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Follow Me, Little Fishers!

A peekaboo fish, an empty net, so many fish, and Jesus says, “Follow me”

  • 🧸 Nursery
  • Week 5
  • 📅 Sunday, January 31, 2027
🤔 Forehead Guess🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

I can follow Jesus.

I can wave “come on!” and march behind my teacher, like the fishermen who followed Jesus.

Study it yourself firstRead Matthew 4; Luke 4–5 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Matthew 4; Luke 4–5)
Know the chapters

This week Jesus begins teaching. By the Sea of Galilee, Peter and his friends had fished all night and caught nothing. Jesus sat in Peter’s boat to teach the people, then told Peter to go out into the deep water and let down the nets again (Luke 5:1–5). The nets filled with so many fish they began to break (Luke 5:6). Then Jesus said, “Follow me,” and the fishermen left their nets and followed Him right away (Matthew 4:19–20).

For toddlers, following is something they already do all day: they follow Mom to the kitchen and follow big kids across the playground. Today you give that a name: “I can follow Jesus!” Wave “come on!” and march, and they will march behind you. That is the lesson. Show Jesus with a picture and read His words yourself; nobody plays Jesus.

Don’t expect sitting, sharing or answers. Toddlers learn by copying you, so do every motion big and happy, and move on the moment eyes wander. The lesson is six minutes; the play-time ideas below bring back the fish, the net and the follow-the-leader march for the rest of nursery.

Only have 5 minutes?

Hide a stuffed fish (or any soft toy) in a bag. Play “Where’s the fishy?”, swipe through the six-picture story on your phone or tablet, march in a follow-the-leader line, wave “come on!” while you say “I can follow Jesus!” and end with “I know Jesus loves you.” For play time, pick three ideas below. Brought nothing? Tap “I brought nothing”: your hands become the fish, and your phone or tablet shows the pictures.

What to bring6 items

Tick what you have. Forgot something? Every step that needs a supply has a no-supplies version in the plan below.

Before class

  1. Hide the stuffed fish in the tote bag or pillowcase and keep it in your bag until the hook.
  2. Open the Sound Board on your phone or tablet and find the waves, splash and march buttons. Turn the volume low.
  3. Sweep the floor with your eyes and hands for anything small. Quick test: if it fits through a toilet-paper tube, it’s a choking hazard and goes up high or away.
  4. Decide with the other adult who leads the lesson and who greets and comforts at the door. There are always two adults in nursery.
  5. Practice the key motion: wave your hand toward you (“Come on!”), then march in place while you say “I can follow Jesus!”

If your class is wild

  • Tears at drop-off are normal. Let the other adult hold the crying child near the fun and say softly, “Mommy will come back. You’re safe here.” A quick, happy goodbye works better than sneaking a parent out.
  • Following is today’s secret weapon. When toddlers scatter, don’t chase them. Wave “come on!” and start a silly march around the room: “Follow me!” Most of them will fall in behind you.
  • The pillowcase or bag is for grown-up hands only. Put it up high after the hook, and never let a child put a bag or pillowcase over their head.
  • Follow your ward’s policy for diapers and potty trips, and never leave one adult alone with the class or go off alone with one child.

The 25-minute plan6 min + bonus

Bonus steps are for when you have extra time. Steps that mention Teach Mode, the Sound Board or other class games refer to the Gospel Sparks app; on the web you can play Forehead Guess and Scripture Showdown from this page.

1. Hook

Where’s the Fishy?

1 min

A peek-in-the-bag surprise pulls scattered toddlers toward you and sets up the empty net that becomes a full one.

  1. Sit on the floor. Tap waves on the Sound Board and whisper: “Shhh… we’re going fishing!”
  2. Peek into the bag. Say: “Is there a fish? No…” Shake your head. Peek again: “No…”
  3. Peek one more time and slowly pull out the stuffed fish: “Yes! A fishy! Peekaboo!”
  4. Let children pat the fish. Say: “Today Jesus helps Peter catch fish!”
  5. Put the empty bag up high.
🌪️ If everyone grabs for the fish, let it “swim” away behind your back, then pop it out again: “Peekaboo, fishy!”
🔊 Sound Board (a class game in the Gospel Sparks app)

Class screen: 🐟 Where’s the fishy?

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: A soft stuffed fish (or any soft stuffed animal) hidden in a tote bag or pillowcase

Peekaboo Hand Fish

  1. Sit on the floor. Tap waves on the Sound Board and whisper: “Shhh… we’re going fishing!”
  2. Hide your hands behind your back. Say: “Is there a fish? No…” Shake your head.
  3. Bring your hands out with palms together, wiggling like a swimming fish: “Yes! A fishy! Peekaboo!”
  4. Let your hand fish swim to each child and give a tiny tickle. Say: “Today Jesus helps Peter catch fish!”

Class screen: 🙌 Peekaboo, hand fishy!

2. Story

Picture Story: So Many Fish!

2 min

Six pictures with one sentence and one action each let toddlers row the boat, pull the full net and march along when Jesus says, “Follow me.”

  1. Hold your phone or tablet up at their eye level. Everyone is a Fish Swimmer, a Net Puller and a Little Follower.
  2. Read the one sentence, then do the action big so they can copy you. Don’t wait for everyone to join; the joiners will come.
  3. On the full-net picture, pull slowly and make a big grunt: “So heavy!” Toddlers love to pull with you.
  4. If attention is gone before the end, jump to the “Follow me” picture and march.
🌪️ Let a child who won’t stop moving tap your phone or tablet to change the picture (with your hand on it too). A job beats a battle.

Class screen: 🥅 So many fish!

3. Wiggle break

Follow the Leader

1 min

Toddlers need to move after two minutes of anything, and walking behind the teacher lets them feel what following means.

  1. Stand up, wave your hand toward you and say: “Follow me!” Tap march on the Sound Board.
  2. Walk a slow, small circle around the room. The other adult walks at the back of the line.
  3. Change how you move and let them copy: stomp, tiptoe, swim with fish hands, row the boat.
  4. Stop, turn around and say: “You followed me! We can follow Jesus!” Sit down together.
🔊 Sound Board (a class game in the Gospel Sparks app)

Class screen: 👣 Follow me! March, march! · 👣 March · 🦶 Stomp · 🐟 Swim · 🚣 Row

4. Scripture

Our Little Verse: Matthew 4:19

1 min

Two words and one motion, said many times, is how a toddler carries a scripture home.

  1. Hold up your scriptures. Say: “This is the Bible. It tells about Jesus.”
  2. Read slowly: “Follow me.” Say: “Jesus said that. We can follow Jesus!”
  3. Wave “come on!” and march in place together: “I can follow Jesus!” Say it three times: a tiny whisper, a regular voice, a happy voice.
  4. Kneel by each child, wave “come on,” and say: “Ella can follow Jesus!”

Class screen: 👋 I can follow Jesus! · 👋 Come on! · 👣 March

5. Testimony

I Know Jesus Loves You

1 min

A quiet moment with a picture of the Savior helps each child feel loved by the Jesus they are learning to follow.

  1. Lower your voice to a whisper. Hold up the picture of Jesus Christ. Say: “This is Jesus.”
  2. Let each child look closely, point or gently pat the picture.
  3. SAY“I know Jesus loves you. You can follow Him.”
  4. If your nursery has a prayer now, fold arms together while a grown-up says a short one.

Class screen: ❤️ Jesus loves you!

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: A picture of Jesus Christ (from your meetinghouse library, a Friend magazine, or home)

  1. Lower your voice to a whisper. Put your hand on your heart and say: “Let’s think about Jesus.”
  2. Whisper: “Jesus loves you,” as you touch each child’s hand or wave to them.
  3. SAY“I know Jesus loves you. You can follow Him.”
  4. If your nursery has a prayer now, fold arms together while a grown-up says a short one.
6. Song

Rock the Boat

2 minBONUS

If they’re still with you, a gentle rocking song in Peter’s pretend boat is a calm, happy way to finish.

  1. Sit close together on the floor. Say: “We’re in Peter’s boat with Jesus!”
  2. Sing “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus” (Children’s Songbook, 57) slowly while everyone rocks side to side.
  3. At the end, throw out a pretend net: “Splash! So many fish!”

Class screen: 🚣 Rock, rock, little boat!

Story drama

So Many Fish!

Luke 5:1–11; Matthew 4:18–20 ↗

Parts to hand out

  • Fish SwimmersEveryone! Put your palms together and wiggle them like a swimming fish.
  • Net PullersEveryone! Grab the pretend net and pull, pull, pull. It’s heavy!
  • Little FollowersEveryone! March in place, then walk behind the teacher.

Scenes

  1. 🌙 Peter fished all night. No fish!

    Peter fished all night long, but he didn’t catch any fish.

    🎬 Shake your head and make a sad face: “No fish!” Grown-ups do it too, so little ones can copy.

  2. 🚣 Jesus came to Peter’s boat.

    In the morning, Jesus came and sat in Peter’s boat.

    🎬 Row, row, row with your arms. Sway side to side like a boat.

  3. 🥅 Put the net down again!

    Jesus told Peter to let the net down in the water one more time.

    🎬 Throw a pretend net out wide: “Splash!”

  4. 🐟🐟🐟 Fish, fish, so many fish!

    Fish, fish, so many fish! The net was full!

    🎬 Wiggle your fingers like lots of fish, then pull the heavy net: “Pull, pull, pull!”

  5. 👋 Jesus said, “Follow me.”

    Jesus said, “Follow me,” and Peter and his friends went with Jesus.

    🎬 Wave your hand toward you: “Come on!” Then march in place.

  6. 🙂 I can follow Jesus too!

    You can follow Jesus too, with gentle hands and a happy heart.

    🎬 Pat your hands gently, then give yourself a hug. Point to each child: “Ella can follow Jesus!”

Key verse

Matthew 4:19 ↗
“Follow me”
In kid words: I can follow Jesus!
🙌 Wave your hand toward you like “come on!” on “follow,” then march in place while you say “I can follow Jesus!”

More verses

Matthew 4:20 ↗
“And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.”
In kid words: The fishermen put down their nets and went with Jesus.
Luke 5:6 ↗
“they inclosed a great multitude of fishes”
In kid words: The net was full of fish!

Forehead Guess words8 words

  • 🐟 Fish
  • 🚣 Boat
  • 🥅 Net
  • 🌙 Moon
  • 👣 Feet
  • 🌊 Water
  • ☀️ Sun
  • 🦆 Duck
Clues for each word
  • Fish: Swims in the water. Wiggle, wiggle!
  • Boat: Row, row! Jesus sat in Peter’s.
  • Net: Catches lots of fish
  • Moon: Peter fished all night
  • Feet: March, march! Follow Jesus.
  • Water: Splash! Where fish live.
  • Sun: Good morning! Jesus came.
  • Duck: Baby ducks follow Mommy Duck. Quack!
▶ Play Forehead GuessFull screen, 60-second timer, works on any phone.

Scripture Showdown4 questions

  1. What did Peter want to catch?
    • A. 🐟 Fish
    • B. 🐘 Elephant
    Show answer

    ✅ A. 🐟 Fish Wiggle, wiggle! Peter was a fisherman.

  2. Where did Jesus sit?
    • A. 🚀 Rocket
    • B. 🚣 Boat
    Show answer

    ✅ B. 🚣 Boat Row, row! Jesus sat in Peter’s boat.

  3. How many fish were in the net?
    • A. 🐟🐟🐟 So many!
    • B. 0️⃣ None
    Show answer

    ✅ A. 🐟🐟🐟 So many! Pull, pull! The net was so full of fish.

  4. Who can we follow?
    • A. 🦆 A duck
    • B. ❤️ Jesus
    Show answer

    ✅ B. ❤️ Jesus Wave “come on!” and march: I can follow Jesus!

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

Songs

  • Tell Me the Stories of Jesus Children’s Songbook, p. 57

    Sing it slowly while everyone rocks in Peter’s pretend boat. Find it ↗

  • Quickly I’ll Obey Children’s Songbook, p. 197

    A short, happy song for the follow-the-leader parade: little followers listen and come. Find it ↗

  • I’m Trying to Be like Jesus Children’s Songbook, p. 78

    Hum it softly during Rock the Boat Rest; following Jesus means trying to be like Him. Find it ↗

This week’s challenge

Follow-Me Walks

On a walk or around the house this week, wave “come on!” and let your little one follow you. Then let them lead while you follow. Each time, say, “We can follow Jesus!”

Text the parents

Today in nursery we learned that Jesus helped Peter catch so many fish, and then said, “Follow me” (Luke 5:6; Matthew 4:19). We rowed a pretend boat, pulled a heavy net, and marched behind our teacher while we said, “I can follow Jesus!” Try it at home: wave “come on!” and see if your child follows you, then say, “We can follow Jesus!”

📝 After class

What worked? Who needs a check-in this week? Jot it here on a printed copy, or in the app’s private class notes.

Nursery play time

The lesson is short on purpose. Fill the rest of nursery with these: pick what fits your little ones today.

🚣 Peter’s Fishing Boat · 10 min

  1. Spread the sheet or blanket flat on the floor as Peter’s boat and set out the nursery’s dolls, stuffed animals and trucks. Let children play however they like, in the boat or out. No sheet? Point to a spot on the carpet: “This is the boat!”
  2. Every few minutes, tap waves on the Sound Board and say: “Everybody in the boat! Row, row!” Rock side to side together.
  3. SAY“Jesus sat in Peter’s boat!” Then: “Time to fish!” Help each child find a soft toy and bring it to the boat.
  4. SAY“So many fish! Jesus helped Peter!” Then back to free play until the next boat ride.
  5. Safety: the sheet stays flat on the floor, never over heads or around necks. One adult stays by the boat.

🎵 Follow-the-Leader Parade · 5 min

  1. Wave “come on!” and start a slow parade around the room: “Follow me!” The other adult walks at the back.
  2. Sing “Quickly I’ll Obey” (Children’s Songbook, 197) while you march, then try new moves they can copy: stomp, tiptoe, swim with fish hands, flap like a bird.
  3. Let a toddler who wants to lead go first while everyone follows. Say: “We’re following Mia! We can follow Jesus too!”
  4. Tap Freeze Dance on your phone or tablet. When the music stops, everyone waves “come on!” and says: “Follow me!”
  5. Don’t know a tune? Play it once in the Gospel Library app, or just chant “March, march, follow me!” while you move.

🍘 Fishy Snack Talk · 10 min

  1. Check allergies and your ward’s snack policy first. Wipe every child’s hands, and yours, before snack.
  2. Everyone sits to eat, with an adult watching. Skip choking foods for this age: no popcorn, nuts, whole grapes, hard candy or chunks of raw carrot. Fish-shaped crackers are fun if your ward’s policy and every child’s allergies allow.
  3. Fold arms. A grown-up says a short blessing: “Thank you for our snack.”
  4. Talk while they munch. Count on your fingers: “One fish, two fish, so many fish! Jesus helped Peter catch so many fish!”
  5. SAY“Jesus said, ‘Follow me.’ Who can follow Jesus? You can!”
  6. No snack today? Have a pretend picnic: pretend to catch fish with a net, munch pretend crackers, and say thank you to Heavenly Father.

🖍️ Big Net Scribble · 8 min

  1. Tape a big sheet of paper to the table or floor. Draw a few big, simple fish shapes on it (an oval with a triangle tail).
  2. Give each child one chunky washable crayon. Scribble back and forth over the fish: “We’re making a net! So many fish!”
  3. SAY“Peter caught nothing all night. Then Jesus helped. So many fish!”
  4. Write each child’s name by their scribbles and hang the picture by the door for parents to see.
  5. Safety: chunky crayons only. Skip stickers, glitter, googly eyes and marker caps (small parts). Count the crayons back into the box.
  6. No paper or crayons? Open Draw & Guess on your phone or tablet and let each child finger-paint fish while you hold your phone or tablet.

🥅 Full Net Bounce · 5 min

  1. Two adults hold the sheet low, close to the floor, like a fishing net. Children stand around the edges.
  2. Hand each child a soft “fish” (a stuffed animal or a rolled pair of socks) and help them toss it in: “Splash! A fish!”
  3. When the net is full, gently jiggle it so the fish bounce: “So many fish! The net is so full!”
  4. Tip the fish out onto the floor and start again. Say: “Jesus helped Peter catch so many fish!”
  5. Safety: keep the sheet low, never over heads, and nobody goes under it. Every fish must be bigger than a toddler’s fist. No sheet? Make a net with your arms, let children toss the soft fish in, and give a “full net” squeeze.

🔎 Peekaboo Fish Hunt · 5 min

  1. While children watch, hide the stuffed fish so part of it shows: behind a chair leg, under the edge of a blanket, on a low shelf.
  2. SAY“Where’s the fishy? Let’s look!” Walk and look together. Peek under things and say, “No fish… no fish…”
  3. When someone finds it: “Peekaboo! You found the fish!” Cheer and hide it again.
  4. SAY“Peter found so many fish when he listened to Jesus!”
  5. No stuffed fish? Hide any soft toy, or tap Mystery Picture on your phone or tablet and find what’s hiding behind the tiles.

🖼️ Picture Walk: Who Follows? · 5 min

  1. Sit on the floor with a child or two in your lap. Swipe back through today’s story pictures on your phone or tablet, or open a picture book with animal mommies and babies.
  2. Point and name one thing on each picture: “Boat! Row, row.” Ask: “Where’s the fish?” and let them point.
  3. Find babies following their mommies, or just talk about them: “Baby ducks follow Mommy Duck. Quack, quack!”
  4. Finish at a picture of Jesus Christ. Say: “We can follow Jesus!” and wave “come on!”
  5. Stay in the nursery room with both adults. If a child drifts off, let them go; picture walks are for whoever wants to come.

😴 Rock the Boat Rest · 4 min

  1. Spread out the sheet or a blanket. Children may lie down, sit or climb into a lap. Nobody has to.
  2. Play soft waves on the Sound Board with the volume low.
  3. Rock gently side to side and hum “I’m Trying to Be like Jesus” (Children’s Songbook, 78). Whisper: “Peter’s boat goes rock, rock, rock.”
  4. Whisper each child’s name: “Jesus loves you, Ella.”
  5. Upset child? Hold them, rock side to side and walk to the window together. Calm comes before learning.

👋 Follow Me to Clean Up · 5 min

  1. Five minutes before the end, wave “come on!” and say: “Follow me! Toys go home!” March from toy to bin and let them follow and drop toys in.
  2. Sit together one more time. Wave “come on!” and say: “I can follow Jesus!”
  3. Hand each child only to their own parent or guardian, as your ward’s policy says. Give a fishy wiggle wave and say: “Ask for a follow-me walk at home!”
  4. Share today’s family note from the app with parents, and tell them one happy moment about their child.
  5. Kids still waiting? Keep them busy with the Peekaboo Fish Hunt or a picture book. Both adults stay until every child is picked up.

Sources

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version, the Bible used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Tap or click a reference to open it in Gospel Library. Start with the official Come, Follow Me manual; these ideas are here to help it come alive.

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