Family Scripture Reading

Family scripture reading has always been a "fun" time.  I'm not sure where the gospel art pictures of happy families, intently studying holy writ come from.  In our home the words, "time for scriptures," are immediately followed by wrestling matches, Power Ranger demonstrations, special musical numbers, and noisy chaos in general.  There have been many times my wife and I have looked at each other and wondered what exactly it was we were trying to accomplish.  Nevertheless, the kids seem to learn, despite their apparent inattentiveness.  Out of the blue they'll make a comment relative to the reading.  It may be days later, but I'm often surprised at the connections they make on their own.

That being said, there are some adjustments we have made to improve the quality of our study together.  This year we decided to read with the older boys in the morning before school.  It has quieted things down a lot.  The fact that the real little ones are still asleep reduces many of the previously mentioned distractions.  We're still working on an age appropriate strategy for the younger kids.

Our most recent adjustment has been to slow the pace and discuss what we have read.  The kids initially resisted.  They like marking progress and seeing the chapters go by.  However, I felt something was missing. We weren't teaching them how to intellectually engage the subjects we were reading about.  Now we focus on developing an understanding of the context and meaning of each verse.  Though we may only get through a few verses a day, we have already had much more meaningful conversations regarding gospel principles with our kids.  Overall it has been a rewarding experience.