FHE Song Idea

I found this video on Youtube. (I don't know who made it, but would like to give them credit if anyone knows). What a great way to teach our kids the names of the twelve apostles. My five year old nephew has it memorized and it's so cute to hear him sing it.
Hope you enjoy!

Easy Family Night Lesson

Here's a cute idea sent in by a reader. I love it! It's simple, easy, and effective...my kind of family night.

I like spending a whole FHE on teaching a primary song to my kids. I feel it's a good investment since songs stay with us far longer than words do. Here's a good way to sing a song over and over again without it getting laborious: Each time you sing a verse of "I want to Live the Gospel" (Children's Songbook 148) or any other song, allow a member of the family to choose how everyone will keep the beat. The motion could be tapping your head, patting your lap, spinning your arms, etc. as long as it can be done to the beat. After several turns, we focus on one important word or phrase such as the phrase "to know I am heard when I pray." I ask my kids, how can we know our prayers are heard? One obvious answer is to live the gospel since that's the name of the song. We allow a few comments and then continue our singing game!

Family Scripture Study Tips

"Scripture Strips" are a fun way to choose what to read for family scripture study. In a small box or jar place strips of paper containing the names and verses of stories and/or topics you want your family to study (If you are reading from the picture books just write down the title of the stories). Each time you gather for FSS choose someone to draw a paper from the jar. You'll be surprised at how such a simple thing can make a difference in your children's desire to read the scriptures. My children get very excited about gathering for FSS and say it makes scripture study more fun!

Another fun idea that my children created, was to make a "pulpit" (out of a chair and a stool) and place it in the center of the room. Whenever it is someone's turn to read, they stand at the pulpit to read and ask the rest of the family questions about the verses. What child doesn't enjoy being the center of attention and in charge? I often find my kids talking more seriously when at the "pulpit" and a few times they have made comments or said things in a way that reminds me of their primary leaders....I have to chuckle when that happens...I guess they're paying closer attention than I thought !

Great FHE Resource for Young Children

I just picked a copy of the new nursery manual that the church just released. Not only is this a great resource for us nursery leaders, but as I was looking through it I realized what a terrific family home evening lesson book this would be for families with young children!

The lessons are short and easy and very age appropriate. All visual aids are arranged with the lessons - so no hunting them down, and there are even coloring pages and activity pages to go with each lesson.

I am very happy with the way this manual is laid out and feel that it is much easier for teachers to use, and for children to understand.

You can buy a copy online at www.ldscatalog.com
or at the distribution center. The cost is $5.50! You can't beat that! So no more excuses (hint, hint to myself :) for not having FHE lessons with our little ones.

Question

Below is a reader submitted question. Please send in any comments or suggestions you might have. Just click on "comments" below the post. Thanks!

I need some easy Family Home Evening lesson or game ideas for young children that actually teach a gospel principle. Any ideas that have worked for you? Please help!

Guilt: Motivator or 4-Letter Word?

Ok, so I admit, I have not been very consistent this summer with both FHE and FSS. Yikes! And as a result I am now filled with guilt. But not the good guilt (is there such a thing?) - this is the "I am such a horrible mother, I am so disappointed in myself, I just want to give up" kind of guilt. Now I know that someone might say, "it's okay, everyone forgets now and again." And if that were the case I wouldn't feel so guilty. My guilt comes from the fact that I have remembered that it's Monday, and I have remembered we need to read scriptures regularly, but I have still not done them - I just haven't wanted to. And so now the guilt seeps in!

I've noticed that sometimes I feel guilty about not doing something and it eventually motivates me to try harder, and be better. But then there are the times when I'm just so tired of trying to do everything right and realizing I'm not doing a very good job, and I start to feel crushing feelings of guilt. This guilt does not motivate me, this guilt paralyzes me and makes me feel worse - such is how I feel now. Not good!

So, my question is, is guilt a good thing? Does guilt motivate you or make you feel worse? Isn't there a better way to feel motivated? I personally don't like guilt, and I don't like doing something just because I feel guilty. I prefer more positive ways of motivation.

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Similar feelings? If so, please share, I'd love to hear your opinion! Thanks!

FSS Tip of the Week - Timing is Everything

The idea for this post came while reading scriptures with my children today. My oldest daughter was tired and not putting much effort into her reading, and didn't want to answer any questions. My younger daughter got her feelings hurt and mumbled everything she read. So we stopped. Even though we still had several verses to read in that lesson, I decided to stop before things got ugly. In the past, when I've pushed on and made them read until the end, someone, or even everyone, ends up leaving mad and/or crying. Was that my purpose when we began? I don't think so. What was my purpose? Well, for one, it was to bring the spirit into our home, and for another, it was to help my children gain a greater understanding of the scriptures. If, today, I had kept reading, would either of those purposes been met? I think not. Which is why I stopped on a good note. Granted, we had only read for a few minutes, but sometimes that's enough.

So my tip this week is to be aware of the timing in your scripture reading. Don't read longer than your children can pay attention, and don't worry about how much you read. Often we will get stuck on one verse, one concept, and have a really good discussion during our scripture study. And when that happens, I try to remember to stop on a good note. My purposes were met and everyone left feeling a greater measure of the spirit.

When your children are younger, it's okay to read only a few verses, or even just one verse. The time will come soon enough when you are reading entire chapters (we're still working up to reading one chapter). Enjoy this time while they are young, and remember why you're reading. Teach them to love the scriptures, to feel the spirit and to learn what Heavenly Father would want them to know right now.

So remember that timing really is everything, and to love the time you have reading together!
Enjoy!