Our Family Study Schedule for "Come, Follow Me"

"It's so open-ended! What do we do?"
Exasperated and bewildered, my husband and I were attempting to reach an agreement for how we would approach Sundays, Family Home Evening, and scripture study in 2019.
As we flipped through a copy of the New Testament manual for home, it felt like trying to draw a map through a cloud. We could do anything, anyway we wanted. What could be easier than knowing what we want? What could be harder?
It didn't help that the nebulous ideas forming in my head were at odds with those my wonderful husband came up with. With so few guidelines to default to, we had to have an actual discussion with listening, persuasion, and decision making.
As we looked through the manual, we realized there just weren't enough chapters and discussion points to play the one-a-day game like we've done through years of Book of Mormon study. What were we supposed to do? We didn't want to plow through it all on Sunday or Monday. How were they supposed to contribute to their Sunday school lessons six or seven days later?
We finally settled on a structured, yet flexible plan that covered Sundays, a Monday Family Home Evening, the assigned reading and discussions, and what to do on weeks where we finished the week's assignments before the week was done.

Our Family's "Come, Follow Me" Home Study Schedule

SUNDAY

• Share church discussions at home.
• Recognize and praise those who did personal study in the past week
• (Invite sharing from personal studies)
• Select what 4-year old Q will be taught this week, selecting junior resources as needed
• Select a scripture or song to practice daily this week
• Read aloud a story from The Friend
• Family Council
• (Some weeks we may play a game as a family)

MONDAY: FAMILY HOME EVENING

• Song
• Prayer
• Begin the week's reading and discussion
• Object Lesson or Special Activity
• Treat

TUESDAY AND ONWARD

• Read and discuss one section from the manual each day until the week's reading is complete
• Repeat the week's verse or sing the week's song

REMAINING DAYS

• Read aloud from any of the following:
• The Ensign
• General Conference talks
• Or study from
• Bible Dictionary or Topical Guide

What is your family's plan for the new year?

Easter Book Review of In the Garden by Caralyn Buehner, Illustrated by Brandon Dorman

In past years, our family has retold the Easter story with gospel art pictures, with varying degrees of success.
The past few months, I have been wanting my children to know the gospel; not just know it, but to feel it. Yet every time I have sat down to teach my children, my pre-teen enters his defensive "don't preach at me" mode, someone else has the sillies, and anyone else is playing "can't touch me" with his neighbor.
Approaching Easter, I found In the Garden. One of the first things I noticed about it was that it was illustrated by Brandon Dorman, the same man who illustrated the beloved covers of the boys' Fablehaven and Candy Shop War books. Would an connection to some favorite novels spark some interest?
I decided it was worth a try, and ordered a copy through Deseret Book (we live hours away from the nearest church-themed bookstore). It took about a week to arrive at our address in the Eastern United States via the cheapest shipping method available. Since I ordered several weeks before Easter, that was fine. And, it was in perfect condition (unlike the board book I ordered at the same time, but that's another review).
I introduced this Easter book in advance, hoping they would get excited. I told them about the illustrator, and the fact that I actually bought a book for retelling the Easter story. They seemed mildly interested.
A week before Easter, I read this book to my children, ages 8-12. They listened fairly quietly (which is a huge success in itself). When I got to the author's wording of what Jesus took on himself during his prayer in Gethsemane, there was an audible, "Whoa," from one of my oldest boys. Reading this book to my children was the most spiritual experience we have had as a family since . . . I don't know when. Maybe ever?
I read this for a second time on Easter Sunday, and while the effect wasn't quite as pronounced (there was some whispering and extraneous movements) my often defensive child enjoyed showing off his knowledge of what happened, by adding to what the book has on the crucifixion.
I plan to keep this book special and look forward to it as an Easter tradition to continue over the next few years.

In the Garden is different from many other tellings of the Easter story, because the emphasis is on what happened in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was written for an LDS audience.
Broken into page-spreads (two facing pages), the story flows as follows:

• 1 page-spread on the Last Supper
• 1 page-spread approaching the garden
• 5 page-spreads on what happened in Gethsemane, including his prayers, the sleeping disciples, and the angel who "came to strengthen him"
• 2 page-spreads on the mock-trials
• 1 page-spread on the crucifixion (a mild scene with silhouettes of crosses)
• 1 page-spread on placing him in the tomb
• 1 page-spread on the resurrection
• 1 page-spread of Jesus visiting with children
• the end-page quotes John 3:16

I would recommend this book to LDS families with children ages 4-10 (or somewhat older, depending on the individuals).

Lego Temple Ideas and Photographs

It had been a while since the last time our family did some Sabbath bonding over Legos, and last week I kept thinking: this Sunday we will build Lego temples together.

I attempted Boston (its beautiful picture is in the nursery manual). My biggest regret was that I couldn't find enough translucent blue bricks for taller stained glass windows. I do, however, love the impressionistic cubist Angel Moroni up top, don't you?

 K began with an ambitious project that included a door that opened and a check-in desk, but never got finished.

 S started with a baptismal font on the base and built out from there. It has a post-apocalyptic look to it that is definitely not cannon, however.

 Ah, Seattle. A single spire and an evergreen. There's no way to imply the skinny stained glass arches down at this scale. Well, without pulling out the fine-point Sharpies, anyway. M and I did this one together.

 Somehow, smaller was easier.

And then, throwing attempts at replication to the wind, I pieced together a one-of-a-kind building that looks like it could be a temple. Someday.

Family Media Awards Night

Which actress has been nominated for an Oscar?
Which singer will win a Grammy?
Which music video will win a Smith?

What? Didn't you know? February is media awards month; the most infamous of all being Family Media Awards!

Following the media standards in "For the Strength of Youth," our family discussed the animated films and music videos from 2015 (well, the ones we saw, anyway). Then we nominated and voted.
Here is the highly anticipated breakdown of who won a 2015 Family Award!

Family Favorite Full-length Animated Film

Inside Out

Family Favorite Music Video

"Roundtable Rival"

Best Location for a Music Video 

"This Is Your Fight Song/Amazing Grace"

(filmed around a Scottish castle)

Best Costumes in a Music Video 

"Into the Woods"

Best Special Effects in a Music Video 

"Take Flight"

Funniest Music Video

"Pure Imagination"

(In which Miss Piggy attempts to upstage Lindsey Stirling)

2016 FHE Plan

A Two Night Split
During the adult session of our Stake Conference, the new stake president and his wife shared an unusual tactic for Family Home Evening that they used in their family: split it into two nights.
On Sunday night, they would have their spiritual lesson, then Monday night would be free for a larger family activity, like swimming.
For our family, that solves two puzzles at the same time: what to do as a family on Sunday and how to have more time doing physical activities, like swimming and biking, as a family.
We're trying it out. The kids are funny. We got more done, but they don't like it when we mess with their weekly rituals (like pizza on Fridays).
Last night, we went to an indoor bounce place as a family and had cake and ice cream there (okay, it was a birthday party, but we were counting it). Come 8:00, the kids were asking "What about family night? What about treat?" They didn't like being told that we had already finished it, but I think they just wanted more cake and ice cream.

Our 2016 Family Home Evening "Curriculum"
Cory and I had a good discussion about this one. We decided we would give ourselves permission to vary from our plan if something else came up that we felt was important to cover, but otherwise we will be using the Priesthood/Relief Society lesson topics for our Family Home Evening lessons.
One of the perks of this is that Cory and I will both have listened to a discussion on the topic earlier that day at church, which may bring some interesting stories and ideas to mind. It will also greatly simplify preparation.
1st Sunday: The First Presidency Message, a General Conference Talk, or Parents' Choice
2nd and 3rd Sundays: Teachings of Howard W. Hunter, one chapter
4th Sunday: Teachings for Our Times, a.k.a. General Conference talk (Bonus! I currently teach this in Relief Society, so I can prepare Family Home Evening lesson at the same time as I prepare for Relief Society! Much easier.)
5th Sundays: probably a discussion of whatever the Bishopric felt was important for our ward
Now, last week was Stake Conference for us. What did we do? Well, our Stake Presidency told us at Stake Conference that they wanted every family to have a "Sabbath Day Plan," so we discussed and filled in ours.

What Should I Do When I See Pornography?

This Family Home Evening plan is centered on an incredible video (shown below)

There are a plethora of resources to use to address this topic for LDS families. See other resources here. It's an index for LDS families that includes links to over a dozen Friend articles on the subject of pornography.

A Family Home Evening Plan

Song
"The Lord Gave Me a Temple," (Children's Songbook)
For a fabulous flipbook, head over to OCD Primary Chorister and print pages 1-16 for the first verse (half of the pages are text only. You may wish to print double-sided).

Prayer

Video Presentation
This five-minute video comes from overcomingpornography.org. Many children will be exposed to pornography for the first time before they are 12 years old. It's hard to put together a feel-good video to address a sickening possibility, but that's what this is.
If you're having difficulty viewing the embedded video, view it instead on overcomingpornography.org.



After the video, ask if any of the children want to talk to you about anything they've seen.

Pornography Drill
Move from computer, to tv, to a book. Pretend a bad picture just came up. Ask your children what they need to do.
Call it what it is. Close it, turn it off, or look away. Tell a parent/trusted adult.

Activity
Bicycling

Song
Children's Choice

Prayer

Treat
Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting
If you want to get really fancy, add a cream filling.

Two Soda Cans Family Home Evening Plan

Preparation
For the General Conference Connection, we used the excerpt that appeared in the May 2015 New Era: "Two Soda Cans," by Cheryl A. Esplin.
Shortly before FHE, pour the contents of one soda can in a glass. Save it in the fridge for root beer floats. You may want to rinse the empty can, since some child is bound to shake it.

Song
The Family

Prayer

Object Lesson

Display an empty soda can. Invite a family member to attempt to crush the soda can with their bare hands. After they have accomplished this, hand them a full, sealed can of soda and ask them to crush that as well. Allow them to make a show of trying and failing to crush the full soda can.
Why could you crush the first can?
(Because it was empty)
Why couldn't you crush the second soda can?
(Because it was full)

General Conference Connection

Invite the family to move to the table.
Encourage them to read the quote, and underline what we should be filled with.
(Light and truth or The Spirit)
How can we fill ourselves with Light and Truth?
(Be honest, pray read the scriptures, go to church, etc.)
Label the cans in the illustration.
Glue the quote in their General Conference Notebook.

7 year old S. wrote Baptism on his full can. I asked him if that was because he would get the gift of the Holy Ghost when he gets baptized. It was.

Activity

For activity, play the Animal Game. We did a mythical creatures variation. Think of unicorns, hippogriffs, basilisks, etc.
How to play: everyone chooses an animal name. It can be any animal, except one someone else is using. The person who is it stands or kneels in the middle of the room, holding a pillow with which to tag. Everyone else sits on couches or chairs. One sitting person starts, by naming a different person's animal. That person names another animal. The person with the pillow keeps trying to tag an animal before they name a different animal. If they are tagged, then they are it.

Song

Children's Choice

Treat

Root beer floats
You will need half as many root beer cans as there are people. Unless you have growing teenagers. Teenagers might need their own cans.

Back to School Family Home Evening

For a post about back to school family traditions, including place settings and decor, I highly recommend going over to Jen's Blog. I've borrowed some of her ideas as well, but she did them better.
Also, sometime shortly before school starts, I recommend watching the documentary On the Way to School. It moves slowly (it's a documentary, not an action show), but it's so eye-opening to see what getting to school is like in other parts of the world. Even better, it makes them appreciate what they have. At present, the film is streaming on Netflix. It's entirely G rated.

Back to School Family Home Evening

Preparation

For this lesson, you will need lined school paper, a writing implement, and a "Shield of Faith."
I used the May 2015 conference issue of the Ensign. There is a photograph of President Monson on the back. See how I used permanent marker to take it to eleven?
Or you can print a shield here. This shield is actually in a shield shape, with pictures and words for faith, prayer, repentance, and forgiveness, and a little picture of Christ in the middle.
For the General Conference Connection, I have used an excerpt from the talk "Yes We Can and Will Win" by Elder Ulisses Soares (the previous link has the full text and video), where he tells the story of a young man who refused to view pornography on his friends' cell phones.
An excerpt was included in the May 2015 New Era under "Stories from Conference" (scroll down to see it)
A simpler children's summary appeared in the May 2015 Friend under "Conference Notes." This is what my family used (see images below).

The Plan

Song
"Choose the Right," Hymns 239

Prayer

Lesson
What are some temptations you might experience this school year?
Answers might include teasing, cheating, bad words, giving up, bragging, etc.
Write the temptations in big letters on separate sheets of lined paper.
How do we know what's right?
Answers might include conscience, reading the scriptures, praying, or listening to the prophet.
[Child's name], will you hold this? It's the Conference issue of the Ensign. You can use this as your shield of faith, because we have faith in what the prophet teaches us during General Conference. Is your faith strong enough to protect you from the temptation to (read the temptation on one sheet of paper)?
Playfully wad the sheet of paper, then toss the temptation ball at your child, and let them try to deflect it with their shield. Repeat with other temptations, allowing any other children a turn as well.

General Conference Connection
Invite your family to read (or listen to) whichever version of Elder Ulisses Soares' story of a young man resisting looking at pornography (or "bad pictures").
If you are using General Conference Notebooks, give each member of your family their own copy to glue in their notebooks. Encourage them to write down what they can do to be "Strong Like Moroni" and resist temptations.

 This is what 9-year old M. wrote and drew in her General Conference Notebook. I love the temptation balls being thrown at the CTR shield.

Back-to-School Blessings
This tradition is new for this generation of our family, although it sounds like it's been around other Latter-day Saint families for a long time. Each of the children get a turn getting a father's blessing from Dad. I usually request one, too. Just for fun.
If you have reverence issues with the younger ones, you could set up coloring pages in a different room, then call them in when it's their turn.

Activity
Your family's favorite playground game, such as 4 Square, shooting hoops, or jump rope. (Our rising 6th grader had a fever, and the other children needed their backpacks double-checked, so we actually skipped the activity this week).

Closing Song
Children's Choice

Closing Prayer

Treat
Rolo Pencils 

General Conference Notebooks

It started on Pinterest, thank you. An Activity Days leader had used school composition books to create General Conference notebooks for her girls to take notes during conference. Then an idea formed-- what if there was, instead of a book for taking notes during conference, a notebook/journal for studying it after? A receptacle for those delightful quote graphics? A place for colorful pen doodles? A Family Home Evening resource?
It must have been inspiration, because the idea had barely formed before I found myself shopping the back-to-school sales. Composition books, 2 for a dollar. Sold.
I chose the lightest color  available  (yellow) so I could cover them with less showing through.

Supplies
1composition book
1rectangular sheet of scrapbook paper (2 if covering the back)
printer paper or sticker paper (and a printer)
Glue (we used generous amounts of school glue stick. Seriously)

How to
Open a word document and select 2 columns. Then type "----'s General Conference Notebook," using copy and paste until you have enough for each person in your family. Double space between each label, and center all text.
Allow each family member to select a favorite font and color. After selecting a font, increase the text size as much as possible (this will vary, depending on the font). I used a smaller font for the words "General Conference," to keep them on the middle line together.
Print.
Glue a sheet of scrapbook paper to the front of a composition book, lining up one edge of the paper with the edge of the black binding, and another edge with the bottom of the book. Open the book and use scissors to carefully cut off excess paper. Repeat with back cover(optional).
Cut out the "labels," and paste on the cover.
Initiate victory dance.
Repeat as needed.

To give credit where it is due, my 9 year old daughter pioneered the scrapbook paper idea. She is quite proud of herself.

Lego to See the Temple

Seattle Temple with fountain and red car.

This might be a good activity to keep hands busy while listening to LDS General Conference at home this weekend.
I've seen elaborate lego temples before, but we only have a handful of white bricks, and I was building with a five year old, not a ten year old. This is what we came up with.  Those are extra small figures from the Lego Harry Potter Game (hey, gray suits and ties!), and please tell me you can tell that's a fountain out front. And a red car.
Specs: The base of the temple is 2x8; Those dimensions go 6 layers up, then center 2 layers of 2x4 bricks, then center 1 layer of 2x2 brick. The next lego is a specialty brick, a thin 1x2 plate that goes over two pegs, but on top has one centered bump up. Onto that plate, stack 3 layers of white 1x1 bricks, then add one yellow 1x1 to imply the Angel Moroni statue.
We added a covered entry by putting a 1x8 brick on stilts.
M. added green bushes, and we used colorful "caps" for the foundation flowers.

For a list of creative Book of Mormon or Old Testament Lego Ideas, please see my post: October 2015 General Conference Plan.

Fourth of July

Okay, so I've been so busy living summer that I've gotten behind on blogging. Apparently a month behind.

The sugar cookie crust fruit pizza flag was delicious. I'm starting to relax better with our group activities. A few years ago, the blueberry stripes might have bothered me. Now, I think it's cute.

For Family Home Evening early in July, we did a patriotic art project. First we attempted the Lady Liberty Art Lesson from Deep Space Sparkle, but the younger ones were intimidated with drawing the Statue of Liberty (I should have told them to draw a stick figure with a spiky crown).

Then we salvaged the lesson. We drew "fireworks" with crayons on paper, then gave them a puddle of blue watercolor paint to spread over the paper. Mia and Dash dove straight in.

Cooking with Kids

And it came to pass that our family night treat was exceedingly sweet.

As a time-consuming practical life activity, sometimes I let my children help me make the treat for family home evening (I'm better at planning treats than lessons). At a young age, they can pour pre-measured dry ingredients, mostly into the mixing bowl. I usually stay in a rut with that activity for a while.

Mia was excited to put "her" cookies on the little toaster oven sheet. I insisted that only an adult got to put it in the big oven. After the sheet had cooled to the touch, I let her use a little spatula to transfer the cookies to a little cooling rack. She loved it ! Little Nephi, however, was jealous that we didn't have a second set of small bakeware. I let him use the big spatula and cooling rack, which he quite enjoyed.