new to nursery

[beecoming]

Please help! I need ideas for activity times for nursery! Been in there only one week. Holy Ghost lesson coming up. How will I ever get that idea across to them? the paper bag idea that is in the manual is cute but will take 15 seconds. Know what I mean? Need some ideas! Is this websight my best bet for getting nursery ideas or should i also check out some other sights?

[Elgama]

my advice would be although I can't remember much from the manual tell the story of Jesus's baptism at story time ( have pictures of doves), have the music from the Children's songbook playing throughout pick the ones that talk about the Holy Ghost - talk a bit about feelings and what feels nice and warm do the paper bag and leave it at that a lesson in Nursery should only last 5 minutes maximum my experience has been anything more and you and the kids go nuts. And don't worry about the lesson going right or them learning much - my Bishop when I was first called to nursery said my job was to make sure that his kids WANTED to come to church in the morning. I would also do something fairly active before and after the lesson time. You could for an activity have a pretend campfire and sit round talk about it - about the light and the warmth, maybe even toast pretend marshmallows and drink a pretend warm drink talk about how good it all feels and how you feel inside.

I found collages were my standby - cut out lots of pictures from Ensigns related to the lesson and we would glue and stick them and talk about them whilst I taught the lesson.

-Charley

[beecoming]

thanks soooo much-these are some great idea's-I don't feel so much like I'm floundering!

[Elgama]

just chill out and have fun is my advice you;ll be fine don't worry if they ignore your lesson completely some days it will feel like you haven't taught them anything, just make sure you start with a prayer, end with a prayer and the spirit will be with you even when you feel like you are teaching them nothing - nursery is the one calling you just need to know your class, one of my nursery classes had a number of children that didn't speak English and one with PTSD. That class is now all in YW/YMs

I had a primary class of 4 children aged 18mths-11years at one stage could get noone to help or be called and had morning sickness, my children were great, they would set out the classroom for me, help look after the little one and I remember one occasion coming back from the toilet and hearing one of them say come on lets get this done then the real grown ups think we did something. I also remember one occasion my sickness was so bad I decided to take them outside for hunting the sheep and time flew by (had forgotten my watch), I saw people coming out of Gospel Doctrine I hadn't even explained why we were doing it, when the branch president asked what they were doing one of my lovely older boys said they were acting out the Parable of the Lost Sheep (which is what we were doing lol I'd just been too sick to tell them) - I kept coming to my husband in tears one day I got a blessing that pointed out the children were learning about the New Testament by doing the teaching. The spirit was with me and the children still in the branch still have great relationships with me one of the girls my only be 16 but she is one of my best friends I remember spending her teenaged years forgetting she was a child.

-Charley