So Matt and I have been counting down the weeks before Caleb can attend the church nursery (he has to be 18 months old). We're tired of taking him to every class and trying to keep him entertained, quiet, and still...three very tough feats. Imagine our excitement when Caleb got invited to attend nursery for the first time last week, which would be 6 weeks early! He did pretty well, despite the fact that he tried to eat the play dough, refused to sit on his carpet square for the lesson, and dumped water all over himself during the snack (he's pretty good about drinking from a cup until he's all done and decides to dump the rest out...I've learned to only give him very small amounts of water in a cup). What did Caleb do well? He was fabulous at playing with the toys!
Our nurseries in our ward are organized heterogeneously, meaning all the age groups are mixed together and there are 3 classes of nursery. So there are some experienced nursery-goers in Caleb's class. The reasoning behind this decision was so that the older students could set an example for the new nursery comers and help them know what to do. At first I thought it was a great idea until I started thinking back to all my elementary ed classes and my teaching career. I am a huge supporter of homogenous grouping. I don't feel that the 'smarter' students are stretched as well if we're always 'dumbing down' the lessons. Last week in nursery, there was one student who knew all the words to 'I Am a Child of God' and all the answers to the questions in the lesson. It was all too easy for him; he needed to be stretched and asked harder questions and maybe learn the second verse to the song. Because there were other children who were completely clueless and had less of an attention span, we moved on. Maybe I'll be able to share my own opinions on the matter in time to come.
So why is Caleb able to attend nursery 6 weeks early, officially on the rolls and everything? If you haven't guessed it already, I was given a calling to work as a nursery leader. When I got a call to come meet with a member of the bishopric, I knew of two callings available (unless they were going to reorganize something): RS teacher and nursery. It has always been my secret longing to be a RS teacher. I would love it! Maybe not always, but being a teacher forces you to know the material really well and study it in depth. I do prepare myself for the lessons each week, but obviously not as well as if I were presenting the lesson. Plus I love to teach, and I miss teaching so much! I am excited to be in the nursery though and still have an opportunity to teach, although at a very basic level. It will be fun to be in there with Caleb too. He wasn't clingy at all last week like I thought he might be. I don't know if they will have him move classes in the near future so he's not with me, but I love seeing him interact with other children. It helps me to better know the things I need to work with him on (like sharing), and seeing the material in the nursery manual will help me know what we need to be teaching Caleb for Family Home Evening lessons.
7 comments:
I totally agree with the "dumbing down" theories. Kids need to be challenged. I think the main reason why they are mixing ages is because when one 18 mo old starts to cry--they all do! And that leads to one major headache--haha :)
Yeah I have to say I agree. Littler toddlers don't know really how to play with each other yet, they're very set on on their own little world... and bigger kids are not always nicer to the little ones. The good news is that you're there so you can change things ;) You're a great teacher, by the way!
Being in there with Caleb will help you also put more time in the calling. Of course you would be wonderful without him, but when your doing something for your own child, you try harder. This calling will only last a year probably, so enjoy it!
This sounds so fun! I was in nursery before. It is hard to teach a lesson because they do not have attention spans. You will do well because of your el ed background. Have fun!
Well its great that you get to be with him...and he has more freedom to move and play. Too bad, you would make a great RS teacher...it is by far one of my favorite callings!
You sounds really optimistic about this new calling. I wasn't thrilled when they called me as the nursery leader, but I really like it now. I know what an important service it really is to the children and the families; its not just "babysitting" like some people think.
I was surprised to hear that they mix the ages though--there is such a HUGE difference between an 18 month old and a 3 year old. Our lessons with our new Senior nursery group last about 2 minutes. Our group that just left us for Sunbeams could have 10 minute lessons sitting in chairs participating in discussion.
You're going to be great in there, and the new Nursery manual is fabulous too!
How fun, I LOVED working in the nursery! I bet it's fun to be able to watch Caleb interacting with other kids. Good luck changing things up in there, you're going to do great!
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