FHE Idea on Tithing

Have you signed up for Tithing Settlement yet?  Yup, it's that time of year!  So we're having a Family Home Evening lesson on tithing at our house tonight using the lesson I typed up for the yourLDSradio blog complete with songs and scriptures.  Get the full lesson by clicking HERE.

And if you want to add a fun activity to your lesson - which I highly recommend - try our "I Will Pay My Tithing" printable file folder game!  It's lots of fun, and great math practice too because you have to find the matches by figuring out the tenth!

FHE Idea for Thanksgiving

Get this and other great "thankful" coloring pages for free at greenjellowithcarrots.com

Since Thanksgiving is later this week, tonight is the perfect time to have a Family Home Evening lesson about being thankful!  Check out all the details on the yourLDSradio blog.

Included in the lesson is this really great video from The Mormon Channel:

FHE Idea; Studying the Scriptures

Sometimes my kids complain when we sit down to read the scriptures.  They're still fairly young so we cut them a little slack, but I want to have a Family Home Evening lesson about why it's important to study the scriptures as a family. 

You can find the FHE lesson plan on the yourLDSradio blog.

And if you want a game to go with your lesson, try our Book of Mormon Printable Card Game.  It'll add a little fun to your night because the cards are good for lots of games.  You can play concentration, go fish, old maid, or anything else you can think of!

The Gift of the Holy Ghost FHE idea

 We want to make sure we cover more about baptism and confirmation before our son gets baptized, so here is another FHE idea where there can be discussion about the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  You can get the full scoop (complete with song ideas and scriptures) on the yourLDSradio blog.

And to supplement your FHE, try our "The Holy Ghost is Like a Blanket Primary Talk".  It relates the comfort the Holy Ghost provides to a child's favorite blanket.  It comes with full color illustrations and text so it's easy to include in your lesson (or use as Primary talk later)!

Last Minute FHE Ideas

Are you scrambling for a last minute Fame Home Evening idea?  Here are a few suggestions you might find helpful:

	Check out this week's FHE idea on the yourLDSradio blog, it's about recognizing other people's feelings and opportunities for service.  And you can get our "Feelings Bingo" game to play as a family for part of the lesson!
	Discuss the importance of temples, and their function.  Use our "I Love to See the Temple" file folder game to ask questions at the end - when someone answers correctly they get to place a piece of the game on until the entire temple has been constructed!
	Have a quick discussion about how we need to practice "Sinking our Sin" and then play this game as teams.  It's pretty much a printable version of Battleship, but the ships are each assigned a sin like swearing or lying.  See which team can eliminate these bad habits first!
	Teach your children the importance of good friends.  There are qualities both nice and not so nice when choosing someone to hang out.  Our "Fishy Friends" printable card game covers some of those qualities and is a fun way to cover the topic of choosing good friends!
	If you already have a lesson planned and are just looking for something to kick up the fun factor, check out our huge selection of free coloring pages.  These cover a number of different topics, so you're sure to find what you're looking for!

Happy Monday, and I hope you find the right lesson and activity to enjoy with your family tonight!

FHE Idea: The Sacrifices of Lehi's Family

I know that lots of you already have our "In the Wilderness" file folder game, so here's a Family Home Evening idea to go along with it! 

This lesson is all about the sacrifices that Lehi's family made when they left to live in the wilderness, and includes how we're asked to make sacrifices in our own lives.  Teach your family that if we do what Heavenly Father asks, we will be greatly blessed.

Check out the complete FHE idea on the yourLDSradio blog!

FHE Idea: King Benjamin

Teach your family about King Benjamin and what he told his people.  Using marshmallows, toothpicks, and a sheet of paper you can erect your own tower and tents.  Then quiz your family members on the lesson and for every right answer someone gets to eat a marshmallow!

For the complete lesson (with lots of scripture references) see my original post on the yourLDSradio blog.

You can easily liken the story of King Benjamin to modern day General Conference by using our "A Prophet Speaks: King Benjamin Primary Talk".  Not only does it make a great Primary talk for later, but the pictures and text are perfect for little ones with short attention spans!

FHE Idea: Pioneer Children

I'll be posting all our new FHE lesson ideas somewhere new!  You can find them on the yourLDSradio blog every monday morning.  Or, if you forget to check there, I'll be posting a recap every monday here too.

This week's lesson idea: Little Pioneer Children

Teach your kids what pioneer children were like and how they can be a modern day pioneer by walking "with heaven in view".  The lesson is based on the song "Pioneer Children Were Quick to Obey" found in the Children's Songbook and goes great with our Day After Day pioneer file folder game!

Click over to the original FHE idea post to get all the details! 

FHE Idea: Why are We Baptized?

It was only a year ago that my oldest child was baptized.  It was a really important day for our family.  And while the experience was completely amazing, in some ways I wish we would have talked a little more about it as a family.

So here's an FHE idea about Baptism, one of a few I'll be having with my family before we have another family baptism at the end of the year.

FHE Theme: Why are we baptized?

Scripture: Alma 46:15, Fourth Article of Faith, Mosiah 18:10

Songs: "Baptism" Children's Songbook, and "Lord, Accept into Thy Kindgom" LDS Hymn book

Start the lesson by saying how important you think baptism is.  I know that testimony time is usually closer to the end of lessons, but I think it's good to emphasize that this topic is really special, especially for those who have been baptized or going to be baptized soon. 


Story: Tell the story of your baptism, or the baptism of a close relative or friend.  Mention how you (or they) felt, and how you (or they) made it an extra special day by having a new dress, or suit, or a family gathering, or whatever.


Then tell the story of Jesus being baptized.  Emphasize that baptism is so important that Jesus, who was perfect, was also baptized.  You can find the story of Jesus's baptism in Matthew 3:13-17 - this version includes the part where John the Baptist questions why Jesus wants to be baptized and Jesus answers, "it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness".

Now's the time to tell everyone WHY we're baptized.  Here are some reasons and talking points ( of course you can add to this list):

1- Heavenly Father and Jesus want us to.  John 3:5

2- When we are baptized we are taking on Jesus's name by calling ourselves Christians.  Alma 46:15, Mosiah 21:35

3- When we get baptized we promise Heavenly Father that we'll always choose the right or repent.  

4- Heavenly Father will forgive and forget all of the sins we committed before we were baptized. Moses 6:59, Acts 22:16

If you'd like to add a simple game to your Family Home Evening we suggest Baptism Bingo.  By doing something fun with the kids during the lesson, hopefully it will help even the small ones associate happy thoughts with what they learned.

We'll be adding another lesson or two about baptism later, such as "what will happen when I'm baptized?"  Plus another lesson about being confirmed and getting the Holy Ghost.  So watch for those too!

FHE Idea: Service

FHE Theme: Service makes us happy.

Scripture: Matthew 22:37-40, Matthew 25:40

Songs: "If We're Helping We'rd Happy" and "Love One Another" Children's Songbook

Story: "We'll Carry You", from the February 2011 Friend, is a great story about service told by President Monson.  Plus it ends with some examples of what four children did to provide service to others.  You can find the article on the lds.org website here.

If you'd like to add an activity to the lesson to make it a bit longer, try our Service Printable Booklet and Smile Handout.  The booklet is fun to fold and color, and includes a page where you have to think of what YOU can do to provide service, so it's great for getting kids to think.  Plus, the smile handout is just fun to hold up to your face!  (I'm thinking family-service-smiles photo opp.)

It would be great to end your lesson with the new video put out by the church:

FHE Idea: The Importance of a Family

The first thing that comes to mind when I think about families is the "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" put out by the church.  It is a great guide on the importance of families, which is what this FHE idea is all about.

This FHE idea about families is good for kids of all ages, and even adults.

FHE Theme: The Importance of Families

Scripture: Mosiah 4:14-15

Songs: "Love at Home" LDS Hymnbook, "Families Can be Together Forever" Children's Songbook

Story:  Tell your own family's story.  How you and your spouse met, or how your parents met.  Tell how you felt when each of the children were born.  Give an example of how much you love a sibling, parent, cousin, grandmother, etc.  Mention a time when you were happy to be a part of a family.  End with how important having a strong and eternal family is to you.


Now read the "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" out loud.  If you don't have a copy of it, you can find it on the LDS church website here.  Even if you are without children, in a large family, without a spouse, or a great grandparent - it doesn't matter your circumstances because you are always a part of a family, and the Proclamation to the Family is important for all of us.


If you have younger kids who don't quite understand the Proclamation to the Family, I suggest our Proclamation Primary Talk.  It puts things into terms that kids can understand, it doesn't take long to read (so short attention spans are ok), and you can include a picture of your own family.

Encourage discussion on how important family is - let each person tell stories and voice positive opinions.  Ask and answer questions.

Then end the FHE by watching this great video from the Mormon Channel.  It will really get everyone thinking about families and how grateful they are to be a part of one.  Plus, it will end things in a happy peaceful way.

FHE Idea: Assignment Charts

I don't know what it's like at your house, but here my kids aren't so good at taking turns.  They either fight about who's turn it is, or who's turn it's not.  And when no one can remember who had the last turn or which order the turns came - - you can just pretty much bundle the whole taking turns thing into a neat little package and dumb it in the river.

Hopefully people know how to take turns in your family, but in case you want a little extra help when it comes to FHE, try one of our charts!

Basically it goes like this:
• Everyone in the family has a specific "piece" (it's different with each chart)
• There are five FHE tasks that can be assigned: opening prayer, music, lesson, closing prayer, and treats.
• Attach each person's piece to their assigned task.
• After FHE is over, switch the assignments.

An FHE chart does a couple things.  No one can fight about who's turn it is, because the family can just refer to the assignments.  And kids can get prepared and be excited all week, because the chart is there to remind them!

FHE Idea: The Last Supper

This FHE idea has been tested by my family, and given a pudgy thumbs up from all the kids.  And the cool thing is it can be adapted to a family with kids of all ages.  (Even adults.)

FHE Theme: The Last Supper

Scripture: Matthew 26:26-28

Songs: "Before I Take The Sacrament" Children's Songbook, "Reverently and Meekly Now" LDS Hymnbook

Story: The evening of the Passover Jesus had supper with his twelve apostles.  First he showed them love by washing their feet, and told them to love one another.  He knew that this would be the last supper He would have with his beloved apostles.  He broke the bread and blessed it, and told the apostles that it represented His body.  Then He blessed some wine and told the apostles to drink and remember His blood which would be shed to provide a way for everyone to repent.  This was the very first Sacrament.  And it is why we take The Sacrament every Sunday.

Game: After you've covered the story and the scripture, pull out The Last Super File Folder Game.

We like to use sticky tac with our file folder games.  And we used to have a big old tv with a regular glass screen.  So we'd attach our file folder game right to the screen with the sticky tac, and position the pieces off to the sides.

Of course, you can stick it anywhere you want.  We no longer stick it to our tv, because we finally joined the present and got a flatscreen HDTV, but we've also used a white board, a posterboard, or even the wall.

As far as playing the game goes, have one person be in charge of the questions.  This person asks questions about the Last Supper story and scripture.  They can also be questions about The Sacrament.  Whomever answers right gets to pick a piece to stick on the file folder game.  (If you have little kids, you probably want to take turns and ask super simple questions; if you have older kids make the questions meaningful and more difficult.)

Once the file folder game is complete, you can end with a song and prayer.  And everyone will have learned about Christ, and gotten to play a game.  So basically, it's pretty awesome.

FHE Spotlight

If you're looking for something to do for FHE tonight, here are some ideas:


Our brand new "Missionary Clue." It's like the regular Clue game, without the murder and weapons. Lots of fun for families with kids who can read and reason.

Print everything on thick paper and you can stand them up, creating a 3-D look. The missionaries go around the board as everyone tries to figure out which family will be converted in which house and for what reason.





We have good games for little (non-reading) kids too.

Check out our new FHE Packs that include a chart to keep track of assignments like who is saying the prayer or leading the song. The pack also includes different games that teach lessons and are fun to play.

The "Little Kids Pack" includes "Reverent Charades" and "Shining Example Game" which are two games that my kids love to play for FHE (or any other time I pull them out.) The chart is also really great because it gets the kids excited about family night, and helps them learn responsibility.




We also have some FHE Packs that include the "Dress Up" file folder games. Choose the size of pack you'd like, and get enough stuff for more than one family night. (These also work great for keeping kids quiet during Sacrament Meeting.)

Among our other FHE packs are ones that include card games or scripture puzzles.

Let us know if you like having FHE ideas come in packs. Does it make planning easier? Do you like having the chart? Which is your favorite FHE Fun game? We'd love to hear what you think!

A Family Sundae

Last night for FHE we had ice cream sundaes. It was one of those impromptu preparations five minutes before FHE started kind of deals (which is generally how we do FHE anyway, but this time we wanted ice cream to go with it.)

I'm sure this isn't an original thought, but we used the sundaes as an analogy for families, so I thought I would share the idea.

The ice cream represents a family. It's good by itself, because families are great and ice cream is great. But we can always make our ice cream -and families- better.

So we added chocolate syrup. That represented love. Because love makes families better, just like ice cream is always better with chocolate syrup.

Then we added M&Ms. (It was a personal preference - you don't have to use M&Ms, you could use nuts, or toffee pieces, or sprinkles, or whatever.) This represents kindness. Because my children have a particularly hard time remembering to be nice to each other.

Lastly, we added whipped cream because no sundae is complete without it. This represented forgiveness. Because that's a very important part of being a strong and happy family.

And when we were done, our ice cream (and family) was better and exceptionally tasty, and we got to make jokes like, "Oh no - you just ate your whole family!!" when we swallowed the last bite.

You can change out any of the toppings or values they represent, but it's an FHE that the whole family will enjoy. (And so far my kids have retained some of the lesson, which is saying a lot!)