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Job Fair
We did a "Job Faire" with values a
while ago. We had the 7 values represented and had a
speaker/Recruiter for each one. We didn't pass off any PP goals but
boosted them up for making plans.
Each recruiter wore the color they represented, had a table decoration,
and brochure along with a handout. They really had fun.
Each booth was upbeat and encouraging. They gave suggestions on PP
goals they could work on and how to accomplish them.
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Basket of value
incentives
We've been doing a fun thing for the last few
months and I thought you might like to hear about it. We have a
value of the month incentive basket. What it is... is simply a
basket I've lined with colored tissue paper and filled with items in
that months value color. Pencils, small candles, candy, socks, (we have a
sox outlet) etc... I try to keep the cost down to under .50 per
item. You can find a lot of 3 for a $1.00 stuff if you have a dollar
store near by. I usually only put about 10-12 things in the basket.
We too have 30+ girls. (Any left over stuff I save as gifts or to fill a
rainbow of values basket later on) On the fast Sunday of each
month I bring the filled basket and have it sitting on the table for the
girls to look through. I love the ooooh's and ahhh's as they see
what is different each month. (I bring the basket back each week all
month as a reminder, and convenient center piece) On that fast day I have
a stack of blank cards with a stamp of that months value (DJ inkers)
stamped in the appropriate color.
We explained that the girls who want to be eligible for the baskets
goodies must choose a value experience or project to focus on that month.
They need to turn in a written goal, on the card to me, by the following
mutual night.
This way they have a goal, written, that they are working on all month.
For those girls who have already completed that value area or have
received their medallion we ask them participate by sharing something that
they did while they progressed through that area of the Personal Progress
Program.
It is great to see these girls motivate each other. On the last
Sunday of the month I randomly draw their names from the cards that each
girl submitted. She is to share how she has grown and a little bit about
what she has been working on in this value. This inspires others to
succeed and gives ideas to those struggling in a value area. Then she can
choose something from the basket. We do this in opening exercises
and try to make it short but meaningful so as not to take up class lesson
time. Our girls love this and I have seen a marked increase in the
goals the girls are working on.
The first month we did it we only had 3 girls submit cards. But by
the third month we were up to12, especially Beehives.
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Little certificates
One other thing we do is try to acknowledge
the girls immediately as soon as they finish a value area. I made up
little certificates that are the same size as the PP book, with a value
colored ribbon on the top. This gives them something to see instead
of just the sticker that they close in their book.
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SEE
their progress
Along the same idea of having the girls SEE their
progress we found 5X7 frames (axp. $1.00 each), the clear plastic ones
that stand alone, kinda 'L' shaped, then we cut out the page in the back
of PP books that they place the emblem on (they are free so we just got an
extra book for each girl) and slid it into the frame. The back of
this page is the goal tracking sheet so this is seen as well on the
reverse side of the frame. Now the girls can SEE, right there on their
dresser, what they have done and what they need to be working on.
This does cause us to need to give them 2 emblems with each area
completed, one for their book and one for the frame but we think this will
really help them remember to think more often of PP.
Not to waste the books we also cut out the velum
of the temple and the photo of Christ and had them matted (we have a man
in our ward who does this) for each girl then included a small plastic
easel to display it on. Way cool.
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Value
Jar
We went out and spent about $50 in our budget and bought lots of little
dollar store stuff in value colors. The idea is that each month when we
focus on one particular value, we have a big clear jar with lots of
colored items in the jar that correspond with that month's value.
When a girl brings her PP book and shows us that she has finished a value
experience and either has us sign it off or has had her parent sign it
off, we let her pick something out of our "value jar".
White-Faith
white tic tacs
white hair ties
white gum (the trident kind that comes in the bubble packages...taken out)
white nail files
white scrubbie things (not sure what they are called)
white nail polish
white hand lotion (travel size)
white candle
white mirror
white bath beads
Blue-Divine Nature
Blue nail polish
Blue mood lipstick
Blue hair ties
Blue wrigley's gum (Wintergreen I think)
Blue comb
Blue heart keychain
Blue candy bars (almond joy, zero M&M crispy candies)
blue candle
blue mirror
blue bath beads/salts
Red-Individual worth
Red nail polish
red lipstick/gloss
red hair ties
red hot candies
red licorice
red candle
red mirror keychain shaped like a heart
red starburst candies wrapped in plastic bag
red socks
Green-Knowledge
Green nail polish (ewwww...but the girls love it!)
Green mood lipstick (it doesn't go on green, it's just tinted that color)
Green hair ties
Green tic tacs
Green wrigley's gum packs
Green starburst candies (wrapped in a plastic bag with a green ribbon
tying it)
green candle
green bath beads/salts
Choice and Accountability-Orange
Cheese/peanut butter crackers
Reeses candies
Orange nail polish
orange hand lotion (peach--travel size)
orange tic tacs
orange candle
orange bath bead
orange airhead candy
orange starburst candies
Good works-Yellow
yellow hair ties
yellow hair clips
yellow candle
yellow nail file
yellow starburst candies
yellow bath beads
yellow hand lotion
Purple-Integrity
purple candle
purple mirror keychain in flower shape
purple candies (dollar store)
purple airhead candy
purple nail polish
purple lip gloss
purple starburst candies
purple hand lotion
purple bath beads
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M&M'S-
Might, Mind and Strength
A few years ago I used an M&M's theme for personal progress. I
made a large poster stating:"7th Ward Young Women -Personal Progress
with all our Might, Mind and strength. I decorated around the edges
of the poster with large M&M's made out of conctruction paper in the
M&Ms colors. Then when a girl achieved a goal in that value I
gave her a small package of M&Ms that I had put in tissue paper(the
color of the value area) and tied with ribbon. It was a fun theme
and the poster/sign decorated our YW room for a year.
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Pie Night with
Parents
We didnąt have pie, but it is a great idea! We did do sort of a
Parent/Teacher Conference night with both the YM and the YW. We had
tables set up for each class where the parent and student would come and
visit with the leaders and advisors, seeing where they were on their PP
and making goals together to get something done. It was good to have
the parents see where their daughters, (or sons) were at with the program.
I think the parents get left out of the picture too much, even though we
emphasize the need for their help.
To Parents
Whatever it Takes..
We know we're awfully busy with activities galore,
Once again you see your daughter as she's going out the door!
Young Women, sports, and school, friends and meetings to attend,
Add a part-time job on top of these - it seems to never end!
These days are awfully busy with so many things to do,
Choices constantly are being made with decisions up to you.
We leaders of Young Women want you parents all to know,
How much we love your daughters and want to see them grow!
The program for young Women is inspired from above,
It's inspired by faithful leaders for Young Women who they love.
We need your love as parents with the many things we do,
But you see we're only just a bridge for the girls to come to you,
The parents are the anchor, the program just a way,
To bring Young Women back to Christ, we much start now, today..
For the adversary works overtime with snares on every side,
He delights in immorality and fosters unrighteous pride.
So while we may seem busy, it's the girls we're fighter for,
We cannot stop or slow our steps, we must do even more!
So thank you for your patience and your understanding heart,
With harmony between us we can all perform our part,
To bring His daughters home is the purpose of His plan,
With all of us united and our faith we surely can!
By Jolene Pugmire
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TOOT Sunday
Several years ago as a YW Pres I implemented in an idea I got from a
friend in Boise, Idaho. It's called: TOOT Sunday. At YW, on the
designated Sunday I set out a reminder sign: Today is "Toot
Sunday". It worked like this: On Sunday afternoon at a
designated time I would call the first girl on the list and say "I'm
coming" then drive to her home, pull into the driveway and
"toot" my car horn. The YW would come running out with her
PP book, hop in the car (passenger side) and we would review what she had
accomplished (sometimes they admit that they did nothing) then they would
get a pep talk or short testimony from me and discuss the next month's
goal. I wrote these goals (ones that she would set for herself with
my encouragement) on a cute note pad page to give to her as she leaves.
I spent only 10-15 min. on each girl. I would remind her which girl
she needed to call when she goes into her house to say! I was coming.
After she leaves the car, I quickly wrote down what she agreed to do (so I
could remember for next time). Then I drove to the next girl's house and
did the same thing. I did the Laurels and each of my counselor's did
their respective class level. The girls didn't mind reporting to
me... it was quick, painless and private. We had great success with
this method. (We did have a couple of girls that refused to do PP,
so I visited with them for the 15 min. and let the spirit guide me,
I still knew it was time well spent.
"P"
party - Personal Progress Pizza Pajama Party
We give prizes for the ones who comes with the most "P" items
on: pig tails, pony tails, pink, purple, plaid, polka-dots, nail Polish
(extra points if it is pink or purple), pearls, etc. Everyone brings their
PP books, a pizza topping, and an ice cream topping, and we all wear
pajamas. The girls really love this activity and it gets them excited to
work on their PP. Review Personal Progress with each girl.
PP is like lucky
charms
I also once did an object lesson as part of a PP talk for New Beginnings,
using a bowl of cereal - Lucky Charms. "How do you eat a bowl of
Lucky Charms? Gobble up all the marshmallow hearts, clovers, etc
first?" (I compared this to doing all the quickest easiest value
experiences at the beginning, then not being very excited about the less
sweet stuff still to come, perhaps even leaving a few soggy ones at the
bottom, that are difficult to choke down) and you can see where this is
going. For some reason we all relate to eating cereal.
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Apple Object Lesson
My counselor had a girl come to the front and hold an apple. She
asked what good was this apple if all she did was hold it in her hand.
Obviously not much good. You have to eat it to benefit from it.
She applied this to Personal Progress. It does no good sitting on
the shelf. You have to internalize it - to take it into your life.
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Kool-aid Object
Lesson
She had another GREAT object lesson on
Personal Progress. She had two containers of equal size, and a
Koolaid packet. She said each container represented a young woman.
She then asked the girls all they need to do to live the gospel.
Scripture study, prayer, etc.all the standard answers. As they named
each item, she poured a little Koolaid into each container, so that it was
even between the two. Both "young women" were doing all
these things. Then she brought out a small bag with sugar in it.
She said this represents Personal Progress. The difference between
the two girls was that one was doing Personal Progress and one was not.
She poured the sugar in one of the containers and shook it up, and asked
how each container would taste. Her whole point was that Personal
Progress was the "sweetness" - the final ingredient to make
everything blend together. She mentioned that no, you don't need to
do PP to attend the temple, that it was not one of the questions in a
temple recommend interview, but that it can add something to your life,
and it's what God wants his Young Women to do right now.
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BeeHive
day on Personal Progress
I used this activity last year. I was asked to do an activity at
Stake BeeHive day on Personal Progress. I started talking about the
changes PP has gone through over the years... the 1916 requirements, my PP
book of the 80's, the last one, and the newest one. Then did
the quiz (M&Ms work well) challenging them to choose an area right
then and start working on it that day. Then ended with how we can
unlock the "treasures" of heaven and the treasures in us as we
set and fulfill goals in PP. I gave them each a few of the Treasures
chocolates. I had a small fancy jewelry box that I had the chocolate
treasures in and overflowing as part of my display. I have been
asked to do this same activity again this year at Stake BeeHive day and
will incorporate another idea from the list... I will have two pitchers of
water ready to make unsweetened Kool-aid and make the kool-aid... one with
sugar and one without. The Kool-aid without sugar is the girl who
has done all the right stuff... can get temple recommend and get married
in the temple... the one with sugar is the girl who also
incorporated PP into her life... she's just a little sweeter and better
tasting to her future husband and family.
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Bubble gum game
...bubblegum activity in which the girls and their leaders answered sets
of questions about which PP goal they would be more likely to choose. They
selected a colored bubblegum ball that matched their answers (the gumballs
come in a big container at Costco -- we used the same gumballs for each
ward, but told the girls NOT to eat these gumballs - we separated out all
the pink ones and told the girls they could eat those gumballs). Here's a
typical example of the questions: Which PP goal would you more likely to
choose? Bear your testimony (take a white gumball) or baby-sit for free
(take a yellow gumball). When the sets of questions were finished,
everyone chose the color of gumballs they had the LEAST number of -- that
was the value they were to work on for the rest of the year until the
Worldwide Celebration.
Just ask them the questions and they take a gumball in the value color,
according to their answer. At the end, we will encourage them to pick a
project for YWIE according to the value that they had the LEAST amount of
gumballs. The idea is that if they only had 3 purple gumballs and 15 faith
gumballs, they need to work on integrity, so they would choose a project
in that value. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. The
idea was originally posted in August, 1999 by MGLinford1@aol.com.
I'm pretty sure she is still on this list, so maybe she has more
clarification for this. It sounds like a great idea and we're excited to
do it.
1. Which Personal Progress goal would you be more likely to choose?
a. Work to stop criticizing and or complaining. Take blue
b. Be selective about the TV programs you watch. Take orange
2. Which PP goal would you be more likely to choose?
a. Create a poem, story, article, or work of literature that illustrates a
gospel principle. Take green
b. Be selective about the TV programs you watch. Take orange
3.
a. Tutor a friend and help her understand her school work. Take yellow
b. Intentionally be a good influence on your friends. Take purple.
4.
a. Bear your testimony. Take white
b. Talk with your grandparents or an older LDS couple about qualities
needed for a successful, happy marriage. Take blue
5.
a. Baby sit for free. Take yellow
b. Make friends with someone who needs a friend. Take red
6.
a. Apologize to and do something nice for someone you made unhappy. Take
orange
b. Talk to your mother and/or other mothers about motherhood. Take blue
7.
a. Organize a family photo album. Take red
b. Participate in appropriate Sunday activities. Take orange
8.
a. Learn a new recipe. Take green
b. Give your honest opinion when someone asks. Take purple
9.
a. Read a New Era article. Take white
b. Watch a TV show on the effects of alcohol. Take green
10.
a. Help your family when asked, even if you don't feel like it. Take
orange
b. Help someone outside your family. Take yellow
11.
a. Get to bed on time. Take red
b. Stay up to finish a book report. Take green
12.
a. Forgive someone who hurt you. Take blue
b. Turn down an invitation to a party where a video of questionable
content will be shown. Take purple
13.
a. Give a family home evening lesson on a family problem. Take white
b. Give your sister a perm because she thinks her hair is ugly. Take red
14.
a. Be cheerful even when you don't get your way. Take orange
b. Buy the more modest dress, even though it is more expensive or less in
style. Take purple
15.
a. Read the scriptures 15 minutes. Take white
b. Help a brother or sister with homework. Take yellow
16.
a. Stop an argument. Take blue
b. Talk to an adult about some question you have. Take green
17.
a. Listen to a friend talk about his or her problems. Take red
b. Write a letter to a missionary or a friend who moved. Take yellow
18.
a. Learn or create something new for the fun of it. Take green
b. Clean your room as you promised you would. Take purple
19.
a. Invite a nonmember friend to a Sunday meeting. Take white
b. Do an extra job at home without being asked. Take purple
20.
a. Sing an uplifting song to chase away a bad thought or a bad mood. Take
blue
b. Try to make someone new feel welcome. Take yellow
21.
a. Admit to your dad or mom that he or she is right. Take purple
b. Pray for help to get along better with your dad or mom. Take white
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Pp shrinky dinks
I wanted to share an activity my daugher and I did last night - in the
back of the YW Fun-Tastic Personal Progress Motivators Book (by
Ross/Guymon-King) there are 7 quilt blocks that can be used to make a YW
value quilt. Well, instead, we traced them onto Shrinky Dink
plastic. Colored them the value colors, punched a hole in the top
and shrunk them. They turned out sooooo cool, about the size of
postage stamps.
We are trying to decide if we are going to make them into a cute little
charm bracelet or just put ribbon on the end and make neat little book
marks. 2 things I would do differently - figure out how to write the
value backwards so that when they shrink the "front" becomes the
"shiny" side. Also, round the edges, we left them square
and they are a little rough.
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"Choose
you this day
whom ye will
serve
but for me
and my
house we will
serve the Lord "
