The person assigned to conducting Family Home Evening should fill out the following outline ahead of time, as well as assign family members for the prayers, lesson, activity, refreshments, etc.
Printable Outline (The underline is where you write the title of the lesson.)
TITLE OF THE LESSON
Objective: What your family is to learn from the lesson.
Opening Song: Select a hymn to sing, from either the LDS Church Hymnbook or the Children's Songbook. Choosing a song that accompanies the lesson is a great way to start your Family Home Evening. For help see the LDS Music resources.
Opening Prayer: Ask a family member, ahead of time, to give the opening prayer.
Family Business: This is the time to discuss things of importance to your family, such as meetings, trips, and activities of both parents and children. Some items of family business can include:
- Discussing events of the upcoming week
- Planning future outing and activities
- Talking about family needs or things to be improved/worked on
- Finding ways to serve others in need
Lesson: This is where the heart of the evening should be. Whether it is a story or object lesson it can focus on an LDS topic, a community issue, or other topics of interest. Some ideas include eternal families, respect, baptism, the Plan of Salvation, littering, the Holy Ghost, etc. Youth and children should have opportunities of preparing and teaching a Family Home Evening lesson although they may need some help. For lesson helps check out the Lessons and Talks and Visual and Musical Aids categories.
Testimony: The person teaching can share their testimony about the topic, if applicable, at the end of their lesson. Alternatively another family member could be assigned to share their testimony after the lesson.
Closing Song: You can select another hymn or song that reflects on the lesson topic.
Closing Prayer: Ask a family member, ahead of time, to give the closing prayer.
Activity: This is the time to bring your family together by doing something together! It can be anything fun, like a simple family activity, a planned outing, a craft, or a great game! It doesn't have to go along with the lesson, but definitely can if you have any appropriate ideas. See these great resources for some fun ideas:
- Family Home Evening Games
- Activity Ideas
- 101+ Family Night Activity Ideas
- Puzzles, Games, Quizzes, and Crafts
- General Conference Activities
Note: To help remind each family member of their assignments for FHE you could print out one of these Family Home Evening Wheel Charts!
See the Family Home Evening Category for even more great ideas and resources!