A Mother In Training- Part 3

Family Traditions…. How do my children feel belonging to our family? Am I creating a home where that is the place they want to be? I feel like I do a pretty good job in this area.
Gospel principle- Traditions strengthen families. In our little family we have the typical big traditions-Christmas Eve Dinner, Thanksgiving Dinner, Birthday Dinners, but it is the little one’s that make the difference. Some of the ideas that I have been doing for a while are circle time at night. After we read our scriptures and before prayers I get the kids in a circle and one by one they tell us 2 things that happened that day and one thing they are thankful for. My kids love this time. It has helped me calm them down at night and teaches them to listen to each other. I have a sign I put up in the front yard for their birthdays. We decided to only give friend parties on the birthdays that were special (5-going to school, 8- getting baptised, 12-young men/women, etc). On the “off” birthdays we just have family parties. We lived away from our extended family up until about a year ago, so this worked out great. Now we have more family here so it gets to be as big of a party as the friend ones, so I think starting next year we are changing the interpretation of “family” to just our little kingdom. (sorry extended family, but I thought I would give you the heads up) This way they each have milestone in growing up and they know that that age means something great. Make sense?
Another topic was Provide safety in the home where they feel like they belong. This is a big one for me because when I was growing up I didn’t really feel that. I was teased and tortured relentlessly by an older sibling and I have vowed that it will NEVER happen in my home. Fun kidding around is ok and welcomed, but anything else is unacceptable. I want my kids to love that they are different, unique, special, and to know that our family couldn't do without them. They need to know that everyone in our family loves them no matter how quirky of a person they are.
Make daily rituals. Family prayer-check, Family scripture study-check, Family mission statement- still working on that one, Family cheer- don’t have one, Bedtime routine- check, Family dinner-check (I love that time with them), and the one I feel like is important for me to work on is leaving/arriving home with a touch. I walk the kids to the bus every morning, but as we go I am after them to hurray, don’t forget you reading notebook, your lunch, the list goes on. As they get on the bus I tell them to have a good day, but I felt strongly that I need to put a little more out there with giving them a hug or kiss. Again, I am working on this mommy affection. I see in my own life how lack of affection and feeling like you belong affects you.
She had some great ideas in making your kids feel special. Some of the ones I really liked were to make a wall of fame. Having random pictures hung up on a wall that showcase the kids having fun whether it be at an event or just in the backyard. Make a poster about the kids individually and surprise them with it on a holiday. Do fun things as a family. Play hard and work hard as a family. I really like this because I am a firm believer in teaching my kids to work and doing it right. I don’t believe in giving kids money just because they are kids. They need to work for it and learn how to manage it too.
So this is my goal, to show my kids more affection and make them feel loved and important to our family unit.
So this is my updates for my class. Tomorrow is a new class and I will get those written out on every Tuesday night.