As we dive into this week’s story of Lehi’s Dream and the Tree of Life from the Come, Follow Me curriculum, I’d love to share some of the ways we’re making it work for our six kids ages 14 -2. These specific ideas were used to supplement the (amazing!) curriculum for our younger kids.
These activities supplement: Book of Mormon Come, Follow Me Week 3: 1 Nephi 8-10
Adapting Come, Follow Me for Kids
One “need” our family has is simplifying and adapting the content of some of lessons. This has helped our little ones be more involved in the learning and teaching. And the “need” inspired the activities I’m about to share.
Hopefully the ideas will be inspirational as you teach gospel to your children. But if they don’t . . . or if the ideas feel too overwhelming . . . please — know the suggestions are just ideas. I felt inspired to create them as supplement to the already existing curriculum. But they are in no way meant to make anyone feel like they aren’t doing enough or aren’t “Pinterest-y” enough. Or any of the other comparison lies we sometimes feel when browsing the Internet.
Follow the Spirit and teach in a way that works best for you and your family.
Book of Mormon: Come, Follow Me
If you’re following the Book of Mormon Come, Follow Me curriculum, these activities coordinate with Week 3!
Ideas for Teaching Lehi’s Dream
One of the ways we implement Come, Follow Me in our family is to have our kids help teach the lessons.
And printable scripture storytelling props are frequently used at our house as a way for kids to act out and retell the stories in their own words. They LOVE doing the “teaching” and I love seeing how much they’re actually comprehending as they repeat stories and principles back in during their storytelling.
The Tree of Life Coloring and Craft
Coloring pages + markers or sharp colored pencils are a secret mom-hack I often pull out during scriptures or read-aloud time.
Because coloring is a great way to extend attention spans. Coloring also helps keep the younger ones quiet and occupied during a longer scripture reading or discussion. But coloring pages are also helpful for some of my older kids who tend to listen better when their hands are busy!
And you probably know how much we love cut-and-paste crafts around here! This printable apple tree craft template was re-imagined and made an easy Tree of Life craft. What a fun way to remind the kids of the sweet white fruit from Lehi’s dream!
Some Personal Thoughts
Interestingly as I was working on creating this Tree of Life story set — my brain has felt stuck in a “mist of darkness” and I wandered off the “path” of my personal goals waaaaay more times than I’d like to admit.
Since receiving the {strong} personal prompting and then making the personal commitment to create these Book of Mormon story sets, DISTRACTION and TEMPTATION have been overwhelming.
Not in big ways and nothing major — just lots of little things, like the temptation to scroll social media or chat in my Facebook group instead of creating BOM graphics. Or the distraction of doing errands or housework or watching TV with my husband — rather than staying focused (“holding onto the rod”) and finishing the story set.
Do the principles taught through this symbolic dream still apply today?
Oh, yes.
I love this quote from President Boyd K. Packer: “You may think that Lehi’s dream or vision has no special meaning for you, but it does. You are in it; all of us are in it. Lehi’s dream or vision of the iron rod has in it everything a . . . Latter-day Saint needs to understand the test of life.”
But What Does Lehi’s Dream Mean?!
The scriptures are full of analogies and Lehi’s dream. And one of the first we encounter in the Book of Mormon that causes us to stop and look a bit deeper into the symbolism.
Once we know what each symbol means, it’s easier to understand the dream and see how the ancient teachings still apply to our lives.
To better learn the meanings of each symbol we did a picture matching game (younger ones) and a match-the-meaning-to-the-symbol crossword puzzle (older ones).
Honestly — both activities were a good review for me too!
Lehi’s Dream Printable Activities
If you’d like to try these printable activities as a standalone lesson or to supplement Book of Mormon Come, Follow Me Week 3, you can find them at Teachers Pay Teachers. Or I’ll send them to you FREE with any purchase from my Usborne Books & More shop. Because I believe in reading from the “best books” — scriptures, as well as other quality literature. 😉
Want to Try a Sample First?
If you like these activities but would like to see more: TRY A SAMPLE of our scripture story activities with these FREE Bible Story printables.