Nursery Lesson 8: I Am Thankful for the Day and the Night
Notes: The nursery is for children ages 18 months to age three. The teacher uses the same manual as the Sunbeam class, which is for three and four year olds. The children in the nursery are young, and the lessons require some adaptation for them. I try to teach the entire lesson, but in a shortened form so that it takes only ten to fifteen minutes. I teach some sections in other parts of the nursery day, such as music time, the moments before snack, or while we wait for parents. These are only guidelines and you should always give priority to the manual, the direction of your leaders, and the promptings of the spirit. Each group of children is unique and teachers must consider the needs of their own classes rather than someone else's structure. Whenever I use additional materials beyond what is offered in the manual, I use only official church publications, as directed by the Primary.
The series of lessons that begin this week are my favorites. They explore the days of creation and are so much fun for little ones. You will discover they require very little adaptation, and lend themselves well to a theme that can be carried out all day. Have fun with these! Keep the purpose firmly in mind, however. It can be easy to get sidetracked and forget the reason for the lesson.
1. Attention Activity: If your class does not have older children with good language skills, they will not be able to do this. You may simply want to show pictures or the cutouts and ask some simple questions about the pictures. "What is this? Yes, it's the sun. What color is the sun? Yellow! Where is the sun? Is it in the toy closet? Is it in the chapel? No, it's in the sky!" The important question is the last one: Who made the sun? Regardless of the ages or abilities of your class, ask this question and emphasize the answer.
We Work and Play During the Day
Story: This section can easily be done as written. Tell the story in simple terms and be sure to show the children a Bible and where the story is in the Bible. By the end of their nursery experience, they should be familiar with the scriptures. For the final part of this section, a game about daytime activities, you may want to find pictures to show the children. Toddlers love pictures.
We Rest During the Night
Teach this section just as you did the previous one, with pictures for the game. If your students talk well, they might enjoy sharing bedtime rituals. The finger play gives children a chance to stand up and move around a little. I always enjoyed having the children act this out rather than doing it as a finger play. On the first line, have them pretend to climb stairs. On the second line, they lay down. Continue showing them how to act out the poem. Repeat this activity several times during the day, just before snack and at closing. Then they will be ready to settle down for the next part of the lesson, which is more serious.
Heavenly Father Used the Day and the Night to Announce the Birth of Jesus
If your class is getting restless, skip this part of the lesson. Offer it later in the day if they are in a quiet mood.
Enrichment Activities
Number 1: Older children will enjoy this craft. During free play, have one adult call the children over, one or two at a time, based on their experience and age. Help each one make the craft. Use large pieces of paper for the sun and moon. You may want to add a cutout of a boy or girl playing to the daytime scene. Be sure to have some crafts made in advance or during the class to give those children who are not interested in making something.
Number 2: The song illustrated is the easiest to teach children. Teach it during singing time instead of during the lesson.
Number 3: Use this song during singing time or play time unless your children need a break during the lesson.
Number 4: Use this during another part of the day if you are interested, illustrated with cutout figures.
Additional Activities for Younger Children:
1. This is an excellent way to present the material at the start of the lesson.
2. Use this while waiting for parents.
3. Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam is a good song to teach during singing, since the children will hear it again when they "graduate" into the regular Primary.
By Terrie Lynn Bittner