Study helps in Spanish

Ok, so just in case you are dying to try memorizing "The Living Christ" in Spanish -- come on, you know you are! -- here's the link to the Spanish memory helps. Good luck!

"The Living Christ" in Spanish for 2011

Well, we finally finished memorizing "The Living Christ" just in time for Christmas. It was such a great experience, that this year, we've decided to try to memorize "The Living Christ" in Spanish: "El Cristo Viviente."

The kids have been studying Spanish at school, and though it's been too many years ago to count, I studied it at BYU once upon a time. Simon, however, has only studied French, so he'll be at a disadvantage. Nevertheless, we think memorizing "The Living Christ" will be a great family project! I plan to work on some study helps in Spanish to helps us out. Wish us luck!

"The Living Christ" presentation

We did it! It's been a lot of work over the past 12 weeks, but we managed to memorize "The Living Christ" by Christmas Eve. It was such a great experience to go to grandma and grandpa's house on Christmas Eve and recite "The Living Christ" for them! The kids did great!@

This project has turned out to be a great blessing to our family. We feel like our children have really internalized the messages in "The Living Christ" and can use what they have learned to bear testimony of Christ and describe who he is and what he means to them. The memorization part was easier than we thought it would be, too!

For Family Home Evening in 2011, we are going to let the kids take turns choosing a section from "The Living Christ" and giving a short lesson about it. We are also going to choose background scriptures to memorize together, too. For example, For "Under the direction of his Father, he was the creator of the Earth..." we will memorize a scripture about the creation.

We can't wait to get started!

I'm so excited!

I'm so excited about something! A dear friend of mine, who (sadly) lives in another state now, called today to tell me that she and her children used some of the "Living Christ" visuals to....decorate the Christmas tree!

They printed the "Review Sheets" onto white cardstock and cut them out. Then they punched holes and used silver and red ribbon to hang them on the tree. With a few white lights and some more red ribbon, the tree looks great! I'll post pics when I get them!

Eight more days!!

OK, only eight more days until Christmas and we've got quite a lot more memorizing to go! We got a little behind after Thanksgiving. Sigh... But, we aren't giving up. This week we are redoubling our efforts to memorize the last few passages and we're determined to succeed!

I was so proud of my four year old and eight year old last week, who each gave a talk in Primary and recited what they had learned so far from "The Living Christ."

Can I tell you how rewarding it is to hear the kids occassionally talking to themselves around the house saying things like, "He walked the roads of Palestine..." or "Under the direction of His Father, he was the creator of the earth..."

Practice, practice, practice!

With just a few weeks to go until Christmas, and "The Living Christ" passages getting longer, we are finding the need to practice what we have already memorized (A LOT). Our strategies that seems to be working are:

• Using the large pictures with words in a "flip chart" (I put them in a 3-ring binder) and reading/reciting from the beginning to the newest part we are learning -- this helps guide those of us who haven't memorized quite so far and ensures that we are saying the right words rather than paraphrasing.
• Letting one of the kids get a chance each day to recite what they know in family scripture study. This encourages us all to keep working (especially mom and dad!).
• Making videos! It is so fun for the kids to film each other - and guess what? They keep saying a section over and over to get it "perfect" for the video. GREAT!
• Using spare moments to recite -- below is a video of Leah reciting while waiting for the bus in the morning.

December is here!

Setting up the Christmas tree. "Santa" came
for an early visit this year! LOL.

Well, December is here, and somehow we are still on schedule with our memorizing. We are finding that Sunday is the best time for the kids to really focus on looking ahead at the week's memorization assignment.

They love the review sheets that have 12 pictures with the text for four weeks. It let's them memorize the current week in context with what they have learned before.

In case you are downloading the memorization helps week by week, I've just posted the rest of them + the review sheets with words, with only keywords, and with pictures only. You can download them for practicing what you've learned so far!

Encouragement from the trenches

I must admit, this week didn't go as well as we had hoped on the memorization front. We were slightly derailed by a combination of Halloween and a flu bug. But, I was so encouraged by emails from other families who are memorizing - hopefully you will be too!

From Lisa F.:
Our Experience:  It has been amazing to see my children have the ability to memorize this.  I am so glad we took on this challenge.  My 10 year old has it memorized to perfection (so far) and often corrects me and his Father as we work on it.  My 6 year old is doing great also, she requires a little more prompting, however, when she cant remember the exact words she substitutes them with her own words that mean the same thing!  That is more important than the exact words because it shows she is comprehending what we are learning.  For Grandmas and Grandpas Christmas gift this year we will recite “The Living Christ” to them. I know they will value that experience.

Our Method: We do most of our memorizing at the table.  We run through it a few times each time we sit down and eat.  The papers are in an easel on our dining table so we can see them easily.  We have the review sheet taped beside their beds and we review them as we tuck them in at night.  We do this for 2 reasons, it helps invite the spirit in their room to watch over them as they sleep and their minds will continue to work on the words as they sleep helping them commit the words to memory.  We also print out a review sheet to take to church so they can review it during the sacrament.

From Dana P.:
I was likewise touched by the article in the Ensign Bringing Christ into our Home. I was so excited by the prospect of being able to memorize the Living Christ as a family and especially during the weeks leading up to Christmas. Rochelle made it so easy to do. She compiles all the "helps" for the week. I print them off and post them in various areas of the home. We have some going up the stairs (we all have to recite whenever we are going up or down) I put more in each bathroom (we recite every time we wash our hands or brush our teeth) I put a copy in the youngest children's bedroom (actually stapled to the underside of the bunk bed so my youngest looks up from his bed and sees it there), and we recite it before we have family prayer, and sometimes at meals. I have been so pleased at how easy it has been to memorize. The children are reciting the words while doing every day things. And it really sticks!! My 5 year old has memorized more than I even expected. We have challenged all of our extended family to memorize it with us!

From Chelsea W.:
We are on week two.  I like the small little cards you produced.  We often review them at the breakfast or dinner time.  I printed out the notebooking pages for my daughter to practice her handwriting and hopefully learn the words too.  The consistency is the key that is why going over it at meal time seems to work well...we always have to eat!  As we have mastered the first week, the kids are excited to highlight in yellow pen that part of the Living Christ.  The goal is to get it all done by Christmas time and then go to Oakland Visitors Center and see a beautiful photography exhibit on display there now called "Reflections of Christ"--a compelling exhibit depicting the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

Doing well at weeks 1-4

We are done learning weeks 1-4. The three older kids are remembering what they have learned and having fun filming each other reciting. This is great because it means they are practicing to get it perfect before they film! I love it!

Here's Alexander, age 11.

"Causing the blind disease..."

Our four-year-old: "He walked the streets of Palestine, healing the sick, and causing the blind disease..."

(Hmmmm...I think we'd better reteach this section! LOL)

Moving on to week four

Reviewing!
Well, the kids are learning quicker than mom and dad, so we are ready to move on to week four. If you are following the twelve week schedule to Christmas, you may still be on week three, but feel free to move at your own pace. I have a feeling we will slow down in mid-November when the passages are longer!

I printed a review sheet for the kids to take to church this week that had weeks 1-4 on it. We had learned 1-3, but week 4 was new, and I thought that looking at it during church would give them a head start in becoming familiar with it for the week. Well, to my surprise (I should stop being surprised!), the oldest three kids (13, 10, 8), had week four memorized by the time sacrament was over!

During church, I was busy walking the halls with the baby, and I took our four-year-old with me so that he wouldn't be disruptive without me sitting next to him. As we walked around the halls, I would say a line from "The Living Christ" and let him repeat it. He thought it was great fun, and it did help pass the time (reverently) until the end of sacrament. In the car on the way home, he pulled out the review sheets I had made for the older kids and pointed to the pictures and started reciting! He's part way through weeks 1-3!

Week three is going well!

Week three is here! The kids are learning very quickly. Most surprising, though, is that our four year old is learning too! During family scripture study, he is usually quiet or not paying attention (so we thought) while we recite. Today he surprised me: I caught him outside playing and talking to himself. When I moved closer to hear what he was saying, I heard, "As we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ two millennia ago..."

I couldn't believe it! He's learning!

Quiet books for sacrament meeting

Sacrament quiet books:
Try printing the set of small pictures, cut them out and fastening them with a ring to make a booklet. My kids love taking these to church. They are perfect to look at during sacrament and remind the children about the life of the Savior. We used a ring that can easily be opened and closed so that we can add to the book as the weeks go along.

(I recommend laminating them for longer wear.)

One week down, eleven more to go!

Well, here we are at week two! I posted the small pictures for week two up on the bathroom wall along with the poster from week one. We continued to recite/read sections one and two every day during family scripture study. I wasn't sure how well the kids were doing until one night I overhead my eight year old reciting it in the bathtub - she had been "soaking" and reading the poster on the bathroom wall. When she got out, she declared, "I can say it all!" Here she is reciting the first two weeks.

Leah, age 8

We're doing great!

At the end of week one, we had a break through! I took the sheet with the four small pictures and the text for week one to sacrament meeting and the kids studied it while keeping quiet in church. By the end of church, the oldest three (ages 13, 10, 8) had it all memorize.

Now it's time for mom and dad to catch up!

Week one is underway

We are busy print and preparing our study helps for week one of memorizing "The Living Christ." This week we are learning:

"As we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ two millennia ago, we offer our testimony of the reality of His matchless life and the infinite virtue of His great atoning sacrifice. None other has had so profound an influence upon all who have lived and will yet live upon the earth.”

The kids are excited to memorize. We challenged grandma, grandpa, and an uncle to do it with us, and they agreed! Hurray, we've got company!

We've put the posters with small pictures up on the bathroom wall. We are going to try to read the text for week one during family scripture study every day and see how well it goes.

Here's our four year old who has started memorizing:

The memorization helps

The (hopefully helpful) Study Materials for memorizing "The Living Christ" are ready to download at www.discoverthescriptures.com/livingchrist.

I've divided the text of "The Living Christ" into eleven parts - one part to memorize each week for eleven weeks and one week to review before Christmas. The materials for each week include an 8.5" x 11" poster with text to memorize for the week, copy work (for those of you who love to write!), four 8.5" x 11" picture posters with matching text, and four small picture cards with pictures and text. Also included are a set of small picture cards with keywords only (rather than the full text) to help you review once you've learned the material.
You can download them FREE at www.discoverthescriptures.com/livingchrist.

If your family is memorizing, post a note on our Facebook page!

The challenge to memorize "The Living Christ

The Inspiration

"The Living Christ"

Today I read an article from the September 2010 Ensign called "Bringing Christ into Our Home." In the article, Cynthia Green describes how she and her family (including kids from ages 4-11) made it a family project to memorize "The Living Christ" together.

As the family worked, over a period of four months, to accomplish this great task, they saw many blessings come to them for their effort. Cynthia writes, "Family prayers became more meaningful because the children gave more thought to Him in whose name they were praying. The Spirit filled our home. We felt like Nephi when he wrote, 'We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ' (2 Nephi 25:26). Our home became a place of greater peace."

Wow! I began to wonder if my family could do it, too. So, we talked about it in Family Home Evening and decided to set a goal to memorize "The Living Christ" together as a family before Christmas (which is twelve weeks away). We've even talked Grandma, Grandpa, and an uncle into to doing it with us!

The Plan
To help us succeed in our goal, I've divided "The Living Christ" into 44 small sections and we are going to try to memorize four sections a week, giving us a week or so to review along the way and still finish by Christmas. I'm taking Cynthia's idea of using pictures to go along with small sections - to give us a visual clue of the passage we are trying to remember.

So - why not join us? Twelve weeks, 716 words, one great experience!

At www.discoverthescriptures.com/livingchrist, you can download FREE study helps for your family, including posters, pictures, and copy work. We plan to post the pictures on the frig and in the kids' rooms and bathrooms so they can see them often and repeat the words throughout the week. In family scripture study and at family prayer, we'll repeat the sections for the week.
    
Cynthia wrote of her family's experience, "Our family finished memorizing 'The Living Christ' the following Easter. It was the greatest four-month experience we have ever had. Even though the project is over, I know the effects of what we learned can remain with each family member for the rest of our lives." I hope that our family (and yours!) has a similar experience memorizing the words of the prophet and apostles as they testify of Christ. What could be better than that?

Visit www.discoverthescriptures.com/livingchrist
for more information and FREE study helps for your family. We hope you will take our challenge to memorize this important testimony with your family. You can do it!

As you memorize, feel free to post updates and successes on our Facebook page. It's a great way to encourage each other!