Some adults resist a Primary calling because they worry it will hamper their own spiritual education. This is one of the few callings that requires you to miss two full hours of classroom time in order to be with the children. However, Primary can be a time of extensive spiritual growth if you plan carefully to make the most of your calling and your time.
Each Primary lesson is based on a solid gospel principal, and usually on a story in the scriptures as well. A teacher can set up a study schedule based
on the book her students are studying that year. The lessons use stories roughly in the order they are found in the scriptures, so you can figure out where you need to be at any given time. Read the book of scripture and obtain an Institute of Religion study guide to assist you if you feel the need for additional instruction. In addition, each lesson suggests material a teacher can study to better understand the principal she will be teaching in a specific lesson. Study the doctrine carefully using scriptures and other church sources. Begin a notebook to record not only what you learn and the sources consulted, but your feelings about your study. This can be done in your journal as well.
Studying the doctrine in-depth serves several valuable purposes. First, it allows you to continue to grow in knowledge of the gospel. Just as a science teacher will continue to read about science long after she graduates from college, a gospel teacher must continue to learn about the material she is presenting. In addition, you will be better prepared to answer the difficult questions children often ask. Don't assume that because you are teaching children, you will know how to answer everything they ask. I have been asked about the duties and nature of angels by six-year-olds, and about the process of judgement in the last days by preschoolers. In order to bring a complicated subject to the level of a child, you must understand it extremely well. Finally, your own testimony of the subject will grow, which will enable you to teach more powerfully.
Try to memorize the scripture stories you'll tell and the scriptures you will present to the children. Having the stories in your heart will allow you to substitute comfortably on short notice, and having scriptures memorized, as Seminary students are often told, allows you to bring them to mind when they are unexpectedly needed in a lesson. Study the stories carefully to be sure you understand the details, the nature of the people involved and the setting. Think about the spiritual application and the needs of your students. Close your eyes and see the story. The more real it is to you, the better you will present it and the more open your heart will be to a gaining a testimony of the story.
Set a goal to live the principle you are teaching all week. When you teach, share with the children appropriate information about the experiences you had and the increase in testimony you experienced. (Pray to decide which experiences are appropriate to share. Remember that we are never to share serious sins with our students or tell them anything inappropriate or private about another person.)
It is challenging to work an independent study of the gospel into a busy schedule, particularly if you are also keeping up with the auxiliary lessons for adults, but you may find that your testimony and gospel knowledge will grow even more than it would have if you were passively attending classes as a student.
New Testament Supplemental Study
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