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Grow, Little Seed!

A farmer, hungry birds, rocks, thorns, good soft ground, a tiny mustard seed, and a hidden treasure

  • 🛡️ CTR 4–6
  • Week 12
  • 📅 Sunday, March 21, 2027
🤔 Forehead Guess🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

My heart is like a garden: when I listen to Jesus and do what He teaches, my testimony grows.

I can have a soft, good-ground heart by listening to Jesus and doing what He says.

Study it yourself firstRead Matthew 13; Luke 8; 13 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Matthew 13; Luke 8; 13)
Know the chapters

Matthew 13 is full of parables. They’re short stories about everyday things that teach about God’s kingdom. So many people came to hear Jesus by the sea that He sat in a boat and taught from the water. He told about seeds, weeds, bread dough and a tiny mustard seed that grows into a tree. He told about a treasure hidden in a field, a beautiful pearl and a fishing net. Luke 8 tells the sower story too. Luke 13 tells how Jesus healed a woman who’d been bent over for eighteen years.

The heart of this lesson is the parable of the sower, in Matthew 13:3–23. A farmer scatters seeds. Some land on the hard path, and birds eat them. Some land on rocky ground, sprout fast, then dry up in the sun because they have no roots. Some land among thorns that crowd them out. Some land on good ground and grow a huge harvest. Jesus explained that the seed is God’s word. The ground is our heart, meaning how we listen and whether we keep doing what we hear.

Four- to seven-year-olds can’t easily think in symbols yet, so make it concrete. Show a real seed. Give each kind of ground a simple hand motion. Clear a messy garden together. Then make one simple link: “Your heart is like the ground. When you listen to Jesus and do what He says, good things grow.” The best news is that ground can change. We clear out rocks and thorns by praying, listening and choosing the right.

In 13:31–32, the mustard seed shows that something tiny can grow huge, like a child’s testimony. In 13:44–46, the treasure and the pearl show the gospel is worth more than anything. For the 7-year-olds, baptism is like planting in good ground. The sacrament each week helps their roots grow deep.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Matthew 13:3–9 and 13:18–23. Grab a few kitchen seeds and crumple some scrap paper. Do What Will It Grow? Then tell the story in Teach Mode, stopping for guesses. Grow from Tiny Seed to Giant Tree and say Matthew 13:9 with motions. Clear the Garden, then close with your testimony. Brought nothing? Tap “I brought nothing.” Fists and cupped hands become rocks and good ground.

What to bring2 items

Tick what you have. Forgot something? Every step that needs a supply has a no-supplies version in the plan below.

Before class

  1. Read Matthew 13:3–9 and 13:18–23.
  2. Keep the seeds in your closed hand or a small cup so no one eats them. Crumple the scrap paper into balls and keep them in a bag.

If your class is wild

  • Take guesses from raised hands. Every guess gets a “Great guess!”
  • Give your wiggliest kid the Seed Scatterer job. Now their energy gets the seeds flying.
  • Keep coming back to one line: “Your heart is the ground.” Say it at least three times.
  • Four-year-olds can say just one word when they pick up a paper rock, like “Pray!” or “Sing!” That counts.

The 25-minute plan24 min + bonus

Bonus steps are for when you have extra time. Steps that mention Teach Mode, the Sound Board or other class games refer to the Gospel Sparks app; on the web you can play Forehead Guess and Scripture Showdown from this page.

1. Hook

What Will It Grow?

3 min

Real seeds in the teacher’s hand spark curiosity.

  1. SAY“I have something teeny-tiny in my hand. It can turn into something giant. What could it be?”
  2. Hold out a closed fist and take three guesses.
  3. Open your hand and show the seeds. Let kids guess what each grows into, like an apple tree, a bean plant or a sunflower!
  4. SAY“A seed needs good ground to grow. Jesus told a story about four kinds of ground.”

Class screen: 🌰 Something tiny that grows GIANT! · 🤏 What is it?

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: A few seeds from the kitchen (apple seeds, dry beans or sunflower seeds), for looking only

Secret Seed

  1. SAY“I have an invisible seed in my hands. It can turn into something giant.”
  2. Cup your hands like you’re holding a secret.
  3. Give clues and let kids guess. “It grows red, crunchy fruit.” An apple tree! “It grows a flower as tall as a grown-up.” A sunflower!
  4. SAY“A seed needs good ground to grow. Jesus told a story about four kinds of ground.”

Class screen: 🤲 What will my secret seed grow? · 🤏 What is it?

2. Story

Story: The Farmer and the Seeds

7 min

Jesus’s story of the seeds shows that our hearts are like the ground. Good-ground hearts listen and do.

  1. SAY“Jesus told this story to teach us. I’ll stop sometimes so you can guess what happens next.”
  2. Open the story in Teach Mode. A big kid can read each caption. At each “Guess!”, take a few guesses, then read on.
  3. After scene 6, ask, “Which seeds grew the best?” The ones on good ground!
  4. After scene 7, ask, “What is the ground like?” Our heart! Then ask, “How can you be a good-ground listener in Primary?”
🌪️ If the room drifts, stop and whisper, “Guess what happens next?” Everyone leans in.

Class screen: 🌱 The Farmer and the Seeds · 🤔 Guess! · ❤️ Good ground!

3. Wiggle break

Tiny Seed, Giant Tree

2 min

Growing from a tiny seed to a tall tree gets the wiggles out and shows how a testimony can grow.

  1. SAY“Jesus said a tiny mustard seed grows into a big tree. It’s so big that birds sit in its branches! Curl up tiny by your chair.”
  2. Count slowly to ten while everyone grows. Wiggle toes for roots. Stand up for the stem. Arms out for branches. Wiggle fingers for leaves.
  3. SAY“Your testimony can start tiny and grow big and strong!”
  4. Everyone sits down with a hand on their heart: “Good ground!”

Class screen: 🌳 Tiny seed… GIANT tree! · Matthew 13:31–32

4. Scripture

Key Verse: Matthew 13:9

3 min

A short verse with motions teaches that good-ground hearts really listen to Jesus.

  1. SAY“Here’s what Jesus said after His story.”
  2. Show the verse on your phone or tablet. A big kid reads it while little ones do the motions.
  3. Say it together three ways: a squeaky bird voice, a deep farmer voice, then a whisper.
  4. Play Good Listener. Whisper a silly instruction, like “Touch your nose” or “Wiggle your elbow.” Only kids who hear it can do it.
  5. SAY“Good-ground hearts really listen to Jesus. And then they do what He says.”

Class screen: 👂 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. · Matthew 13:9

5. Object lesson

Clear the Garden

6 min

Kids clear “rocks and thorns” off the floor while naming things that help their hearts listen to Jesus.

  1. SAY“This garden is full of rocks and thorns. Seeds can’t grow here!”
  2. Scatter the paper balls on the floor.
  3. SAY“Let’s make good ground. Pick up one rock or thorn. Then tell me something that helps a heart listen to Jesus.”
  4. Kids take turns, like pray, listen in Primary or sing about Jesus. After each one, everyone puts a hand on their heart: “Good ground!”
  5. SAY“Our garden is clear! Now the seed can grow. When we listen to Jesus and do what He says, our testimony grows.”
🌪️ One picker at a time while everyone else counts the balls left. No throwing the rocks!

Class screen: 🧹 Clear out the rocks and thorns! · Pray 🙏 · Listen 👂 · Sacrament 🍞

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: 6 to 10 sheets of scrap paper, crumpled into balls (the rocks and thorns)

Rock or Good Ground?

  1. SAY“Let’s check our garden. Make a fist for a hard rock. Open your cupped hands for soft, good ground.”
  2. Read choices: “I listen when Mom reads scriptures.” “I cover my ears at prayer time.” “I sing about Jesus.” Kids show a fist or cupped hands.
  3. For each good-ground answer, everyone puts a hand on their heart: “Good ground!”
  4. Go around the circle. Each kid names one thing that helps a heart listen to Jesus.
  5. SAY“When we listen and do, our testimony grows.”

Class screen: ✊ Hard rock or good ground? · ✊ Rock · 🤲 Good ground!

6. Testimony

My Heart Is Good Ground

3 min

End calm and reverent, with one way to listen to Jesus this week.

  1. SAY“Let’s make our hearts quiet and soft. Put a hand on your heart.”
  2. Softly hum “Listen, Listen” while you wait for stillness. Then share something you learned from Jesus that has grown in your life.
  3. SAY“When you’re baptized and take the sacrament each week, your roots grow deep. You’re like a plant in good ground.”
  4. Share the Good Ground Gardener challenge. Then invite a child to say the closing prayer.

Class screen: ❤️ I can have a good-ground heart · Listen 👂 · Do 🙌 · Grow 🌱

7. Game

Forehead Guess: Garden Edition

4 minBONUS

A picture guessing game reviews the lesson, and the pictures let non-readers give clues too.

  1. SAY“Let’s see what you remember! Give clues, but don’t say the word.”
  2. Tap Forehead Guess. One kid holds your phone or tablet on their forehead, screen facing the class. Everyone else gives clues from their seats.
  3. Little ones can do a motion or a sound for the picture. Pair each little guesser with a big-kid buddy.
  4. Tilt down for “got it” and up to pass. After about 30 seconds, your phone or tablet moves to the next kid.
🌪️ Go around the room with one clue each, so nobody shouts over anybody.
▶ Play Forehead Guess on the web

Class screen: 🤔 Forehead Guess! · Give clues, don’t say the word!

8. Game

Scripture Showdown

5 minBONUS

A fast team picture quiz reviews everything they learned.

  1. SAY“It’s Team Good Ground versus Team Mustard Seed!”
  2. Split the class in two, mixing big and little kids. Tap Scripture Showdown.
  3. Read each question out loud. Teams whisper together, then point to an answer.
  4. Tap the team that got it right to give them a point. Cheer for both teams.
▶ Play Scripture Showdown on the web

Class screen: 🏆 Scripture Showdown!

The story

The Farmer and the Seeds

Matthew 13:3–9, 18–23 ↗

Optional helpers

  • Seed ScattererFlicks pretend seeds from their seat when the farmer plants.
  • Sound HelperSits next to you and taps each scene’s sound on your phone or tablet.

Scenes

  1. ⛵👥 Jesus teaches from a boat

    So many people came to see Jesus by the sea! So He got into a boat and sat down. The whole crowd stood on the shore. And He told them a story about a farmer.

    🙌

  2. 🧑‍🌾🌱 A farmer plants his seeds

    A farmer went out to plant seeds. He scattered them with his hand. And they landed in all kinds of places.

    🙌 Guess! Where will the seeds land?

  3. 🛤️🐦 Seeds on the hard path

    Some seeds fell on the hard path where people walked. They just sat on top. And the birds swooped down and gobbled them up!

    🙌 Flap your hands like hungry birds!

  4. 🪨☀️ Seeds on the rocky ground

    Some seeds fell on rocky ground with only a little dirt. They popped up fast! But then the hot sun came. With no deep roots, they dried up and wilted.

    🙌

  5. 🌵🌱 Seeds in the thorns

    Some seeds fell among thorny weeds. They started to grow. But the thorns grew faster! They crowded the plants until they couldn’t grow anymore.

    🙌 Guess! Which seeds will grow the best?

  6. 🟫🌾 Seeds on good ground!

    But some seeds fell on good, soft ground. They grew roots, then stems, then tall plants full of grain. Thirty, sixty, even a hundred times more!

    🙌 Count with me: thirty, sixty, a hundred!

  7. ❤️🌱 Your heart is the ground!

    Jesus said, “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” The seed is God’s word. The ground is like our heart. A good-ground heart listens to Jesus and does what He says. Then good things grow!

    🙌

Key verse

Matthew 13:9 ↗
“Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
In kid words: If you have ears, really listen to Jesus!
🙌 “Who hath ears” = point to your ears · “to hear” = cup your hands behind your ears · “let him hear” = lean in, finger to lips, and nod.

More verses

Matthew 13:23 ↗
“he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit”
In kid words: Good ground is a person who hears God’s word, understands it and lives it, and good things grow.
Matthew 13:31–32 ↗
“The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed … Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree”
In kid words: God’s kingdom is like a teeny-tiny seed that grows into a big tree.
Matthew 13:44 ↗
“the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field”
In kid words: The gospel is like a hidden treasure worth more than anything!

Forehead Guess words16 words

  • 🌱 Seed
  • 🧑‍🌾 Farmer
  • 🐦 Bird
  • 🪨 Rock
  • ☀️ Sun
  • 🌵 Thorns
  • 🟫 Dirt
  • 🌳 Tree
  • 👂 Ears
  • ❤️ Heart
  • ⛵ Boat
  • 💰 Treasure
  • 💎 Pearl
  • 🍞 Bread
  • 🎣 Fishing Net
  • 💧 Water
Clues for each word
  • Seed: Plant it and it grows
  • Farmer: He planted the seeds
  • Bird: It gobbled up the seeds on the path
  • Rock: Hard and heavy, no room for roots
  • Sun: Hot and bright in the sky
  • Thorns: Pointy, ouch!
  • Dirt: Good, soft ground for planting
  • Tree: The mustard seed grew into one
  • Ears: You use them to listen
  • Heart: Jesus said it’s like the ground
  • Boat: Jesus taught from one
  • Treasure: Hidden in a field
  • Pearl: A beautiful white jewel
  • Bread: Yeast makes the dough grow big
  • Fishing Net: Fishermen catch fish with it
  • Water: Plants need it to grow
▶ Play Forehead GuessFull screen, 60-second timer, works on any phone.

Scripture Showdown8 questions

  1. What did the farmer plant?
    • A. Toys 🧸
    • B. Seeds 🌱
    • C. Shoes 👟
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Seeds 🌱 He scattered seeds everywhere!

  2. What ate the seeds on the hard path?
    • A. Birds 🐦
    • B. Cows 🐄
    • C. Dinosaurs 🦖
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Birds 🐦 The birds swooped down and gobbled them up.

  3. Why did the plants on rocky ground dry up?
    • A. It snowed ❄️
    • B. Someone stepped on them 🦶
    • C. They had no deep roots 🌱
    Show answer

    ✅ C. They had no deep roots 🌱 When the hot sun came, they couldn’t get water.

  4. What crowded out the seeds so they couldn’t grow?
    • A. Thorns 🌵
    • B. Flowers 🌸
    • C. Balloons 🎈
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Thorns 🌵 The thorny weeds grew faster and squished them.

  5. Where did the seeds grow the best?
    • A. On the path 🛤️
    • B. In good ground 🌾
    • C. In a puddle 💦
    Show answer

    ✅ B. In good ground 🌾 Good ground grew a huge harvest!

  6. Jesus said the ground is like our…
    • A. Shoes 👟
    • B. Hair 💇
    • C. Heart ❤️
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Heart ❤️ A good-ground heart listens to Jesus and does what He says.

  7. What did the tiny mustard seed grow into?
    • A. A big tree 🌳
    • B. A rock 🪨
    • C. A cupcake 🧁
    Show answer

    ✅ A. A big tree 🌳 Something tiny can grow huge, like a testimony!

  8. What helps our hearts be good ground?
    • A. Never listening 🙉
    • B. Praying and listening to Jesus 🙏
    • C. Being grumpy 😠
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Praying and listening to Jesus 🙏 When we listen and do what Jesus says, good things grow.

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

Songs

  • Listen, Listen Children’s Songbook, p. 107

    Who hath ears to hear, let him hear! Find it ↗

  • Seek the Lord Early Children’s Songbook, p. 108

    Children can grow good ground in their hearts while they’re young. Find it ↗

  • Search, Ponder, and Pray Children’s Songbook, p. 109

    Reading, thinking and praying help a testimony grow. Find it ↗

This week’s challenge

Good Ground Gardener

This week, be a super listener during family prayer and scripture time. Then do one thing you heard. Ask a grown-up to help you plant a seed in a cup and watch it grow.

Text the parents

Today in Primary we heard Jesus’s story of the farmer, in Matthew 13:3–23. His seeds landed on the path, on rocks, in thorns and on good ground. We learned that our hearts are like the ground. When we listen to Jesus and do what He says, our testimony grows. We cleared paper rocks and thorns out of a pretend garden. Ask your child, “Where did the seeds grow best? How can our family be good ground this week?”

📝 After class

What worked? Who needs a check-in this week? Jot it here on a printed copy, or in the app’s private class notes.

Got extra time?

🪴 Plant a Cup · 5 min

  1. Give each child a paper cup with a little soil and a bean or seed.
  2. Kids poke the seed in with a finger and pat the soil. Readers write their name on the cup.
  3. SAY“Water it and put it in the sun. Every time you see it grow, remember this. Your testimony grows when you listen to Jesus.”

🧍 Bent Over, Standing Tall · 3 min

  1. Tell how Jesus healed a woman who had been bent over for eighteen years. It’s in Luke 13:11–13.
  2. Everyone curls forward in their seat. Read Jesus’s words, “Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.” Everyone sits up tall.
  3. SAY“Jesus can help us with things we can’t fix by ourselves.”

🔍 Parable Match · 4 min

  1. Gather or draw a seed, a slice of bread, a button for a pearl, a coin for treasure and a mesh bag for a net.
  2. Tell each of Jesus’s short stories in one sentence. Kids point to the matching object.
  3. Ask, “Why did Jesus use everyday things to teach?” So we can remember Him every day!

💎 Treasure Hunt: The Pearl · 3 min

  1. Show Matthew 13:45–46 on your phone or tablet.
  2. SAY“Jesus told about a man who found one beautiful pearl. He gave up everything else to have it.”
  3. Hide a white button or cotton-ball pearl while kids cover their eyes. One child hunts while the class says “warmer” or “colder.”
  4. When it’s found, ask, “What in the gospel is worth more than anything?” Listen for Jesus, families forever, the scriptures and prayer.

Sources

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version, the Bible used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Tap or click a reference to open it in Gospel Library. Start with the official Come, Follow Me manual; these ideas are here to help it come alive.

All CTR 4–6 lessons