General Conference at the Wolf House

General Conference at the Wolf House is usually a joke.  In the past, I have tried to sit on the couch and listen while kids run in and out of the room screaming.  Obviously I wouldn't get much out of it.  While one child would yell at me to get them a drink, another child would cry over being hit or kicked.  Between breaking up fights and changing diapers, I would get pulled in various directions all over the house and essentially miss most of conference.  This time, however, I was determined to make a change, and I think I may have found the secret to success.  Bribery.

I took a last minute trip to the Dollar Store on Saturday afternoon and spent a few dollars on supplies.  Then, I came home and assembled five "speaker" bags, which I labeled with numbers.  Inside each bag, I placed three items (one for each child).

When it was time for conference to start this morning, I explained to the kids what the bags were for.  As speaker #1 started their talk, I instructed one of the kids to grab the bag with #1 labeled on it.  Inside the bag was a little surprise to keep them busy and quiet for a few minutes.  Then, when speaker #2 got up, we opened the second bag.  And so on.

Here's what I put in the bags...
1.  fruit snacks
2.  a new puzzle for each child
3.  a small treat
4.  playdough (different color for each child)
5.  money (a quarter for each child)

The kids were so excited about opening each bag that they were actually pretty good between bag openings. I was able to listen to most of the Sunday morning session.  I did miss one speaker while helping each child with parts of their puzzle, but overall I am thrilled with how it went.  I turned a dreaded event in our house to something more enjoyable for everyone, and I think the kids will actually look forward to conference in the fall.  Their only complaint was that I didn't quite have enough bags to last the whole session.  :)