FHE: My Secret Weapons

You may have noticed that there's been a shortage of Family Home Evening posts lately...sorry about that. Last week, there was da Boo's preschool graduation on Monday (I still haven't downloaded all the pictures) and since we were there as a family, we totally counted it. This week was Memorial Day. We had the traditional family BBQ with the Co-ed and Aunt Denise. Lots of fun and lots of food: burgers, hot dogs (PB&J for the Boy), watermelon, striped jello, Brazilian lemonade, salad, and roasted pineapple...still working on the leftovers. And I got a big bag of corn on the cob - only to completely space the fact that I wanted to serve it. It's still sitting in my kitchen, looking a little sad and lonely. Maybe I'll buy a bunch of bananas to keep it company.

Instead of detailing our riveting evening, I am going to share a few of my secret weapons. This is where I go when FHE starts in 10 minutes and I don't have a lesson planned.


SugarDoodle - Usually my first stop if I have a specific theme in mind. She gives such great information and tells you lots of different ways you can go about it. There's no definite, structured lesson so you can pick and choose. This is great for small kids who have the attention spans of the common fruit fly.

Each topic is separated out into different categories, like stories from the scriptures about your topic, poems, activities, printables, etc. You are going to find something that is just what you had in mind. I've never clicked away from this site empty-handed.

This is also my favorite when trying to get ideas for Activity Days. And there's clipart! I love clipart!


fhe4children Yahoo Group - This is a priceless resource! You have to register to join but these members are the best I've ever seen. Do you have a certain story in mind but only remember the general plot? Is there a poem that fits your topic but you can't remember the title? Just post! Within a few moments, you will have responses and links, if not the actual information. I tell ya, ya can't stump 'em!

Now, this is the main group. For more files and lessons, sign up with fhe4childrenfiles2 as well as fhe4childrentreats for some great themed recipes. Found a cool recipe for a rainbow cake that I'd really like to try next time we learn about Noah's Ark.


LDS.org Primary Manuals - I was the Sunbeams' teacher for two years. Luckily, I kept my lessons and handouts in a binder. I used one just this past Sunday when I was asked to substitute. Lesson prep took me all of 10 minutes. These are also handy for my own kids, since they are pretty young. The Primary manuals give you great ideas for finger plays, songs and games to fit your lesson. They also have some pretty spiffy handouts that are simply click and print. And then there's the whole FHE manual on there...

What happens if you don't know the Primary songs your kids are requesting? Well, you could fumble through the words a few times...or you can visit the lds.org website and look it up! Go to Church Music and search for the title or lines from the song. Most songs you can get in mp3 format. There's the option of printing the sheet music, listening to the vocals or just the music. Quite a handy little piece of software when da Boo kept demanding to sing a song we'd never heard of before.

So there you go! Hope these help you out with your next Family Home Evening. And if there is something that you like to use, please share!