Ideas for Teaching Children
When I am baptized, I am following Jesus Christ.
There’s a picture of Jesus being baptized at the end of this outline. Maybe your children could use it to tell you what they know about this event (see also Matthew 3:13–17). Why does Jesus want us to be baptized like He was? Your children could listen for reasons as you read together portions of 2 Nephi 31:4–13. It might be helpful if someone who was recently baptized could share their experience.
For younger children you can read 2 Nephi 31:5 while they experiment with the (already assembled) cup. Then ask them why they think Jesus was baptized and why need to be baptized?
For Older children pass out the pieces to the puzzle and have the students look up the scriptures and read them in order, while completing the puzzle.
Click in the image to be taken to Etsy.
Jesus Christ taught me how to return to Heavenly Father.
To help your children visualize the teachings in 2 Nephi 31, they could draw a path with a picture of Christ at the end. You could help them find or draw pictures that represent steps on that path, such as faith in Christ, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. They could point to the pictures as you read 2 Nephi 31:17–20 together.
I love the manual says "find or draw pictures". Here are some blank foot steps that the students can draw pictures on that you can place on the chalk board (Your path) or on the ground.
Here is an extra activity if you don't have a lot of time or room in your classroom. The students can still find the foot prints if you choose to hide them. Or you can print in B&W and challenge the students to teach their FHE (with the printable and) with what they learned today. The best way to learn something is to teach it.
Here is an idea from 4 years ago, I think it is a very good idea to incorporate movement.
For older children you can lay them out and see who the first one is to grab it when it is mentioned in the scriptures.
General conference is the week after Easter. Here are some free activities, just click on the image.
Click on image to be taken to Etsy.
I can feast upon the words of Christ.
To teach about “feasting” on the words of Christ, you could ask your children to act out how they would feast on their favorite food. In 2 Nephi 32:3, what did Nephi say we should feast on? How is feasting on God’s word different from just reading it? Maybe your children could act out the differences. Share with them the blessings you’ve received as you’ve feasted on the scriptures.
(Warning:This prints very small, only print this on if you are sending it home with your students, it is too small to teach with)
This prints big:
Heavenly Father wants me to pray always.
After reading 2 Nephi 32:8–9, talk with your children about why Satan doesn’t want us to pray. Why does God want us to “pray always”? Your children could make a list or draw pictures of situations in which they could pray. Then you could sing a song that teaches about prayer, such as “Did You Think to Pray?” (Hymns, no. 140). You could replace some of the words in the song with the words from their lists. How does God bless us when we pray always?
Last time to get this, if you want to do the week long count down. Easter is March 31st.
Easter
Because Jesus Christ was resurrected, I will be resurrected too.
You can use “Chapter 53: Jesus Is Crucified” and
“Chapter 54: Jesus Is Risen” (in New Testament Stories, 136–38, 139–44) to tell your children about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Click on image to be taken to the church's website to watch this.
Or let your children tell you the story, using the pictures in these chapters.
For younger children:
For older children that can look up scriptures and match them to pictures:
The Risen Savior’s visit to the Americas is a powerful witness of His Resurrection. Consider telling your children about it, using 3 Nephi 11; 17; the song “Easter Hosanna”; or the last verse of “Book of Mormon Stories” (Children’s Songbook, 68–69, 118–19).
Encourage your children to imagine what it would have been like to feel Jesus’s wounds (see 3 Nephi 11:14–15) or to be one of the children He blessed (see 3 Nephi 17:21). Share with each other your feelings about Jesus Christ and His Resurrection.
This is beautiful
To help your children discover what the Book of Mormon teaches about resurrection, you could invite them to pretend that you don’t know anything about it and ask them to explain it to you. Help them look in 2 Nephi 9:10–15; Alma 11:41–45; and Alma 40:21–23 for answers to questions like these: What does it mean to be resurrected? Who will be resurrected? Also invite them to bear testimony of the Savior’s Resurrection as part of their answer.
Click on the image to be taken to Etsy.
Click on the image to be taken to Etsy.
Jesus Christ knows how to comfort me.
Mosiah 3:7 and Alma 7:11 describe some of what the Savior went through as part of His Atonement. You might read one of these verses to your children and ask them to listen for words that tell them what Jesus suffered for us. Then you could read Alma 7:12 to find out why He suffered it. Testify that Jesus Christ felt all of our pains and sicknesses so that He could comfort us.
Do your children have a favorite hymn or song about Jesus Christ and His Atonement? You could sing it together—or learn a new one. Talk about words or phrases in the lyrics that teach you about the comfort and peace the Savior offers us.
This song/movie brings the spirit, and is a beautiful testimony through music.
Jesus Christ can cleanse me and help me change.
The Book of Mormon gives many examples of people who were changed because of the Savior’s Atonement. Perhaps your children could choose one to learn about, such as Enos (see Enos 1:2–8), Alma the Younger (see Mosiah 27:8–24), or the Anti-Nephi-Lehies (see Alma 24:7–19). How did this person or group change because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ? How can we follow their examples?
This is from an older lesson if you decide just to focus on this story.
Older Students: Split the students in 3 groups and give them each a scripture to study together. When they figured out who their person is they can take their picture card. Tell them that they are going to present to the class how the Atonement changed that person or groups of people lives. They can draw pictures to help with their presentation.
You and your children could also compare something clean and something dirty and talk about how dirty things are made clean. Read together Alma 13:11–13. What did Jesus do so that we can be made clean from our sins? How does this make us feel about sin? How does it make us feel about the Savior?