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I Am a Child of God

Introduction for the Teacher

To prepare yourself spiritually to teach this lesson, please read and ponder the following:

Each of us is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents. We lived with them before we were born. Our Heavenly Father knows us personally and loves us. (See Psalm 82:6; Acts 17:28–29; Hebrews 12:9.)

Preparation

• Bring a copy of the scriptures. Mark Psalm 82:6 and Moses 1:4 so that you can turn to them easily.

• Mark page 99 in this manual so that you can turn to it easily.

Learning Activities

Begin with a gathering activity. For ideas, see page 3.

Prayer

Invite a child to give the opening prayer.

Song

Sing or say the first verse of “I Am a Child of God” (Children’s Songbook, 2):

I am a child of God,

And he has sent me here.

Repeat two or three times, inviting the children to sing with you.

Scripture

Tell the children that they have mothers and fathers on earth who love them. Tell them that they also have a Heavenly Father who knows and loves them. Open the Bible to Psalm 82:6 and read, “All of you are children of [God].”

Scripture Story

Show the illustration of Moses on page 99 (you may want to cover the other illustrations on this page to help the children focus on Moses). Explain that Moses was a great prophet who lived a long time ago. Tell the children that Moses went to a mountain to pray. Invite the children to pretend to climb a mountain; then have them fold their arms as if praying. Open the Pearl of Great Price to Moses 1:4 and say, “God said to Moses, ‘Behold, thou art my son.’ ” Explain that Moses learned that he was a child of God.

coloring page, Moses

Repetition Activity

Invite a child to stand next to you in the front of the class.

Say: “This is [child’s name].”

Ask the children to repeat the child’s name.

Say: “[Child’s name] is a child of God.”

Ask the children to repeat: “[Child’s name] is a child of God.”

Repeat the activity for each child in the nursery. If the nursery class is large, you could present two children at a time or shorten the activity as necessary.

Picture

Show the picture on page 10, point to a child in the picture, and ask, “Is this person a child of God?” Nod and say yes. Repeat for each child in the picture. Then point to yourself and ask, “Am I a child of God?” Nod and say yes. Emphasize that everyone is a child of God and He knows and loves us all.

group of children

Conclusion

Share your testimony that we are all children of God and that He knows and loves us.

Prayer

Invite a child to give the closing prayer.

Teaching Tips

Songs: Use music to teach gospel principles and invite the Spirit. A few of the children may try to sing with you, but most will probably just watch you while you sing. They learn songs by listening, and they enjoy the songs even if they do not sing.

Names: Nursery children enjoy hearing their own names and personally being part of the lesson. Show the children you love them by learning their names and praising them for participating.

Prayer: If the child needs help praying, prompt him or her with short, simple phrases to repeat. The older children may be able to pray using their own words.

Optional Activities

Preparation

• For the poster activity: Invite parents to bring a photograph of their child to nursery (they may have already provided this photograph when the child first joined the nursery class; see page 7). At the top of a piece of poster board, write, “I Am a Child of God.” Leave plenty of space for the pictures of the children.

• For the illustration activity: Copy the illustrations on page 11 so that each child can have one.

  coloring page, I Am a Child of God

  I Am a Child of God

Activity Verse

Invite the children to stand and do the following activity verse with you:

If you’re very, very tall, (stretch and reach arms up)

Heavenly Father knows and loves you.

If you’re very, very small, (crouch down)

Heavenly Father knows and loves you.

Tall, (stretch up)

Small, (crouch down)

Tall, (stretch up)

Small, (crouch down)

Heavenly Father knows and loves us all.

Poster

Attach the pictures of the children to the poster you have prepared. Read the title of the poster to the children and remind them that we are all children of God. Display the poster each week and add pictures to it as other children join the nursery.

Illustration

Give each child a copy of one of the illustrations on page 11. Invite the children to point to different parts of the faces (such as eyes, mouth, and so on). Let the children color the illustrations, if desired.

Teaching Tips

Making copies: If you don’t have access to a copy machine, you could place a sheet of plain paper over the illustrations and trace them.

Coloring: Not all children enjoy coloring. Some may make only a mark or two on the page. The purpose of the illustrations in these lessons is to give the children a visual representation of the lesson that they can hold and take home. It is not important that they color the illustration skillfully.