How a Monthly Family Meeting Can Make You a Better Mom!

When you start having Family Meetings once a month, it helps you to strengthen your family relationships and traditions.

It was a chilly October evening, with my family gathered around the fireplace in our living room when I introduced them to the concept of a Monthly Family Meeting. For several years, we had been gathering at the beginning of December to discuss what we wanted the Christmas season to include while we reminisced over past years, but I wanted to take it a step further, and add in October and November because our family loves Autumn and all its deliciousness!

The children were already used to sharing their thoughts about Christmas, so they were more than happy to offer Autumn ideas as well. In fact, it was from these meetings that our many Autumn Homeschooling traditions grew!

These family meetings have become so important to our family that we have started having a meeting every month!

These meetings make me a better mom because they keep me organized, let me know what is working and what is not, and help me stay on track with monthly plans. I even created a printable for our Monthly Family Meetings and decided to share it with all of you!

So, grab your FREE copy of my Monthly Family Meeting Pages, and let’s get started…

The Gathering

Near the beginning of each month, I call everyone in our home to a gather for a family meeting in the living room. We sink into comfy couches and chairs and cuddle up with blankets and dogs.

Then, I pull out my Monthly Family Meeting Page for the current month. I should probably use a pencil, but most often I use a pen to write on the page and if it gets too messy, I simply print a new sheet and rewrite it all.

I keep our family calendar – Google Calendar – handy during the meeting so I can let everyone know what is going on that month and so we don’t overdo our monthly plans.

WHAT YOU NEED FOR YOUR FAMILY MEETING:
1. Monthly Family Meeting Pages downloaded and printed.
2. A pen or pencil.
3. Family calendar (or at least a working knowledge of what is going on that month).
4. A comfortable place to gather where you can easily have everyone’s attention.

The Briefing

My husband is an officer in the Army, so we call this part of the Family Meeting the Briefing. It is a time to go over the family calendar, sharing any relevant events and plans everyone needs to know about.

For instance, in November, this is the time when I share where we’ll be having Thanksgiving, who we will be sharing the meal with, and when the siblings who no longer live with us will be coming home.

This is also a good time for older family members like your teens and young adults to share anything that needs to be put on the calendar that hasn’t made it there yet. This could be work parties, church activities, or trips they have planned.

The Briefing sets the stage for our monthly planning, while reminding me just how much we have going on that month. I don’t want to overbook myself before I’ve even begun!

The Planning

At the beginning of our planning time, I explain to everyone that I want to hear ALL of their ideas, but that we won’t necessarily be able to implement all of the ideas this year. If I have ideas, I share them as well.

For instance, in this year’s January Family Meeting, I told the kids I wanted to do a Hygge Unit Study and also celebrate Winnie the Pooh Day on January 18. The kids suggested things like a Movie Marathon, the Boiling Water to Ice Trick, learning how to crochet, doing workouts as a family, and finishing some craft projects.

I wrote everything down on our Family Meeting Page as they threw out their suggestions.

WARNING: This part of the meeting often gets rather loud in our house because everyone is having a blast throwing out ideas. I sometimes have to rein them back in from some really crazy ideas and calm them down when they get excited about certain ideas. Might just be my family, but I thought I’d warn you!

The Reminiscing

Because we’ve been doing Monthly Meetings for a while, I have previous year’s pages on hand. It’s fun for everyone to reminisce over last year’s adventures and escapades, and consider what worked and what didn’t.

You may be wondering why we don’t do this before the planning stage of our meeting. That’s because I have found my children to be highly influenced by “what we did last year.” I want them to share the traditions and plans that really meant something to them in previous years (things that made lasting impressions) while also coming up with new ideas BEFORE they are told what we did last year and can only think of those things. Basically, reminiscing before planning stifles their creativity, and I don’t want that!

The great thing about reminiscing is how it strengthens the bonds in our family! We have made so many memories as a family that it is good to recount them, tell the stories, share the joy, and even remember the not so great parts! We are building lasting bonds through these simple family meetings!

The Culling

Here comes the hard part!

Even if you manage to cut off the family meeting before your page is overflowing, you will still often find yourself unable to complete everything on your list. Because of this, I suggest 2 cullings –

1st – At the time of the meeting.
You can do this quietly as the ideas come in, acting as a filter for any ideas you know you can’t manage. Or you can ask the kids to choose from certain activities in order to pare down the list.

2nd – As the month progresses.
I usually do this on my own. When I notice I won’t be able to facilitate a certain activity or idea, I cross it off the list and if it comes up, it comes up. If its something big that I feel I need to share with the children, then I will make an announcement at meal time or during school, trying to minimize the disappointment.

Sometimes you can move ideas to a new month, sometimes they just aren’t feasible any time. I highly suggest you work at the time of the family meeting to help your kids understand what is reasonable and what is not. No one has the ability and resources to do whatever they want all the time, and family meetings are a great way to help your children learn this concept.

Celebrate!

Once you have your list on your Family Meeting Page, now is the time to post it where YOU will see it, not necessarily where your entire family can see it!

You are in charge of this list, and it needs to be where you will remember to look at it. I keep mine beside my chair in the living room. I see it every time I sit down. I am reminded to plan for the things on the list, I am aware of what ideas on the list would work for later that day or later that week.

Having it in a place where you will see it also keeps you accountable. It spurs you on to do the things your family talked about doing in the Monthly Family Meeting! It encourages you to be a mom who is actively building up her family, actively building strong memories, and actively being present in her family’s lives!

And next year, when you have your monthly meetings and you look back on the previous year, you will be reminded of how small things became lasting memories, how little ideas became strong family bonds, and how wonderful it is just to be mom!