Group Activity Ideas

Activity Group ideas

Here are some ideas for Activity Groups that might meet weekly or monthly. This was found on another Relief Society blog (HERE): If you like to use "titles" for your activities - here are some possibilities...

Pamper night: nails, feet, massage
Burn baby burn: computers and cd's
Angels among us: working closely with DI on projects
Sweet as Pie: making pies, pastries, etc
Celestial sisters: attend temple once a month
Eat your Wheaties: Food storage, recipes, organization, etc
It's Dirty work but someone's gotta do it: Housecleaning, tips, organization
Articles of Faith: memorize, tips to help children memorize, learn songs that go with them
Beach party/Spring Break: volleyball and light foods
Hooked on Reading: Book club- read and discussion
Share n' tear: Scrapbooking Blooming bulbs: gardening and yard work
Munch and Mingle: get together for lunch either at church, someone's home, or progressive dinner
Unfinished projects corner: self explanatory!
Blanket Brigade: making quilts...bring your own or come help others
One Dish Wonders: crock pot cooking
Ensign to the Nation: read and discuss current Ensign
Knead to Know Basics: bread making, rolls, specialty breads, etc
Tatt-a-tatt-tatt: crochet handkerchief
Cultural Night: productions at local theaters like symphony, plays, etc
Girls night out: go to a movie, dinner, sports, whatever with just the girls
American Idol: work on a talent or learn a new one
Tic Toc: Time management
Beyond the Pedigree Chart: writing your life history
Beauty shop Quartet: learn to sing or play an instrument
"me" time: What are my needs and how to make time for them
Quilting Bee
Park Pals - meet at parks with little ones to play while moms visit
Stroller stride - walk together while pushing the stroller

"Economical" Cooking Class ideas...

Hi Sisters;

I found this recipe on an enrichment website. It might be a fun idea once school starts, summer ends, and winter is around the corner. Perhaps you could invite older sisters to contribute their recipes they remember from those infamous Depression days - maybe even ask them to help present, or do a little "intro" for the class (before the demo, etc...) It would even be fun (if your group is small enough) to do this in a home, allowing everyone to help prepare the meal to share at the conclusion.

Depression Era Recipes

Preparedness Helps

MAIN DISH - Poor Man's Soup

1 soup bone
1 cup dry beans
2 cup tomatoes
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup diced potatoes
1/2 cup rice
1/3 cup gound beef
1/3 cup chopped onion
salt and pepper
1/8 tsp basil
Soak beans over ight and drain.
Simmer soup bone in 8 qts of water for several house. Add drained beans and simmer for 45 minutes. Fry beef and onion. Add to soup along with remaining ingredients and simmer for one hour. Serve with bisquits.

BREAKFAST - Pancakes From Scratch

1 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons cooking oil
Stir tegther dry ingredients. Make a well and add wet ingredients. Mix til moistened. Cook on hot griddle or skillet.
Makes 8-10 starde sized pancakes.
Serve with Applesauce or homemade berry jam, jelly or syrup.

BREAD - Baking Powder Bisquits

2 cups flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbls lard (shortening, butter etc.)
1 cup milk
Sift dry ingredients together. Cut in lard and add milk gradually. Mix to a smooth dough. Roll to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with bisquit cutter (or cup). Place on cookie sheet. Bake in quick oven. (400* for 8-10 mins).

DESSERT - Vintage WW1 Eggless, Milkless, Butterless Cake

1 cup water
2 cups raisins (Opt)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup lard (shortening)
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
Place water, raisins, cinnamon, cloves, brown sugar, lard (shortening), nutmeg and salt in a saucepan and mix. Place on heat and bring to a boil. Cook 3 minutes. Allow to cool, then sift together the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Stir into cooked mixture.Place in a greased loaf pan and bake at 350F for one hour.

Grandma's Brown Sugar Fudge

An old family recipe passed down for generations.

Ingredients
4 cups brown sugar, packed
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
Combine brown sugar & milk in saucepan, and stir until the sugar begins to dissolve.
Cook over medium-high heat until mixture reaches the “soft ball” stage (about 235 degrees).
Remove from heat, and add butter & vanilla.
Mix until smooth & creamy. Fudge will lose its shine and feel somewhat gritty on the bottom of the pot.
Pour into buttered 9 x 13 glass pan.
Let partially set and cut into squares.

7th Ward Relief Society Meeting Ideas

Julie George (counselor in the 7th Ward) sent these ideas in:

Plans from now till December:

We just had a Sisterhood and Salad in Heidi Martell's backyard.

We have a group called "Tapestry" coming in December for our Christmas Meeting.

We will have a craft meeting in the fall - our traditional Witches Night Out.

We have mid-month ideas of:

Playing baseball with the young women. (Great idea for YW Transition, don't you think?)

Hiking Ensign's Peak this fall after studying a different virtue each month for our presidency message.

Then we will post our flag with all of the virtues.

Thanks Julie! I'm sure she would be glad to "elaborate" on any of these if you have questions. (leave it in a comment and I'll forward it on to her...)

Pioneer Day is coming...

This is probably too MUCH too LATE, but maybe you can use this in your planning for next summer? I found this on the Visiting Teaching Tips blog (in the sidebar to the right...) Using some of these ideas in an enrichment activity might be a good lesson in "making do with what we have"...

Pioneer Recipes

To go to the links to find these pioneer recipes, you will need to copy and paste the link in the address bar. Enjoy your reading. Katie G.

You can find the following Pioneer Recipes by going to this link http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Friend/1975.htm/friend%20july%201975.htm/pioneer%20recipes.htm?fn=document-frame.htm&f=templates&2.0

Buttermilk Doughnuts-“Pioneer Recipes,” Friend, July 1975, 40 (President Brignam Young enjoyed this pastry)
Apple Candy
Bread and Milk - President Wilford Woodruff often enjoyed this.
Old-Fashioned Muffins - Horseshoe Cookies
Johnnycake - A favorite dish of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Washboard Cookies
Toasted Spicecake
Pioneer Hardtack
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Homemade Butter - I found this cute blog that shows the process for making homemade butter in a jar. go to http://crunchychickencooks.blogspot.com/2008/02/handmade-butter.html

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I found a cute cookbook that you can read portions of it online called "Log Cabin Cooking" and you can find it at this link http://books.google.com/books?id=B-RtAYTwJ1sC&dq=Pioneer+Recipes&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=FGTRVaeAoK&sig=BZjRvHZf9UCAhzj4vs3qJXkQg5U&hl=en&ei=gf1QSoe5A4WosgPRp9CqDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10

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Pioneer Soap
106 ounces rendered fat, or tallow, or combination of both
14 ounces lye
41 ounces cold water
NOTE - If you use rendered kitchen fat you may opt to add fragrance to minimize the cooking odors.

If you want a variety of other types of soap recipes go to http://waltonfeed.com/old/old/soap/soapreci.html

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You can find more of the Pioneer Recipes found below by going to this link: http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Friend/1978.htm/friend%20july%201978.htm/pioneer%20recipes.htm?fn=document-frame.htm&f=templates&2.0

Honey Candy
Pioneer Lettuce Salad
Rice in Cream
Molasses Candy

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Even More Pioneer recipes found at this link: http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Friend/1993.htm/friend%20july%201993.htm/kitchen%20krafts.htm?fn=document-frame.htm&f=templates&2.0

Nauvoo Ginger Cookies
Homemade Butter
Old-Fashioned Pickles

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Now if all these Pioneer recipes aren't enough for you, then go to the following link and you will find all kinds of recipes and even more fun things. thttp://waltonfeed.com/old/old/index.html

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Yet even some more recipes that you have not yet seen go to http://www.footnote.com/page/1782_mormon_pioneer_cooking/

Women to Women Service Project Idea

Hello Sisters;
I stumbled on this idea as I was browsing one of my favorite RS blogs... I thought it looked like it would have possibilities for an enrichment evening in a ward (or stake)... I found the idea on this blog... http://debbieraymond.blogspot.com/2009/04/blog-post_18.html

Thought this may be of help to get your creativity going...


This event started with our desire to have a Saturday of nice Relief Society service projects like quilts and baby bibs - easy things that everyone likes to do. We recruited a sister (I've blocked their names in case they don't appreciate this being "circulated") to be the project chairman and she had some fun plans. We went to the Humanitarian Center for materials and they offered us a huge project - not something cute like we had in mind, but a pilot program called Feminine Hygiene Kits. Our job was to make the reusable cloth sanitary pads and holders that would be included in a kit and sent to third world countries where women and teenage girls have no products like we have for their monthly period. We learned that the women end up staying at home and missing work and school during one week of every month. Several international relief agencies are working on ways to help with this problem. This Feminine Hygiene Kit is in a drawstring bag and includes four pair of underpants, 16 cloth sanitary pads, 4 holders for the pads, nail clippers and a ziplock baggie. Our assignment was to sew 800 holders and 1600 pads. At first I was overwhelmed and almost said no. We had a meeting and our food chairman for the event, Karen Wood, encouraged me that there would be no project more satisfying and fulfilling that helping other women in this regard. My counselors and chairman jumped in with enthusiasm and started advertising and recruiting help. Once we explained this project to women in our area, they got excited and eager to be part of it. We also made three quilts and eight 'hugs,' which I can't explain but I'll get a photo sometime soon.

Our food chairman and her committee fixed a beautiful brunch of roasted vegetable frittata; green salad with dressing, craisins, and sugared almonds; homemade whole wheat bread; homemade (yesterday by xxxx) strawberry jam; and an assortment of cookies and fruit. It was absolutely delicious. Everyone loved it and in between sewing or quilting, they enjoyed sitting and visiting over fabulously-prepared food.