I have written before about the Friend magazine online, and all the great tools that it has, but do you subscribe to the actual magazine? If you have young kids in your home, or young kids that visit your home often, I hope that you do! This magazine is a little jewel that I’ve come to truly appreciate as I am serving as the Primary President.
I have frequently used this magazine lately for kids in primary that are unprepared for their talk during opening exercises. This happens a lot. Fortunately though, the Friend goes right along with the theme assigned by the church for each month. For example, this month, the theme is Temples. I had a boy in primary assigned to give the talk, and he simply was unprepared. I grabbed the Friend and found a great article about a young boy and his family that went to the temple to be sealed, and how it affected him. While it is much better to have the child prepare a talk with his family, this is not always possible. However, knowing what the theme of the friend is each month will help you better teach your child about what they are already learning in Primary that month.
The Friend is also a great tool for family home evening. If you are ever in a bind not knowing what to prepare for family home evening, you can simply sit down with your children and read an article from the friend. This works great with my very young children who always love to be read a great story. Then, you can simply talk about the article and the lesson it teaches after reading it. While this may not work every week, you should try to incorporate it at least once a month.
Last, I love the Friend for the games, and pictures. Even my two year old who can’t read yet, and can’t do the games loves to sit on the couch and look at the pages of the magazine. Get excited about the Friend when it comes in the mail. Show it to the kids right away and give yourself a few minutes of quiet time while they look through it on their own.
I love this little magazine and am so grateful to have it in my home.