Celebrating All Our Fathers

Celebrating All Our Fathers
(Adapted from the Every Day a Father’s Day June 1981 Friend)

Opening Song: “Daddy’s Homecoming” (Children’s Song Book # 210)

Opening Prayer: Child

Lesson: Mommy

“Celebrating All Our Fathers”

Ask your family what a Dad is and let them respond. Ask them when Father’s Day is.

Tell them that everyday a Father is a Father and it doesn’t end when Father’s Day is over with. What are some the things that your Dad does every day for your family? What is for favorite thing about your Daddy?

Who else could be considered a Father to your family? (Grandfather’s, Heavenly Father, Father of the ward, Father of our Country, and add any others that pertain to your family.)

Talk about what makes each of these Fathers everyday of the year not just on Father’s Day.

Talk about how you can make each of these Fathers happy every day.

Here are the ideas from Every Day a Father’s Day:

Heavenly Father
Learn to obey Heavenly Father’s commandments by listening to the counsel of your parents and the instructions from your teachers. Pray to Heavenly Father often. He is real and He loves you. Avoid temptation. Satan is also real, and he can entice you to do things that are wrong.

Earthly Father
Few things please a father more than having a son or daughter who is unselfish, helpful, pleasant, and kind and loving to everyone.
Learn to work hard, study hard, and play hard. When a father’s family is happy, it helps him to become a better kind of person.

Father of the Ward (Bishop)
In addition to his own family, a bishop has responsibility for the welfare of a larger family—all the members of his ward. Another big responsibility the bishop has is the care and upkeep of the meetinghouse. Some of the money paid to the bishop as a contribution to the Church is used to light and heat the building and to pay for many other necessary supplies. The bishop and custodian are especially grateful when we treat the building and all its furnishings and grounds kindly. Remember—it is really the Lord’s house, a place that can be acceptable to Him and a place where we can worship Him in peace and safety.

Father of Your Country
Just as fathers of countries hope that their people will be loyal, patriotic, considerate, and law-abiding citizens who recognize individual differences and needs, local public officials or “City Fathers” have the same hopes and concerns for their people.
If you show that you remember your fathers’ enduring love for you by the way you live, every day can truly be a Fathers’ Day.

Song: “Fathers” (Children’s Song Book # 209)

Activity: Make cards for some of the Fathers that you love and let them know just how much you love them every day of the year.

Closing Song: “My Dad” (Children’s Song Book # 211)

Closing Prayer: Daddy

For a treat make your Dad’s favorite desert.

Marriage and Eternal Families

Marriage and Eternal Families

Opening Song: "Families Can Be Together Forever" (Children’s Songbook #188)

Opening Prayer: Child

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:11

Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.

Lesson: Mommy (adapted from Sharing Time: My Family, The Friend February 2004)

Show The Family: A Proclamation to the World. Explain that the prophet and apostles wrote this so we would know what Heavenly Father and Jesus want us to know about families. Read the first two lines of paragraph s even, “The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan.” Help the children understand that “ordained of God” means Heavenly Father designed marriage and family not just as an earthly union, but one that will endure forever.

Display a picture of the temple.(or use #501 or #502 from Gospel Art Picture Kit) Explain that we get married in the temple for eternity. Emphasize the importance of marriage being between MAN and WOMAN and that they become Daddies and Mommies.

Show pictures from your wedding day and explain that you were married in the temple (or talk about your family goal to be sealed in the temple if you haven’t been yet). Or display #609 from GAPK. Tell your children of your desires for them to one day get married in the temple. Bear testimony of Jesus and his sacrifice making eternal life and temple marriage possible.

Activities:

• Finger puppets from Behold your Little Ones: Nursery Manua l: Print this worksheet have children color page, then cut out and tape finger puppets of family. (The fact that they became finger puppets was what made this magic) Then recite the following activity verse and invite the children to join you:

This is Mother. (hold up hand; point to thumb)
This is Father. (point to index finger)
This is Brother tall. (point to middle finger)
This is Sister. (point to ring finger)
This is Baby. (point to little finger)
Oh, how we love them all. (hold both hands to chest)

• Build a temple with blocks. Pretend that stuffed animals are going to go get married there. (This one was a big hit)
• Play the Families are Forever (to the tune of the Farmer in the Dell):Can be adapted to family size (The kids liked this one too)

In a circle or line sing:

(Daddy stands in the middle with picture of temple) Fam'lies are forever, Fam'lies are forever, hi-ho the temple-o, Fam'lies are forever

(Daddy takes Mommy’s hand) The husband takes a wife, the husband takes a wife, hi-ho the marry-o the husband takes a wife.

(Parents take child’s hand) Then they have a child, then they have a child, hi- ho A fam’ly-o, then they have a child.

(Parents take next child’s hand) And baby makes four, and baby makes four, hi-ho A fam'ly-o, and baby makes four.

Closing Song: "A Happy Family" (Children’s songbook #198a)

Closing Prayer: Daddy

Treat Ideas:

• Gingerbread man and woman. Make gingerbread or sugar cookie men and women, have children pair them up. Then frost white for wearing white in the temple. If you don't have time for cookies, use cookie cutters to make men and women out of toast. Have children pair them up. Then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
• Marshmallow temples. Just make a temple with your marshmallows. Big marshmallows might work better: