Does any of the following sound familiar?
Monday night rolls around and it is time for FHE. It seems to take all of your strength and imagination just to get everyone sitting down in the same room, and you still have prayers, music, and the lesson to get to. The song seems to go well since your child knows all the words to "I Am a Child of God" and lets you know it by screeching the words at the top of her little lungs. ( I really shouldn't say "little lungs", that seems to imply that its not very loud.) During the prayer your child actually bows her head and folds her arms, but she chants Jesus' name through the entire prayer. Then comes the lesson that you have worked so hard to prepare, we'll just leave that one to your imagination . . .
I don't know about some of you, but I for one have found it a little bit difficult to find toddler friendly family home evenings. When it was just Garrett and I, it was easy. We would just work our way through different manuals, listen to lectures on C.D., or read from the Ensign for our Family Home Evening lessons. Now that there is a little girl involved you need the visuals, the activities, and the fun finger plays and songs to go along with the lesson. So, I have been saving all of my family home evenings and organizing them by subjects into large manila envelope. I thought I would share the lessons that I am creating with all of you. I put the lesson into a word document each month anyway so that my kids can one day have access to all the stuff I put together, so I figured, why not post it here too? Now, I can hardly take credit for half of the stuff that I do. I get plenty of help from the Friend, the Ensign, from the new nursery manual, from all the primary manuals, and from many other websites that I will share as well. I simply take a little from each to get what I want in the end.
Some weeks I must say that my preparation feels like it goes to waste. Kenzie seems to be in her own world wanting to watch a show, grab the visuals and run, or try and engage us in a wrestling match; however, I know it will all pay off in the end. The First Presidency Message in April's Ensign by President Eyring was very inspirational:
"We have the greatest opportunity with the young. The best time to teach is early, while children are still immune to the temptations of their mortal enemy and long before the words of truth may be harder for them to hear in the noise of their personal struggles.
"A wise parent would never miss a chance to gather children together to learn of the doctrine of Jesus Christ. Such moments are so rare in comparison with the efforts of the enemy. For every hour the power of doctrine is introduced into a child’s life, there may be hundreds of hours of messages and images denying or ignoring the saving truths.
"The question should not be whether we are too tired to prepare to teach doctrine or whether it would be better to draw a child closer by just having fun or whether the child is beginning to think that we preach too much. The question must be, “With so little time and so few opportunities, what words of doctrine from me will fortify them against the attacks on their faith which are sure to come?” The words you speak today may be the ones they remember. And today will soon be gone.
"The years pass, we teach the doctrine the best we can, and yet some still do not respond. There is sorrow in that. But there is hope in the scriptural record of families. Think of Alma the Younger and Enos. In their moments of crisis, they remembered the words of their fathers, words of the doctrine of Jesus Christ (see Enos 1:1–4; Alma 36:16–19). It saved them. Your teaching of that sacred doctrine will be remembered."
While it may feel like a roller coaster now and all that you feel is happening is that you're regurgitating a lesson on a topic that you already know inside out, you will be surprised what will sink in. Just a few weeks ago we were have a lesson on Joseph Smith and the first vision. That particular night was quite frustrating. I had attached several figures to popsicle sticks in order to reenact the first vision. All Kenzie wanted to do was snatch the sticks away from Garrett and I and try to pull them apart (I had used bright blue tape as an adhesive and she was quite intrigued by it). The lesson felt rushed and confused and Garrett and I just sighed in relief when it was all over. I was shocked this week when I was putting the figures and the other pictures from the lesson away to have Kenzie walk up and point at the pictures and say "Prophet Joseph" loud and clear . . .
Monday night rolls around and it is time for FHE. It seems to take all of your strength and imagination just to get everyone sitting down in the same room, and you still have prayers, music, and the lesson to get to. The song seems to go well since your child knows all the words to "I Am a Child of God" and lets you know it by screeching the words at the top of her little lungs. ( I really shouldn't say "little lungs", that seems to imply that its not very loud.) During the prayer your child actually bows her head and folds her arms, but she chants Jesus' name through the entire prayer. Then comes the lesson that you have worked so hard to prepare, we'll just leave that one to your imagination . . .
I don't know about some of you, but I for one have found it a little bit difficult to find toddler friendly family home evenings. When it was just Garrett and I, it was easy. We would just work our way through different manuals, listen to lectures on C.D., or read from the Ensign for our Family Home Evening lessons. Now that there is a little girl involved you need the visuals, the activities, and the fun finger plays and songs to go along with the lesson. So, I have been saving all of my family home evenings and organizing them by subjects into large manila envelope. I thought I would share the lessons that I am creating with all of you. I put the lesson into a word document each month anyway so that my kids can one day have access to all the stuff I put together, so I figured, why not post it here too? Now, I can hardly take credit for half of the stuff that I do. I get plenty of help from the Friend, the Ensign, from the new nursery manual, from all the primary manuals, and from many other websites that I will share as well. I simply take a little from each to get what I want in the end.
Some weeks I must say that my preparation feels like it goes to waste. Kenzie seems to be in her own world wanting to watch a show, grab the visuals and run, or try and engage us in a wrestling match; however, I know it will all pay off in the end. The First Presidency Message in April's Ensign by President Eyring was very inspirational:
"We have the greatest opportunity with the young. The best time to teach is early, while children are still immune to the temptations of their mortal enemy and long before the words of truth may be harder for them to hear in the noise of their personal struggles.
"A wise parent would never miss a chance to gather children together to learn of the doctrine of Jesus Christ. Such moments are so rare in comparison with the efforts of the enemy. For every hour the power of doctrine is introduced into a child’s life, there may be hundreds of hours of messages and images denying or ignoring the saving truths.
"The question should not be whether we are too tired to prepare to teach doctrine or whether it would be better to draw a child closer by just having fun or whether the child is beginning to think that we preach too much. The question must be, “With so little time and so few opportunities, what words of doctrine from me will fortify them against the attacks on their faith which are sure to come?” The words you speak today may be the ones they remember. And today will soon be gone.
"The years pass, we teach the doctrine the best we can, and yet some still do not respond. There is sorrow in that. But there is hope in the scriptural record of families. Think of Alma the Younger and Enos. In their moments of crisis, they remembered the words of their fathers, words of the doctrine of Jesus Christ (see Enos 1:1–4; Alma 36:16–19). It saved them. Your teaching of that sacred doctrine will be remembered."
While it may feel like a roller coaster now and all that you feel is happening is that you're regurgitating a lesson on a topic that you already know inside out, you will be surprised what will sink in. Just a few weeks ago we were have a lesson on Joseph Smith and the first vision. That particular night was quite frustrating. I had attached several figures to popsicle sticks in order to reenact the first vision. All Kenzie wanted to do was snatch the sticks away from Garrett and I and try to pull them apart (I had used bright blue tape as an adhesive and she was quite intrigued by it). The lesson felt rushed and confused and Garrett and I just sighed in relief when it was all over. I was shocked this week when I was putting the figures and the other pictures from the lesson away to have Kenzie walk up and point at the pictures and say "Prophet Joseph" loud and clear . . .
2 comments:
I can relate. We have taken to picking a picture from the Gospel Art kit and talking about it or watching a short scripture movie (they recently released the children's illustrated scripture books on DVD). It really helps that he is in Sunbeams now and we can build on what they are talking about. Try getting a copy of the new nursery manual and using that for lesson ideas. Above all, our lessons never last any longer than about 7 minutes.
Stephanie, you're amazing for doing a full on lesson with props and everything! That is amazing.
We do lessons, but they are seriously so short. Maybe like 2 minutes? I figure she can't follow for that long...or maybe she can? I don't know. Either way, we do them REALLY short.
I wonder if it would help to bribe with yummy treats after...but then again, that's just more work for us!
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