Here is a zany lesson to teach children how to handle life when people around them are being ugly. Time for some FHE Fun!
Opening Song. #336 School Thy Feelings (https://www.lds.org/churchmusic/detailmusicPlayer/index.html?searchlanguage=1&searchcollection=1&searchseqstart=336&searchsubseqstart=%20&searchseqend=336&searchsubseqend=ZZZ)
Opening Prayer. By invitation.
Emergency Preparedness Moment. What emergency preparedness activity might you do this week with your family? Making this a matter of prayer can bring strong promptings.
These few minutes every seven days during FHE can help your children be ready for a variety of emergencies. Maybe you’ll choose to practice first aid skills or problem solving skills. You might put together petite 72-hour backpack kits for your work desk or the kids’ school lockers, or any other kind of creative endeavor. It shows your family you love them.
These weekly brief steps can profoundly demonstrate your love while teaching your family to take care of themselves in tough scenarios. What might you choose this week?
Devotional. Devotionals can bring a sweet spirit to FHE and show your children you value the scriptures. Try using a “favorite verse” minute to segue into your actual FHE lesson. A moment of short-verse-reading-and-testimony-sharing can bring a powerful spirit to your home and help settle/prepare the children for the next portion of FHE: a powerful spirit-filled lesson.
Lesson.
Note: Feel free to get ideas from the sample lesson described below, but make sure to go to the Lord in prayer to determine what your family really needs for this week. You are the privileged one the Lord has blessed to know your family’s spiritual needs during your weekly FHEs.
Items Needed:
Wadded up pieces of paper in a basket or bag.
Scriptures.
Explain to your family it is time to play a game. Have everyone line up at the back of the room and ask who wants to be the “stoplight”. Select your volunteer and place the “stoplight” opposite the group on the other side of the room.
Turn the volunteer to face away from the family and have him say, “Red Light, Green Light, 1-2-3.” While he is speaking, the rest of the group can walk in his direction, but they must freeze as soon as he is done talking. As soon as he finishes speaking, he spins around to face the family; if he sees anyone moving, they have to go back to their starting place to begin again during the next round. The goal is to have everyone make it to the stoplight.
During the game, though, you are going to be carrying a basket of wadded up pieces of paper. Each time the “stoplight” speaks, you throw papers in the air to create a big mess. You’re also going to work hard to get in the way of the individuals trying to move forward. Your goal is to make a general jumble of disordered things. Really work hard to make moving forward difficult for the others trying to win the game (without being harmful). The rule is that you cannot touch anyone with your body.
When everyone has finally reached the “stoplight,” congratulate them and invite them to sit down after they pick up all the wadded up pieces of paper that you threw. You deliberately do nothing to help.
Once everyone (but you) has cleaned the mess you created, have them open their scriptures to 2 Timothy 3:1-5, 7-11, 14-15 (https://scriptures.lds.org/en/2_tim/3/1-5,7-11,14-15#1). But before they read these verses aloud, ask them to look for and pay attention to how these verses are similar with what just happened to their game “Red Light, Green Light.” Take turns reading verse by verse this perceptive description of our day, left us by the apostle Paul in the New Testament. (Make sure to help the children notice the footnotes at the bottom of the verses’ page – to help them understand the meanings of the words, especially the word “incontinent.”)
Let them express their ideas about how the way you “acted” is similar to people today.
Once the family has finished sharing their thoughts, you might want to open up further discussion. Some possible questions to stimulate discussion might be:
How does rebellion affect the efforts of others trying to do good things?
Why is rebellion so ugly?
How is the game the family just played (i.e. trying to get to the stoplight) like us trying to get to Heavenly Father?
Why do following rules help games be safely played? How is that like life?
How was the apostle Paul able to stay strong (see verse 10), even though he, too, experienced people also doing ugly, rebellious things?
What is the best choice we can make when or if we see friends making ugly, rebellious choices?
How can we stay strong in our day, even though there are people around us doing rebellious, ugly things?
Even though others may never choose to come to the Lord – and may even try to get in the way of those who do – what can we know about God’s love?
What have you learned from the lesson this evening?
You may have other ways or directions you might want to take this activity – or to do a different activity altogether.
Make sure to take time to ask the Lord what your family needs for family home evening this week. The Lord loves you and values the efforts you make on the behalf of your family, whether your family is small or large.
Closing Song. #269 I Have Two Ears (https://www.lds.org/churchmusic/detailmusicPlayer/index.html?searchlanguage=1&searchcollection=2&searchseqstart=269&searchsubseqstart=%20&searchseqend=269&searchsubseqend=ZZZ)
Closing Prayer. By invitation.
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Game reference for “Red Light, Green Light, 1-2-3“: https://www.ehow.com/how_4848991_play-red-light-green-light.html
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