The next topic in the “For the Strength of Youth” booklet is “Education.” Following what I have done in this past, I have collected a few articles and ideas to use in order to create a family home evening on the topic of education. I think this is a very important topic, because having a good education opens doors that would otherwise remain shut.
To start this family home evening lesson, you can read Alma 37:35. Then as a family you can read the section “Education” in the “For the Strength of Youth” booklet. Then you can read or pull quotes from “Who You?” and “Be Smart,” which are both articles from the New Era. As a family you may want to talk about the importance of education, and what advantages that you can from receiving an education. It is important to talk about planning for an education, and what steps your children can do now in order to prepare an education. You can have each of your children talk about goals that they have in regards to their future education. Be sure that you share your feelings on how having an education has blessed you. It is also important to talk about how increasing knowledge of the gospel is just as important as a secular education. You can close the lesson by reading Doctrine and Covenants 88:77-80.
If you have younger primary age children, you should still read the scriptures listed above and then briefly summarize the section on “Education.” Then you may want to talk about why school is important. As parents, you may want to share some stories about what you did in school, and why school is important to you. Another idea is to have each of your children share something that they have worked on, and learned in the past year. Preschool children may share a coloring page or a practice handwriting sheet. Older children can share a science project, a story they have written or a good test score. Be sure to praise your children for whatever they share. You may want to talk about the importance of doing their best now, because it will help them to get into better colleges.
If you are preparing a family home evening for mainly adults you will want to read “To Be Learned Is Good If . . .” by Boyd K. Packer and “Where Is Wisdom?” by Russell M. Nelson. These are excellent talks, which talk about the importance of balancing secular knowledge and spiritual knowledge. You may also want to talk about the Perpetual Education Fund and how it is blessed the lives of so many individuals.
You can choose your favorite hymns and primary songs this week. As a leader of your family, you will know what points are most important for you to cover. Don’t forget the refreshments!