This is a request for all of you creative people out there. I have been the Enrichment Counselor in our ward for the last 10 months and have enjoyed it and not-so-much enjoyed it all at the same time. I do like it and I want to do a good job, I just hate having to plan things for everyone....it is so much pressure! What if they don't like it? What if they think our activity is totally lame and wish they were home in their pjs watching whatever their kids are watching rather than being here? What if no one shows up? (which has happened) What if? What if? What if? Ya know?
Anyway, I am under the direction of a new RS president and I am re-excited (is that a word?) However, my committee has all but moved, my enrichment leader is getting ready to move and as of right now, I am flying solo. What is a girl to do? This is where all you come in! If anyone has any ideas that their ward did and they liked, please pass them on. I would love to know and be able to pass on to my new enrichment leader whenever she is called. Really, any suggestion is a good suggestion in my book. Even if I don't know you, please leave a comment, I would love to have the help. Thank you.
One more thing, do any of you attend the mini-groups in your ward? Which ones are you favorite? Book group sisters....any favorite books? Thanks again!
8 comments:
Hey its Amber- So guess what-I'm an enrichment counselor too! Yep-and I feel the same way about it as you do:) But I'll just tell you some of our ideas:
1. My favorite things night- where everyone bring there favorite item from home whether it be a cleaning product, face wash, CD, decoration, etc... and you do a show and tell and give each other new ideas.
2. Show off your artwork night- Everyone brings a piece of art that is hanging in their home and explains why it is special or meaningful to them. Then show the artwork hanging in the chapel and explain what it is portraying.
3.Emergency Preparedness night- (this is what we are doing in August) Review child/infant/adult CPR. Make and emergency call list to put on your fridge ( poison control, M.D., neighbors/family members #'s, your cell phone, etc..); Review when to take an injury serious ( head injuries/cuts/fevers/dehydration )
Anyways, those are just a couple of our ideas- GOOD LUCK!
Call in the expertise of Kaylin for food and nutrition. She impresses me every time.
I was the enrichment counselor in my ward in San Diego and the enrichment leader in my ward in Chicago, so I can feel for you. :) It was so nice when they changed the enrichment nights to quarterly. This is what we did in Cali and it worked really well.
1st quarter - RS birthday - fun theme, good food, fun activities/classes depending on theme.
2nd quarter - Service. This was always a huge hit. There are tons of great service projects on the Church's website, or you can find local needs. The last one we did was making puppets and ABC books for kids in other countries in need. Everyone loved it and it was an awesome turn out.
3rd quarter - something fun. There was an annual pool party in SD, and here in Ohio they do dutch oven in preparation for girls camp. Everyone loves to get together and chat without much else.
4th quarter - something spiritual. Thanksgiving and Christmas always provide great themes for this one. We usually did a special speaker, like the temple president's wife or something.
We ALWAYS did food with every one. Don't try to make things complicated. Do easy menus and let the sisters help by bringing part of it - that usually ensures that at least those people will come. :) Plus, don't be afraid to ask people to help, especially since you don't have a committee right now. There are so many people who are dying to get involved, they just need to be asked.
Special interest groups are tricky. I always had a group leader for each one who was in charge and made the decisions. My advice is to not have a million groups that don't function - just have a few that function well. The ones that worked the best for us were: cooking group, book club, music makers (for the kiddies), temple group, emergency preparedness.
I also provided the sisters with a weekly email informing them of upcoming events, groups going on that week, enrichment reminders, or other ward functions. It was so appreciated by people who 'forget' everything, and it helped new people, or people who didn't really feel connected to get in touch with what was going on in the ward.
Whoa, this was long. GOOD LUCK, GOOD LUCK! I am sure you are doing a great job already.
It's your sis here...Call me. I have this DVD for you that we used when we did the "10 Virgins program", which was a hit and I have the program for you if you want it. Also, the Earthquake lady from the State of Utah came and it was awesome. Lots of stuff for emergency preparedness. Did you know NOT to store your water on the cement floor? Yes...it's true. I have more tantalizing tips for you...
In my last ward they do a service auction. Every sister donates a service... weeding a flower bed, dinner in the week sometime, homade bread, free babysitting...what ever they want. Let me know if you want more details and I will get all the info for you!
I am on the Enrichment board and I know how much work this is for a bunch of people- I am so sorry you are alone in this! Hopefully not for long!
We had an emergency preparedness activity- some of the sisters brought their 72 hour kits and we had one lady who is really prepared went through hers and had some handouts. We actually had a really good turn out! I think we might do something else in the fall about water in emergencies.
Last Saturday we had a service project. We made fleece blankets and craft kits for the Christmas Box House. (This is where children go between being placed in foster care, in case you didn't know!)We asked for donations of fleece- I thought we'd get maybe enough for 10 blankets, but we ended up with about 30! I have patterns for craft kits if you want them.
We are having a progressive dinner later in the summer. I don't know all the details on this, but I have done it with the YM/YW and it was fun. Just ask several sisters if you can have one course at their home. I think we will provide most of the food and they will just serve it.
In our ward in Ogden, we had some kind of walk in the summer. I think we walked around the ward and had different stops with water and snacks. I can't remember it all, but it was fun!
My mom had a OB/GYN come and talk about breast cancer once and it was very interesting.
And there is always lots of crafts that I can suggest, but they are a TON of work, so I would leave that to your small groups. We have a book club, cooking club and craft group. I haven't been to the book or cooking but the craft is fun and next we are making flannel baby rag quilts.
Wow- this long! I hope it helps! Call me and I can probably give you more ideas!
Sorry, I never go to enrichment because Craig works at night and I don't want to bring the kids.I will ask my sis for you though cause she has been the enrichment leader for 3 years!
I know this is a stand-by, but I love it when our ward does a recipe exchange. They do a different one each month i.e. desserts, soups, salads, munchies, etc. We also have a book club (check with your stake to see if its okay). We had someone come do a bread demonstration, which I LOVED! Mostly because I have absolutely no idea how to cook it. Oh, and we had someone come talk about coupon clipping--a surprising amount of people showed up. We even did an overnighter, which was SO GREAT! We went to camp Kiesel.
Post a Comment