PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket

6.12.2012

Tithing Family Home Evening (The Parable of the Skittles)

We did a very simple family home evening last night to help our children understand WHAT tithing is,  WHY we pay it, and HOW it blesses us.  Although it was short, it really kept the kids attention (anything to do with candy usually does!;) and I think they learned a few new things.

I was so excited when I walked into Primary on Sunday and this little poem was written on the chalkboard:

 
 I knew I was wanting to do a FHE on tithing the next day, and I thought that poem was perfect to help little kids understand what tithing is!

We started off by talking about the poem and asking the kids what they knew about tithing.  The older girls knew you gave 10% of your money...but the poem really helped them understand a little bit better what that really meant.

Next I told the kids that Paul had something he wanted to talk to them about.  Then he pulled out 3 plastic bags full of Skittles.  Each bag had exactly 100 Skittles in it.


Paul told the kids he had gone to the store that morning and bought some Skittles for himself.  Even though the Skittles were ALL his, he wanted to give some to his children.  All that he asked for in return for giving them that HUGE bag...was for them to just give 10 little Skittles back to him.


One by one the kids counted out 10 Skittles and handed them to Paul.  I told them to look at what they had given Paul, and then to see how much they still had  in their bags.


Then we explained that is just how tithing works.  Heavenly Father has blessed us with EVERYTHING that we have.  Paul talked about how he has been blessed with a good job, and talents to be able to succeed in that job.  Heavenly Father gives us all that and so much more...and simply asks for 10% in return.  I think it really clicked with the kids to be able to look at ALL the Skittles they had been given, pick out just 10, and then see what they still had left.

Then we talked about what our tithing money does.  Because of a great Sharing Time in primary the day before they kids knew exactly where our tithing money goes and what it is used for.

To help the kids get excited about paying their own tithing I threw these little tithing banks together.  Around Valentines I had gotten some candy containers that doubled as banks.  I just covered them with white paper and then used washi tape to decorate them.  The kids were SO excited to have their own banks and ran up the stairs to get their tithing to put in them :)



I think this lesson is so important for young children.  Tithing can be a difficult principle to live if you don't get in the habit of paying it early and paying it FIRST!  I hope to encourage my children to be able to do that.

I would love any feedback...how have you taught your children the principle of tithing??

20 comments:

Lindsay

Oh, this is a great lesson. I'm going to do it for FHE next week. Thank you so much for sharing these awesome ideas with the rest of us!

Netta

Great idea! When we teach our kids to tithe then it's a no-brainer when they're adults... and it'll keep them on track through-out life. I'm so grateful that my parents taught me, too. I love your idea of how to teach it.

Chalece

Thanks so much for this! I just used this tonight for our FHE and my daughter understood what tithing is so much better than before.

Laura

Such a great and simple lesson! :)

Shalamar

I love it. So simple and sweet! Thank you for sharing!

Shalamar

I love it. So simple and sweet! Thank you for sharing!

Shalamar

I love it. So simple and sweet! Thank you for sharing!

Shalamar

I love it. So simple and sweet! Thank you for sharing!

Little Lovables

Great lesson! Did you tell them how the church uses tithing? They invest it, and just built a $5 billion dollar City Creek Mal and condos in SLC.

The Benevolent Baxter's

I love your FHE lessons! They are so great!!

Anonymous

I have my Primary class EARN a piece of candy for every answer they get right. They get to CHOOSE the candy too. Then after all of them have earned 10 pieces, I discuss tithing. You should see their faces when they begin to understand the concept! We let them choose if they want to pay their "tithing" and then we give the tithing candy to the bishop. Since they chose their favorite candy, it's a tough choice, but they do it!

threewellsliving

"Little Lovables" - please learn more before you spread misinformation. Tithing was not used for the City Creek Development. See link below.

And as a current citizen of a major American city with a rotting urban core, and as one having a front row seat to the economic impact that rot has on schools, families, and people's futures, I consider the upkeep of our cities a worthy pursuit.

But even so, tithing was not used in the development projects to which you refer.


http://en.fairmormon.org/Mormonism_and_church_integrity/City_Creek_Center_Mall_in_Salt_Lake_City

Alan

I love this! It is exactly what I was looking for to teach my boys about tithing tonight!! Thanks so much!

Unknown

I just came over from Pintrest, because I was intrigued by your idea! I thought that this would also be great for older kids, if you had them use the tithes in areas like building temples, etc. The 10 skittles from each child could go to another area off to the side and act like money would to buy supplies build a temple (maybe from blocks. This could easily be incorporated into other uses of Tithing. ;)

ladywithavision

Thank you soooo much you have inspired me to teach my kids this now as well. You caught my attention as I'm on my journey of getting closer to Jesus and his will for my life. Thank you again!!!

ladywithavision

Thank you soooo much you have inspired me to teach my kids this now as well. You caught my attention as I'm on my journey of getting closer to Jesus and his will for my life. Thank you again!!!

Kinny

Geez. I don't think Little Lovables meant dishonor on your church.

Unknown

Tonii- You are amazing! I love this idea! I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to link your blog post to my YW lesson on LatterDayVillage.com for the tithing lesson. I think this would work great for a YW class too-everyone LOVES candy!

Cloudy Stitches

Thankyou so very much for showing me just how simple this act of teaching can be. Amanda xx

Cloudy Stitches

Thankyou so very much for showing me just how simple this act of teaching can be. Amanda xx