Better Home Evenings—Plan on It

Our best family home evenings have been those we’ve planned beforehand. Sometimes, however, it’s hard to get the family together during a hectic week to do the necessary preparation. The result can be a hasty, uninspired lesson and a focus on refreshments.

The solution for us is to use a planning sheet. The headings in the left margin call for the date. Other headings can indicate the names of those who will offer the prayer, lead the song, present the lesson, prepare refreshments, and arrange the activities; items needed; things to discuss; special assignments; and planning for the next week.

If each heading is listed in order, the planning sheet serves as an agenda as well. We post the planning sheet and refer to it during the week. Planning ahead for family home evenings is easy to do, and the rewards of doing so are immediately apparent.—Joan P. Pearce, Whitley Bay, England