Teaching "Come, Follow Me"

This year's new curriculum for the youth, Come, Follow Me is so amazing!  As a mother and former teacher, I think this will help parents and leaders learn how to help our youth.  The main thing I enjoy about it, is that the spirit is the teacher, not the leader.  the leader is just the facilitator. 
I have taken a different role in raising the older three children.  I feel that they can learn more by studying things on their own, than by my lecturing.  My father was a lecturer.  And his topic was always the "merit system".  Now as an adult I understand what he was saying, but as a youth, I got to where I would just tune him out.  I mean, what does "merit" mean, anyway.  And what does that have to do with keeping my room clean.  So I decided then that I would have discussions instead.  I posted the FHE board we made earlier.  I really love the idea of having the kids take part in all aspects of family night.  Not just the parent. 
Okay, enough ranting. 
This new curriculum is amazing! 
Here is one example that really says all that I feel: 
Trevor Atkison, a teacher from Idaho, USA, recommends teachers “prepare and ask inspired questions, then don’t be afraid of silence while the students think and the Spirit speaks. Once someone comments, others will follow.”
Now, how do we use this in our parenting techniques? Well, no more being "helicopter parents".  There is no need to hover, when we have taught our children to make their own choices.  This begins when they are 2 and want to choose their won outfit to wear.  I mean, yeah, some might think we are color blind or uncaring, but in actuality we are VERY caring.  Because when they are 12 we will not still be choosing their clothes for them, and they will know that we trust their judgement.  Now, does this mean we just quit parenting and guiding?  NO WAY!  We are still 100% involved.  But we are on the sidelines, not on the field.  I have seen parents who will interfere in their children's free play.  If the child isn't using the toy how it was designed, they will take it from them and show them how to use it.  For example:  A child was playing with a little people toy and making it hop across the floor.  The parent took the toy and said, "No." Then put the toy in the car and pushed it across the floor, then said, "Like this."  Really??
So, yeah, no being "Bossy".  No lectures.  And let them come up with some ideas.  Guide them, give them a how  or why.  Answer questions.  But let them be their own boss.  It will work. Pin It

Reverence is More than Just Quietly Sitting...

It is thinking of Father above.

Years ago when I was serving in the primary, that song was part of the Primary Program.  I really enjoyed it, because it told me what  reverence is.  How a reverent person acts. 
Today, I am really struggling.  I have been a parent of young children for almost 20 years (April is so very close!)  I figured that once the youngest were about 5, I would be able to listen in Sacrament meeting again.  (Remember when your oldest was an infant, and you sat there holding their sleeping form while being uplifted during a wonderful talk.)

The last few months I have become discouraged.  (I'm sure it also has to do with the fact I haven't seen the sun much.)  I really want to be able to feel the spirit.  In order for this to happen, our family needs to be more reverent.  I really have a hard time concentrating, and need more quiet to do so.  It may be

Here is what my research has shown me:
 It starts with me.
- Be reverent yourself  This makes perfect sense.  If I am playing on my ipod/tablet, how can I expect the kids to listen to the speaker?

-Expect more.  Children can do more than we think.  They know more than we think.  They have more self control than we think.  Two years ago, I decided "No more snacks/water bottles at church."  The youngest were 2 and a half years old.  If they are thirsty, there are drinking fountains.  They have snacks in nursery.  Our ward does snacks in Sunbeams for the first few months.  They can go without food for this amount of time.  And they have survived.  We also don't take the kids out to the foyer unless they are injured or inconsolable.

-Come Prepared.  We do bring a few things to keep hands busy in a reverent way.  These things only come out after the sacrament has been passed.  We bring small pocket notebooks (the kind you can get in the dollar bins at Michael's), crayons, coloring pages from lds.org, left over coloring pages from previous lessons, books that are gospel oriented.

BTW--Those amazing!! (LOVE THEM) dry erase Crayolas are SUPER, as in SUPER MESSY!  I have gone back to using plain crayons.  They wipe off of laminated pages just as well.  Well, they may take a little more elbow grease, but it works just fine.

(I do love them and still keep them around)

-Saturday is a special day.  We need to make sure we are ready before we get in bed Saturday night.  Bags are packed, church clothes are picked out, breakfast is planned.  This will help with a very important item, being on time for church!  We didn't do a very good job of this last year.  We had 9am church, and we were only on  time maybe 50-75% of the year.  Not very good.  This year we have been on time 100% of the 4 Sundays.  WOW (not)!  So we will see.

-Surround them with examples.  One family sits near some young women who their children look up to.  They will see examples of reverent behavior during the sacrament, and hopefully it will rub off. 
We sit next to cousins.  I am currently feeling that this is more of a distraction.  I have told the kids that they have 2 more Sundays to improve their reverence in Sacrament meeting before we will move to a different spot.
We have had a FHE lesson on reverence and discussed it a few times in the past week and a half.  This next Sunday I am going to sit on the end.  Maybe if I only have one side next to a noisy child, I can hear more, get more, feel more.

Fingers crossed!

And if you have any ideas that have worked for you, please share them.   I am so in need of them! Pin It

Which Little Miss is Which?

When Little Miss D cut her hair, it helped us know who was who.
Then when Little Miss E followed suit, again we had some help.
Now that their hair is pretty much the same length, it can be difficult at times. 
But when the rowdiness gets out of hand, we have a much easier time.

Yes, Miss D has a shiner! Pin It

FHE Board Revamp

Our family has shrunk by 2, 

so we were needing to redo our FHE board.  

I had been struggling for a bit with what to use as the markers.

  

Sunday the kids came home with these amazing Zipper Toggles!

I decided that this would work quite well for our markers.

This is how it turned out:

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