Have you gone into your nursery space recently? Perhaps gotten down to see the view as appreciated from a toddler's perspective?
One of our primary presidents recently told us how she felt prompted to give the nursery space in their building a bit of a lift. She noticed that in other places, the space for young children is always bright, cheerful, and welcoming, and felt that the nursery space for her own primary wasn't measuring up. She worked hard to create a more inviting area for the youngest members of her primary.
We invite you to consider the nursery space in your building! Is it welcoming? A place the children want to be? If you share your building with another ward, perhaps coordinate with them to enhance your nursery space. For budget concerns, coordinate with your bishopric. Let's help all of our primary spaces be places where the children can feel the Saviour's peace, light, and joy!
Elder Kearon acknowledged the realities of parenting at Church. His thoughts apply as well to Nursery leaders and Primary teachers!
“…there is often no such thing as a time of stillness and quiet reflection during the sacrament. But in small moments throughout the week, [or, we would add, during class time] you can teach by example the love, gratitude, and joy you feel for and from the Saviour as you constantly care for His little lambs. No effort in this pursuit is wasted. God is so aware of you.”
Here are a couple of highlights from the introduction to the “Behold Your Little Ones” manual:
“Use the scriptures as you teach the children. When a lesson suggests that you tell a story from the scriptures, open the scriptures and point to the place where the story is found…Teach them to appreciate and reverence the scriptures.” BYLO
Even as early as Nursery, we should be sensitive to the family situations of the children especially when teaching a lesson on families. “When a lesson refers to the children’s parents or families, consider the feelings of any children who are being raised by a single parent, by grandparents, or by other family members.” BYLO
Looking for more resources for Nursery class? Besides the activities in BYLO, resources such as games, pictures, songs, stories and activities are always available in the Church magazines. Try a free subscription to the Friend!
