Getting Their Foot in the Door

As was mentioned in a comment left by Marie, there is nothing really as unfortunate, as awkward or as painful as a bad goodbye. The way I see it, all organisms with protective parents have an instinct that tells them "Stay with Mom and Dad!! It's your only hope!" It's a good and powerful instinct and it can cause some major trouble when nursery starts.   

So how do you get your nursery kids through the door and away from the ones they love as much as life itself?

As I said before, I do it with music and dance and the chance to pick a laminated picture off the wall.  I've found the music and dancing is involved enough to attract attention away from Mom or Dad and on to me the nursery leader. I think it's also a lot of fun for the kids. It's a chance to really move and jump up and down after an hour of being pretty still. Going in front of everyone to pick a song is so EXCITING. As an added BONUS, singing can often drown out the sound of crying. It sad that that matters but it really does. 

That's how I start but I would love to hear what others do.  Here's a few more ideas I've heard:

Kids get to pick their laminated name off the door and bring it inside to be hung up

Play with Playdough

Puzzles

Snack

And as always, the Almighty Bubbles 

Anybody have any other ideas? I can promise they will be MUCH appreciated.

What To Do

I don't know why people expect a two year old to be completely satisfied playing with toys for two straight hours while we mature adults offer ourselves a chance to break, chat, and switch classes. Primary gets even more variety with class, singing time, talks, and sharing time.

When I've seen Nursery kids left to find their own entertainment they get bored and when they get bored they usually remember they miss Dad or Mom and begin to cry or they fight. As fun as it is to referee minority death matches I think everyone can enjoy themselves a little more with some direction.

So what to do? Nursery time is remarkably open to the discretion of the Nursery Leader which I think can be awesome or bewildering. I use a schedule I learned from a mother of six who was in nursery her 5th-6th time. It runs so beautifully all the other nurseries in our ward adopted it at the suggestion of our Primary President. I love the structure and I think the kids appreciate the routine as well. Here's how it goes:

9:40-10:00 Singing Time

Because it's hard to sing and cry at the same time. The down side is all the parents of nursery aged children get a front row seat to my song and dance show. That can be pretty humiliating. Anyway, I have chairs set up in a circle for the kids to go to. I put up small laminated cutouts on the wall with tape and each kid who is sitting in their seat gets a turn or two to come up and pick one of the wall. The songs are all active and fun like Head, Shoulder, Knees and Toes so we burn off some Sacrament meeting wiggles.

10:00 Prayer

I use three finger puppets that the kids love a bunny, a duck and a mouse. I hold each one and ask what is this? Then we say this little poem

The little bunny hops without a care

Hop hop hop hop hop (have the kids hop)

Please tell her Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh! (The kids Shhh with you)

It's time for prayer.

The little duck quacks without a care

Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack!

Please tell her Shhhhhhhhhhhh! (Kids Shhh too)

It's time for prayer.

The little mouse squeaks without a care.

Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! (kids squeak)

Please tell him Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh! (Kids Shhh too)

It's time for prayer.

You get the idea and others can be invented for whichever puppets you have on hand. Then one kid helps say the prayer.

10:10-10:20 Snack

Snack is done around the table and I try hard to have a conversation with each kids while they are eating.

10:20-10:50 Play Time

I pull out the toys and at this time the kids are free to do what they want. Meanwhile I run optional activities that the kids are welcome to participate in if they want. Usually they come and go which cuts down on the toy competition. Common activities are puzzles at the table that I do with them. Bubbles. Ring around the Rosey. Drawing with chalk on the chalkboard. Play Simple Simon. Read a story.

10:50-11:00 Clean up

11:00-11:15 Lesson with another song or two as part of it

11:15-11:30 Small Craft related to the lesson

It really works well. I know there are lots of other ways to do nursery. My mom always taught the lesson while the kids had their snack because she had a much more captive audience.

I also know people who hated the idea of a schedule so much that they pulled their kids out of a routine nursery to a "free play" nursery. I don't understand it but to each their own.

Lesson 2: Heavenly Father Has A Body

Today I taught Lesson 2: Heavenly Father Has A Body

While I was preparing for this lesson I thought about how this knowledge is so central and unique to LDS theology.  It seems like so much of our knowledge of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ's physical state comes from Joseph Smith's first vision.  The lesson manual uses the story of that vision to explain the idea to the kids.  

As a side, does anyone know anywhere else that talks about the physical nature of God?

Anyway,  I used a picture of the first vision and asked the kids to show me their body parts, then point out Heavenly Father and Jesus's body part. It went something like:

Me: Do you have hands? Where are your hands, can you show them to me?

The kids show me their hands.

I feel ambitious and ask them what they do with their hands.

Kids: Garbled responses. It's the beginning of the year so talking is beyond many of them

Me: Can you shake your hands?

Some do, the others catch on because shaking our hands is fun to do.

Me: Does Heavenly Father have hands?

Do you see them?

I ask one kid to come point them out. 

Three kids jump up and show me Heavenly Father and Jesus's hands. 

Class is going well. We move through other body parts. Nose, eyes, ears. Then I try hair. I point out that Heavenly Father has hair. I pick up my own hair and ask do we have hair while nodding my head.  I begin to ask a few kids specifically. 

Me: Sarah, do you have hair? 

Sarah: Yes

Me: Molly, do you have hair?

Molly: Yes

Me: Sam, do you have hair?

Sam: No. 

He rubs his smooth bald head. It supports only a little light blonde fuzz. 

I realize he's right. 

Me: Don't worry, Sam. You'll get hair too, one day.

Nursery Time

Picture this, you and a two year old are placed in a small, bare, carpeted room for two hours. You do not really know this child. The child has NO idea who you are. Can you handle it? Sure. No worries, right? How about you and 2 two year olds? 3 two year olds ? 5? 7? 9? 12?

Are you screaming for MERCY! yet?  Welcome to Nursery.  

I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I came to my current ward 3 years ago and I've been in nursery 2 out of those 3 years. Which is pretty standard if I had been born 3 years ago, but I am twenty four.  

The first time I got called to nursery was the second week in the ward. I was newly married and my husband and I were asked to meet with the second counselor before church. I  was thinking I will happily accept any calling but nursery, please not nursery, anything but nursery. So of course, the second counselor asked "Would you be willing to serve in the nursery Sister M?" and I said, "Of course."  

I promptly cried the whole way through sacrament. That is how much I did NOT want to be in nursery. Then I went to nursery and I realized I fit in wonderfully. I didn't want to be there, the kids weren't so sure about coming either. I could really use a snack -I get grumpy without one - the kids felt the same.  I get antsy if I have to sit to long and I hate long boring meetings, the kids felt the same. 

I also had the great fortune of going into one of the most beautifully run nurseries ever to grace the planet.  The kids laughed, danced, and played happily. No one cried. No one screamed for their parents. The kids happily participated in a gospel centered lesson.  They sang gospel songs. They loved it and I grew to love it too.  

But running a nursery is still TOUGH work. I am a college graduate that works in Educational publishing and I still spend hours racking my brains for ideas and activities. Two year olds have about a 5-10 minute attention span so every Sunday I try to prepare about 12 different activities.  AND it's called "Terrible Twos" for a reason. 

Nursery can also be a very isolating.  It's hard to come up with those ideas and stay motivated. That's why I wanted to start this blog, to give nursery, one of the most overlooked places in the church, a forum.  

So Nursery Leaders Unite! Or if you aren't in nursery but have any ideas for activities or advice at all, I WELCOME your contributions.