Family home evening went so well this week! i think that
everyone from my 2 yr. old up to my 20 yr old was able to understand and
participate. It's really hard to prepare lessons and activities that everyone
can enjoy. We have a slight problem in my household due to Bren who is 13 and
is labeled as High Functioning Autism. When Bren gets overwhelmed in a
situation whether noise, visual stimulation, nervous/anxious or just lost because
too many of the a fore mentioned issues he says things he doesn't mean. It
maybe calling people names, I hate you, or one of many versions of Everyone
hates me, I'm going to shoot myself. He is number 3 of 8 his younger 5 siblings
catch these phrases of his quite quickly. After Q my almost 3 yr. old called
his church class teacher a "Jerkhead" because she made him share a
toy I knew it was time to start really focusing on teaching my family the
importance of the things we say. Now while I know that Bren will forever say
things that make me cringe and cry, my other children don't need to. Yes, I
realize this is a double standard, but I have to pick my battles and right now
this is not one that I choose to fight with him. My other children start to
realize there is a difference in him when they are about 8 and when they start
asking questions then we tell them about Bren's challenges and explain some of
the struggles they don't see in their brother. This lesson even made Bren think
about it for a few minutes. So here ya' go.
Words Matter!
I used ideas from 2
different places online Or So She Says... and How Does She? They both had great
stories and ideas. In my head, with my family taking a bit here and a tad there
made the perfect lesson! Here's what I ended up with;
Display the "Words Matter" sign (I used this one).
Opening Song : Kindness Begins With Me
Who can tell me what a builder is? Let anyone who wants to
answer, make sure you leave the emphasis on, a person that builds things and
fixes things.
Who can tell me what a bulldozer is? Again anyone who wants
to answer, make sure you leave with the emphasis that they tear things apart
and knock things down.
Now, who can tell me how people, us can be like a builder or
a bulldozer? Let the answers flow, making sure that the answer We can either
build people up by being kind like a builder does or we can be like a bulldozer
and tear people down by being mean. (Many ideas came from this question)
Pres. Gordon B. Hinkley said "“You are good. But it is not enough just to be good. you must be good for something. You must contribute good to the world. The world must be a better place for your
presence. And the good that is in you
must be spread to others…” We need to be kind to all the people around us, to
our family and friends, teachers, and
many others, even strangers in the street need kindness.
I have a story, I want you to listen and tell me if the
person telling it was a builder or a bulldozer.
" The day I met Luis was the day I realized my most
important responsibility in life was to be a builder. Luis sulked into my classroom, plopped
himself into a desk, and put his head down.
He did that the entire 45 minutes of class. In fact, he did that for three days, despite
my requests for him to “wake up.” On the
fourth day, when Luis plopped himself down and checked out before class even began, I walked over and plopped down in
the desk beside him. I noticed his
muscle car binder and commented on it.
“Cool car, “ I said. “What kind
is it?”
His head
immediately perked and a spark entered his previously listless eyes. He proceeded to explain to me in vivid detail
the awesomeness of this particular car.
To make a long story short, Luis was the low man on the social totem
pole of high school. He’d just
transferred from a different school and left all of his friends behind. He was largely overweight and the target of
teasing and terrible comments. How would
it feel to be Luis? I imagine incredibly
alone.
Every day
when Luis came to class, I said at least one kind thing to him. Cool jacket, the Braves are having a good
year. I loved reading your free-write
about horses; where did you learn to ride?
Hey Luis, that’s a great book—what do you think about… It was like no one had ever talked to him
like that. Over the course of 16 weeks,
Luis went from head down on the desk, zero participation, and not turning a
single thing in, to getting involved and even making new friends. At the end of the semester, he left a small,
gift wrapped box on my desk with a note that simply said, Thank you for being
nice."
What do you think? Builder or Bulldozer? Repeat the quote by
Pres. Hinkley
Now, I have a video for you to watch.
How did those girls feel? Do you think they knew that was
how those boys saw them? Do you think those boys had ever told them before?
Were those boys builders or bulldozers? I would love for us all to be builders,
especially in our home with each other. There are enough people that are mean
and cruel with the things they say, we shouldn't be one of them.
Close with your testimony.
Activity: We played a game, but you could do the activity
mentioned here.
Closing song: A Special Gift pg. 145
Treat: cookies
Hopefully this helps and gives you ideas!
