Dinner time is family time

This blog is dedicated to bringing families together at dinner time.

"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

(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.

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.