A St Patrick's Day FHE idea

St Patrick’s Day-Where your treasure is... (i.e. Pot o’gold)

Song: Choose the Right #239

Scripture: Matthew 6:21

Lesson: Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Have a small bowl full of pretend or chocolate coins; label it “Celestial Kingdom”. Also have a piece of ribbon that looks like a rainbow (to be your rainbow.) Use either other pots or simple paper pots and label them “Terrestrial Kingdom” and “Telestial Kingdom.” Have a piece of ribbon for each pot. Get a stack of papers (sticky notes work well) and write different good or bad choices on them, such as: go to church, marry in the temple, read scriptures, drink alcohol, skip school, bully others, tell the truth, cheat, steal, etc...
Talk about the choices we make leading us to our treasure. As you talk about different choices, good or bad we will make in our lives, let the children place the choices on the rainbow leading to the appropriate pot of gold. Explain that in the end if we want to be in the Celestial Kingdom we will make the choices that will lead us there. Label each of the coins with blessing we will recieve in the celestial kingdom such as: forever family, eternal marriage, eternal increase (children), live with Heavenly Father, create worlds without end, etc...

Activity: Using a pot, bean bags, and a target in rainbow colors have a bean bag toss competition. If you have time, make "gold coin" bean bags using circles of yellow felt and beans or rice as filling, a black pot/cauldron for the center of your target and color the rest of the target in rainbow rings. Take turns throwing the bag different ways or aiming for different rings of the rainbow for older kids.

Dessert: Mint Chocolate chip ice cream (get the green kind) with a gold coin in it (use the chocolate ones from the lesson)

Pass Around Story

For Family Night tonight Alyssa was in charge of the activity. She wanted everyone to write a story. Since we have 3 little kids, 2 of which don't read, I suggested that we all write one story together. This is what came of it.

A-Once there was a little penguin. His name was Pecker and he was a prince.

D- One day Pecker was outside looking at the stars. he was a shooting star. He made a wish.

M-Then Pecker went home to see if his wish would come true. He walked into his castle and everything looked the same. But Pecker kept walking for find his wish.

A- He had wished for his sister's tiara to come back because it had been stolen by a vampire in the night time.

D- When he got to his sister's room he didn't see the tiara. Instead he found a map to the vampire's lair.

M- "I guess this isn't going to be as easy as I thought." said Pecker. So he got his sword of faith and shield of courage and he set out for the vampire's lair.

A- On his way to the lair he got tangled up in some vines! His hands were all tangled so he couldn't use his sword. Instead he used his sharp beak to break free!

D- Then he found the vampire. The vampire penguin attacked! Just then, Pecker's shield reflected the sun at the vampire and the vampire turned dust!

M- Prince Pecker quickly searched the lair and found his sister's tiara. He rushed back to the castle and put it under her pillow. When she woke up she was surprised to find it there. At breakfast she old her family about the surprise. When she asked her brother if he kew where it came from, all he replied was, "I wished for it on a falling star" and smiled to himself.

The End

Isn't that the best story you've ever read? When we were done Alyssa drew pictures, but told us we had told the story wrong and tried to explain all the ideas she had in her head. We're going to have to teach her about this concept a little more I think.