Using Come, Follow Me—For Primary

Preparing to Teach in Primary

The home should be the center of gospel learning. This is true for you and for the children you teach. As you prepare to teach, start by having your own experiences in the scriptures. Your most important preparation will occur as you seek the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.

Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families is also an important part of your preparation. It will help you gain a deeper understanding of the doctrinal principles found in the scriptures.

During your preparation, thoughts and impressions will come to you about the children you teach. You will receive insights into how the principles in the scriptures will bless their lives. You will be guided to inspire them to discover those principles as they learn from the scriptures for themselves and with their families. Remember to be sensitive to children whose family circumstances may not support regular family scripture study.

Teaching Ideas

As you are preparing to teach, you might gain additional inspiration by exploring the outlines in this resource. Don’t think of these ideas as step-by-step instructions but rather as suggestions to spark your own inspiration. You know these children, and the Lord knows them too—including what they need and what they can understand. He will inspire you with the best ways to teach and bless the children.

You have many other resources available as you prepare, including ideas in Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families and Church magazines. For more information about these and other resources, see “Additional Resources for Teaching Children.”

Some Things to Keep in Mind

• Parents have the main responsibility to teach their children. As a teacher, you have an important responsibility to support, encourage, and build upon gospel learning in the home. Be sensitive to children whose parents do not teach the gospel in their home. Include all children in gospel discussions regardless of their home circumstances.

• Repetition is good. Children learn gospel truths more effectively when these truths are taught repeatedly through a variety of activities. If you find that a learning activity is effective with the children, consider repeating it, especially if you are teaching younger children. You might also review an activity from a previous lesson.

• Heavenly Father wants you to succeed as a teacher. He has provided many resources to help you succeed, including teacher council meetings. In these meetings you can counsel with other teachers about any challenges you might face. You can also discuss and practice principles of Christlike teaching.

• If you are teaching younger children and need additional help, see “Meeting the Needs of Younger Children” in this resource.

• This resource includes outlines for every week of the year except for the two Sundays when general conference is held. On Sundays when Primary is not held because of stake conference or any other reason, families may continue reading the New Testament at home according to the schedule outlined. In order to keep your Primary class on schedule, you may choose to skip a lesson or combine two lessons. To avoid confusion, Primary presidents may wish to advise teachers about these adjustments ahead of time.