Good Media FHE

 Hello my long lost friends!! :)

I'm starting to feel like a broken record on the subject...but this pregnancy is kicking my trash!  On days I actually feel good enough to do anything, its usually just getting my house back into SOME kind of order from the days I felt crappy.

Needless to say, some things have had to go and blogging was at the top of that list ;)

However!  We did a great FHE last week that really impacted my kids and I wanted to share since I think its something that is really relevant to all of us.

You need a little bit of background to see how this FHE came about.  Over the summer I am ashamed to admit I became VERY lax about the shows I would let my kids watch.  They begged and begged and finally wore me down.  I let them watch shows I previously hadn't.  Now these aren't BAD shows...but they are a little too old for my kids and they had things in them I didn't want my kids watching all the time.

I started slowly noticing a change in my kids, especially my older girls.  They were talking back to me more than they ever had, and had started being incredibly sarcastic.  I could feel a change in our home and I didn't like it one bit!  I knew we had to make a change...but I was dreading it.  I knew they would be upset and there would be a good deal of drama.

And boy was I right! ;)

One morning I just STRONGLY felt it was time, for my family we needed to make the change.  I explained to the kids we would no longer be watching those shows.  It did not go well.  There was screaming and crying.  Begging and pleading.  LOTS of anger.  

Finally I just had to say, it is my job as your mother to protect our home from influences and things that will keep us from being better.  I told them I had felt strongly prompted by Heavenly Father that we needed to do this, and I try in my life to listen to Heavenly Father when He speaks to me.

Although they didn't like it, they accepted my explanation and within a few days they stopped asking to watch those shows.  As I thought about our experience I wanted to do a FHE to try and SHOW them how we really are influenced and changed by the things we watch, listen to, and read. 

To get started I made this printable with the 13th Article of Faith on it.  We spoke about how we need to seek after things that will bring us joy and make us better.

Then came the fun part! :)  I really wanted a visual to help the kids see that we really are changed by the things we surround ourselves with. 

To start off we got a bowl full of dried noodles.  The plain noodles represent each one of us.

Then I mixed up several baggies with each one containing 2 TBSP of rubbing alcohol and a few drops of food coloring.  Each color represented something different.

Green was watching General Conference and Purple was listening to uplifting, happy music.

Blue was Good, clean family movies and Red was listening to the talks and speakers at church.

Finally I mixed up a bag with Black...and that represented ANY inappropriate shows, books or music that bring feelings of contention into our home.

Then I gave each child a bag and had them put a handful of noodles into it.  We talked about how as we listen to all the good things, they can change us and help us become better.  We also talked about how if we listen to bad things, that can change us too!

We swished our noodles around for a few minutes and then dumped them onto a tray...the kids were SHOCKED to see that the noodles had become whatever color bag they had been in.  I explained that is how media effects us in our life.  We are changed by what we watch and listen to every day.

As you can see, we ended up with 4 beautiful colors...and one not so beautiful :)  

Just to make it fun, we decided to string the noodles and make necklaces to help us remember to always choose the best things and that we truly ARE affected by what we watch and listen to.

Overall it was a great night that taught my children the importance of what we let into our lives.  I am thrilled to say a few weeks later there IS a different feeling in our home.  I have pointed it out to my kids...and they can feel it too.

I am always learning about being a better mom...and this really taught me how important it is to have courage to make the changes your family needs.

It may not be popular or simple, but these kids deserve our very best, don't they?  It may be uncomfortable and hard, but that is the very definition of growth.  

Thank you SO very much for coming by and checking us out today!  I know I have pretty much fallen off the face of the bloggy earth...but I will try and check in occasionally when I feel I can :)

Have a fantastic day!!