What is Family Home Evening?
Once a week, we set aside a specific night (usually Mondays) for Family Time.
When you stop laughing... {who has time for one more thing, eh}?
Well think about it. One night a week everyone agrees NOT to plan ANYthing else. One night a week you all agree to be together. Isn't your family worth it?
The goal? Creating a spiritual evening, a warm and fuzzy time your kids will remember spent together. With singing and laughter and even some seriousness...
The reality? Sometimes kicking sometimes screaming, with fighting thrown in on the side... and the 'message' cut short by someone's time-out.
Ah well, that's life huh?
We don't always stay at home for a stuffy living room lesson style FHE.
A couple weeks ago we headed to our local park with a beautiful lake.
The goal:
Watch the Sunset.
Enjoy God's Splendor.
That Simple.
The Outcome:
Kids in PJs, playing hideNseek, mom gets a beautiful photo op, and we all agree...
What a wonderful world.
Oh wait!
I can't forget the most important part (according to my 5yrold). The treat. Every successful family home evening must serve some sort of treat/dessert/snack. Ice cream is popular. Rice Crispy Treats and brownies are also big favorites at our house. What sort of treat do you serve on a family night?
Other FHE ideas:
Keep it Hygene:
What is the Flu, How do you get it, and handwashing strategies.
(my 11yrold showed everyone how she washes her hands without touching the facet... tricky...) Plus we all chose our 'handwashingsong': ABCs, Twinkle and oldMacDonald were the hits.
Fire Safety and A Fire Drill:
Make an exit plan, talk about stop drop and roll, make sure you have a meeting place in the case of an emergency.
Family Budget Planning:
Is there a vacation goal? Will your family be needing to purchase a vehicle soon? What larger items are the kids working towards? Help them set up a budget, think about how to work on their goal, and brainstorm ideas and ways to earn money for it. My kids know that we rarely buy anything big ticket on a whim. We think about it, and make a point to save up for it, then purchase it with real money, never on credit. What an important lesson to teach your children.
SERVICE:
I'd like this to be more of a once a month thing, than a once in a blue moon kind of thing. What if you spent a whole family night making a list of 12 different things you could do for other families spread out over the whole year? Then create a plan to carry out each project. Maybe snow shoveling in December for your elderly neighbors. Gathering children's clothing for your local Foster Care Foundation in March. And in July plan a summer day camp for the kids in the 'hood... giving the moms in the area notice in advance that they can have a day to themselves! This month Office Max has created a campaign called A Day Made Better to gather office supplies for teachers, your family could join in, wrap up the supplies and deliver them yourself! Ask your kids.. they'll have the best ideas!
I'd love to hear your ideas for Family Night!
photo credits:
bdjsb7, Jeff Keen, tomadamson, _darkguru_
