Nursery Lesson 7: The Holy Ghost Helps Me
Notes: The Nursery children use the same manual as the CTR-4 children use. Because they are so much younger, these lessons require adaptation. Following are suggestions for adapting this lesson to your nursery. These are only suggestions and you should always rely on prayer, the instructions in the lesson and the direction of your leaders in choosing how to present your lesson. In addition, you must consider the ages, abilities, experience levels and personalities of your students. Any outside resources used in these lessons come from approved sources only.
Purpose: To help each child learn that the Holy Ghost helps us. (Keep this in mind as you choose teaching methods.)
Attention Activity: This works best in small classes. In a larger class, the children may become restless waiting for everyone to have a turn. You may prefer to whisper loudly and let them all try to hear you at once. Besides focusing their attention on the lesson, this serves the useful purpose of getting them quiet.
Some teachers are tempted to use a drawing that is supposed to be the Holy Ghost, looking like God and Jesus, but having dotted lines to show he doesn't have a body. I have seen this in non-church published materials. Little children won't understand this, so avoid using it in your lesson. You run the risk of making them think the Holy Ghost also has a body. What they see will register better than what you say and dotted lines only mean spirits to older people.
You may want to begin this section by reminding the children about their own bodies. Ask them if they can touch their arms. Can they feel a feather touching their arms? Then explain that this is because they have a physical body. The Holy Ghost does not have one. This is likely to confuse them, but don't worry about it. The more often they hear it, the better they will understand.
The Holy Ghost Gives Us Comfort and Help: The children probably don't know the word comfort. You will want to spend a little time teaching them this word. The opening question is a good start. Tell them that their parents make them feel better when they are sad, and this is called giving them comfort. Let them try saying comfort. Repeat throughout this section that comfort means making someone feel better when they are sad or sick or scared. If you can find pictures of parents or children giving comfort to someone use those to share the word. "Why do you think this little girl is in bed? She is sick. Is it fun to be sick? No. But look, her mother is stroking her hair and giving her water. Her mother is making her feel better. She is giving the little girl comfort. What is she giving her little girl? That's right, comfort." Once they know the word, they are ready to understand that the Holy Ghost also gives comfort. You can use the rest of the section as it is written.
Story The children may enjoy this story if they have the language skills. Find a picture of President Lee to show and keep the story very brief. This lesson has a lot of talking in it.
The children have been sitting for a while now. Use Activity 2 in the Additional Activities for Young Children to give them a break. Have them stand up and move around a little as they do the song or poem. Enrichment Activity 3 about still, small voices is also a good supplement to this section and can allow the children to stand up if you choose.
The Holy Ghost Helps Us Know What is Right Enrichment activity 2 is a good way to teach this section, because it uses pictures. The suggestion that the children smile or frown may be too subtle for them. Just have them say yes or no.
The Holy Ghost Helps Us Know Heavenly Father and Jesus are Real If this lesson has lasted a while and your children are restless, you may want to skip this section, or introduce it later in the day, perhaps in casual discussion over the snack. Little children already have no doubt that God is real. They have amazing faith.
We Can Receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost This can be handled in a sentence or two if your children are tired. Ask them if they would like to have the Holy Ghost as their friend to always be with them. Then tell them when they are eight and get baptized and confirmed, that will happen. Assure them Heavenly Father will always help them before they are eight too. If they seem interested, show pictures of baptism and confirmation.
By Terrie Lynn Bittner
Purpose: To help each child learn that the Holy Ghost helps us. (Keep this in mind as you choose teaching methods.)
Attention Activity: This works best in small classes. In a larger class, the children may become restless waiting for everyone to have a turn. You may prefer to whisper loudly and let them all try to hear you at once. Besides focusing their attention on the lesson, this serves the useful purpose of getting them quiet.
Some teachers are tempted to use a drawing that is supposed to be the Holy Ghost, looking like God and Jesus, but having dotted lines to show he doesn't have a body. I have seen this in non-church published materials. Little children won't understand this, so avoid using it in your lesson. You run the risk of making them think the Holy Ghost also has a body. What they see will register better than what you say and dotted lines only mean spirits to older people.
You may want to begin this section by reminding the children about their own bodies. Ask them if they can touch their arms. Can they feel a feather touching their arms? Then explain that this is because they have a physical body. The Holy Ghost does not have one. This is likely to confuse them, but don't worry about it. The more often they hear it, the better they will understand.
The Holy Ghost Gives Us Comfort and Help: The children probably don't know the word comfort. You will want to spend a little time teaching them this word. The opening question is a good start. Tell them that their parents make them feel better when they are sad, and this is called giving them comfort. Let them try saying comfort. Repeat throughout this section that comfort means making someone feel better when they are sad or sick or scared. If you can find pictures of parents or children giving comfort to someone use those to share the word. "Why do you think this little girl is in bed? She is sick. Is it fun to be sick? No. But look, her mother is stroking her hair and giving her water. Her mother is making her feel better. She is giving the little girl comfort. What is she giving her little girl? That's right, comfort." Once they know the word, they are ready to understand that the Holy Ghost also gives comfort. You can use the rest of the section as it is written.
Story The children may enjoy this story if they have the language skills. Find a picture of President Lee to show and keep the story very brief. This lesson has a lot of talking in it.
The children have been sitting for a while now. Use Activity 2 in the Additional Activities for Young Children to give them a break. Have them stand up and move around a little as they do the song or poem. Enrichment Activity 3 about still, small voices is also a good supplement to this section and can allow the children to stand up if you choose.
The Holy Ghost Helps Us Know What is Right Enrichment activity 2 is a good way to teach this section, because it uses pictures. The suggestion that the children smile or frown may be too subtle for them. Just have them say yes or no.
The Holy Ghost Helps Us Know Heavenly Father and Jesus are Real If this lesson has lasted a while and your children are restless, you may want to skip this section, or introduce it later in the day, perhaps in casual discussion over the snack. Little children already have no doubt that God is real. They have amazing faith.
We Can Receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost This can be handled in a sentence or two if your children are tired. Ask them if they would like to have the Holy Ghost as their friend to always be with them. Then tell them when they are eight and get baptized and confirmed, that will happen. Assure them Heavenly Father will always help them before they are eight too. If they seem interested, show pictures of baptism and confirmation.
By Terrie Lynn Bittner