Teaching good habits

"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

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

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)

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!

FHE: Pioneers, Seagulls and Crickets, and Faith

We've spent a good portion of this month traveling and visiting with family, so our annual pioneer themed Family Home Evening lesson is a little late this year. But, better late then never, and perhaps this will help some of you who are a little late like me!

Scripture/Song of the Week
"A marvelous work has begun to come forth among all the children of men.
O ye that embark in the service of God, give heart, mind, and strength unto him;
For prophets have spoken and angels have come to lift the world from sin,
That Christ may reign over all the earth and bless his gathered kin.

'With faith in ev’ry footstep, we follow Christ, the Lord;
And filled with hope through his pure love, we sing with one accord."
(Faith in Every Footstep, by K Newell Dayley)

Lesson Plan
Watch "Faith in Every Footstep: The Epic Pioneer Journey" from the Church History Collection DVD. (We watched this during dinner)

Give a quick recap of the story of the pioneers leaving Nauvoo and reaching the Salt Lake Valley. We talked about my 3rd Great Grandfather, John R. Young, who was a nephew to Brigham Young and traveled in the first vanguard company with the prophet when he was 10 years old.

Share the story of the crickets and the seagulls. We used a picture from the Gospel Art Picture Kit to illustrate the story. I was thrilled to discover the words of my ancestor included in the summary on the back of the picture:

Their prayers were answered on a clear afternoon when seagulls began to appear in the sky. John R. Young described the event:

“There must have been thousands of them. Their coming was like a great cloud; and when they passed between us and the sun, a shadow covered the field. …

“At first we thought that they, also, were after the wheat and this thought added to our terror; but we soon discovered that they devoured only the crickets” (Memoirs of John R. Young, as quoted in William E. Berrett, The Restored Church [1961], 285; see also 283–84).

Play Seagulls and Crickets Memory Game.

Discuss the faith of the pioneers and sing "Faith in Every Footstep".

Refreshments: Homemade Lemon Ice Cream (our annual July tradition, find the recipe here)

FHE: Consequences and "wickedness never was happiness"

Scripture of the Week
"Wickedness never was happiness".
Alma 42:10

Lesson Plan
Have a discussion about consequences. I followed the script from A Family Home Evening on Consequences.

"A consequence is something that happens because of a choice you make. It could be good or bad, it could be natural or one that your parents make, but they are designed to teach you either way."

We talked about consequences for misbehavior in our home, and emphasized that the reason they have to go in timeout or lose a toy is because we are helping them to learn a lesson. We hope that they will make good choices, because that makes all of us happy. Like Alma teaches "wickedness never was happiness".

Then we talked about our new job chart for the girls. Really it's more of "Things to do today" chart. So far it's working out well for us, but we've only been using it for a few days. If it's successful, I'll write up a post about it in the near future.

FHE: Hands are for hugging--not hurting

Scripture of the Week
"Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart;"
Psalms 24:3-4

Lesson Plan
Sing "I Have Two Little Hands" (CS, 272).

I have two little hands, folded snugly and tight.
They are tiny and weak, yet they know what is right.
During all the long hours till daylight is through,
There is plenty indeed for my two hands to do.

Ask "What can your two hands do?" Answers will vary (eat, draw, clap, play, etc).

Show the picture on p. 74 in Behold Your Little Ones: Nursery Manual (children playing nicely together). Discuss how they are using their hands to share and play nicely together.

Ask "What did Jesus use his two hands to do?". Show pictures like the following to illustrate.

Jesus used his hands to teach.

Jesus used his hands to heal.

Jesus used his hands to comfort.

Jesus used his hands to pray.

Teach that Jesus wants us to use our hands to do good things and follow him.

Read scripture: Psalms 24:3-4.

Discuss our new family habit (rule): Hands are for hugging--not hurting!

Activity: Trace each family member's hands on one paper to illustrate our new family habit.

FHE: A Name and a Blessing

Scripture of the Week:
And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.
Mark 10:16

…and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.
3 Nephi 17:21

This lesson was adapted from Lesson 28 in the Family Home Evening Resource Book. We will be blessing our new baby boy soon, so this lesson was designed to teach our children about the sacred ordinance.

Lesson Plan
Discuss with your family the meaning of their names, and why they were given that name.

Explain that the ordinance of giving a name and a blessing is a sacred and happy experience for the family.Explain that Jesus Christ blessed the children one by one (see Mark 10:16 and 3 Nephi 1721). Show a picture of Jesus blessing the children. When Jesus blessed the children, he did it with authority from our Heavenly Father. We have the same authority in the Church today, the Melchizedek Priesthood.

The Ant Bug

Talk about each child's blessing. Show pictures and share the notes from the blessing.

The Sweet Bee

Show the children the certificates of blessing for themselves and the parents. The certificate is an official church record that shows that the baby is now on the official membership records of the Church.

Discuss plans for the baby blessing. Show what the baby will be wearing.

The white dress was worn by both of my daughters for their blessing. The blue outfit will be worn by our son. It was worn by their father for his blessing.

Conclude by discussing our gratitude for each baby that has been born to our family.

FHE: Two lessons on Reverence

When it comes time for family prayer and scripture study in our home, I would have to say that the mood is generally far from reverent. The same applies during Sacrament Meeting, so my husband and I realized that lessons on reverence would be a good thing. Here are two Family Home Evening lessons on reverence that we did recently:

I Will be Reverent, from Behold Your Little Ones Nursery Manual (lesson 20).
We mostly just followed the lesson plan as written. We also discussed what our body should be doing when we are reverent: arms folded, mouths closed, ears open, bodies still, eyes closed and head bowed (during a prayer). It worked well to practice being reverent, for example, "Let's pretend it's time for family prayer. What should we do with our arms? Should our eyes be open or closed?" etc. We emphasized that being reverent means quietly thinking about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

I thought that the teaching tip on the sidebar of p. 85 was helpful: "Do not reward reverent behavior with prizes or food. Do not have contests to see who can be the most reverent. These tend to focus on the wrong things. Teach about the real rewards of reverence, such as increased understanding and the influence of the Spirit. Give the children specific verbal praise when they show reverence, for example: "I like the way Mary is sitting so reverently. Thank you, Mary."

For an activity the girls colored and made the flip book on p. 88.

The Sacrament Helps Me Think About Jesus Christ from Behold Your Little Ones Nursery Manual (lesson 27).
Sing the first two lines of "Reverently, Quietly" (CS, 26), while looking at the picture of Jesus on p. 106.

Review what our body parts are doing when we are being reverent, and that being reverent means thinking about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
Discuss the sacrament: Each Sunday we have a special opportunity to remember Jesus, to take the bread and water, etc. Show the picture on p. 114 and point out the details, emphasizing the reverent behaviors. Role play taking the sacrament and being reverent. Ask "Who should we think about when we take the sacrament?"

Read and Discuss: How should I behave in sacrament meeting? (Dallin H. Oaks, “How should I behave in sacrament meeting?,” Friend, May 2010, 11)

For an activity, color the picture on p. 115 and make a small book.

FHE: Heavenly Father and Jesus Appeared to Joseph Smith

Scripture of the Week
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
James 1:5

Lesson Plan
The Ant Bug brought home the CTR Tag-Along Bag from Primary on Sunday, so she selected Lesson 13 from this packet on Sugardoodle.net to teach. She read the story of Joseph Smith going into the grove to pray, and she asked the appropriate questions. For a great hands-on activity we glued leaves to brown paper to make our own sacred grove.

FHE: Courage

Scripture of the Week
"Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee."
Deut. 31:6

Lesson Plan
Discuss the word courage and what it means. Share the stories of Abinidi before King Noah and Daniel in the lion's den (use GAK photos) and discuss how these men showed great courage and faith in the face of a serious trial.

FHE: General Conference Review

Scripture of the Week
“The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; . . . I will call upon the Lord . . . so [I shall] be saved from mine enemies.”
Psalms 18:2-3
(We chose this scripture because it was quoted by President Monson in his closing remarks during General Conference, April 2010)

Lesson Plan
Discuss and complete and color the General Conference Recap by Arie Van De Graaff (found on Sugardoodle.net).

Play LDS Bingo with Skittles as playing markers.

FHE: Easter Lesson

Scripture of the Week:
"He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."
Matt 28:6

My ideas for this were adapted from the following sources:
FHE Ideas for Easter and Passover at Family Home Evening Planner
An Easter Activity for Family Home Evening at Times and Seasons

Lesson Plan
Fill 9 plastic Easter eggs each with one of the following items and scripture reference. Hide the eggs for the children to find. Open the eggs in order, read the scripture and discuss the item, then match to the appropriate Gospel Art Kit (GAK) picture. Simplified explanations of the events are included with each statement below.

Watch the following Mormon Message (An Apostle's Easter Thoughts on Christ) by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland


1. a leaf–real or plastic (if it vaguely resembles a palm branch, all the better)
“And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way. And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Mark 11:8-9).
(When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the people waved branches because that’s what people used to do when a king walked by.)
GAK: 223

2. a piece of a tortilla, pita, or bread or white clay shaped to look like flat bread
“And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body” (Mark 14:22).
(The next day, Jesus had another special meal with his friends. We call this The Last Supper. This is when the sacrament began, because Jesus said that people who followed Him should have bread and wine or water to help them remember Him.)
GAK: 225

3. a picture of Jesus in the Garden
“For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; but if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit”and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink”nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men”(D & C 19:16-19).
( Jesus went to a garden to pray. Here, he suffered for our sins. Because He did this for us, we can repent and live in heaven again.)
GAK: 227

4. three dimes
“And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them. And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray him” (Mark 14:10-11).
(Judas was supposed to be one of Jesus special helpers, but instead he helped other men arrest Jesus. He did this because those men paid him money.)
GAK: 228

5. a cross made out of wood, toothpicks, popsicle sticks, paper, or brown clay
“And it was the third hour, and they crucified him” (Mark 15:25).
(Jesus was crucified.)
GAK: 230

6. a nail
“Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen” (D & C 6:37).
(When the soldiers put Jesus on the cross, they pounded nails into His hands and feet.)

7. a little bundle (wrapped in fabric, a baggie, plastic wrap, etc.) of spices–cloves would be nice
“And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him” (Mark 16:1).
(After Jesus died, His friends put his body in a tomb. Later, some of the women who followed Him came to the tomb to put spices on His body. That was something they did back then when someone died.)
GAK: 231

8. a stone–rounded would be best
“And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great” (Mark 16:3-4).
(The tomb had a rock that could roll over the opening to seal it. While the women were walking to the tomb, they wondered how they would get the stone out of the way.)
GAK: 232

9. leave empty
“And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him”(Mark 16:6).
( When they got to the tomb, they were amazed to find that the stone had been rolled out of the way and Jesus body was gone! Then an angel came and told them, “He is risen; he is not here”(Mark 16:6). This egg is empty because Jesus’s tomb was empty. Jesus’s tomb was empty because He was resurrected!)

FHE: Tell Me the Stories of Jesus

Scripture of the Week:
“And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies.”
2 Nephi 25:26

Lesson Plan
The Ant Bug selected to teach Lesson 10 from this packet on Sugardoodle.net. We sang "Tell Me the Stories of Jesus" (CS, 57), then each of us shared a story about Jesus. We used the Gospel Art Kit as a visual aid to help tell the stories.

Note: This FHE was a day late, since I spent Monday evening with the Ant Bug at the after hours doctors office getting her treated for an ear infection. Sometimes you have to be a little flexible with FHE.

FHE: God speaks through prophets part 2

Scripture of the Week:
"He spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began."
Luke 1:70

Lesson Plan
Complete the March page of our Scripture Journal, using activities from the March 2010 Friend magazine. We talked about some of the teachings of President Monson, from this article in the magazine. Then we sang our favorite verses from Follow the Prophet (CS 110-111) and looked at the pictures in the magazine on p. 25.

Our FHE tonight was a little different. We needed to go to the store to look at infant car seats (Baby #3 is due to arrive in 3 weeks!), so we did our lesson in the car as we drove. I know that's not really ideal, but it actually made our lesson go smoother than usual. We had a captive audience since the kids were strapped in their car seats! When we got home the kids colored their scripture journal page while we got the treat ready.

FHE: God speaks through prophets

Scripture of the Week:
"For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith."
D&C 21:5

On Sunday the Ant Bug brought home a "CTR Tag Along Bag" from her Primary class. Her awesome primary teachers put together a binder with a few FHE lessons and corresponding coloring/activity pages, and the students in the class rotate through who gets to bring the bag home. I thought this was a wonderful idea, and the Ant Bug was very excited to choose and teach our FHE lesson.

As I looked through the lessons, I realized that I had seen them before on Sugardoodle. Angie put together FHE lessons for a year that correspond to the Primary weekly themes and they are available here. Tonight, we did Lesson 12.

For the activity we did a round of Where's the Prophet?, and then played Don't Eat the Prophet.

FHE: The Living Christ

Scripture of the Week:
“We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.”
The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles

Lesson Plan

This lesson was inspired by a lesson I found at The Family Home Evening Spot.

Introduce The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles. Discuss what it is, what it is about, who wrote it, etc. Show the poster from the February 2010 Friend magazine and read the excerpts from The Living Christ included there.

Make a collage about Christ. Using old Ensign magazines, cut out and glue pictures of Jesus Christ.

While preparing this lesson I came upon a special topic website by The Church, focusing on Jesus Christ, the Son of God. There are a number of articles and videos related to the Savior (faith, his teachings, testimonies of him, and others). This is a wonderful resource for anyone looking to strengthen their testimony of Jesus Christ.

FHE: A Foundation on Christ

Scripture of the Week:
"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."
Helaman 5:12

Lesson Plan
Read the following quote by President Monson from the February 2010 Ensign

“If we do not have a deep foundation of faith and a solid testimony of truth, we may have difficulty withstanding the harsh storms and icy winds of adversity which inevitably come to each of us.
“Mortality is a period of testing, a time to prove ourselves worthy to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. In order for us to be tested, we must face challenges and difficulties. These can break us, and the surface of our souls may crack and crumble—that is, if our foundations of faith, our testimonies of truth are not deeply embedded within us.”
Thomas S. Monson, “On Being Spiritually Prepared,” Ensign, Feb 2010, 4–6

Sing "The Wise Man and the Foolish Man" (CS, 281)

Discuss what a foundation is, read Helaman 5:12, and discuss how we should build a foundation centered on Jesus Christ.

Look up the following verses and discuss what we can learn in that verse that helps our testimonies grow stronger.

Mormon 7:5

Moroni 10:5

D&C 11:12

Articles of Faith 1:10

Ephesians 6:11

Moroni 7:41

D&C 1:37

I taped each scripture reference on a different block and had the girls pick which verse to read. Then we added the block to our foundation and built a tower.
Reality check: My children were getting pretty restless as we were looking up scriptures, so we opted to start eating our treat (popsicles) while we finished reading. Admittedly, that happens quite often during our lessons. So when all else fails, get their mouths and stomachs busy and hopefully they'll still absorb a little of the lesson!

FHE: Holiness to the Lord

Scripture of the Week:
“Wherefore…thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me.”
D&C 21:4

Lesson Plan:
-Read/tell the story of John Moyle in the February 2010 Friend, A Banner of Faithfulness by President Uchtdorf.
-Discuss what "holiness" means: something that is set apart for a sacred purpose, purity of a persons heart and intent, sacred, consecrated, etc.
-Discuss the scripture.
-Make and decorate our own banner of faithfulness to display.
Our banner is not a work of art by the standard of the world, but it definitely shows the personality of our children!

FHE: Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer

Scripture of the Week:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
John 3:16

Lesson Plan
Complete the January and February pages of the Primary Scripture Journal. Use the suggestions from the January and February Friend magazine.
The January issue of the Friend magazine states the following:

"The scriptures are a record of God’s teachings and dealings with His children. A scripture journal is your own book where you can write how you are learning to understand and live the teachings of the gospel. Every month this year you can learn a scripture and practice doing what it teaches. Heavenly Father will help you as you choose to learn and live by the scriptures. You will feel the power of the scriptures, and your testimony will grow.

Make or buy a notebook that has at least 12 pages in it. This year each issue of the Friend will contain a scripture and an activity for you to do in your scripture journal. If you need help reading, writing, or understanding the scripture or activity, you can ask parents, older brothers or sisters, friends, or Primary teachers for help."

Isn't this a fabulous plan?

For a recent Primary Quarterly Activity in our ward we wanted to put together a scripture journal for our children. I saw a really great journal posted here on Sugardoodle, but the 56 pages of that document was a little too large for our needs.

So I made a simpler version that focuses on the monthly themes only. Each page has a small coloring picture, with blank space for each child to write or share their thoughts. It is 15 pages, and each sheet should be cut in half to make two books. I just punched a hole in the top corner and tied it together with string.

I am excited to have this journal for my children to do this year. This will give us one Family Home Evening lesson each month, all ready to go. If you would like a copy of the journal, contact me and I would be happy to email you the pdf.