October Sharing Time: Make an Impression
by Shauna Gibby

This sharing time will help children understand how much influence they can have on those around them.

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Preparation: Obtain a jar of water and a container of dark food coloring. Bring a box of flat objects that can be used for crayon rubbings (such as coins, leaves, feathers, cut out geometric shapes, paper clips, greeting cards with raised letters, etc.), crayons, and a small sheet of paper for each child. Prepare a large sheet of paper by attaching a flat, textured object behind it (such as a plaque, an engraved tray, or a piece of poster board with leaves taped to it).

Familiarize yourself with the words to the second verse of “The Things I Do” (Children’s Songbook, p. 170).

Presentation: Show the children the jar of water. Ask them how many drops of water they think are in the jar. Ask them, “If you were one drop of water, could you make a difference to the rest of the water in the jar?” Illustrate how one drop can make a difference by adding a drop of dark food coloring and pointing out how it flows through the whole jar. Help the children understand that what they do influences others.

Tell the children you know a poem about this idea. Recite the second verse of “The Things I Do.”

The people in my neighborhood Will judge the gospel bad or good By how I act at work and play, And not just on the Sabbath day.

Ask the children what they think these words mean. Discuss some ways they can be a good example. Have the children sing the second verse of the song with you.

Show the children the large paper. Tell them that there is something underneath, and you are going to help them figure out what it is. Lay an unwrapped crayon flat on the paper and rub the crayon across the paper several times. Point out that your picture now shows what is underneath the paper. Show them the object, and the crayon rubbing. The picture is a likeness of the object. Liken this to the importance of following the Savior’s example. If we desire to be Christlike we must make sure it is Jesus Christ’s example we are following. In like manner, the things we do and say will make an impression on others. We should set a good example, so only good things will “rub off” on those around us.

Let each child create a picture by selecting an object from the box to make a crayon rubbing. Bear testimony that the impression they leave on others can be good or bad. Challenge them to always be a good example.

Sing all of “The Things I Do.” Sing other songs that will help reinforce the ideas taught, such as, “Do As I’m Doing” (CS, 276), “Jesus Want Me for a Sunbeam” (CS, 60), and “I Am Like a Star” (CS, 163).

(Resources used: Virginia B. Cannon, Our Children’s Songs [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992], p. 231, and Beth Lefgren and Jennifer Jackson, Building Blocks for Better Lessons [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1998], p. 41.)

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