tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13684790.post6490435811130033331..comments2023-11-05T05:28:34.444-07:00Comments on Voice of Reason: Family Home EveningNemesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00110470182822628791noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13684790.post-10733827719848124302012-04-23T14:48:14.180-06:002012-04-23T14:48:14.180-06:00Growing up, one of the best things my parents did ...Growing up, one of the best things my parents did for us kids was read. We didn't always understand what they read, but we got that it was important to them, and was worth listening to. As we got older, it became very important to us too, and we always loved getting together to read and discuss. That love for reading, discussing and spending time together never went away, and it's something I try to do with my kids.<br /><br />And, on the days when I'm wiped out, I can use FHE on DVD, and it provides a nice back up lesson. I'm not sure if you've heard of these, http://fheondvd.com/ , they're worth checking out.<br /><br />You know, one other thing my parents did that I think was really useful is that they didn't wait until we were 'grown up' to try and relate various stories and principles to our lives. Very early, they showed us how working a job might bring up conflicts with keeping the sabbath day holy, for example, and then showed us how we could address those issues. It's never to early to start, especially if you're patient. Thank you for your blog! It's a wonderful read, always.MaryAnnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13684790.post-39192450044061150492012-04-03T12:59:21.274-06:002012-04-03T12:59:21.274-06:00We just had our very first FHE with our 19 month o...We just had our very first FHE with our 19 month old, so I'm certainly not the most experienced with this, BUT we did have a successful "lesson" using the scripture stories videos: <br /><br />http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?locale=0&vgnextoid=12f1d9e1ec1cb110VgnVCM100000176f620aRCRD<br /><br />I didn't even know those existed! We sang a song (using the church's interactive media player), watched a 2 minute video, sang another song, and bam - done. It was awesome and I'm going to keep using this formula (song, video, song) till we're tired of it.Jennhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17337939211349242608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13684790.post-82191558763180830502012-03-28T12:07:16.260-06:002012-03-28T12:07:16.260-06:00The best thing that ever happened to FHE at our ho...The best thing that ever happened to FHE at our house was that my husband decided to BE IN CHARGE. Ok, I still do the lesson in a pinch, but overall, he has come up with the ideas, games, visuals, etc. I don't know what talk/lesson/vision inspired him, but it has been at least 10 years. Honestly, he hated the prepared lessons that I had made with some friends. Now that the kids are older (ranging from 16-8) FHE is an expectation. We have had a tremendous amount of fun (and also some WWF smackdown times) at FHE. It's the pattern you're after. Sit down with GH and have a "parenting" discussion about what he thinks/wants FHE to be in 5 years and what you both can do now to maybe have that happen. Baby steps, but always moving forward.<br /><br />Also, I loved everyone's comments about Sunday. One thing I kept in my Sunday bag was a little cheapo photo album filled with snapshots of family members, pets, neighbors, stuff like that. I had a couple that I would rotate. Since we didn't live close to any of our extended family member, the kids LOVED looking at those little photo books. And also, when you're on the verge of the nervous breakdown, hopefully your bishop will be inspired to release you and give you a non-Sunday calling. Mine did. I love that guy.Flashlight Girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10982754948450433465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13684790.post-87161709320943049412012-03-28T09:10:46.078-06:002012-03-28T09:10:46.078-06:00That video clip is the sweetest. I found it after...That video clip is the sweetest. I found it after you mentioned it the last time I saw you and our girls LOVE it. So thank you!<br /><br />Like Desmama, we generally try to talk about things that are kind of relevant to the current climate in our household. Things like sharing, reverence, helping out around the house, loving ourselves and others, our relationship to Heavenly Father and Jesus...<br /><br />The Gospel Art Kit is a great idea. Our three-year-old especially loves it and the six-year-old looked through it all during sacrament last week.emandtrevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17496021016172870242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13684790.post-66863407732144976442012-03-27T15:40:00.850-06:002012-03-27T15:40:00.850-06:00My husband is the bishop in our ward, leaving me t...My husband is the bishop in our ward, leaving me to wrangle a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old alone. We're staying afloat now, but I'm not quite sure yet how we'll manage when Baby #3 joins us in May, so I'm sure I'll be referencing the comments you got on your last post frequently! :)<br /><br />FHE with toddlers/preschoolers, however, is a lot more fun. A couple weeks ago we talked about the tower of Babel and played Jenga (or a super simplified version of Jenga, since the 2-year-old kept knocking it over). Another time we talked about temples and built our own out of building blocks. I recently came across this blog post (thank you, Pinterest) full of great ideas that we've gleaned from as well: http://mormonmommymft.blogspot.com/2011/12/55-fhe-ideas-with-toddler.html. Also, if you don't have a copy already, get your hands on the Nursery manual. It's a goldmine of great ideas for FHE With Tiny People.Lindsayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13827607152706015982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13684790.post-37975473896276732042012-03-27T14:27:55.339-06:002012-03-27T14:27:55.339-06:00TDL is so adorable!! one time my when my nephews ...TDL is so adorable!! one time my when my nephews were in town for fhe my dad came up with a noah's ark lesson where the toddlers climbed into a laundry hamper with all their stuffed animals. they loved it!Anna Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02376781793087491281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13684790.post-14099571484846394302012-03-27T14:16:08.747-06:002012-03-27T14:16:08.747-06:00My mom keeps an antique box full of photos in her ...My mom keeps an antique box full of photos in her living room- recent photos, photos of my siblings and me as kids, photos of she and my dad when they were young, photos of their parents- just a mishmash of things. Ever since she was about three, (she's six now), one of my niece's favorite activities at my parents' house has been to sit and look through these loose photos. When she was younger, she would point to each one and say "WHOZAT?!" and then patiently listen as we told her. Now she can go through and tell us who everyone is. It's sweet and delightful- and a great way to familiarize her with family members who live far away.Jessicahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05120155038201903839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13684790.post-76039282508312519272012-03-27T13:41:24.037-06:002012-03-27T13:41:24.037-06:00The nursery manual is awesome when your kids are t...The nursery manual is awesome when your kids are tiny. And, FHE doesn't ever have to be a long, drawn out event even if they're not. I had a sister in one of my wards call their FHE: Family Home Moment. Sometimes that was all they got out of it. One of my favorite talks ever, and the one I get the most satisfaction out of as a parent is the GC talk where Elder Bednar talked about the fact that our children won't remember specific FHE's or specific nights of scripture study, but they will remember that we did it. After I heard that talk, I gained so much hope as a parent because I could abandon the idea that every FHE or every time we read the scriptures it had to be a momentous, spiritual experience.<br /><br />The Gospel Art Kit is fantastic because, a lot of nights, we would pull out a picture and we or one of the children would read what was on the back. That was it. But, they grew familiar with scripture stories that way. <br /><br />Now that ours are older, when we're consistent (FHE will always be one of my areas of struggle as a parent), we divide FHE up this way: Two Mondays are lessons, one Monday is game night and one Monday is life skills. That's how they've learned to iron shirts or clean bathrooms!Holly (2 Kids and Tired)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13075380878850295214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13684790.post-5991129153997483722012-03-27T13:31:55.583-06:002012-03-27T13:31:55.583-06:00It seems that a recurring FHE theme in our house i...It seems that a recurring FHE theme in our house is reverence in church and obedience to Mom and Dad. ;) <br />Can you tell where our weaknesses are?<br /><br />Last night we did FHE at the dinner table over dinner and talked about manners. Dad set out the nice plates and silverware, we got out the linen napkins, and the kids had to learn which way to pass the food, which silverware to use for what dish. It was fun. Not terribly spiritual, but I feel like sometimes FHE can be used for teaching life skills too, like manners and stranger danger and stuff. It's all important!<br /><br />I second the nursery manual idea or the Gospel Art Kit idea. Sometimes just bringing out a picture, talking about it, singing a song or two, that's plenty good for a little guy.Desmamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04799831623274044784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13684790.post-51050933368012509332012-03-27T13:23:02.893-06:002012-03-27T13:23:02.893-06:00The nursery manual has fabulous ideas, and we'...The nursery manual has fabulous ideas, and we've pulled ideas out of there. Also, my three boys really love to act out gospel stories (particularly where they get to make arrows out of paper and throw them at their baby brother, aka Samuel the Lamanite, and mom, aka God/The Spirit/Whatever, makes sure that Samuel cannot be hit). Especially once he gets older, I've found that acting out the stories after reading them in the Gospel Reader books really helps the story sink in, and Old Testament stories are particularly fun for this. Or sometimes we just do tickle fights or wrestling. I keep waiting for the day when my kids are old enough to learn football penalty signals (like the moves that the refs do when they call "holding" and "roughing the kicker"). American Idol w/ primary songs. And I'm That Mom who has my kids act out stranger danger situations for FHE, too. But while they're younger, we talked a lot about how to fold our arms and bow our heads, and how we always say please/thank you. Oh, and those Bible videos are lovely, too.Liz Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07549586800620411712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13684790.post-30749067925233241132012-03-27T11:46:24.922-06:002012-03-27T11:46:24.922-06:00The hokey pokey at the end of every Family Home Ev...The hokey pokey at the end of every Family Home Evening. It's a must and a handy threat for when they want to quit paying attention and starting throwing each other off the couch. <br /><br />A staple for us has been showing a picture from the gospel art kit and then telling about the picture based on their attention span/comprehension level, or having the kids tell about it.Jennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18045980270615348902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13684790.post-35794671982176447672012-03-27T11:30:14.537-06:002012-03-27T11:30:14.537-06:00Our most "successful" (I have a 35-month...Our most "successful" (I have a 35-month-old and a 16-month-old) are the lessons about the creation/Noah's ark/being kind to all creatures/etc. because then we can talk about animals. Oh, how my boys love animals. And after our two-minute lesson we usually play a game where we each act out different animals. Then the animals attack each other while, obviously, being kind to all creatures. We do some variation of the animals lesson every other week.Jennifer Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01959790006458308942noreply@blogger.com