A weekly family night is a great habit to start! If you want to spend quality time together where kids help plan and implement the evening, this is a great idea!
We have been doing a weekly family night ever since our kids were little. We have five members in our family and so we have a five job rotation:
Song, Prayer, Lesson, Activity and Treat.
We try to do it every Monday night, but sometimes the day has to change if the circumstances are different that week. But we try very hard to set aside that time every week. We believe that if you put your family time first, everything else will fall into place.
We are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and our weekly family night song, prayer, and lesson revolve around learning about the gospel of Jesus Christ and strengthening our testimonies of Him.
Song and Prayer are the easiest of the five choices. A song is often chosen from our church’s children’s or traditional hymn book. I will play the piano or we will sing acapella (without musical accompaniment). The prayer is then given. And then we move into the lesson. Whoever is on the lesson can choose whatever topic they want. My kids will often choose something from our church’s children’s magazine, The Friend. It’s full of uplifting and faith-building stories, games, and recipes. You can get an inexpensive subscription to it here.
If Charlie or I are on lesson, we will sometimes use the time to discuss things that have been on our mind, read the scriptures together, or do our church’s weekly gospel study and questions (a program called Come Follow Me). Feel free to reach out to me if you have questions about what we believe. You can also contact our church here and have local missionaries reach out to you!
The favorite Family Night jobs are always activity and treat.
Activity can be anything fun at home. Every once in awhile we will do a bigger activity and go somewhere, but oftentimes, especially during the school year, we don’t have time for that so we limit the activity to something done at home. We have done so many different activities over the years. Here are a few ideas to get you thinking:
- Board games
- Card games
- Tag/other run around games
- Soccer
- Volleyball
- Horseshoes
- Outdoor fire
- Watch a movie/show
- Play Nintendo
- Swimming
- Go on a walk
- Play at a close park
- Charades
- Simon says
- Mother May I
- Red Light, Green Light
- Art project
- Craft
- Service
And lastly, we have a treat. Oftentimes, depending on the activity, we do this at the same time. My kids love to pick the treat. Again, there are so many different options, but I sometimes have to limit my kids to what they can pick based on what time I have. Whoever is on treat and activity, I always have them tell me their choice earlier in the day so I can be prepared for whatever time we need. Here are some treat ideas:
- Homemade cookies
- Homemade brownies
- Homemade one-bowl chocolate cake
- Donuts
- Shakes
- Smoothies
- McDonalds Sundaes
- Apples and peanut butter dip
- No bake cookies
- Ice cream cones
- Fresh fruit
Of course, do what your family likes! And you definitely don’t have to go as sugary as we do :). I definitely have a sweet tooth…
Part of the fun is letting your kids be in charge of their job for the week! I sometimes have to remind my kids that the lesson needs to be centered on gospel learning. Sometimes I have to remind them that the activity can’t last for too long. And sometimes the dessert has to alter depending on my time availability.
But I try really hard to let them choose.
That’s what makes them feel like they are truly contributing. And then instead of Family Night being a drudgery or a waste of time, we all look forward to the time we get to spend together. We look forward to a break from the business of school, summer fun, work, or lessons. We are always closer as a family after Family Night. I hope yours can be too!
Let me know how it goes and any other fun ideas you have!
Have a great Family Night!
~ Rachel