3 Empowering TIPS for Teaching at Home with “Come Follow Me”

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3 Empowering TIPS for Teaching your Family at Home with "Come Follow Me" The shift to more gospel learning at home may be unfamiliar, but it doesn't have to be intimidating! As a homeschool mom and one who used to be SO INTIMIDATED to teach my children at home, I have honed in on three things that I feel are MOST IMPORTANT and HELPFUL when it comes to teaching the gospel at home. They have helped me to LOVE and really appreciate this time teaching my kids and I hope they will help YOU too! #lds #comefollowme — (notice Thea’s interest in dressing herself as of late)

The shift to more gospel learning at home may feel a bit daunting, but it doesn’t have to be! As a homeschool mom and one who used to be SO INTIMIDATED to teach my children at home, I have honed in on three things that I feel are MOST IMPORTANT and HELPFUL when it comes to teaching the gospel at home. They have helped me to LOVE and really appreciate this time teaching my kids and I know they can help YOU too!

This can apply to daily family scripture study, family home evening, or any come follow me lessons.

1. KEEP IT SIMPLE

There are A LOT of additional resources available, but you don’t have to use them! You don’t! (Did you just breathe a little easier?)

Stick with the “Come Follow Me” manual and your scriptures and you can expand from there as your family and the Spirit directs. Simplicity CREATES SPACE for you to be guided in a way that will be best for you and your family.

My kids just turned seven and four (my toddler twins usually just play while we do this) and often when we sit down to read, we might only get through ONE VERSE and a whole discussion starts from there. That’s when the Spirit can guide.

I ask them questions and we start talking. If they have questions, we talk more. If they don’t seem to be interested or understand, I might pull out some pictures or we’ll look up a video or find some other object that will help them grasp the lesson better. All IN THE MOMENT. I rarely ever plan our daily studies ahead, I definitely study the material ahead of time and gain my own insights, but then I pray and let the Spirit and my family guide. Things grow so well that way.

Some days we just read a few verses and we’re done, especially if we’re having trouble staying focused or participating.

It’s EBB AND FLOW. Some days will be better than others, we often struggle to get everyone to sit and stay “focused,” but we are GROWING and I can already see the beauty from it.

2. FOLLOW THE SPIRIT

The Spirit of God is our greatest teacher and most powerful resource for helping us to know what our family needs to learn, and then helping them to learn it.

Begin with a prayer to invite the Spirit and PRAY on your own each day to know what your family needs to focus on. Direction will come as you move forward and do things the best you know how. (Don’t wait for it.)

Don’t be afraid to go on TANGENTS, those are often prompted by the Spirit through you or your children.

Bear brief TESTIMONY when you can– how you’ve seen the principles work in your life. Let the Holy Ghost witness the truth to them. Those feelings are often the only things we remember after a lesson, but they are the most important.

3. CONNECT

Teaching is as much an opportunity for your kids to CONNECT with you as it is for them to LEARN from you.

Keep calm when gathering everyone. The rest of the house may not be calm but you can help set the tone. KINDESS precedes connection.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in parenting young children, it’s that the way you treat them sends a stronger message than what you teach them. If we teach them with all the LOVE we can muster, they are more likely to be receptive to it. And if we speak with love, the Spirit will be more able to reach them.

Kids are more capable of learning and understanding than we often assume. Ask questions beyond the basics, questions that will SPARK THEIR INTEREST and allow them to contribute in a way that is meaningful to THEM. Tune in to what interests them. Notice where their interest peaks and capitalize on that.

As for making a family home evening (or any weekly lesson),

FIT IT TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY–

If you like to make crafts, make crafts, if you like to bake treats, bake treats. If you like to have someone else prepare a lesson for you, go online and find one (there are lots!! — @Familyhomeevening123 @comefollowmefhe and sugardoodle.net are great. There’s also a whole host of other places for inspiration and resources like Pinterest, Google, and LDS.org). But remember that you don’t have to! Do what works for you!

*My biggest & SIMPLEST go-to resources for any lesson with young kids are:

PICTURES (the gospel art book is often all you need) and I love the Gospel Stories Book from the LDS Distribution Center (for just over $4!!) (Sometimes we read these at night as part of our bedtime stories and the kids really like it.)

ACTIONS (let them act it out, hold something, point to something, imagine a scenario with eyes closed, do hand motions, anything that gets them INVOLVED.)

-Teaching about Lehi’s family in the wilderness and they don’t seem interested?

*Let them IMAGINE what it feels like when they’re really hungry.

* TELL them the story about how Nephi’s bow broke and how they couldn’t get food.

*ASK them how they might FEEL and what they might DO about it.

*Let them ACT it out.

This could all happen in just 5 or 10 minutes! You can have a conversation about faith or prayer or how God will help us with our problems. You could even go around sharing experiences if you have time. It’s that simple! (And can be so powerful!)

I could go on about this, but these have stood out to me as the most important. I hope they are helpful tips for you! Teaching at home may seem intimidating at first, especially with young children, but if we practice these things, it won’t be! And we can even feel empowered to do so.

We can keep it SIMPLE, teach by the SPIRIT, and CONNECT in meaningful ways with our children. And there’s not much more important than that. 🙂

Thankful

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Sunday, November 6

Earlier in the day I was feeling kind of crummy, and focusing on it too. Made me feel even more crummy. But then the afternoon came with its golden hues and unusual warmth for November, and I sat in a camping chair wrapped in a fluffy blanket basking in the best sounds I know.

It changed everything.

The kids were squealing and giggling as Jake rolled around in the burrito blanket playing steamroller. Jake and I were laughing too, the kids were so funny as they tried to jump and dodge him. They loved it. Then I’d hear Ava yell, “A car’s coming!” with Hyrum’s echo of “Car’s coming!” just as dramatic as hers. And with that they were quickly inside Daddy’s blanket where they all huddled until it passed.

In those moments I was entirely focused on some of my greatest joys, and nothing else could fit. No negativity, sickness, or whatever was so consuming before. I was so happy.

I brought out a pan of orange jello Ava and I made earlier, the kind that is packed with delicious mandarin oranges. The four of us sat together on the trampoline with our forks and blankets, and cleared that whole pan in five minutes flat. Doesn’t get better than that. #mamanotes

Monday, November 7

I had a painful headache for most of the day today. I was lying in bed at the end of the day with the 15th (or what seemed like it) movie on for the kids in the next room, and called Jake to ask when he would be coming home. I told him how I was feeling and he said he’d come right home. I felt like saying thank you and I love you ten times over to him for saving the day. When he walked in the door I could hear the kids SO happily yell, “Daddy!!” Then it was quiet until a quick, “Rawr!” and little giggles when the kids found his hiding place. I smiled from under my covers, imagining all those happy faces. And I just love hearing his voice when he comes home.

It was funny as they made their way upstairs, Jake asked them if they wanted to watch a movie and they both said no without any hesitation. 🙈Haha! That is so rare, Jake and I both laughed. Obviously they had movie overload today… He made a quick run to the gas station for a drink for me, then we whipped up some macaroni and cheese and frozen veggies and went around the table a few times saying things we were thankful for. We have SO MUCH to be thankful for. I was amazed at Ava’s responses. She talked so much about how she loves Heavenly Father’s creations and this beautiful Earth and probably mentioned being grateful for her family at least three times. Hyrum just chomped on his popcicle, but when we asked him if he was grateful for all these things too, he said, “yes,” with that cute lisp of his.

We really have so much to be grateful for.
#mamanotes

I hope she always does

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mother and daughter

She fell asleep on me as I sat in the rocking chair singing her songs about ponies while Hyrum babbled and yelled at our feet, playing with mini flashlights and shining them in our faces. She was pretending at first, I could see her smirky smile beneath her closed eyes. But then off to sleep she went, because any time she holds still for a few minutes, she is quick to doze off. She is go-go-go, never wanting to miss a thing, and not wanting to slow down, a lot like me.

We had family home evening over spaghetti just the three of us because Jake was working late. I told them the story of Shadrach Meeshach and Abendago and how they got thrown into the big fire by the King of Babylon because they prayed to God. I asked Ava what she thought happened. She said that it would all be ok because God would protect them, He would take care of them. She has faith this little one. And protect them He did. They were completely unharmed, standing in the midst of the fire with an angel. After that the king believed. And I believe too. I know that if we are doing our best to follow Jesus Christ and do His will, we’ll be taken care of. We can have faith in that. It will all work out. I love that Ava believes that too, I hope she always does. #mamanotes

Tuesday

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Sunday. Hyrum fell asleep on the way home, so I carried him up to his crib, got Ava a snack, then rested on the family room couch. I was soon asleep, and woke only briefly when Jake came home. He went downstairs to watch scripture videos with Ava, and I went back to sleep. I woke to the sound of Hyrum stepping down the stairs, one at a time, his elephant hanging from his hand, calling, “ma!” in his little raspy wake up voice. We went downstairs to find Jake and Ava asleep, so we put on our shoes and wandered out back for a little walk by the pasture near our house. Hyrum stopped and squated to observe every moving thing, every grasshopper, cricket, and ant. And he loved to watch the horses. “Mom, orse, neigh!” he’d say.

We had breakfast for dinner, I burned the bacon so we opened the doors and windows before the smoke alarm went off. All the flies came in. After dinner at Ava’s request, we went outside to the trampoline to watch the sunset. So many giggles playing out there. In true Schellenberg fashion, Jake was jumping and rolling in his Sunday best. The kids loved having him home. We stayed until the sun went down and the colors got brighter, then huddled downstairs to watch home movies. Hyrum wandered around the room most of the time, but Ava seemed so captivated, smiling as she watched her 1 year old self babbling away.

It’s Tuesday now, but I wanted to write that down to remember it. Surely the day was not without meltdowns and messes, but it was our together time, the four of us, and it was so good as simple as that. #mamanotes

Monday. I sat against the garage with my recipe book and sticky pad, waiting for Ava’s bus and trying to come up with a menu for the week. I like planning the meals, and a new recipe sounds like fun until the end of the day when I’m so tired that tuna sandwiches sounds like a great idea. So tuna sandwiches it was!

I packed steamed veggies in a tupperware, grabbed a can of pineapple, and wrapped some forks in napkins and we had ourselves a nice little picnic at the park! Jake replaced the tire on my bike when he got home, so we packed the picnic supplies in the back of Hyrum’s bike trailer, and biked around for a bit before stopping to eat at the park. Ava ate mostly pineapple and Hyrum ate everything. The sun went down quickly so we didn’t stay long. For family home evening we talked about the story of the Ten Lepers and how God gives us miracles and blessings too–then we went outside and looked at the stars with Jake’s new super laser pointer. It kind of scares me how strong it is, but the kids loved it.

Lately the kids have had a hard time getting to sleep because Hyrum keeps getting out of his crib. A lot of times he rolls out onto Ava’s bed, but then they chat and giggle or tease and neither of them gets to sleep. Well last night they fell asleep in the same bed! Hyrum was kind of on top of her all sprawled out, but it was the cutest thing. We put him in his crib, then retired for the night ourselves at 9:30! That’s been our goal for a LONG time and it felt pretty good to stick to it. #mamanotes

Mama Notes

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Wrote a few mamanotes from the other day…

By the time the afternoon rolled around yesterday, I was beat. Fortunately the storm rolled in along with it, and Ava was tired too. She liked the idea of chocolate chips and storm watching just as much as I did. So she laid her head on my lap right there on the kitchen floor by the back screen door as the clouds deepened and the breeze thickened with rain. And that was just what we both needed. #mamanotes

I walked into our bedroom after I checked on the kids and turned off the hall light. Jake was in bed laughing to himself. “What’s so funny?” I asked. “I’m just replaying in my head our race with Ava to eat our salads.” Our four year old might have a strong will, but she is always up for a race. Whether it’s a race to brush her teeth, get into bed, or eat her spinach salad, for some reason it works every time! So when she was adamant that she didn’t want to finish her spinach leaves and ranch dip, Jake said to her, “Let’s see who can finish their salads the fastest!” Without hesitation, she grabbed a green leaf, dipped it in the ranch, and threw it into her mouth.
And then the part Jake was laughing about– she looked at us, then with both hands like a bull dozer, wiped her whole pile of spinach through the dip in one swipe and stuffed it all into her mouth.

Jake and I stopped mid-chewing our second bite to see her smiling as best she could with her cheeks stuffed and her lips lined in dressing. Within a minute it was chewed and swallowed, and that little girl creamed us, flat. 😂👏 #mamanotes

Yesterday while Hyrum napped Ava said to me, “I want to play with you Mom.” So play we did. She giggled as she trotted straight towards me hiding behind that trash can. I was sure she peeked while she counted. When she came up to me laughing I said, “Hey, did you peek?” to which she replied with equal laughter, “No I could see your bum sticking out!” 😂👏 I carried her back to the house on my shoulders after a few games of crack the egg and follow the leader on the trampoline. I felt that if there was one good, important thing I needed to do that day, it was that. I feel like we grow closer in these moments than most any other time. And we need it. We will always need it. #mamanotes

And just a few from the day Jake found a little baby bird on our front lawn and we spent part of our family home evening finding worms for it. How did I never know that hose trick?!

1. KEEP IT SIMPLE​

2. FOLLOW THE SPIRIT​

3. CONNECT

1. KEEP IT SIMPLE

2. FOLLOW THE SPIRIT