Conference is a tricky event at our house. I love it. I can stay awake, take notes and enjoy all 8 hours if I'm completely by myself. However, this household doesn't sit still for long without falling asleep or busting into silliness so I tried to come up with something that could keep their interest and motivate them to stay for the majority of the talks. With a house full of boys the answer seemed to be obvious. FOOD. Lots of food. Once Bret and Erika learned what was going on they stayed for the entire weekend.
Each of the four sessions had new munchies to go with it. The long table was set up downstairs and was divided in half.
On one side there were foods that could be eaten any time and were replenished as necessary.
Nathan and Hyrum were shocked that I let them eat downstairs. Their favorite was the canned cheese.
Sunday morning was the overall favorite (and was gobbled so fast that I didn't even have time for a picture). I made Popeye Pancakes (German Pancakes) in muffin tins so that they created little bowls which were then filled with fresh strawberries and topped with whipped cream. To balance it out we also had breakfast burritos loaded with eggs, sausage, potatoes, cheese and peppers. A variety of juices and milks completed our conference breakfast.
The other side of the table was filled with treats labeled with apostle pictures.
The guideline was that those who listened to (and, for those able, took notes) would divide the treat with that apostle's picture on it, AFTER the talk. I explained how it would work and everyone was excited. It was funny to hear them say, "I can't wait until Elder Oaks speaks!!" They really wanted those Skittles.
During the first apostle talk Hyrum kept jumping around the room, trying to get the others to talk to him and ignoring the packet of color pages, dot-to-dots, hidden picture pages and puzzles that I had provided to hopefully keep his interest for at least a few minutes. I kept trying to get him to sit down with me, reminding him of the treat that would come if he would sit and listen for a few minutes.
After the talk was over Derek opened the treat and divided it among those who had listened/taken notes. Hyrum didn't get one. Through his tears I pulled him onto my lap and reminded him of the choices he had and that the good consequence for those who had listened was to have the treat and the consequence for those who had not listened was that they didn't get a treat. As the next talk started I reminded him that he would be able to have the next treat if he would be listen for just a few minutes and invited him to snuggle with me and we could listen together. After the talk was over he looked up at me with wishful eyes and asked "do I get a treat this time?". I reviewed with him his behaviour during the first talk and compared it to his behaviour during the second talk and said, yes, he had earned the treat. With a proud yet humble attitude he hugged me and said "I did repentance, huh, mommy." He didn't miss out on a treat throughout the rest of the conference.
LeRoy listened to the first session while working upstairs but came down after it was over to cash in on his treats. Hyrum was the one to remind him that he wasn't reverent or taking notes so he didn't get any treats. LeRoy didn't miss the rest of the conference either.
Nathan had a combination conference packet with the same games and activities that Hyrum had but also the note taking pages that the rest of us had. He struggled at first thinking that he had to write full sentences and kept asking me to repeat what was just said or if it was the right thing to write down. I finally got the message across that all he needed to do was listen and if a word stuck out in his mind he should write it down.
Values. Pray. Scriptures. Teach. Righteous. Missionaries. Worthy. Jesus. Everlasting Happiness.
Obedience. Faithful. Holy Ghost. Peace. Teacher. Serves. Feel his Voice.
After Greg C. Christensen's talk Nathan came over to me and stated with excitement, "I think I can feel the Holy Ghost's voice like he said in his talk 'cause I keep hearing the words I should write in my notes".
We have been using our notes for a conference spotlight in family home evening. I originally thought that maybe the food had distracted the boys from actually listening to conference but their messages at FHE tell me otherwise.
And every once in a while I hear "I can't wait until conference".
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