Everyone Has a Part

Sustained interest in family home evening is a real challenge at our house because of the wide age span of our children. And while we don’t always have outstanding family home evenings, we have discovered some ways to make them more successful.

We have found that preparing for family home evening on a level that the youngest reasoning child can understand, with the older ones doing some of the teaching, storytelling, or directing of games, works best for us.

Some time ago we realized that we weren’t using the Church publications as effectively as we could. So one Monday evening, after we’d begun as usual with a song, a prayer, and family business, Dad invited each of us to choose a current Church publication and to prepare something from it that would interest the whole family. The children went to quiet places throughout the house with their magazines or newspapers. About thirty minutes later we reassembled to share what we had read or done.

The smallest children showed illustrations from the Friend and told us stories about their pictures. One of our teenagers read a stirring missionary account from the Church News, and another read an inspirational short story from the New Era. An older child read a powerful conference address to us from the Ensign. The evening was enjoyable and informative, and everyone participated. This activity and others like it help our children know the value we place on these family get-togethers.—Beverly G. Jenkins, Orem, Utah

Photography by Matthew Reier; photo props by David McDonald