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Good Ground

A farmer’s seeds, hungry birds, spiky thorns, a tiny seed that becomes a tree, and a pearl worth everything

  • 💧 Valiant 7–8
  • Week 12
  • 📅 Sunday, March 21, 2027
🤔 Forehead Guess🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

When I listen to God’s word with a ready heart, my testimony of Jesus Christ grows like a seed in good ground.

I can make my heart good ground by listening to God’s word and living it.

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 Jesus’s great chapter of parables. They’re short stories about ordinary things, like seeds, weeds, bread dough, buried treasure, a pearl, and a fishing net. Each one teaches about the kingdom of heaven. So many people came to hear Him by the Sea of Galilee that He got into a boat and taught from the water. Luke 8 tells the sower parable too. Luke 13 adds the mustard seed and the leaven. It also tells of Jesus healing a woman who’d been bent over for eighteen years.

For eight-year-olds, the heart of this week is the parable of the sower, in Matthew 13:3–23. Jesus explains it Himself. The seed is the word of God, and the different kinds of ground are different kinds of hearts. A hard path is a heart that doesn’t really listen, so the word gets snatched away. Rocky ground is a heart that gets excited but gives up when things get hard, because there are no roots. Thorny ground is a heart so crowded with worries and wanting stuff that the word gets choked. Good ground is a heart that hears, understands and keeps living the word. It grows a big harvest.

Here’s the good news for kids. Ground can change. We can clear out thorns, dig out rocks and soften the path. We do it by praying, listening in Primary and at home, reading scriptures, taking the sacrament and choosing the right. Most of the children have just made baptism covenants. Every time they act on what they learn, their roots grow deeper.

The treasure and the pearl, in Matthew 13:44–46, show how much the gospel is worth. People in the parables gladly gave up everything to have it. The mustard seed, in 13:31–32, shows that the kingdom and a testimony can start tiny and grow huge.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Matthew 13:3–9 and 18–23. Grab any tiny seed from your spice cabinet for the hook. Tell the story from Teach Mode. Teach Matthew 13:23 with the motions, do Rock or Sponge?, and close with your testimony. Brought nothing? Tap “I brought nothing.” Fists and cupped hands become the hard and soft 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 13:1–23.
  2. Fold the seed in a scrap of paper. Set the sponge, rock and half-full cup of water on the tray.

If your class is wild

  • Pointing at the screen pulls every eye to the front. Use it anytime you lose the room.
  • Make your wiggliest kid the Seed Scatterer. Now their energy gets the seeds flying.
  • At scene 7, slow down and point to your own heart. Kids get quiet when you get personal.
  • In Rock or Sponge?, pick one helper to hold the tray. Everyone else stays seated so nobody gets soaked.
  • If they come in wild, do the Parable Poses extra first. Then do the seed hook.

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

The Tiniest Seed

3 min

A mystery in a closed fist builds suspense and plants the idea that small things grow big.

  1. SAY“In my hand is something that could grow into a huge tree. Birds could rest in its branches! What is it?”
  2. Hold out a closed fist. Take three guesses.
  3. Slowly open your hand and show the tiny seed. Jesus taught this in Matthew 13:31–32.
  4. SAY“But a seed only grows in the right ground. Jesus told a story about four kinds.”
🌪️ Only kids with folded arms get to lean in and look at the seed.

Class screen: ✊ What tiny thing can become a giant tree? · 🌱 What is it?

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: A tiny seed (mustard, poppy or sesame from the spice cabinet), for looking only, not eating

The Invisible Seed

  1. SAY“In my hand is something that could grow into a huge tree. Birds could rest in its branches! What is it?”
  2. Hold out a closed fist. Take three guesses.
  3. Open your hand slowly. Say: “A seed so tiny you can’t even see it! Jesus said God’s kingdom starts tiny and grows huge. So can your testimony.”
  4. SAY“But a seed only grows in the right ground. Jesus told a story about four kinds.”
2. Story

Story: The Sower and the Four Kinds of Ground

7 min

Jesus’s parable shows that God’s word grows in a heart that listens and does what it says.

  1. SAY“Jesus told this story from a boat. Watch the pictures. I’ll ask you to find things.”
  2. Open the story in Teach Mode. When the screen says “Find,” let kids point before you read on.
  3. After scene 6, ask, “Which seeds grew?” The ones on good ground!
  4. After scene 7, ask what the seed is. God’s word! Ask what the ground is. Our heart! Ask what ground they want to be.
🌪️ If the room drifts, ask everyone to point to something on the screen. Then read on.

Class screen: 🌱 The Sower and the Four Kinds of Ground · 👀 Look closely! · 🌱 Which ground grows?

3. Scripture

Key Verse: Matthew 13:23

4 min

Motions help kids remember Jesus’s own explanation of good ground.

  1. SAY“Here is how Jesus explained good ground.”
  2. Show the verse on your phone or tablet and read it slowly.
  3. SAY“‘Beareth fruit’ means good things grow in your life.”
  4. Teach the motions one phrase at a time. Say it curled low like tiny seeds. Then sit up tall like trees and say it proudly.
  5. Ask what three things good ground does. It hears the word, understands it, and bears fruit.

Class screen: 🟫 Hear it. Understand it. Grow fruit!

4. Object lesson

Rock or Sponge?

7 min

Water on a rock and on a sponge shows a hard heart and a good-ground heart, and kids practice spotting soft-heart choices.

  1. SAY“Let’s test two hearts. This rock is a hard heart. This sponge is a soft, good-ground heart.”
  2. Pour a little water on the rock over the tray. Did it soak in? No! Pour water on the sponge. It soaked right in!
  3. Squeeze the sponge. Say: “The water is like God’s word. A soft heart soaks it up. Then good things come out. Kindness, honesty, sharing. That’s the fruit!”
  4. Read quick choices, like “I groan at scripture time.” Kids show a fist for rock or cupped hands for sponge.
  5. Ask, “What helps our hearts stay soft?” Listening, praying, reading scriptures, and repenting.
🌪️ Pick one helper to hold the tray. Everyone else stays seated so nobody gets soaked.

Class screen: 🧽 Is your heart a rock or a sponge? · 🪨 Water runs off · 🧽 Water soaks in

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: A kitchen sponge, a smooth rock, a cup of water and a tray or towel

Hard Hands, Soft Hands

  1. SAY“Make your hands into tight fists. These are hard hearts.”
  2. Tap rain on the Sound Board and pour pretend water over their fists. Ask, “Did you catch any?” No!
  3. SAY“Now cup your hands like a bowl. These are soft, good-ground hearts.”
  4. Pour pretend water again. Everyone holds their full hands very still. A soft heart catches God’s word and keeps it.
  5. Read quick choices. Kids show a fist or cupped hands. Then ask what helps our hearts stay soft.

Class screen: 🤲 Fist or cupped hands? Which one catches the rain? · ✊ Runs off · 🤲 Stays in

5. Testimony

Testimony & the Good Ground Gardener

3 min

End calm and reverent, with a way to keep their hearts soft.

  1. SAY“Let’s make our hearts quiet and soft.”
  2. Hand on heart. Wait for stillness.
  3. Briefly share how your testimony started small and grew as you listened and obeyed.
  4. Ask what thorns crowd out Jesus for kids, like too many screens. Then ask how they could pull one.
  5. Show the Good Ground Gardener challenge. Then invite a child to say the closing prayer.

Class screen: 🧑‍🌾 This week: be a Good Ground Gardener! · Listen to one scripture story each day · Do one thing it teaches

6. Game

Forehead Guess: Parable Edition

4 minBONUS

A quick Heads Up–style review of today’s story and words.

  1. SAY“Let’s see what you remember! Give clues, but don’t say the word.”
  2. Tap Forehead Guess.
  3. One kid holds your phone or tablet on their forehead, screen facing the class. Everyone else gives clues from their seats.
  4. Tilt down for “got it” and up to pass. Each turn is 45 seconds. Then pass your phone or tablet to the next kid.
🌪️ Go around the room one clue at a time. That way nobody shouts over anybody.
▶ Play Forehead Guess on the web

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

7. Game

Scripture Showdown

5 minBONUS

A fast team quiz reviews everything they learned.

  1. SAY“Team Good Ground versus Team Mustard Seed!”
  2. Split the class in two and 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.
▶ Play Scripture Showdown on the web

Class screen: 🏆 Scripture Showdown!

The story

The Sower and the Four Kinds of Ground

Matthew 13:1–23 ↗

Optional helpers

  • Seed ScattererFlicks pretend seeds from their seat when the sower sows.
  • 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 hear Jesus by the sea! So He sat in a boat and taught the crowd on the shore. He told parables. Those are stories about everyday things that teach about God’s kingdom.

    🙌

  2. 🧑‍🌾🌱 A sower goes out to sow

    Jesus said, “Behold, a sower went forth to sow.” A farmer scattered seeds by hand. They landed in four different kinds of places.

    🙌

  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.

    🙌 Find the bird on the screen. Flap your hands like hungry birds!

  4. 🪨☀️ Seeds on the rocky ground

    Some fell on rocky ground with only a little dirt. They sprouted fast! But when the hot sun came up, they had no deep roots, so they withered away.

    🙌 Find the rock. Pop one finger up like a sprout. Then let it droop.

  5. 🌵😵 Seeds among the thorns

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

    🙌 Find the thorns. Squeeze your fingers into a tight, tangled knot!

  6. 🟫🌾 Seeds on good ground

    But some fell on good ground. They grew roots. Then stems. Then tall plants full of grain! Thirty, sixty, even a hundred times more than was planted!

    🙌 Count with me on your fingers: “30! 60! 100!”

  7. ❤️👂 Your heart is the ground!

    Later Jesus explained the story. The seed is God’s word. The ground is the heart of the person who hears it. A good-ground heart hears the word, understands it and lives it. And it grows and grows.

    🙌

Key verse

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 listens to God’s word, understands it, and lives it, and good things grow in their life.
🙌 “received seed” = pinch fingers like holding a seed · “into the good ground” = pat the floor · “heareth the word” = cup your ears · “and understandeth it” = tap your head · “which also beareth fruit” = arms up like a tree, wiggle your fingers like fruit

More verses

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 tree big enough for birds to live in.
Matthew 13:44 ↗
“the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field”
In kid words: A man found treasure in a field. He was so happy that he sold everything he had to buy that field.
Matthew 13:45–46 ↗
“when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it”
In kid words: A man found one beautiful pearl and gave up everything else to have it. The gospel is worth that much!
Matthew 13:16 ↗
“But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear”
In kid words: You are blessed when you really look and really listen to Jesus.

Forehead Guess words18 words

  • 🧑‍🌾 Sower
  • 🌱 Seed
  • 🐦 Birds
  • 🪨 Rocks
  • ☀️ Sun
  • 🌵 Thorns
  • 🟫 Good ground
  • 🌿 Roots
  • ⛵ Boat
  • 📖 Parable
  • 🌳 Mustard seed
  • 💰 Treasure
  • 🦪 Pearl
  • 🎣 Fishing net
  • 🍞 Bread dough
  • 👂 Ears
  • ❤️ Heart
  • 🍎 Fruit
Clues for each word
  • Sower: A farmer who scatters seeds
  • Seed: In the parable, it’s God’s word
  • Birds: They gobbled the seeds on the path
  • Rocks: Hard ground where plants have no deep roots
  • Sun: It scorched the plants with no roots
  • Thorns: Spiky weeds that choke the plants
  • Good ground: Soft soil where seeds grow a big harvest
  • Roots: The part of a plant that grows deep underground
  • Boat: Jesus sat in one to teach the crowd
  • Parable: A story about everyday things that teaches about God
  • Mustard seed: Tiny seed that grows into a tree
  • Treasure: A man found it hidden in a field
  • Pearl: A merchant sold everything to buy one
  • Fishing net: It gathered every kind of fish
  • Bread dough: A little yeast makes it rise
  • Ears: “Who hath ___ to hear, let him hear”
  • Heart: In the parable, it’s the ground
  • Fruit: The good things that grow when we live God’s word
▶ Play Forehead GuessFull screen, 60-second timer, works on any phone.

Scripture Showdown8 questions

  1. Where did Jesus sit to teach the huge crowd by the sea?
    • A. On a mountain
    • B. In a boat
    • C. On a roof
    Show answer

    ✅ B. In a boat The crowd was so big He taught from a boat while they stood on the shore.

  2. In the parable of the sower, what is the seed?
    • A. God’s word
    • B. A cookie
    • C. Money
    Show answer

    ✅ A. God’s word Jesus explained it Himself: the seed is the word of God.

  3. What happened to the seeds that fell on the hard path?
    • A. They grew tall
    • B. They turned to gold
    • C. Birds gobbled them up
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Birds gobbled them up When we don’t really listen, the word gets snatched away before it can grow.

  4. Why did the plants on rocky ground dry up?
    • A. They had no deep roots
    • B. Too much rain
    • C. Bugs ate them
    Show answer

    ✅ A. They had no deep roots Deep roots keep a testimony strong when life gets hard.

  5. What crowded out the seeds that fell among the thorns?
    • A. Birds
    • B. The thorns
    • C. Snow
    Show answer

    ✅ B. The thorns Worries and wanting stuff can crowd out Jesus if we let them.

  6. How much did the seeds on good ground grow?
    • A. Nothing
    • B. Just one plant
    • C. Up to a hundred times more
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Up to a hundred times more A good-ground heart grows an amazing harvest!

  7. The kingdom of heaven is like a tiny ___ seed.
    • A. Mustard
    • B. Apple
    • C. Pumpkin
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Mustard It starts tiny and becomes a tree where birds can rest (Matthew 13:31–32).

  8. What did the merchant sell everything to buy?
    • A. A boat
    • B. One pearl of great price
    • C. A castle
    Show answer

    ✅ B. One pearl of great price The gospel is worth more than everything else we have.

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

Songs

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

    How we help God’s word grow in our hearts. Find it ↗

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

    “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Listening to the Holy Ghost keeps our hearts soft. Find it ↗

  • I Want to Live the Gospel Children’s Songbook, p. 148

    Good ground doesn’t just hear the word, it lives it. Find it ↗

This week’s challenge

Good Ground Gardener

Every day this week, listen to a scripture story with your family or on Gospel Library. Then do one thing it teaches. Pull out a thorn too, like a little less screen time, so you have time for Jesus.

Text the parents

Today in Primary we heard Jesus’s parable of the sower. We learned that the seed is God’s word and the ground is our heart. We poured water on a rock and a sponge. That showed the difference between a hard heart and a soft one. Ask your child what kind of ground they want their heart to be. Then pick a thorn your family could pull out 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?

🌾 Wheat and Weeds · 4 min

  1. Read Matthew 13:24–30. An enemy sowed weeds called tares among the wheat. They looked the same until they grew up.
  2. Whisper “tare” to two kids. At “Harvest!” the tares scowl and the wheat smiles. Can everyone spot them?
  3. Say, “Good and bad grow side by side. We choose which we’ll be. At the end, the Lord gathers the good.”

🧍 Standing Up Straight · 3 min

  1. Read Luke 13:11–13. A woman had been bent over for eighteen years. Jesus touched her, and she stood up straight and praised God.
  2. Everyone slumps in their seat for five seconds. On “Loosed!” sit up tall and stretch.
  3. Ask, “What heavy things can Jesus help lift off of us?”

🍞 Rising Dough Science · 5 min

  1. In a clear bottle, mix yeast, a spoonful of sugar and warm water. Stretch a latex-free balloon over the top. It’s not for eating.
  2. While you wait, read Matthew 13:33. A little leaven, or yeast, makes the whole batch of dough rise.
  3. Check the balloon at the end of class. Say, “One small good choice can spread and lift everyone around you.”

🦪 Pearl of Great Price Hunt · 4 min

  1. Read Matthew 13:45–46. Say, “A merchant sold everything for one pearl. The gospel is that kind of treasure.”
  2. Hide a white button or your scriptures while the seeker covers their eyes. The class hums louder as they get closer.
  3. The finder names a gospel treasure worth more than anything, like Jesus or my family forever. Play three quick rounds.

🌳 Parable Poses · 2 min

  1. Call out a parable picture and everyone strikes a pose. Seed means curl up tiny. Mustard tree means arms high and wide.
  2. Add more, like flapping birds or digging for treasure. Go faster and faster. Wrong pose? Just laugh and keep going.
  3. Finish with “Good ground!” Everyone sits down calmly, hand on heart.

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 Valiant 7–8 lessons