Nursery Lesson 9: I am Thankful for Water
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.
This series of lessons 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.
The purpose of this lesson is to help children feel grateful for water and to remember who created it. You can help children internalize this purpose by repeating the information again and again and by sharing your own gratitude for water.
Attention Activity:
This activity suggests the teacher call a child to the front of the room to act out an activity involving water. If your class is very young, they may find this hard. You might prefer to show pictures and let the children act out what they see in the pictures. If you don't have pictures, ask the children to show you how they wash their hands. The youngest nursery children usually aren't
good at waiting while others do things, but might enjoy taking turns being the leader and demonstrating the activity while the others follow along. You may, as the manual suggests, have to show them what to do.
Water was an Important Part of Creation:
Don't be afraid to read scriptures to children. Even though they might not understand all the words, they will become familiar with the language by hearing it and will also learn that God's teachings are found in these special books. Use a picture to help the children understand Genesis 1:19-20. Point to the land and the water as you talk about each part.
The song for this lesson is fun and will let the children get their wiggles out. This allows them to stay in class longer.
We Need Water for Many Things:
This section can be taught just as it was written. You may want to use pictures to help the children visualize the activities you are discussing. If you used them at the start of the lesson, use them again. Little children don't mind.
Jesus Gave Moses and the Israelites Water From a Rock
If your class cannot sit through an entire lesson, skip this story or tell it later. Tell it very briefly, especially if they are quite young.
Water is Important in the Church
Spend more time on this section. It can be presented just as it is written.
Enrichment
Activities 1 and 2: Use this later in the day, perhaps just before the parents arrive. Continue repeating songs and finger plays learned in previous lessons to help children become familiar with them.
Activity 3: Most nursery children can't draw. If you are teaching them to glue, you might want to find water pictures and cut them out. Bring one child at a time to a table during playtime (if they are interested) and help them glue a picture onto the paper. Then make some for the other children who did not want to do it.
This entire lesson shouldn't take more than ten or fifteen minutes. It is very brief but covers important doctrine the children need to know.
Activities for younger children: Don't take the children outside unless you are certain you can keep them together and that it won't be disruptive. It is usually better to spread something over an area and do this activity there, or to take one or two children at a time to another area. Don't work with more than a few children at a time, since you want to be sure they don't put things in their mouths.
By Terrie Lynn Bittner