Last fall I was so excited to be called to serve in the Nursery. I loved my little Nursery kids and had fun getting them ready to be a Sunbeam. Luckily for me, I got to move up with them into Sunbeams. I love to go to Primary Singing Time with them. My cute Sunbeam Class, so far, does a wonderful job of sitting still and trying their best to follow along with the songs. It's wonderful to see kids this age singing I am a Child of God and they really love singing Scripture Power and the all time favorite, Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam. I realized this past Sunday that they do learn things in Nursery because even the CTR 7 class still squats down low on "Sun" and bursts up on "-Beams". Coming right out of Nursery I know it was taught there! I believe that things like this are not all that our young children are learning in Nursery and Sunbeams. They are developing their testimonies by the testimonies we are sharing with them. So even if one Sunbeam won't sit down through the lesson, I have faith that he is getting something too. There was a quote on the teacher instructions I received in my teacher binder,
"Although there may be times when a child does not listen with a believing heart, your testimony of Jesus will remain in his or her mind and soul...If a child is not listening, don't despair. Time and truth are on your side. At the right moment, your words will return as if from heaven itself. your testimony will never leave your children."
Elder Neil L. Andersen
This quote will see me through this year with these cute, rambunctious, boys. I know a big help on keeping young Sunbeam aged kids' attention is being prepared. The more prepared you are the better they will listen. I also understand that their attention span is is short so you also have to be creative and energetic.
This is where Finch Family Games comes in to help. There are three volumes of games and activities that go along with the entire year of Sunbeam Lessons. These books are Nursery Time Vol. 1, Nursery Time Vol. 2, and Nursery Time Vol. 3. (Don't be fooled by the name, up until a couple years ago the Nursery and Sunbeam Classes used the same manual.)
Another great resource for Sunbeam Lesson Helps is the Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeam book. This book has black and white handouts and crafts that are easy to prepare for every lesson in the Sunbeam Manual. Finch Family Games has come up with lots of Sunbeam Lesson Helps for you to use. The Nursery Time books skip around a bit so I want to list the games and the Lessons they go with for you. You can follow the games with links if you would prefer to use the colored digital download. The handouts from Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams are sold in groups of 4 as downloads.
Lastly, remember there are many other games and Primary Lesson Helps at FinchFamilyGames.com. If you don't feel that one of these suggested games is the right fit for your class you can always search for other games using the Quick Store Search on FinchFamilyGames.com.
I hope you find these games useful and fun for your Sunbeam Class. I know I will be using them and making learning the gospel and coming to Primary fun for my Sunbeams.
Sunbeam Lesson Helps
| Lessons 1-4 Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams Downloads | ||
| Lesson 1 | I am a child of God | Craft: "I am a Child of God" Headband |
| I Am A Child of God Presentation | ||
| Lesson 2 | Heavenly Father Has a Body | "Look at Me" Mirror |
Joseph Smith Prayed Puzzle | ||
| Lesson 3 | Heavenly Father's Plan for Us | The Perfect Plan |
| Earth Card | ||
| Lesson 4 | I Can Pray to Heavenly Father | I Can Pray All Day |
| "I Can Pray" Figure | ||
| Lessons 5-8 Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams Downloads | ||
| Lesson 5 | Jesus Christ is the Son of Heavenly Father | Jesus Once Was a Little Child |
| Lesson 6 | Heavenly Father and Jesus Love Me | Gifts of Love |
"Jesus Loves Me" Necklace | ||
| Lesson 7 | The Holy Ghost Helps Me | "I Will Listen To The Holy Ghost" |
| Lesson 8 | I Am Thankful for the Day and the Night | Our Day and Night Lights |
| Sun, Moon, and Stars Mobile | ||
| Lessons 9-12 Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams Downloads | ||
| Lesson 9 | I Am Thankful for Water | Our Working Water |
| "I Am Thankful for Water" Booklet | ||
| Lesson 10 | I Am Thankful for Trees, Plants, and Flowers | Ready Set Grow |
| "I am Thankful for Flowers" craft | ||
| Lesson 11 | I Am Thankful for Fish | Our Water World |
| "Under the Sea" Craft | ||
| Lesson 12 | I Am Thankful for Animals | Animal Kingdom |
| "I Love Animals" Headband | ||
| Lessons 13-16 Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams Downloads | ||
| Lesson 13 | I Am Thankful fo Birds and Insects | Bird and Bug Bingo |
| "I Am Thankful for Birds" Craft | ||
| Lesson 14 | Adam and Eve were created in Heavenly Father's Image | The Garden of Eden |
| Creating Adam and Eve | ||
| Lesson 15 | The Sabbath Is a Day of Worship | Sabbath Day Bingo |
| "Sabbath Day Play" Picture | ||
| Sabbath Search | ||
| Lesson 16 | I Have a Body | Busy Body Bingo |
| My Body | ||
| Lessons 17-20 Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams Downloads | ||
| Lesson 17 | I Am Thankful for My Hands | My Hands |
| Lesson 18 | I Am Thankful for My Ears | Sound Search |
Art Activity: Listening Ears | ||
| "My Ears" Headband | ||
| Lesson 19 | I Am Thankful for My Eyes | Art Activity: Look and See |
| "My Eyes" Craft | ||
| Lesson 20 | I Am Thankful That I Can Smell and Taste | The Tasting Table |
| "My Taste and Smell Puppet" | ||
| Lessons 21-24 Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams Downloads | ||
| Lesson 21 | I Have Feelings | Find Our Feelings |
| "Color Us Happy!" | ||
| Lesson 22 | I Can Do Many Things | I Can Do...Can You? |
| "I Can Necklace" | ||
| Lesson 23 | I Belong to a Family | Our Family Tree |
| "Family Tree Sewing Card" | ||
| Lesson 24 | I Love My Brothers and Sisters | "Brother and Sister Puppets" |
| Lessons 25-28 Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams Downloads | ||
| Lesson 25 | I Love My Whole Family | Families are Fun |
| "I Love My Family" Hat | ||
| Lesson 26 | Families Can Be Together Forever | Temple Time |
| "Temple Time" Wristband | ||
| Lesson 27 | We Can Pray As a Family | Pray Together...Stay Together |
| Family Prayer Puzzle | ||
| Lesson 28 | I Can Be Obedient | Let's Obey All Day |
| "I Can Obey" Doorknob Hanger | ||
| Lessons 29-32 Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams Downloads | ||
| Lesson 29 | I Can Say I'm Sorry | "I'm Sorry" Craft |
| Lesson 30 | I Can Forgive Others | Follow to the Forgiving Face |
| Lesson 31 | I Am Thankful for My Home | The Happy Home Hunt |
| I Love My Home | ||
| Lesson 32 | I Am Thankful for Food and Clothing | Food Fun! |
| I Am Thankful For Food | ||
| Lessons 33-36 Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams Downloads | ||
| Lesson 33 | I Can Be a Friend | Fun Friends |
| Lesson 34 | I Can Love Others | Love Makes the World Go 'Round'! |
| "Bee" Kind Mobile | ||
| Lesson 35 | I Can Be Kind to Animals | The Kind Zoo Crew |
| Art Activity: Zoo Crew | ||
| I Love Animals | ||
| Lesson 36 | I Can Be a Good Example | Just Like Jesus |
| I Will Follow Jesus' Example" Necklace | ||
| Lessons 37-40 Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams Downloads | ||
| Lesson 37 | I Can Be Honest | The Beary Honest Bear |
| I Am Honest | ||
| Lesson 38 | I Can Be Reverent | Reverent Ways |
| "Reverent Ways" Coloring Page | ||
| Lesson 39 | Music Makes Me Happy | Music Makers Craft |
| Lesson 40 | The Sacrament Helps Me Think about Jesus | Pass the Sacrament |
| Thinking of Jesus | ||
| Lessons 41-44 Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams Downloads | ||
| Lesson 41 | Heavenly Father and Jesus Gave Us the Scriptures | Scripture Picture |
| Scriptures are Special | ||
| Lesson 42 | I Belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints | "I Belong to the Church" Hat |
| Lesson 43 | We Have a Living Prophet | We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet |
| Lesson 44 | We Can All Help at Church | Helpful Hands at Church |
| Lessons 45-46 Heavenly Handouts Nursery/Sunbeams Downloads | ||
| Lesson 45 | The Resurrection of Jesus Christ (Easter) | Easter Lesson |
| Lesson 46 | The Birth of Jesus Christ (Christmas) | Christ Is Born |
| Christmas Stick Puppets | ||
