New Program - Achievement Days Packet  Purpose The purpose of the Primary Achievement Days Program, is to involve girls ages 8-11 in interesting experiences that will help them learn to live gospel principles.   In a talk given by Sister Michaelene P. Grassli in October 1992, she stated:   “Achievement Days give youngsters opportunities to put into practice principles they learn on Sunday.  This program gives exposure to many possibilities for developing their talents, doing good in the world and preparing for missionary work, and parenthood.   We can help our little girls follow God’s plan when we give them something substantive to hold onto in these preparatory years.  Achievement Days can help them see how the gospel relates to real life and give them hope and security.   These programs are for eternal purposes.  They are not just to give you something to do to fill your empty hours, and they are not busy work for the children.  You know what the world is like and what it offers our children.  We are giving them some better alternatives to keep them in the right way.  Thus, When these various activities and programs are planned, they need to be planned with a gospel purpose.  We should ask ourselves not, “What should we do?  But, What should happen in the lives of the children?  What is best for the children?”   We don’t send these children to Christ,  we bring them –one by one- as we faithfully fulfill our responsibilities as parents, leaders, and teachers to nurture, teach and care for them.  Our loving, concerned actions not only bless their lives, but ours as well.  For as we serve the children, we always find we have come closer to Him ourselves.”   Use of this Program This program is only a resource for keeping a record of the girls’ activities.  It is also a way to show recognition for their accomplishments as they progress through their four years in the program.    Your main resource and inspiration should come from prayerfully consulting with our Heavenly Father and asking what He would have you do.     Meetings to be Held It is recommended that you have Achievement Activity Days twice a month, for a total of 24 activities per year.  There are 12 areas of focus, so this means the girls will participate in 2 activities per area of focus per year.  They are usually held during the daytime and can take place in the home of the leader, girls, or at the church.  It is recommended that the meeting time and day be held at the same time each month, this way the girls and their parents always know when Achievement Day is.     Combined Achievement Days Activities There are to be a total of four combined activities per year, with all four age groups participating.  An option may be to have a Daddy/Daughter Date and a Mom & Miss Party for two of these combined activities – but this is purely optional- not required.   Recognition Guidelines The council received from the General Primary Presidency regarding the awards for the Primary Achievement Days Program is to keep the awards very simple and inexpensive, allowing the activities themselves to be the reward.  This program is also easy to manage.    Each year the girls will work toward earning one charm by completing 24 activities in each of the 12 Achievement Days Areas (2 activities per month).  If she completes all 24 activities in a year’s time or less, she will be awarded the charm at the recognition night following the date of her completion.  The girls should only be able to receive one charm per year.     The ward should have a recognition night every quarter for the girls that would include the girls, her parents, and church leaders.  At this quarterly recognition night, the girls can share and demonstrate what they have learned   Recognition Mini-Certificates It is at the quarterly recognition nights where the girls will receive the recognition mini-certificate for each activity they have completed in the last quarter.  This recognition certificate can then be placed in a plastic sheet protector made to fit baseball trading cards.  These sheet protectors will hold nine mini-certificates per page and make it easy for the girls to keep in a 3-ring binder for Achievement Days.  (It is recommended that each girl obtain a notebook so that she can keep track of all her Achievement Days things.  The things to be included would be the “My Achievement Days” booklet, her recognition mini-certificates in the plastic protectors, Achievement Days Chart of Completed Activities, and any other items that she does in her various Achievement Days activities that will fit.   As an option, there are six additional mini-certificates.  Four of them are yearly certificates and have the same little girls on the front to match the little girl charms.  These could be awarded instead of, or in addition to, the yearly charm. The other two can be used as the girls come into and go out of the program.     Bracelet Each girl should receive the bracelet as they come into the program at age eight, for completing a simple task such as, reading, studying, and then sharing the “My Gospel Standards” on the back of the Activity Days booklet (available through church distribution) with a parent or Achievement Days Leader.   The three hearts on the bracelet represent 3 different aspects in a young girl’s life.  The center heart represents the love our Heavenly Father and his Son, Jesus Christ have for her.  The heart on the right represents the love our family, friends, and Primary leaders have for her.  And the heart on the left represents the love she will have for herself as she comes to realize that she a daughter of God.  We know Heavenly Father loves Achievement Days girls, they are His daughters!  He wants their success.  He wants them to love themselves and hold on to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.    Because we have felt of this love – we created the following charms to celebrate the achievements of all little girls in the Achievement Days Program!  It is our desire to spoil them with this love!!! Love, Les & Dott     Charms It is recommended that the girls receive their yearly recognition close to their birthday.  The reason for this is because they come into the program on their 8thbirthday and they go into the Young Women program on their 12th birthday.  Going from birthday to birthday makes a much easier transition from group to group instead of going by the calendar year from January to January.   Each charm also has special meanings that fit very well with each specific year in the program. There are a total of four charms that can be earned one for each year the girls are in the program.  Each charm is a different little girl that represents three areas of focus.  By the time the girls receive all four charms, all twelve areas of focus will be represented.   Les & Dott have given these dolls the names of their own four daughters. The goodness and virtues they possess come to life in these charms.   Stephanie represents our 8 Year Old Girl Motherhood is our Stephanie’s greatest strength.  She looks to this calling with anticipation and Joy!!  She knows knowledge is vital for life, and she studies only the best books!  Her inner beauty radiates beyond the beauty on the outside! Family Skills, Education & Scholarship, and Health & Personal Grooming are her strengths.    Deidre represents our 9 Year Old Girl Creativity is that wondrous light the Holy Ghost has given each of us.  Deidre is artistic and valiant!  She loves America –land of the free and sings with a glad heart.    Arts & Crafts, Service & Citizenship, and Personal Preparedness are her strengths.    Tess represents our 10 Year Old Girl Tess is our little athlete!!  She is strong in heart and spirit..  She enjoys the journey and applauds whoever finishes 1st.  She’s ready for the earthquakes of life as she stands as a witness of Christ everyday in every way.  Safety & Emergency Preparedness, Outdoor Fun & Skills, and Sports & Physical Fitness are her strengths.   Errin represents our 11 Year Old Girl Our ancestors speak to Errin’s heart and she responds with genealogy and baptism’s for them.  She loves a party and knows how to laugh!!  Her testimony is true. Family History, Spirituality, and Hospitality are her strengths.   As the girls progress through the four years in the Primary Achievement Days Program, it is hoped that the significance and importance of the 12 different areas of focus these charms represent, will become a focal point in their lives.  As they go into the Young Women program may they have the desire to continue on in their goals and realize who they are.  May they be convinced that they are a daughter of our Heavenly Father who loves them, and that everything is within their grasp.   If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask by email.    P.S.  Due to the cost of printing it has been necessary to package and sell the mini-certificates in sets of 12.  I will be producing two new sets of 12 mini-certificates every year for the next three years.  In the end there will be a total of 8 sets of 12 mini-certificates. Currently sets one, two, three and four are available.  I am hoping to have sets five and six available by January, 2003.  The four yearly mini-certificates and the coming-in and going-out mini-certificates will continue to be available by the piece.  Which means you can buy them one-at-a-time.     This program is not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  The views or suggestions expressed herein are the responsibility of The French Seam and do not necessarily represent the position of the Church.