Preparing for your Adventure

I had a hard time in the beginning. I didn't know what was required of me and I often felt as if I were in the midst of chaos those first couple months. It didn't help that the binder I got from the previous leader only had a couple handouts from previous activities and a more than year old outdated phone list in it (yikes!!!). There was also little to no planning ahead of time and activities were often planned very close to the day they were to happen. I CAN NOT WORK LIKE THAT!!! I am an organization nut. I need to plan ahead and I need to know that things are taken care of. I also found that there wasn't a whole lot out there in the way of helping me organize my binder for what I needed. So…I made what I needed myself. And now I am going to share it with you.

First you will need a few links to some of the things I use quite a bit for my papers, handouts, invites, etc.
1) you will need the font I use on most of my binder papers:
     http://www.1001freefonts.com/always_in_my_heart.font
2) the website above has lots of other really cute fonts that I use as well. Browse and find stuff you like and use it. It makes for really awesome handouts.
3) Clip art: there are 2 places I go the most for this. Some stuff is free and some you have to pay for but I found that even the stuff I pay for is well worth the investment.
    a) http://melonheadzillustrating.blogspot.com
    b) http://www.djinkers.com
4) I use a lot of digital scrapbook paper. You can find links to quite a few free ones on http://www.pinterest.com/  just search for free digital scrapbook paper.

And now for what is in my binder:
1) Your job as an Activity Days Leader (from the church handbook)
   https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6-SGz_Y1u-jQXJHbTdkSWExbzQ/edit?usp=sharing
2) Phone list template
   https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6-SGz_Y1u-jTTVZZWV4UVpIX1E/edit?usp=sharing
3) Activity planning sheet template
   https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6-SGz_Y1u-jcm83SVpnbmY0ekE/edit?usp=sharing
4) Faith in God Award check off list (so you can keep track of where each girl is at)
   https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6-SGz_Y1u-jMC0wQ3FzbU0ybmc/edit?usp=sharing
5) Attendance sheet
   https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6-SGz_Y1u-jSXBBeEc1cWdGaTA/edit?usp=sharing
6) Calendar (you will have to make up your own)
7) Binder cover and spine (you can edit the ward info) print on 11x17 paper
   https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6-SGz_Y1u-jNXk4QmJhTDZJNmM/edit?usp=sharing
8) If you ever go on a field trip, you will need to have one of these for each girl
   https://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/english/pdf/callings/young-men/parental-permission-medical-release.pdf?lang=eng

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What is the Activity Days Program?

If you are new to the program, it helps to have someone break it down for you. In the Activity Days Program, girls ages 8-11 are working toward earning their Faith in God award. In order to get their award they must complete 8 goals in each of 3 areas (this breaks down to 2 goals in each area per year):
1) Learning and Living the Gospel
2) Serving Others
3) Developing Talents
Most of the activities should be geared toward passing off one of these goals.
When the girls turn 11 years old, they should begin working on their goals for Preparing for Young Women. These goals are done on their own with the guidance of leaders and parents.
They are also required to memorize the 13 Articles of Faith and write out their testimony. Daily scripture study is encouraged as well.

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Modern Pioneers

Last summer we did the traditional Pioneer Day stuff and it was fun…but this year we wanted to go a different route. We decided to talk about modern pioneers and why they are important. While trying to figure out what to do for that, I remembered going to the Exploratorium in San Francisco as a kid. If any place could teach a kid about modern pioneers it is there. If you have never been, it is so much fun yet very educational.
Link to their site: http://exploratorium.edu

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