Kids and Conference

I have two small boys, something that most returning readers are more than aware of. Because of this fact I have been asked by a few people how I actually watch - and enjoy - four two hour sessions of General Conference in a two day span. Are you curious too? Well, here's my not so secret secret: candy. Yup, this health conscience - lead by example - berries are an awesome dessert Mama uses CANDY to illicit compliant behaviour on occasion. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I set out bowls of candy and say "only those watching can partake!" Instead I make a game of it, and every time a key word is heard then Darius gets 1 jellybean/skittle/m&m or whatever treat he picked out. Not only does this make it into a game for him, but he listens intently so he can receive a treat. I have done this for two conferences [this weekend will be Darius' third full weekend of conference] now and it works like a charm! Last conference his key word was "Jesus Christ" or any of the synonyms used in the scriptures. After two full days of conditioning it took a while for his candy reflex to relax, and it was common place for him to shout out during sacrament meeting "I heard Jesus Christ!!!" I'm not sure what the rest of the congregation thought by these exclamations ha ha!

Pinterest being the excellent source for all things that it is, I have compiled other Mama's favourite ways to help there kids enjoy and look forward to conference [as opposed to the opposite...no one wants a scheduled semi-annual power struggle with their kids] and thought I would share them with you.

To download yours for free, check out this link! It contains all sorts of colouring and attention activities - perfect for your primary star!

This printable puts crayons to good use!

another colouring page - because we all know busy hands keep sweet ones happy!

What about building your own Reverence Tent? For the story behind it, and a good way to present the idea to your kids, look here.

Another great idea is to do a "Conference Wall" to organise pictures of the speakers by the topics on which they speak. Great idea for visual learners! For the details on it, check out this blog.

As for us, we'll be expanding our 'keywords' to nine, having a treat or snack attached to each, and I am going to try to build a reverence tent tonight to surprise the boys with in the morning. There's nothing like a tent to make conference a special gathering!