Family Home Evening Ideas
July

THE FIRST VISION

To make a panorama, you will need a shoebox, scissors, white cardstock, and glue.

1.  Have someone make the background scenery (trees and shrubs) and glue it to the inside bottom of the shoe box.  Then turn the shoe box on its side so that the scene is upright.

2.  Have someone draw trees, someone else draw a kneeling figure of Joseph Smith.  Someone else can draw a beam of light with Heavenly Beings.  Glue the trees in the box so it has a 3-D look.

3.  Make a slit the width of the beam of light in the top side of the shoe box, near the back.

4.  Using the panorama as a visual aid, tell the story of the First Vision.  (JSH 1:14-17) When Joseph Smith prays, put his figure between the trees.  When Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appear, slide the beam of light down through the slit on the top.

OBEYING THE COMMANDMENTS BRINGS PEACE

Compare keeping the commandments to obeying traffic signals.  Make some signals out of paper, or ask a leader to act the part of a policeman directing traffic.  Divide the family into two groups and have them move around the room according to the signals given them.  Help them see that just as when they obey the signals there are not collisions, when they keep the commandments they have safety and peace.

For younger children: Make posterboard steering wheels and write “Obedience will steer you right” on them.  Make a key chain using a cardstock heart that says, “Following directions. . . “ Then make a key out of cardstock and write “The key to obedience” on it.  Play follow the leader using the steering wheels and imaginary cars.  You could go outside and “follow directions”. . .  Slow, stop, go, turn right, turn left, be careful, etc.  If anyone doesn’t follow directions they are at a risk of a “crash”.

SWEET APPLE TREATS

1 apple
½ cup chocolate chips or raisins
6 tsp brown sugar

Cut the apple in half and spoon out some of the middle.  Put in about five chocolate chips or raisins and then add some sugar.  Push it down and keep filling both halves of the apple.  (This would be fun to put in the oven to let the chocolate and sugar melt a little bit.)

PAPER BAG GAME

Everyone forms a circle with the paper bag in the middle (it should be open and standing up as if you are going to put something in it).  The object of the game is to bend down and pick up the bag with your mouth - hands behind your back and one leg up in the air.  If you fall or touch the floor with your hands you are out.  When everyone has attempted it, the bag is cut about an inch and the remaining people continue to try to pick up the bag with their mouth.  Continue this until only one person is left.

SLEEPING PIRATE

All the people except one (the pirate) sit cross-legged on the floor in a circle.  The pirate sits in the middle of the circle, blindfolded, with a large bunch of keys on the floor in front of him.  A person is nominated to creep up and take the keys and then return to their place without the pirate hearing them.  The pirate has three guesses to point to where he thinks the raider is.  If he is successful, the raider becomes the pirate.