We have another Guest Post/Free Stuff/Stuff We Like to give away (maybe we need to rethink these categories)! This one is from Rebecca Irvine, author of a great blog (Scripture Mom with a recent post of 10 Quiet Conference Activities to complement what Lisa started) and the published author of the book you see here. You guessed it: she’s going to give one away to one of our readers. Leave a comment by the end of conference weekend, Sunday night, October 5th at midnight MST to be eligible. We’ll choose one random winner.
The topic of scripture study is especially timely, I think, because of General Conference: a chance to take a deep drink at the well, gather my wits about me, and determine (again) to do better. And as I reread this list, I realize that all of these tips would be useful to improve my own personal scripture study, which can get pretty dull and routine. See what you think! And, by all means, if you have any tips that have worked for your solo scripture study, for your family, your spouse, your friends, your ward, please, PLEASE share in the comments below. All we have is a chance to do better tomorrow.
Thanks for the practical post and the fun giveaway, Rebecca!
Rachel
Five Tips for Successful Family Scripture Study Sessions
Holding family scripture study can be one of the most challenging commandments to keep, especially if you are the parent of young children. The trick is to get organized and motivated enough to establish family scripture study as a regular part of your day. Here are a few tips and tricks that have worked well for my family:
1. Time After Time Time plays an important factor in family scripture study in two separate ways. First, when should family scripture study be held? IM(humble)O anything that absolutely has to be done during the day should be done early in the morning. I hold scripture time with my children the last five minutes before they leave for school in the morning. On the weekends we do it while eating breakfast (the whole captive audience thing works well). Of course there are those extra hectic days when we run out of time or forget, but the point is to find a time that fits into your family routine and it becomes habit.
Second, the length of scripture study time should be appropriate to the ages and attention span of family members. In the case of families with young children the term “study” may be somewhat of a misnomer—we all know how well a six year old would pay attention in a 45-minute Gospel Doctrine class. She wouldn’t. But she is likely to survive a five to 10-minute lesson. Be willing to let your family scripture study time evolve and grow with the capabilities of your children.
2. Be Prepared Boy Scouts do not have a monopoly on being prepared. Take a little time to prepare and then your family will be set for holding family scripture study for a week or more. Some preparations you might make ahead of time include:
- Decide ahead of time your strategy for study, whether it is by story, topic, or something else. Put your plan on paper to help keep your family on track.
- Keep your scriptures in a convenient location to where you hold study time.
- Look up and bookmark scriptures ahead of time.
- Find visual aids beforehand.
3. Attitude Schmattitude One of the main reasons for holding family scripture study is so parents can help children to learn to love the scriptures. If parents have a negative or frustrated attitude when doing scripture study time children will be less inclined to enjoy or learn to love the scriptures. And forget having the Spirit there to help. So, although it can be difficult to get everyone together at the same time and in a cooperative mood, parents should be conscious of their own attitude and do everything possible to make those few minutes positive and happy.
4. Busy Hands Make Happy Hearts The third key to having a successful family scripture study time with children is to get them actively involved. Some tricks I use include having a child read the scripture verse(s) out loud, using visual aids (the Gospel Art Kit is wonderful), and asking kids questions about what was read. Additionally, having a hands-on component can be very helpful. One summer we studied the 13 Articles of Faith by making a collage for each one; the kids loved gluing on the pictures we found for the collages.
5. Real Scriptures vs. Scripture Stories Retold There are a number of really good scripture storybooks out there that can be used to enhance family scripture study time for children. And there is great value in helping children to understand the overall story lines of the scriptures. However, be sure to also include real scriptures; the earlier children gain a feel for scripture verbiage the better. Since my DH is not home for our morning scripture time, we also take time as a family to read from a scripture storybook before bedtime. Another good idea is to read a verse or two from the actual scripture stories to supplement the storybook—that way children have the benefits of both options.
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