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Written and Submitted by Amy D.

Picture this . . . It's a Monday night, you have just finished clearing away the dishes, after the hurried dinner (leftovers), which barely got thrown on the table in time, because you were late picking up the oldest child from piano lessons, because the baby is sick again and the Doctor's Office was a nightmare! Then it hits you -- Family Home Evening!

NO WORRIES . . . you have your lesson all prepared. The visual aids are colored, the game cards laminated, and the handouts are copied!! There are even a few ideas for treats you might explore -- since you have plenty of time!!

Yes, this could be reality -- but it does take a little advanced preparation and hard work. All you need is a bunch of fun mom's, great ideas, and a lot of Laminating!! Not only does a Family Home Evening Group make it easy, it is fun and rewarding to boot.

How to Get Started
All you need for a great FHE Group is a bunch of really cool moms that don't mind coloring, cutting, and laminating really great lessons over and over until there is one set for every member of the group. Then you set a time and place to meet for the lesson exchange, food, and of course socializing.

Ask ward members to find out who might be interested in doing an exchange and try to gather a group of no more than 10** (I now have 2 groups of 10, and a group of 12, with people waiting to form another group.). Distribute a "Guideline Sheet" and set a date to meet in 3 or 4 months.

The whole idea is for each person to pick a topic and make up 10 sets of the lesson material. All should be cut, colored, and laminated so that they are ready to go. Each lesson should include:

• lesson outline
• story/lesson
• game
• scripture poster
• handouts
• song suggestions
• adaptations for older/younger children
• refreshments, and treat ideas

Bag each lesson in 2 gallon zip lock bags -- very handy to grab on the fly. Then meet (rotate between members houses) and take turns going through and explaining each lesson to the rest of the group. It is like Christmas to come home with 10 or 12 FHE lessons ready to go! Bring your favorite dish and recipe and it becomes a dinner out as well!

It is always a ton of fun, and everyone has such great ideas! There are a few things to watch for... a member of the group who doesn't produce quality material (what then?? feelings could be hurt -- avoid this by making sure they all know in advance what is expected...), it can be quite costly in copies and laminating (SO worth it to me... again, make sure everyone is willing), duplicate lessons (have each person call the group leader with their topic as soon as they have it so you can avoid duplication -- first come first serve)... and sometimes copyright laws can be restrictive.

** I would suggest a limit of 10 people per group. Our group of 12 is fun but it is WAY hard to make that many sets. Don't underestimate the work -- I spend many hours coloring and cutting -- I am always thinking UGH right before the exchange, and thinking YEAH after!

I have done this for years and my 6 kids love family night. It is also easy to assign a lesson to my oldest kids (10 and 8 yrs) so they can practice! I am never at a loss for a child's talk for Primary, Sharing time aids, or a last minute lesson for nursery.

Good Luck!

-Amy D.

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