2 Kids and Tired Activity Ideas

(dis)Abilities and the Gospel...Review

2012-01-05T10:23:00.000-07:00

About the book:
Each day, parents and Church leaders struggle to teach individuals with special needs. Using real-life stories and a touch of humor, this inspiring book guides you to teach effectively, overcome communication barriers, and build strong relationships with people of all ages with disabilities. Discover each person's ability to learn and grow as you help them feel like a valuable part of your life.

Having a son who has Asperger's, I was very anxious to read (dis)Abilities and the Gospel. I think this is a long-needed and much welcome resource. The authors speak from personal experience as each has children with special needs.

The book is one you can read straight through, but it's also one that you can pick up and just search or read a chapter. General information about special needs as well as specific information about particular diagnoses is included. I particularly appreciated that there are chapters covering different ages/stages: Primary, Young Men/Young Women/Adults and Families. There are hints and suggestions for both parents and teachers. Suggestions on not only how to survive getting through Sacrament Meeting, but how to teach special needs children about prayer, and about Heavenly Father, scouting, etc.

This is a fantastic resource. I think that every ward should have a copy and every auxiliary president as well as any teacher who has a special needs child in their class should read it.

While written from an LDS perspective, this is a book that is applicable and adaptable to any denomination or classroom.

Thanks to Mariah at Cedar Fort Publishing for the opportunity to review this book. You can learn more about Danyelle Ferguson here and Lynn Parsons here. You can purchase your own copy here.

Read 11/11

* * * * *
5/5 Stars

General Conference Activity Ideas, October 2011

2011-09-19T06:00:00.025-06:00

It's that time again. LDS General Conference is October 1st and 2nd this year. Here is my updated list of possible activities and activity pages for you to check out. All links have been verified.

Some links are from 2007 or earlier, but are still available. All links new, new to me, or updated for October are marked with an asterisk*. Any additions or updates after today are marked with a double asterisk**. If you have new sites to offer, please let me know. Many of these are lists or multiple pages and you can click through them to assemble a packet or set of activities perfect for your children.

**Conference Bags from The Things I Love. Awesome idea!
**Cute activity bags to do for a primary class from Fluffy Bunny Feet Designs
**Lots of Ideas from A Year of FHE
**Ideas from The R House
**Great ideas from Latter-Day Chatter
**Note taking downloads from Holy Handouts
**Conference journals from A Bushel and a Peck
**Lots ideas from Blue Skies Ahead Love the conference socks
**General Conference Traditions from Chocolate on My Cranium
**Preparing Yourself for Conference from Diapers and Divinity
**M&Ms of Conference from Let the Games Begin
**2011 Conference Packets at Scriptures4Kids (nursery, junior/senior primary and YM/YW)
**Pitch your tent for Conference from Latter-day Homeschooling
**Activity Ideas from Lady Create-a-lot
**Conference Kits at Gluesticks
**Ideas at Inkablinka
**Conference Jenga from Little LDS Ideas
**Note taking ideas from The Redheaded Hostess
**Conference Trail Mix from A Mama B's
**Conference Store ideas from A Mama B's
**Coloring Pages from LDS Clip Art
**Apostle Matching Cards from A Year of FHE
**Suggestions from A House of...

*October 2011 packet from Sugardoodle
*Conference Baggies from Sugardoodle (I love this idea!)
*Conference Bingo from Oopsy Daisy
*Conference Care Kit Idea from Shauna and Co.
*Conference Kit from A Bushel and A Peck
*Conference ideas from Cookie Nut Creations
*Lots of Ideas at Little LDS Ideas
*Conference Question Jar at Prepared not Scared
*Conference Gathering based on King Benjamin at Chasing Molly

General Conference Treat Buckets at Brown Paper Packages
Conference Packet from Magnify = Simplify
Conference Packet from Beehive Messages
General Conference Wall from We Talk of Christ
Conference Ideas for FHE from Little LDS Ideas
I Spy the Prophet Game from We Talk of Christ
Kids Conference Store from A Mama B's
General Conference Games from Lady Create-a-lot
Fall conference coloring sheet from A Little Tipsy

General Conference Ideas (Candy Lei Countdown) and Linky Party at A Mama B's
Conference Ideas and links at LDS Resources

General Conference activity list from Sugardoodle (scroll to the bottom for a list)

Tips and activities from Discover the Scriptures
Lots of ideas and links from Food Storage and Beyond
Really cute General Conference Memory Game from Beehive Messages

Conference Packet from Magnify = Simplify
Conference Activities from lds.org
Dot-to-Dot Activities from My CTR Ring
Fill in the Blank Pages from My CTR Ring
General Conference FHE Ideas from Suite101
Ideas for Toddler and Preschool Age from FHE Planner

Activity pages from The Friend
Multiple Activity Pages from The Idea Door, including one for youth
LDS Word Search puzzles from LDS Resources
Conference Baskets as gifts
LDS Crossword Puzzles from About.com

10 Ideas for a meaningful conference for children from Mormon Times
Apostle Naming Game from Suite101--good for toddlers who might like matching-type games
Assorted activities at Mormon Chic
Activity packet from Deseret Book

Making Conference Memorable from Mormon Momma
General Conference Baskets from Creative Holiday Gift Ideas
Conference Bingo from The Friend
Lots of various links from About.com (lots of fun printable packets)

Activity pages from Pratt's FHE Idea Box
Some general ideas for General Conference
Ideas to prepare for General Conference
Staying awake during General Conference
Ideas for Conference Weekend at Hugs and Giggles
Preschool activity packet from Sharing Ideas is Fun to Do

As always, thanks to those who actually do the work and put these packets and pages together. I have the easy job of simply compiling them.

Have fun! If this information has been helpful, please leave me a comment and let me know.

Mormon Messages

2011-04-26T08:34:00.002-06:00

I love the Mormon Messages videos. They are fantastic lessons and lesson helps.

We have a child with Asperger's and sometimes formal FHE lessons just don't work. Some days I know he will be ok with longer lessons and other days I know that we need something short and sweet. The Mormon Messages are terrific for this.

For our lesson this past Monday, we wanted to follow-up and reinforce the Easter messages of Christ's resurrection. We gathered around the computer and watched His Sacred Name: An Easter Declaration which is the video I posted for my Easter message here on the blog. It's not quite 3 minutes long. Afterwards we asked a couple of questions about it and realized from our children's answers that they have a basic understanding of the Atonement and Jesus Christ. It was, literally, a 5-6 minute lesson, but a very moving one where we all felt the spirit.

You can find Mormon Messages on YouTube and the Church's website. They cover a wide range of topics.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T12:30:00.003-06:00

General Conference Activity Ideas, April 2011

2011-03-21T06:00:00.005-06:00

It's that time again. LDS General Conference is April 2nd and 3rd this year. Here is my updated list of possible activities and activity pages for you to check out. All links have been verified.

Some links are from 2007 or earlier, but are still available. All links new, new to me, or updated for April are marked with an asterisk*. Any additions or updates after today are marked with a double asterisk**. If you have new sites to offer, please let me know. Many of these are lists or multiple pages and you can click through them to assemble a packet or set of activities perfect for your children.

**General Conference Treat Buckets at Brown Paper Packages
**Conference Packet from Magnify = Simplify
**Conference Packet from Beehive Messages
**Activity pages from LDS Primary Blog
**General Conference Wall from We Talk of Christ
**Conference Ideas for FHE from Little LDS Ideas
**I Spy the Prophet Game from We Talk of Christ
**Kids Conference Store from A Mama B's
**General Conference Games from Lady Create-a-lot

*General Conference Ideas (Candy Lei Countdown) and Linky Party at A Mama B's

*Conference Ideas and links at LDS Resources
*April 2011 packet from Sugardoodle

General Conference activity list from Sugardoodle (scroll to the bottom for a list)
Packet from newlds.org
2010 Conference Packets at Scriptures4Kids (With Melanie at Sugardoodle: nursery, junior/senior primary and YM/YW)

2010 Easter-related Conference activities at A Little Tipsy
Tips and activities from Discover the Scriptures
Lots of ideas and links from Food Storage and Beyond
Really cute General Conference Memory Game from Beehive Messages

Conference Packet from Magnify = Simplify
Conference Activities from lds.org
April 2010 Conference Packet from Beehive Messages
Dot-to-Dot Activities from My CTR Ring
Fill in the Blank Pages from My CTR Ring
General Conference FHE Ideas from Suite101
Ideas for Toddler and Preschool Age from FHE Planner

Activity pages from The Friend
Multiple Activity Pages from The Idea Door, including one for youth
LDS Word Search puzzles from LDS Resources
Conference Baskets as gifts
LDS Crossword Puzzles from About.com

10 Ideas for a meaningful conference for children from Mormon Times
2009 General Conference Printables from Visiting Teaching

Apostle Naming Game from Suite101--good for toddlers who might like matching-type games
Assorted activities at Mommy Chic
Activity packet from Deseret Book

Making Conference Memorable from Mormon Momma
General Conference Baskets from Creative Holiday Gift Ideas
Conference Bingo from The Friend
Lots of various links from About.com (lots of fun printable packets)

Activity pages from Pratt's FHE Idea Box
Some general ideas for General Conference
Ideas to prepare for General Conference
Staying awake during General Conference
Ideas for Conference Weekend at Hugs and Giggles
Preschool activity packet from Sharing Ideas is Fun to Do

As always, thanks to those who actually do the work and put these packets and pages together. I have the easy job of simply compiling them.

Have fun! If this information has been helpful, please leave me a comment and let me know.

New FHE Site

2011-01-07T17:32:00.000-07:00

Cool. The Church has a new website devoted completely, to Family Home Evening.

Lots of links. Lots of ideas. All in one place.

It also has an "Our Most Memorable Family Home Evening" feature, which looks neat.

Check it out here.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

The secret of Christmas,
Is not the things you do at Christmas time
But the Christmas things you do
All year through.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T06:00:00.001-07:00

Photo used with permission from Rosehaven Cottage.

Thanksgiving:

1: the act of giving thanks

2: a prayer expressing gratitude

3: a public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness

"To express gratitude is gracious and honorable, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live with gratitude ever in our hearts is to touch heaven." --Thomas S. Monson

General Conference Activity Ideas, October 2010

2010-09-19T06:00:00.010-06:00

It's that time again. LDS General Conference is October 2nd and 3rd this year. Here is my updated list of possible activities and activity pages for you to check out. All links have been verified.

Some links are from 2007 or earlier, but are still available. All links new, new to me, or updated for October are marked with an asterisk*. Any additions or updates after today are marked with a double asterisk**. If you have new sites to offer, please let me know. Many of these are lists or multiple pages and you can click through them to assemble a packet or set of activities perfect for your children.

**Tips and activities from Discover the Scriptures
**Lots of ideas and links from Food Storage and Beyond
**Pumpkin Conference Coloring Page from A Little Tipsy
**Packet from LDS Resources
**Packet from newlds.org

*2010 Conference Packets at Scriptures4Kids (In conjunction with Melanie at Sugardoodle. It includes nursery, junior and senior primary and youth)

*General Conference Memory Game from Beehive Messages
*October 2010 Conference Packet from Magnify = Simplify
*Conference Activities from lds.org
*April 2012 Conference Packet from Beehive Messages
*Dot-to-Dot Activities from My CTR Ring
*Fill in the Blank Pages from My CTR Ring
*General Conference FHE Ideas from Suite101
*Ideas for Toddler and Preschool Age from FHE Planner

General Conference activity list from Sugardoodle (scroll to the bottom for a list)
Activity pages from The Friend
Multiple Activity Pages from The Idea Door, including one for youth
LDS Word Search puzzles from LDS Resources
Conference Baskets as gifts
LDS Crossword Puzzles from About.com
Assorted ideas from Mormon Share
10 Ideas for a meaningful conference for children from Mormon Times
2009 General Conference Printables from Visiting Teaching
General activity ideas from Suite101
Apostle Naming Game from Suite101--good for toddlers who might like matching-type games
Assorted activities at Mommy Chic
Activity packet from Deseret Book
Easter-related Conference activities at A Little Tipsy
April 2010 Conference Packet from Sugardoodle
October 2009 Conference Packet from Sugardoodle

Making Conference Memorable from Mormon Momma
General Conference Baskets from Creative Holiday Gift Ideas
Conference Bingo from The Friend
Lots of various links from About.com (lots of fun printable packets)
Activity pages from Pratt's FHE Idea Box
General Conference Coloring Book from Sugardoodle
Coloring pages from The Friend magazine
Some general ideas for General Conference
YW Conference Worksheet (from 2008)
Ideas to prepare for General Conference
Staying awake during General Conference
Ideas for Conference Weekend at Hugs and Giggles
Preschool activity packet from Sharing Ideas is Fun to Do

As always, thanks to those who actually do the work and put these packets and pages together. I have the easy job of simply compiling them.

Have fun! If this information has been helpful, please leave me a comment and let me know.

FHE Lesson: Gospel Principles---The Creation

2010-06-21T20:04:00.000-06:00

Lesson 5 of the Gospel Principles manual is called, "The Creation". The original lesson can be found online, here.
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This was a great, straight-forward lesson.

The first question: Why did we need to come to earth? is a perfect way to reinforce the Plan of Salvation, which was taught in Lesson 2 of the Gospel Principles manual.

Next we asked: Who created the earth?
The answer is obviously Jesus, but He was instructed by Heavenly Father.

How did He create the earth?
With the priesthood, and ours isn't the only world He created. This answer is in the book, but the discussions will be far ranging depending on the age and interests of your family.

The days of the creation:
Each of the 6 days of creation is briefly discussed. For young children, this is a perfect time to use a coloring activity or flannel board story or some kind of visual aid. Photos are available from Church Distribution in the Gospel Art Kit, Visual Aid Cutouts, and online in the Friend.

End with the question: How do God's creations show that He loves us?
The explanation in the book is terrific, and the answers from your children may surprise you as well.

Additional Resources:
The Creation, fabulous activities and lessons from Sugardoodle
God's Love for His Children, April 1998 Friend
Creation Coloring Page, January 2010 Friend
All Things Bright and Beautiful, November 1988 Friend
Heavenly Father and Jehovah Created the World, February 2010 Friend
The Creation--Each Day a Gift, November 1998 Friend

FHE Lesson: Gospel Principles--Freedom to Choose

2010-06-12T08:11:00.000-06:00

Lesson 4 of the Gospel Principles manual is called, "Freedom to Choose". The original lesson can be found online, here.
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We used this lesson to talk about choices. Because our boys are at different levels and abilities of understanding, we spontaneously ended up having two small lessons within the lesson, as we talked and explained to their levels of understanding.

We talked about consequences and what they are and that every choice we make has a consequence; some are good consequences and some are bad.

The main point or principle that we ended up really focusing on and discussing because of the way our children directed the lesson with their questions, was that Heavenly Father wants us to be happy. He is happy and he loves us and he wants us to be just like Him and to live with him.

As with all of our FHE lessons, because of questions from our children, sometimes they take a different turn than what we had originally planned. We have found that it's important to be flexible and to teach by the Spirit.

The nice thing about Family Home Evening is that you tailor it for your family. Have a plan, have an idea. Know the points or principles you want to teach. Then see where it goes. To me, the most important thing about having FHE is to teach your family and teaching your family always goes better when everyone is involved and when discussions arise from the questions your children pose, rather than following a rigid outline someone else has put together.

Non-Traditional FHE

2010-05-04T10:12:00.004-06:00

We are not always traditional when it comes to our Family Home Evenings.

We don't follow the standard order of things: prayer, scripture, song, lesson, activity, talent, prayer, etc. We always have prayer, we don't always do a song. We don't always have our FHE on Monday night, either.

One of the things that I have come to realize is that each family and each situation is different. Whether it's FHE or something else, the most important thing is consistency. Sometimes we have family prayer in the car, in the morning, before heading off to drop children off at school. Sometimes I have had family prayer more than one time in the morning; once with each child, if they are not up at the same time. It might not be a traditional family kneeling in a circle, but we have consistent family prayer.

When it comes to FHE, some people have it on Sunday. Others are strict in their formats: always a song and scripture and lesson and talent. You need to do whatever works for your family and often that means reevaluating.

This past week, my husband was off work on Monday, and our children were off school. So, our FHE was our day trip to another part of Idaho. We knew we would not get home in time t have a traditional FHE, so instead of having our Fun FHE later in the month, we did it today, as a day trip. We did not have a "lesson" nor did we have a song or talent, etc. But, we often try and incorporate gospel lessons into our every day conversations and activities, and we were perfectly comfortable doing this yesterday.

When you have young children, your lessons are often shorter. A former bishop's wife used to call FHE, her Family Home Moment, when her children were very young. As they get older, you can incorporate longer, more advanced lessons.

Consistency matters. Like Elder Bednar said in his October 2009 conference talk, "Today if you could ask our adult sons what they remember about family prayer, scripture study, and family home evening, I believe I know how they would answer. They likely would not identify a particular prayer or a specific instance of scripture study or an especially meaningful family home evening lesson as the defining moment in their spiritual development. What they would say they remember is that as a family we were consistent.

Sister Bednar and I thought helping our sons understand the content of a particular lesson or a specific scripture was the ultimate outcome. But such a result does not occur each time we study or pray or learn together. The consistency of our intent and work was perhaps the greatest lesson—a lesson we did not fully appreciate at the time." Ensign, Nov 2009, 17–20

FHE Schedules and Planning

2010-04-14T20:50:00.000-06:00

Last year, I was looking for someway to revamp the way we do Family Home Evening. A friend of mine shared with me, her family's way of doing FHE which was to schedule lessons, etc. We finally decided to implement something similar and I love it.

1st Monday: Lesson
2nd Monday: Family Learning
3rd Monday: Lesson
4th Monday: Fun
5th Monday: Service Project

I don't plan to go in this particular order every month. Some months we might have two lessons in a row or mix it up. We are using the Gospel Principles manual for our lessons this year, which eliminates trying to figure out what to teach each week.

For fun, you can do anything: you're only limited by your imagination and interests. On this past Monday, our fun FHE was to watch the newest episode of Doctor Who together. We hadn't seen it yet and it is one of our favorite television shows. Now that the weather is warmer, we will be venturing outside more.

For Family Learning, I am going to do things like teach my boys how to do a load of laundry, and iron a shirt or properly load the dishwasher, clean a toilet, etc. We may even incorporate Faith in God/Duty to God/Scouting requirements in there.

I love schedules and having a plan. It means we're more likely to have FHE and it means we stay consistent, which is so important to me.

FHE Lesson: Gospel Principles--Our Heavenly Family

2010-04-06T08:20:00.000-06:00

Lesson 2 of the Gospel Principles manual is called, "Our Heavenly Family". The original lesson can be found online, here.
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We used this lesson as an opportunity to review the Plan of Salvation. My husband has a set of visual aids from his mission which explain the Plan of Salvation. Our boys love playing with them and enjoy explaining the plan themselves.

It was a short and sweet, very easy lesson on an important Gospel topic. It easily adapted for very young children as well as easily expanded for older children or teens.

You can find your own Plan of Salvation visuals at lds.about.com and the Friend and Pratt's FHE Box.

A good companion lesson for this one is found in the March, 1994 issue of The Friend magazine titled, "The Plan of Salvation Offers Me Peace".

FHE: Ideas

2010-04-05T07:00:00.000-06:00

LDS Living has a online magazine you can subscribe to. Each Monday, the issue includes a ready-made FHE lesson that includes a song, scripture references, lesson, activity and refreshment recipe.

Go here to subscribe. It's free!

FHE Lesson: Gospel Principles--Our Heavenly Father

2010-03-30T12:00:00.000-06:00

Lesson 1 of the Gospel Principles manual is called, "Our Heavenly Father". The original lesson can be found online, here.

We are going to be using this manual for our FHE lessons this year. With few exceptions, all of the lessons are short and they are easy to adapt to your individual needs.

I like the fact that each lesson is about a basic Gospel principle: Our Heavenly Family, Scriptures, Prayer, Prophets, Priesthood, etc.
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I planned to go through the lesson and ask the main questions. I asked the first one: "How do you know that we have a Heavenly Father?"

My children then directed the rest of the lesson from there. We ended up with a great question/answer discussion about Heavenly Father and about the creation. I was able to use several of the scriptures the lesson suggested to guide some of our discussion, even if I didn't use the entire lesson as I had planned to do. There were also several questions posed that we did not have answers to, but that experience is a fantastic opportunity to talk about faith and how we don't always have answers, but we trust Heavenly Father.

It turned into one of the best lessons we've had in a long time. It was also a special time to see what our children are learning and remembering and, more importantly, what spiritual things they are wondering about.

We closed by talking about the things we could do to come to know Heavenly Father better and we resolved to be better at family prayer and family scriptures.

General Conference Activity Ideas, April 2010

2010-03-22T07:00:00.000-06:00

It's that time again. LDS General Conference is April 3rd and 4th this year. Here is my updated list of possible activities and activity pages for you to check out. All links have been verified.

Many links are from 2008 or earlier, but are still available. All links new, new to me, or updated for October are marked with an asterisk*. Any additions or updates after today are marked with a double asterisk**. If you have new sites to offer, please let me know. Many of these are lists or multiple pages and you can click through them to assemble a packet or set of activities perfect for your children.

**Preschool activity packet from Sharing Ideas is Fun to Do
**Conference Activities from lds.org
**Easter-related Conference activities at A Little Tipsy
*April 2010 Conference Packet from Sugardoodle (includes separate Junior and Senior primary packets as well as a Youth one)
*April 2010 Conference Packet from Magnify = Simplify
*Activity pages from The Friend
*Apostle cards from Sugardoodle
*LDS Word Search puzzles from LDS Resources
*Conference Baskets as gifts
*Assorted ideas from Mormon Share
*Assorted ideas from Chocolate on My Cranium
*10 Ideas for a meaningful conference for children from Mormon Times
Multiple General Conference Printables from Visiting Teaching
October 2009 Conference Packet from Sugardoodle
Additional overall conference activity list from Sugardoodle
Multiple Activity Pages from The Idea Door, including one for youth
General activity ideas from Suite101
Apostle Naming Game from Suite101--good for toddlers who might like matching-type games
Assorted activities at Mommy Chic
Activity packet from Deseret Book
Terrific overall conference activity list from Sugardoodle
April 2009 Conference Packet from Melanie Day at Sugardoodle (including Spanish)
April 2009 Conference Packet (I don't know the original source to whom I should give credit)
April 2009 Conference Packet from Tara on Sugardoodle
Making Conference Memorable
General Conference Baskets
Conference Bingo from The Friend
Lots of various links from About.com (lots of fun printable packets)
Activity pages from Pratt's FHE Idea Box
General Conference Coloring Book from Sugardoodle
Lots of LDS Coloring Pages
Coloring pages from The Friend magazine
Some general ideas for General Conference
YW Conference Worksheet (from 2008)
Ideas to prepare for General Conference
Staying awake during General Conference
Ideas for Conference Weekend at Hugs and Giggles

As always, thanks to those who actually do the work and put these packets and pages together. I have the easy job of simply compiling them.

Have fun! If this information has been helpful, please leave me a comment and let me know.

Tradition: General Conference is Special

2010-03-15T07:00:00.000-06:00

One thing we have tried to do in our family is to make General Conference weekend special. We talk about conference in the weeks leading up to it. We treat these particular Saturdays and Sundays as different. It's not time off from church. We've tried to instill to our boys the importance of listening to our prophet and church leaders: if we believe that we have a prophet on this earth, and he speaks to us twice a year, why wouldn't we make it a priority to listen when he speaks? This is something that is important to our family.

We have a special breakfast tradition each morning. We don't answer the phone during conference. We have special activities. We spend the weekend as a family and we listen to the prophet. Even when the boys were toddlers and couldn't understand or sit still (and usually ended up in another room playing), we did this. If we can avoid it, we don't plan outside activities that will interfere with our watching conference. This fall, my husband and older son will begin the special tradition of attending the priesthood session together.

Obviously life happens. My husband must sometimes see patients on Saturday mornings. It's not his choice, but it happens. As our boys get older and get involved in sports or other activities, things could happen to interfere with our Saturday tradition, and force us to make decisions, but I hope not.

Lest anyone think that our General Conference weekends are one long spiritual event, you need to know that we have two active, young boys. As much as I would love them to sit through 8 hours of conference and have momentous spiritual experiences, they don't. I don't, for that matter. But, I take a lot of comfort from Elder Bednar's talk in October, 2009 and I hope for consistency. I hope that our boys will remember that we made watching General Conference a priority in our home, and from that experience, they will learn to love it and look forward to it like we do.

Tradition: Special General Conference Breakfast

2010-03-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

Much like we have a special breakfast on Christmas morning, we do the same thing each morning before General Conference. For us, I make homemade muffins or sometimes monkey bread, which is something our family loves, but doesn't have on a regular basis. You could do cinnamon rolls or a special breakfast casserole. Just do whatever works for your family.

Our weekday breakfasts usually include frozen waffles or cereal, not muffins, and certainly not monkey bread, so doing this just sets off the day a little differently.

Some of my favorite muffin recipes can be found on my cooking blog, if you're interested.

The Friend Magazine on Facebook

2010-01-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

I found out that the Friend has a Facebook page. Go figure. It's awesome and you get FHE ideas, etc., right in your news feeds.

If you're on Facebook, check out this link and become a fan of The Friend Magazine!

FHE: Family Rules

2010-01-11T16:20:00.000-07:00

This is mostly a discussion lesson. It is one that you will need to personalize for your family. These questions are suggested for discussion purposes. Change or modify them as you see fit.
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Ask: What are rules?

Ask: What does the word "consequence" mean? (a consequence is the result of an action or decision you make)

Ask: What are family rules?

When parents remain firm in their standards and guidelines, children also learn to stand firm. If parents give in to the repeated requests of their children, their children are more likely to give in to the repeated requests of their peers. Teenagers are quick to notice any form of hypocrisy. If they see that their parents are not truly committed to the gospel and to living its standards, they feel no need to be committed themselves. But when parents are unwavering in the rules they set and the lives they live, their children are more likely to stand firm, too. (Friendly Rules, January 1985 Ensign)

Read Andy's Choice from the May 2008 Friend.

Ask: What are our family rules?

Ask: Should we write down our family rules and have them posted somewhere?

Ask: Are there any issues that you think we need to talk about as a family and perhaps make rules and consequences because of those issues?

Ask: What could we do when other issues come up in our family? (Hold a family council/meeting)

"Family home evening is a social and teaching time. In a family council we talk about the needs of the family and the needs of individual members of the family. It is a time to solve problems, make family decisions, plan day-to-day and long-range family activities and goals. It is a time to share one another’s burdens and joys and counsel together, to keep each family member on the right track spiritually. It is the time when we discuss family matters, much as a bishop or branch president does with his ward or branch leaders. It is when parents use the tremendous powers of the council system. A family council could certainly be part of family home evening, but it could also take place at any time.

A council is when parents let their children help solve the problem. And when everyone agrees to a solution, everyone will have ownership of the problem. If I tell the family, 'You go out and pull the weeds,' there may be complaining or hurt feelings. But if I can help them to feel, 'We all decided this,' then the family council is truly working. Before you know it, family members will be organizing themselves, saying, 'You do this and I’ll do that.' That’s the power of a council."Family Councils, June 2003 Ensign

Other sources/stories:
Family Meeting, November 1991 Friend.
Friend to Friend, Elder Dellenbach, March 1992 Friend.
Friendly Rules, January 1985 Ensign.
Family Councils, Elder Ballard, June 2003 Ensign.

FHE: Game Night

2009-12-14T17:24:00.001-07:00

One thing that we love to do as a family is play board games. Occasionally we will have a FHE Game Night where we simply play games. No lesson or formality, we just play games.

Obviously you play the games your family likes. I'd like to tell you about a few of our family favorites.

Disney's Scene It: We received this game as a gift one year for Christmas. It's not something I would probably have picked up on my own, but we love it. We have the original version, and now I really want to get the second edition.

It's easy to play. It involves answering Disney-related questions by watching clips of Disney movies, listening to sound bites, etc. You can do it with teams or individual players. Even really little children can play it.

Apples to Apples: This is, quite simply, probably the best game ever! I never laugh at anything as hard as I do playing Apples to Apples. It's terrific in just about any group, but the words are more appropriate for teenagers and adults. We have also played it at Mutual with our YM/YW on different occasions.

Apples to Apples Junior: This is probably my boys' favorite game. The younger kids can play it themselves or with adults. We laugh and laugh. It's as much fun for me to watch my boys play it, as it is to actually play. There is nothing like laughter to bond you more closely together. I think every family should not only have this game, but you should play it regularly.

FHE Lesson: The Importance of Sacrament Meeting

2009-11-30T15:58:00.000-07:00

Ask: why do you think we go to Sacrament Meeting each week?

Sacrament meeting is so important that the Lord gave specific instructions to Joseph Smith about it.

Read: D&C 59:9-10

“And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day; For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High.”

Ask: what does that mean? (Sunday is a holy or special day. We worship Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.)
Ask: what is the sacrament? (Bread and water)

Ask: what does the sacrament represent? (The bread represents Jesus’ body and the water represents Jesus’ blood.)

Ask: do you ever listen to the sacrament prayers? Let’s read them, because they’re pretty important.

Sacrament prayer for bread: Moroni 4:3

"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it; that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them."

Sacrament prayer for water: Moroni 5:2

"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee, in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them."

Ask: What do we promise to do if we take the sacrament?
Take Jesus name (become a member of his church, teach other people about the gospel and be an example, keep his commandments)
Remember Him

Ask: what are we promised if we do these things? (To always have his spirit to be with you.)

“Sacrament meeting is the most important meeting of the week, the one the Lord has commanded us to attend. It’s a time to worship the Savior. What does that mean, to worship? It means to reverently show love and allegiance to him, to think about him, to honor him, to remember his sacrifice for each of us, and to thank him.” Elder W. Mack Lawrence, Ensign May 1991.

Elder Mack used the word “remember”, just like in the sacrament prayers. We remember Jesus as we take the sacrament. What does it mean to remember?

Ask: what do we remember on Sundays?

Jesus died for us.
The promises we made at baptism: to always remember him, to obey his commandments.
We think about the things we did that week and we can ask for forgiveness and promise to do better.

Taking the sacrament is the most important part of Sacrament Meeting. But, we also listen to talks and sing songs during Sacrament Meeting. Sometimes it can be hard to sit and listen and be reverent. What are things we can do to be reverent during Sacrament Meeting?

Answers will vary.

Play a memory game (use Sharing Time: Remember, if you don’t have a different one).

Sources:
W. Mack Lawrence, “Sunday Worship Service” Ensign, May 1991, p. 30-31.
Elizabeth Ricks, “Sharing Time: Remember” Friend, June 2007

FHE Lesson: Making our House a Home

2009-11-23T17:21:00.000-07:00

Use this as a basic outline and adjust it as you see fit for your family.
-----------------------------
Open by defining these two words. You can ask what everyone thinks they mean first, if you want.

House: a shelter; a building where people live
Home: an environment offering security and happiness

Ask the question: What does security mean?
Next, ask the question: I want you to picture a house.

Ask: Is a house just a building with windows and a door?

Answer: A house is where families live and sleep and eat. A house becomes a home when family members learn together, help each other, and do fun things.

Relate the following story:
Many years ago a fire destroyed a family’s house. A neighbor tried to comfort the family’s seven-year-old boy by saying, “Johnny, it’s too bad your home burned down.” Johnny thought for a moment and said, “Oh, that was not our home; that was just our house. We still have our home; we just don’t have any place to put it right now.” Johnny knew that the fire had not destroyed his family and their kind feelings for one another.

Ask: What are we doing to make our house a home?

Play the Making Your Home a Holy Place game (You can use your magazine or print it online)

Ask: So, look at these pictures. What were the people doing that made their home a place the Holy Ghost wanted to be?

Ask: How do you think we invite the Holy Ghost into our own home?

Possible answers/additional questions to ask:
We love each other
We have family prayer: how does having family prayer make you feel?
We say our personal prayers: how do you feel when you say your personal prayers?
We read our scriptures
Family Home Evening
We do things together as a family
We are nice to each other
We go to church
Forgiveness
Sharing
We give service: what can you do to serve your brothers and sisters?
Obedience
We support each other: what can you do for someone else to show that you support them?

I took an 8.5 x 11 size piece of white paper and drew a house in the center of it. Then I wrote down our answers radiating out from the house (like a sun). We put it on our fridge to remember.

Ask: Do you think that each one of us can make a difference in our family and in our home as we live the teachings of the gospel?

Ask: What can you do this week to make our house a happy home?

We ended with playing a game called, "My Happy Home" which comes from the Family Home Evening Games Galore Vol. 1, from the Finch Family Games. My kids never tire of these games.

Sources:
Making Your Home a Holy Place from the November 2009 Friend
A Happy Home from the November 2009 Friend
Finch Family Games, Family Home Evening Games Galore, Vol. 1.

FHE Lesson: Reading the Book of Mormon as a Family

2009-11-09T19:15:00.000-07:00

We wanted to get back into the habit of reading the Book of Mormon together as a family. I know my boys and they are more willing participants if they have a say in the decision-making process.

So, I used this talk from the April 2009, Friend: The Promise of a Prophet by Elder Octaviano Tenorio of the Seventy.

Open with asking the children "What are the scriptures?" and "What do we learn from the scriptures?".

Have someone read Doctrine & Covenants 1:37. Ask, "What are the commandments we are supposed to search?"

Read/paraphrase Elder Tenorio's talk. Focus on following the prophets' (President Benson and President Hinckley) admonitions to read the Book of Mormon as a family. As you close, focus on Elder Tenorio's invitations at the end. (My boys got a big kick out of the story of how Elder Tenorio's son learned to read the Book of Mormon upside down.) You can find President Benson's actual remarks from 1986 here or President Hinckley's admonition in 2005 here.

We then discussed what the best time of day would be for our family to read together, and we committed to getting up and doing it.

Close however you normally close FHE. We had family prayer, warm brownies and a rousing game of Scene-It.

FHE: Bingo

2009-10-24T07:00:00.000-06:00

My boys love bingo games.

You can take your General Conference Bingo pages and use them for a fun Family Home Evening activity. Print an extra bingo sheet and cut out the squares. Put all those squares into a jar or container. Shake it up and play traditional bingo.

Pull out a square, read it and everyone marks their cards. The winner gets a prize or gets to be the caller or whatever you decide.

It's an inexpensive way to use resources you already have and, at the same time, enjoy a fun FHE activity.

Print Bingo pages here and here. Laminate them for durability and store them in your FHE Box.

Organization Suggestion: Clipboards

2009-10-12T07:00:00.000-06:00

I purchased cheap clipboards at the dollar store. When it's time for General Conference, I print out the activity pages I think my boys will use and clip them all together on their clipboard.

Each of my boys is different and they like different things, so I print selected pages for each one. Having them all contained really helps with the mess and organization.

Activity Pages: Word Finds

2009-10-10T07:00:00.000-06:00

We love word finds. I love making my own word finds and using words that my boys like. My place of choice is the Puzzlemaker at Discovery, but simply type "word find" into your favorite search engine and you'll come up with loads of options.

I recently did a word find of dinosaur names for my younger son. I did one of Doctor Who words, and another one of scientific words for my older son. I've done them with Book of Mormon names or names of our extended family members.

They're fun to have in my purse for car rides or times when we're waiting. They're great for General Conference or Sacrament Meeting. You can make them to go along with the theme of an FHE lesson. When I was a cub scout den leader, I often did word finds or crossword puzzles for my scouts that corresponded to the monthly theme.

FHE: Lessons Online

2009-10-09T07:00:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, I mentioned that Deseret Book had discontinued their FHE lessons. Well, today, I found an extensive list of FHE lessons at LDS Living. I believe they are created by the same gal who used to do them for Deseret Book's Mormon Life section. At any rate, they're terrific, and they even include the recipe for dessert! Just click on the link and then click on "Lesson Plans".

FHE: Family Home Evening Box

2009-10-08T07:00:00.000-06:00

Confession: we are not a 100% FHE family. We have periods of regularity, and periods of striving to be better. I'm sure we're not alone in the striving part!

Several years ago, in a former ward, a friend gave a terrific presentation at Enrichment about Family Home Evening. One thing that stuck with me was the box. She had a huge apple box full of manila envelopes that were full of FHE activities. She said that while they had committed to having FHE every week, having the box made it a lot easier. All of her materials were in one place, and it was easy to put together a lesson at the last minute, rather than just not doing FHE, because of the work involved.

I went home and put together our little FHE box. I had this plastic tote sitting in a closet, but you could use whatever you have on hand. I printed out a little label and voila! an FHE box. I went through my books and my files (which I know you all have sitting around somewhere) and put everything together that had been used for FHE or could be.

Some of the things in our box:

Preach My Gospel, which can again, be purchased at Church Distribution or elsewhere. Some wards have purchased them for their ward families. Also, any church lesson supplementation videos that you might have are a great resource.

Church lesson manuals and the Family Home Evening Resour ce Book which can be purchased at Church Distribution online or at a local outlet if you're fortunate to live near one. These are perfect for quick lessons. Alternatively, church lessons can be printed on the LDS website as well. Sometimes we will do this to reinforce a topic from a Sunday lesson.

Deseret Book used to have awesome, free, FHE lessons each week (I printed a ton of them a couple of years ago). While it appears that the lessons as I knew them have disappeared, I believe that there are still lessons available at Times and Seasons. Print them off and file them away for future reference!

Books that we have used for other issues, but that work for FHE. These two are 101 Activities for Kids in Tight Spaces, by Carol Kranowitz and 10-Minute Life Lessons for Kids, by Jamie Miller. (Click on the links for more information or to purchase them.)

Other books in my box are:
Teach Me Mommy: A Preschool Learning Guide, by Jill Dunford and Transition Magician, by Ruth Chvojicek, Mary Henthorne, and Nola Larson. (I need to replace these with resources for older children.) Both of these books have activities for preschoolers that are easily incorporated into FHE lessons.

I also actually borrowed my friend's entire box and copied a lot of her activities and lessons, and have purchased some of my own over the years. We love the Finch Family Games, and I've found that they're reasonably priced and can be used over and over again. Mine are laminated, and each game is kept together in its own gallon-sized ziploc bag.

Whatever you decide to put into your FHE box, I can assure you that having it all in one location really does help with your planned and last-minute Family Home Evening lessons.

General Conference Activity: Bingo

2009-10-07T07:00:00.000-06:00

Conference Bingo is one of my boys' favorite things to do. It usually only lasts one session, maybe two, but anything that gets them listening is a good thing.

My favorite place for Conference Bingo comes from The Idea Door, but there is also a good one here. Both of them have multiple sheets, all of which have the same boxes but are laid out differently. We use Skittles or M&Ms for our markers.

In this photo, the boys used chocolate chips for their bingo markers because I wasn't organized enough to have picked up candy markers ahead of time. The chocolate left marks on the paper, and that led to my next lesson...

...which was to print out the bingo sheets and laminate them. Use clear contact paper if you don't have a laminator or access to one. I'd gotten tired of printing new ones each conference session anyway. So now, I have them printed on card stock and laminated. They sit in my Family Home Evening box with all my other church-type activity ideas.

General Conference Activity: Puzzles

2009-10-04T17:38:00.001-06:00

This year, I pulled out a couple of puzzles. We set them up in the living room, where we watch conference. It turned out to be the best thing. My hands were busy, but my mind was focused on the speakers.

My husband takes notes, but I don't. Doing the puzzles with the boys was a great way to listen and watch, but it also kept them occupied. We did this space one on Sunday. We have a small kids table and chairs that is too small for my boys, but was perfect for the puzzles. I just put a large piece of cardboard on the top, which was large enough for the puzzle. I could sit on the couch and they sat on the chairs or the floor.

We did the temple one on Saturday. I found the Salt Lake temple puzzle at Wal-Mart several weeks ago and had just put it away for the future. (Isn't it pretty! My older son wants to mount it and hang it up!) Any kind of puzzle would work though. Neither of these was large: one was 300 pieces, one was 500 pieces, but you could do whatever your family likes or has on hand.

The boys alternated between their word finds and conference bingo and the puzzles. I think this will be a new General Conference tradition for us.

General Conference Activity Ideas, October 2009

2009-10-03T13:42:00.000-06:00

It's that time again. LDS General Conference is October 3rd and 4th this year. Here is my updated list of possible activities and activity pages for you to check out. All links have been verified.

Many links are from 2008 or earlier, but are still available. All links new, new to me, or updated for October are marked with an asterisk*. Any additions or updates after today are marked with a double asterisk**. If you have new sites to offer, please let me know. Many of these are lists or multiple pages and you can click through them to assemble a packet or set of activities perfect for your children.

**Multiple General Conference Printables from Visiting Teaching
**October 2009 Conference Packet from Sugardoodle
*October 2009 Conference Packet from LDS Resources
*Additional overall conference activity list from Sugardoodle
*Multiple Activity Pages from The Idea Door, including one for youth
*General activity ideas from Suite101
*Apostle Naming Game from Suite101--good for toddlers who might like matching-type games
*Assorted activities at Mommy Chic
*Activity packet from Deseret Book
Terrific overall conference activity list from Sugardoodle
April 2009 Conference Packet from Melanie Day at Sugardoodle (including Spanish)
April 2009 Conference Packet (I don't know the original source to whom I should give credit)
April 2009 Conference Packet from Tara on Sugardoodle
Making Conference Memorable
General Conference Baskets
Conference Bingo from The Friend
Lots of various links from About.com (lots of fun printable packets)
Activity pages from Pratt's FHE Idea Box
General Conference Coloring Book from Sugardoodle
Lots of LDS Coloring Pages
Coloring pages from The Friend magazine
Some general ideas for General Conference
YW Conference Worksheet (from 2008)
Ideas to prepare for General Conference
Staying awake during General Conference
Ideas for Conference Weekend at Hugs and Giggles

As always, thanks to those who actually do the work and put these packets and pages together. I have the easy job of simply compiling them.

Have fun! If this information has been helpful, please leave me a comment and let me know. If I don't think anyone needs or uses it, I won't compile these lists in the future. Thanks!

New Blog

2009-10-03T13:00:00.000-06:00

I started doing a General Conference Activity List each April and October on my personal blog, 2 Kids and Tired. I have since made that blog private, for several reasons.

However, I know that many people visited that blog throughout the year looking for activities. Hopefully this new blog will suffice to keep those activities available for other people. I will continue to update it as I discover new activities or other sites.

If you like these and the site is helpful, please leave a comment and let me know. If it's not, I won't continue to do it.