you parents and primary leaders.  Have a great General Conference weekend!

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The Life of Christ - FHE Lesson

Prophets of God - FHE Lesson