Alternate Nursery Schedule for Very Young Class
This year, my second year as nursery leader, we have eleven children on the roster, with ten active and a twelfth who comes periodically. In addition, a special needs five-year-old comes in part-time when he needs a break from Primary. One is three years old, one is almost three, and the others are all one year old and for a while, we were getting a new child or two each week. This has required us to make adaptations, since we had more than the usual number of criers and too few older children to set the example. We are gradually increasing the structure as they settle in.
Our current schedule:
10:50-11:10 Snack
11:10-11:25 Playtime on the floor. Toys appear as first children lose interest in snack, so children wander off to play when ready. We put out only one or two types of toys, such as building blocks.
11:25-11:35 Lesson in Lesson room (I Can Pray With My Family) Children still crying stay in the playroom with a teacher, a rocking chair, and a toy. The lesson room is a small adjoining room with its own door. The playroom is a double room with a curtain.
11:35-11:50: Singing Time with the Primary music teacher in the playroom. We close the curtain to create a more contained space for this.
11:50-12:05: Play time at the table, one type of toy at each of the two tables. (puzzles, Little People, finger puppets, etc.)
12:05: Craft or coloring on table, toys on floor (allowing us to help a few children at a time.)
12:15-12:30: Scripture story and activities based on the story's theme, group games, and story time.
The theory was that having snack first would distract the children from crying and allow the leaders time to chat informally with children, take roll (allowing the children to help move their animal name tag to the "Present" spot) get organized, and handle staff absences. Having music right after the lesson isn't ideal, but we share our music leader with the Primary and have to work around that schedule. She keeps them very active, so although it's a long structured time, they're moving around in both the lesson and the singing time.
The snack has proven to be a helpful distraction. The first few weeks, everyone cried, but it gradually slowed down and today we have no criers among those whose parents leave them every week and don't pop in to check on them.
We bring out only one or two types of toys at a time to cut down on overstimulation. We have buckets and bags of sorted toys that are kept locked up. Other donated toys go into a walk-in closet children can play with during the week if they're there. This keeps our Sunday toys under control.
The scripture story time is a mini version of our mini-sharing time. I often tell the story during the lesson if it fits in. For instance, the lesson on obedience is perfect for Noah's ark, and the lessons on prayer fit right in with a story about Daniel and the Lion's Den. Currently I use Old Testament stories, and tell them for at least a month, often longer.
The related activities create a thematic feel to nursery. When we did Daniel and the Lion's Den, I made lion stick puppets the children could play with. They did lion dancing to music and wandered around roaring, puppets in hand. We did some color lessons with those old enough. I'd hold up lions and ask what color they were. Then I'd hand the lion to a child and go to the next one. I only had three colors. Older children liked to sort lions by color. For Noah's ark, I drew a large simple ark on a science fair board and the cut a door in it. The children love to drop the animals into the door as I hold the board. Older ones help the animals find their "friend" (the animals that are the same.) I have flat wooden animals I found at a craft store, and cardstock ones I made. This teaches picture matching skills, but in a non-academic no-pressure way. With both themes, we can count, as well. I don't make them sit still for these lessons. I just sit somewhere and do them while the children play and those who are interested join me. They wander away when they're tired of it.
Interested in what toys we have and how we use them?