I've been hearing and reading a lot about how important
{traditions}
are in a family. The glue that holds a family together. We've come up with some traditions we have been doing for a little while and I thought it would be fun to share.
This is what I like to call our
Saturday Fun Family Breakfast
I get out all our fancy dishes and glasses
(that would be glass in our house)
We use cloth table linens, napkins,table cloth, ect.
And of course our most fancy serving dishes
The kids absolutely love when we do this. Just to see Savanna's face using a fancy glass is priceless!
This is also the perfect time to work on MANNERS!
other
{TRADITIONS} #1*Every Sunday night we have a "Family Planning Meeting"
We plan events that will need to take place during the week
We decide who will prepare our morning family devotional
We also decide on a Family Goal for the week
example: using softer voices
(this is a regular)
#2 *Every Fast Sunday we have a
"Family Testimony Meeting" in our living room
This is where the kids are taught how to bare their testimony. This helps them to become less shy about getting up in front of others. We also take the time to discuss why we fast, and what fast offering are.
#3* Sundays we have what we call "Daddy's Day"
Each child gets one on one time with Daddy to talk about whatever they want. Sometimes they might play a quick game or read a story, depending on their age. The kids really love this.
#4* Each day of the week we have assigned to one child to have their
"Personal Parent Interview"
This is our time to find out more about each child individually. We focus on these areas in the child's life.
Emotional
Physical
Spiritual
Mental
Social
We kind of do a check list and ask questions in each of these areas if we feel there could be a problem. One thing I learned is when asking questions to children of any age, ask them who they "FEEL" about the subject. This helps get more out of them.
#5* Dinner Time "Happies & Sads"
We love this as a family. It is great for me to think about for myself. While eating dinner we go around and each person gets to tell about what their Happiest Moment in the day was and their Saddest Moment was. Let me tell you, you will find out so much more about your child's day. They can't just say, "school was fine" they have to tell you about an experience they had. It will really open doors.
#6* "Family Scripture Study"
Every night before bed we read a chapter from the Book of Mormon. I have a fun chart we mark off. We have been reading half the chapter from the English Book of Mormon ( I read that half) and Jeremy will read the last half in Spanish. The kids love it, and Jeremy gets to use his Spanish. I can't believe even though I cannot understand him, the spirit is there.
And Last, #7* "Family Prayer"
One thing that has been fun, is we all kneel in a circle and hold hands. It helps remind us that our family is ETERNAL and we do not want any links broken. This is a concept our kids are able to grasps.
I have come to really love traditions. The kids look forward to them and it has brought us closer as a family.
What traditions does your family have?
We decided to move Savanna in with girls. She is VERY excited about this. So when I put her little bed in there it was missing something above her bed. I looked online and found this adorable print I wanted very badly. It cost $25 for one 8"X10" poster. That was out of my budget. So I decided to make one out of fabric myself. Not identical, but I think it turned out pretty darn cute! Plus I just used scrap facbric. So it cost pennies!
