Tag: habits

The essential family curriculum

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In recent days I have been thinking a lot about this verse of scripture:

“And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.” 2 Nephi 25:26

I attended a special women’s conference this past weekend, and this scripture came up in one of the classes I attended. One of the sisters in the class posed the question for all to consider “How much time do I really spend each day talking about Jesus with my children?” I had to pause and reflect on that. I have been spending a lot of time in recent weeks planning a homeschool preschool curriculum for Lily and Zach, with the anxious desire that Lily be sufficiently prepared to start kindergarten next year. So I’ve thought a lot about letters and numbers and calendars and themes.

Tonight I re-read Elder Cook’s talk from the April 2012 General Conference, and this paragraph leapt out at me:

“The message, ministry, and Atonement of Jesus Christ, our Savior, are our essential family curriculum. No scripture characterizes our faith better than 2 Nephi 25:26: “And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”

Again that scripture, and the words of essential family curriculum! I love that! Then I remembered this wonderful talk given by Elder Anderson in May 2010:

“The stories of Jesus can be like a rushing wind across the embers of faith in the hearts of our children. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”The stories of Jesus shared over and over bring faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strength to the foundation of testimony. Can you think of a more valuable gift for our children?

“As you do your best, the testimony of Jesus will gently distill upon your children’s hearts. They will go to their Heavenly Father in humble prayer and feel His influence through the power of the Holy Ghost. A stronger personal faith in Jesus Christ will prepare them for the challenges they will most surely face.“

So I am inspired and excited about this new focus and direction for our family. “We talk of Christ. We rejoice in Christ” is our newest family habit. (You can read more about our habits here).  I am thankful for the inspiration that has led me to this point, inspiration which will help us to have a more Christ-centered home.

FHE: Do Good (General Conference 2011, President Eyring)

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After viewing the most recent General Conference session last April, I felt impressed that I needed to review the messages that were shared with my children. What better time and place to do that then during Family Home Evening?

This week I am sharing the lessons that we have done in the last few months which were related to the April 2011 General Conference. In most cases I focused on one or two quotes from the talk, and then had a coloring page or activity for the children to do. The highlighted quote and activity page are displayed on our wall throughout the week as a reminder of the lesson. In addition, I make sure to show a picture of the General Authority whose words we are studying, so my children can connect a face with the words.

“There is a hymn about the Lord’s invitation to this work that I have sung since I was a little boy. In my childhood I paid more attention to the happy tune than to the power of the words. I pray that you will feel the lyrics in your hearts today. Let’s listen to the words again:

Have I done any good in the world today?
Have I helped anyone in need?
Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad?
If not, I have failed indeed.
Has anyone’s burden been lighter today
Because I was willing to share?
Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?
When they needed my help was I there?
Then wake up and do something more
Than dream of your mansion above.
Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure,
A blessing of duty and love.1

“The Lord regularly sends wake-up calls to all of us. Sometimes it may be a sudden feeling of sympathy for someone in need. A father may have felt it when he saw a child fall and scrape a knee. A mother may have felt it when she heard the frightened cry of her child in the night. A son or a daughter may have felt sympathy for someone who seemed sad or afraid at school.”

Henry B. Eyring, “Opportunities to Do Good”, April 2011 General Conference

Lesson Plan

Discuss what it means to “Do Good”. Sing the hymn “Have I done any good?” (Hymns, 223).

My children aren’t familiar with this hymn, so I created a few posters to help them with the words. The girls helped me with the coloring.
Watch the following video (Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing “Have I done any good?”)

Take turns letting each family member share something good they did recently to help another person.  Challenge the family to find ways to “Do Good” everyday.

Watch this video (President Monson Mormon Messages)

Additional Notes

Elder Ballard’s talk tied in nicely with this theme. We didn’t make the connection during the lesson, but I shared the following quotes with my family later in the week.

“In all of our service, we need to be sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. The still, small voice will let us know who needs our help and what we can do to help them.

President Spencer W. Kimball said: “It is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom. … So often, our acts of service consist of simple encouragement or of giving … help with mundane tasks, but what glorious consequences can flow … from small but deliberate deeds!” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball [2006], 82).

And President Thomas S. Monson has counseled:
“The needs of others are ever present, and each of us can do something to help someone.
“… Unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives” (“What Have I Done for Someone Today?” Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2009, 85).

M. Russell Ballard, “Finding Joy through Loving Service”, April 2011 General Conference

FHE: The Golden Rule (General Conference 2011, Elder Ballard)

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After viewing the most recent General Conference session last April, I felt impressed that I needed to review the messages that were shared with my children. What better time and place to do that then during Family Home Evening?

This week I am sharing the lessons that we have done in the last few months which were related to the April 2011 General Conference. In most cases I focused on one or two quotes from the talk, and then had a coloring page or activity for the children to do. The highlighted quote and activity page are displayed on our wall throughout the week as a reminder of the lesson. In addition, I make sure to show a picture of the General Authority whose words we are studying, so my children can connect a face with the words.

“Charity begins at home. The single most important principle that should govern every home is to practice the Golden Rule—the Lord’s admonition that “all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12). Take a moment and imagine how you would feel if you were on the receiving end of thoughtless words or actions. By our example, let us teach our family members to have love one for another.”

M. Russell Ballard, “Finding Joy Through Loving Service”, April 2011 General Conference

Lesson Plan

Share and discuss the above words of Elder Ballard.

Play this song from My Turn on Earth to give the children a catchy way to remember the Golden Rule. (“The Golden Rule, is a terrific tool…”I remember listening to this song on our record player as a kid!)

Take turns choosing a scenario that I previously wrote down, reading then discuss what is the best way respond.

Notes

The song was a big hit! The Ant Bug has been singing it ever since. We’re still working on actually practicing the rule itself…

FHE: Use your manners. Be polite.

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Teaching good manners is a topic that I have been thinking about for awhile.  Reminders like “Use a napkin, not your shirt” and “How can you ask that in a nice, polite way?” and “Use your fork, please” are heard often in our home. So I was very excited to find a FHE lesson on Manners at A Year of FHE.

I mostly just followed the lesson as outlined by Emilie. We talked about the magic words of please and thank you and we sang this cute little song:

(Sung to I’m a Little Teapot)

I have super manners. Yes, I do.
I can say “Please,” and “Thank You,” too.
When I play with friends, I like to share.
That’s the way I show I care!

Then we read Time to Say “Please” by Mo Willems. We’ve had this book out from the library for over a month now. Anything by Mo Willems is always a hit at our house, so this book has been a good tool for reminders about saying please and thank you.

Then we moved on to the topic of Table Manners. For our family, we have decided to focus on two:

Always use your tools to eat your food.

Clean with a napkin.

I made a little poster with some visual aids to help us all remember!

To wrap things up, the girls colored the mini book of manners that Emilie shared.

As they colored, we read and discussed  What do you say, dear? by Sesyle Joslin, with pictures by Maurice Sendak.

This book was written in the 1950s as “A handbook of etiquette for young ladies and gentlemen. To be used as a guide for everyday social behavior”. What we have really enjoyed about this book is that even though the hypothetical situations the children face are often bizzare and quite imaginative, there is still a place for manners. For example, “You are picking dandelions and columbines outside the castle. Suddenly a fierce dragon appears and blows red smoke at you, but just then a brave knoght gallops up and cuts off the dragon’s head. What do you say, dear?” And the answer of course, as you turn the page is, “Thank you very much”.

Adding to our Family Habits List

Use your manners. Be polite. is the sixth habit we have added to our Family Habits list. To read more about the habits we are working on in our family, read this post.

FHE: A Happy Home Lesson

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This lesson was inspired by this lesson on Reverence I found on Sugardoodle.net, where the idea of a happy and sad chapel was presented. I decided to modify it to apply it to our home.

Lesson Plan

Show the picture of the sad home, and say the following:

This is a picture of a sad home.
The children in this home were always fighting and yelling.
Sometimes the children even hit and scratched and bit.
Family members didn’t like to do their jobs, and the house was often messy.

Next, show the picture of the happy home and say the following:

This is a picture of a happy home.
The people in this home are loving and kind.
The children play together nicely. They take turns and share.
The family members work together to take care of their home, because they understand that everyone needs to do their part.
Family members do their chores without complaining (and they only need to be reminded once).
The people here love to read good books and learn together.
The people in this home look for ways to help each other. They help with shoes and diaper changes.
The family members give lots of hugs and kisses and say I love you.

Which home would you rather live in???

Give each child a picture of a home to color, and then discuss ways that we can work together as a family to make our home a happy home. Review our family habits.

Note: I  found the images that I used for our house coloring pages here and here.

FHE: Be Grateful

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Scripture(s) of the week
D&C 98:1 “…rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks;”

D&C 59:7 “Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things.”

Mosiah 2:19 “…O how you ought to thank your heavenly King!”

Alma 34:38 “…live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you.”

I wanted to focus a lot of gratitude and thanksgiving this month, so of course that is what we have been discussing at Family Home Evening.

Last week we followed the lesson plan Heavenly Father Blesses Us from A Year of FHE. The overflowing water (blessings) cup was a great hands on activity for my girls.

Yesterday we reviewed our family habits and decided to add “Be Grateful” to our family habit list. We decorated a simple banner with those words as reminder, while Dad shared the above scriptures with us. I wanted to make some thank you cards as well (find a template here or here) but we ran out of time. I think that will be a good Sunday activity for us as a follow-up.

Teaching good habits

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“My mother understood the value of teaching her children about standards, values, and doctrine while they were young. While she was grateful to others who taught her children outside the home at either school or church, she recognized that parents are entrusted with the education of their children and, ultimately, parents must ensure that their children are being taught what their Heavenly Father would have them learn” (L. Tom Perry, “Mothers Teaching Children in the Home,” Ensign, May 2010, 29–31)

The responsibility that I have as a mother to teach my children weighs heavily on my mind. I have three sweet spirits that have been entrusted to my care, and I want to be sure that they grow and learn the important lessons to help them be successful and good people. I don’t care if they grow up to be rich and famous, I just want them to be good and kind.

Children learn best by example, so of course I am trying my best to live my life as a good and kind person. But it is important to verbalize the essential life lessons as well. So lately I’ve been putting a little more thought into our Family Home Evening lessons, and teaching the attributes/skills that I most want my children to develop.

My first lesson along this theme was Hands are for Hugging, not Hurting (can you tell we sometimes have a hitting problem at our house?!). The lesson went really well and those words have become a common phrase heard in our home, when little hands need a reminder on how to behave.

The next lesson was Quickly Obey, followed soon after by Pray Always. Our Follow the Prophet lesson coincided with General Conference, but teaching our children that we follow the prophet is a year-long endeavor.

Each of these lessons was centered on a simple phrase that could be easily remembered and repeated. We talk about them at dinnertime, we mention them in family prayers, and whenever an appropriate opportunity arises. We’re calling them our “Tanner Family Habits” and these are the words that I hope my children will remember and take to heart. I will be happy if when my children are grown they can look back and say “Yes, I know it’s essential to follow the prophet, because we talked about it in our family and we did it”. Or when troubles arise, my children know who to turn to for help (and in gratitude also), because we are a family who prays always. In a way, we are crafting our family mission statement through these lessons.

We’ll keep adding to our list as we go along, working to develop good habits and strengthen our family.

“Maintaining good personal habits which are pleasing to our Heavenly Father will strengthen our character, increase our influence for good, improve our example, bless our loved ones and friends, enrich our lives, and enable us to accomplish those things that yield true personal satisfaction and build peace and happiness in our hearts. We will have joy eternally, possessing a treasure to be much desired and sought after, for the Lord gives this assurance: “Inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.” (D&C 58:28.) (Delbert L. Stapley, “Good Habits Develop Good Character,” Ensign, Nov 1974, 20).

FHE: Follow the Prophet

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Scripture of the Week
“What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.”
D&C 1:38

Lesson Plan
(adapted from Lesson 37: Following the Prophet Helps Us Come Unto Christ from this packet on Sugardoodle.net.)

Tell the children that we have a special leader to follow, our prophet. Explain that a prophet is a man who speaks with God—God tells the prophet what we should do. Tell the children that if we follow the prophet, we will be happy and Heavenly Father will bless us. Explain that to follow the prophet means to do the things he tells us to do.

Display the picture of the living prophet. Have the children stand and say, “(Name of the living prophet) is a prophet of God.”

Why do we need a living prophet? (So we can know what Heavenly Father and Jesus want us to do.)

Explain that the prophet teaches us by speaking at conferences. Conferences are big meetings attended by a lot of people. We might be able to listen to the prophet on television, radio, or recordings. His words are also written in Church magazines that our parents or others can read to us.

Activity
Watch President Monson’s most recent General Conference address, The Divine Gift of Gratitude. The children can color a picture of President Monson while watching the video clip.

Follow the Prophet is one of our new family habits to go along with Pray Always, Hands are for Hugging, not Hurting, and Quickly Obey.

FHE: Pray Always

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Scripture of the Week
“…ye must pray always, and not faint.”
2 Nephi 32:9

Lesson Plan
Follow the lesson plan Prayer from A Year of FHE. This lesson covered exactly what I wanted to cover and teach my children about prayer, so I didn’t have to make any adaptations. The Sweet Bee colored the 4 Parts of Prayer poster, and the Ant Bug did the maze and colored the pictures.

Pray Always is one of our new family habits, to go along with Hands are for Hugging, not Hurting and Quickly Obey.

(I promise I’ll talk more about these family habits soon! I’m just giving you a little teaser now, but let it be known that I am very excited about our family habits plan and the direction they are giving to our family.)

FHE: Quickly I’ll Obey (and a great resource for FHE lessons)

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Scripture of the Week
“Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” Exodus 20:12

“Children , obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.” Ephesians 6:1

Lesson Plan
Follow the lesson plan Honoring Your Parents from A Year of Family Home Evenings.

I decided to change things up a bit, and I gave my girls the coloring page to work on while we talked about the lesson. I think it helped them to listen a little bit more, and at least they weren’t running around the room while we talked.

In addition, we also sang “Quickly I’ll Obey” (CS, 197). We then played a game I called “Quickly Obey”. Basically it was just a variation of Simon Says to teach the girls instant obedience in a fun way. We said things like “Quickly obey…touch your nose” or “Quickly obey…put your finger on your knee” or “Quickly obey…jump up and down 5 times”. The girls thought it was pretty fun.

Quickly Obey is one of our new family habits, to go along with Hands are for Hugging, not Hurting.

I need to put a shout-out for for A Year of Family Home Evenings. I just discovered this blog, and it is a wonderful resource for parents of young children. Emilie has plans for an entire years worth of lessons, complete with a scripture and learning activities and songs. Her children are the same ages as mine (nearly 6 and nearly 3, plus a baby), so it’s a really good match. Go check it out, and you might find your next FHE lesson planned out for you!