Journal

1
Building Strong Families

• Journal
• In a united family,
• happiness springs of itself.
• Chinese Proverb
• Is your family united? How can you help unite
  and strengthen your family?

2
Thoughts

• Stack every bit of criticism between two layers
  of praise.
• It is more important to get in the first thought
  than the last word.

3
A Sense of a Goose
4
What are the Secrets of a Strong Family?
5
Students make a list of qualities of a Strong
Family?
6
Questionnaire

• Make a list of areas where your family may need
  help.

7
Commitment

• Make your family come first.
• They go with each other when one of them has an
  activity.
• An investment of time, energy, spirit, and heart.
• We should also tell them about our day then we
  are sharing.
• Commitment How you spend your time and money.
• Beware of the demands of outside interests
  remember your first job is ----- the family.
• The commitment is in writing a mission
  statement.
• Decide what you want to stand for. Start with
  one sentence.
• Mission statements change as the family changes.

8
Time Together

• MAKE time for your family!
• Find a balance of both Quality Quantity of
  time.
• Include some Peak experiences
• Vacations
• Camping
• Make continuous experiences meaningful
• Eating together
• Chores
• Doing homework
• The purpose of the task is to strengthen the
  relationship.

9
Appreciation

• Express appreciation frequently keep it short
• Be appreciative of invisible work
• Behavior is Contagious
• Dont give up too quickly, it takes 4 weeks.
• Feeling worthwhile and valuable is one of the
  most basic human needs.

10
Communication

• Good Communication helps create
• A sense of belonging in a family
• Increases understanding empathy between its
  members.

11
Communication

• The goal of communication is by far more
  important than the techniques.
• People can tell if your goal is to win or if your
  goal is to understand or help
• As we communicate, we need to be aware of our
  goals. If it is a good goal, our communication
  will go well.

12
Decision Making and Responsibilitiy

• Healthy families, including children, cooperate
  with each other in making decisions.
• Everyone in the family takes responsibility for
  own mistakes.

13
Creative Problem Solving

• Strong families can solve problems in creative
  ways.
• It is ok to have problems, but the key is to
  solve them quickly.
• Build confidence in the familys ability to solve
  problems that the family will stay together,
  even when you disagree.

14
Values and Spiritual Wellness

• Healthy families have a strong moral base in
  values and spiritual beliefs.
• Share goals and ideas about what is important.

15
Affection

• Small touches (non-sexual)
• Love Currency understanding what it is for the
  other person and learn to give it.
• Make your Love Currency explicit.
• Consider gender differences and love currency.

16
Activity Magic Carpets
17
State Requirement 7

• Strengthening Family Relationships

18
Make a list of 10 activities you can do with your
family to build your family strength.
19
Strengthen Family Relationships Activity

• Select two of the seven strategies to strengthen
  families relationships.
• Implement this strategy for the next three weeks.
  
• Explain what you are planning to do, using a
  SMART Goal (Specific, measurable, realistic)
• Do It.
• Then explain what you actually did do.
• Evaluate the strategy. Did the strategy
  strengthen your family? How?
• How can you see this activity building unity in
  your family in the future?

20
As a class read You can change your family
21
Show Sound of Music

• What do you think about his rules?

22
Family Traditions

• Fiddler on the Roof
• How does family tradition influence our family
  unity?

23
Complete the Family Tradition (Worksheet )?

• These can be simple, like eating dinner together
  every day
• Maybe your extended family gets together once a
  month
• Perhaps your mom waits up for you after a date or
  dance to talk about it
• Can also be holiday related (open one present on
  Christmas Eve...)
• Perhaps you attend siblings ball games, etc.
• Unusual we sing a strange Christmas carol my
  sister wrote when she was in 2nd grade

24
Whether you have grown up in a strong family or
not, it is possible FOR YOU to have a strong and
healthy family of your own. If your present
family is a good model to follow, transfer those
strengths to your new family. If not, rather
than blame others, yourself, or circumstances,
take responsibility for making your future family
the kind of family that nurtures and loves its
members. It doesnt just happen by accident..
It takes effort and determination. Investing in
your family is the best investment in the
future you can ever make.
25
Summary

• Despite the media attention focused on the
  difficulties of family life, families are the
  foundation of our nation and society. To be a
  strong nation we must build strong marriages
  families. This takes knowledge, determination,
  and hard work.
• start building habits that will strengthen your
  family NOW!!