Month #3: ABINADI (The Ten Commandments)
**Don't forget to check out this post with an easy Ten Commandment Finger Play for kids**
This family home evening lesson is apart of "A Year with the Book of Mormon." Click the link to learn about our other Book of Mormon Heroes.
Prayer:
Song: "Keep the Commandments" Before singing the song, explain to your child(ren) what a commandment is. It's a rule that Heavenly Father gives us to make us happy and safe. Explain a few rules at your house that make your children happy and safe - holding hands in the street, wearing a helmet on a bike, etc.
Hero Poster: Hold up the picture below and tell your child(ren).. Today we will be learning about a new Book of Mormon hero, Abinadi. We'll learn about how he obeyed Heavenly Father and taught the Ten Commandments to King Noah.
Story of Abinadi: Show your child a picture of Abinadi teaching King Noah and his priests. Point to the people in the picture and teach your children about them. ie: "This is King Noah. Look at his huge crown and jewels on his clothes. He loved riches and didn't teach his people about Heavenly Father and Jesus. This made Heavenly Father and Jesus sad, so they sent Abinadi to tell wicked King Noah to repent. This is Abinadi (point to Abinadi). Abinadi was brave, because he taught King Noah and his priests about Jesus and His commandments even if they wouldn't listen." Add whatever else you'd like about the story.
Activity: Hunt for The Ten Commandments. Before this activity, print and hide a set of commandment cards (these are based on toddler needs) around the room. Teach your children that Abinadi is our hero, because he kept the commandments and always obeyed Heavenly Father. Let's talk about the commandments and what we can do to follow them, just like Abinadi. Have your child find one commandment card at a time and discuss as necessary. Write the number 10 on a piece of paper and have your child glue the commandment cards onto the number. Note: You could also print two of the command cards and play a matching game.
- Goal #1: Learn "Keep the Commandments," which we sang at the beginning of our lesson today.
- Goal #2: Watch the Living Scriptures, Abinadi and King Noah. If you don't own or want to purchase a movie, you can watch chapter 14 of the illustrated Book of Mormon series at lds.org.
- Goal #3: Keep the commandments, as talked about in the activity above. When my almost three and one year old do something to keep the commandments (pray, go to church, obey mom, etc.) they will earn a sticker on our chart. As a reminder, I don't like to use bribery to earn stickers. Instead, notice a good behavior and reward it with a sticker. Once the chart is full, we'll go out for our favorite, ice cream.
Testimony:
