Happy New Year! Today is a pretty incredible day. It’s the first day of a new year, a new decade, AND it’s the day that the new Children and Youth program officially starts. If you’re not familiar with this program, it’s a new initiative from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to help children and youth strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ and progress along the covenant path as they meet life’s challenges.
Just as Christ developed in all areas of His life, the Children & Youth program provides an outline for personal development: Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, and Social. Children and youth are encouraged to write down what they would like to learn and improve in these areas of their life. And if you need any help, here are 40 ideas to get you started.
Spiritual
Read the Book of Mormon daily.
Say your personal prayers daily.
When you pray, listen for answers.
Do baptisms for the dead once a month.
Practice daily repentance.
Plan a FHE lesson or activity.
Write down 3 things you are grateful for every day for a month.
Work on family history once a week.
Share your testimony with a friend or family member.
Memorize your favorite scripture.
Physical
Try a new fruit or vegetable every week.
Do 30 minutes physical exercise every day.
Learn how to play tennis.
Work on achieving a pull-up.
Train for a 5k.
Go on a family walk once a week.
Replace a juice or soda with water each week.
Stretch every morning and evening.
Go on a family hike.
Go to bed earlier.
(Are you a youth leader? Help your youth prepare lessons without doing it for them with this Youth Lesson Outline)
Intellectual
Spend more time on homework.
Work on better handwriting.
Learn how to cook.
Take a prep class.
Learn photography.
Work on speed-reading.
Learn cursive.
Volunteer to tutor other kids.
Join an extra-curricular activity.
Work on typing faster.
Social
Go to a school’s sporting event with friends.
Eat lunch with someone new every week.
Put your phone away when with family.
Talk to someone new at school.
Practice getting along with siblings.
Find and do a service project.
Invite some neighbors you don’t know very well over for dinner.
Smile at everyone you see.
Invite friends over for a game night.
Join an after-school activity group.
These ideas are just the beginning. The great thing about this new program is that it is personal and can be applied to every unique situation. Do whatever works for you. And if you have more ideas, I’d love to hear them in the comments. Good luck!
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2 Responses
New member and second Counselor. Still learning and would like to have more information to share with the Youth and Young women especially when giving a lesson.
Love this list! The kids set one goal in each area before the end of last year. Brad and I are going to set goals with them and we will have a family council about it on Sunday before Come Follow Me. Love this list! I am going to bring it with me, just in case anyone needs an idea 😉