Art House

This weekend of Conference was the most successful we've had. We spent way less time telling the kids to sit down and be quiet than usual. And that was lovely.

We ask that our kids watch General Conference with us. Our hope is that they'll pick up some of what is being said. Maybe that's wishful thinking on our part, but we believe they're capable of learning from the talks. In the past this has resulted in lots of frustration for us and not much enjoyment for the kids. We keep doing it anyway.

For the last several Conferences I've printed out activity packets for the kids. They contain Bingo cards and coloring sheets, among other things. I did that again this time. Additionally, I picked up an inexpensive spiral-bound notebook and a small box of crayons for each child. I kept these purchases under wraps until the first session was starting when I pulled them out and told the kids that I had a special gift for each of them. Then I presented the notebook, the packet, and the crayons. I told them that they could take notes or draw pictures of what the speakers were saying, but they could only use the books while they were watching sessions of Conference.

My kids love to draw. There are many mornings that I wake to discover them already elbow-deep in crayons and scratch paper. Perhaps this is why the books worked so well. They were thrilled to spend many hours this weekend in art mode. Even Phoebe got in on the action. Her pictures required more explanation than the boys', but she still enjoyed the process.

It wasn't until the last twenty minutes of the last session that things broke down and I was yelling, "Everybody be quiet! The Prophet is speaking!" Considering we watched all five sessions, I think that's pretty good. Of course, in a perfect world we would have all paid attention the whole time. But we live in the real world, and for the real world, I'm calling this weekend a win.