Contributed by: Jasmine Strong -  7/17/06

Contributed by: Dione dione@slingshot.co.nz (6/23/02)

I just wanted to share with you all a very successful activity we held to try to smooth the transition to Relief Society for one of our Laurels. She was not eager to leave YW and even though a friend had gone up about 3 months before she was not looking forward to it at all.

So we challenged the RS to a games night our regular Mutual night. We asked them to bring a few games and we did the same. We had a good number turn up, roughly the same number as our YW (12 or so) and we played games YW against RS

• Doubles basketball - everyone tied by the wrist in pairs, play basketball as per normal. this is hilarious and takes the competition out of it for those who aren't very sporty.
• Playdoh pictionary, using pictionary cards two teams race to guess the thing being made out of playdoh. Both teams are making the same item at the same time and the first to call it out is the winner. This is very popular in our ward and they are incredibly fast.
• Balloon stomp, tie a balloon to your ankle with string and everyone tries to stomp and pop other peoples balloons while protecting their own. Last balloon unpopped is the winner.
• Fruit salad, everyone on a chair in a circle with the name of a fruit. one person in the middle calls out a fruit or alternatively "fruit salad" and anyone who is the fruit has to run to swap chairs with someone else with the same fruit name. On fruit salad, all must swap chairs.

and other games. Winning was not emphasized at all and there were no prizes just awards at the end.

And there was also a game that continues through out the evening - everyone has a clothespin on their clothing and if that person says the word "sisters" or our young Woman's name, then their clothespin could be stolen by someone else.  The person with the most clothespins at the end of the night wins. Right near the end, all the RS came and gave their clothespins to our Birthday girl !

The YW thought it was hilarious when we had to call the RS to calm down and listen to instructions - they were singing "we are the champions" and "sound off" chants!

At the end of the evening we quoted our YW theme to the RS and they read/quoted their declaration to us. Then awards were given out to all participants and The RS pres. presented our laurel with a lesson manual, copy of the RS declaration and lesson schedule. We followed with a birthday cake and some snacks.

The aim was to show, not only our laurel, but all the YW, that the Relief Society sisters were fun and just as crazy as they are. It was a huge success and was enjoyed by both the RS and the YW and especially by our laurel. And best of all she changed her mind about going to RS and was actually looking forward to it the following Sunday. (We had arranged that the other 2 laurels would attend her first RS class on Sunday with her but she didn't mind going whether or not they were coming with her!!)

We have decided to make this a tradition in our ward - we don't have many laurels so we don't have to do it too often!!

And From  Joy & EM

Dear Sisters,

Awhile back, we were asked as a Stake YW Presidency to attend an annual stake Primary activity - it is a traditional event for 11 year old girls.  The Primary wanted us to talk to the girls briefly about what is coming just around the corner...YW!  This is what we did...it could work just as well for young women going into RS.

We had a tiny clay pot with a little dirt and a seed.  For that seed right  now, that pot is just the right size, but as the seed sends out roots and  sprouts, it will need a bigger pot.  We displayed the larger pot with the  seedling.  Then, when the plant grows bigger, it needs to be transplanted  into an even larger pot.  We had a pot with a plant that needed a bigger pot  but was kept in one that it had been in for awhile.  We also had a similar  plant that was transplanted into a garden (it had to be dug up for the  presentation).  They were the same age plants...but the difference in their  growth and the flowers was striking!  There will come a time when you will outgrow the Primary pot...and go to the YW pot.  When the YW program has  served you and you have learned what you need to there, you will be ready for  the RS pot...or should I say "garden", because that is what you are being prepared for and where you will grow for a long, long time.  What would happen if you stayed in the Primary pot, or the YW pot longer than you should?  Just as the scrawny plant, your growth would be stifled.  Hope this all makes sense...many adaptations could be made here…

Just a thought…..you could talk about what happens when plants become root bound Ü (YW Connection)

From: Vicki in Ohio - hsman@iapdatacom.net

I am working with the Homemaking leader in our Ward and in May we are doing an evening called "Transitions." We have 2 seniors in our YW group and this meeting will be a combined goodbye/hello from YW and RS. One of the neat things we are doing is making a quilt for the girls...a reversible comforter...one side made by the RS and one side by the YW and that evening we will tie them.. One part of our program will be to have the YW and her mom come up and give them each an apron, but the strings will be sewn together. Mom will then "cut the apron strings"...it should be a moving experience. The YW's apron will have things in the pockets that she can use at college, e.g. wooden spoons, spices, etc. We are also having a program and involving both the YW and the RS. We haven't planned everything yet but it will consist of music, a couple of poems etc. We are excited about our transitions program and hope it will help the YW to feel that RS isn't such a scary place.

Contributed by: Lillyannc@aol.com

My sister wrote this and I thought it was a fun way introduce RS to our Laurels:

"Two of the women in our RS presidency gave the lesson in the Laurel class this last Sunday. They came into opening exercises, in dresses that they wouldn't wear, sloppy lipstick, knee highs, and grandma type stuff in their purses, etc. Their point was to look like the image that these laurels have in their mind about RS women. I guess they gave a great lesson and even gave the girls "Pop Rocks" and put a little paper over "pop" and wrote Relief Society. When they gave them those, they danced around"

Here are some ideas from the YW List found at http://www.ldscn.com that can help in easing the transition into Relief Society.

From Sandy:  "Every spring we have a homemaking night with the RS presidency, for our mutual night. The RS president gives a message about transitioning into yw, then the homemaking leader does a craft with them, which they use to go Visiting Teaching. We divide the girls up and after our visits meet back for a group discussion and of course food!!! It’s really been fun.

We also make a poster of the girls that will be going into RS and the RS president displays it a few weeks before the girls start going.. It lets the other sisters know a little about them and the girls feel a little more comfortable about coming in. Last year we made beeswax candles and gave them this poem (Candles of Light) about visiting teaching.  May they shine eternally, year after year.

Another sister wrote: Over the past several years…we have had a program called Sister to Sister. The YW draw names of R.S. sisters in the ward and they throughout the month they leave little treats for them…sort of like Secret Sisters. At the end of the month we have a get-together and the young women tell the group a little about the sister they had chosen. They are then given a red rose with a note attached that says, "Sister to Sister – Heart to Heart. You were my friend right from the start"

This could be done either way – with the sisters choosing a young woman as their "friend".