Spiritual Gospel Centered Pre School Lessons Using Church Prepared Resources

Below is a question we received about spiritual lessons for preschool children.

“Hi Donna,

I am feeling the need to do something more for my 3 year old daughter. I am not very creative about hands on activities and I really want to teach a spiritual lesson every day because once a week in nursery is not enough. Do you recommend any preschool programs or should I just teach lessons from the nursery manual? Thanks!”

We are for delayed academics, because we believe there are more important lessons little children need to be learning than just ABCs and 123s.  That said, we also believe in the power of family culture and that little children are prone to mimic what they see.  They are trying to grow up, as they mimic they are gaining skills.  Have you read Laddie: A True Blue Story by Gene Stratton-Porter? In the story, the little sister, youngest in a family of 11 children knows her lessons before she begins school. Why? She was present when her older children were practicing their lessons for school and absorbed them.

You have older children. The Children's Hour is a gentle regular activity that includes a scripture story, a classic reading, and enrichment. Sundays provide a scripture mastery to memorize and a person from church history. The Children's Hour can be a morning activity, or can be divided to be done throughout the day.

Here is an LDS booklet resource that I recommend. A careful reading will show that many trends and ideas of our culture, though well meaning, are not what we need to be doing. Pay special attention to Teaching the Gospel in the Home section. 

The Family Guide Book:  https://www.lds.org/manual/family-guidebook?lang=eng

Below are some ideas to do with your preschooler. These can be used as a daily devotional and even for Family Home Evening:

1) The nursery lessons were designed for families and the nursery to use.  There is no specific order and they can be repeated, or you can take a week on a lesson. 

https://www.lds.org/manual/behold-your-little-ones-nursery-manual?lang=eng
 

2) Additional online LDS resources now on the church website to help with primary lessons. On this resource page are topics as well as categories of resources.  Here you will find hands on activities and video clips.  https://www.lds.org/children/resources?lang=eng

 

3) The Gospel Art Pictures.  When my oldest was 18 months in nursery, we had all the Arnold Friberg Book of Mormon Pictures.  I put them in picture mattes and hung them on the wall in his bedroom.  Each night I would tell them the names of the pictures. Soon he was able to tell them all out of order.  I also taught him the story behind the pictures.

Your daughter can learn the pictures that tell the stories in all the standard works, and learn the Prophets and Apostles. Be descriptive! Point out colors, colors of hair and clothes, count the items in pictures, identify the items and individuals in the painting. You can do that with Gospel Art Pictures. Select a few for the month, tell one story a week.

http://store.lds.org/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Category3_715839595_10557_21096_-1_N_image_0

The next post is a tutorial on making the Refrigerator Culture Frames.