General Conference Prep
General Conference Weekend can be a bit chaotic with toddlers. Below are a few ways you can make the weekend go smoother (and maybe even catch a few talks yourself!) Remember to give yourself and your toddler(s) grace and repeat my favorite conference weekend mantra..."There's a reason they post these online to watch again later!" :)
General Conference Prep Week:
I have created a full week of short, simple activities that will help you prep your child for General Conference Weekend. My children do better with any activity when they are prepared for it. The idea here is that you spend 3-5 minutes each day the week before General Conference talking about and preparing your child so that they are more engaged and less blindsided by their usually activities being disrupted. It also includes an activity for your kids to do during conference!
(Also available in Spanish here)
Coloring Pages from the Church website:
Prophets and Apostles: A coloring page with all the current prophet and apostles
"Conference Squares": A 'Bingo'-type game that could also be used as coloring pages or in a sensory bin for toddlers. Fill a bin or bowl with rice, cut out the small squares, and stick them inside the rice. Let your child search through the rice to find the pictures.
Conference Coloring: A younger child can simply color the page. Older children will like the color-by-number element.
"The Table":
This is our personal family tradition! The night before General Conference I set up a folding table in front of the TV with a few games, snacks, toys, etc. to keep my kids engaged. For some reason giving them a special space just for them keeps them in the room longer and makes the whole weekend feel more special and exciting. No need to get too fancy with this! Kids don't need expensive tablecloths or cute shaped snacks. Keep it simple! A few ideas you might try:
- Fill up muffin tins with different small snacks so it looks exciting
- Run by the Dollar Store or a Thrift Store and look for any inexpensive/new toys or games that your kids might get excited about.
- Look for activities that are quiet and time-consuming. Think stickers, cereal necklaces, etc. Anything that keeps their hands busy!
Here are some of our "Tables" in years past. Very simple!
Prayer:
Sometimes life just does not afford us the time or resources to do any kind of prep. (Or maybe this just isn't your thing) An easy, simple, free way to prep your family for General Conference is to pray together about it in the weeks leading up. Each time you say family prayers ask whoever is praying to pray for family inspiration or to thank Heavenly Father for the chance to listen to modern prophets and leaders.
I will never say that prayer is an insufficent way to prepare for something!