The Armor of God

Becoming LDS has a wonderful lesson geared toward toddlers and preschoolers on the armor of God. It's definitely worth a peek!

Do You Believe?

For FHE this past Monday, I used this lesson. It turned out pretty well for all the age groups {Except the one year old who was rather unimpressed}. Feel free to vary it as needed for your own family.

First, I sent a volunteer to a different room with the door shut. While he was out, I gave a message to the remaining family members. {I used, "Choose the right everyday."} When I brought the volunteer back, I asked him to tell me what the message was that I gave to the rest. Obviously he couldn't do it. "Hmmm.", is all I said.

Second, I blindfolded the 6 year old and showed everyone else an object. {I chose a simple bobby pin.} When I removed the blindfold and asked what I had shown the rest of the family, she too couldn't do it. Again, "Hmmmm.", is all I said.

Third, I gave a hug to one family member and then asked a different family memeber if they were able to feel the hug. Could they feel the physical touch? Could they feel the good feeling from the hug? Of course that couldn't happen either. This time I said, "Hmmmm. Time to break out the scriptures."

In Isaiah 53, I had one person read aloud verse 1 for us all to hear. "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?" In explanation, we talked about how this was Isaiah writing anciently and wondering who will believe his writings now.

These rhetorical questions were asked:

• What do the scriptures say about who believes?
• Who senses the tender mercies and miracles of the Lord?

Then I told my family we would be reading the rest of the scripture chain and to see if they could find the answers to those questions.

I paused after having someone read Romans 10:16 which quotes Isaiah in the previously quoted scripture.

• Did anyone see anything curious about that scripture?
• "Hey! We already read that!"

Read Romans 10:17

• So, who will believe? In order to be a believer, one must be in tune to the Spirit.
• The first answer is "...faith cometh by hearing..."
• Refer back to the first activity, asking, "Why couldn't he tell us the message that everyone else received?
• He couldn't hear!
• Share the message with your volunteer at this point.

Read John 12:37-38

• Did anyone see anything curious about that scripture?
• "Hey! We already read that!" hee hee, giggle giggle

Read John 12:40, only the first 5 words.

• So, who will believe?
• The second answer is in order to be in tune to the Spirit, we must see!
• Refer back to the blindfold activity, asking, "Why couldn't she tell us what the object was?"
• She couldn't see!
• Show the object.

Read the rest of John 12:40.

• So, who will believe?
• The third answer is in order to be a believer is through our hearts. We must feel!
• Refer back to the hug activity, asking, "Why couldn't he tell us what the hug was like?"
• He couldn't feel!

Wrap things up by going over the 3 ways to be a believer. We must hear, see and feel. Ask questions, field a discussion about these things.

We used this scripture song (D&C 42:17), knowing that as we listen to the "Comforter" we are believers.

We topped off the evening with a fun round of "Are you smarter than a Primary child?" We have two Primary age children that wrote down each answer. The player could try to use his/her own knowledge or was allowed to use 1 of 3 cheats, just like as in "Are you smarter than a 5th grader" game show does. If they missed a question or dropped out, they had to say, "I am not smarter than a Primary child." Thank you to the idea door for this activity (click on link for PDF of questions). We did have to change the answer to one question, since they used the Primary theme from 2008.

Our dessert was an ambitious, tasty, but ugly lemon meringue pie that Princess and I made. I don't know that the treat actually had anything to do with the lesson. :)

How to teach more effectively

This week, Sarah wrote an excellent article on how to effectively teach our children. Coming from an education background, she outlines Bloom's Taxonomy and how we can apply it to teaching our children the gospel. Following this formula, we can be more effective teachers on any subject.

The Great Reward Salad

The Great Reward Salad

This treat can be used for a fun object lesson. Blessings come from obedience.

Give each family member an index card with an ingredient or two to the salad and directions on how to get their ingredient properly to the bowl. Sometimes we get a reward or blessing right away when we obey. The reward (blessing) for proper obedience here is being able to enjoy the treat. Sometimes it isn’t as easy to see as this salad, but we always get blessings for obedience. The Lord has to bless us! See D&C 82:10. The ultimate award for obedience to Heavenly Father is eternal life. John 3:16 (Can sing John 3:16 scripture song with lesson.)

Ingredients can vary, but here is a basic list for an easy to make salad. (Mix together all but the final ingredient.
Ø 1 can pineapple chunks, with juice
Ø 1 can mandarin oranges, drain syrup
Ø 1 can fruit cocktail, drain syrup
Ø 1 can other fruit (apricots, pears, peaches), cut up
Ø 2 chopped apples
Ø 1 orange, peeled and cut up
Ø Some grapes or raisins
Ø Prepared whip cream or whip topping to top individual bowls

FHE Planning Wheel

Tired of planning Family Home Evening all by yourself, or keep forgetting whose turn it is? I made this wheel to help my family participate more in Family Home Evening.

Print out this two-page PDF file to make your own wheel. There are six slots for family members. If I get enough requests for other numbers of family members, I'll make more, so let me know.

Chocolate no-knead bread

For a less-sugar treat option, try this chocolate no-knead bread. It was a lot of fun to make, not much work, and seems fancy. It would go well with ice cream, Nutella, or cherry jam.

Treasure Hunt FHE

I found this cute FHE lesson here. Becca was kind enough to allow me to share it with you here on FHE Planner. Hope you enjoy. I quote her as follows.

In keeping with the 2009 Primary Theme, however, I chose to do a Treasure Hunt lesson/activity.First, I drew a map. (Click here to see it.)

On the back, I had the first clue.

The lesson went something like this:"In Primary, we learned this week that Heavenly Father gave us our bodies as gifts. He has a body and we want to be like Him. That is why we are here on earth, to get a body and learn to be obedient. If we are obedient and use our bodies well, we will learn how to be like Heavenly Father and He will give us the ULTIMATE TREASURE."

My children are 4, almost 5, and 20 months. When I said "ULTIMATE TREASURE," I had the 4-year old's attention for about 20 seconds. That's when you rush the rest of the lesson and cut out all the unnecessary words. What you say next is ABOUT TO MAKE AN IMPRESSION."

I have a map here that leads to a treasure. If you do what the map says and follow the clues, you will find the treasure. I want you to find the treasure and there is enough for everyone to enjoy it. HEAVENLY FATHER HAS A SPECIAL TREASURE FOR YOU, TOO. What do you think that treasure is?"

We had to do some coaxing. The treasure is eternal life and a glorified body, living with Heavenly Father and becoming like Him and being happy.

"Heavenly Father gave us a treasure map to help us find our way back home to Him. What do you think that map is?"

Answer: the scriptures, the prophets, our parents

"If we follow the prophet, keep the commandments we find in the scriptures, and obey our parents, we will find the treasure Heavenly Father wants to give us - eternal life is the best treasure of all!"

Then I let them go at it. I had the clues written from Primary songs, and whatever word was missing, that's where the next clue was. (Clues are hard for the youngest kids. It has to be something they recognize instantly. Songs are good. I'm sure the inspiration came from the Spirit.)

Clue 1: I looked out the ____ and what did I see? (window)
Clue 2: The Spirit will guide, and deep inside, I'll know the ______ are true. (scriptures - as in a scripture quad in a case)
Clue 3: The chapel _____ seem to say to me... (doors)
Clue 4: Book of ______ stories that my teacher tells to me (Mormon - the Book of Mormon we had out)
Clue 5: For health and strength and daily _____, we praise thy name, O Lord. ( food - fridge)Clue 6: Early to ____ and early to rise (bed)
Clue 7: ______ dear, I love you so! Your happy, smiling face... (Mother)
In my apron pocket, I had the "Final Clue"Final Clue: Check under the couch cushions. They found the treasure, a bunch of toffee popcorn with a note on the box: "You found it!"

Then I told them how happy I was that they found the treasure and how excited I was to share it with them. I shared my testimony that Heavenly Father is excited when we follow his map and that he loves us and wants us to find our way home to Him.

Lessons from the Gospel Principles Manual

There are several very complete FHE lesson plan booklets by Michael Cox at this link, complete with songs, recipes, activities, and lesson plans. These lessons would be appropriate for older elementry school-age children through adults, although they could easily be adapted for younger children.

Ginger Cookies

This is my favorite, no-fail cookie recipe, and many people have requested it from me, including my grandmother. It tastes even better made with whole wheat flour.


Ginger Cookies

¾ cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
¼ cup molasses
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups flour

1. Cream shortening, gradually adding sugar. Beat in egg, molasses, baking soda, salt, ginger, and cinnamon.
2. Add flour to creamed mixture. Blend well.
3. Roll into small balls; cover in sugar. Place 2” apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

Makes 2-3 dozen.


Originally published by me here.

Setting balanced resolutions

Each New Year, we think about resolutions. It's easy to set similar goals and let other areas of our lives slide. One year I might set all spiritual goals; another all intellectual.

This handout will help you balance your goals. In the circles for each area of your life, fill in as many rings as correspond to your progress in that area. So if you're a bodybuilder, physical might have all the rings filled in; if you're a university professor, all the intellectual rings will be filled in.

Once you have taken the time to look over your life in this way, you will be in a better position to set challenging goals that will strengthen you. Use the horizontal lines to jot down some goals for the different areas of your life.

You may download a high-quality copy of the handout here; or click on the image above to see a larger, printable version.

Instant Lesson

Our family's favorite Christmas gift this year was the Church's Gospel Art Picture Kit. A surprisingly heavy package, it contains 160 8-1/2" x 11" pictures, covering all books of the scriptures and general gospel topics.

All we have to do now (and it worked beautifully last week) is pull out a picture and talk about it. There is even text on the back if you're not sure what to say. A few pictures and some short conversations were just about right for our two-year-old's attention span.

You can purchase a copy for $30 here. Or see it all online for free, complete with text, here.