Truth or Consequence

I played this with the kids quite a while ago and since I'm looking for something fun and easy for tomorrow, this will be perfect.

Here's the link for Truth or Consequence with a big thank you to the Sister Patterson for doing all my work for me!

I'll use her songs, questions, and challenges, but I won't have the kids scoring extra points during the song; we'll just sing it and move on to the next easy/hard question.

Review Time

It's time to start reviewing for our program.  Ours isn't until November so we have plenty of time.  Tomorrow we'll be doing an easy game called "You be the Conductor.".   As conductor, they need to do 3 things:

1.  Know the words and sing them loudly to the Primary

2.  Wave their conductor stick as we sing

3.  Make sure the other kids are singing.  If kids are not, the conductor can point them out with their conductor stick (we'll see if this one flies.  I don't want hurt feelings).

So after I introduce my activity, I'll pick a conductor and let them come up and choose a fun conductor stick (i.e. a wand, light saber, ruler, etc).  Thanks to Singing in Primary for another great idea!

*Next week we'll be playing "Who, What, How".

Back to School Review

I love how easy other bloggers make this calling. 

This week I'll be doing a back-to-school review singing time.  I spent a small fortune on all my kids' school supplies last week and will be happy to put them to good use before they take them to school on Wednesday.

Here's the original post . Thanks Singing on Sunday!

PREP:

Gather the following items: backpack, eraser, glue, markers, ruler, calculator, pencil, scissors, sharpener

Tape the following instructions on all the items except the backpack (that's just for holding everything):

ERASER: “Erase" (don’t sing) the words “choose” and “right” in the song Choose the Right.

GLUE: Glue your legs together and your arms to your sides so you hold really still while we sing I Feel My Savior's Love.

MARKERS: Only sing Nephi’s Courage when you are wearing the same color as the marker that is held up.

RULER: Measure the volume as we sing Stand for the Right.  Point to 1 inch for softer up to 12 inches for louder.

CALCULATOR: Count how many times we sing the word “every” in Every Star is Different.

PENCIL: Have a child come up and use the pencil to lead the song As a Child of God.

SCISSORS: Sing When I am Baptized legato (smoothly) as if it were a piece of paper for the verse.  Then when we sing the chorus, cut it up by singing staccato (choppy).

SHARPENER: Sharpen the song by enunciating each word for I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus.

Before primary, hide the 8 objects around the room.

ACTIVITY:

Tell the kids you need help getting ready for school and need to find your school supplies.  Have the primary help you find the hidden items.  As they are found, follow the instructions taped on and place them into the backpack.

Summertime

Every week we sing the Hello Song to visitors.  I've been meaning to teach them a new welcome song for a year now, but haven't had the opportunity until now.  I'm excited to teach them We Welcome You tomorrow and will just do it using a flip chart I found on Sugardoodle.

Since that's pretty short we'll also be singing Oh, What Do You Do In the Summertime? by reviewing the words (we sang it last year) and then singing again playing SING-LIKE-A.... with the idea I found here. 

If they catch on to the song pretty fast and we want to move on, we'll review some program songs by playing SING-LIKE-A.

*Update: This singing time was SO MUCH FUN!  The kids really enjoyed learning new songs by singing in different voices and being included by getting to choose the circle describing the way to sing.  I'm sure I'll do this again when review time for the program comes around.

Next Week

I'll be doing a version of THIS next week.

Review Pictionary

We're going to be playing Pictionary this Sunday to review our January - June songs.  Very simple with no prep. - Love it.

All I need is my fun, colored chalk and a rag (I'll dampen it before Primary) so the kids can wipe their hands when they are finished drawing.

For Sr. Primary I'll divide the kids into 2 teams.  I'll pick one of the 6 songs and whisper it to 2 kids from each team.  They'll then draw the song on the chalkboard.  Once it's guessed, we'll sing it.

For Jr. Primary I'll ask the teachers to do the drawing, and probably have the songs listed on the board.


Thanks, Singing In Primary, for a fast, fun idea!

Happy Father's Day!

I know I wrote that our primary would be singing Love At Home for Father's Day, but our primary president suggested this song instead:  My Father Taught Me.  Our Jr. singers were so cute singing Daddy's Homecoming and the Sr. kids did this one in Sacrament meeting today.  It turned out very nice.

For singing time I reviewed Nephi's Courage using these awesome pictures.  I had the younger kids put the pictures in order as we sang the song.

And then, because it's Father's Day, I had the kids put together a picture of a dad as we sang some of their favorite songs.  I really like how the dad turned out; it just seemed to capture the expression I see on so many fathers.  I also took it into the nursery and they loved it, too.  Of course, I can't take full credit for it because I found the idea here.  Happy Father's Day!

Love At Home

I'm so glad I can look online for ideas.  I didn't want to do a song from the Children's Songbook for Father's Day so I went looking around and decided that our Primary will be singing "Love At Home" from the hymn book.  Here's the flip chart I found on In the Leafy Treetops... blog.

This is what I want to do next week.  I love reminding myself.

When I Am Baptized

To teach the primary kids this song, I'll be using a flip chart found here.

My wonderful sister shared this great idea with me to help make it a little more fun.  I'm not sure where she found it, but I'll do a variation of what's below:

PREPARATION: make ribbon wands for each child using a popcicle stick and about 3
feet of inexpensive ribbon. I get it at Michaels 3 spools for a dollar satin
ribbon about 1/4" wide. You may want to make them rainbow colors.

SUPPLIES: Colored chalk.

Give ribbon wands to teachers enough for their class before you start to sing.

Last week we learned one of my favorite Primary songs. This week I want to have
some fun with the song.

ATTENION GETTER: Sometimes a composer paints a picture with the music. Listen
and see if you can see what the composer is painting in the first line of this
song. Take a piece of colored chalk and on its side draw a large arch on the
chalkboard as you sing the first line of the song. What do you think he is
painting?

Sing second line of the song and draw another arch with a different color of
chalk.
Explain how the composer is making a rainbow by having the music go up in pitch
and then down.

We want to sing these lines very Legato, or smooth. See if you can make this
very Legato. Take a big breath and try to sing the whole line of the song
without taking a breath. Sing these two lines a couple of times very legato.

Now. Listen to the next line of the song. What do you think the composer is
painting with this part of the song. Draw raindrops up and down with the pitch
of the song as you sing. What do you think? Isn't it amazing how this song can
paint a picture? When the rain falls, is it smooth or is in disconnected?
Disconnected in music is called staccato. When we sing this line lets sing the
words disconnected or staccato.

Pass out ribbon wands. Now lets try something fun. When we sing the first two
lines lets make big arches back and forth like our rainbow. When we sing the
rain part, maybe we can make little squiggles up and down like the rain falling.

Bear Testimony: Music can do many wonderful things. It can paint pictures, and
it can invite the spirit to help us gain a testimony of the principles of the
gospel we sing about. Have you felt the spirit as we've sung this beautiful
song? I know that we can learn many important lessons from our Primary songs
that will help us all our lives......

I Am a Stripling Warrior

For Mother's Day tomorrow our primary will be singing a song written by one of the sisters in our ward.  It's called "I Am a Stripling Warrior"  and I think it's such a nice way to honor mothers.  I taught the kids the 1st verse as it it, but because of time constraints I combined the 2nd and 3rd verses (as you can see in this flip chart I made to cue the children).

Happy Mother's Day!

Next Week

And here's what I'll be doing next week, along with learning a mother's day song.

I Feel My Savior's Love -Week 2

This week's idea with downloads can be found HERE.

1. Preparation:
Cut out a dozen paper hearts and a dozen CTR shields. Tape them on the walls around the Primary Room.
Write "I Feel My Savior's Love when..." above a big heart drawn on the left half of the chalkboard.
Write "I will Follow Him by..." above a big shield drawn on the right half of the chalkboard.

2. My Savior's LOVE
Here's my dialogue...

How many times do we sing the word "love" in this song? Let's sing and count. (Sing the song.)
Show me with your fingers how many times we sang "love." That's right, three.
How do you know Jesus loves you? (Take a few answers.)
This time while we sing the song, three teachers are going to pick someone that is singing their best to get one of the hearts on the wall and bring it to the front and tell us how they know Jesus loves them. Let's see if we can fill up this heart with ways Jesus shows His love for us.
(Sing the song, choose the teachers...)
Be ready to offer suggestions like "I feel Jesus' love when I look at the pretty sunset." "He gave me a family." "He suffered for me in Gethsemane."
After sharing their thought have them put their heart inside the heart drawn on the chalkboard.

3. I will FOLLOW Him

My dialogue...
When we feel the Savior's love it makes us want to follow Him.
How do we follow Him? (Take a few answers.)

This time while we sing the song, three teachers are going to pick someone that is singing their best to get one of the CTR shields on the wall and bring it to the front and tell us how they follow Jesus. Let's see if we can fill up this shield with ways we can show Jesus we will follow Him.
(Sing the song, choose the teachers...)
Be ready to offer suggestions like "I follow Jesus when I share my toys." "I follow Jesus when I forgive someone who hurt my feelings." "I follow Jesus when I help someone without being asked." "I follow Jesus by being baptized."
After sharing their thought have them put their heart inside the heart drawn on the chalkboard.

4. TESTIFY:
My dialogue will be something like...
Jesus does love you and wants you to be happy. Following the commandments will help you be happy even when life is hard and things don't go your way. We show Him we love Him when we love each other.

VARIATION: Senior Primary might like to choose whether they pick a heart or a shield. To do this ask both of the bolded questions and have all of the discussion first, then sing the song and choose the teachers.

TIP #1: If you are running low on time, pick more teachers to send a child to get a heart, or have each teacher send two children.

I Feel My Savior's Love

I chose I Feel My Savior's Love to teach the Primary kids this month. Instead of using the accompaniment from the Children's Songbook, however, we'll be singing to a different arrangement found HERE. I think it's so pretty. It is written in a lower key than the original and it has all 4 verses. It has one key change and a simple additional ending. You can listen to the first bit when you go to the link I provided. You can also look at the first page to check out the accompaniment level. Thanks to Precious Primary for finding and sharing this song.

I'm fairly sure the Primary kids already know the words to this song, but since the rhythm is a little different in this arrangement, I'm going to make shakey eggs and have the kids help shake out the rhythm using the eggs. If you want more information on how to make your egg shakers, CLICK HERE.

Easter Eggs

We had Stake Conference in March and I was out of town for one week too, so I didn't post anything. But last week was Easter Sunday and I really felt like I needed to impress the importance of our Savior and the Resurrection so I put together this Easter Resurrection Eggs activity.

This is a picture of someone else's eggs, but mine were similar. Here's what to put inside each egg:

Egg #1: (palm) Jesus rode into Jerusalem and the people waved palm branches. Matthew 21:1-11

Egg #2: (cotton ball with cologne on it) Mary poured perfume on Jesus' feet. John 12:3

Egg #3: (bread) Jesus shared the Last Supper with His disciples. Matthew 26:26

Egg #4: (coins) Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Matthew 26: 14-15

Egg #5: (a thorny stick) Soldiers placed a crown of thorns on Jesus' head. John 19:2

Egg #6: (cross made from toothpicks) Jesus carried His own cross. John 19:17

Egg #7: (dice) Soldiers took Jesus' clothes from him and cast lots for them. John 19:24

Egg #8: (nail) Jesus was nailed to the cross. John 19:18

Egg #9: (sponge) They gave Jesus vinegar mixed with gall to drink. Matthew 27:34

Egg #10: (whole cloves) Spices are used to prepare Jesus for burial. John 19:40

Egg #11: (rock) The stone covering to Jesus' tomb was rolled away. Matthew 28:2

Egg #12: (empty) He is not here He has risen! Matthew 28:6

Pick a child to come up and choose an egg. Read the scripture inside and show what object is inside and explain what part it played in the Easter story. It was a very quiet and reverent time and both Jr. and Sr. Primary were reverent. My favorite part occurred in Jr. Primary after we opened egg #9 and talked about how Jesus died. One little boy asked, "Was that the end?" and I was able to tell him (with teary eyes) that no, that was not the end! He has risen! :)

We ended by singing Jesus Has Risen. So, not much singing, but the Spirit definitely was there.

Four Corners

This is what I'll be doing next week to review the 2 songs we've learned for 2012, found HERE at Primary Music Notes blog.

On four large pieces of colored paper write the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4, then post them in each of the four corners of the room (hence the name of the game...four corners). Choose the first helper. This child comes up front and closes his/her eyes. (I'll probably use a blindfold of some kind.) Choose a class to go first. While singing (and stealthily reviewing the songs!), the kids in the class move around and position themselves in any of the corners. When we are done singing the child up front (still blindfolded) "chooses" a corner. Everyone in the corner that was named is "out" and has to sit down. Then the child up front closes their eyes and we sing again, etc.

Tips:
If a corner is empty, let the guesser know not to pick that corner.
When there are four or less kids, tell them not to be in a corner with anyone else and at that point the guesser chooses the corner to be the "winner". The winner is then the guesser for the next class.

Variations:
More than one class up at a time.
Just the teachers move to the corners.

I love review games that will work with any song!

*Update: This game worked quite well for Sr. Primary, but the younger kids needed a lot of help from their teachers.

Choose The Right - UNO!

I did this activity a few weeks ago. I got the idea found HERE at Primary Music Notes' blog.

First I made my board:

I did it on one black piece of poster board. Then I covered it with contact paper so I could use it over and over again. I went through my family version of UNO and collected cards that I would use: Numbers 1, 2 and 3, Wild Cards, Reverse and Skip.

If a number card was chosen, the kids had to sing that color of square however many times the card said. For example, if he/she drew a red 2 we sang the words in the red square twice.

When one of the REVERSE card was drawn, the children had to turn around and sing that colored square without looking!

And when the SKIP card allowed a kid to remove some of the words from that colored square. Then we sang that color once.

Next were the WILD cards. When one of these were drawn the kids had to sing the entire song (all the squares). That is because the card shows all the colors!

I think the key to playing this game successfully is to keep it moving along quickly, without any lags so the kids don't get distracted.

The Sr. Primary loved this game so much that they asked to play it again the following week. I think this would work better as a review game, instead of one to start teaching a song with. The Jr. Primary struggled with it partly because I was using this game as a first introduction to the song and partly just because it was a more challenging activity.

***EXTRA NOTE*** To make this easier on my pianist I photocopied the song for her and marked the portions on the song with the corresponding colors. That was if I said "Blue square twice" she knew exactly what to play!

Choose The Right - Verse One

This is what I did last week to teach verse one of Choose the Right. (The idea HERE is from Amy Greenway on Sugardoodle.)

Wrap one box beautifully w/ ribbon etc. and cover another smaller box with brown craft paper and wrap it so that it's open and they can see that there isn't anything inside. Show them that the smaller, brown one is empty. Ask them which gift they would choose? (Call on the child who won't give the sassy answer. :) ) The beautiful one is the obvious choice. Then stick a sign on the brown one that says "RIGHT." Ask them if they would change their mind if someone they trusted told them that the RIGHT choice was the brown one and they would be happier if they chose it. Again, recognize the kids that give the appropriate answer, ignore the rest. Say the words, pointing to two the boxes, "Choose the right when a choice is placed before you."

I made a point of teaching the kids that sometimes the right choice is the choice that doesn't look as fun - like choosing not to go to the party that all your friends will be at, or not watching the latest movie that has questionable values.

Back to the song: Quickly add these items to the box: A sign that says "the Holy Spirit Guides", a small flashlight, a large paper heart (fold it in half to get it in the box if you need to) that says "CONFIDES." Go over the first line again and then dramatically point into the box and say "IN the right the (pull out the sign) Holy Spirit guides." Go over/repeat as needed.

Pull out the flashlight, describe how the Holy Ghost could be a light to guide your choices. Turn it on, shine it above your head and make a circle motion toward the ceiling with it. Explain that the sign language sign for "forever" (actually it's for "always", but close enough, right?) is making a circle as you point up. As you make a flashlight circle on the ceiling repeat "And It's light is forever shining ore you."

As you say "when in the right" point again into the "right" box and pull out the heart that says "CONFIDES." Tell them what confides means then teach them the line "when in the right your HEART CONFIDES." Repeat each line and then point to props while reviewing the first verse together.

2012 Primary CD Challenge

I LOVE **this idea of having a challenge for the kids to complete. I want to help encourage the use of the CD our Primary gave out as our Christmas gift last month, so we'll be doing a "2012 CD Challenge." Essentially, every month, there will be a new activity the kids will need to complete that involves using their CD at home and reporting back to me. I'm planning on introducing the challenge this Sunday.

Here's how it will work:

I'll make 2 simple charts (one for Sr. and one for Jr.) and tape them inside a manilla file folder (easy for me to transport as opposed to a huge poster).

Then I will write all the kids' names down the left side of each chart. Across the top I listed the 8 months we'll be learning a new song (January - August), and then each week that we'll be reviewing for the program (for us, that's 3 weeks in September). I'll keep the file in the back pocket of my binder so I'll be able to access it at home or at Primary.

For each challenge the kids complete, I'll mark it off. When kids finish all the challenges, they will get a "reward" at the end, after the program (I haven't figured out the reward yet - SUGGESTIONS?). I'm considering doing a "music party" after the program that someone on Yahoo Groups mentioned and hand out all the "rewards" at the party.

Here are my monthly challenges:

January - Using your 2012 Primary Songs CD, teach As A Child of God to your family during Family Home Evening or anytime when your family is together - OR - learn As A Child of God on a musical instrument and perform it in Primary the last Sunday of January (music can be found in the January 2012 Friend).

February - Listen to Choose the Right on your 2012 Primary Songs CD this month. As you listen, write down how many times the words "choose" and "right" are sung.

March - Listen to your 2012 Primary Songs CD as you go to sleep this month. Sing along to Stand for the Right each time it is played.

April - After listening to Had I Been A Child on your 2012 Primary Songs CD, read 3 Nephi 17:11-13 and 17:21-24 (if you don't know how to read, ask someone to read it to you). Imagine yourself with the Nephites when the Savior came. Draw a picture of you with the Savior or write what it would be like if you were there. Listen to Had I Been A Child again, singing along with the CD.

May - Sing When I am Baptized to your mother, grandmother, or any other special woman you know (primary president, primary teacher, etc.)

June - Sing Nephi's Courage to your father, grandfather, or any other special man you know (bishop, home teacher, etc.)

July - Listen to your 2012 Primary Songs CD in the car this month. Sing along to Every Star is Different each time it is played.

August - Draw a picture of how you choose the right while listening to I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus. Give your picture to a member of the Primary Presidency.

Then here are my 3 review challenges the 3 weeks before our program:

Review Week 1 - Listen to your 2012 Primary Songs CD and write down the 8 songs we learned this year that we will be singing in our Program.

Review Week 2 - As you listen to your 2012 Primary Songs CD, write down what the songs teach about choosing the right.

Review Week 3 - As you listen to your 2012 Primary Songs CD, write your testimony.

Each month, I'm going to pass out a half size sheet of paper listing that month's challenge and a spot for the child to write their name along with a parent/guardian signature. The kids can then return it the next Sunday, take it to my house during the week, or have their parent/guardian tell me it was completed.

I will allow PLENTY of make up so if a child didn't complete a certain month on time, they can always catch up. I want this to be a fun experience for everyone. If at our "music party" there are kids who didn't finish, I may see if some of the Primary Presidency can help kids finish so everyone can get a reward.

**This is a great idea from Camille on her Singing in Primary blog. Please see her original post for more pictures and links to print-outs.

Choose The Right - Focus on the Chorus

This week I'll teaching the chorus of Choose the Right with ideas from Camille's Singing in Primary Blog.

CTR Shields (enough for each child to hold): Shields found HERE

Key words on word strips: WISDOM, MARK THE WAY, LIGHT, BLESS YOU

Tape/magnets to hang items on chalkboard

3 Gospel Art Book pictures (I'll reference these as GAB):

• Picture of boy praying #111
• Picture of a family paying their tithing/coins #113/114
• Picture of a family at church receiving the Sacrament #108

ACTIVITY:

Pass out CTR shields and ask, I am thinking of a word that is the opposite of wrong, what is it? [right]. When I place a choice before you and the choice is a RIGHT choice, raise your CTR shield:

1. You choose to say your morning prayer (hold up GAB picture 111 & hang on chalk board).
2. You choose to say bad words when you are angry.
3. You choose to pay your tithing (hold up GAB picture 113/114 and hang on chalkboard).
4. You choose to sleep in and miss church.
5. You choose to be reverent during the Sacrament (hold up GAB picture 108 & hang on chalkboard).

Choosing to do the right is not always easy, but we receive blessings when we try.

Sing the chorus and have the kids raise their shields when "choose the right" is sung. You point to each picture as the phrase is sung as well (these 3 pictures represent the phrase "choose the right" each time it's sung in the chorus).

Hang key words out of order on the chalkboard.

Pick children at random to help place words in order as you sing until correct (keep raising the CTR shields when you sing “choose the right” too). The words will be placed between the GAB pictures so hang the GAB pictures accordingly. Since Jr. Primary can’t read, I’ll pick a card, tell them the word and they will have to help me place it in order.

I'll use a flip chart found here to help teach the chorus and then I'll review the chorus a few times by:

• Boys sing only "Choose the right" (hold up their shields), Girls sing the rest/switch
• Younger children sing "Choose the right," (hold up their shields) teachers and leaders sing the rest
• Gradually remove key words so only the pictures remain on the board

If the children get the hang of the chorus and we still have enough time left, I'll probably introduce the 1st verse.

Spinning Chair Challenge

The idea for what I'm going to do this coming Sunday (1/29) also comes from the Primary Music Notes blog. However, instead of spinning a teacher on the chair, I'll have one child spin another child. Here's how it works:

To start, get a swivel chair (perhaps borrowed from the clerk's office) and the numbers 1 through 12 placed around it like a clock. Draw 2 children's names with choosing sticks - One to sit in the chair and another to do the spinning. The kid on the chair puts his/her legs out like a spinner. When the piano music starts the child gets to spin the teacher matching the tempo of the song. My pianist does a great job with this, really mixing it up. When the piano stops so does the spinning. Wherever his/her feet land is what number card is picked up.

Each card has a different question or singing challenge. Some examples:

1. Sing first verse and chorus of As A Child of God.
2. Fill in the blanks: I feel so _____ and _______because...
3. How do good choices bless your family?

I think you get the idea. The great thing about this activity is that it works for any song.

Choose Your Journey

I'm pretty sure I'm going to be the Primary chorister for our ward forever so I thought I'd better catalog ideas and activities I do each month for future reference. I couldn't do this calling without everyone else's blogs to lift ideas from, so please know that most of what you'll see here is not my original ideas.

Yesterday's singing time came from Jodi's blog. It's called Choose Your Journey and the kids had a lot of fun with it. I told the kids we would be going on a journey together and that they got to "choose" what and where we would be going. Since we've been working on As a Child of God for a few weeks now, this was a great review game.

I wrote what choices were going to be made for our journey ahead of time on the chalkboard and wrote the choices on small pieces of paper. I put them in 5 small bowls. After the primary kids sang a verse of the song well enough, I picked a child from my choosing sticks and he/she got to reach into the bowl. I then wrote on the board which choice was drawn.

Choice #1: WHERE ARE WE GOING TO GO?
Choices: The Beach, Disneyland, The Dentist

Choice #2: WHAT ARE WE GOING TO PACK?
Choices: Toothbrush, Piano, Mayonnaise

Choice #3: WHO ARE WE GOING TO TAKE WITH US?
Choices: Our pet, Our Primary Teacher, The Boogey Man

Choice #4: HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET THERE?
Choices: Jump on a pogo-stick, Fly, Pull A Handcart

Choice #5: HOW LONG WILL WE STAY THERE?
Choices: 5 minutes, 5 hours, Forever

Both Jr. and Sr. Primary had a great time with this game and played it through twice, with different journeys each time. A great singing activity for ANY song!