FHE Monday: Nursery Lesson #1

I think I am going to stop numbering Family Home Evening posts. It's a little depressing. We've only held 10 FHE's this year. 10.

On the other hand... that's ten more than last year...

I saw an idea somewhere about using the nursery manual for FHE, and I really liked that idea. GB is getting old enough that he is starting to pick up on things, and I want him to love the Gospel. No lesson is more basic than the nursery lessons!

Lesson 1: I Am a Child of God

Begin with opening song and a prayer.

Song: I Am a Child of God

Repeat the first two lines, I am a child of God / And he has sent me here

We sang the first two lines about three times. By the third he had scootched next to us to see what we were doing.

Scripture Story: Moses

From the manual: "Show the illustration of Moses on page 99 (you may want to cover the other illustrations on this page to help the children focus on Moses). Explain that Moses was a great prophet who lived a long time ago. Tell the children that Moses went to a mountain to pray. Invite the children to pretend to climb a mountain; then have them fold their arms as if praying. Open the Pearl of Great Price to Moses 1:4 and say, “God said to Moses, ‘Behold, thou art my son.’ ” Explain that Moses learned that he was a child of God."

I had Husband Man act out the basic story. He was very theatrical; GB appreciated it!

Activity: Bean bag game

This is a game that I picked up while I was teaching sunbeams, and the kids love it. You sit in a circle, and gently toss the beanbag to someone. When they catch it, you say "[Name] is a child of God!" and then they toss it to another child and you say it with their name. GB thought this was great, and played it more than I thought. By the end of the game, he was trying to say "child of God" and that made my heart happy.

With older kids I can switch the phrase around to “I know a child of God named [Name]!" and they say their own name as they catch the beanbag.

Conclusion: Everyone is a child of God

A while ago I made a little photo album with pictures of GB's extended family so he could learn about them. We pulled that out and pointed to each person, stating that they, too, were each children of God.
We made sure to end with testimonies.
And a closing song and prayer, of course.


The best part was that he actually payed attention, at least as much as could be expected from a two-year-old. I know this might not always be the case, but I also know that there was a special spirit in our home after we held FHE. The Lord is mindful of us, and as we try to do what He asks of us we will be blessed!