Lollipops and Family

What opportunities are there for learning and teaching in the home?

A couple Sundays ago I taught a lesson to our youth Sunday School class to go along with the August theme of Marriage and Family.  

I started the lesson with writing "How to be a good friend:" on the board.  I asked the class what they think makes a good friend, qualities or characteristics of their closest friends.  After having the board full of ideas I crossed out the word friend and wrote brother or sister.  Which was met with a lot of groans from the class. haha!

I talked about how important family is and how my siblings are my closest friends and I'm pretty sure they always will be.  We talked about memories that they had of their siblings (which weren't always good) and we talked about how they could learn and teach in those instances.  We also talked about how they could change the negative experiences so they could act differently or learn from them.

The role of the family in God's plan is "to bring us happiness, to help us learn correct principles in a loving atmosphere, and to prepare us for eternal life."  I asked the youth if they feel this way at home and if they help make home life sweet.  

We then talked about how it would be if they were parents and had children to take care of.  What would be their responsibilities toward their children?  We then read Mosiah 4:14-15.  I then asked if they respect their parents and help them fulfill those responsibilities.

We watched the video "A Heaven-Inspired Program", and talked about the importance of learning the gospel with our families through family scripture study, prayer and family home evening.  

L. Tom Perry said, "Family is the center of life."  Do we treat our family like they are the most important thing?

I asked the youth if they had ever seen the process of a lollipop being made.  I showed them THIS video, and told them that our family is kind of like that.  We each come from the same batch but are individual people.  Sometimes we go through hard times and are pulled and stretched and it can get heated, but at the end of the day we are put together and never separated.  We need to value the different colors and flavors that our siblings and parents bring to the mix of each family.

I challenged the youth to think about a family member that they can serve some way this week.  It didn't have to be a big thing, something little would be perfect.  

For the handout I gave everyone a small lollipop to remind them that they can make life at home sweet by being a good family member!  You can find the lollipops HERE!

If you'd like the free printable of "Family is the center of life." you can find it HERE!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway I have going on this week.  It's a movie night giveaway full of movie, candy and a popcorn machine!  Enter HERE!

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