Ideas for Teaching Children
Jesus Christ is my Savior.
How will you help your children understand and feel that they need the Savior Jesus Christ? This week’s activity page could help. It uses a simple analogy of a pit and a ladder. Consider using 2 Nephi 9:21–22 to talk with your children about why you are grateful for Jesus Christ.
Here is the page in color.
Here is the page bigger and in color:
If you are printing the big one, line up the hole and ladder separately, or it will make you crazy!
One way to help your children understand why we need the Savior is to teach them about the Fall. You could show a picture of Adam and Eve, such as Leaving the Garden of Eden (Gospel Library), and a picture of Jesus Christ on the cross. Consider asking them to describe what is happening in each picture. How are we like Adam and Eve?
Here is a coloring page for older students that help them understand the roll Adam and Eve played in the plan and how grateful we are for Jesus Christ's atonement.
Perhaps 2 Nephi 9:6–10 can help them see what Jesus Christ does for us. This is Mitzi's idea from comefollowmekid.com
Here are her instructions: Monster vs. Christ Activity: · Ask, “What would happen to us without the Atonement of Jesus Christ?” · Monster: Show the monster face and explain that Jacob (Nephi’s younger brother) used the words “awful” and “monster” to explain what sin and death would be like if it weren’t for Christ’s Atonement. · Cut out the face parts and let the kids choose them one at a time to glue onto the monster face. As each is being glued, ask if it sounds like an awful, scary thing. Discuss what it means and how it describes how our lives would be different without Christ’s Atonement. · Christ: After helping kids realize how scary life without the Atonement sounds, hold up the picture of Christ and discuss how he can save us from these scary things (death and sin). · Talk about what the word “deliver” means. If you had been captured by this awful monster, what would it look like to be “delivered” from him? · Read 2 Nephi 9:10-13. Have them hold up both the monster and the Christ pictures. Tell them to listen carefully for the words “escape” and “deliver.” Whenever they hear those words while you read these verses, they can use the pictures to act out Christ chasing the monster away.
I made this smaller book, incase you wanted to make one for each student to take home. Warning: the words are very small on the monster body parts.
Consider inviting your children to share their feelings about Jesus Christ. A song like “I Feel My Savior’s Love” (Children’s Songbook, 74–75) could help.
Click on the image to be taken to Etsy.
“My heart delighteth in righteousness.”
To encourage your children to “[delight] in righteousness” or joyfully obey the Lord (2 Nephi 9:49), perhaps you could share examples in which a child makes a good choice or a bad choice. Invite your children to stand up when the choice brings happiness and sit down when the choice brings sadness. When have we felt happy because we made a choice to follow Jesus Christ?
Love the movement, kids need that. Here is a second idea:
Your children are likely to interact with people (if they haven’t already) who think that the Lord’s commandments are foolish or out of date. Maybe you and your children could talk about how to explain why we’re happy to keep the commandments. Why is it important to trust God’s counsel even if we do not completely understand it? You could encourage them to look in 2 Nephi 9:20, 28–29, 42–43 for help with thinking about and discussing these questions.
Split a chalk board, with a happy and sad face. Have the students read the scriptures and place the paper in the right column after they discuss it together and determine where it should be.
Here is what I think, but it matters more what the students think, they could even put one in the middle.
