Numbers Game

This was a fun way to help the kids understand the numbers involved in the Church (specifically the leap from ward to stake to members). And a great way to bring up missionary work since the numbers continue to increase every year!

This one is for Senior only since Junior Primary doesn't really have a good number sense yet. I usually pair this one with Build a Snowman for Junior. 

(Yes, we really did have 146 Primary kids that year. I am not kidding about our large Primary). 

Supplies needed:

• 8 pieces of paper with the following labels:
• Primary Kids in Our Ward
• Members of Our Ward
• Wards in the Church
• Stakes in the Church
• Members of the Church
• Missionaries Serving
• Operating Temples
• Presidents of the Church
• 8 pieces of paper with the numbers that correspond to the categories above
• Good contacts for ward numbers: Primary President, ward membership clerk, Bishop
• Search lds.org for the most up-to-date numbers for the other categories. They're always announced in the April session of General Conference (although they're a year old by that point).
• list of songs you want to sing (one song per category)
• I like to try to match my songs with the categories: missionary songs for missionaries, I Love To See the Temple for temples, etc. 
• tape/pins to hang the papers

Set up:

1. On your board, pin or tape up each category label, making sure to leave enough room for the children to place the numbers next to/underneath it.
2. Have the numbers either face up (easier) or face down (more of a challenge) on a table.

Game play:

1. Explain that the object of the game is to correctly match the numbers with the categories on your board. Also a good time to explain the relationship between wards and stakes.
2. Have a child pick a number and choose which category it belongs to. 
1. You have some discretion here: you can either guide the child to make the correct choice, or you can let them put the number wherever they want, with the understanding that the next child(ren) have the option to move numbers around if they feel it's justified.
1. If you do decide to let them choose for themselves, make sure the songs on your list are linked to the NUMBER, not the CATEGORY. Otherwise it gets confusing about which song you should sing. You'll always sing the song attached to the number the child picked up at the beginning. (This can be a good hint--if they place their number under "Missionaries Serving" and the song is "I Love to See the Temple", most of the Primary will catch on pretty quickly and will make the correct change the next turn). 
3. Make sure to end with your testimony of missionary work and how even Primary children can help make these numbers grow bigger every year.