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| Nursery |
If you've spent
much time around a toddler you've probably noticed they
are extremely observant little tots. They are constantly
learning from what is happening around them. Creating
a Gospel centered environment will help them become familiar
with the basic principles and will provide additional opportunities
for you to teach them more specific principles. Here
are some little things you can do to create a Gospel centered
environment:
Music
Play
primary songs and sing with your toddler.
Children love music and will learn more than you
realize from the songs they hear and sing.
The Church distribution center has tapes and CDs
of the primary songs at a very nominal cost - ~$4. |
Pictures
Have
pictures of the Savior hung in your home and/or
in your toddler's room. Take advantage of
your weekly "Sunday foyer walks" during Sacrament
meeting -- talk to your toddler about the paintings
hung in the hallways depicting the life of the Savior
and other church scenes. |
Books
In
the past few years a number of different publishers
have come out with wonderful board books on Jesus,
The Book of Mormon, The Bible, Doctrine and Covenants,
etc. These simple storybooks help your toddler
learn the stories and characters of the Gospel and
are a great introduction to the "Beginning Reader"
series available through the Church Distribution
Center. |
Prayer
Include
your toddler in family prayer and blessings on the
food. Encourage them to be reverent during
prayers at home and in other settings. Praise
them for being quite and sitting still during prayers.
The earlier you start the easier it will be for
them as they get older. |
The responsibility of teaching our
children is awesome and sometimes intimidating.
But the earlier we start creating a strong foundation
the easier it will be to continue teaching them correct
principles. Parents have access to so many incredible
resources through the Church Distribution Center -- FHE
and Primary manuals, Hymn & Songbooks and CDs, The
Friend, and many, many more. Take advantage of these
resources - they have been made available and extremely
affordable for a reason. They work and will help
guide and direct you in teaching your child(ren).
Kathleen
Gordon-Ross, associate editor |
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| Jr
Primary (3-7 years old) |
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When I was 7-years-old, my parents
began to prepare me for the opportunity to be baptized. I
had been born and raised in the Church but, my step-mother
was a convert and felt strongly about being taught the gospel
and being able to choose for yourself. Consequently my
parents invited the sister missionaries into our home to
teach me the gospel. Everyone, children and adults a like
are "converted", everyone has a defining moment that seals
it for them, so my parents treated me as if I were a convert.
Today, I am so grateful for the opportunity that I had to
learn the gospel from my parents and the sister missionaries.
It really helped me to feel important and to recognize that
my baptism was really my choice, the encouraged me to really
pray about it, and I did. Besides all that, I am sure the
sister missionaries LOVED coming to our house on those hot
New Mexico summer days-we always had treats when they came.
Sabbath Activity Box-Why not have
a special "Toy Box" just for Sundays. Fill it with a
felt board (remember those from when YOU were in primary?!)
and felt cut-outs of Biblical and Book of Mormon figures.
You can use this to teach your children the stories or
let them create their own stories, but help to familiarize
them with the characters. You might also fill it with
Primary hymns on tape, it can help your children to learn
the primary songs too!
Heather
Hales, associate editor |
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| Sr
Primary (8-12 years old) |
Kids in the "senior primary" age group
(8-12 years-old) aren't little kids, but sure aren't teenagers
yet. Capturing their attention can be tough--especially
if think some of the old games you used to play are "cheesy."
Kids at this age love a challenge. When you want to teach
them gospel principals, try to make them fun and challenging.
This will really keep their attention. Here are some ideas
you can try with your "pre-teens."
Crossword
Puzzles, Word Searches, Any Kind of Word Game
Pick
them up at a church book store, or be inventive
and make your own. Use themes from the FHE manual,
your children's lessons from their primary classes,
scriptures, etc. While making them challenging is
the key, don't over do it. Frustration can ruin
your lesson by creating anger and losing the spirit. |
"Name
that Hymn"
If
you have a piano, play a few notes to see if they
can recognize hymns or primary songs. If you don't
have a piano, play a tape or cd, and turn down the
volume, or push "stop" after a few notes.
Talk with the primary chorister and practice the
songs your children will be singing in the upcoming
primary presentation. (I know I would like the parents
in my ward to talk to me about this :o) |
Create
Your Own Gospel Plays
Most
kids love acting out the Nativity play each Christmas,
but why limit acting and plays to once a year. Have
your kids create their own plays and skits using
a few objects around the house. Give them a topic
such as honesty or the word of wisdom, or let them
come up with their own. Have them perform the play
during FHE or any night with the whole family. |
Make
it Physical
Kids
like sports and physical activity. Make up physical
games and incorporate gospel principles such as
"scripture hero tag." (This is similar to TV tag
we used to play as kids) Have the kids play tag
and there is no "base." The only base is if you
are able to name a scripture hero like "Moroni"
or "Samuel the Lamenite." There are other physical
games you can play--be creative. |
Make
Your Own Gospel Board Games
This
was a favorite of mine growing up. My mom would
get a large piece of poster board and create a winding
path of "spaces." Then, she would cut smaller pieces
of poster board and we would use these as cards.
We would create our own gospel trivia questions
or "what would you do if..." questions and play
our "made-up gospel" game. It was great. You can
make your own spinner, and dice if you want. Don't
forget to add special spaces like "Didn't Close
Eyes During Prayer, Lose a Turn," "Forgot to Read
Scriptures, Go Back to Start," "Helped Sister/Brother
with Chores, Advance 5 Spaces." |
Lori
Garcia, editor-in-chief |
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