How do I teach primary?

[Advocate]

Your ward still uses volunteerism for chapel cleaning? My stake has long resorted to voluntoldism with a healthy dose of public shaming. At least it's organized in a nice excel sheet.

Luckily, yes. I am largely immune to public shame. I just sit there as the EQ Pres and HP Group Leader vainly scans the assemblage of priesthood holders looking for guilt and duty to coax believers into raising their hands and claiming their blessings. Admittedly, many ward members seem sincere in their enjoyment of temple service. Many of them happily serve as ordinance workers in the local Gilbert temple. Getting a chance to clean the temple is almost an added bonus.

I find smart phones are a great way to avoid public shame. Nobody wants to call out the guy that is busy playing on his phone and playing on your phone gives you the added bonus of avoiding eye contact! Public shaming only works if you feel ashamed. Simply ignoring it by focusing on other things (especially easy for me during NFL season) is a great solution.

[trophywife26.2]

Candy, wordsearches with church words, and hangman.

[slavereeno]

Bring treats, play games, and just teach them to be good, kind non-judgmental people.

MoPag, You are speaking my language with the Simpsons pics!!

[slavereeno]

Thanks to all who posted here, this is great advice. I will be teaching this Sunday and I will be looking for a way to teach them a good principle and if possible one related to the lesson.

[trophywife26.2]

Thanks to all who posted here, this is great advice. I will be teaching this Sunday and I will be looking for a way to teach them a good principle and if possible one related to the lesson.

If you are doing the candy and wordsearches and anyone makes any comments just say: I know! I'm not very good at this. They should release me.

[slavereeno]

Return and Report

Well I made it through. My teaching companion is kind of a chill guy so that makes it easier. The lesson was about the succession of BY. I asked the kids about the story and they related it, I neither confirmed nor denied their answer. We spent the balance talking about the mechanics of succession and telling unrelated stories. I wish I could say I felt good about it, but I am still struggling to feel right about teaching this stuff through silent assent. Part of what makes me sad is that I am actually pretty good with kids. The crazy stuff they do makes me smile and laugh, being a mentor is something I value. (Probably why I have been in scouts so much) It hurts to think I may be a cog in this machine.

Thanks for all the suggestions, it was helpful.

[Reuben]

Oh, bleah. The succession crisis, especially BY's transfiguration, is probably one of the most verifiable examples of outright making crap up. He gave a good speech and won in a landslide. Didn't consider himself a prophet. End of story? Nope, we need to spice it up with a good myth, so HE WAS VERILY BROTHER JOSEPH.

Double bleah. You know what you should do? Post here about every lesson, a week in advance. We can work out a way to make the lessons more honest, which would benefit you and the kids.

[trophywife26.2]

Return and Report

Well I made it through. My teaching companion is kind of a chill guy so that makes it easier. The lesson was about the succession of BY. I asked the kids about the story and they related it, I neither confirmed nor denied their answer. We spent the balance talking about the mechanics of succession and telling unrelated stories. I wish I could say I felt good about it, but I am still struggling to feel right about teaching this stuff through silent assent. Part of what makes me sad is that I am actually pretty good with kids. The crazy stuff they do makes me smile and laugh, being a mentor is something I value. (Probably why I have been in scouts so much) It hurts to think I may be a cog in this machine.

Thanks for all the suggestions, it was helpful.

I taught youth SS for a year as a straight up atheist. I was not emotionally ready to deal with the consequences of walking away at that time. I understand that feeling of struggle with the silent assent. What worked for me/helped me feel better about it was to choose a good message I thought youth of the church needed to hear and just keep saying it every single week, weaving it in to try and have it be so if they remembered anything, they'd remember that one thing.

I tried to make that message: God loves you just the way he made you, just the way you are.

It was the tiniest thing I could do to maybe, maybe help a kid I thought was LGBTQ in my class. Plus also a pretty good message for anyone. Maybe you could try to come up with a theme of your own. One good thing you want the kids to learn from you.

I'm glad to hear your partner is chill and good luck going through the rest of your time in the calling.

[slavereeno]

Last week was the first pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley. I just focused on trivia about the trek west, stuff like How many men? How many women?How many wagons etc.

This week is about the first year in the valley. It includes the cricket miracle. The story says the seagulls ate the crickets, went to the river barfed up the crickets then came back to eat more.

[Jeffret]

I'd say skip the unfounded folklore and try to help the kids understand what it would've been like to have lived then. If you live in the Salt Lake area, talk about how things were different then and what it would've been like to arrive. If you live outside that area, generalize it away from a specific area and talk about moving to a new area or even what it was like long ago in your area.

[FiveFingerMnemonic]

Oh man, I would have asked why the pioneers didn't eat the crickets like the indians did. Manna from heaven.

[MerrieMiss]

I'd say skip the unfounded folklore and try to help the kids understand what it would've been like to have lived then. If you live in the Salt Lake area, talk about how things were different then and what it would've been like to arrive. If you live outside that area, generalize it away from a specific area and talk about moving to a new area or even what it was like long ago in your area.

That sounds like a great lesson.

[No Tof]

Late to the party but enjoyed the advice offered.

Having the opportunity to influence for good the young minds in your ward is indeed a gift. I hope you find ways to give these young folk a sense that they have power to direct their own lives.

Please keep us informed of your successes and challenges.

Use the 'Givens' as a model. Tell them what you think without stepping on the Brethern's toes and all should be cool.

Good luck.

[NOMinally Mormon]

As a substitute, I did a lot of hangman. Also would go around the room and let everyone talk about their last vacation, how school was going, their families, whatever they wanted to talk about. We even did pushups and jumping jacks to burn off energy. The last time I taught, the kids ran out of class to their parents shouting, "guess what! We didn't learn anything today!"

[moksha]

No matter what, Primary should not be about grooming the kids to obey Church Authorities.

[slavereeno]

I love the suggestions! I have been trying to teach principles and not necessarily the black and white on the pages.

generalize it away from a specific area and talk about moving to a new area

This would have been great since there was a kid that just moved in this last week in the class.

Oh man, I would have asked why the pioneers didn't eat the crickets like the indians did. Manna from heaven.

Love this! Yes, "Well God sent them crickets to eat so they wouldn't starve, but since they were too good for that and he eventually got sick of their griping, he sent the gulls to clean up the mess.

Having the opportunity to influence for good the young minds in your ward is indeed a gift.

I am trying to see it that way. It does keep me out of gospel doctrine which is a huge plus!

[slavereeno]

As a substitute, I did a lot of hangman.

I haven't resorted to hangman yet, although I teach far more science then I should...

No matter what, Primary should not be about grooming the kids to obey Church Authorities.

This.

It ended up being my team-teacher's week to teach and he focused on the "obey the sabbath" part of the lesson. Except for the occasional joke about marijuana I kept my yapper shut. I did suggest that we shouldn't judge others' observance of the Sabbath at the end though.

[Jeffret]

It does keep me out of gospel doctrine which is a huge plus!

Definitely. That's s what I strongly found after being released from years of callings that kept me out of GD and EQ. It was better being elsewhere and I couldn't stand the adult classes anymore. So I finally left.

[Jeffret]

As a substitute, I did a lot of hangman.

I haven't resorted to hangman yet, although I teach far more science then I should.

Should? What is this "should? How does one determine it?

[slavereeno]

As a substitute, I did a lot of hangman.

I haven't resorted to hangman yet, although I teach far more science then I should.

Should? What is this "should? How does one determine it?

One determines it by the complaints one gets from his co-teacher or the kids' parents. I have taught a little about relativity and the big bang. My co-teacher "explained" to me that the big bang violated the law of conservation of matter so it was obviously out, and that God organized already existing matter to create the universe. I was about to ask him if the earth was flat or round, but I was afraid of the answer I would get.