Adapting to the Needs of Younger Children

In this resource, you will find many activities that will work for younger and older children, but some activities may need to be adapted to meet the needs of those you teach. Here are some things young children can do to learn:

• Listen to or act out a story. As you tell children scripture stories, you can invite them to help you. They can hold objects and visuals that help them learn the story. They can share parts of the story they know. They can draw pictures of what they are hearing. You may even assign roles to the children and let them act out the story. Help children see the gospel truths in the scripture stories they are learning.

• Read a scripture. Young children may not be able to read very much, but you can still engage them in learning from the scriptures. You may need to focus on a single verse or even a key phrase. As you read a scripture out loud, you could invite children to stand up or raise their hands when they hear a specific word or phrase that you want to focus on. As they hear the words of prophets, they will feel the Spirit.

• See a picture. When you show children a picture related to a gospel principle or scripture story, ask them questions that help them learn from the picture. For example, you could ask, “What is happening in this picture? What do you see? How does it make you feel?”

• Learn or memorize a phrase. Although many small children cannot read, they can learn key phrases from the scriptures. You can ask them to repeat phrases that teach gospel principles.

• Sing about it. Hymns and songs from the Children’s Songbook teach doctrine in a powerful way. Use the index at the back of the Children’s Songbook to find songs that relate to the gospel principles you are teaching.

• Share experiences. As children share experiences, they teach each other. You could invite a child to stand with a pretend microphone and share an experience. You could then invite the other children to ask the child questions about his or her experience.

• Create. Children can build, draw, or color something related to the story or principle they are learning. When they create something, they are excited to share it with others. Encourage them to take the creation home and share it in order to help them remember what they learned.

• View object lessons. An object lesson can help children understand a gospel principle that is difficult to comprehend. When using an object lesson, make it an interactive experience for the children rather than just something to watch.

• Role-play. When children role-play a real-life situation, they are able to see and practice how a gospel principle applies to their lives.