Most parents want to raise children with good character and values. Many struggle to find the time and the means to get the job done. Where do you start? What do you say? How much time will it take?
FamilyTimes™ is designed to help equip parents with easy to use tools to make the most of everyday moments together. This tool is based on the biblical model that teaches that the home should be the primary place where a child learns about God.
Here’s what the bible says to parents about teaching virtues to their children…
“Impress them upon your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:7
FamilyTimes Virtue Packs provide activities to be used once a week during each of these four family times – MealTime, DriveTime, BedTime, and MorningTime. All of this is designed to give parents simple ways to help their kids grow in faith and character.
MealTime
When You Sit at Home
Communication: Formal Discussion
Parent’s Role: Teacher
Goal: Establish Virtues
MealTime is a multi-paneled card containing cool ideas and conversation starters for weekly family discussions at the dinner table. Parents should choose one mealtime a week to spend time talking about the virtue as a family. MealTime is a great opportunity for parents to have a focused discussion with their child about how the virtue applies to their life. A five-minute conversation just one time a week can establish the virtue for a family.
“As a parent remember to be a good facilitator, not lecturer. Your job as teacher is to lead your family in a discussion, accept their input and show them you value their opinion.”
DriveTime
When You Walk Along the Road
Communication: Informal Dialogue
Parent’s Role: Friend
Goal: Interpret Life
DriveTime is a CD for families to listen to as they travel along the road together. In addition to the Virtue Song featured on the CD, families will find a fun and energetic program called KidJam that we hope they’ll enjoy together as a family. Taking a few moments in the car can help parents be a friend to their child as they work side-by-side to interpret life.
(This CD also contains Parenting Matters - a special section just for Moms and Dads that will give you some practical advice about parenting.)
“DriveTime is a great opportunity to let kids set the agenda and ask the questions. As you travel event to event, help your child interpret life as a friend. Make sure to keep this time non-threatening.”
BedTime
When You Lie Down
Communication: Intimate Conversation
Parent’s Role: Counselor
Goal: Build Intimacy
Written in up-to-date/relevant language, these four bible story cards are provided to help parents spend some quality time with their child at bedtime. This is a their chance to have an intimate conversation. Spending a few minutes with thier child at BedTime will draw families closer together and build the parents role as a counselor in their child’s life.
“The best counselor knows how to listen. When you’re in their bedroom, you are in their private world. Learn how to ask the right questions and then listen to what your children say.”
MorningTime
When You Get Up
Communication: Encouraging Words
Parent’s Role: Coach
Goal: Instill Purpose
Four encouragement cards are included for parents to write their own specific words of affirmation to their child throughout the month to help instill purpose in their child’s life. These personalized notes can be put in lunches or book bags to encourage a child once a week. A short note won’t even take a minute to write, but a parent telling a child how they feel about them is something they will remember all of their lives.
“Remember that encouraging words add emotional fuel to a child’s life. Like a coach on the side-lines, you provide inspiration and boost their spirit as no one else can.”
Virtue Pack (overall) – 5" wide x 7" height x .5" thick
MealTime – 4.75" x 7" folded 19" x 7" unfolded
BedTime – 4.75" x 7" folded 9.5" x 7" unfolded
MorningTime – 4.75" x 3.5" folded 4.75" x 7" unfolded
The PURPOSE
FamilyTimes was established to provide tools and resources which help homes rediscover family time and teach children character.
The NEED
Our culture is saturated with parenting resources to educate us about family issues. Most books and materials end up in the box or on the shelf. Every parent struggles with how to assimilate what they know into daily practice. Just knowing more doesn't make you a better parent. Many busy families desire to teach family values in their homes but do not have a system and never seem to find the time.
The CHALLENGE
IT'S NOT QUANTITY TIME!
Spending a large amount of time with your children doesn't automatically establish the right kind of relationship. It usually takes something more deliberate or more intentional if you want to leave something significant in your children.
IT'S NOT QUALITY TIME!
Sometimes there is a tendency to think you can make up for missed time. Planning a special vacation or a weekend can never substitute for the lack of routine time together. You can't cram for relationships any more than you can get physically fit in a weekend or a week.
IT'S THE QUANTITY OF QUALITY TIMES!
Issues like faith and values cannot be simply taught. They have to be transferred from one heart to the next through a special kind of ROUTINE RELATIONSHIP.
IT'S NOT WHAT YOU LEAVE FOR YOUR CHILDREN!
Most parents will pay any price to provide what they think their kids need physically. It is easy to become so preoccupied striving for a better lifestyle, education, or neighborhood that you miss what really matters.
It has more to do with how you spend your time than how you spend your money. Children need a relationship more than they need things. But when parents come home at the end of the day there's not a lot of energy or creativity left over for relationships. The fact is - there is no substitute for time. Parents need to rethink and reprioritize how they spend it.
IT'S WHAT YOU LEAVE IN YOUR CHILDREN!
An inheritance is what you leave FOR your children. A legacy is what you leave IN your children. One is temporary while the other is forever. Most parents plan, work, and strategize to leave an inheritance, but few have any systematic plan to leave a legacy.
The PLAN
Having a successful relationship with children requires consistent and planned effort. Familytimes was developed to be different. It is designed to be simple, fast and effective in assisting the family in maximizing strategic moments in their family life. FamilyTimes is built around a principle modeled in the Hebrew culture. In Deuteronomy 6:7 Moses gave specific instructions to help parents know how to pass their faith and values along to their children. He said, "Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."
1. FamilyTimes teaches Children 3 Basic Truths
There are 3 BASIC TRUTHS every child should embrace according to what Jesus modeled in Luke 2:52.
“… and Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.”
The FamilyTimes™ monthly program is built around the concept of developing Wisdom, Faith and Friendship in your children. These basic truths provide the framework for all the K-5th grade products developed by The reThink Group.
- I need to make the WISE choice.
- I can TRUST GOD no matter what.
- I should treat OTHERS the way I want to be treated.
Each BASIC TRUTH is systematically taught over a three-year track with 150 BIBLE STORIES and 36 CORE VIRTUES and MEMORY VERSES. Children will learn key virtues like Honesty, Courtesy, Determination, Fairness, Initiative and Gratitude.
Click here to view 3-year overview of all 36 virtues
Click here to view The reThink Group Statement of Faith
All of the content for FamilyTimes is directly linked with 252Basics™. A reThink Group curriculum for K-5th grade intended for use in the church. Each FamilyTimes pack corresponds to a month in the 252 curriculum and is intended to emphasize at home what is being taught at church. For more information on 252Basics please visit www.252basics.org
2. Teaches Parents about Parenting
FamilyTimes ultimate goal is to help families grow together in faith and character. We want to help parents have the greatest positive impact possible in the lives of their children.
Because of this mission FamilyTimes is primarily interested in helping parents learn in two ways… by leading and by living.
Learning By Leading
FamilyTimes is not simply interested in changing the lives of children as they respond to the virtue, but also seeing parents apply the virtue to their own lives. As is often the case, leaders usually learn more than the people they are teaching. So while we want to teach kids the 3 Basic Truths, the packs are also intended to teach parents as they learn with and guide their children. Though the activities are written for children, timeless truth is applicable to any age at any time. And what better way to grow as a parent than to grow in your understanding of foundational truth along side your child.
Learning by Living
FamilyTimes is not just about parents and kids learning virtues, but about growing together as a family. We want to help parents engage their child’s heart as they learn to be their teacher, counselor, coach, and friend.
This is not something easily learned in a book, but something that has to be practiced and experienced. That’s why each time is designed to give easy and practical steps to helping parents achieve greater positive impact in the lives of their child and build intimacy that will become invaluable as their child grows older and faces obstacles in life.
