Dinner time is family time: dinner fun (3-6 year olds)

Good, Better, Best

"The number of those who report that their "whole family usually eats dinner together" has declined 33 percent. This is most concerning because the time a family spends together "eating meals at home [is] the strongest predictor of children's academic achievement and psychological adjustment." Family mealtimes have also been shown to be a strong bulwark against children's smoking, drinking, or using drugs. There is inspired wisdom in this advice to parents: What your children really want for dinner is you." - Elder Dallin H. Oaks

http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-775-38,00.html

"Come and Dine"

(part of the conversation taken from the Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting:Building Up a Righteous Posterity) Feb 9, 2008
Elder Holland:
In the true spirit of homemaking, in the best and highest sense of that word, I hope we can again sit down at a common dinner table as a family. I think almost any sociologist would say, and they do say, that perhaps nothing is as unifying in the course of a family's week as to eat together at an agreed-upon mealtime.
Sister Beck:
A scriptural example that is one of my favorites is in the last chapter of the Gospel of John, where the Savior at the Sea of Galilee gathered His disciples. He had a fire there and coals and fish, and He said, "Come and dine." Now, that describes quite a bit of preparation. A meal had been prepared--a family meal, you could say--and He invited them to come and dine, not just run in and eat, but come and dine. And then the scripture says, "When they had dined," He then began to teach them that wonderful teaching about feeding His sheep (see John 21:9-15). there is something about eating together and mellowing out and having that feeling there. What would His teaching have looked like if He hadn't prepared the place to teach it? He created the setting for that marvelous teaching, and it was a mealtime. I think that wasn't accidental.

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8.02.2008

dinner fun (3-6 year olds)

Posted by {lex} at 12:32 PM

Sunday - "GUESS WHAT'S COOKIN'" (#45)
Read the following ingredients to your family and have them guess "What's Cookin'!"

Ice Cream + Cone = (Ice Cream Cone)
Bread + Peanut butter + Jelly = (Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich)
Chocolate Cake Mix + Egg + Water = (Chocolate Cake)
Milk + Macaroni + Cheese + Butter = (Mac & Cheese)
Noodles + Chicken + Soup + Vegetables = (Chicken Noodle Soup)
*Also play this with your family's favorite recipes. Or try it in reverse: what do you need to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?...

Monday - "NOT ME!" (#51)
One person (the leader) closes his/her eyes and counts to 10.

The others take a small object, such as a bottle cap, and quietly pass it around to each other until the leader finishes counting. Whoever has the bottle cap quickly hides it in his/her fist.

Everyone puts one closed fist on the table and tries to look innocent as they continue eating. The leader tries to guess who has the object.

If the leader guesses correctly, he/she remains the leader for another turn. If not, the person holding the cap becomes the new leader.

Tuesday - "SITUATION CHALLENGE III" (#43)
Read this question aloud to your family and let everyone offer an answer:

"You accidentally drop your candy wrapper on the ground outside. What should you do?"

Have the kids respond first and then the adults.
*Discuss your answers together.

Wednesday - "THE SHARPEST TEETH" (#9)
Read the story aloud to your family and answer the questions at the end!

Crocodile Carl and Crocodile Carmen argued a lot. Today they argued about who had the sharpest teeth. Rabbit heard them and hopped onto a big tree log. Carmen said, "Rabbit, you be the judge. Who has the sharpest teeth?" Carmen planned to eat Rabbit later that day. Rabbit suspected this and he said, "I can't tell. Why don't you both try to break this tree log in half? The one that snaps it has the sharpest teeth."Both crocodiles bit into the log and their teeth got caught in the wood. Rabbit hopped away safely and learned an important lesson: Crocodiles may have very sharp teeth, but they aren't always that smart.

Questions: What do the Crocodiles argue about? Who is in danger in this story? Who is the smartest animal in the story? Why? What did the Crocodiles do to prove they had the sharpest teeth?

Thursday - "SITUATION CHALLENGE I" (#11)
Read this question aloud to your family and let everyone offer an answer:

"What would you do if you found a shiny new toy on the playground that didn't belong to you?"

Have the kids respond first and then the adults.
*Discuss your answers together.

Friday - "FRUIT & VEGGIE FUN" (#22)
Someone starts by thinking of a fruit, vegetable or other food. The others try and guess what it is by asking YES or NO questions. After everyone asks a question, as a team, try and guess the food. If no one guesses correctly, ask another round of yes and no questions.

Saturday - "WHAT'S MISSING" (#8)
One person closes his/her eyes. Everyone else takes one item off the table (fork,napkin,spoon, etc.) and hides it on their lap. The first person opens his/her eyes and tries to guess what's missing! Let everyone have a turn.
*Also play by having everyone close their eyes while one person hides 4 items from the table. Once everyone opens their eyes, work together as a team to guess what's missing!

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dinner games for the week

Sunday - "TELEPHONE LINE" (#47)

(Best with 4 or more people)
Whisper a sentence to the person next to you. Then have that person whisper it to the next person. Go around the table and have the last person say the sentence out loud.Did the sentence stay the same or change?*Also play this by whispering 3-5 colors, animals or foods - depending on the age of the children - and see what comes out at the other end of the telephone line.

Monday - "YESTERDAY" (#33)

What do you remember about yesterday?
1. Let the oldest person begin by naming as many things as possible about what someone else at the table did yesterday. For example, you might remember that your daughter ate cereal for breakfast, wore red sneakers, played with her friend Jami, ate chicken for dinner and went to bed at 8 o'clock.
2. Then let someone else have a turn remembering. See how many things everyone can remember about yesterday!*What can you remember about last week?

Tuesday - "MONSTSER RABBIT" (#44)

Read the story aloud to your family and answer the questions at the end!

Little Rabbit was afraid of almost everything. He was frightened by fish in the pond and clouds in the sky. Rabbit grew a lot and wasn't little anymore. One day, he peered down into the pond and saw a huge rabbit staring back at him! He was so scared that he hid under a log. Mother Rabbit saw him and said, "What's wrong?"Rabbit whispered, "Shh! I just saw a monster rabbit!"Mother Rabbit picked a flower and handed it to her son. she said, "Hold this flower and look into the water again." Rabbit did and saw that he was that scary rabbit holding a flower. And from that day on, Rabbit was never frighened again - that is, most of the time.
*What things are you afraid of? How have you changed since you were little?

Wednesday - "MAGIC HANDS" (#26)

Someone begins by cupping his/her "magic hands" together and offering some clues about an imaginary thing he/she is holding. Explain that "magic hands" can hold something as big as an ocean, as magical as the tooth fairy, or as small as a diamond ring. For example: "There is something in my hands that has 4 big wheels, like mud, and can go really fast. What is is?" (truck) Have everyone take a guess as to what's in the "magic hands."Whoever guesses correctly first, gets to be the next person with "magic hands."

Thursday - "FAMILY IDOL" (#20)

Have someone start by picking a subject. (chocolate chips, green apples, monster trucks, yellow daisies, rainbow fish, etc...)Have the first Family Idol Contestant begin by singing a song about that subject.After the first contestant sings, give a big round of applause and let the next contestant sing away!

Friday - "WHAT'S IN THE OVN MITT?" (#2)

One person begins by hiding a "secret" object in an oven mitt.He or she passes the mitt around the table and lets everyone feel the object. No peeking! Everyone guesses what's in the mitt, and whoever guesses correctly leads the next round!*Also play by hiding objects in a paper bag, clean sock, glove, or box and have your family shake it to guess what's inside.

Saturday - "WHAT'S THAT SOUND?" (#46)

Have someone begin by making a sound (like a lawn mover, fish, whiffle ball, etc...)Everyone tries to guess the sound.The first person to guess correctly makes the next sound.

Dinner time is family time

all about "YOU" are the menu

Good, Better, Best

"Come and Dine"

8.02.2008

dinner fun (3-6 year olds)

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