Sister Tamara
Hardy, Director of Sandy Granite South FHC
sent these good ideas from Zeta Nelson (on her staff) with
permission to share them:
"I put together a
4-generation family history book for each
grandchild that turns 8 and is baptized. I included info I have
on
each person in the 4 generations: birth, ordinations, death, pictures,
service record, life history, etc and documentation for every thing in
the book. It really was initially a very big project but one that
was
well worth doing! Also when we had grandchildren living in the
area I
did a "grammy night." Each week I would take one grandchild for
the
night -- we would have dinner (sometimes at our home & sometimes
out -- we worked on manners, ordering food, etc.), then we would play
games, put puzzles together, write letters to other cousins, etc.
We
would then end the evening by watching a favorite video of the
child.
Those grandchildren no longer live in the area but I can tell you we
still remain close because of the love and friendship that was
established during those evenings!"
From Grandma M.: On your children's or relative's
birthday,
send them an e-mail with the subject line: "This is your
life!"
You could write a few memories (Remember when.....) and then attach a
few pictures from babyhood and growing-up years. When we have
done
this, the recipient has really loved it! It also helps them
realize
how important it is to record memories and pictures.
From Grandma Maureen Hair:
One day my 16-year-old
grandson and
his friend were in my home and I overheard the following conversation
from another room: My grandson said to his friend, "I know it's
okay
if I see ____________(a current popular r-rated movie) because my
grandma saw it and she's the best, most spiritual person I know."
I
made up my mind at that moment that I would NEVER see another r-rated
movie. Our example counts! We never want others to be able
to use our
behavior as a rationale or excuse for their doing something they
shouldn't.
Grandfather Joseph L.:
Our Church leaders are very
concerned
about
the problem of debt
in our families and the stress and problems that come with
it. I
noticed a recent newspaper
article giving many good websites for teaching children good money
habits in a fun way. This knowledge and the good habits acquired
will
carry over into adulthood. We could e-mail our married children
these
websites and perhaps as grandparents (with more time), we could teach
our grandchildren, using some of these websites. Young parents
are so
busy, there is much we can do as grandparents to help teach our
grandchildren about the gospel and about life. Grandparents can
pray
together for each grandchild by name, asking for inspiration and
guidance on what
they can do to help that particular grandchild--then discuss their
thoughts and ideas together and make a definite plan.
Grandmother Alicia G.:
Every Tuesday our daughters and
daughters-in-law come to our home at 11:30 (if they are free that day
and would like to come). Grandpa tends the kids and the girls go
out
to lunch (we take the babies)----sweet deal for us
girls! I have noticed a measurable difference in the closeness of
our
relationships since doing this, among the girls, between the
grandchildren and grandparents, and among the cousins.
From Grandma Suzanne M.:
One of the
things I made for my grandchildren is
the game Silly Sue patterned after Old Maid. I put the
eighteen
grandchildren's pictures on the cards and gave them each special names
like Marvelous Mac etc. The cousins love playing it and it keeps
them
close to the cousins in Michigan. Here is a link
to a picture of the children playing it.
(Note
from Westras: Some have made up a card game like
"Memory," using
pictures of ancestors, so the children get to know them by name and
picture. Another variation is to have them match cards about an
ancestor---with one card having the name and picture and the other card
having an interesting fact about that ancestor.)
From
Grandma Ruth R. (Stake R.S. President): My married
daughter places a picture of the Savior on or above their television
sets to remind their family members to always ask themselves this
question,
"Would the Savior approve of what I am watching?"
(Note
from Westras: This could be expanded to include our
CD
players, computers, etc. You can even purchase postage-stamp size
stickers with pictures of the Savior to put on small ipods, etc. to
make us more aware of what we are listening to and putting into our
minds. One of the mini-posters in Set
1 of the New Era Posters has a picture of the Savior and the words "You
are Never Alone." That would be a good reminder to put on
our
computers! We like to give these mini-poster sets to our
grandchildren
to decorate their rooms {50 cents for set of 6
pictures.
There are 6 sets in all}. We presented this idea as a Family
History
Minute in R.S., along with this handout.
One mother told me later that she followed through on this idea in her
home.)
Quote:
"Guard your homes. How
foolish it seems to install bars and bolts and
electronic
devices against thieves and molesters while more insidious
intruders come in as invited guests."
Gordon
B. Hinckley, “Overpowering the Goliaths in Our Lives,” Ensign, May
1983,
46
Help
parents become aware of
the
many good Ensign articles and BYU talks
available to support and strengthen our families in this area: This
war is real and so are the casualties.
Many helpful
resources are just a click away, but so many members don't know
about them!
lds.org
gospel library
Thoughts on Family
Home Evening, shared by Grandmother W.:
Many
years ago, when our children were young, I read this promise by
President Spencer W. Kimball while
preparing a Sunday School lesson. What a wonderful
promise--that not one in a hundred of your family (doesn't say just
children) would ever go astray! If we were offered odds like that
in
any other aspect of our lives, I can't imagine us not taking advantage
of it. I knew the Lord kept his promises, and I wanted to do my
part
to make it happen. If ever we missed FHE, that promise would come
back
to my mind, and get us back on track. Even now, as empty-nesters,
it
keeps us having FHE because we have an even larger family that we do
not want to go astray. I think Family Home Evening is one of the
greatest gifts we have to strengthen our families here on this side of
the veil.
"We cannot impress
too
much the importance of having family home evenings once a week.
"...that
you
may be rewarded by a fulfillment of the promise
that if fathers and mothers will discharge this responsibility, not one
in a hundred of your family, as has been said by the leaders who have
preceded
us, would ever go astray."
Forward from the
1974 Family Home Evening
Manual by President Spencer W. Kimball
Idea Shared by
Grandma W: Here is
a link
to a book list
that was given to me by a School Counselor (elementary age). She
uses
these books to help the children she works with in the various
schools. The books teach good lessons through fun
stories---lessons on
getting along with others, respecting differences, feeling good about
yourself, helping others, etc. The stories can spark many
helpful
family discussions and can be used for FHE, etc. You could make
this
list available to your wards and stakes to help strengthen your
families. As a grandma, I order these books put on hold
(over the
internet) at the library, pick them up and have a pile at our home for
when our grandchildren come. It is an easy wonderful service in
our
County Library system.
Shared by Richard
Ostler:
My father holds a 5th Sunday Fireside for his grandchildren (usually
age 12 or 14 and older--it varies). It lasts an hour. The
cousins
enjoy being together for a great lesson and refreshments. The
idea
came from one of Neal A. Maxwell's books.
Shared
by a Grandmother:
I wanted to share an idea I read in the
Ensign magazine many years ago and used when raising our children, to
try to instill in them the Christ-like attribute of Charity and concern
for others. The article told how a family counseled together and
decided how much they could afford each month to help others in
need---it could be $5, $10, or whatever. Then each Fast Sunday,
they
.... for
details.....
Idea
Shared by a Grandmother: Daily personal prayer and
daily scripture
reading
are very important to keep our families close to the Lord. A fun
idea
our family used to encourage these good habits was weekly "Scripture
Treats." I would buy a variety of candy bars on sale. At Family Home
Evening each week, I bring out a tray full of different candy
bars.
Each person that had read their personal scriptures every day got to
choose a candy bar. This also helped our children look forward to
FHE
each week.
Shared by Grandma
Debbie Curtis:
When our daughter Katie and her husband Dave
were living in Richmond,
Va., they felt fortunate that there
was a
temple only 2 hours away in Washington,
DC. This
way, they could take a day and attend the
temple, the only hitch was what to do with their 3 children, not having
any
family around that wanted three extra ones around for the day. One Saturday, I called Katie on my way home
from the temple, to sort of complain that I had had to wait at least 45
minutes
to do Initiatory work. She started to
laugh and said that she had been waiting for two hours in the Washington,
DC Temple
parking lot with my three active grandchildren in the car while Dave
was doing
a temple session, and then when he was done, he was going to wait in
the car
while she went in to do a session.
Needless to say, she gave me no sympathy for the time I had had
to wait,
and I hung up from our conversation impressed that this young family
was so
committed to temple attendance that they went to great lengths to make
it
happen.
Shared
by Grandpa Griffiths:
We fixed my elderly parents up with one of our used computers and
taught them to do e-mail and a few other simple things. It has
helped
them feel younger, more competent and happier. We've asked all
the
children and older grandchildren to write a short letter addressed
personally to them each Saturday or Sunday, telling about their weekly
activities--with a blind carbon copy to everyone else in a group
address. My parents love hearing from everyone (and so do the
rest of
us!). It has helped them to feel loved, cared about, and "in the
loop." It has brought the family much closer to know what is
happening
in each other's lives. I've had more letters from my dad since
doing
this than I did during my entire mission! My dad used the
computer to
create 2 birthday lists of the entire extended family---one list of
birthdays by month, and the other list was chronological, starting with
him and listing all of his descendants in order of age. He
enjoyed
doing this and had us send it out to everyone. The lists were
truly
interesting and useful. He has typed some of his life experiences
and
some of Mother's original poems (she doesn't type).
Shared
by Grandma Burgener:
On Christmas Eve Sunday, when I saw all the children and youth at
Church with treats and gifts from their teachers, it reminded me of
what my daughter-in-law did when raising her children. Instead
of her
children always being on the "receiving end," she wanted them to
appreciate their teachers and leaders. She would make it a fun
game
for them to secretly find out their teachers' birthdays and plan a
surprise treat or little gift for them and try to get the rest of the
class involved also. In family prayer, she would pray for and
express
gratitude for their teachers and the Bishopric and all the work and
effort they put
forth. She would often talk to the children about how class went
that
day and ask them how they supposed the teacher felt when some of the
children misbehaved. Although this made extra work for her at
Christmas time, etc., she felt it was worth the effort in order to help
her children develop into appreciative caring people and that it would
make them behave better for their teachers and leaders.
Grandparents
could help also by reinforcing the parents' efforts, having a FHE on
appreciating their teachers and leaders, and helping the grandchildren
make cookies
or little gifts or cards for their teachers. Our ward Primary
children
once did a "heart attack" on their Bishop's front lawn. The
children
wrote messages and decorated paper hearts and glued each one to a
popsicle stick. Then when the Bishop wasn't home, they excitedly
stuck
the popsicle sticks all over his front lawn. Can you picture
it! I'm
sure it made his day!
Shared
by Grandma S.:
Your children and grandchildren might not be aware of the many talks on
CD geared to teens that are available. I've started giving them
to our
teenage grandchildren for Christmas and birthday gifts, hoping they
will listen to them--since they were a gift from Grandma and they know
I will ask them how they liked the talk! Or they can check them
out
from the library. I check them out and listen to them first to
see
which ones are the best. I want to do everything I can to get
good
teachings into my grandchildren's heads and hearts. There are
quite a
few available free on the internet at "find a talk" on BYU broadcasting,
that they can listen to or download onto their mp3 players and
ipods.
Grandparents can do it for them since they probably won't get around to
it! Click
here for a list of some of the free talks for teens available for
download
(link):
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"To
the Elderly in the Church" - President Ezra Taft Benson - Ensign
1989 - 8 ways to make the most of our senior years.
Shared
by Grandma Carol Johnson: Our Wonderful Amazing
Youth! Read
more. . . .
Shared
by Grandma C. C.: More about our "Wonderful Amazing Youth!"
Read
more about 4 deacons. . . .
Still, we must be ever vigilant: Listen to an
excellent
talk for
parents: To
the Parents of Teenagers:
Avoiding Five Oft-Made Mistakes
or URL: http://www.byub.org/findatalk/opentalk.asp?TalkID=5567&talk=http://byubmp3.byu.edu/edweek06/wright.mp3
Randal A. Wright - BYU Education Week 2006 (8/23/2006)
Shared
by Grandma M.N.: Families can have fun with this
website/computer game for Family
Home Evening after a lesson about how blessed we are in America!
Put a
link on your computer desktop for easy access for the children to
continue doing this on their own. They
will increase their vocabulary skills while helping feed the hungry
children
of
other nations. Our grandchildren enjoy having contests with each other
and their friends. http://freerice.com