Tell the children that you are going to pretend that a special visitor is coming to your house. His name is Jesus. Ask them to think how excited they would feel to have Jesus come to visit them.

• • What should we do to get ready? (Clean the house. Dress in nice clothes.)
• • How will we act when Jesus comes?

The children could act out the things they would do.

Explain to the children that if Jesus were here they would have a good feeling. They would know he loves them.

Tell the children that if Jesus were in your home they would want to try very hard to be good and to show their love for one another.

Explain that each day they can have that good feeling in their home by sharing, by not fighting, and by being kind to one another.

Sing “A Happy Family” (Children’s Songbook, p. 198).

• • What does the song say we all do in our family? (Love each other.)
• • How do you think mother knows you love her? (Help the children name some things they do that show love.)
• • How does father know you love him? How does sister? How does brother?

You might use pictures from books and magazines to illustrate some of the things you talk about that show love.

Explain that you always want to have love in your home so that a good spirit can be there.

Little children can also participate in helping with the chart entitled “Love One Another.” Explain that when they see someone who is showing love in the family they can come and tell you. You will write that person’s name on the chart for them. You could also help them color in a part of the chart.

Explain to the children that they can also be a good example in showing their love throughout the week.

Show your family the chart entitled “Love One Another.” Explain that each time they see a family member showing love to someone in the family, they are to color in one of the rays around the heart. They are also to write that person’s name down on the chart. Each family member could have his name on the chart several times.

Put the chart up in a place where all the family members can easily see, read, and color it, such as on the refrigerator or a bulletin board.

Challenge each family member to show love in your home throughout the coming week so that all the rays of the heart will be filled in before your next home evening. Challenge them to feel the spirit of love in your home.

For an activity we could play “spin the bottle,” only when the bottle lands on the person everyone says something they like about that person.

For dessert, I’m thinking it would be fun to make a heart-shaped cake, or maybe heart-shaped cookies like these.

So, we talked about families and how we’re related to people in our families.  Both kids were fascinated the entire time and that makes me think it was a great success.

Last night we didn’t do my Repentance lesson for FHE because I’d forgotten that we’d invited the missionaries over to teach the lesson!  They came over to teach us a lesson on the Preach My Gospel book that they use to help them learn to be better missionaries.  I’ve been trying to read through it a bit at a time for a couple of months, and discovered there’s a lot of helpful stuff in there for me, too, and not just as a “member missionary.”  There’s stuff on setting goals, time management, and basic gospel doctrine.  I’ve found that it’s really helpful when I’m preparing for a Primary sharing time–I like to check my facts about the basic doctrine in it sometimes just to make sure I don’t accidentally veer off into a “Bethany opinion” tangent with the kids.

Anyway, the kids really enjoyed having the missionaries over since they got to climb all over them and look at the pictures in their books.  We sang “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam” as the opening and closing songs at Degen’s request, with a “The Wise Man Built His House Upon a Rock” and several “Popcorn Popping” songs sprinkled into the lesson.  The missionaries gave us a tour of the book and helped us practice with a role-play giving a pass-along card to a friend or stranger.  We had a great time and it was good to get to know our missionaries a little better.

So, if you’re out of Family Home Evening ideas or just need a change, call the missionaries in your ward and invite them to come give a lesson in your home.  They’re probably supposed to visit and teach members anyway and may not have gotten to you yet (or are too shy/busy to ask you).

Sharing Time ideas on Repentance

and more Sharing Time ideas on Repentance

Coloring picture Jonah Repents

Roller-box story about a boy repenting for taking some toys

Roll-play the following stories: GAK 309 (Alma Baptizes in the Waters of Mormon), GAK 310 (Ammon Defends the Flocks of King Lamoni), GAK 311 (The Anti-Nephi-Lehies Burying Their Swords). Each of these stories tells of people who lived lives of rebellion, repented, and turned to serve the Lord.

FHE Resource Book lesson on repentance.

Momorize Article of Faith #3 or #4

An online compilation of these and other Repentance lessons.

An object lesson using “sins be as scarlet” Isaiah scripture.

Watch the Book of Mormon Stories video segment on Alma the Younger.

Steps to repentance lesson with printable word strips.

Now, for our family, here’s the plan:

Song: Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam

Prayer

Lesson: I think we’ll do the object lesson with the food coloring, then watch the segment on Alma the Younger.

Activity: Duck, duck, Goose

Song: I am a Child of God

Prayer

Treat: Strawberries, or maybe a piece of candy out of the Halloween candy stash in the cupboard

Adapting this to little ones is a bit challenging for me, but I have a couple of ideas.

1. Go on a treasure hunt where the three clues are the three pieces of the treasure map Pres. Monson mentions.  Have treats at the end of the treasure hunt.

2. Pres. Monson quotes The Music Man in his article saying “You pile up enough tomorrows, and you’ll find you’ve collected a lot of empty yesterdays.”  Read that, discuss goals we need to quit procrastinating, and then watch The Music Man as a family.

3. Pres. Monson quotes someone as saying “Don’t save something only for a special occasion. Every day in your life is a special occasion.”  Do something you would on a special occassion.  Have everyone tell everyone else they love them.  Have a treat on your best dishes/china.  Wear fancy clothes to FHE.  Make a cake with candles to show that today is special.  Make one goal as a family that helps you live in the present.

4. Pres. Monson talks about preparing for the future.  Talk about things like emergency preparedness (food storage, 72 hour kits), financial preparations (savings, missions, education, etc.), and/or education.  Use pictures representing each topic on a flannel board.

Sing “Keep the Commandments,” Hymn 303 and “I Hope They Call me on a Mission” CS 169.

Treat: chocolate gold coins would be an ideal “treasure” for this lesson, or a cake with candles to show it’s a special occassion

Church leaders have instructed members to set aside Monday night as "family home evening." This is a time for families to study the gospel together and to do other activities that strengthen the family spiritually, create family memories, and increase unity and love. (Click here for more official church info on FHE)

Here's what I found: 

Deseret Book puts out an FHE packet on a new theme each week.  Click here for a link to their archive.

Families in Zion has FHE lessons on a bunch of topics.

There are a couple of Yahoo! groups dedicated to FHE ideas and lesson.  For example, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fhe4children/ or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LDSsharing/ or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FHEIdeas/ are a good start.  Some have archives you can search through and ideas for forming FHE Co-ops to share lesson ideas among several families.

The Primary manuals are a great place to get lesson plans.  In all the Church magazines you can find ideas at the end of articles, and The Friend is great in particular for children.  Of course, the Family Home Evening Resource Book is the perfect place to start.

You'll find a FHE Planner here.  And more church quick tips here.