Quick and Simple Lesson Ideas

Sometimes the simplest lessons are the best...and the easiest when preparation time is tight!

• If you teach church, teach your children the same lesson on Monday that you taught on Sunday. If you are a primary teacher you might not need to make any adjustments to the lesson!
• Choose an article of faith to talk about and possibly memorize. You can also do a discussion of the articles of faith as a whole.
• Choose one of the commandments to talk about and memorize. You can also do a discussion of the commandments as a whole.
• Pick a favorite church song and talk about the words in it or learn a new church song that you can discuss as you learn it.

Quick and Simple Lesson Ideas

Being Honest

Something we’ve had to deal with in our home lately is honesty. We are trying to teach our 4yr-old the importance of telling the truth. So, we did this honesty family Home Evening the other night. I felt it was really important to stress that not only would she get in trouble by mom and dad if she lied, but that lie would make Hevenly Father very sad because He has asked us to be honest in all that we do. April’s issue of The Friend had some great resources for this lesson.

Read the story Niya's Choice from the April 2011 Friend.

Talk about the choice Niya had to make. What would have happened if Niya made the wrong choice? What happened because she was honest?

Give your children the Honesty Quiz from the same Friend.

Songs:
 I Believe in Being Honest - CSB#149
The Commandments - #112

Being Honest

Because I have Been Given Much

Opening Song: Hymn #219: Because I Have been Given Much

Scripture: Mosiah 2:17  And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn ^awisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the ^bservice of your ^cfellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

It is important for children to not only learn about service while they are young, but to actively take part in serving. Whether it be others in your immediate family, a neighbor, friend, relative or even a complete stranger, it is vital to their understanding it's importance. There are many ways you can encourage service. Here is one example we are working on currently in our little family.

In our neighborhood there is a family who is expecting their first child within a couple weeks. They are not currently active in the church. The husband has been out of work for at least two years, maybe longer. They have very little, especially considering the needs of a new baby.

As luck would have it, they are expecting a baby girl. We have two girls and have been blessed with much in way of clothing for our children. So, although we may not be able to help this family out monetarily we can give them some of our childrens clothing. For our FHE activity we went through our overflowing boxes and put together a couple large bags full of clothing. Although we have never met this couple, it gives us great joy and satisfaction know we can serve them. It is wonderful to be able to include our children in this service and to see how willing they are to give to those in need.

Because I have Been Given Much

Scriptures Stories

This is an idea my husband picked up from our Ward Conference back in February. This is seriously one of the best ways we have found to really teach the scripture story for Family Home Evening. Our kids are currently 5, 4, and 2.

You get a large sheet of paper and cover your table with it. My husband got this at a local copy shop. 

You then gather around the table and everyone has crayons. You choose a scripture story or scripture figure to talk about. My husband went with Nephi. 

My husband just started drawing a scene from one of his favorite stories of Nephi from the Book of Mormon. As he did so, he asked our oldest what he liked about Nephi. Our son's favorite is Nephi building a boat, so he drew a boat. The picture below is in the middle of the lesson; there are a lot of things to draw about Nephi. 

This was great. Kids listen while coloring. It gives you the chance to talk about the stories and the great things you learn from the stories, and it is all in a very casual way--it didn't feel forced at all. It gives kids a visual, and it also connects the learning with physical movement, which helps solidify learning.

I can see this being done for various holidays and celebrations. Maybe for the days leading up to the Ressurrection. Maybe during July as you talk about the Pioneers. Perhaps around Christmas and talking about Christ's life. 

This one is definitely a keeper!

Scriptures Stories

Tender Moment

Last night was one of those payoff moments you get in parenting and in diligently doing what you have been asked.

A couple of months ago, I shared how we started having our kids teach the lesson in a way they can prepare and give themselves (see http://fheforchildren.blogspot.com/2011/02/favorite-scripture-story.html). Last night, our five year old Brayden taught the lesson on Jonah and the Whale.

He did a super job--I was a bit shocked at how well he did. He has obviously been thinking about this since he last did it and has made major improvements.

But the best part was at the end. He turned to a picture of President Monson and quizzed his sisters on who it was. Then he bore his testimony! He told us that he knew President Monson was a true prophet. It brought tears to my eyes to hear my little boy spontaneously bear testimony. What a great blessing!

Tender Moment