Candy Cars for Dads

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Hi,
we are getting ready for the Daddy Daughter (pinewood) Derby in two weeks, but you could do this activity for Father's  Day in June and make cards and race cars for the Dad's that say "You're a Winner!"  This could fulfill the Faith in God requirement to write a letter of appreciation to someone.

For the activity, we had a "racing" theme.  I talked to the girls about the Kentucky Derby, "the most exciting two minutes in all of sports" and about what a thoroughbread is.  Then I shared Marvin J Ashton's story "He's a thoroughbred" in my own words.  There is a horse that is trained to go to his master when he hears a bell no matter what the circumstances.  We talked about "the Master" being the Lord.  I had them think up things that might be "bells" in our lives and things that might tempt us to ignore the bell.  In the the story the horses are tested with a three day fast to see if they will choose water or their master.  If they choose their master they are a "thoroughbred" otherwise they are a cull.  The girls wanted to know how many horses passed the water test.  We talked about how the arabian horses were famous for being obedient and how the girls in our class can become well known for the same trait.

For the activity, the girls colored invitations for their Dad's to the Daddy Daughter Date and then they each made three teddy graham race cars.  I used royal icing with a couple tablespoons of cocoa powder for the glue.  You could use something else, but royal icing (eggwhite, cream of tarter, powder sugar) hardens up QUICK so it was easier for the girls to finish their cars and take them home without the wheels falling off.

We made our teddy graham cars with milky way bars and m&m's, but the picture above has cuter colors, are those skittles?  Anyway, any round candy would work...

Summertime Activities for Activity Day Girls

The last few years, we've had a terrible time holding activity days in the summer.  The attendance is often terrible.  Our stake leaders suggested fewer activities, but doing fieldtrips to draw more participation.  We did this activity on a Saturday morning right after the fathers & sons got home from the annual Father/Sons (11am), so lots of people were in town.  Also the girls were so happy to go in the mountains since their Dads and brothers got to.

It was our best activity ever and had great attendance.

(this could be a father/daugher or mother/daughter or it could be used for the "plan an activity" goal if the girls plan out the details like who to invite, when, where, lesson, etc)  We met at my house with four leaders and about 12 girls (and two babies) and had a lesson on appreciating Heavenly Father's creations.  Each girl brought a potluck trail mix ingredient and we mixed it in a giant bowl and put it in ziplocs.  We left about 30 minutes after gathering and drove 30 minutes to the trailhead.  We were on the trail about an hour  to an hour and a half.  Our hike was super short (.3 miles) to a waterfall.  The older girls wished they could have hiked farther, but had fun playing in the water.  I thought this was a good starter hike for 8 year old girls.  Overall it was a 3 hour activity.  We are going to a free art museum with a children's exhibit in July (Developing Talents) and doing water games in August (we'll probably do a My Gospel Standards lesson with that one) and then back to a regular schedule when school starts.  Oh, and you can find the required church permission slips for field trips on LDS.org.  Be sure to bring a first-aid kit, benadryl, sunblock, and extra water etc just in case!