It’s a good time of the school year to check in with your kids. How are they adjusting to the new year of school work? How are things going with friends? How are their study habits? For us, it’s been just long enough to get familiar with the new schedule but still early enough that there is plenty of time for adjustments to prepare our kids for success at school! Reviewing these twelve habits and techniques can ensure that your student is adapting to the rigors of the school year.
Outdoor Alphabet Photo Scavenger Hunt
Hello, it’s Rachel from The Mormon Home! Do you love going to the park with your kids? Or is it a boring? Monotonous? Maybe you’ve already been to the park one-hundred-and-one times this summer! Creative park games may be the only thing that helps you get through the last few weeks before school starts again.
Word Game: Find the Best Word EVER ~ Fun for Groups!
This may seem like a weird question, but do you have a favorite word? I’m not talking about a name or place, I literally mean a word. It could fun to say or spell. The meaning is not the important part! Razzmatazz is one of my favorites. Indubitably. Mojito. Thrum. All words that tickle my tongue and give me a little thrill. I love a good word game. Years ago I came across this great countdown on Ted McCagg’s blog: he made brackets for each letter and finally winnowed the word list down to the best word ever. Since the colder months are coming, I thought I’d turn this idea into a full blown family word game! It would be perfect to set up around the house during a long Thanksgiving weekend with family. Also great for a youth group or Family Home Evening.
Christmas Trivia Quiz ~ Printable (she: Rachel)
Can you name all nine of Santa’s reindeer? How about Buddy the Elf’s four main food groups? Print off this Christmas trivia quiz and challenge your friends or family! Perfect for family night, or as an ice-breaker at Holiday parties.
Family Game for Family Night: Fruits of the Spirit (she: Rachel)
This game is as simple as it appears: print out the scripture and two sets of the matching cards. Whoever makes the match has to describe an example of someone with that gift! A fun family night game, perfect for delving just a little deeper into these important verses.
How to Plan a Food Drive (she: Rachel)
This season is a busy time, but don’t let the chance to plan for meaningful projects slip by. It’s a great time of year to plan to give to others, from drawing names for a family “Secret Service Santa” game to a Random Acts of Kindness campaign. This year I’m helping out with a canned food drive with friends from work, so I thought it timely to share a post on how to plan a food drive.
Wisdom Scriptures – Including A Beautiful Scripture Printable (she: Rachel)
Like many Bible verses, James 1:5-6 is a simple principle with eternal implications when is wholeheartedly embraced by a follower. Asking God with faith and committing to following the guidance received can literally change the world. I love these verses and so I put them together in an easy 8×10 printable, easy to frame or just pin to your bulletin board.
Creative License Plate Game – Decipher the Hidden Message! (she: Rachel)
I get a kick out of the vanity plates I see around town, especially ones with creative spelling.
So I thought it would make a fun game to capture and translate license plates! I can’t guarantee that any of these are actually real, although there are rumors that these plates are truly on the road. You could use this easy-to-print license plate quiz for your family, a classroom game, or for your Cub Scout Pinewood Derby.
7 Simple Learning Strategies to Help with Scripture Study (she: Rachel)
t’s just about time for the kids to head back to school—if they haven’t already started! From meeting the teachers, to checking out textbooks for the year, to shopping for school supplies, I’m spending a lot of time thinking about learning and study. I recently ran into a great article with seven learning strategies used by kids and how they can help everyone learn better. I love the idea of incorporating childlike learning strategies into lifelong learning, but as I was pondering how to adopt some of these skills into my life, I realized that each of the seven strategies could revitalize scripture study as well!
Scripture Verses for Travel – Free Printable for Studying (she: Rachel)
Summer means travel! Even if you’re not going on a big vacation, you’re probably road-tripping for a family reunion or taking off for an afternoon at the mountains or the beach. Getting out of the routine can be invigorating, but sometimes these trips can disconnect us from the small habits that keep us close to the Spirit! Traveling can mean we miss church services, daily scripture study, or regular prayers. With this in mind, I created printables of eight travel related scriptures verses to help keep you and your family a little more connected to Him during the summer travel season.
Reinforce Good Behavior – They Need to Hear You Say… (she: Rachel)
I love summer time with my kids, but I’ll be honest: the days can get a little long! Without the school routine, it’s easy for me to feel drained by the late mornings, with melting popsicles, and wet beach towels. This summer, though, instead of focusing on activities for the kids I decided to make a list of the things I want to do to be a better mom, starting with the things my kids need to hear me say. Hopefully this will help reinforce good behavior in my kids so we can all get along during the school break.
Faith and A Family Planting Project – The Good Seed (she: Rachel)
I love the Biblical metaphor equating faith to a seed. It is scattered a few different places, but Matthew 13 expands on the concept well (check out Alma 32 if you use the Book of Mormon). Explaining faith as a seed is such a magnificent way to help children understand an abstract spiritual concept. Cultivating faith, indeed choosing faith, is an important value that I hope to pass on to my children.