September 23, 2013 family school

I think I'm going to start doing "Family School" with the kids. It started when we went out to dinner with Meema and Peepa and the kids manners were not what they should be and I realized we need to teach that better. Then when we met Bob's friends and visited their farm. She was telling me about how they homeschool and how most of the kids work independently but an hour a day they do family school where she teaches them all something together. I loved that. So we're going to start doing that a couple afternoons a week. Our afternoons are a little disorganized. With homework, lessons and waiting to see if friends can play, the kids usually settle into some time wasting activity. And it's hard for me to organize the kids enough to do anything fun together and I miss that. And some things could be taught at FHE, but by the time Bob gets home and we have dinner fhe is usually only 20 minutes. So family school is going to be perfect!

Here are some of the topics I've thought of for family school. But I need to pray about it. 

Table manners

Guest manners

Poetry or quotes and recite

Read classic books together 

Art and artists

Crafts

Service

Holiday stuff

Cooking

Leadership skills

Qualities and skills they will need to serve where they are needed

Read aloud 2 Nephi 28:7–9. Spend some time memorizing 2 Nephi 28:8. You might want to write it in your scripture study journal from memory or recite it to a family member or friend. In the last days many people will teach false, vain, and foolish doctrines. In your scripture study journal, list a few ways these foolish doctrines are promoted and briefly explain how you can recognize the foolish doctrines of the world and avoid them. (Book of Mormon Study Guide for Home-Study Seminary Students, 2 Nephi, Unit 8: Day 2, 2 Nephi 28)

“We stopped at a water hole to watch the animals come to drink. It was very dry that season and there was not much water, really just muddy spots. … 

“The antelope, particularly, were very nervous. They would approach the mud hole, only to turn and run away in great fright. I could see there were no lions about and asked the guide why they didn’t drink. His answer, and this is the lesson, was ‘Crocodiles.’ 

“I knew he must be joking and asked him seriously, ‘What is the problem?’ The answer again: ‘Crocodiles.’ 

“‘Nonsense,’ I said. ‘There are no crocodiles out there. Anyone can see that.’ … 

“He could tell I did not believe him and determined, I suppose, to teach me a lesson. We drove to another location where the car was on an embankment above the muddy hole where we could look down. ‘There,’ he said. ‘See for yourself.’ 

“I couldn’t see anything except the mud, a little water, and the nervous animals in the distance. Then all at once I saw it!—a large crocodile, settled in the mud, waiting for some unsuspecting animal to get thirsty enough to come for a drink. 

“Suddenly I became a believer! When he could see I was willing to listen, he continued with the lesson. ‘There are crocodiles all over the park,’ he said, ‘not just in the rivers. We don’t have any water without a crocodile somewhere near it, and you’d better count on it.’ … 

“On another trip to Africa I discussed this experience with a game ranger in another park. … 

“He then showed me a place where a tragedy had occurred. A young man from England was working in the hotel for the season. In spite of constant and repeated warnings, he went through the compound fence to check something across a shallow splash of water that didn’t cover his tennis shoes. 

“‘He wasn’t two steps in,’ the ranger said, ‘before a crocodile had him, and we could do nothing to save him’” (“Spiritual Crocodiles,” Ensign, May 1976, 30–31). 

What is the danger of doubting the existence of crocodiles when you can’t see them? How is President Packer’s and the young man’s experience like what Nephi described in 2 Nephi 28:22? 

President Packer explained: 

“Those ahead of you in life have probed about the water holes a bit and raise a voice of warning about crocodiles. Not just the big, gray lizards that can bite you to pieces, but spiritual crocodiles, infinitely more dangerous, and more deceptive and less visible, even, than those well-camouflaged reptiles of Africa. 

“These spiritual crocodiles can kill or mutilate your souls. They can destroy your peace of mind and the peace of mind of those who love you. Those are the ones to be warned against, and there is hardly a watering place in all of mortality now that is not infested with them (Book of Mormon Study Guide for Home-Study Seminary Students, 2 Nephi, Unit 8: Day 2, 2 Nephi 28)