The Sharing Time theme for November is “My faith in Jesus Christ blesses my life. I am thankful for my many blessings.” The scripture is Doctrine and Covenants 59:7: “Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things.” There is no specific song to teach this month, though you may want to work on Christmas carols as a family. The hymn “Because I Have Been Given Much” p 219 would be a good selection as well.
The theme is broken down into four weekly principles. The first principle focuses on being thankful for your home and family. The second principle focus on being grateful for the gospel. The third principle focuses on being thankful for the priesthood and its blessings. The fourth principle focuses on demonstrating your gratitude by keeping the commandments.
These themes should be easy to incorporate into your family home evening lessons, dinner discussions and scripture study. The upcoming Thanksgiving holiday is another way to help your children focus on gratitude. You may want to have a blessing jar that your family tries to fill up this month. Just take a big jar and each day have your children write down something that they are grateful for. Try to have your children list something new each day. At the end of the month, read the blessings as a family. You may also find a way to serve this month as a way to demonstrate your gratitude.
You can find additional ideas from “The Friend.” The coloring page for this month focuses on the story of the ten lepers. There is a story in the “The Friend” that accompanies this coloring page. Additionally you may want to complete the activity in the Sharing Time section, which includes a gratitude page to add to your journal.
Gratitude is an important concept to teach to your children. It is so easy for the holiday season to focus more on receiving than giving, especially when you are young. If you spend November focusing on this, the lessons should carry over to December. How have you helped your children learn to be grateful?
Related Articles:
Family Home Evening: Gratitude
Family Home Evening: Thanksgiving
General Conference: “Gratitude: A Path to Happiness”