I have been dreaming up a foolproof method to keep my kids engaged and quiet during LDS General Conference this weekend. Eight+ hours of sitting still and listening to uplifting speakers sounds like heaven to me, but it’s not quite as enjoyable for active, busy little people.  Actually, truth be told, if I was actually able to sit still that entire time, rather than being up and about every 37 seconds to help a child with something, I’d probably get a little antsy, too.  I’m not very good at sitting still.

For us to stick with any plan, it has to be simple. So here is the simple plan to make our Conference more meaningful and (hopefully) a little quieter.

I bought a roll of these tickets.  They will last us for years, I suspect.

I grabbed a pint-sized mason jar for each kid and we made labels for them. We’ll add tickets to the jars as they earn them, and then in between speakers they can make purchases at the store.

Each child has the opportunity to earn up to 6 tickets per speaker, plus bonuses for being extra helpful and kind.

How to earn tickets:

They can earn a ticket for each completed activity page. I downloaded activity pages from
Little LDS Ideas
LDS Lane
The Redheaded Hostess
Teepee Girl
Brightly Street

and we’ll also be using my General Conference Doodle Journal  and this really quick and super simple page I put together to help us write down the main point(s) that stood out to us for each speaker.  We’ll use this as a basis for Family Home Evening in the future.

I made a quick and easy little folder for each child by stapling the activities into a manila folder. They’ll be able to keep everything in one place and flip through the pages to work on whatever strikes their fancy at the moment.

Included in the Store:


prepacked snacks (a real treat in our house!)
Easter egg dying kits
candy
books
Mad Libs
Small gift for each child.  These are worth the most tickets. I wrapped them and labeled them with the child’s name, so they can see what they’re working toward without knowing what the actual gift is.

These are all things we would have given the kids for Easter anyway.  We’re not big Easter basket people; the Easter Bunny doesn’t come to our house, but we often give the kids little gifts on the Saturday morning before Easter.  Because General Conference falls on Easter weekend this year, we’re taking full advantage and combining snacks/candy/small gifts for both events.

I want to set the kids up for success, while also challenging them a little bit.  So each of the smaller items is worth 5 tickets, the bigger items will be 10-15 and the gifts will be about 25.  They’ll still be able to earn plenty of things, without it being a free-for-all.  Hopefully.

If we do this again in the future, I’m not sure if we’ll include the small gifts or not.  I would probably stick to smaller items: coloring books, craft supplies, bubbles, etc. and the kids will have the opportunity to earn more of them.

I’ll have a few everyday activities on hand, too.  Homemade playdough, kinetic sand, paper and crayons small toys to help keep little hands busy.


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Do you have any tried and true methods to help your family stay attentive and reverent during Conference?