F.H.E Friday {Keeping it Organized}

When I was growing up my mom started letting us teach Family Home Evening (or contributing a part of the lesson) at a young age.  I've tried to do the same with our family.  I think it works perfectly along side the youth's new Come Follow Me curriculum, where our Young Women and Young Men are encouraged and expected to teach in their Sunday classes. 

We use the system that my parents used, and it works. Each week we rotate who's "week" it is. Each kid gets a turn, well, the ones who can talk anyway. While my husband is always presiding over our family, it is the responsibility of one of our children to "conduct" each week.  During their week their job is to make sure we say our meal/family prayers and assigns who says it (although we had to stipulate that they say one family prayer or meal prayer a week themselves...sometimes they need the little push to say one instead of calling on someone else all the time...except my 9 year old Owen, who is happy to say every prayer).  They are also in charge of Family Home Evening for that week, they make the assignments & teach a lesson.  I teach the lesson when it's the 3 year old's turn and usually use that week to focus on what my husband and I think our family needs at the moment.

We are, of course, a work in progress.  But one thing that helps is Family Home Evening files.  When I was growing up I remember my mom having a specific file drawer in the office desk full of F.H.E. lesson materials, all organized by topic. So on the week we needed to teach, we went and browsed through, what seemed to me, any topic I could ever think of.  I don't have a drawer, but here's my F.H.E. files, and how you can do it yourself.

Start by sorting all the materials you have already collected.  If you haven't saved any lesson materials yet--start saving it now!  I know I have repeated the lessons over the years, and it's so much easier to have everything collected and done.  Save lesson plans, object lessons, posters, flannel board cutouts...you get the idea. 

I use a three-prong folder to hold stories & conference talks.  Coloring pages or activities we need to make copies of, along with other small odds and ends go into the pockets.  The folder is slid into a large manila envelope along with anything else that doesn't fit into the folder. 

Then each file is numbered and goes into a file box. 

I don't alphabetize the files or sort them by topic in the box. Two reasons: 1. It's just easier to put something away by number.  2. My collection is ever expanding & this way I don't have to worry about re-organizing it...as long as the kids put the file back where it belongs.  I also put together an alphabetized list for easy browsing.

What do you do to make F.H.E. just a little bit easier?

and Happy Halloween!

Visit my mom at Anna, Clo't and Me