On Saturday morning the kids woke up SO EXCITED for Conference. Phoebe kept asking when it would start (not until noon here), Peter put on soothing church music, they helped tidy the house while we waited. I started to wonder what magical spell had been cast over my house.
When the first session began the kids found their Conference Notebooks that I had put together the night before and got cozy, ready to listen, take notes, and color. It was the best day of Conference we've had since Peter was old enough to participate.
I was thinking about why it went so well. I think in part it was because I'd talked it up so much. I truly love General Conference and so my excitement for it was real and, apparently, infectious. But that wasn't the only reason the kids looked forward to it.
We've established traditions around this special weekend. We have waffles with fruit syrup and whipped cream. We have special notebooks to help the kids focus on what they're hearing. During the October Conference we decorate for Halloween between the sessions. We've, over the last eight years, developed our own family rituals that help the kids recognize how important it is to listen when the Prophet speaks.
We added one more thing this year. I got out my work table and taped five pieces of paper to it. Each paper had one word: faith, obey, work, service, honest. Each word had a corresponding pack of stickers, each unique to that word. When the kids heard one of those words from the pulpit at Conference they could get a sticker.
I wasn't sure if stickers would be very good incentives. I had heard of someone doing something similar with candy for the prize, but I didn't want the kids to be any more sugared up. How did it work? It wasn't bad for our first attempt. I think it will be better in April, and the kids definitely started listening for those words, though it wasn't until the end of the last session that they seemed to really catch on. Maybe I'll only have three words next time, five might have been too many.
And in case you're curious, faith and service were mentioned more than the others. The concept of obedience was in heavy rotation (Phoebe got a sticker when she pointed out that "keeping the commandments" means obedience), but the word wasn't said much. Work and honest didn't get a lot play, though the synonyms diligence and truth did.
Sunday did not go as smoothly as Saturday had, but we ended well. In fact, the last two talks of the last session were the ones that the boys really liked. They especially enjoyed Elder Bednar's talk about his two little boys and the band-aids. (It's not available online yet, when it is I'll add a link.)
I was impressed by how focused on the Savior so many of the talks were. I also loved the emphasis on being kind to those around us, whether or not they're members of our church. I've already started to watch the talks again to learn what I missed the first time around.
How did General Conference go for you? What did your family do to help you listen and learn?
When the first session began the kids found their Conference Notebooks that I had put together the night before and got cozy, ready to listen, take notes, and color. It was the best day of Conference we've had since Peter was old enough to participate.
I was thinking about why it went so well. I think in part it was because I'd talked it up so much. I truly love General Conference and so my excitement for it was real and, apparently, infectious. But that wasn't the only reason the kids looked forward to it.
We've established traditions around this special weekend. We have waffles with fruit syrup and whipped cream. We have special notebooks to help the kids focus on what they're hearing. During the October Conference we decorate for Halloween between the sessions. We've, over the last eight years, developed our own family rituals that help the kids recognize how important it is to listen when the Prophet speaks.
We added one more thing this year. I got out my work table and taped five pieces of paper to it. Each paper had one word: faith, obey, work, service, honest. Each word had a corresponding pack of stickers, each unique to that word. When the kids heard one of those words from the pulpit at Conference they could get a sticker.
I wasn't sure if stickers would be very good incentives. I had heard of someone doing something similar with candy for the prize, but I didn't want the kids to be any more sugared up. How did it work? It wasn't bad for our first attempt. I think it will be better in April, and the kids definitely started listening for those words, though it wasn't until the end of the last session that they seemed to really catch on. Maybe I'll only have three words next time, five might have been too many.
And in case you're curious, faith and service were mentioned more than the others. The concept of obedience was in heavy rotation (Phoebe got a sticker when she pointed out that "keeping the commandments" means obedience), but the word wasn't said much. Work and honest didn't get a lot play, though the synonyms diligence and truth did.
Sunday did not go as smoothly as Saturday had, but we ended well. In fact, the last two talks of the last session were the ones that the boys really liked. They especially enjoyed Elder Bednar's talk about his two little boys and the band-aids. (It's not available online yet, when it is I'll add a link.)
I was impressed by how focused on the Savior so many of the talks were. I also loved the emphasis on being kind to those around us, whether or not they're members of our church. I've already started to watch the talks again to learn what I missed the first time around.
How did General Conference go for you? What did your family do to help you listen and learn?
1 comment:
I love General Conference too!
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