Making Excellence Buzz with Fun & Excitement! This project came about when a fellow YW leader asked for some ideas and suggestions on a beehive activity. The purpose was something bigger that would help them feel involved as they aren t old enough to take part in youth conference. It seemed a natural connection to me to tie in the concept of the beehive with President Hinckley s nine suggestions in his book, Way to Be! The ideas could be added upon and adjusted to fit the scope of an activity. With the purpose of helping beehives feel included and special, these ideas focus on things that take the ordinary and make it extraordinary. For starters, make the event a focused activity that is out of the scope of a regular activity. Make it a big deal, talk it up and spend a little extra time making it special for them. It could be something that is done in one evening over a few hours or it could be done over a couple of days. With the theme in mind much can be done for decorations, snacks, etc. using the colors, bees, hives, honey, etc. After you ve defined the time frame for your event send out some special invitations. There is a sample on page 2 of this document. Take the 9 be s and break them out into individual activities. These could be done in roundrobin classes, progressive dinner style rotating to different locations, or carnival style in the cultural hall. There are some ideas for each of the 9 be s and a poem in the additional pages of this document to help get the creative juices flowing.
DATE: TIME: PLACE: DATE: TIME: PLACE: Come see what the buzz of being cool is all about! Come see what the buzz of being cool is all about! DATE: TIME: PLACE: DATE: TIME: PLACE: Come see what the buzz of being cool is all about! Come see what the buzz of being cool is all about!
The bee is an amazing thing, his flight impossible aerodynamically. But that bee doesn t listen, it s as if he doesn t care. Maybe he knows something we don t; maybe he s a secret to share. Our beloved prophet dear has shared with us some wisdom. It is to our own benefit to decide to listen! He s given us nine ways to be, nine nifty little tips That if applied in daily life will give us all a lift. First he says be grateful, a simple concept true; But easy to forget, dear friends, to simply say Thank You! Next he shares be smart ; get yourself an education. Learning all we can in life doesn t end with graduation! Be Involved he tells us next is a very smart thing to do With busy feet and hands and heart we ll fulfill this truth. Be clean he then reminds us, in all you do and say Our bodies are a temple; walk in the narrow way. Next he says, be true and this one stands up tall For to ourselves we must be true when our back s against the wall. And don t forget be positive because there s lots of strife Keep looking for that silver lining when clouds cover your life. Beware of pride our prophet speaks, be humble and submissive There s no room for a know it all in Heavenly Father s Kingdom! And then he sneaks a good one in when he tells us to be still The noise of the world so easily drowns out our Father s will. Last he says be prayerful for with this simple deed We involve our Lord and Savior to help us with our needs. With these tools and wisdom, like the bee we ll be We ll soar over mountains defying gravity. Our lives will shine with purpose; happiness will abound When we apply these daily be s we re so lucky to have found! -Holly Schwendiman, 2006
Be Grateful Discuss the importance of being grateful. Help the girls understand that an attitude of gratitude is so very important. Do a search at LDS.org using keywords like thanks, gratitude, etc. Some of the following may be helpful to get you started. Psalms: 100: 1-5 Mosiah 2:19-21 D&C 78:19 Thomas S. Monson, An Attitude of Gratitude, Ensign, Feb. 2000, 2 Thomas S. Monson, The Profound Power of Gratitude, Ensign, Sept. 2005, 3 David B. Haight, Were There Not Ten Cleansed? Ensign, Nov. 2002, 24 Knowledge, Choice & Accountability, Integrity Make thank you cards with scrapbooking materials and choose someone to send one to. Have the girls grate some cheese or other food using a grater. Compare this to breaking down gratitude with daily practices of saying thank you, etc. Do a play on words with the word great. Have a talent showing to share the greatness in each of us. It could be called a Greatful Talent Show.
Be Smart Discuss what it means to be smart. Help the girls understand the importance of gaining knowledge and continuing our quest for learning. Do a search at LDS.org using keywords like education, knowledge, etc. Some of the following may be helpful to get you started. 2 Peter 1:5 Proverbs 2: 3, 5-6, 10 Alma 37:35 Gordon B. Hinckley, Watch the Switches in Your Life, Ensign, Jan. 1973, 91 Caroline H. Benzley, Be Smart, New Era, Aug. 2002, 31 Gordon B. Hinckley, A Prophet s Counsel and Prayer for Youth, Ensign, Jan. 2001, 2 Faith, Knowledge, Choice & Accountability Have a career night with special guests to share what they did to gain their knowledge that allows them to work in their given professions. Make some special study habits backpacks. Fill them with ideas and suggestions on good study habits. Learn some common words like thank you, please, etc. in a variety of languages. Learn the YW theme in sign language.
Be Involved Discuss the impact of action in our lives. Help the girls understand that the Lord cannot direct us unless/until we are willing to move our feet. Do a search at LDS.org using keywords like involved, work, etc. Some of the following may be helpful to get you started. James 2:20 D&C 88: 63, 84 D&C 58:27 Getting Involved, Giving Service, Growing, Ensign, Feb. 1999, 21 Thomas S. Monson, Anxiously Engaged, Ensign, Nov. 2004, 56 Spencer W. Kimball, Here and Now, Then and There, New Era, July 1980, 9 10 Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Good Works Share how to schedule and organize activities and events using a personal calendar. Make personal calendars to take home and implement the lessons. Put together a puzzle (either create one with a picture you have or use a basic puzzle with large pieces that fit the number of your group) give each girl a piece and leave one out. Explain the visual exercise that we all have a piece to put in place in life and if we don t actively work to do our part the puzzle will not be complete. Go see a play in your community. Discuss how much work goes into making a production happen and how many lives are positively affected by the diligence and commitment of the cast to be involved.
Be Clean Discuss the importance of being clean inside and out. Help the girls understand the value of keeping our minds and bodies clean. Do a search at LDS.org using keywords like purity, cleanliness, etc. Some of the following may be helpful to get you started. Psalms: 24:4 Alma 5:19 D&C 88: 74, 86 Gordon B. Hinckley, Be Ye Clean, Ensign, May 1996, 46 James E. Faust, The Virtues of Righteous Daughters of God, Ensign, May 2003, 108 M. Russell Ballard, Purity Precedes Power, Ensign, Nov. 1990, 35 Faith, Individual Worth, Choice & Accountability Have a special evening of caring for our bodies. Bring a basket filled with items like shampoo, soap, deodorant, wash cloth, etc. Take the time to explain the purpose of each item that helps us with our personal hygiene. Create mini-baskets for the girls with some trial size items. Tie in learning with computers. Explain how our brains are like computers; how they store everything we see, do and think in files. The files never leave and can be recalled at any time even if we forgot they were there. Share the value of creating good files and how to deal with the recall of bad files when it happens. Help them understand that physically we can wash away filth, but intellectually we cannot. Have a make your clean seen night. Share tips on how to beautify our bodies with appropriate makeup, etc. Include tips on self-worth and how beauty inside radiates like a light within. Have fun playing on the concept of seeing.
Be True Discuss the importance of being true. Help the girls understand that there comes a time in all of our lives (usually several) when we will have to make a choice to be true to ourselves and our beliefs. Do a search at LDS.org using keywords like valiant, honesty, etc. Some of the following may be helpful to get you started. Luke 8:15 Romans 13:13 Alma 53:20 Thomas S. Monson, The Call for Courage, Ensign, May 2004, 54 Gordon B. Hinckley, Living with Our Convictions, Ensign, Sept. 2001, 2 Thomas S. Monson, Meeting Your Goliath, Ensign, Jan. 1987, 2 Divine Nature, Choice & Accountability, Integrity Play truth or dare with a spiritual twist. See how many gospel truths the girls know and research them together in the scriptures. Dare them to live up to what they ve learned. Create a glue work of art. Take a piece of paper and have the girls drizzle liquid glue in patterns. Let it dry. Color or fill in the spaces created with a variety of materials. Explain that our values are like the glue they define the boundaries within which we ll make decisions every day. An additional idea would be to do this in 5x7 size for time and to be able to frame the work when it s done as a constant reminder of what they learned.. Create a convictions journal. Collect and organize pages with quotes and commitments for future decisions on important moral topics.
Be Positive Discuss the importance of having confidence in high expectations. Help the girls understand the value of accentuating the positive and eliminating the negative. Do a search at LDS.org using keywords like hope, optimism, etc. Some of the following may be helpful to get you started. 2 Nephi 31:20 Alma 7:24 Romans 15:13 Gordon B. Hinckley, Let Love Be the Lodestar of Your Life, Ensign, May 1989, 65 Dieter F. Uchtdorf, See the End from the Beginning, Ensign, May 2006, 42 Robert L. Backman, The Shoes of a Winner, New Era, Jan. Feb. 1980, 4 Individual Worth, Good Works, Integrity Play a fill the bucket game. Take a small bucket and have each girl write or say something they re thankful for to put in it. This could be done with paper balls or any other uniform objects. Share how focusing on enjoying what we do have keeps us positive instead of lamenting the things we want and don t have. Give each girl a mini bucket or pail filled with quotes on optimism and hope. Tell them to go there every time they need to fill their self-worth buckets. Play a positive treasure hunt. Create clues that could have two outcomes and only finding the positive one will lead to the next clue. Have a music night. Let the girls hear what happens when we hit a sour note in a song or chord. Compare this to life. Play some samples of songs and let them discern between those with a positive association versus those with negative ones.
Be Humble Discuss the importance of being humble. Help the girls understand what it means to be teachable and humble. Do a search at LDS.org using keywords like humility, meek, etc. Some of the following may be helpful to get you started. ECCLESIASTES 4:13 Alma 5:27-28 D&C 112:10 Richard C. Edgley, The Empowerment of Humility, Ensign, Nov. 2003, 97 Russell M. Nelson, These Were Our Examples, Ensign, Nov. 1991, 59 Richard G. Scott, The Plan for Happiness and Exaltation, Ensign, Nov. 1981, 11 Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge Have a green night. Use the color to decorate and discuss the quote When you re green you re growing when you re ripe you re rotten. Help the girls see that we always want to stay green! Have a share and explore night. Each of us can find someone who is better at something than we are, we can t be the best at everything. Let the girls share what they re good at and help them appreciate the uniqueness of this concept. Take them out to explore other things they may not know or learn about great people in history that showed humility. Build King Benjamin s tower. Recreate this experience for the girls. Build a tower of blocks or visual aids putting each piece in place in correspondence to his wonderful sermon on how we are all beggars. Or see if they can identify how many principles he taught during his sermon.
Be Still Discuss what it means to be still. Help the girls understand the importance of learning how to tune the world out sometimes to help us focus our spirituality. Do a search at LDS.org using keywords like peace, obedience, etc. Some of the following may be helpful to get you started. John 14:27 Mosiah 4:3 D&C 19:23 Thomas S. Monson, Peace, Be Still, Ensign, Nov. 2002, 53 Howard W. Hunter, Master, the Tempest Is Raging, Ensign, Nov. 1984, 33 Neal A. Maxwell, Encircled in the Arms of His Love, Ensign, Nov. 2002, 16 Faith, Divine Nature, Choice & Accountability Create a night of noise and peace. Create an atmosphere of many sounds and noises to create commotion and distraction. One by one turn off the sources of noise or distraction and compare them to an element of the world around us. Help the girls comprehend that this is how we attain spiritual focus. Take a walk in a place where you can enjoy the beauty of nature a garden, camp site, etc. Have the girls sit and focus on the peace and quiet of such a place and contemplate what it means to take time to smell the roses. Create some scrapbook style pages or journals that will help find spiritual focus. Cut out pictures and artwork of inspiration from church magazines and compile them in scrapbook form. Help the girls understand the power of quiet and peaceful stimulation that will come from viewing their book. Perhaps they can try viewing it before nightly prayers to help them be in a state to be still and listen.
Be Prayerful Discuss the need to be prayerful. Help the girls understand the lifeline that prayer is to our Heavenly Father & Jesus Christ. Do a search at LDS.org using keywords like prayer, seek, etc. Some of the following may be helpful to get you started. 3 Nephi 18:20 Proverbs 15:29 2 Nephi 32:8-9 Gordon B. Hinckley, Words of the Prophet: Be Prayerful, New Era, Oct. 2000, 4 Spencer W. Kimball, Pray Always, Tambuli, Mar. 1982, 1 James E. Faust, The Lifeline of Prayer, Ensign, May 2002, 59 Faith, Knowledge, Choice & Accountability, Create prayer items to help us remember or expound saying prayers. Prayer rocks, prayer boxes, etc. A decorated box could be filled with reminder questions of things to include in prayer from thanks to direction in asking for righteous things. It could also be a compilation of collected answers to prayers that could inspire the girl later in life. Have a communication night. Explore the many tools of communication today. See how many ways the girls can compare or imitate these tools in communication with their Heavenly Father. For example a text message could be a journal entry, a radio playing music could be a song of praise, etc. Have a special fireside or night where each girl can research ahead of time special or inspirations stories on prayer. Then have them get together and share them.