Wise and Foolish

This lesson is adapted from the CTR A lesson 36: "I am wise when I choose the right."

Purpose: To help children understand that we are wise when we obey the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Intro: Put different articles of clothing on incorrectly. For example, put a hat on your feet. Talk about how the clothing doesn't do us any good if we don't wear it correctly. When we wear a hat on our feet, it doesn't protect us from the cold, rain, or sun. It is foolish. When we wear it correctly, we get protected. We are being wise when we wear a hat correctly. You can let your kids take turns demonstrating how to wear clothes correctly.

Scripture story: Tell the story of the wise man and the foolish man found in Matt 7:24-27. Talk about how each man felt when the rains came. Explain that if we are wise and follow Jesus Christ's teachings, we will be happy like the man whose house stayed standing. If we are foolish, we will be sad like the man whose house fell.

Activity: On the sidewalk or a cookie sheet, set up two houses made of blocks. Build one block house on a large rock. Build the other on a pile of sand. Pour water on the rock and the sand and watch what happens! The house on the rock stays standing, and the house on the sand falls down.

Song: Sing "The Wise Man and the Foolish Man." Do the actions too of course. :)


Summary: We are wise when we follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Wise and Foolish

Music

Music is a great FHE tool. Here are some of my favorite ways to use music in FHE:

• You can use choose an opening song to help introduce the topic you are going to talk about. For example, Our Bishop if you are going to talk about the bishop and Oh, What Do You Do in the Summertime? if you are going to teach about seasons.
• You can use a fun song to help catch children's attention (songs with actions are a great choice). See Section Below.
• You can choose a song to base your lesson around. Baptism is a great example of a song that you could base your lesson around. You could have your children listen closely while you sing the song and then quiz them on it. You could also go over each section of the song explaining what it means. A Prayer Song and I Pray In Faith are other great examples of songs to base your lesson around.

Since the oldest child in my family is 2, many of the songs we sing are action songs that often don't go along with the lesson. Sure, lesson specific songs are great, but a two year old is much more interested if he has 1)heard the song before and 2) there are fun actions with the song. It is hard enough to keep him interested in FHE as it is!

We also often sing the same song at the beginning and end of the lesson. This is especially true if it is a song we are singing for the first time. We find that it helps our son remember the song (and actions) better.

Some Songs from the Children Songbook that are easy to add actions to:
*Once There Was a Snowman
*A Prayer Song
*Popcorn Popping
*Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam
*Faith
*Book of Mormon Stories
*Love One Another
*I Am Like a Star
*Daddy's Homecoming
*My Heavenly Father Loves Me
*Saturday
*Falling Snow
*If You're Happy
*Smiles
*Two Little Eyes
*I Have Two Ears
*Two Happy Feet
*I Wiggle
*My Hands
*Roll Your Hands
*Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
*To Get Quiet
*Do As I'm Doing
*Hinges
*Stand Up
*Oh, How We Love to Stand
*The Wise Man and the Foolish Man

Here's a list of suggested songs for Nursery from LDS.org

Music