I'm not going to lie, I struggled the first little bit when the new curriculum came out. I've got three young kids at home, and knew I needed to step up my teaching moments, but struggled. We read scriptures together as a family every night, we have family prayers, we try to hold Family Home Evening each week, but I just couldn't figure out how to teach from the manual. My three boys (ages 6 to 9 months) are active, energetic boys. They don't sit while we read scriptures, they don't listen when we hold Family Home Evening. How was this new curriculum going to work with a house full of boys?
I was studying each week's lesson and trying to come up with some kind of lesson for FHE each week that applied, then try and talk about the different concepts each week, but it ended up being me or my husband opening the manual for scripture study and reading to them a sentence or two then trying to ask questions. (let me state nothing is wrong with this at all, it just felt like none of us were benefitting from it). I guess I needed to put in more family prep time. It just felt so overwhelming. I was learning things, but how I didn't know how to share that with my kiddos.
A couple weeks ago I came across this Instagram account @ComeFollowMeFHE and it truly has been a game changer. I don't know how Angie finds the time to create (young) family-friendly lesson plans, activities, detailed instructions for each week's lesson, but she does! And it has helped me truly study and find the topics within those weeks that I can teach my family. She creates Family Home Evening plans, she has coloring pages and activities, she has extra ideas and then gives details and more tips & help on her feed. She has a blog explaining everything. She puts in SO much time & energy into these. It has helped me see the lessons differently and taught me how to look for principles that apply to my family. Please, go check out her site, her blog, her feed. She truly is a blessing!
As I've been following her plans and adapting them to our family, I really enjoyed one of the activities she had. It was a different challenge every day for the entire week. I can't even remember which week it was, but I really liked giving my kids a specific challenge and then discussing it that night. I wanted to keep that going, to have a little piece each day that we could learn and actually apply. I came up with the "Come, Follow Me This Week" idea. Each day we can focus on a subtopic and hopefully apply it somehow throughout our day. I've been studying the manual "For Individuals & Families" but also the "Primary" manual (lucky me I'm in the primary presidency so I have my own hard copy, although you can access the digital manual on lds.org). Following Angie's guide & searching the manuals for ideas or being prompted by the Spirit to teach what ideas my boys will benefit I've found that each day there is something new I can share with them, in a way they can understand. This has been the thing that keeps coming back to my mind. We can learn about Christ and be familiar with His teachings, but unless we truly follow Him and apply His teachings, what good does it do? So that's why I'm trying to have small teaching moments with my kids each day.
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| My Outline for each week...Discussion Topic, Follow Opportunity & Activity/Quick Lesson Idea |
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| Here's a blank one you can fill in |
This is what I've been using so far and it's actually been quite helpful. I usually study the lesson Sunday night or Monday morning and fill this out for the week. Monday usually consists of FHE and the rest of the week goes mostly as planned. These are simple, mind you. Here's a quick shot of this week and what we've been trying to do:
Each morning while the boys eat breakfast I try to introduce the day's topic, sometimes sharing scriptures or a Bible video or just briefly talk about it. Most mornings I throw my phone in front of them with a Bible video while they eat breakfast or am trying to tell them about the topic while I'm getting my baby dressed. It's not a "let's sit down and formally discuss this new topic." Honestly, who has time for that (if you do, then that is awesome and I want to know your secrets). Then I share the "Follow Opportunity" with them and ask them to try it at school or throughout their day. This usually happens in the car at school drop off, me last minute remembering as I help my 6-year-old put on his coat and backpack. "Remember the video we watched this morning? I want you to try and be like that little boy who was kind." Something like that. Again, it's not a formal thing. Some (dare I say most) days it doesn't sink in and we get the "I don't know" or "I can't remember" answers. But were trying...right? When we do family scripture study before bedtime I ask them about how their opportunity went and talk about their experiences. Most times, this does not go smoothly or how I hope it would, but we discuss it anyway and talk about they learned. We do our best. I truly believe that through consistency, love and compassion we can help these little warriors become the people God wants them to be. And as I teach them and encourage them, I've noticed myself making a conscious effort to apply those same principles into my daily notions. I am trying right along side with them.
Anyway, I don't know if this helps you or not, but I figured I get it out there anyway in hopes maybe there is one person it could help.
As most people have said (which I fully agree with) "Find what works for you and your family." And study it yourself before trying to teach your family. Like anything in life, it can go so much better when you have prepared the material you are trying to teach.
Here is a link to the actual document, or if you prefer to type it out each week (like I do) here's the blank one. Hopefully it works, if not feel free to contact me and I can email it to you.
Also, the fonts I used for mine are Ink Free Font & Twiddlestix Font.
So, there you have it. There's my simple way of trying to teach and apply the Savior's teachings in my life with three young boys running around:)
Happy Day
Oh, and if you'd like to learn more about this new curriculum, please visit or click HERE
for the manuals.
