Family Home Evening

Three posts in three days....I may have to change the name of my blog.

Anyway, I witnessed genius last night in Family Home Evening. Just a small shift that made mountains of difference in our Family Home Evening.

After we walked in the door from fetching me at the train station, Kathryn just jumped right into FHE by having the kids draw pictures. No opening prayer or song....and that was the genius.

For our family, having a formal opening leads to major discontentment. Issues arise as to which song to sing, I didn't get to chose it, how come I don't get to say the opening prayer, why does it have to be a baby song, etc. So we just eliminated it. (If we continue with this, maybe Kathryn and I will open FHE with a silent prayer to ourselves).

But by asking them to all start by drawing a picture, it eliminated jockeying for "who gets something that no one else gets".

Josh did a very detailed picture. Matthew and Sam just scribbled but were engaged for a long time. So it was an easy way to tailor the lesson to reach both the older and younger kids.

Then she asked Josh the first questions, and they were "deeper" than what got asked to the other kids. After Josh answered questions first, he didn't feel the need to answer the little kids questions as he already demonstrated his proficiency.

The younger kids stayed engaged in the lesson -- they kept coloring, but at least they weren't running around, and I feel like they do pick up something.

I think part of the genius was simply not expecting them to sit still for the first 10 or 15 minutes....start right off with something that engages them and lets them use their motor skills....then the learning comes later.

On another note, I do believe that each word is significant in "Family Home Evening".

It should be just your own family....not an extended ward activity, lots of extra guests invited, etc.

It should be in the home....not an outing to the zoo or such. (Sure, there are exceptions, but....)

And it should be an evening...not just 15 minutes, not Sunday afternoon. It's "evening". After the lesson, I (for once) opted to not feel distracted or wanting to do my own stuff. Rather, I set aside in my mind that I would play toys with the three younger kids for a full half hour before doing stories, etc. for bed. The computer and TV stayed off all night. FHE should be "an evening" set aside for the family, not just the lesson time.

OK, that's all I have.

Mark