Easy Nursery Games

This is a list of games that are easy to play with toddlers.

1. Red Light, Green Light
2. Bean Bag Toss in a Basket
3. Stations with cones & picture instructions- Jump, jog in place, clap, kick, wiggle. Lead all the children to each cone and do it along with them.
4. Puppet Switch- Have 2 baskets with puppets in each one. (go through the puppets and figure out what the puppets would say, like ribbit for a frog or moo for a cow) When I say switch, they bring back their puppet and get a new one.
5. 4 squares with colors
6. Balancing on Tape on the Floor
7. Red Rover, Red Rover, Send ________ (name of nursery friend) right over!! (no breaking through hands, just coming to join hands and swing them)
8. Teddy Bear Hunt- During the walk, another leader can hide 3 bears or even a CTR ring like The Friend. Who can find them??
9. 3 of These Things Belong Together (post to come soon)
10. Limbo

Nursery Leader!!

Ella, my 2 year old.

Her face basically summarizes how I felt when I was first called to be Nursery Leader.

Just keepin' it real.

In August our Sparks Stake split because of new growth. We didn't move, but we were reorganized into a new ward. We love it!! Tons of awesome people. I was in Relief Society as a teacher for 3 months. I was worried about how I would do teaching adults, but I enjoyed it.

And then..... drumroll.... back to primary!! I gotta say, I did cry when they called me to Nursery. And not out of joy (collective gasp). This year has been the hardest year of my life. I'm hoping one day that I can write about my experience, but it's still ongoing. A tad too fresh still. All I can say is that loving a person with depression is a whole different level of life. Hence the hard day, hence the tears.

But, of course I accepted. God is the only way I live. And as I prayed for direction, it was quick to come. I knew that once I was organized that all would be well.

So, to the drawing board, prayerfully I went!! It helps that my mom owned her own preschool for 20 years.

Here is the Nursery Schedule I've used one week and will probably tweak as needed. Everything went by super fast!!!

2:15- 2:30 Gathering Activity of play dough & puzzles.
    Welcome in all little friends by name.

2:30 - 2:40 Attendance & Books
   We sing to the tune of Here We are Together -Here we are in Nursery, Nursery, Nursery, Here we are in Nursery with all our friends... there's Ella, and then we sing everyone's names including the adults in the room.
   Children will be able to put a happy face by their picture to show they are here. Who is missing? Review names of friends.
    I bring in 4 books, short and simple!! Always read with pages facing towards children and don't be afraid to move around so all the children can see. You can spread out a blanket or have carpet pads for friends to sit on.

2:40 - 3:00 Free Time with toys & clean up

3:00- 3:15 Healthy Snack
    Prayer.
    Count how many friends are at the snack table. Encourage good manners, please and thank you!  
    I'm hoping to get parent participation and get some good fruits and veggies (no carrots!) going.
   Once a month I'm going to try "Chefs in Training", having them stir some fruit and yogurt or spoon hummus on a wrap then roll. We'll see, the possibility of fun is there.

3:15- 3:20 Lesson
    Prayer   
    5 minutes? Yup.

3:20- 3:30 Art
   We take the time to do a craft that reinforces the lesson theme or something seasonal/holiday.

3:30- 3:40 Picture Walk
   Using the rope we stop by pictures in the hall and go through High Priests class to wave. One, because the old men can't hear if we make noise, and two because grandpas (most) are just plain friendly and kind. We make sure to wave!

3:40- 3:50 Singing Time

3:50- 4:00 End with a bang!!
   We end with something extra fun like bubbles, crawl through tunnels, scarves, bean bag toss or games.
   We all wave goodbye to our friends who leave nursery and by name say, "See you next week!"


     We are at a hard time for toddlers!! Many have missed nap and are tired. I'm going to have a couple small pillows and rolls for anyone that would like quiet time. No forced naps!! Some do just like to lie down!!

   This is a really great time to work on vocal skills. Learning and using words. Not every child is going to vocalize with words right away, but it doesn't mean that we can't teach them! And, use different languages!! They are little sponges at this age!!

   There are so many opportunities to teach about Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the gospel. While the lesson may be 5 minutes, nursery really is the first learning opportunity at church and should be utilized. It doesn't have to be about babysitting, surviving biting, or rabid scream sessions. Get the proper help you need and divide and conquer your time. Use moments to integrate gospel vocabulary or stories or principles throughout the entire 2 hours.

   I may have been hesitant when I accepted, but of course, the very first week I felt the spirit so strongly. These children are close to the veil. They see and talk with angels. I'm so grateful for this opportunity to serve.

Nursery 101 - How to Play With a Child

Image courtesy the Smithsonian American Art Museum Child Playing by Frances Foy 1964 Oil on Fiberboard Chicago, IL

Children can seem overwhelming to adults, which is funny because well... we used to be children. We need to get back to our roots. Back to the fun. Back to really living life and Nursery is just the place!

2 year olds are NOT alien life forms from Mars. Unless they are dripping green snot. Then you can promptly remind mom or dad of planet reality where Swine Flu is an epidemic. See ya'll next week and God bless Texas. 2 year olds can not be expected to play nicely by themselves for 2 hours while adults just sit around, chat and ignore them. Adults need to learn how to play with children. It's not too hard. It might feel unnatural at first, but practice makes perfect!! And your Sunday (and life) will be awesome if you choose to fully commit yourself to your calling.

How to Play with a Child

1. Sit on the ground not on chairs. I know some people have back problems, if this is the case fully ignore me and do yo' thang. Sitting on the ground makes it easier for them to climb/pounce on you. You will be at their level and they'll be more comfortable.

2. Ask silly questions. Are you wearing yellow socks? Let's see. Oh wow, they're black. If I had a real live horse, I'd get really big yellow socks and put it on him. If you had a horse what color socks would you give him? Have you ever had purple hair? I wonder if ducks ever wish their feathers were purple... what do you think?

3. Toy cars make great babies. You can put cars down for nap or burp them. You can sing to the cars if they happen to start crying or rock them until they calm down. Cars don't have to be cars. Cars can talk and dance and pretend they are elephants. Pretty cool, huh?

4. Books are fantastic. I repeat - books are fantastic. You don't have to read books word for word. You don't even really have to tell the same story, just look at the pictures and make it up as you go along. There is a catch to books though... if you read like a zombie no one will pay attention. Be peppy.

5. Burst into song. Yes. This is Ok. It is Ok to sing other than when the music leader comes in. If you can't sing on pitch, that's OK too. You can make up fake songs. The children won't judge you. And who cares what the adults think! You are the next American Idol, so sing it girl. My favorite is if a toy gets an ouchie singing Jacko's Heal the World. Rest in peace dear King of Pop.

6. Nothing is something. Air is magical. It can be transformed into a vacuum or a set of drums. It's crazy but true! Is someone shouting "MINE!!", flip through your air magazine and say "Can you keep it down... I'm reading a magazine that says children who use the word "mine" too much end up on the FOX TV show Cops. (Referring to tip 5... Whatcha gonna do when they come for you!!! You chuck it down yo' mother, you chuck it down yo' father... etc.)"

7. Match, sort, group different toys. The cars are getting in a line to go to Disneyland and the dolls are going to get in a circle to play ring around the rosies. All the toys with green need to get behind Juanito because he's wearing a green tie! Juanito's the leader, let's do the bunny hop little green toys!!

8. Mitchell the Rainbow fish has awesome manners. Sometimes Mitchell farts glitter but he ALWAYS says excuse me. Can you say excuse me little nursery child? Oh, it's snack time? Mitchell the Rainbow fish always says please and thank you... can you use your best manners too? Why are we arguing over this stuffed shark... Mitchell the Rainbow fish never argues and always tries to make others happy. There are lots of stories about good ol' Mitch that only take about 30 seconds to tell and it's amazing how the children will listen. He's just glitterific.

9. Praise the art! Praise the play! Praise the child! Praise the Lord! NOTICE. PAY ATTENTION. Look for every opportunity you can to tell the children how wonderful they are. It's their job to play and your job to notice how wonderful they are doing and SAY SO. Give high fives or one of my personal favorites (using a fist... gently) pound it!

10. Bring on the doctrine. Make at least 5 attempts to bring in Christ centered doctrine while you play. Playing puppets who are going to get baptized when they are 8. Trains that encounter a mountain and say I think I can!! Endure to the end... Persevere little trains!! Little people who are having Family Home Evening. How should dolly pray? Little bear, it's time to read scriptures and then go to the temple. Hi, meet Moses the mouse... he was named after the great prophet who parted the red sea. You can do it! The Lord will help you!!

If this seems overwhelming, just breathe. Breath again. Life is good. Choose one or two things to work on each week and you'll be pleasantly surprised how much fun this calling can be! Remember, children need fun but they also need structure. Once you've learned how to play, you'll need to work on setting up some sort of routine to follow. Check the manual and pray!! God will help.

10 Tips for Making Nursery a Happy Place

The first time I took my daughter to Nursery, I was a bit overwhelmed. We lived in Northern California and there were about 800 kids in the nursery. Ok. I exaggerate. But it was a small area for about 30 kids. The nursery leaders were wonderful. But I was afraid... of the biters. Of the snotty noses. Of the screaming. I decided that the handbooks said nursery was optional, so off to gospel doctrine we went. I think a week later I was called as an assistant. In we went. I didn't know if we'd return. But we did! And it was awesome!

So here are some thoughts on one of the most wonderful callings I’ve ever had in the church. How do we make nursery a happy place?

Benjamin Bloom (from Stability and Change in Human Characteristics. New York: Wiley, 1964.) has said, "...from conception to age 4, the individual develops 50% of his mature intelligence, from ages 4 to 8 he develops another 30%, and from ages 8 to 17 the remaining 20%. ...As much of the development takes place in the first 4 years of life as in the next 13 years."


1. Pray for Nursery to be a happy place.
Pray for Nursery to be a place where children will want to come. Where children will have their first formal experiences with the gospel and the spirit will attend. PRAY!

2. Try, try, try... and if you don't succeed, don't force the kid.
Some children are tender souls. They love their parents, and with good reason they want to stay close by! Often, you can find a child who doesn't want to go to nursery and will let the whole nursery know so.
*If you have enough workers, try taking the kid out for a walk to the drinking fountain. Let him (I know perfectly well it could be a girl, I choose not to write him/her though every single time I use a pronoun) play with the handle and squirt some water. Show him the pictures, have him touch the wall and try to pick out some of the loose stringy things... DEVELOP a RELATIONSHIP!! DEVELOP TRUST!! It will take time. Often parents will stay, this may help, it may make things worse. If you are a nursery leader, pray and ponder about it. Decide what you want while you are in nursery, then make sure the parents know. I think at one time there were about 5 little ones in our nursery that just couldn't handle other mommy's and daddy's being around and their's weren't there. 1 little one crying = Woah. 5 little ones crying = I am a child of God singing time! Here's my point, in the Primary 1 manual (ix) it says, "Children who are at least 18 months old but who are not yet 3 years old on 1 January may attend nursery a
the discretion of their parents." Try the best you can. Use all the resources and creativity you can muster. Pray! Fast! (Don't forget those 2 very important things!) And then if you have exhausted every single means possible and the child still does not want to come-Don't force him. Hello, remember the little thing called agency that Heavenly Father gave us?

3. BAN DISEASE!! BAN PESTILENCE AND SICKNESS!
Post notes, send notes home to parents, bear testimony of the importance of spreading the gospel, not the snots. I cringe when I see boogers handing down to a kids toes and the nursery leader is wiping their nose. In one nursery we were in there was an outbreak of German Measles and Roseola.... BABESTER! Make it known that nursery is not a festery. Keep sick kids at home or with parents.

4. Be organized. Have a schedule and a plan.
The best nursery experience is one that has purpose. DO LESSONS! Have singing time- wands with ribbons, instruments, carpets for them to sit on. Have some sort of activity they can participate in. Bubbles, sticker art, book time, puppets, a stroll around the church using rope for them to hold on to. See what they like. Ask parents for suggestions. Personalize the nursery. READ your Primary Manual!!

5. Invite the elderly once in a while to read a story or do a puppet play or sing a song.
Ahhhh the lessons we can learn from those of the aged and matured. How sacred an experience to watch as children develop respect and love for those senior in life.

6. Talk to the children not the other adults.
Perhaps you are tempted to catch up on all the happenings in Sister Excitement's life, but really at what cost. Am I saying never talk to the other adults? NO. Please. Read on. All I'm saying is watch that you are interacting PLENTY with the kids. Joy is found through them, and the key to it all is talking and acknowledging them. They have wonderful things to say, listen. And if they don't talk, well teach them!

7. Make sure there is enough space and room to play.
No one likes to be caged or trapped. We had a nursery in an overflow and I guess a few people complained that it distracted from Gospel Doctrine. Our 1st counselor in the bishopric said if anyone had a problem with the placement of the nursery they needed to A-stop having kids or B- deal with it. The nursery was to stay in a place where the kids could have an open and free experience.

8. Check yo' attitude.
Do you dread going to nursery? Does the screaming and crying just make you want to not come to church? 3 words. Check yo' attitude. I feel like if I have to explain the meaning of check yo' attitude, it just loses all meaning and flavor. So.... check yo' attitude.
* And as a side note to this, what can you do to magnify your calling. Send home letters with FHE ideas for young children!! Tell the parents what they learned so they can reinforce at home!!

9. Ban the biters.
This is personal to me. My baby was bit. Hard. There was red teeth marks. My daughter cried for a minute, I cried for 5 in the bathroom. I say biting warrants immediate attention and banning to outer darkness. Nursery needs to be a safe place and parents need to teach their children not to bite. Since the handbook doesn't specify whether muzzles can be used in nursery, I won't comment further.

OK. I will. Muzzles completely out of the question and aside, hitting, kicking, biting DO need to be addressed. It happens, you are a teacher. Decide what your policy will be on things like that (like will you ask the kid to leave nursery for the rest of the day or allow him back in), but make sure to ALWAYS teach proper behavior and kindness, don't ignore it. It's not just going to go away magically. And it's not fair to the victims.

10. Love, love more, then love until your heart is so full you can't love any more, but you still love more.
This is charity. This is the key to nursery, this is an opportunity to come closer to the Savior and grow in wisdom and knowledge. Beauty is when you can look at a child and feel the spirit whisper to your heart, "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and fatling together; and a little child shall lead them."