Nursery Lesson 5: Jesus Christ is the Son of God
Notes: The lesson manual for the Sunbeam class is also used in the nursery. This article suggests ways to adapt the lesson for the nursery, and for less-prepared Sunbeams. These are only suggestions, and your first source for planning should be prayer and your personal knowledge of your students. Additional resources come only from the Friend, which is an approved resource.
Please pay special attention to the note at the beginning of this lesson. The topic is fathers, and some children do not have one in their homes. Before teaching the class, review the home situations of your students. Children can be shown that a step-father, a foster father or any other male who takes care of the child is important and should be loved. After all, Joseph was not Jesus' natural father, but we can be certain they had a loving relationship. Long before you reach the classroom, you should have decided how to approach the issue of fathers for the needs of the child. If you are not sure about a child's relationship to his father, ask the presidency or the parent. The parent can help you to understand how she presents this issue to her own child.
PURPOSE
To help each child understand that Jesus Christ is Heavenly Father’s son.
Playtime: 35 minutes
Because the lesson talks about growing up and fatherhood, consider setting up a corner with clothing of all different sizes. Let children who are interested try to put on various items, from baby clothes to grown up clothes, or even just shoes of various sizes. You could also set up flannel board stories for the children to play with of the nativity, Jesus’ baptism, and of people of various ages. Make these available along with the regular toys.
Gathering Time: 10 minutes
Opening Song: Tell Me the Stories of Jesus
Prayer by a child
Introduction to lesson: Use enrichment activity for younger children, number three. However, Activity three is tricky. Invariably a child forgets or there is a new child that day and someone is left out. Instead, bring in an assortment of baby items and some dolls. Let the children talk about the items and how they are used. Let them share how they do things now as opposed to when they were babies. Find general pictures of babies in the library to look at and discuss.
Music Time: 10 minutes
Teach the songs in the lesson: Away in a Manger, Once I was a Baby, and Tell Me the Stories of Jesus. Use packet pictures to help them understand the meaning of the songs. Consider adding simple gestures to Away in a Manger. Review one song from a past lesson. You may want to review Away in a Manger often, so the children know it by Christmas.
Snack Time: Ten Minutes
Lesson Time: 10 minutes
The attention activity invites a father to come to class to talk about his child. Most children will enjoy this if the father is carefully chosen. When the children are invited to talk about their fathers, think about those children who might not know their fathers. Know what male the child is closest to, and invite the child to tell about that person. You might say, "Joshua, would you tell us about your uncle Jim? Does he look like you?" This way you avoid putting the child in an uncomfortable position. It is unlikely that children will ask why Joshua is telling about his uncle, but if a child does, (especially if you are using this plan in the Sunbeam class), simply say that Uncle Jim helps to take good care of Joshua and today you are talking about men who take care of children.
Story:
This is the story of the nativity. You can find a pattern for a flannel board nativity in the Friend here: Nativity Sharing Time Activity
This can help you to focus the children's attention and can also be used later during playtime to let the children practice retelling the story. You may want to tell it again later in the day, perhaps when the children are playing. Start playing with it yourself and see who joins you.
The children are likely to be confused about Joseph, if they are old enough to pay attention to that part of the story. Don't worry about making them understand. Simply explain it as it is offered in the lesson and move on.
The first and second adaptation for young children are appropriate here. Children often do think Jesus is still a baby and these two, used together, will remind them that babies grow up and Jesus is already grown up. They don't always associate the baby Jesus with the grown-up Jesus, so show pictures of both together. You might hold them up one at a time and say, "Baby Jesus. Grown-up Jesus." Play a game in which you repeatedly hold up the pictures one at a time and let the children tell you which it is. You can repeat this during gathering time later.
This lesson is rather a lot of talking for nursery children. When talking about Jesus growing up, show the picture of Jesus as a baby. Then show Jesus in the temple. Say, “First Jesus was a baby. Then he got older and he was a child. This is Jesus in the temple. Does Heavenly Father want us to go to the temple? He does. Jesus set a good example for us.”
Next show him getting baptized. Say, “Then Jesus grew into a man. This is a picture of him getting baptized. Does Heavenly Father want us to get baptized? Yes! So Jesus was showing us what to do again. And we don’t have to wait until we’re grown up. We can get baptized when we are eight. We can learn about Jesus and do what he did when he was on the earth.”
Activity Time:
Use Enrichment Activity One, acting out the story with dolls and costumes during this time. You might also bring out the items set up in playtime (clothing) and let the children play with these. If you have a nativity set that is safe for small children, set this out as well. Allow the children to choose what to do, but don’t provide toys not related to the lesson. With only three stations, the teachers can interact with the children, reminding them of points that were taught.
Closing Time: Review the songs and activity verses from the lesson. Use the nativity or a flannel board story to review the birth of Jesus. Show a variety of pictures of Jesus (using library or packet pictures) and talk about things Jesus did in His life on earth.
By Terrie Lynn Bittner
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