I hope you all don't mind that I'm posting this here, but I had to share! (I'll post it on my family blog too). I recently returned from a week-long Cousins Camp (an annual family tradition) where usually only the cousins get to camp with the grandparents for a whole week in the summer at our family cabin in AZ. Well this year it was a reunion of sorts and all the families came to California over the 4
th! As part of the camp my mom always has a treasure hunt and "trophies". This year the theme was "Like a Lighthouse", referring to Christ as our eternal beacon of light when we are on stormy, or calm, seas. The kids all got their own pocket-sized copy of the Book of Mormon as their trophy.
My 2-year old was
ecstatic. Our nap and bedtime routine had been to read 2 library or other books and then Jeff or I would tell him a made-up story about a boy named
Makai (who was actually him). He loved it and looked forward to sleepy times twice daily. Well, when he got his Book of "Norman" he told me, "Mommy we need to read Book of
Normon stories before bed." Well, I'd been wanting to do that with him, but wasn't sure if he was ready. His request was gladly granted and every night since we've been home (and in our new house) we now read a chapter out of the illustrated (and highly condensed version) of the Book of Mormon as Corbin holds his own little Book of Mormon trophy treasure! It not only fills his bucket each night but mine too!
If you're not reading this with your kids yet because you think they're too young.... try it! You might be surprised how ready they are. And it's great to refer to it during the day when situations arise.... such as, "Are you acting like
Nephi or
Laman and Lemuel when you don't share with your brother?", etc. He gets it! Let's just hope it sticks! So, I'm curious, what do you do to fill your kids/families' buckets?
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2 comments:
Oh, that's great! We just started reading them with my 15-month-old too. She struggles and screams if we try to hold her on our laps, but she'll stand next to me and look at the pictures while I read. I think her favorite part, honestly, is that we sing "Book of Mormon Stories" right before reading them each time.
Holly, this is an excellent story. Thanks for sharing! I have been wanting to get that picture book of mormon for a long time. I'm glad to hear that it worked out so well for you--I think I'm really going to have to get it now!
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