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20 LDS Nursery Activity Ideas


I was a nursery leader a couple of years back and was always trying to come up with activities after the lesson and snack time. I thought it would be fun to share what worked for our nursery children today!

Remember there is valuable information in the Behold Your Little Ones: Nursery Manual when it comes to activities, too!

20 LDS Nursery Ideas and Activities

Musical Statues - dance to music and freeze when the music stops
Cheerio Jewelry - make a necklace or bracelet with yarn and cheerios!
Play Dress Up - bring some hats and some fun dress up items for pretend play
Bowling - use empty water bottles for the bowling pins
Musical Instruments - you can also make your own by using an empty water bottle and rice, small pots and pans with a spoon, etc.
Duck, Duck, Goose - this classic is always a fun activity for the kids
Butcher Paper Art - cover the nursery table with butcher paper and let the kids draw and color
Follow the Leader
Puppets - put on a puppet show with the children using finger puppets, sock puppets, paper bag puppets, etc.
PlayDoh - let them play with homemade playdough and plastic cookie cutters
Bubbles - you can never go wrong with bubbles.
Puzzles - get out some toddler puzzles
Building Blocks - so many building possibilities with wooden blocks, foam blocks, Lincoln logs, mega blocks, etc. Don’t have access to blocks? Remember to ask ward members and see if you can borrow them on a Sunday.
Lacing Cards - kids love to play with lacing cards (especially the older nursery children)
File Folders - create some file folder games and let the kids play with them while waiting for their parents to pick them up.
Magnet Letters on a Cookie Sheet - play with plastic magnet alphabet letters on a cookie sheet
Ball Games - throw a ball (preferably soft) in a basket, kick a ball into a goal, play toss, etc.
Read a Book - I would try to keep it about a church topic. examples: sharing, kindness, etc.
Car Mat with Cars - use a large white board and create your own if you don’t have one on hand!
Paper Airplanes - Make some paper planes ahead of time and watch how much fun they have flying them.


Do you have an activity idea for the nursery children? Please share below.

Also check it this questionnaire for the parents!
LDS Nursery free printable

Post By: Kari Sweeten


17 comments

  1. Great list! Kinda makes me wish I was still in nursery lol

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  2. Today I got to hang out in the nursery. It has been a while since I served as nursery leader but it brought back a lot of memories. Some favorites we used to do with the kids is London bridge is falling down and Ring Around the Rosie. Love your list. Lots of great ideas!

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    1. Thanks for the ideas Cindy! Nursery is the best!

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  3. Such a good resource you've come up with! Some more ideas are....balloons all over the place to kick and bounce, pop sticks with streamers on the end to dance around with, paint on blackboard with small brushes and just water, empty diaper sized boxes to build up and knock over, scrunched up newspaper balls for tossing in the air, playing races from one side of the room to the other to get wiggles out, playing with hand held mirrors, tracing bodies on butchers paper, making hats out of newspaper....having lots of pillows in the room to pretend to sleep and be quiet. Just love all the possibilities :)

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    1. Thank you so much for sharing more ideas! I might just update the list above and add these to it. THANKS!

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  4. Thank you for this list! My husband and I are nursery coordinators (since we have 3 different nursery classes we organize and rotate them all), and I was trying to find ideas I could give our teachers to help them fill the time in some of the rooms with more than just toys! This list is awesome!

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    1. You have a large nursery! Love it. So happy this list can help!

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  5. Thank you so much for taking the time to share this list! I am new and looking to have a good plan in place to help things go smoothly. These ideas are delightful!

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    1. You're so welcome Andrea! Oh how I love those li'l nursery kiddos.

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  6. thanks a lot for sharing your ideas. kids enjoy napkin folding, rolling mats, picking up and putting them in bowls with the help of cloth pin in my class

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  7. My feelings are when Christ comes again he won't be in rs or priesthood. the first place he will go is to nursery. I love nursery it is the best calling in the church. I love having an excuse to g . I've been taking my granddaughter to nursery and staying so she will be happy. Just an excuse, I love being there.

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    1. I love being in the nursery, too. My baby is 9 years old and I really miss that young stage, I feel like I can get my "toddler fix" in the nursery! Yes, Christ loves the little ones.

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  8. I'm spent many years of my life as a Nursery leader. The most favorite activity that the kids always enjoy is putting a row of small chairs in a row for a makeshift train. I came up with the idea after listening to the Nursery Musical Activities CD, which gives several ideas for playing make believe or pretend activities with the kids. Nursery age kids love to pretend, and the are so imaginative!! I say all-aboard!! We pick a conductor to lead the train, and I show them how to put their arm up and yank the train whistle, while making this sound, Whoo-whoo, and saying all aboard!!! Then the wheels start next, and we use our bent arms back and forth, to show that the train is moving. I then put my hand over my eyes as if to be looking far away and ask them to look out the windows and tell me what they see. They are so imaginative! They see money's swinging from the trees, tall giraffs and pink elephants!!

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    1. Thank you for sharing this fun activity idea! I'm definitely going to remember this if I ever get the chance to be in nursery or as a sub again. THANKS!

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  9. Hoping for some ideas for the hour 2019. I am in nursery, and don’t speak the same language, so a huge challenge. Trying the games and activities trying to get leader stick to a schedule, so we can do a bit of everything. Asking president if we can separate the new kids from older. Seems new ones have no clue what a lesson is and yet older ones seem to be able to listen...do you think this is an okay idea? Then come together for snacks.

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