A More Meaningful Easter

 In the past month, we've had several friends and associates pass away. It has been a time of real mourning for a family and a new look at the lives we live. Death can take us at anytime, and are we prepared to meet God?
  Each Easter seems to have had it's own emphasis in the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Chirst. This year, Easter is the reality of resurrection. The mourning and sorrow will all be turned to joy, as we greet Christ and our loved ones again. They will live again, as will we, just as Christ rose from the dead on the 3rd day, Easter morning.
 So, what are we doing to celebrate this year? I made a plastic egg Easter lesson that we've used in past years. This year I found another, similar plastic egg Easter lesson here. I think I'm going to try it this year because the scriptures are much shorter, for my young children.
 I also love the simplicity of this Easter lesson, from the Nursery Manual. I wish we had done it for family night, but I'd still like to do it, perhaps Easter evening.
 In general this year, we made Easter MORE about gifts, and Christmas LESS extravagant. We're trying to spread the love out a little more. We've really loved the thought: something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read. They are still very simple gifts and the kids need new clothes at this time of year anyway. I want them to understand the reason we gift - in remembrance of the greatest gift we have been given, the gift of Jesus Christ.
 I really enjoyed watching this video about the Savior's Atonement. They have so many more touching videos I plan to watch as well in the coming week with the boys.

Debt Limit - A Guide to American Federal Debt Made Easy

I thoroughly enjoyed this video. It's pretty comical and so clearly illustrates our national debt. Let me know what you think!

Debt Limit - A Guide to American Federal Debt Made Easy

ABC's for Preschool

 We've been running an unstructured pre-school during my son's 2nd year. I'd point out letters, shapes, numbers, and colors to him. I'd describe things and ask him to "see if you can find _____". My husband and I decided that he should have a little more "formal" schooling this year.
 Formal schooling to us does not mean he sits down at a desk everyday at a certain time to do "school". It means that WE are more structured as parents. It means we have educational goals set for him and we look for fun ways to accomplish them.
 One of the umbrella goals we have this year is pre-reading. I decided to check on his alphabet understanding. We do a letter a week. These are some of the activities that we usually include:
1. Coloring page - At the beginning of the week coloring with mommy. We point out the letter and try to think of other things that might start with that letter. We might add more of our own pictures or write more words. Then, he hangs it on the fridge (we're collecting them in a folder for a book at the end). (There are a TON of these online - just google "ABC book" or "Alphabet Coloring Pages")
2. Books - We read books about characters that have that letter for their first name (Arthur, Berenstein Bears, Clifford, etc. - I'm compiling a list as we go). We also point out the letter in other books we read. He usually takes initiative to do this.
3. Go on an "A" hunt - We draw or color the letter on some small quarter-size sheets of paper (both lower and upper case). This is mostly for reference as we walk around the house. Then, we chant "We're going on an __ hunt, We're going on a __ hunt, Let's find some ___". When he finds one, we tape the letter page to the letter he found and leave them up through the week.
4. Practice writing the letter. Honestly, sometimes this happens, sometimes it doesn't. He's got a writing book from Priddy Books that he likes to take out occasionally. Usually he'll go through more than one letter in a day.
5. Practical Use. Sometimes we do fun activities with letters (in addition to the fun ones listed above). I may have Cadence make a story on crayola.com, we send letters to family far away, or he may type an email to Grandma. This has been a fun way for him to use his letter identification in a practical way and develop stronger relationships with friends and family.

I'm not focusing so much this time around on letter sounds. We're focusing mostly on letter recognition & finding them in words. He's already started to "spell" on his own, even though he may not know what he's spelling. It's been still pretty casual, but it feels good to know what goals we have and are working toward.

Family Night with Toddlers

 Each Monday night our church encourages families to spend time together learning the gospel. We call this time, Family Home Evening, or sometimes for short FHE or Family Night.
 My husband and I have been brainstorming ways that we can better cater to the developemental abilities of our toddler and 10 month old and still have a meaningful FHE. Here are some of the ideas we've been trying.

1. Keep lessons brief. We like them to be about 5 minutes long and use Behold, Your Little Ones, and the Primary 1: I am a Child of God manual as the subject matter. The children can even help prepare and give these lessons.
2. Lots of singing! We used to just sing one or two songs, but now we play song games with familiar songs to the children or songs they are just learning. We try to choose new songs that cover the gospel topic we want to focus on.
 - One of the song games we love to play is "Singing Cop". We simple use the ASL signs for stop and go and have one person direct while the others sing, following along. There is absolutely no preparation required and you can play it anywhere!
 - It is difficult for our children it seems to memorize scriptures and stories at this age without a lot of effort. It seems much easier to commit a gospel lesson to memory by teaching them the Children's Songbook songs. Another good reason for LOTS of singing time.
 - We can easily reinforce the new songs they're learning as lullabies through the week or even work-songs as we're doing household chores.
3. Have a routine. We start with dinner when dad gets home. Then, we sing the Family Night song and have an opening prayer. Followed by the short lesson, activity, then treat. We don't always get to every section, but starting with the Family Night song and closing with family prayer for the night keeps a structure that makes it easy for the children to know what comes next.
4. Involve the Children. I've already mentioned this some, but our 3-year-old looks forward to family night when he gets to help pick the songs, make the treat, or prepare a lesson.
5. Set reasonable expectations. It's not always going to go picture perfect. In fact, I practiced the first lesson with our oldest son and every practice and frustrating but when it was time to give the lesson, he really took the stage! It's those bright moments that come which tell you it's worth it. Don't get frustrated if it doesn't go perfectly.

What are some ideas that you have used to help with small children during Family Night?