One thing I've noticed throughout the years is that handouts in Home, Family and Personal Enrichment meetings are becoming less common. It is a very sad trend as I love getting handouts. I love saving my handouts, sometimes scanning them to lessen the paperwork, to go back and refer to whenever needed throughout the years. The handouts bring back memories of the class and the things that I learned.

In a poll I did on the HFPE Group, of the 88 respondents, many of them agreed that handouts are becoming less common and 80% of those who agreed really love handouts.

Why Handouts?

• Handouts help teach the lesson and can help provide: illustrations, recipes, craft instructions, visual and textile impact of the message.
• Handouts can include additional information that you may not be able to include due to time constraints.
• Handouts can include complimentary information or stats based on your class/lesson.
• Handouts provide a place to add additional notes from the class.

Handout suggestions for mini-class attendants

Take notes on your handouts. Most handouts don't include everything that is taught in class, so take notes of things that are important to you. I loved going through my step mom's old relief society handouts with all of her additional notes. Since I didn't attend these classes myself, I learned some extra things from the class that I would have never known.

Handouts can also be used in other ways:

• Handouts can be stored in the sister's files and later used in their FHE's.
• Handouts can be handed down from a mom to daughter as she teaches her new things or as she starts a new home.
• Handouts can be typed up and sent electronically to sisters or compiled on a CD at the end of the year and given as gifts.
• Handouts can be given to the sisters on your VT route, especially those who are inactive.

Handout Suggestions

Handouts can vary so much and each one can be valuable in its own way. Handouts can be:

• Decorative such as magnets, mini dcor items, bookmarks, etc.
• Mini-books: cookbooks, books of a compilation of instructions or articles.
• Page of information or notes.
• Articles
• Numbered steps
• Instructions
• anything your imagination comes up with as long as it includes information!

Let us make an effort to have more handouts in your wards and stakes! What a blessing it is for your sisters and yourselves! Just imagine the information that can be passed down through the generations from the written instructions! Take some time today to include written instructions in your Home, Families and Personal Enrichment Meetings.

---

Shiloah Baker is a homeschooling mom to six (almost 7) beautiful children ranging in age from 10 to 1. She runs several websites to support homemakers and those in Relief Society callings. If you enjoyed this article please join us for more at www.homemakingcottage.com or www.enrichmentcottage.com.