Each week, I send home a note with my little Sunbeams outlining what we learned that day in Primary. I include the lesson title and purpose, the scripture stories, the action rhymes and the basic principles. The parents, being wonderful parents, use this to review the material on Sunday and during Family Home Evening. The next week, they still remember the topic and the principles taught because they reviewed them at home.
Even if you don’t get a note, you can follow along by checking the lesson manual online each week. Find out if the teacher skips a lesson each time there isn’t Primary, so you’ll know what to expect. Then make a plan to reinforce the lesson throughout the following week.
The songs in each lesson are an easy way to reinforce teachings. Sing them together as you do chores, in your devotionals, and just for fun. Talk to your child about what the song means and how it relates to the lesson they had.
Review the scripture stories as a family. If you search the Friend, you’ll find many supplemental ways to work with the stories—flannel board stories, puzzles, fiction based on a story, and games. Start a flannel board story box by printing the stories onto cardstock and gluing a small square of pellon to the back of each picture. You can make a simple flannel board by gluing pellon onto any box, board or other sturdy surface. You can even just hang a piece on the refrigerator for a temporary board. Help your children learn to tell the story well and then do it for Family Home Evening.
Some lessons have games. Play them when you’re playing with your children. Write questions from the manual onto colored strips of paper and drop them into a box. Each day, have the children pull one or two out to answer. It doesn’t matter if they get one from another child’s lesson or a previous lesson. The review will be good for them all.
Most lessons have at least one actual scripture. Write it out and go over it with your children, explaining the vocabulary and the meaning. Even if their teacher did this, they may forget. Let them practice finding it in the actual scriptures if they’re old enough. If they aren’t, help them learn to show you which book of scripture it’s in.
Teachers seldom use every item in the lesson, since they are designed for a wide age range. They select those activities that are best for their class, so it’s likely some of the material will be new to your child. The enrichment activities at the end are generally fun, and often include craft ideas. If not, find a related craft in the Friend to do for family home evening.
When you review the lessons in the home, you tell your children that what they learn in Primary matters and help them get the lesson further into their hearts than the teacher can do in a mere 40 minutes.
Funner Than Fun Gospel Games
