Confession #4 -- I Hate the Mass of Papers Tigger gets from Nursery

Tigger is 2 and therefore still goes to the Nursery. He absolutely LOVES it! As soon as the closing song from Sacrament meeting starts, he knows its time for Nursery next and he begins the rapid clean up. He practically jumps for joy all the way to the nursery room.



And I absolutely love the 3 Nursery teachers that are with the kids. They think about each kid and they really care about each one. They come early every Sunday to set up "stations" of toys throughout the Nursery room. They have absolutely everything planned out and organized. And, because I'm Primary President, I love that they ALWAYS get substitutes. Even if they only have to leave 15 minutes early. They are 100% reliable! And they are fun ladies to chat with.



But, I really HATE all the little papers that they get. I hate them for two reasons.



1. They always end up covering the floor of the kid's room, usually with pieces or corners torn off.



2. They use the dreaded Primary Partners books for their ideas.





I certainly don't mind having papers some of the time. I think it's good for the kids to color and cut, but IT"S EVERY WEEK!! And usually I have to find a moment when they aren't looking to toss the scraps in the bin. Now really....the kids are 1, 2, and 3 years old. Are they really going to remember what a hand out was for even a month later? Okay, maybe a 3 year old might.



I have to admit that sometimes I do take the good ones and put them in my file of props for Family Home Evenings...but that is rare.



And the second reason. The Primary Partners books. I personally think they are a cop out for a good lesson. The manuals the church puts out are fabulous. They have activity ideas, and attention getters. They have great stories and pictures to go along with them. I feel that when a teachers uses the pre-made Primary Partners versions of the lessons, they are missing out on a great opportunity to prepare their own lesson, AS GUIDED BY THE SPIRIT. I just don't like the books. And why should people make money off of the Primary lessons? Good grief!!! When we are teaching in the church, shouldn't we use the things the church has prepared for us? After all, a TON of thought and consideration went into those manuals. Wouldn't you feel terribly guilty teaching a child the wrong thing because you taught them something that the church didn't put out? I'm not even saying that the Primary Partners (or anything else like it) is teaching the wrong things? I'm just saying that the church has spent so much time and energy putting things together for us, we might as well use it! I will say one positive thing, though, that sometimes they do have good ideas for Family Home Evening topics. And yes, they are okay for Family Home Evening, because I know what I am teaching my kids.