Family Home Evening Ideas for Young Children

For a recent Relief Society activity, I was asked to give a presentation about family home evening ideas for young children. With that presentation in mind, I created this blog post. 😊

Here are 5 basic steps I follow for family home evening:

1. Do it every week, no matter what! Even if the kids are only paying attention for 2 minutes, it is worth it. I have seen many blessings come into my home from keeping this commitment. My kids LOVE family home evening, and they look forward to it each Monday.

I love the reminder of the specific blessings that come to families who hold regular, weekly family home evening, “...If the Saints obey this counsel, we promise that great blessings will result.  Love at home and obedience to parents will increase.  Faith will be developed in the hearts of the youth of Israel, and they will gain power to combat the evil influences and temptations which beset them (First Presidency, April 27, 1915, in Improvement Era 18:733-34 Ezra Taft Benson, "God, Family, Country" p. 228)."

2. Start and end with a prayer, inviting the Spirit into the evening. Our children desperately need to feel the security and peace that comes from the Spirit—especially amidst the chaos of the world.

3. Be engaging! Involve the entire family as much as you can, rather than just one person stiffly teaching the entire time. Ask questions, have the kids participate, and have fun!

4. Teach true principles geared toward the specific needs of your family (as found in the scriptures and words of the prophets). When I see my kids struggling with something or not understanding something, I usually plan a lesson geared toward that need.

5. Be creative and do a variety of lessons/activities.

Listed below are several different lessons I’ve prepared for my family. Feel free to use, share, and adapt to your needs. 😊 And, stay posted--I’ll add to the list as I find the time!

“Praying”: I gave a short lesson on how to pray and used the primary song, "I Pray in Faith" to teach them (“I begin by saying dear Heavenly Father, I thank Him for blessings He sends. Then humbly I ask Him for things that I need, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”)  Then, I had the kids help teach a stuffed animal how to pray (fold arms, kneel down, bow head, what to say). They took turns helping the dog pray.

“Reverence”: I gave a short lesson on the importance of being reverent at church. We talked about reverent things to do and things that are not reverent. We talked about places that we need to be reverent (church, sacrament meeting, primary, temples, etc). Then we talked about places that we don’t need to be reverent (the park, playing outside, dancing, the gym, etc). Next, we (my husband and I) had the kids listen to reverent music and practice being reverent (sitting still, folding arms, and not talking). Then I turned on crazy fun music and we danced around and were loud! As soon I switched the music back to a church song we would hurry and be reverent and vice-versa. They loved it! You can extend the songs longer if you want to have them practice being reverent for a longer period of time.

“Family”: I drew pictures of each member of our family and taped them to straws. You could even tape real pictures to straws. Each person held their picture and we sang, “A Happy Family." “We are a happy family! I love mommy she loves me, we love daddy yesiree…” Every time it was someone's turn to sing, they would hold their picture high in the air. After this we talked about what makes a happy family (speaking nicely, obeying Mom and Dad, family scripture study, doing nice things for each other, keeping a clean house, no yelling, etc). Last, we did a fun family activity (we have gone to the Recreation Center and played basketball, gone swimming, played soccer in the backyard, gone on family walk, gone bowling, etc).

“Working”: I gave a short lesson on the importance of working and having a "house of order" (cleaning and helping with chores). The kids took turns pulling out different cleaning tools from a bag (a gardening glove, paper towels, dust pan, Windex, rag, toy, garbage bag, silverware). We talked about how we could use that tool to do some work. Next, we had the kids help me clean a window. They each got a turn spraying the Windex and wiping the window. Last, we made a cleaning chart (one chore to do each day…for example pulling weeds on Monday, cleaning windows on Tuesday, emptying the dishwasher Wednesday, etc). Throughout the week we used the chart to practice what we learned!

“Temples”: We showed the kids pictures of many different temples on the I-pad. They each got to pick which one was their favorite. Then, we talked about how the temple is a house of God, and we go there so our family can be together forever. If you live close enough to a temple, you could then go visit the temple grounds.

“Service”: We taught the kids that it makes us feel happy inside to do nice things for others. We told the story of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37--while telling the story, we had all the kids hold up their fingers for each person—person #1 passed by, person #2 passed by, but person #3 chose the right and helped!). Next, we took turns “serving” each other by saying something nice to the other person. Last we brain stormed together about someone outside of our family we could serve (they decided on their uncle Dustin). They said they wanted to bring him blanket, a book, and three slices of bread.😊

“Pornography”: I explained that pornography is when we see a picture with someone with very little clothing or without clothing. I taught them that pornography is very dangerous and hurts our brains. If we ever see it, we should immediately turn away and tell an adult. A grown up will not ever be mad when you tell. I told them a story about when I was a kid and saw a bad picture. I turned away, and went home and told my mom. She was very proud of me for telling her. We then read a story from the Friend magazine called, “The Bad Picture." Last, as a family, we watched a video about pornography from lds.org. We discussed the video afterward.

“Sharing”: I gave a short lesson about how important it is to share and that is makes us feel happy! Then we sang the song, “Sharing with you is fun to do, fun to do, fun to do! Sharing with you is fun to do, fun to do!” Next, we had the kids each find a favorite toy. We sat in a circle, sang our song, and passed our toys around and around. Every time a toy was passed we would cheer and congratulate them for sharing. Throughout the week I would use the song to help them share and remind them of the lesson…it actually worked!

“Prophet”: I showed them a picture of our prophet, Thomas S. Monson. They each took turns saying his name. Next, we watched a video clip of the prophet speaking. After, we talked about why we have a prophet and how they teach us how to be like Jesus. Then we walked around singing the chorus of, “Follow the Prophet." After this lesson, we played an “angry bird” game. We have plush stuffed angry birds, and we set them up on a stack of pillows. I would ask the kids a question about the lesson (for example, What is the name of the prophet?). After they answered they would get a turn trying to knock the angry birds down. Once the angry birds were knocked down we gave them marshmallows. We actually play this game often after a lesson to review what we learned…and to see if the kids understand what we taught! Balls or other stuffed animals could be used to play the game.

“Manners”: We had some homemade treats and practiced saying “please” and “thank you.” We also taught the kids to say “excuse me” and “sorry.” We practiced chewing with our mouths closed and not slurping our drinks. We talked about burping and sneezing and the proper way to do it.

“Bible Stories/Book of Mormon Stories”: The kids LOVE when we tell a scriptural story. We make if fun by showing pictures (can be found online) and doing actions while we tell the story. One of their favorites is Exodus 14–15, Moses parting the Red Sea (open arms wide to part the sea, run in place to run from Pharoah, close arms to close the sea, etc). After the story we try to tie it in with a principle they can understand, like obeying Heavenly Father’s commandments.

“Gratitude”: I had a bag of different items that we should be thankful for. The kids got to pull an item out of the bag and we would talk about why we should be grateful for that. I reminded the children that every good thing in our lives is a blessings from Heavenly Father.

“Exercise and eating healthy”: I taught a short lesson about how Heavenly Father gave us special bodies and it is important to exercise and eat good foods to make us healthy and strong. Then we took turns showing different exercises and ate a healthy snack. I would name off different foods and they would give a thumbs up for healthy foods and a thumbs down for unhealthy food. After this lesson you could go outside and play tag, ride bikes, or go on a family walk.

“Listening and Obeying”: I taught a short lesson about listening (had the kids touch their ears) and obeying. We then played “Simon says” to see how well they could “listen and obey.” After that, we talked about Nephi and how he was obedient. Last we sang, “Nephi’s Courage."

“Peacemakers”: I told the kids I had a mystery word in my mind that started with a “P” and rhymes with “cease” and “faker.” I explained the word is very important and helps us become like Jesus. Eventually I revealed the word—peacemaker! I taught about what a peacemaker is (someone who helps themselves and others feel peace). We talked about how peace feels (calm, happy, kind). Next, each child got to practice being a peacemaker by responding to a scenario. For example, “Your brother takes your toy from you” or “The baby is crying.” The kids got to share how they would be a peacemaker in that situation. We finished with singing, “I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus." Throughout the week I reminded the kids of the lesson and encouraged them to be peacemakers when problems arose.

“Try Again”: I had the kids repeat after me, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” We said it together several times. Next, we talked about the times we have made mistakes, didn’t win, or had a hard time doing something (sports, with friends, at school, at church, with siblings, etc). I reminded the kids that Heavenly Father is so proud and happy when we try again and do our best. I shared the story of Nephi and the brass plates (he kept trying until he did his very best 1 Nephi 3–5). Last, we all shared ways we could try again.