AN OLD-FASHIONED GAME (by Lydia W. age 12)
A long time ago they didn't have all the video games and board games that we have now. Here is a game in which all you need is 20 objects. Here's how you play:  One person goes and collects 20 objects while everybody else sits at a table with their eyes closed. Then the person lays all of the objects on the table, then tells everybody to open their eyes. The person that got the objects gives the other people a minute and a half to look at the objects, then tells them to close their eyes. Then she takes the objects off the table. Everybody then opens their eyes and tries to write down all twenty objects from memory. The one that remembers the most wins!

A LIFE OF FAITH (Karen S., age 16)
Write your own story about a girl in the 21st century who has a life of faith. Don't use too many characters or names that are very alike and you will be fine.

FAITH BINDER
For this project you will need a binder.  Look in your Bible and find verses that you would like to put in your binder.  Copy them on your computer in a fancy font to make it look like Elsie's time.  Print out pages from the Elsie website and use a hole puncher to punch three holes in the pages and put them, along with the verses, into your Faith Binder.  Try to put new things in it constantly and do devotions in the morning with it. (Submitted by Esther B.)

AN OLD-FASHIONED BOOK REPORT (by Anna age 12)
My friend Ashley and I thought it would be neat to do an oral book report on an Elsie or Millie book. You and your friend could dress up in clothes that are like theirs and even recite a passage from the book! You could also have a meal with different kinds of food like the food in the books! I think it's an AWESOME idea!!!!!

OLD FASHIONED BIBLE STUDY (Submitted by Samantha S. age 10)
You can have an old-fashioned Bible study with your friends! Make invitations with the time, place, and date on them. You may want to include an invitation to wear old fashioned dresses or hats. You will also need to pick a passage to study on, and afterwards you can serve refreshments! Have fun!

HISTORICAL PLAY (Submitted by Allison)
I have a play for you. First gather some friends and pick a date such as 1904.  Figure out what clothes people might have worn in that time and think of a play that sounds cool to you. Find things you can use for props such as blankets, hairs, boxes, dolls and other things (You can use a blanket for a curtain). Practice until you know it (you can memorize or not). Act out the play for friends and family members.

FRONTIER SCHOOL (submitted by Rebecca H.)
Get as many kids as you want and pick one to be the teacher. The teacher and the students have to wear 19th century clothes. Get slates and chalk at Wal-Mart in the craft section. And then you just have FUN!!!!

PUZZLES (from Rebecca Maria M. age 10)
Often in Millie's time families would spend the evening working on a puzzle together. I enjoy making homemade puzzles out of magazines with pretty artwork or even drawing my own picture for my puzzles. Here's what you need:  card board or a thick paper; magazines or some of your own artwork; glue (glue stick works best); a pen; scissors. First you decide what the front of your puzzle will be, and then you cut it out and glue it to the cardboard or the thick paper (which ever is easier to get hold of). Then comes the waiting for the glue to dry. When the glue is dry turn the puzzle over and draw all the lines and squiggles of your puzzle. Then cut out your puzzle and enjoy piecing it together again and again.

PRESSING FLOWERS (Submitted by Megan R. age 13)
You will need: a flower of your choice, blotting paper, a piece of colored or a plain piece of A4 paper, a laminate sheet (or clear sticky plastic).  What to do:  1) When you choose a flower of your choice put it between two pieces of blotting paper & place a heavy object on top.  2) Leave it like that for at least a week, this is to make sure that the flower is flat & and the moisture has been taken out.  3) Take a sheet of A4 paper (colored or plain) & fold it in half-length ways.  4) Cut it (make sure a parent is with you so you don't cut yourself).  5) Take one of the strips & fold it in half-length ways again and cut it.  6) Take one of those strips & fold it in half width ways & cut it.  7) Design the piece of paper with a memory verse (and other things as well if you want to).  8) When your flower is flat & dry place it onto your designed piece of paper.  9) Laminate (or put on clear, sticky plastic) the piece of paper with the flower on it.  10) If you want you can punch holes at one end on the bookmark & tie pieces of colored thread through them.

FRONTIER DRESS UP (Submitted by Sarah L.)
Take any dresses you have that look old (you can look at thrift stores and find old dresses) and have lots of fun playing dress up.  

JACKSTONES
The rules are very simple; if you know the rules to Jacks, then you know the rules to Jackstones (that is probably where they get the name from). First, pick 5 small stones (better if round). Throw one up in the air and hurry up and pick another one up, then catch the first one before it falls to the ground.  Repeat until you have got all 5 stones. It gets harder. Next you must pick up two until you have picked up all of those. Then three, etc. (Submitted by Karisa)

OLD-FASHIONED DRESS-UP
All you need are skirts, tops (they can be any style - just make sure they match and don't have pictures), boots, socks or tights depending on the season, bonnets or hats (easter hats are preferable), baskets, a friend, and anything that looks old-fashioned! What you do: You and your friend put on the skirts and collect your playthings. Then, make up a setting, names, other people and a situation. Then play! This is really fun if your friend stays the night! Then, you can continue at night! (Submitted by Ryanne L.) 

MILLIE OR ELSIE'S WORLD (Submitted by Savannah, Age: 11) 
If you and your friends like Millie and Elsie, you'll love this! Choose either Millie or Elsie, and then set up a room or rooms in your house like they would have during that time era. For example ...Elsie would have a fancy parlor with tea tables and great ball rooms. Millie would have more rustic rooms without anything too fancy (remember, Millie lives in an old warehouse on the frontier, and doesn't have anything in the way of modern conveniences.) Invite your friends to a Millie or Elsie day. Tell them to wear old fashioned clothing, and, when your friends arrive, give them names out of the books. You can serve tea (or tea-looking punch) and crackers. Have fun!

A LIFE OF FAITH DOLLS (Submitted by Olivia B. age 13)
Do you have an A Life of Faith doll?  If not, here is a great idea.  Grab your A Life of Faith catalog.  Cut out the presentation dolls, or any of the largest dolls.  Glue them to paper, or poster board (not cardboard, it doesn't work!) and cut them out.  Then play!

I always thought it would be fun to live on the frontier, wear dresses and have a big family! I would love being the oldest like Millie with the younger ones looking up to you, I know it's a big responsibility but it would be cool. It would also be fun to read books, bake yummy things with mom and sisters, play outside by the lake, river, or pond! I would also like to play games outside and inside on raining days. Games like tag and hide and go seek! All-in-all I think that living on the frontier would be a lot of fun!!!! But I think that where God put me in time is good for me because that's where He wants me!     --- Rebekah S. age 12

GOSSIP (Submitted by Adriane)
Get 4 or more people in a circle. One person starts the game by making up a hard but somewhat easy to remember sentence, such as, "Nancy gave her dirty cat a bath, but the bubbles made her sneeze", and then she whispers that into the ear of the person on her right, but she only get one chance to say it. It goes around the circle and the last person to hear it says out loud. It’s fun to hear what comes out at the end, but it’s almost never the sentence you start with. This is a great reminder of how gossip is spread.

LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION! (Submitted by Felecia B.)
You can have fun by acting out your favorite scene from an Elsie book! First, get together with a few friends. Each of you pick out a character that was in that Elsie scene and memorize their lines. Then put on some old-fashioned clothes and do your hair. Act out the scene in front of an audience of friends and family. Don't forget to curl the hair of the girl playing Elsie!

GUESS WHO (Submitted by Valerie, age 18)
Choose Bible characters and write their names on small pieces of paper. Pin one name on the back of each person. By asking questions which can be answered by either yes or no, each person must discover his or her identity.

OLD-FASHIONED LIVING
Here is a fun idea that quizzes yourself on enduring a day, or week, or however long you can in not using electricity, (toilets are an exception).  That's right, no TV, no radio, no nothing with electricity.  You will get a chance to see how Elsie lived.  But, explain what you are doing to your parents first.  (Submitted by Esther B.)

A PRIVATE CHURCH
What you need is: a Bible, a blanket, 4 chairs, Prayer Book (optional), an Elsie book (optional), and a friend.  Instructions:  Take the chairs and face the backs inside to make a square. Leave enough space between each side to walk. Lay the blanket on top of the chairs. Crawl through the openings and have fun. Reading in a quiet place with someone you like is usually a good idea.

OLD-FASHIONED TEA PARTY
Needed: Dresses (Civil War era are a lot of fun, especially with hoops), Good Cookie Recipe (You can cook it up on your own), Accessories for dresses, tea set, lots of room, one or more friends, and Elsie Dinsmore Books. To do: First, make the cookies. Then, set up a little table or use your dinner table, whatever. Set it with a tablecloth and tea set, then get your dresses on. Fix each other's hair, and get all fixed up. Then, study the parts in the Elsie Dinsmore Books where they are having tea (you'll have to find them). Find out how they acted, etc. Or, check out some Library books on that time period. You, as the hostess will set out the cookies and tea (or punch, which is better, I think), and serve the others. Don't act like yourselves (DO have fun, but DON'T act like you would say at school, or whatever), but talk the old-fashioned way. Talk about things that were happening back then as if they had just happened, or were happening (Civil War battles, etc.). USE YOUR IMAGINATION! You'll think of lots more things. I think this is so much fun. If you know how to dance, then have a dance later on (I love the Waltz, Virginia Reel... so on. That kind). It's lots of fun!!

AN ELSIE DINSMORE MOVIE (Submitted by Meghan G. Age 11)
I'm sure that many a girl has dreamed of being Elsie Dinsmore. Now you can with this fun and creative idea.
Supplies:
1. Friends, how ever many you want!
2. Old fashioned dresses and accessories
3. A camcorder
4. An adult to videotape you
Get together with all your friends who love Elsie Dinsmore, choose characters, and play out a chapter from the movie! Ask an adult to videotape you.  Have fun! (Remember, you can do this with Millie or Violet as well!)

FRIENDSHIP DIARY
Have a diary and write in it for at least a month.  Then, send it to a friend and have her write in it for about a month too.  Then keep sending it back and forth until the diary is all used up.  After that read the whole diary and think back on the times that you wrote in it.  (Submitted by Esther B.)

THE WAVE GAME (Submitted by Ruth J. age 13)
My brothers and sisters and I made up this game to play in the car.  When you are on the expressway and cars are next to you, smile and wave to people as they pass by.  Then if they wave back you mark it on a notepad and that counts as 1 wave.  See how many waves you can get!  It really makes their day to get a wave and a big smile!

MY OWN CHURCH (from Abigail N., age 13)
My family has had a really hard time finding a church to go to. We left our old church about one year ago and still have not found a new one. I really wanted to have a little "church time" every Sunday, so I made up my own service! What I do is start out with a prayer asking the Lord to give me "ears to hear" and "eyes to see". Then I read a short passage of the Bible, which is usually the Ten Commandments. After that I sing a hymn while listening to a Christian CD with the same song or just sing it with no accompaniment. Sometimes I will even play a Christian song on my flute. After all this I will read the selected passage (I choose it the night before) and read the whole thing through VERY carefully; thinking all about what it says. Sometimes I take a devotional off the Elsie or Millie site and do that as my "sermon". Sometimes I do exercises that have to do with the passage, or sometimes I just think all about it. After this I oftentimes look at my memory verses of the week. I read through them and think about what they mean. Then I try my hand at memorizing at least a small portion of it. I do little games to help me remember it. After all this I will do my weekly Bible correspondence course I receive weekly in the mail. You may or may not do this depending on whether or not you do Bible courses. When all this is done I just listen to God talking to me. If I cannot seem to get a message I read one of my favorite verses - Hebrew 11:1 - "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."  You must have FAITH if you want to hear God. Now just pray to God praising Him, giving Him your requests, and more. I usually just praise Him because remember Sunday is the LORD's day; not ours. If you do not have a church try this out! Maybe even invite family or friends to be the "congregation"! I like to be alone with God, but it is up to you! God bless and keep you always! 

ELSIE DINSMORE TRIVIAL PURSUIT
This game is about testing your knowledge of the Elsie books.  Gather questions and ideas from the books and make sure whoever you're playing it with has read the same books you have.  Write down your questions with multiple choice, fill in the blank, and true or false answers.  To win the game, make only 20 questions and see who can answer all of the questions correctly in the shortest time; that person is the winner.  But remember, it isn't about winning; it's about having good, old-fashioned fun, with a little help from Elsie!  

ELSIE CHAT  (from Alicia G.)
This is a fun way to talk about the Elsie club with friends. All you need is friends who are in the Elsie club, and a computer. What you do is you can have jobs like a regular club but your club can talk about the Elsie club while checking the latest news on your computer! Have fun!  

PRAYER 101 (Submitted by Leah B. age 14)
Have you ever felt like you were talking to air? Sometimes it can seem that way, especially during prayer. We feel like God doesn't care or isn't listening. But he is. God loves us and cares for us more then we know. All he asks is that we love him and trust him. He cares about our every problem, worry, request, and praise. Your prayers are very precious to God. So talk to him and spend time with him. He is the ultimate best friend! Tip: If you still feel odd during prayer, ask a family member to pray with you. God promised that if two or more people pray, he is with them. Keep God in your thoughts!       

PRAYER IN THE MORNING AND THE NIGHT (Submitted by Amy W. age 10)
I like having a quiet time with God every morning and night. It’s fun to just be quiet and listen and talk with God.

NOT JUST A ROUTINE (Submitted by Savannah, age 9)
I used to pray the same thing over and over again not even meaning what I said.  It was just a prayer to say so I could say I prayed.  Then I realized God is my friend.  If my friend said the same thing over and over again I would get pretty board of her. I decided to change my prayer. I found that praying was much more fun and involved than just saying some words. It amazed me how much more I prayed and how many things I could request and thank God for.            

FRIENDSHIP PRAYERS (Submitted by Mirzie K., age 12)
Take a 3x5 index card, and write a prayer request on one side, and a Bible verse on the other side. Your friend does the same. Then the next time you see each other, give the other person your cards. When you get home, make sure you put it in a place where you'll see it a lot. Then we'll remember to pray for our friends as well as ourselves!

BEDTIME ABC PRAYERS (Submitted by Caitlin E., age 13)
Do you ever have trouble falling asleep at night? If you do, here's the perfect sleeping medicine! Starting at A, think of every one who has a name that begins with A, and PRAY for that person, then go to B and C.... It's a good way to get to sleep, and at the same time get to know your savior better!!!

OLD-FASHIONED SCHOOL (Submitted by Bekah W., age 10)
Here is a great idea for an old-fashioned school. Invite a friend or two over to your house. First set up the school. Get buckets or rocks and long pieces of wood. Put the pieces of wood on the rocks and/or buckets to make benches. Then put a chair or a bucket up front for the teacher's seat. (You can have a pretend teacher or have one of your friends be teacher-it doesn't matter.) Then get a reading book, a dictionary (unless you have a spelling book), pieces of white and black paper, chalk, and pencils. Use the white paper for math problems and the black as a slate. Then dress up in dresses, aprons, boots, and bonnets, and hoops if you have them! You can even bring a tin pail with a jar of water and bread for your lunch. Have fun!

ELSIE READING NOOK
All you need is some old over stuffed pillows or even your favorite stuffed animal and a blanket. Then clear a corner for your reading and put some of your Elsie or Millie books in there! And if you want, you can hang old-time pictures on the walls in your corner or even if you would like to, put a big cardboard piece in front of your Elsie reading and you write on it, "Elsie reading nook" or anything you would like!

HALLWAY OBSTACLE COURSE (from Kristina Renee, age 12)
My sisters and I have a lot of fun on rainy days in the hallway. We get string and tie it on doorknobs, vents-anything that won't tip over. After we do that it looks like the parent trap! Then we plan what we are going to do, you can do jumping-jacks at the end, or say a bible verse to start, anything you would like. Then you can climb through the string - under and over! Be sure to clean up and save the string for next time!

SCRAPBOOKING
I really enjoy it and you would too. All that you need are some scissors, pictures, acid free paper, and maybe some acid free stickers.  (Submitted by Shelley C.)

A DIFFERENT WAY TO MAKE PAPER DOLLS
These paper dolls require not much time and a big imagination.  You might also need a piece of paper, something to decorate your Elsie doll with, and some tag board.  To decorate: tiny buttons, ribbon, lace, colored pencils, small silk flowers, and even fake curls or hair could be useful. By the way, white paper that is pretty thick works best.  You'll want a pair of scissors too.  Take your piece of paper and fold it in half the "hot dog" style and flip it so its more tall than wide (sorry if the instructions are confusing but that is the way I was taught to describe it).  It's like making a heart out of a piece of paper folded in half, just cut out one HALF of the doll with the fold as center.  Open it up and you have the beautiful doll!  There's only one problem she has no clothes or features!!!  I would advise you to make her design sort of simple so that you can make her clothes in an easy design. Follow the directions for Victorian Dress Dolls (the clothes), under paper dolls, in this section of the site.  Just remember this: EVERYTHING MUST HAVE TABS!!!  It is very important.  After the clothes and the body, there are only two things stopping little Elsie.  The least important one is the stand.  Cut a strip of tag board that is as long as the bottom of your doll and about 1 centimeter high.  You can cut a slit in the center of it that doesn't quite go all of the way down.  Put this in the center of the doll.  If you made legs, you will need to small portions of hardening clay to add to the feet.  The most important part is that Elsie has her Bible which you could make out of an extra scrap of paper.  (Submitted by Lindsey K.)

A LETTER TO GOD
Get a notebook and pretend you are writing a letter to GOD. Tell him what is going on, what you are feeling, etc. have fun!!! Maddie K. age 10

A PERFECT PLAY (From Jenna W., age 8)
You will need; Costumes, characters, and a background. Make out a script that tells you how it was like in the past. Choose some characters (like Millie) and costumes that look like how they dressed. Make the perfect scenes by making a background in different places. And you can feel how it's like! 

THE STORY (Submitted by Melanie J. age 12)
Have every one gather around and someone start a story. Then some one else adds to it. Then another and another and so on, and see how silly you can make it. 

SIMPLY FUN (Submitted by Diamond, Age12)
If I lived on the frontier my idea of fun would be watching animals run free and swimming in a lake or pond. I would have really liked it if an Indian came up to me. I would have been worried just like Millie at first. But, I would have gotten use to it. And that's my idea of fun.

FUN FRIENDSHIP GAME (Submitted by Kaitlyn, Age: 10)
I made up a game to help you get to know some one a little better. First you each get a piece of paper to keep track of your points and questions. Take turns asking questions about yourself to the other person, such as; "What is my favorite color?" The other person would write what they think it is down on their piece of paper. Each person should ask 3 questions, then swap papers and check the answers. Give yourself 5 points for each correct answer, and 0 points for each incorrect answer. The person with the most points wins.

TRAVELS AND MEMORIES MEMORY NOTEBOOK AND JOURNAL
(Submitted by Christa, Age 9)

I got an inspiration for this fun and cheap activity from another frontier fun activity that was posted called "A Life of Faith Passport."  This notebook is called the "Travels and Memories Memory Notebook and Journal."  I sort of got the idea from the fact that I was going to take an airplane trip to Philippines, stopping by at Canada, Hong Kong, and other places as well.  This is a great little pocket-sized notebook on which you can record your travels and memories.  Thank you, whoever sent in "A Life of Faith Passport," you inspired me!

To make a Travel and Memories Memory Notebook and Journal, you need:
a "fat" notebook that you can find almost anywhere, a pen or a gel pen, a piece of colored construction paper, a picture of yourself, a glue stick or a bottle of school glue (it'll work better if it's washable), a pair of scissors, some stickers and maybe some stamps from different countries and other things that you can use to decorate it with.

To make your Notebook, first get your construction paper and draw lines like this: 51/2" "tall" and 4" in width.  Make another rectangle using the same perimeter instructions.  Cut the rectangles out.  Lay them on the cover of the fat book.  Take the glue and put glue on the notebook cover.  Lay one rectangle on top of the cover.  After the glue has dried, cut the extra construction paper off so that the construction paper matches up with the "end" of the cover.  Do the same thing to the other cover.  After that, flip to the first page and put your picture in.  Write your full name, your phone number, the date, and your address.  Just like the Life of Faith Passport, you put the places you've went to or gone to and check it off when you get there.  You may want to put in a stamp, too if you want a little "souvenir" for your notebook.  After that, put in a little section for what you learned on the trip(s).  Put a place for a little "prayer journal" that can be used up in a week or so.  After that, put a section for notes.  When you're done, you can use your pen or gel pen to write My Travels and Memories Memory Notebook and Journal.  Then, it's time for the fun.  You get to decorate the cover of your notebook!