Getting Organized

If your Family Home Evening is on the wild side, with kids out of control, try buying or making a chart that divides responsibilities among every family member--including toddlers. You can even have a Home Evening where you all make the chart. Don't worry if it doesn't come close to perfect. Children love seeing their work on display and feel ownership if they're part of the process.

When our children were young, we made a chart from felt (more great felt ideas coming soon), and created flower pots with holes in the top for Popsicle sticks, each of which had an assignment written on it. This worked well for many years, and now our oldest son and his family do the same thing. It’s never perfect, and mom needs to keep reminding, but if consistently followed, the chart idea can be effective and helps children learn responsibility.

For those new to Family Home Evenings, assignment suggestions are as follows. If you have less than seven people, some can take two. If you have more than seven, split the music into choosing and leading, and invent other assignments such as People Gatherer or Official Welcomer.

• Song (choose and lead the singing)
• Prayer
• Lesson (short for small attention spans)
• Activity or Game
• Giving next week’s assignments
• Prayer
• Treats