Skip to main content

Conference


I have to say, I had grand visions of snuggling on the couch with my Conference Journal absorbed in the awesome teachings from our leaders this past weekend. But... I kind of forgot I have a three year-old. And a baby. And reality was far from my vision.

Avery's naps are way off right now, so she wasn't sleeping during the sessions like I had anticipated, and although I printed lots of amazing coloring pages for Harvey... I failed to remember that he doesn't love coloring. He really only lasted about 3 crayons worth, and that wasn't even long enough for two talks.

Despite all that went wrong, here's what worked (at least for a little while) to keep Harvey engaged so I could at least try to focus on the spiritually uplifting talks:

 Speaker Stickers:

This one was easy and actually the most effective. I pulled out the center fold from the last conference edition of the Ensign and taped it to the wall next to the television. Every time a new speaker went to the podium, Harvey jumped up to find him on the sheet. When he found the right one he could put a sticker over their face. Sometimes he would cheer "Hey! There's a new speaker" even when there wasn't...

Conference Wall:

I found this idea from We Talk of Christ, but it didn't keep him engaged as well as I had hoped. I chose pictures from the Gospel Art Kit, and from my Ensign Photo Library that I thought would be mentioned lots during the talks and taped them to our entertainment center. Harvey could point to the pictures as he heard the subject mentioned.

Umm, maybe they were talking about Baptism and Scripture Study at the same time? (Please overlook the uber-dusty entertainment center and the Lightening McQueen underwear.)


Maybe buying one of those pointer sticks from a teacher supply place would make this more enticing??

Conference Game:


I found this idea from Blissful & Domestic. I pulled out a couple of game pieces from my Trivial Pursuit game while we played this. The idea is that you start in the upper left hand corner and slowly work your way to Jesus in the lower right-hand corner. If you hear a topic mentioned in one of the talks, you can move your piece to a picture or word that represents that topic. I just used pictures from the Ensign and the Friend and glued them onto a poster board.

This was actually really fun for me as well! Obviously, Harvey can't read yet, so he just moved his piece to pictures he liked, placed his piece wherever mine was, and tried to find the apostles photos when they spoke. 

I want to do another version on the back for some variety so I haven't laminated it yet. Bonus points for whoever can find the place where Harvey already ripped something off. (Sheesh!)

I love Conference Weekend. I love making and eating my yummy Butterscotch Pull-Aparts. I love staying home snuggled up on the couch in my sweats listening to our leaders. It seems like when I listen to Conference with a problem in mind (and really.. I always have a problem in mind) the talks are just for me. I was glad that the stars aligned and I was able to hear what Jeffrey R. Holland and Deiter F. Uchtdorf had to say about seeing others kindly (including yourself), and not judging.

What were your favorite parts? What do you do to help your children listen during Conference?

Labels

Labels:

Comments

  1. AnnaApril 3, 2012 at 11:30 AM

    I must admit when I saw your conference journal I thought "wow her kids must be chill, we are just chasing a toddler around trying to get SOMETHING out of conference. forget taking notes like the pre-kiddo days". So I admit i was relieved to read that your reality was closer to our reality. :) Way to make a big effort to make it fun for Harvey, I love these ideas.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

This Much Card and a Kid Canvas

Father's Day ideas continued... I decided to show you the things Harvey and I made to give to Justin. First up... "I Love You This Much Card": It's super easy... 1. Trace your child's hand, then cut out two copies. My paper was double sided so I made sure that when the thumbs match up - the yellow side would be inside, and the blue side would be outside. 2. Cut out a strip of paper and fold it accordion style. Use letter rub-ons or stickers to add the words "I Love You" on the outside, and "This Much" on the strip of paper.  3. Glue the ends of your accordion strip on the insides of the hands and your card is done. :) Kid Canvas: Then Harvey and I made a little canvas (4 inches x 4 inches) to hang on the wall in Justin's office at work. I purchased small ones so we could add to them each year and hang them in one grouping. I prepainted the canvas in green, then set Harvey in the bathtub with blue paint and...
443 comments
Read more

Our General Conference Center

I know, no one is thinking about General Conference right now. But tonight I'm showing my board to my mom's Relief Society group, and I wanted to have the printables available to them if they decided to complete this project. If any of you are interested... you have three and a half months to complete it. :) Two days before General Conference, I stumbled across this idea for engaging young children.... and I thought it was absolutely amazing. (And so are most of the ideas found on Jen Lund's blog - check it out!) One of the main reasons I love this idea, is that it doesn't just distract young children from being disruptive during Conference, but it engages them and encourages them to listen! I'm not gonna lie. It took time to put together, but I am positive that Harvey will enjoy working with this board. That will hopefully translate into Justin and I being able to listen, and that will make all of my hard work worth it in the end. Here's how i...
229 comments
Read more

Recycling Candles

I got lucky this year. My sister-in-law gave me a Scentsy candle warmer for Christmas. (I didn't even know what a Scentsy candle warmer was until November, but that's beside the point.) I was/am super excited! But at the same time, I was a little sad because Scentsy doesn't have my all-time favorite candle sent: Grapefruit Vanilla. And what was I supposed to do with my precious candle? Throw it in the garbage? Umm. No. First, I melted it down using a candle warmer. (Yeah - it took forever ; one of the reasons I'm super excited to make the switch to my Scentsy warmer.) Then I poured it into an ice cube tray, and set it in the freezer for about 20 minutes for it to harden. To remove the wax, I just wrung the tray over a paper towel and the cubes popped right out. (If you'd like to do the same, don't skip the freezer; it's the key to removing the cubes with ease.) I got excited, and did the same to every candle in the house! Let's just say Ju...
431 comments
Read more