Saturday, August 21, 2010
Our First Associate Degree
Last month, Natalie earned her A-LDS: Associate of Latter-Day Saint Theology. It took me until yesterday to get her trophy made. She picked it out and is soooo excited about it! This program was the vision I had as a college student, so it is so fun to see it come to fruition. The A-LDS is the first degree in our Family Gospel Scholar Program. The next degrees are, of course B-LDS, M-LDS, and PhD-LDS (Bachelor, Master, and Doctor). Here are the requirements for the A-LDS:
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1.Memorize and recite the 13 Articles of Faith. Know which is which. (Receive an Articles of Faith pin for this.)
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2.Memorize and recite the names of the Latter-Day Prophets.
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3.Memorize and recite the names of the current Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency.
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4. Memorize and recite the names of the books in the standard works: Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price. (For the D&C they memorized the # of sections and the topic of each Official Declaration.)
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5.Read the Children’s LDS Scriptures: Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine & Covenants Stories.
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6.Memorize and recite one favorite scripture and its reference from the “real” scriptures. Natalie chose 1 Nephi 3:7.
As you can see, there are songs for the first four requirements! I wanted this to be really fun and do-able for the kids. I make a really big deal when someone passes off an item. We cheer, mark their chart, and tell everyone about it so they receive a lot of positive reinforcement.
Here are a few things that helped:
I made cue cards (with pictures) for all of the songs, which is especially appealing to Adam and Andrew who aren’t avid readers yet like the girls. (If you’d like these, check the “Sundays” section on my Favorites page for links.)
I made a CD of the Articles of Faith songs from a tape I listened to growing up, and added the songs from the LDS Children’s Songbook of the books of scripture. We listen to it in the car all the time... whenever Jon is not in the car since he can’t stand it. They love to sing along, and sing around the house as well. We have also been learning a new hymn each month, so those are in the mix, too.
Amy has almost earned her A-LDS, and Adam isn’t terribly far behind, so the people at the trophy store are going to be my new friends.
Another goal I’d like for my kids to achieve is to read the entire Book of Mormon by themselves before their eighth birthday or baptism. Natalie was able to do that, and now I’m encouraging Amy to do the same. When they do, they receive a Book of Mormon pin, a certificate, and Scripture Stickers (to use on their next time through the Book of Mormon... in the scriptures they received after their baptism). Can you tell I like rewards? I think the awards give the kids something to look forward to and to help them realize what a great accomplishment they’ve made. It also encourages the other children to want to do the same. Things like this evolve over time, so we’ll see how it goes, but so far so good.
Here is a post about the pins and the boards I made to keep and display their pins.
Update (2015): I have tried a variety of options for the bachelor, master, and PhD degrees, but don’t have anything official to share. I recommend trying out what works for your family and which things you would like your children to study and learn.
