How to Jump Start a Car

Our latest RS activity was supposed to be in February but we postponed it due to the weather being -3degF.  So a month later we got together for our "Conversations & Hearts" activity.

First we played "Speed Friending".  We had conversation questions at each table and let the ladies chat together for 5 min, then we switched seats.  I was trying to figure out how to switch people to keep the groups different each time and to break up people who normally sit together.  We labeled each table "Table 1" "Table 2, .."  Then on the back of each chair their was a sign that said "Go to Table 1" "Go to Table 2" etc.  So every person got sent to a different table. (I made sure that we didn't have a Go to Table 3 sign on Table 3, for example, so you never stayed at the same table).  It worked great and I learned a lot about our sisters!

After Speed Friending we had 5 Minute Mini Tutorials.  We had people sign up for whatever they wanted to teach.  I mentioned to Gina that if she wanted a car lesson, I'd figure out something.  She loved the idea - so I had to think what I could teach in 5 minutes, that's so short!!!  I decided to focus on Jump Starting a car.  It's something that we all will run into eventually.  It's not too complicated, but you really don't want to mess it up.  Always good to have a refresher.

I realized that they probably wouldn't remember the details when they needed it (stuck in a parking lot in the middle of the night in below zero temperatures).  So I decided to give them a handout.  I looked for one that I thought was "cute" but couldn't find anything that fit the bill.  So I made this handout - it has a front and a back:

Here are a few photos of the my tutorial.  You can't tell but I'm wearing my checkered flag earrings.  And yes, I was wearing jeans.  A few days prior my friend Jamie said she hasn't seen me in jeans ever!  haha!  So I decided to wear them for her  that night (did I mention I hate jeans?!)

Token selfie in my sexy Formula SAE polo!

The other mini tutorials were great!  I learned a bunch of cool things.  One class was about little kids in church.  She had lots of great tips, including taking the puzzles and games out of the Friend, putting them in sheet protectors, then using Dry Erase Crayons to let your kids color them.  Then you can wipe them off and use them again or share with siblings.  We bought them that week and they are really cool!  They work better than Dry Erase Markers.

Another tutorial taught about traveling with kids.  Her family involves the kids in the trip planning, choosing restaurants, etc.  They consider every moment once they leave the house the trip, the airport, and they try to plan fun things to do.  The kids are in charge of the trip budget, they get a notebook and a calculator to keep track of everything they spend, she said it teaches them about finances as well as helps cut down on them asking for stuff.  She helped me realize I don't need to be afraid to travel with little kids.

One was on social psychology and how we need to practice thinking with "learning questions" instead of "judging questions".  When someone does something that seems irrational to us, we need to remember that it is rational to them.  So we need to ask ourselves what they thought to get them there.  She said it's easiest to practice on strangers and harder to work on when we are emotionally invested - like with our kids.  But it can help us see things through their eyes and often be less frustrated with added understanding.

The last class was taught by an ER nurse.  She said they use tampons to stop bloody noses (I already knew that trick from She's the Man).  They often have people come in the ER who have had hiccups for a long time.  They make them take a big sniff of pure ammonia.  She said that smelling ammonia stops them in their tracks.  Every time.  No more hiccups.

It was a fun night!  I hope we do it again next year cause there are some many talented women in our ward to learn from!