The idea for the Come Follow Me Study Companion for kids came about during my time as an Activity Days leader and then grew as I served in the Primary Presidency. I loved working with the Primary kids, and I learned a lot from them about faith and trust, and I understood why we've always been admonished to become as a little child. They are so ready, willing and able to learn about and follow the Savior!
I looked around and realized that so many workbooks were made as "busy work" but kids need more than just something to keep them quiet--they're ready to learn, and the sooner they start learning, the stronger their testimonies will be as they get older. I wanted to help them find themselves in the scriptures, and see how everything they learn there can apply to them in their own lives, right now.
If you haven't used the Study Companion before, I hope these FAQs will guide you to see if this is a resource that your children can enjoy. It truly is a work of love for me to put them together!
The study companion has two pages that go with each Come Follow Me lesson, and the activities, questions and prompts are taken directly from the lesson manual for Primary and the manual for Individuals and Families. Activities are meant to be fun while still teaching important lessons from the scriptures. Kids will reference and read the scriptures, then doodle, draw, write or do other activities that help them learn what they are reading.
This is the most common question I get! The answer is...it depends.
A lot will depend on your child's skill level with reading, writing and looking up scriptures. It also depends how independent you want them to be as they study. If you're planning to use it mainly for family scripture study, it will be a little more guided and you might be able to use the pages more for younger kids than if they are working in them on their own. They are available as a bundle, and go together well with no overlap, so having both would be great for kids ready to work in both.
That being said, here is a general guide to what is in the books so you can make an informed decision:
This is a great book for all ages. There are pictures to color, so for kids too young to read and write, this is a great way to help them study the people and places of the scriptures as they learn the stories. For older kids, there is a study page that goes with each person/place that they are learning about that asks questions, like:
"What message did the Lord have for ________?" and the most important question, "How can learning about _________ help me follow the Savior?"
These workbooks are a little more advanced, and will require the kids to be able to look up scriptures, think about what they are reading, and then do activities like answering questions, making lists, doodling or drawing relevant pictures, etc.
Whether or not your child is ready for this book will depend on their reading/writing abilities. The questions were taken largely from the Come Follow Me for Primary, with some from the Individuals and Families (in the family section)
Some examples of questions they might encounter are:
Read verse 25. List or doodle some phrases you find that might help you choose to do right when others are disagreeing with you.
Why does Heavenly Father let us make choices? What are the blessings that come when we choose to follow Jesus?
Imagine that you were going to teach someone about forgiveness. Read verses 7-10 and find phrases or words that would help you teach.
If I were pressed to say an age, I would probably recommend these books for those 8 and older, but you know your own child best. I've had several people tell me they used this book for their teenager, who also loved it.
The download is intended for your personal use, so the number of copies you should make depends on your purposes. If you're a Primary teacher looking for something for your class, that would be considered your personal use, if you're a Primary President looking for something for your Ward's Primary kids, that is also considered your personal use. Make as many copies as you need! You can also create printed workbooks to give as gifts if you like.
Sharing the files with friends or family, sending them to another Primary President in another ward, or giving a printed copy for others to make their own copies would not be considered personal use.
It is all based on the honor system, so let your conscience be your guide. If you know of others that would like the workbook, I would appreciate you sending them a link to my shop!
Stickers and tabs come in two formats--PDF if you want to cut them out by hand or let the kids cut them out on their own, and PNG to use as a print and cut on a cutting machine.
You can use any sticker paper that can be used in your printer. There are two choices--vinyl glossy sticker paper and matte sticker paper. I tend to lean towards the matte paper because it can be written on. If you decide on the vinyl glossy paper, it would be a good idea to make sure it's waterproof to prevent smearing.
If you are choosing to do print and cut with a Cricut, you can take a look at the section in my Help Desk for instructions to make sure your stickers come out perfect!