September

The Ten Commandments Teach Me to Love God and His Children

“If thou lovest me thou shalt serve me and keep all my commandments” (D&C 42:29).

Supplement the ideas provided here with some of your own. Each week, plan ways to (1) identify the doctrine, (2) help the children understand it, and (3) help them apply it in their lives. Ask yourself, “What will the children do to learn, and how can I help them feel the Spirit?”

Week 1: We are blessed when we keep the commandments.

Identify the doctrine (seeing an object lesson): Invite a mother to bring her baby to sharing time. Invite the children to share some rules that would help keep the baby safe. Tell the children that we are all Heavenly Father’s children; He loves us and gives us rules or commandments that will keep us safe and happy. Show a picture of Moses and the Ten Commandments, and briefly tell the children how Moses received the commandments (see Exodus 19–20).

Encourage understanding (singing songs): Put the following three phrases on the board: “Respect and Worship God,” “Honor Parents,” and “Respect Others.” Tell the children that the Ten Commandments can be separated into these three categories. Divide the children into groups and give them each a song that relates to one of the categories. Ask each group to decide who will sing the song (for example, boys only, girls only, or those wearing red). After the song is sung, ask a child to post the song under the proper category. Consider using the following songs: “Saturday” (CS, 196), “Quickly I’ll Obey” (CS, 197), “My Dad” (CS, 211), “The Church of Jesus Christ” (CS, 77), and “Kindness Begins with Me” (CS, 145).

Encourage application (singing a song): Sing “Keep the Commandments” (CS, 146–47), and ask the children to listen for the promises we receive when we keep the commandments. Invite them to share how they are blessed when they keep the commandments.

Week 2: I should respect and worship God.

Encourage understanding and application (reading scriptures): Explain that the first four commandments Heavenly Father gave to Moses teach us that we should respect and worship God. Write the following sentences on the board. Write the scripture references on four pieces of paper.

1. Thou shalt have no other before me. (Exodus 20:3)

2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any . (Exodus 20:4)

3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God . (Exodus 20:7)

4. Remember the , to keep it holy. (Exodus 20:8)

Divide the children into four groups. Give each group one of the scripture references, and ask them to read the scripture and find the corresponding sentence on the board. Ask the first group to fill in their blank on the board and lead the other children in repeating the sentence together. Discuss the meaning of the commandment, and let the children suggest what they can do to obey it. Write their suggestions on the board. Repeat with the other three groups. Encourage the children to choose one of the suggestions on the board to work on during the week.

Small groups: Dividing the children into groups can be an effective way to allow more children to be actively engaged in the lesson.

Week 3: I should honor my parents.

Identify the doctrine (memorizing a scripture): Briefly review the commandments the children learned about last week, and ask a few children to share what they did to live those commandments. Divide the children into four groups, and give one of the wordstrips shown below to each group (see Exodus 20:12).

Wordstrips available at sharingtime.lds.org

Click here for wordstrips.

Invite the first group to stand, repeat the words on their wordstrip, and sit down, followed by the other groups in order. Ask the groups to pass their wordstrips to another group, and repeat the activity until all the groups have read each wordstrip. Invite all the children to stand and repeat the commandment together.

Encourage application (playing a game): Divide the children into groups. Ask each group to think of something they could do to honor their parents. Invite each group to pantomime their action, and ask the other children to guess what they are doing. When they guess correctly, ask one of the children in the group to write their idea on the board.

Tip: The lessons as written may not speak to the specific needs of your children. You understand their abilities and circumstances and can adjust the sharing time ideas to make them effective in your Primary.

Week 4: I should respect others.

Identify the doctrine (discussing respect): Tell the children that a very important person is coming to Primary today. Ask the children to demonstrate how they can show respect to this person. Have them guess who the person might be. Hum “I Am a Child of God” as you pin a paper star on every child. Explain that every person is important and that we should treat everyone with respect. Tell the children that several of the Ten Commandments teach us how to respect others.

Encourage understanding (discussing case studies): Explain that the Ten Commandments teach us that we should not steal or lie; this is one way we respect others. Prepare several case studies (see TNGC, 161–62) that present situations in which children are faced with a choice about honesty. Divide the children into groups, and give each group a few case studies. Ask them to read each case study and discuss how they could be honest in each situation.

Look for opportunities to show love to each child. As you show love for those you teach, they become more receptive to the Spirit and more enthusiastic about learning (see TNGC, 31).