Back to School FHE

***I couldn't keep up with the emails and comments too well.  SOOO when Melanie said that she would post it on Sugardoodle.  I was thrilled!  Here is the link to get the lesson downloaded.  HERE is the LESSON

**I emailed the lesson to those of you asking.  If you didn't get it, email me again, I might have missed someone.  Sorry but I don't know how to link the lesson on my blog, to somewhere for download SO that's why I email it. 

I have had some people ask about Back to School traditions.  I usually take each of the kids on a back to school shopping date.  It's soooo much easier concentrating on ONE list and ONE kid at a time.  We then go for a treat or lunch.

Another tradition is this FHE.  We have been doing it for quite a few years now.  HERE is where I talked about it last year.  There is a huge social aspect involved in school.  This lesson helps open eyes to others.  I took the "Civility" lesson from the Stand for Something FHE lessons and turned it into more of a Back to School lesson.

You take a few balloons and assign people to each of them.  Inside each balloon is a note of what the person is REALLY like and then outside is a note that gives a few general characteristics.  You have to "Pop" the balloon to really get to know the person.  For example the outside note for Juan says, "Juan speaks fluent Spanish and is learning English.  He is a very quiet boy and other kids don't ask him to play.  Juan struggles with his schoolwork.  It doesn't come easy for him"  Then the note inside the balloon says, "Juan is a child of God and loved very much by Him.  Juan is extremely athletic and good at soccer.  He LOVES to play games.  Juan is very kind and considerate of others feelings.  If given a chance Juan could share interesting stories and games from Mexico."  We then discuss whether we would like to get to know Juan and all the things we could learn from him.

I think it would be fun sometime to let the kids design THEIR own balloons of what they display on the outside and how they view themselves on the inside.

Anyway, we have to "pop" through the exterior of a person in get to know the inside.  To do this you have to ask questions and then LISTEN to what they have to say.  Here is the lesson I put together -

 

I challenge them to meet new people and find out about them.  The first two days of school we give the kids a quarter for each name that they bring home.  They have to tell us one character trait or interesting fact about the person as well.  It's fun to sit at dinner listening to all the names.  I just think that it is important for them to talk and socialize with others instead of JUST their friends.

Anyway, if you want a copy of our people we use on the balloons with their descriptions OR the quotes for the Spin the Bottle just comment or email me and I can forward it to you.  You obviously can just draw your own face on the balloon (I have done that in the past) and make up your own descriptions to fit your own hobbies and things you enjoy.

Do any of you have any fun Back to School traditions?