Your favorite hint while teaching Nursery

[FairChild]

It's also nice to have their photo and name placed upon the wall because if someone new comes it, it will help them learn names. Having the correct spelling of names helps as you are in a rush to put all the names on their projects to go home with. The kids also feel important to have their face up where everyone knows it is "their' Classroom. When we did that in our nursery, we also used the photos of the prophet and his counselors along with our nursery pictures.

[zippy_do46]

Yes, on the comfortable clothing Also we make it a rule that while one is down on the floor, the other is up. Just in case. These "little ones" move fast.
* Baby gates on the doors. So many of the Nursery doors have those handles that push pull down and they are out. We have 2 doors. We try to put the baby gate on at least one of the doors. We can put them on and still shut the doors. I was down one time playing blocks with some little ones. I had put the gates up out of the way because we had none who could even reach the handle. One of our little boys seem to have grown over the week Out the door he went. So the next week I put the gates up. He did not know. So while the other nursery leader and I were busy I saw him get up and move toward the door. As I was getting up and telling him not to go out the door. He, with the biggest grin pulled on the handle and out he tried to go. The look on his face was priceless.

[zippy_do46]

Jayanna, I agree they love to take something home. The new manual is great. The line drawings make it easy. Even if you do not have a copy machine you can trace the lines to produce something for the little ones.

[zippy_do46]

* I make copies of instructions of activity verses and all of the songs and put them in protector sheets. (These I make into the largest font that will fit on one page so I can see them at a glance) I file them in a notebook. Then when I use teacher's putty I can clean them up after I display them and put them in the notebook.
* I am going to do the same thing to the extra scripture stories that I am making for the closet. Just in case I can not be there, these stories can be use for extra lessons.

[Maya]

I have been in a primary a lot and even more in the chirldrensroom.
I been teaching extra active kids and those quiet ones and the ones that cry as they have to come to the childrens room for half a year and then change and cry as they should home or to the meeting.
First I had a tree with birds (or something similar with the idea).. every kid had their bird that they tok from the nest and put on the branches as they came (usually with a parent)and when they left they put it back in the nest. Then I had just puzles and books on two tables where kids could sit and look or play with them til at 10 sharp we had a song and a prayer (or when ever..). Then the kids were allowed to get anything they wanted to play with from the shelves... and they were not usual toys... they tok them to the tables if they were a thing to do at the tables or to the floor if it was a floor thing. There was also usual toys like lego or something like that maybe a doll, a car. We adults had to be helping kids to get the things from the shelves and to et them back on the shelf... a LOT of work but worth it. The special "toys" also help kids to consentrate and teach them things. Then I gathered everyone to a lesson. Short something that needed usually kids involment... at least the active ones. Then we had an activity, play do or drawing or something from the lesson. We sang and then ate and then if there was time, red books and puzzles again, maybe lego, before we gathered to the finnishing prayer.
The "toys": Two smal jugs on a smal tray (Glas or china! YES be careful kids!) with a little bit of water... teach the kids first one at the time how to pour from one to an other and back again. Always hold the jug with two hands supporting it with the other while the other held the handle to poor. If the child did something else he/she did not want to play with it any more so tell the child to take it back and find somethign else to do. Alow the child poor always play as long as they want to if possible and the thing shopuld be returned to the shelf NOT just give to teh next child as returning it to the shelf means the kid is ready with it and can not demand it back.
A smal bowl with rice in it and an other bowl that is empty ona a tray and a spoon. You show how to take rice from one bowl to an other... let the kid continue... tray si to show how clever the kid is ... no mess clever kid! Again if the kid starts to eat the rice or something the child probably do not want to play with it any more.
As many small bowls as you have different color cotton balls (or something) in a bigger bowl; kids take teh balls with fingers and put same colour in same bowl... separates teh colours. Can also be done with different macaronis, pasta or what ever, colours or shapes (got the idea?). Also can use ping pong balls and icecream scoop or smaller stuff and .. what you call those you nip hairs with...
One of my best equipments was two bowls and in one of them different colour pearls and a tooth pic. I showed the extra active boy to pick one pearl at the time them from one bowl to an other... he sat there 30 min++ and did that It was first time he sat longer than 2 seconds in one place... after that he slowly bagan to be able to sit quietly on lessons. This is a thing that I set high up on the shelf as it was only for the older ones.
All you have to do is to see that the kids do not bother one an other but allow others play in peace.
Also we had a kind of paperdoll that we could put clothes on.
We had a tray with a few grog glasses... hmmm... and dropper(s) one for each colour red, blue and yellow... then the kids could drop different colours to empty glasses, or just try to drop a drop in a glass or on a soapholder made of smal rubber bowls, that hold excactly one drop.
Always show the kid at least once and a few times in a row how to do what ever it is... then let the kid do it. Rather have the kid on your left side if you are righthanded.
Quiet books are also great to have and work with.
Washing the table or chairs is also a great activity, kids love to use a nailbrush to brush tables with. The teacher can show how to wrind the cloth and give the ready wride cloth to the kid but no water (dang)
I hope you get some good ideas from this. The "toys" can also be used with 3-5 year olds even older ones... the idea of the "toys" is the most important you can find more of suitable toys to your group as you know what they need and like. Use your imagination. These "toys" help kids to calm down, especially if they may play with them without having to stop in the middle of the fun.
Kids have a lot of toys at home this is a bit different and educational and interesting.
Good luck.

[zippy_do46]

I think it is always interesting how someone from another country handles working with our little ones. How many do you have, Maya in your children's room? Have you ever gone to a site called
e Primary This sister has great clip art and line drawings of the scripture stories that make it easy to copy. She also has pulled pictures from church magazines that you can use. Line drawings that can be turned into flannel stories that would allow your little ones to put together on boards covered with flannel. You can use small squares or dots of light sand paper on the back so they will stick to the flannel. you can color the front with crayons. Have you seen the new nursery manual? Have a lot of pictures in that also. My little ones do not like to just color. So I do try to have an activity that moves or opens to something. They love this. I enjoy your suggestions and think we can use this mmm except with the water. lolol I have too many little ones that think something has to go into the water. I have one little girl that dunks her snack into her water. nothing like soggy cheese crackers.

[Maya]

Thanks Zippy. I have not been in primary now for a couple of years but thanks for the netsite. I remember I was missing one when in primary. About the water... you can also use rice to pour instead of water... or something that flows easy. It IS a LOT of work to begin with to make kids understand that they are not supposed to eat, to mess with the rice/water... but they DO learn it. You just have to be alart ALL the time so you can stop such behaviour. It is a great joy to see a child VERY much in to doing one of those things... the world could fall apart around them and they had not noticed. Like the little boy... I just had to make sure NO ONEnot even the little sister could go and disturb him when he worked and he would "work" with the "toys" for a very long time... especially when thinking that he did have ants in his pants
Btw the method I used is montessori pedagogy. There are books about use of montessoripedagogy at home too. Every time the leader in the childrensroom denied the use of my "toys" we were back in the caotic noicy and messy surroundings where all toys ar just thrown around adn left ther til it is time to gather them.
Best use of thsi method has been when I needed to calm down a nursary in a little room with all too many kids in it ... I think we had some 12 kids and only one was 3. The ward was delt right after that. That room was very small to such many kids, but we did nto need to do more than at most 2 steps between the shelf and the table so one of us in time was positioned by the shelf helping kids to get stuff from the shelfs and putting them back and seeing that they manage to carry them to the table. As teh other one was working with the tables seeing that the kids did not mess with them or disturb others and talked with them.
Also I had once a boy that did not want to come in the childrensroom, he become the best kid ever in my childrensroom. Even though I knew what the primary leader tought of my "toys" I stil tok them in use and got this boy running into the childrensroom as he just loved them. Before it was like holding him all the time trying to hinder him to run out of the room. Well the leader saw the things ther after a while and told me to get rid of them and have usual toys to the kids. The boy started the same crying and trying to run away... untill I tok some of the stuff back. He loved the pouring of water and rice and putting the rice from one bowl to an other with a spoon and the colour things. I was taken to other tasks in the church and the boy continued to have his troubles again. That time there was only some 4-6 kids in the childrensroom.
I think we are stil working with the old handbook, orange I think it is. It does have picture arks adn somethig you can print out. But They have had that already some 5 years I think.

In Primary with 6-7 year olds I looked trough the handbook and was thinking what I coud do with these smart kids I had had since they came to the childrensroom as they already knew it all. A VERY good class... but as they knew it all they got bothered easy... needed to do it an other way to keep the interest. That was almost Christmas time adn all fall had ben apain to find out how to keep their interest. So I decided to do something extraordinary. Our main task become to make the armour of God. Each week we worked with the armour after I had told them the lesson which I in a way or an other tied to the armour. So we made the headpeace to protect our toughts and to reflect the bad toughts out of our heads, the sword of justice ... you know the whole armour as it is written in the scriptures we also practiced the words and as a claspreformance we told everyone all parts of the Gods armour and asked them to put on theirs so we can fight a good fight her on earth... something like that... needless to tell you I only had one girl in that group. Guys just loved it. It was one of my favorites. All those kids are stil active in church.

Imagination and quidance from Holy Spirit are needed besides knowing what you teach. I believe you do not need to slaverly follow the instruction books, but you can use other stories, other methods together with some of the stories from teh book. Personal stories are MUCH better than the ones some far a way person has experienced. Anyway I think the most important thing is to teach kids to love attending the church, but it should not be done by allowing them to do what ever they want but quide them to the right way of behaviour ... in a kind of sneeky way.
I ahve developed ( in my head) a similar primary room in montessori style, wher ther are a LOT of different beatiful "toys" around in shelfs that teach the kids all about the gospel and it teaches them with different levels of difficulty so it can be used by kids from 1 to 12. And like in montessori schools kids can themselves decide what lesson they want to do that day. Teachers should be able to teach all lessons anytime. Lessons are short and have tasks. as all kids put their minds in the task they ahve found the teacher is free to teach new short lessons to one kid at the time. Also the biggest kids can teach the smaller ones. When the lessons are made interesting to the kids there wil not be any noice problems either. The biggest could even play the computer scripture games.... this all is very individual an probably should be delt to younger and older kids as the primary now is dealt anyway. This way a kid that is sick never misses a certain lesson but the teacher sees to it tha the kid does at least once every task needed for that age group to be done. Some kids do older kids stuff and some go back doing some stuff they really liked over and over again. As the kids are interested they also learn. Beeing able to work where they will even on the floor and moveing a bit around also helps the kids to like what they do. I think I have written about it her too earlier a long thing....
Enjoy the work with the kids.