Fast forward two weeks to today... my first Sunday in nursery. I kind of assumed since I was the new one to nursery that I didn't really need to plan anything, but that I would just show up and "learn the ropes" from the two other veteran teachers.
Whenever I was asked to do nursery, the primary president was specific about being there on time, so that the parents could drop and then get to their meetings and/or callings, SO I headed RIGHT out of sacrament meeting after the closing prayer and was waiting in the room for the two other nursery leader to get there.
Well, one kid shows up... and its just me... then two, three, four kids... still no other teacher... five, six,
So next week, I'm coming prepared. I don't do a half job of anything and I intend to put my best effort forth into making this calling work. I mean, I work with children for a living, these kids shouldn't be THAT much different from my fourth graders, right??
Just kidding, I know it will be a lot different, but I'm going to try to do my best.
The first thing I want to do is start routines and add structure. We have the kids in there for almost two hours, so I figure that time needs to be split up. There are nine kids on the roll and three teachers, so it is all very doable.
I've been online looking for ideas and there are tons of great ones out there. I just wanted to hear any practical experience/advice that anyone has to give me.
Yeah, I really wish they would release me. I go and by the time church is over I dont want to see even my child. Those kids are insane. No wonder they can't find anyone to replace the teachers that they released. There is one little girl that i really want to spank. Well, here is how our schedule goes just in case you are wondering.
ReplyDeletePuzzle time first
Toy time second
singing time
lesson
snack
and if there is time left over we put the floor puzzle together, blow bubbles or play some other game till their parents come to get them.
This is actually great, I have a "mormon" theroy about nursery....See every time I get called into the nursery I end up pregnant. (It could be a preperation course for how to deal with kids(; ) The same thing has happened to several of my friends. SO...hopefully this trend will continue :) Being called into nursery just means that you guys will be parents really soon :)
ReplyDeleteYeah about the getting prego thing to get out that does not always work. I was called as a nursery leader when I was 7 months pregnant. Besides that I love nursery. It is really hard but it is so fulfilling. I love it! Here is the schedule that we do:
ReplyDeletePlay dough (as the kids arrive and until half past the hour)
Singing time/ lesson
Pretend time (a cd that came with the manual there are 3 "stories")
Balloon time for 15 min
color time
snack time (we have purchased the take and toss sippies cause they have lids and no mess and no goldfish stew very worth the price)
we try to get all of this to last until there is 40 min left of class and then bring out the toys
10 min to clean up and do bubbles.
This is the schedule we do and it works really good. I do like the puzzle idea and now that we have only 9 kids I think that we will try that. Another thing that I have found useful is not letting the parents stay in with their kids. I find it easier to deal with the kids when their parents are gone. (Most of this advice we got was from our former nursery leaders who in the last 20 years of their marriage have been in nursery and the wife has been a teacher for about that many years)
I have worked in Nursery twice in past, it wasn’t something I loved off the bat but I eventually started to love learning from them. Each child is at a different level of development which can sometimes make it tricky in figuring out what to do with them all together for 2 hours. But if you have enough kids you can split them up into jr. and senior nursery. Structure and consistency is so important with this age, keep them busy so they don’t get squirmy, have a variety of simple activities planned (singing, play dough, puppets, puzzles, books, lesson, bubbles, snack time, walks outside, playtime, coloring, craft, etc.), keep the schedule about the same every week. Your first few Sundays might be rough because you are getting use to them; they are getting use to you and your schedule. Never hesitate to ask a parent, primary presidency member or friend to stay and help out if you find yourself alone again. Our little guys really loved singing time, we would have objects in a bag and they would take turns picking out of the bag, each object related to a song. You’ll do great and it will be a lot of fun!
ReplyDeleteI think you are right. I think they do need structure and routine. Children actually like to know what to expect. And plus you have experience of Sunbeam class so you know what they will be expected to do/act like in Primary when they move up. I always feel bad for the nursery kids who go from just playing all the time to then Primary where they are expected to sit still and try to pay attention. I am sorry your first day was rather over whelming. The nursery can be a hard calling, but I really think you will do great! The kids need YOU!
ReplyDeleteHeather is right, don't let the parents stay in there. If their child is being unruley, go take the child to their parent. You are so not their free baby sitter for 2 hours. I like the pretend time and will have to try that as an alternate for the end of nursery. I have been the nursery leader for a year now and just can't seem to get into the loving it yet. But then again, I have to send Izzy to class with the husband and he teaches the 15 year olds, so we are kind of between a rock and a hard place with what to do with Iz especially since I still feed her. I like nursery and I get snack time every week! Good luck! Patience is definatly a learned skill.
ReplyDeleteYES to the structure! (But I'm sure you know thatalreadyjust from all the times they drilled that into our heads at BYU!!) The best thing that we've had for my son was that #1 - Parents aren't allowed in the nursery. Period. Not that I was about to stay with mine, but then the kids don't think that parents can bail them out, so they don't even try. And after 10 minutes, every kid (almost!) calms down anyway. #2 - They had a time-out room for the screamers. A leader takes them into the separate room so they don't disturb the other kids, but they still do the same routine, just one-on-one. Story time, singing time, lesson time...all of it. #3 - I used to think Houston's leaders were reverence nazis, but it's been SO great for the kids!! They all had to learn the hard way to sit in their chairs for lessons and singing, but THEY ALL DO IT NOW! The new Sunbeams that just came in (my son included) are AMAZING! And when they were in nursery, they taught the younger kids the ropes. Our crazy "nazi" leaders have done wonders with the kids! Good luck!
ReplyDeletePS - nursery is the calling that got me interested in teaching!! I happen to love nursery!!
I love your enthusiasm. You're the kind of teacher, primary presidents love. All these ideas are good. Also that new nursery manual is great. If I remember correctly it should also have ideas on how to structure the 2 hours. Yes to structure and routine. It's not too far off from 4th graders except that the attention span is shorter (than most). One awesome nursery leader we had would tie in the lesson the whole time. So if the lesson was "I'm a child of God," she'd mention that at the beginning. She'd say it again during the lesson. She'd remind them again as they were coloring. And again before their parents came. The repetition seemed to really work. You'll be perfect for those little guys!
ReplyDelete