Monthly Archives: May 2010

Not only is this FHE Super-Charged, it’s largely child-led. So sit back and relax, Mom. Time to let your children teach you.

This can be one lesson or several, depending on how in-depth you get and what ideas your children might have for FHE as you discuss this with them ahead of time. Personally, I love it when my kids come up with so many ideas that I have to push what I had planned to next time. That gives my procrastinating self a whole week to feel ahead of the game.

Preparation:

If you have a child aged 8-11, he should read the story of the First Vision found in Joseph Smith – History 1:1-20 and be prepared to share the story in FHE. Invite him to think of other things that can be part of his lesson about this.

If you have a daughter aged 12-17, she can similarly lead the lesson below by reading the story of the First Vision. This lesson can either be the beginning of her challenge to pray regularly for three weeks or an opportunity to report on that experience once completed. (See the PP requirement below.)

If you have a Deacon-aged son, reading about the First Vision fulfills a Quorum requirement, so long as he discusses it with a priesthood leader afterward.

Opening and/or Closing prayer: offered by your Faith in God-aged child, if you have one.

Opening Song:

A Child’s Prayer (Children’s Songbook #12). Best children’s hymn ever. I love this song. (Link includes words and audio.)

Lesson:

Tell the story of the First Vision (led by the child/ren who prepared for this, if applicable).

Group Discussion: How does Heavenly Father answer our sincere prayers? Share experiences when prayers have been answered.

How does prayer protect us and help us stay close to Heavenly Father and the Savior? Share feelings about this.

Why is it important to pray regularly? What are some things that prevent us from praying regularly?

(If you have Wolf or Bear Cub Scouts, further discussion questions are in the Faith Character Connection below.)

Activity:

Make something tangible to help children remember to say morning and evening prayers. Challenge them to practice this for the next three to four weeks (or whatever length is appropriate for each child).

One  option is to make a paper chain out of strips of construction paper or scrapbook paper, with enough links for each morning and evening prayer. Each child hangs the chain by their bed and removes a link after each personal prayer is said.

Other options are to paint a prayer rock, make a prayer rug or create a prayer chart to hang by your child’s bed.

Treat:

Make these easy “Praying Arms” soft pretzels. (Or buy the soft SuperPretzels sold in Costco’s frozen food section.)

This lesson fulfills part or all of the following requirements:

Faith in God – Learning and Living the Gospel #2: “Read the Prophet Joseph Smith’s testimony in Joseph Smith—History 1:1–20, and discuss it with a priesthood leader.”

Faith in God – Learning and Living the Gospel #5: “Give an opening and a closing prayer in family home evening or at Primary. Share your feelings about how prayer protects us and helps us to stay close to Heavenly Father and the Savior.” Which also fulfills part of the Cub Scout Religious Square Knot patch.

Wolf Cub Scout requirement 11c: “Give two ideas on how you can practice or demonstrate your religious beliefs. Choose one and do it.”

Bear Cub Scout requirement 1b: “Make a list of things you can do this week to practice your religion as you are taught in your home, church, synagogue, mosque, or other religious community. Check them off your list as you complete them.”

Part of Webelos Cub Scout requirement 8e: “For at least a month, pray or meditate reverently each day as taught by your family, and by your church, temple, mosque, synagogue, or religious group.”

Wolf and Bear Cub Scouts also work on the Faith Character Connection (Wolf requirement 11a and Bear requirement 1a): “Know. What is “faith”? With your family, discuss some people who have shown their faith – who have shown an inner strength based on their trust in a higher power or cause. Discuss the good qualities of these people. Commit. Discuss these questions with your family: What problems did these faithful people overcome to follow or practice their beliefs? What challenges might you face in doing your duty to God? Who can help you with these challenges? Practice. Practice your faith while doing the requirements for “Duty to God.”

Personal Progress Faith requirement #1: “The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Learn about faith from the scriptures and living prophets. Read Hebrews 11, Alma 32:17–43, Ether 12:6–22, and Joseph Smith—History 1:11–20. Read two general conference talks on faith. Exercise your own faith by establishing a habit of prayer in your life. Begin by saying your morning and evening prayers regularly. After three weeks of following this pattern, discuss with a parent or leader what you have learned about faith and how daily personal prayer has strengthened your faith. In your journal express your feelings about faith and prayer.”

Duty to God Deacon – Quorum Activities #1: “Read the Prophet Joseph Smith’s testimony in Joseph Smith—History 1:1–20, and discuss it with a priesthood leader.”

Part of the requirements for all LDS Youth programs is to strive to have regular personal prayer.

Related Requirements:

These first two are more in-depth and probably merit a FHE all their own:

If you have a Teacher-aged son, he can teach a FHE based on the chapter titled Prayer (found in the True to the Faith book). Fulfills half of Duty to God Teacher – Family Activities #3.

If you have a Priest-aged son, he can read the chapter titled Restoration of the Gospel (also found in the True to the Faith book) and teach it to the family. Fulfills half of Duty to God Priest – Family Activity #5.

Boy Scouts may want to work on the Personal Management merit badge and include morning and evening prayers as part of their larger to-do list (see requirement #8).

One of our speakers in Sacrament meeting this morning discussed Elder Hales’ talk Our Duty to God: The Mission of Parents and Leaders to the Rising Generation (it is NOT only about the Duty to God program), and it got me thinking about this series of Sabbath Activity posts I’ve been doing. I thought it would be appropriate to take a little break from that series for today and share my thoughts instead.

He told the story of a woman who worked alongside her youngest daughter as she completed her Personal Progress requirements. It was more than just making sure her daughter did her requirements and signing things off, as she did with her first three daughters.

Which truly is a great start. I have to say, I’ve heard leaders complain that too many parents won’t do even that. My reaction is generally that a lot of parents don’t know what they’re supposed to do. It isn’t that they don’t care.

But I digress.

The woman in the story learned that doing the projects with her daughter was a blessing to her daughter, a blessing to herself and a boon to their relationship.

The same is true for joining our children as they complete their Faith in God, Duty to God and Scouting requirements, where appropriate.

It reminded me of my own experience with Personal Progress. I’m an adult convert to the Church so my first exposure to Young Women and the Personal Progress program was as a leader. I had so much fun with them and half the time felt like one of the girls myself, making up for what I never had the chance to experience at their age.

My first year in YW I served as counselor over the Beehives and decided to earn my Personal Progress medallion right alongside them. Naturally, that helped me gain an enthusiasm for and testimony of the program which I was able to share with the girls. But (selfishly) that isn’t what I cherish most about that experience.

The best part was the spiritual growth I felt as I truly put my heart into fulfilling those requirements. I learned first hand the truth of the saying “You only get out of it what you put into it.”

This is what we can teach our children. We can do it by example.

Encourage them to approach these requirements and experiences with an open mind and heart. Encourage them to ponder and to grow. Encourage them to stretch.

Be willing to do that yourself. Even the Faith in God program has activities which would benefit adults as well.

The Gospel reaches the heart at any age and there’s always more to learn. Learning is part of the fun.

Elder Hales encourages parents and leaders to work alongside their youth as they work on these programs. I want to add my amen to that.

So take another look at Sabbath Activities past. See what you can do alongside your children. Ask them to share their experiences. Listen to them. Then share your thoughts and feelings too.

Gee, I’m feeling all warm and fuzzy right now. Aren’t you?  

P.S. I’m not sure exactly how many more Sabbath Activity posts I’ll do, but I do know I’m not going to do this indefinitely. Personally, when a list gets to be too long it starts to feel overwhelming to me and stops being useful. I think a manageable list of posts is a better resource, and if you need more ideas you can always browse the requirements in your children’s books or over at the America Jane website.

Don your gloves and grab your broom (I mean weapon!). Time to disintegrate the dust bunnies, power spray the dishes and unearth the floor in your children’s bedrooms.

They do have a floor, don’t they? It’s hard to tell in my house.

Like a lot of parents, we struggle to get any consistency going when it comes to chores. Our current system consists of me telling them what to do at random times and them doing it – sometimes right away but sometimes with a lot of stalling and whining.

It’s like a box of chocolates. I never know what I’m going to get.

Don’t forget the times when I just do things myself. Stuff they could or should be doing. That’s like getting the chocolate with the coconut filling.

Yuck.

Today I decided to gather together all the scouting and LDS youth program requirements that involve chores and the like. I decided to scout out (no pun intended) the best link to a free chore chart and maybe a handy list of age-appropriate chores. Once again, in all my searching I came across a little gem of a website.

Behold Painted Gold. Painted Gold doesn’t just have chore charts, she has advice on how to effectively use them. Apparently you can’t just hang up the chart and expect anything to happen.

Who knew?

Check out her five-step plan for getting kids to do chores. Five steps isn’t too bad, especially since the fifth step is celebrating your success!

Do you think it works? I don’t know, but we’ll be giving it a try. And (of course) passing off some requirements in the process.

Care to join us?

Related Requirements:

Faith in God – Developing Talents requirement 7: “List five things you can do to help around your home. Discuss the importance of obeying and honoring your parents and learning how to work.”

Tiger cub scout requirement 1F: “Think of one chore you can do with your adult partner. Complete it together. Complete the Character Connection for Responsibility.”

Wolf cub scout requirement 4e: “Talk with your family members. Agree on the household jobs you will be responsible for. Make a list of your jobs and mark off when you have finished them. Do this for one month.”

Wolf cub scout requirement 8c: “Help fix at least one meal for your family. Help set the table, cook the food, and wash the dishes.”

Wolf cub scout requirement 8d: “Fix your own breakfast. Wash and put away the dishes. ”

Webelos cub scout Family Member activity badge requirement 2: “Make a chart showing the jobs you and other family members have at home. Talk with your family about other jobs you can do for the next two months.”

Webelos cub scout Family Member activity badge requirement 9: “Learn how to clean your home properly. With adult supervision, help do it for one month.”

Webelos cub scout Family Member activity badge requirement 10: “Show that you know how to take care of your clothes. With adult supervision, help at least twice with the family laundry. ”

Webelos cub scout Family Member activity badge requirement 11: “With adult supervision, help plan the meals for your family for one week. Help buy the food and help prepare three meals for your family. ”

Citizenship belt loop requirement 1: “Develop a list of jobs you can do around the home. Chart your progress for one week.”

Personal Progress Good Works requirement 2: “Service is an essential principle of family living. Help plan your family’s menus, obtain the food, and prepare part of the meals for two weeks. During that time help your family gather to share mealtimes. Report to your class what you have learned.”

Duty to God – Deacon Family Activities requirement 5: “With the help and permission of a parent, prepare at least 2 meals for your family. Where possible, also wash and iron your clothes for 1 month.”

Family Life Merit Badge requirement 3: “Prepare a list of your regular home duties or chores (at least five) and do them for 90 days. Keep a record of how often you do each of them.”

More great worship ideas. I especially like the first one. I emphasize the importance of a good education to my kids, but I also want them to understand the concept of learning “by study and by faith.” Faith trumps all.

Faith in God:

Developing Talents requirement 6: “Read D&C 88:118. Discuss what it means to “seek learning, even by study and also by faith.” Improve your personal study habits by doing such things as learning how to choose and read good books or being prepared for school each day.”

Duty to God:

Deacon Quorum Activities requirement 2: “Explain to a priesthood leader the law of the fast and how fast offerings are used. Read Isaiah 58 and D&C 59.”

Personal Progress:

Choice and Accountability requirement 3: “Agency, or the ability to choose, is one of God’s greatest gifts to His children. Read about agency in Joshua 24:25, 2 Nephi 2, and Doctrine and Covenants 82:2–10. With a parent or Young Women leader, discuss the blessings and responsibilities of agency. Record in your journal your understanding of agency and the consequences of choices and actions.”

Cub Scouts:

Wolf cub scout requirement 10d: “Read a book or Boys’ Life magazine with your family. Take turns reading aloud.”

Boy Scouts:

Personal Management merit badge requirements 8a and 8b: “Demonstrate to your merit badge counselor your understanding of time management by doing the following: [8a] Write a “to do” list of tasks or activities, such as homework assignments, chores, and personal projects, that must be done in the coming week. List these in order of importance to you. [8b] Make a seven-day calendar or schedule. Put in your set activities, such as school classes, sports practices or games, jobs or chores, and/or Scout or church or club meetings, then plan when you will do all the tasks from your “to do” list between your set activities.”

Thanks to Jocelyn for telling me about this touching, grassroots service project started by someone who should know what’s needed.

Alida lost her first husband in the Iraq War. As the three-year anniversary of his death approached, she decided to turn her passion for making things into a service project for fellow Iraq War widows.

Journaling is an incredibly valuable tool for someone trying to work through the grieving process. What better way to say “We care” and “Thank you for your sacrifice” than to send a lovingly, homemade journal to those who have lost a spouse in time of war?

I’m tempted to tell you what YW or scouting requirements this project would fulfill (that is the focus of this blog after all) but I don’t want that to be the focus of this post. I really just want to help spread the word.

Whoever you are and wherever you are, if you feel inspired to help in this cause, please contact Alida at alidanicolelee@gmail.com and she’ll tell you what you need to know.

For tutorials on easy but beautiful homemade journals, see Alida’s guide or this no-sew version (I would use Modge Podge instead of glue, but that’s just me). If you like the collage look, here’s another fun idea.

Really, anyone can make these.

If you have more funds than you do time and still want to help, consider browsing the handmade journals at Etsy and giving something like that instead.

Alida, I think you’re amazing for what you’re doing. Thanks for all you’ve given and continue to give.

George Washington Birthplace National Monument

Here you go. More things your children can do to keep the Sabbath day holy. Instead of a list of “don’t's” on Sunday, give them a list of “do’s”. These are great ideas for adult worship too.

Faith in God:

Preparing for the Priesthood (also Preparing for Young Women, with slightly different language) #4: “Read D&C 88:77–80, 118 and D&C 130:19. Discuss with a parent or Primary leader how important a good education is and how it can help strengthen you as a priesthood holder in your home and family and in the Church.”

Duty to God:

Priest Family Activities #8: “Read D&C 134, and discuss with your parents how it relates to your responsibilities as a citizen of your country.” (See note below.)

Personal Progress:

Integrity requirement #3: “The Savior is the perfect example of integrity; He did what He promised the Father He would do. Read 3 Nephi 11:10-11. Study the lives of other individuals in the scriptures who lived with integrity. Read Genesis 39; the book of Esther; Job 2:3; 27:3-6; Daniel 3 and 6; Acts 26; Doctrine and Covenants 124:15; and Joseph Smith—History 1:21–25. In your journal identify the ways these people demonstrated integrity. Think of a time when you had the courage to show integrity, especially when it was not easy or popular. Share your experience and your feelings about it in a testimony meeting or lesson or with a parent or Young Women leader.”

Cub Scouts:

Reading and Writing Pin requirement #5: “Create a bookmark that you can use, or design a book cover.”

Boy Scouts:

Citizenship in the Nation merit badge requirement 2d: “Choose a national monument that interests you. Using books, brochures, the Internet (with your parent’s permission), and other resources, find out more about the monument. Tell your counselor what you learned, and explain why the monument is important to this country’s citizens.” (Click here for a surprisingly long list of national monuments.)

*Note: if you’re also working on the Duty to God idea above, check out Citizenship in the Nation requirement #1, because the two are very similar.

The Mogollon Rim in Arizona

My boys are off for three days of fun (otherwise known as the Fathers and Sons Campout) where there will be (I’m sure) plenty of dirt and grime and bugs and all those wonderful things boys require to be happy.

We packed plenty of clothes, blankets and extra socks, but we also threw in a short list of things my Webelos scout is to do for his Outdoorsman Activity Badge. This is a badge he needs to earn the cub scout award to end all cub scout awards, the Arrow of Light.

I also gave a list to my Wolf scout. They both know the couple of things they NEED to do (things like help pitch the tent and help make a meal) along with things they can do if they get the opportunity (like go on a hike).

We’ll see what they come home with.

In any case, I thought it’d be handy to list the scouting awards you might want to take a look at before your next camping trip.

Wolf Scout elective, “Let’s Go Camping.”

Depending on where you’re camping, there may be a wildlife refuge nearby which would make a fun trip in the afternoon. There’s a fish hatchery about a 10 minute drive from where we tend to camp and my boys love it! If you have a Bear Scout, see if there’s something in the area to fulfill requirement 5d, “Visit one of the following: Zoo, Nature center, Aviary, Wildlife refuge, Game preserve.”

Again, depending on where you go, elective 15c might be a good one to work on: “Visit a burned-out forest or prairie area, or a slide area, with your den or your family. Talk to a soil and water conservation officer or forest ranger about how the area will be planted and cared for so that it will grow to be the way it was before the fire or slide.”

Bears who go camping with their family will fulfill at least one requirement in the “Family Outdoor Adventure” category.

Other options for Bears include “Nature Crafts” and “Let’s Go Camping.”

For Webelos, the Forester, Naturalist and Outdoorsman activity badges have lots of requirements boys can work on while out in the wild.

Cub Scout belt loops and pins to check out are Family Travel and Wildlife Conservation.

Don’t forget about the Cub Scout Outdoor Activity award and the Cub Scout World Conservation Award.

As for the older Boy Scouts, some sort of camping-related requirement is part of every rank’s requirements. Most of the time, this is done with the patrol, but there are still things you can work on. Check out the rank advancement requirements to see what your son could be working on.

In addition, there are merit badges for Camping (which is required for Eagle), Canoeing, Fishing, Forestry, Hiking, and so on. Click for the complete list of merit badges and their requirements.

Duty to God gets in on the camping action too. The Physical Development category for Deacons have two camping-related requirements, #7 “Prepare the equipment for an overnight camping trip. Show that you can set up a tent, cook on an open fire or on a camp stove, build a latrine, and restore the surroundings to how they were before your stay.” and #8 “While camping, show that you know the proper way to build a cooking fire or set up a camp stove. Teach someone else how to build a fire, emphasizing 5 safety rules.”

If you have girls and none of these requirements apply to them, that’s alright. Take your daughters camping anyway.

The Good Samaritan, by Eugene Delacroix, 1849

More ideas… one from each program. Some of these are great spiritual enrichment activities for us grown-ups too. 

Faith in God:

Serving Others requirement 1: “Read and discuss the parable of the good Samaritan (see Luke 10:30–37). Plan and complete a service project that helps a family member or neighbor. After completing the project, discuss how it helped your faith grow stronger. ”

Duty to God:

Duty to God Teacher – Family Activities requirement 3: “Read about the following topics in True to the Faith or Gospel Principles, and teach 2 of them to your family: conversion, faith, forgiveness, the Holy Ghost, obedience, the plan of salvation, prayer, prophets, repentance, and revelation.” (Good way to get your FHE lesson planned ahead of time!)

Personal Progress:

Individual Worth requirement 4: “You are preparing to fulfill a unique mission on the earth. Read Doctrine and Covenants 88:119. In your journal make a list of your hopes and dreams for your future home, family, and education and some important things you would like to accomplish in your life, including becoming a wife and mother. Then write a plan that will help you achieve your goals. Share this plan with a family member, leader, or friend.”

Cub Scouts:

Heritages Belt Loop requirement 2: “Make a poster that shows the origins of your ancestors. Share it with your den or other group.”

Boy Scouts:

Family Life merit badge requirement 2: “List several reasons why you are important to your family and discuss this with your parents or guardians and with your merit badge counselor.”

Here’s the latest of the new merit badges coming out this year. Scuba Diving and Geocaching have both gone live already. We’re still waiting on Inventing (not sure what the delay is there) and Robotics which is due out later this year.

The Scouting Heritage merit badge seems especially appropriate during BSA’s big 100 year bash. This new merit badge includes learning about BSA’s origins, talking to more… well… older scouters (over age 50) about their scouting experiences and what scouting has done for them, and playing a scouting game popular in days gone by.

The merit badge booklet will have information about that.

Can I just take this opportunity to say the merit badge booklets are almost always worth the trouble/money to get? There’s good stuff in those books. They help boys get the most out of earning their badges, instead of somewhat blindly following a list of requirements.

A requirement option that’s only good till the end of the year is visiting Adventure Base 100 while it’s on tour. Check out their schedule for the remainder of the year to see if they’ll be coming close to you and take advantage of it.

Okay folks, that’s it. Three down and two to go. Five new merit badges in one year is pretty cool, especially considering we haven’t had any new ones since 2006.

Have at it!

Isn’t that painting lovely? I tried to find a painting with three boys (in honor of my three boys) but struck out.  I wonder if I can get Kathy Barbro to paint one for me?

Speaking of Kathy and her art blog for kids that I’m completely addicted to, check out her fun idea for a Mother’s Day card.

It begins with this:

And ends, well, with whatever colors you like actually. Check out her post for an example of the finished product.

While you’re at it have your kids check it out. They are making cards for Mother’s Day right? Or writing letters to mom/grandma/aunt thanking her for being so wonderful? Or perhaps making a simple gift to give?

Cuz those kinds of things fit right in with scouting and the LDS youth programs.

I’ll bet you’re shocked to hear me say that, aren’t you? 

Alright, maybe not. Encourage your kids, young and old, to honor the women in their lives and check out these ideas that can easily fit in with Mother’s Day.

(By the way, if you’ve ever felt the pangs of inadequacy, guilt or isolation on Mother’s Day, you may enjoy Mormon Soprano’s post about honoring all women on Mother’s Day.)

Requirements:

Faith in God – Serving Others requirement 2: “Write a letter to a teacher, your parents, or your grandparents telling them what you appreciate and respect about them. ” (Also counts toward the Cub Scout Religious Square Knot.)

Tiger Cub Scout elective 2: “Make a decoration with your family or your den. Display it or give it to someone as a gift.”

Wolf Cub Scout elective 3a: “Make something useful for your home or school. Start with a recipe card holder”

Wolf Cub Scout elective 21b: “Explain what a computer program does.  Use a program to write a report for school, to write a letter, or for something else.”

Bear Cub Scout requirement 18b: “Write two letters to relatives or friends.”

Bear Cub Scout requirement 18e: “Write a thank-you note.”

Webelos Communicator activity badge requirement 11: “Use a personal computer to write a letter to a friend or relative. Create your letter, check it for grammar and spelling, and save it to a disk. Print it.”

See the Webelos Craftsman activity badge for several homemade gift ideas.

Art cub scout pin requirement 4: “Make a simple silkscreen or stencil. Print a card or T-shirt.”

Art cub scout pin requirement 6: “Create an object using clay that can be fired, baked in the oven, or hardened in water. ”

Communicating cub scout belt loop requirement 2: “Write a letter to a friend or relative.”

Duty to God – Deacon Spiritual Development requirement 12: “Write a letter to your parents, your grandparents, or a ward or stake leader. Thank them for their example and positive influence on you.”

Duty to God – Teacher Spiritual Development requirement 10: “Write 3 letters of appreciation to your family or ward members during the year. Thank them for their kindness and support.”

Personal Progress Divine Nature requirement 2: “As a young woman you are blessed with divine feminine qualities. Increase your understanding of and appreciation for womanhood. Read Proverbs 31:10–31 and two talks on womanhood from a conference issue of the Church magazines. Review what “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” says about being a wife and a mother. Then ask your mother or another mother you admire what she thinks are important attributes for being a mother. List the attributes in your journal. Then choose one of those attributes and strive to develop it. After two weeks report your success to a parent or leader.”

Older boys can make gifts inspired by requirements in the Art Merit Badge or Wood Carving Merit Badge.