TRANSLATION ACTIVITY: Print Matthew 3:13-17 on a sheet of paper, leaving blank lines beneath each line of text. Make a copy for each child. Ask them to “translate†the passage into modern English. You may need to help them with the meaning of words such as forbad, suffer, straightway, lo, lighting, etc. This activity should help the children better understand the meaning of this important passage.
SINGING ACTIVITY: Sing “Baptism†(Children’s Songbook, p. 100). Show a picture of Jesus’ baptism. Ask questions to help the children learn everything they can about baptism from this picture. Sing “When Jesus Christ Was Baptized†(Children’s Songbook, p. 102) and have them share what took place at the Savior’s baptism that is not shown in the picture. Also have the children share how their baptism is similar to and different from the Savior’s. Share your feelings about the significance of your own baptism. Sing “When I Am Baptized†and “The Fourth Article of Faith†(Children’s Songbook, pp. 103 and 124 respectively).
VISUAL AIDS: “The Baptism of Jesus Christ,†Friend, Aug. 1999, contains pictures of Jesus’ baptism that could be used as puppets, flannel board figures, puzzles, etc.
“BAPTISMâ€: The word translated as “baptize†comes from a Greek word that originally meant ‘to dip in dye.’ Bring a small container of water that has been dyed with food coloring or fabric dye. Also bring a small piece of white fabric (or paper). Show the children how the character of the paper is changed when it is dipped/baptized in the colored water. Explain that through baptism, we can become as pure and clean as the water that we are baptized in.
PENNY ACTIVITY: You will need: tarnished pennies (or one per child), a pitcher of water, a glass, a shiny penny, vinegar, a tablespoon and paper towels. Have the children look at their dirty, tarnished pennies and then compare it to the shiny penny. Have them drop their pennies into the vinegar and stir for 10 seconds. Talk about how clean and shiny the penny is now. The shiny penny represents how God wants our lives to be. Baptism makes it possible for our sins to be forgiven and our “tarnish†removed. After baptism, we are as clean as a shiny penny.
Thank you, Julie. I will be using some of these things for Primary next Sunday.
Thank you. I love your ideas
We tried this today–with amazing success! Our eight year olds loved putting pennies in vinegar. We let them hold their own individual cups, which kept their hands busy so they weren’t poking each other. Even the child who is autistic was able to do it, and he paid attention for the entire lesson–a rarity.
I wonder what the ward who uses the room after us will make of the lingering science fair smell from the vinegar…
Thanks so much for posting your ideas! One boy said this was the best lesson he’s ever had! We’re looking forward to next week’s sock throw.
Thanks for the kind words, all.
Thank you for the wonderful tips. I was excited to find the penny activity and tried it on my own. I did not think vinegar alone really cleaned the penny so did some research and found the following page: http://www.cruftbox.com/cruft/docs/cleaningcopper.html. In short the page showed that vinegar alone does not clean pennies but the combination of salt and vinegar together does a great job. I tried it with awesome results! For my lesson I compared the vinegar to water or the act of being baptism and salt to the priesthood. Both are necessary to be baptized and niether alone works to clean the penny. Again thanks for this idea. I am sure my visual learners will remember this activity.