Finding Their Happy Place

We have several "new to nursery" kiddos.

Six

To be exact.

That makes it challenging when all six are crying and we have 9 other kids to take care of.

This sent me on a quest, starting with a question…

What do 18 month olds like?!?!

Seems like a silly question, especially since I have three kids of my own.

I should know this right?!

Alas, I didn't.

But thankfully there is this sweet little

(and insanely addicting)

website called

PINTEREST.

Have you heard of it?!?!  hehe

Anyway, here are some of the things I have made for our nursery that have made for 

smoother drop-offs and happier kids (and leaders!)

DISCOVERY BOTTLES

There are so many kinds out there, but for our kids I found some small jars I had at home

(and I have to laugh because my husband is always rolling his eyes when I want to keep every little thing… but guess what?  That cherry maraschino jar, baby food jar and the two spice jars sure came in handy!!) ...and went to town.  All of the jars I made were done on the cheap with what
I had lying around at home.

Be creative, the kids will love them regardless!

I filled four jars with colored water, glitter, and snowflake confetti.

The kids LOVE them.

When they come in and are crying I shake one up for them and they are immediately distracted!

AWESOME!

(Just make sure to seal them shut!! I just used glue and twisted on the cap, then glued on the outside.  I used E6000 or hot glue)

These are not mine but I drew inspiration from these found here

I also made magnet bottles like these (using old peanut butter jars thank you very much!)

 I didn't have a magnet wand-nor the money to go buy one,
so instead I found two strong circular crafting magnets at home and glued them with E6000
to a tongue depressor - works like a charm and was free!

And water/oil bottles found here

(side note: this website has other awesome discovery jars I am dying to try,

it just consists of me buying some supplies at the store first)

Mine are also slightly different as I added small pom poms after adding the oil.  

The pom poms absorbed all the oil and float. FUN!

(I am wondering if I put some in before the oil, would they sit just below the oil?! I may have to try it!)

These discovery bottles have been a life saver for our sad kiddos and has made drop off

so much easier!

What works for you??

-Annie

Lesson 20: I Will Be Reverent

We have a very young nursery, and since this is only my second week in nursery

I am still figuring out how to teach them.

We are trying to teach the same lesson two weeks in a row to reinforce what we are teaching
and hopefully it sticks!   Since the leaders last year did not get through
the entire manual, we are picking up where they left off.

…We will see how this goes…

Lesson 20
I Will Be Reverent

I am going first to introduce the concept of being Reverent.

Then I am going to show them this picture
(which they will later color)

(found on LDS.org here)

and ask these questions

How many kids are in this picture?
How many boys?
How many girls?
Which are listening to their teacher?
What are they doing to show reverence?
How can you show reverence in nursery?


And then paraphrase the following story
found in the Friend (here)


"What if Everyone Played in the Chapel?"

Danny’s sister poked him in the side. “Mom wants you,” she whispered. Danny looked down the row past his brothers, sisters, and father to his mother. She was leaning forward in her seat and staring at him. She pointed to the empty seat next to her. Danny knew what that meant. He stepped slowly past the whole family and sat beside her.

“You need to be quiet,” she whispered in his ear, then looked back up at the speaker.

“But I want to play,” Danny whispered back. He put his head down and closed his eyes. His chin started to tremble.

His mother pulled him close and whispered, “Danny, you’re a good boy, and I love you. But what would it be like in here if everybody started playing?”

“That would be great!” he whispered back.

“Are you sure?” she asked, more softly still. “Think about it.”

Danny turned to look around the chapel. He saw Brother and Sister Lund and their two children sitting quietly in their seats. Danny imagined Brother Lund turning to his family and holding up a chalkboard with a word game on it. Sister Lund and the children held their hands high in the air, waving them as they yelled, “Pick me! Pick me!” Danny giggled.That would be fun! he thought.

Danny looked the other way and saw the Clark family sitting on the front row. He wondered what it would be like if all the Clark children were playing “Guess What Animal I Am?” He pictured Adam, who had just returned from his mission, hopping up and down as his family yelled, “A rabbit! A rabbit!” That would be fun too. Then he wondered, But would it be fun for the speaker and the people who were trying to listen?

Danny saw his friends Sam and Billy. What if they brought their small video games to sacrament meeting? He could almost hear the music and beeping noises. He imagined Sam and Billy jumping out of their seats, yelling each time they won or lost. Danny frowned. What if Sam and Billy and the Clarks and the Lunds were all playing at once? They would hardly be able to hear themselves, and no one else could hear anything.

What if everyone in the chapel started playing? Danny asked himself. He pictured balls being tossed back and forth, children skating down the aisles, fathers watching television, and mothers talking loudly to their friends. It would be so loud that my ears would hurt—and could anyone think about Heavenly Father?

Danny looked up at the pulpit. He was sure he wouldn’t be able to understand anything the speaker was saying, but he tried. To his surprise, she was talking about how much Jesus Christ loved little children. Danny felt a warm glow spread through him. If everyone was playing,I wouldn’t have this good feeling.

Danny snuggled up closer to his mother and kept listening. There would be plenty of times to play, but this wasn’t one of them.

accompanied with this picture (found here)
and the little unhappy boy in the picture
will be "Danny" in the story

I will reiterate that being reverent makes us and Heavenly Father happy.

We are then going to grab our
"Reverent Rope"
and go for a walk to the Bishop's office and back.
Making sure to practice being reverent.

When we come back I will have a
treat/activity for them.

We are going to string
(and if I'm being honest… EAT)
pretzels.

(we will of coarse wash hands and have a prayer prior to starting)

And read this:

Reverent Pretzel

When I look at a twisted pretzel

I am reminded of how I should be.

Folded arms, sitting still

thinking of Jesus reverently.

We will also have a birthday celebration for all 

the January Birthdays

with sugar cookies and birthday crowns

YAY!!

*****UPDATE*****

The lesson today went surprisingly well! 

I had also checked out some pictures from the library of children being reverent and

ended up using those pictures and skipped the story.

I could not believe how reverent the children were on our walk to the Bishop's office!

I think these little ones don't get their due credit!  

We had a new boy that cried almost the entire time

-even during snack!-

and even he was reverent on our walk!

By the time we were done with singing time, lesson, walk, snack, and coloring

(we didn't make it to stringing our pretzels-maybe next week)

church was almost over!

I think today was a success!

-Annie

Making Nursery More

So, I live in a fairly new 

(and small)

ward. 

It was created a little less than a year ago.  And because it is small, many (or most) members

hold more than one calling.  I have been a Relief Society teacher the entire time and

have snuck away with only having one calling...

until now.

I was called to nursery just a few weeks ago.

I know what most of you are thinking… ugh.  But that is not my feeling. 

...ask me 10 years ago and it probably would have been a different story…

But now, I am excited!  

I want to be a part of a nursery that teaches these sweet children

the gospel in a way they can understand.

NOT one that babysits other people's kids for two hours.

I have found some very helpful resources to create said nursery, and this blog is my way 

to help myself (or anyone else) compile those resources and maybe

even add some of my own ideas to the mix.

Here's hoping this is my best calling ever!

~Annie