Whew! Back on Track!

Wahoo! Our blog is back on track!!!!

I had some technical difficulties with the blog, so between that and a lack of time to work on it, the regular weekly post hasn't happened for several weeks.

But... have no fear! We're back to share what is happening in our early morning seminary class filled with amazing high school students who get up before the sun does so that they can come and study the Old Testament. Did I mention these students are a-maz-ing?!?

Let me show you highlights of their a-maz-ing-ness with a few visual treats of some of the experiences we have had in class as we have studied Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph (who faced his trials with incredible strength), Moses and the Israelites, and so much more! You'll see that no matter what we study, in our class there is always....

A-Lotta Learning Going On!

Things We Learn From Reading Exodus





Along with all of the learning that takes place in class, we also take time to celebrate each other with Birthday Bash days that are filled with fun, laughs, candy, and mad dancing skillz....




You can find even more great stuff in our class Filing Cabinet.

Check out these updates in The Filing Cabinet: Photo Gallery (several new albums AND updates in the Random Pictures have been added), Videos, Important Class Information (updates for Term 2 added), We Love Breakfast (December days added), Announcements and more.


Thanks for visiting our blog! Now that we're back on track, come back and visit again soon!

What a Week!

Whew! This was a whirlwind of a week filled with great things!

First of all, some quick class business. Term 1 ends October 31, and the deadline for all makeup work is October 28. Please check the updated Student Accountability Card for specific details on exactly what students do to earn their grade for the term.

Now, on to the great things from this week!


Highlight # 1 = An I RED Celebration!
(I RED = our "I Read Every Day" program)

Root beer floats are a great part of breakfast - especially to celebrate the successful progress students have made in their independent daily reading of the scriptures.

Students with 10 - 19 days of independent scripture reading in September included Poolside, Madsters, Dandelion, kTee, Beiber, and JesseJ.

Students with 20 - 29 days of independent scripture reading in September included Trouble, JDawg, Jarmo, and The Colbinator.

And our Extreme Team player that read ALL 30 DAYS in September... Mouse!!!

I know that reading our scriptures every day isn't always easy 'cuz life is so busy, but I also know that Heavenly Father blesses for making the time, even if we only read a few verses a night.




Highlight #2 = D-A-SH, Punch It, and Fakebook... what?

We participated in some fun learning activities this week as we focused on what we can learn from the Lord's prophets.

Our video highlights each of these activities:



Our Fakebook pages that we created highlight people and things we learned about in the Old Testament. Check them out here.



Finally, don't forget to read the Announcements for this coming week and enjoy your long weekend (remember, we don't have class on Monday because it is a school holiday for FWISD).



Oh, a couple of last thoughts to share from this week...

First: the Lord knows what He's doing... trust Him and:




Second: when the Prophet of the Lord speaks to us, we should listen or else we could miss something important:



Have a great weekend. See you Tuesday!

Why It Matters

Wasn't General Conference great! So many great messages! So many great talks! So many inspiring moments! The talks are already available at the Church website for anyone to listen to or view, just click here!


So, because I spent the weekend enjoying the messages shared during each session of General Conference, this post is going up later than intended, but here are some spotlights from seminary last week. Enjoy!


Highlight #1: Why It Matters

We really focused on why the scriptures we are reading and study matter, meaning: Why are they important to Heavenly Father and why should they be important to us.


We made connections to why certain things in our lives are important to us personally:

Why It Matters to Me - 1 Thing

Why seminary is important:

Why It Matters to Me - Seminary

And most importantly, why Jesus Christ is important:

Why It Matters to Me - Jesus Christ


We also spent time discovering why the 25 scriptures selected for this year's list of scripture mastery verses are important as well and enjoyed participating in a favorite activity called BRING IT, which helps us become more familiar with these scriptures (in a fun and somewhat messy way!):




Highlight #2: We enjoyed celebrating Madsters birthday with a creative congo circle dance bash!

Speaking of Madsters... check out the new page on this blog called "In the Spotlight" and see the video highlighting her!

This new page will change regularly to spotlight one of our awesome Extreme Team players, our #1 Fans, or other people who play an important role in our seminary experience this year, so make sure to check it out often!


Oh, and don't forget to read the Announcements for this week! There are important things there like: no class on Tuesday!

Have an awesome week!

God's Plan

This week included great activities and discussion about Heavenly Father's plan, including:

the Creation of the earth

the creation of man in the image of God
(Scripture Mastery = Genesis 1:26-27)

the Fall of Adam and the importance of that decision

the role of Jesus Christ's Atonement (the greatest gift we have been given!).


Read reflections from the students about God's Planbelow (you can view it fullscreen):

God's Pan (Sept 23, 2011)


We also enjoyed working on scripture mastery with these fun activities:

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin' = a team competition that changes each round

Rhyme Time = using rhymes to help us remember what the scripture mastery verses teach (click here to download the rhymes)

Freeze Frame = a team challenge to portray a scripture with one picture pose (check out the video below).....

Other highlights from the week included:

Sharing Goals and Good Things - but you had to find your partner first using animal sounds only! (What sound does a bird make, Dandelion?)




Celebrating Trouble's birthday and watching KT and Colbinator bust out some quality moves for our Birthday Dance Bash! (Too bad the camera wasn't rolling!).



What a great week of learning!


FYI - several things have been updated or added in The Filing Cabinet, so check out:

Announcements (Sept 26 - Sept 30)

The Photo Gallery (Random Shots, Extreme Team, and Table Shuffle)

Video Page (collection of our class videos)

We Love Breakfast (October Breakfast Assignments)

Important Class Info (Required Reading for Term 1)

OT Scripture Mastery (Rhyme Time Phrases)

Oh yeah, did you notice our new page at the top called: "Meet the Extreme Team?" It includes snapshots of each class member, their nickname, and a blurb about one of the strengths they bring to our class.