Guest Author - Terrie Lynn Bittner

There are still ten minutes left before Primary is over. You can’t turn the children loose to run in the halls. How do you fill the time?

Every teacher should have a plan for filling the extra minutes of class. This is valuable learning time and can also be a more relaxed time for you to become acquainted with the children or to learn while having fun. In your Primary bag or box, put in supplies for a few last-minute activities that can fit any lesson.

One idea is to practice choosing the right. Keep a small box or bag with situations that children can read and discuss. These might be harder than the usual ones. For instance, one question might ask how children whose parents are inactive can help their parents learn to love the church, or ask children how they would handle being at summer camp when the children in their cabin are always breaking rules and teasing those who don’t go along. A good question can fill ten minutes easily. After a question is discussed in depth, take it out of the box and replace it with a new one. Another choice for older children is to let them submit gospel questions. You can read over the questions and prepare answers. Then when you have those ten minutes, you can answer one of them.

Use the time to help children memorize the Articles of Faith. Children will need to be able to recite these when they earn their award after their baptisms. Prepare several games that can be played in ten minutes. Make as many copies of one Article of Faith as there are children, plus three more just in case. Cut them into phrases and place each set in a sealable plastic bag. Hand
them out and have the children put them in order. If that becomes too easy, cut them into words. You might also give each child a different set and then have them trade if they finish early. Another game is to put each word on a separate piece of paper. Have the children sort them out and lay them on the floor. (Do this as a group.) Then let them take turns removing one word. They should try to recite the Article of Faith without the help of the missing words. If you have small children, just teach them the Article of Faith one phrase at a time. Have them repeat the first phrase. Then teach the second and have them repeat that. Next, have them put the two together. To keep them from getting bored, challenge them to do it with their hands on their heads, their eyes closed, or turning slowly in a circle. (They will believe you if you tell them that might make it harder!)

Teach children how to use their scriptures. Older children should learn what the Bible Dictionary is, what footnotes are for and so on. Let them practice finding a book in the book of scripture you are studying. Even little children can spend ten minutes learning about their scriptures. Teach them to hold the book carefully. Show them any pictures in the book. Let them learn to find the
first book in the book of scriptures they are studying. If they eventually learn that, let them learn the name of the second book and how to identify it. Write the name of the book on the board, and then show them how to tell what book they are in. Even Sunbeams can learn to tell the Book of Mormon from the Bible. You might give them the name of a person in the scriptures and let them
hold up the book the person is in.

Use the time to solve a class problem such as reverence. Tell the children what the problem is and have them come up with solutions. Then let them choose one to try.

Review the lesson. Ask questions. Let the children act out a story from the lesson. Let them show you how they plan to tell their parents what they learned, or how they would explain it to a nonmember. Find out how they feel about the scripture people they learned about. This is a great time to talk about the lesson in a relaxed way.

Finally, you might choose to use this time to learn about the children. At the start of a year, create a list of things you want to know about each child. Put them in a folder and bring it out when you have extra time. Ask each child the answer to one of the questions: How many brothers do you have? Have you ever moved? What is your favorite school subject? Be sure to tell the children how you would answer the question.

Don’t waste the time you have with these children on hang man or cookies. You have so little time to teach them the gospel. Use it well.


We Believe: Artricles of Faith Flashcards and Games