Twice a year our church holds General Conference. It's broadcast via TV, internet and at our church buildings throughout the world. There are 2 sessions on Saturday and 2 sessions on Sunday where various church leaders inspire and counsel us. If you'd like to hear for yourself you can check out all the sessions HERE or watch the highlights HERE.
Sitting through a 2 hour session can be hard for little kids. Let's face it, it can be hard for older kids and adults too. So to make conference more meaningful for the kids (and to keep them quiet so us adults can listen) I came up with the idea to make conference notebooks. Now I'm sure someone else on Pinterest has thought of this idea and it's nothing new, but it was the first time we did it.
For the supplies I gathered up the following:
some old Friend Magazines (that is our church magazine for kids)
construction paper of various colors
scissors
glue
crayons, colored pencils, markers
The idea was to listen to a talk, pick out a word (or more) and find that object in the Friend magazine. Then to cut it out and glue it onto the construction paper. After conference we'd attach the papers together to form a book that would include what was talked about in conference.
We did this on the floor in the office so we could watch Conference on the computer. I also put down a plastic tablecloth for my 4 year old to color on top of to protect the carpet.
Now that was the idea.
In reality, the girls loved making books, they just didn't make conference books. I found some stencils and added them to the mix at the last minute and those were a big hit. The girls used the stencils to make all kinds of designs and scenes.
So while this didn't make conference any more meaningful for the kids, it did keep them busy and quiet so the adults could enjoy the messages and feel the Spirit.
Anyone else have any great ideas on how to get kids involved in General Conference? We've tried Conference Bingo and giving out sweets for hearing various words but have found that becomes a bit distracting.
I know this post is after the fact, our baby boy decided to make his arrival on conference Sunday. So be sure to PIN this idea for next conference.
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