Teaching both Tots and
Teens
“Jason, would you come stand on this chair?” That got his attention! And everyone’s! It was time for Family Night! I handed him a kite and asked him to “fly it
high”! “Briana, would you please be the
little girl who is flying the kite?” I asked, and handed her the kite
string. I then proceeded with the story
that they were acting out, about a little girl who loved sending her kite
higher and higher into the sky, letting out more and more string to let it
dance in the wind. “I wish my kite could
fly away free,” the little girl said, “It’s this string that is holding it
down!” So she got some scissors and cut
the string! (That brought a Gasp from my
family!) As soon as she did, the kite came Crashing Down! This is just like Obedience, we then taught
our kids. Obeying rules and commandments
is like the kite string: It may seem to
be holding you back, but in reality, obedience keeps you up, and lets you be
happy. It is when we disobey that we
crash to the ground and cannot be happy.
Object lessons and role playing are wonderful ways to teach
little kids—and big kids too. When we tell something, our kids only use one of
their senses to hear it. But whenever
they can engage more senses to see, hear, touch, move, even smell and taste,
the better is the learning.
But sometimes, it is
tricky to teach various ages--to make your lesson apply to the older and the
younger ones. The very best thing, I
have found, is to often have the teenagers teach the tots! Here is a collection of other ideas for both
tots and teens that may be helpful.
Every Monday night, without fail, my teenagers ask Mark and
I two questions: 1.“What is for Family
Night tonight?” and 2. “How long will it
take?”
1. What is for Family Night tonight?
Planning FHE
Sometimes, at this point, Mark and I look at each other
(with no idea yet, what we are doing that night)! And even if we do have something planned, we
don’t want to just say, “We’re just having a lesson.” So, our usual answer is, “We are having a
Wonderful Family Night tonight!”
Talk it Over. Ideally,
Mark and I would have talked it over ahead, say on Sunday or before, just what
our family needs to learn. But if that
didn’t happen, I like to call Mark at work and discuss our ideas for FHE. That way we are on the same page, He leads
and I prompt and carry out what we talked about.
I have learned to let Mark be the leader in our family. He takes charge of the Family Night, even if I
have put the most preparations into it. In fact, I like to ask him ahead what he has
noticed that our family needs, for I am in the trenches, and he has often
observed something I don’t see. When
it’s my turn to teach, I also like to point out Dad’s example of living that
principle. For example, I pointed out to
them that Dad started reading a book and found some offensive material in it,
so decided not to read it—even though it was exciting. The kids wouldn’t even have known that, had I
not pointed it out to them!
Set up a Schedule.
The Miller family set up a monthly plan for their Family Nights. On the first Monday, they have Family
Council, and Dad teaches; On the second Monday, Mom teaches; on the third
Monday, one of the kids teach; and on the 4th Monday, the family
does an activity or a service. This way, everyone is on the same page. (When one parent teaches, the other adds
comments and insight of course.)
Family Council is a great tool for talking over
family issues. Take care to listen
carefully to each member’s input. In
that setting, treat them with the same respect you would an adult, and they
will rise to it and feel, “My input is valuable” and “I can contribute.” Even if you don’t agree, acknowledge their
input and validate it with positive comments.
These are huge builders of self-confidence, and will bless them
immensely as they grow up.
Lessons. In the current “Come, Follow Me” program,
our teens teach their peers often. In “Duty to God” and “Personal Progress”
programs, they share what they have learned as well. In each case, they will
have studied a certain topic and come to understand it better. Suppose Ann just
gave a lesson in Young Women’s on Feeling the Spirit. How natural is it for her to then present
what she has learned to the family? Parents
can emphasize to her how much the family (particularly the younger siblings)
needs her valuable insights and experiences feeling the Spirit in her life.
The Tarmen’s ask their teens ahead to teach the Family Night
lesson coming up. But if they forget to do it ahead of time,
they simply excuse that teen from doing dishes that night, in order to go
prepare his lesson. If there is no current
lesson he has taught, they assign their teenager to choose one of the standards
in “For the Strength of Youth” to present—say Honesty and Integrity--and give his
own personal insight about and experience with being truthful and trusted. https://www.lds.org/youth/for-the-strength-of-youth?lang=eng (They will learn it better as they are
teaching it! And they are much less likely to grumble!)
Priorities. Sheryl is an experienced teacher of many
years, having taught all ages. Whenever
she prepared a lesson to teach at church, and her children would ask her what
she was doing, Sheryl always told them, “I am preparing my Family Night
lesson! I’m going to try it out on the
Relief Society sisters first, before I give it in Family Home Evening!” This way, she was telling her children that
they were first priority for her teaching!
2. How Long will it Take? When my teenagers invariably ask this, it’s
not that they are being rebellious or complaining, they are just busy, and want
us to be efficient.
Regrettably, they do have other things that fall on Monday
nights. Team Sports, Study groups,
Rehearsals, Homework. It is sometimes a
delicate balance to respect some of these things that they cannot change, while
keeping Family Home Evening a top priority in our lives:
“We counsel parents and children to give highest
priority to family prayer, family home evening, gospel study and instruction,
and wholesome family activities. However worthy and appropriate other demands
or activities may be, they must not be permitted to displace the
divinely-appointed duties that only parents and families can adequately
perform.” https://www.lds.org/liahona/1999/12/letter-from-the-first-presidency?lang=eng But priority doesn't have to mean long. In fact, little children do much better with short lessons that fit their attention span!
Use Dinnertime. Everyone has to eat. Gather at the table, and begin the lesson
while they are eating, if necessary. Or
quickly remove dirty dishes, and keep everyone together for the Opening song
and prayer and lesson. If teens must schedule a study session that night, I ask them to schedule it for 8:30, if possible. Surely all of the students must eat, and can wait til we are finished.
Move FHE to Sundays. Some families, especially those whose kids
must be at regular mandatory sports practices, simply move Family Night to
Sunday. Without the weeknight conflicts,
they have time to be together unrushed. It
is definitely a better choice than no FHE at all!
Go Ahead and Have It!
Once Mark had to work late on a Monday night,
to meet a deadline, and my little kids had fallen asleep before he got
home! When to have Family Night? Well, I caught my family at the breakfast
table the next morning. And with Dad’s
approval, presented the lesson while they were eating their breakfast! “This is Our Family Night,” I made sure to
announce, because I wanted my children growing up knowing that our family
follows the prophet and has Family Home Evening every week.
Family Home Evening can be a constant in their
lives. It is a time when no one is
singled out for reprimand, but all learn principles together. “Preoccupation
with unworthy behavior will lead to unworthy behavior,” taught Boyd K. Packer,
“That’s why we stress so forcefully the study of doctrines of the gospel.” So rather than point out all the Contention
in our home, at Family Home Evening we teach the principle of Peace.
We can teach our kids where to look for a remission
of their sins. 2 Nephi 25:26. One Family
Night, I had several of my children stand on chairs! These were arranged in a circle in the Family
Room. Everyone put their hands up high,
and were told that they were forming a very deep hole. One of the kids lay down on the floor (she
had been warned ahead what to do) at the bottom of the “hole,” in deep despair
because she couldn’t get out! Then, I
got a rope ladder to throw down to her so she could get out. Sin is just like a deep hole that we can’t
get out of, Mark and I explained. The
Savior comes and not only throws us down a ladder—a way to get out, but He also
climbs down into the hole to help us climb out!
We still need to repent--to climb out, but He provides the way and the
enabling power. Linda K. Burton October
2012 https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/is-faith-in-the-atonement-of-jesus-christ-written-in-our-hearts?lang=eng#12-10491_000_61burton
3. Activities
It can be tricky to plan a fun activity for both
older and younger kids to do together, but it can be done.
Ultimate Frisbee—We make a rule that each member of
the family--even the four-year old--has to touch the Frisbee before a goal can
be scored. That way, each—old and
young—are important on the team!
Volleyball—Use a large Beach Ball! That way, anyone can hit it high! No need for a net, just tie a rope across the
yard or cultural hall. Relax on the rules and have fun hitting the great big
beach ball!
Kickball—This is another game all ages can
play. To make it more even, have older
ones kick with their left foot.
Board games—team up, an older with a younger. Adjust the rules to make it more kid friendly
or less competitive.
Charades—all can participate! You don’t hardly have to prepare ahead,
although costumes are fun, because you can whisper lines to be said by each
character as you go! Try scripture
stories or any inspiring story. These will
stick!
Paper Airplanes—Try folding them then throwing them
off the bleachers at the high school!
Service—Go help Grandma or pick weeds at the
church. Help a widow with her yardwork
or serve at a food kitchen. (If you
spend the evening picking weeds, be sure to have an extra good treat!)
4. Family
Night Treat
To a kid, the Family Night treat is a big deal. Come up with something: ants on a log,
crackers with something spread on top, frozen grapes or bananas, etc. to call
your Family Night treat for that week, and Celebrate Family!
Remember, All Members get a Treat just for Being a
Member of the Family! This is not the
time to teach about eating all your food before desert—teach that on Tuesday or
Wednesday or all the rest of the week, but not with the Family Night
Treat!
Family Home Evening is a great time to get together
and talk and play and laugh and eat and learn something together. It will be a cherished memory of our
families, if we put in the effort to go ahead and have them consistently, and to make them
fit our families’ needs! The little one
who is rolling around on the floor is getting more than you realize! And the teen who is impatient to get on with
his thing can be one of your family’s best teachers!
Labels: Families--Family Home Evening, Teens--Teach FHE