Thursday, June 30, 2011

Primary Gone Wild

Well....hello again.  I'm not sure really anyone  checks this blog anymore, but I thought it was about time to post something.  I've been the second counselor for Primary these eight or so months...and I think I've subbed for the chorister at least a dozen times..more or less.  I've enjoyed teaching sharing time (thought about posting some of those ideas...but didn't want to start an entirely different blog...to much work).

Anyhow, I thought I should post some of the things I've done as substitute so...here's my first  "I'm the crazy chorister sometimes" post.


Preparation:

10-15 animal puppets.  (I happen to have a great deal of animal puppets, but you could print out cute clipart pictures of animals, color them, and attach them to paper lunch bags to make cute puppets.

Cheat sheet for you and your pianist so the time isn't wasted trying to find the song

A fun bag to put everything in

1 Bean bag

1 coin

1 silly hat or wig or dress up (whatever you have that is silly and can be worn is great...I used a bright, purple wig)


Presentation:

Put your bag full of puppets on a table at the front of the room.  Tell the children that you had a bunch of "wild" friends beg to come to primary with you.  Each one of your friends has a favorite primary song they would like to lead the kids in, and they also have a special way they like to sing their song.

Percy Pig---Percy is a prankster.  He loves to do silly things.  (Take the wig out and have Percy hold it)  Tell the children that Percy loves to play "Teacher guess the song".  If the teacher can guess the song in a few notes, the chorister has to wear the silly wig, if they guess it wrong....the teacher has to wear the wig during his favorite song.  (Pg. 253)

Cathy Caterpillar---She loves slow and reverent songs.  Sing the song as slow and reverent as possible.  (Pg. 74)

Floyd Flamingo---Floyd loves to sing his song standing on one leg.  Have the children sing the song while standing on one leg and see who can make it all the way through the song.  (Praise to the Man)

Felix Fly---Felix likes to land on peoples heads during the song and doesn't want to get off unless they know the next phrase.  Have the children hum or buzz the song, Felix will land on a child's or teacher's head during the song and have them repeat the next line.  (Pg. 245)

Polly Peacock---Polly is stubborn and doesn't want to lead the music, but she loves to switch places with a child in the audience.  You and Polly go sit where the child was sitting and have that child lead the song.  (pg. 95)

Marvin Monkey--- Marvin loves it when the children sing his song monkey style in Ooo's and Aahs.  (pg 159)

Freddy Frog---  Freddy just cannot stay still for music time.  He loves to hop right out of his seat every time he hears the word "I".  Have the children up every time they sing the word "I"  (Pg 77)  (for Sr. primary, I let them hop down the row to the next seat....they loved that.)

Charlie Chicken---  Charlie loves it when the kids sing staccato so he can peck the beat.  Have the children help charlie peck the beat to this song.  (pg. 118)

Matthew Moose---Matthew loves to play "hide it and find it".  Have Matthew give the bean bag to a child to hide it, and then have a child come and find it while you play the song.  You could even have the child finding it wear Matthew on their hand so he can "help" too.  (pg. 96)

Edgar Eagle--- Edgar likes to fly up high so the children will sing louder, or fly down low so they sing softer.  (If I listen with my heart)

Alfred Alligator---Alfred loves to smile at people.  Have the children face the door of the primary room.  Have them sing.  If someone comes by, have them smile as big as possible to try and get that person to smile.  You might have to prearrange for someone to walk by.....(pg. 236)

Peter Pelican--- Peter loves to carry around shinning things in his mouth.  Have him show the coin.  Tell them that he is going to throw it up in the air.  If it lands on heads..boys sing.....if tails...girls sing.  (pg 164)

Oscar Owl--- Oscar loves to play "hot potato".  Have the children pass around the bean bag as fast as they can to see if everyone can have a chance to pass it before the end of the song.  (Pg. 61)

Brian Bear---Brian just loves primary teachers.  Have the teachers stand up and do hinges as the children sing it.  Have the teachers pretend they are very very old and slow.  Then have the kids stand up and do it as fast as they can.  (pg. 277)


I had the Jr. Primary say "hello" and "goodbye" to the animals as they were picked.  They really loved it.  For Sr. primary...I skipped the pretending for the most part and just used the animals as indicators for the songs and activities....they actually really enjoyed it too.  

I had a great time doing it.  I always appreciate the opportunity to wear the chorister hat again.  Have a great day!

*thecrazychorister

24 comments:

C Dawn's bucket said...

I check your site and incorporate your ideas into singing time all the time! Love the puppet idea and will use it later on in July.

Thanks for the awesome resource!

Paula said...

I love this idea! Thank you for sharing.

Natalie said...

Great ideas! I still check your blog often, too - thanks for everything!!

Karin said...

I just found your blog and I have been exploring it all day today. Love your ideas and can't wait to try so many of your ideas. Thanks!

MamaLadyBug said...

Really fantastic ideas! It's not too gimicky, but encourages the children to sing in a very fun way! Love it!

Ronna said...

I check on this blog often, still feeling kind of "new" at my Primary chorister calling after 4 months. Your ideas are helping more people than you could imagine, just so you know!

Anonymous said...

please post, love to read your ideas.

would really love if you added a search widget to the side bar. so i could search easily thru old post. pretty please.

mari

Melanie said...

mari..tell me how and I will. Not so good at these things...

Jesse Edwards said...

I too check your site and use your ideas all the time!! Love it! Thank you!

cara said...

Thank you for this blog! I use it often. Even just to get my own ideas rolling. Bless you for taking your time to share with all of us. I sure was excited to see a new post come up!

The Bloomin' Fields said...

LOVE this idea. I'm going to have to use this one. Don't be surprised if you hear people talking about it, though, because I'm in your Stake. : ) hahahaha. Thanks for your creativeness. It really does help even our own ideas to start flowing.

The Bloomin' Fields said...

BTW, you can easily add a search gadget to your blog by going into the design tab, click "add a gadget" and scroll down until you see "Search Box". Add that to your blog and place it where you want with your blog layout. Hope this helps.

Chauntelle

Scootergirl said...

I still check in here, too - and have referred my niece to check here!

Mary Pugh said...

I LOVE your ideas and keep coming here often! Thanks for sharing all your great ideas!

De said...

Love the puppet idea! Thanks for taking the time to post your ideas,

evelania said...

People definitely check your blog. In fact, on the primary music yahoo group, someone posted that you had posted again--alerting everyone. Your ideas are great! I actually wish there were more Sundays in the year to use all your ideas :)

Unknown said...

You are a very creative chorister and I love your ideas. Keep it up! If you get a chance come check out my blog too! pattiesprimaryplace.blogspot.com

Ondrea said...

What a darling idea!!! Thanks!

Alicia said...

Glad to see you're back...even if it's sporadic. I'm recommending your blog to all the choristers in my stake. I love your ideas!

Aprilyn said...

Oh my gosh. I'm doing this one next week!! Thanks for taking the time to post this. I'll just grab all the animals I can find in my house (we don't have puppets), and have lots of WILD FUN!

Melinda said...

You are a genius! Please keep up with the posts no matter how sporadic they are. Your ideas are amazing!

Emily said...

Darling!!!! Thank you!!!

Unknown said...

This is such a darling idea! I love it! Thank you for continuing to share!!

Hillary Morgan said...

Absolutely love your website. Your creativity and energy is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you so much for sharing these wonderful ideas.