The Crazy Chorister

Captain CTR--Choose the Right

2012-01-21T18:27:00.000-08:00

Howdy folks...

Still filling in for the chorister position. My primary kids have learned our song really well, and after a short review I plan on moving to the Feb. Song..Choose The Right. Here's my plan.

Prep:

1 willing adult volunteer who would like to dress up as Captain CTR (Green Cape, CTR Badge or Tie, The CTR shield from last week.....nothing major)

Enough small CTR signs for each child (these can be printouts from your computer)

Words or Flip Chart for "Choose the Right"

Presentation:

Review January song. Then tell the children that there is a special guest today. Have your pianist play "Choose the Right" vigorously as Captain CTR comes into the room. Have Captain CTR tell the children why it is so important to always choose the right...and perhaps why he loves to choose the right (it makes him happy). Have him give the children each a CTR sign to hold. Then have him exit to the pianist playing the song again. Proceed to teach the children Choose the right....and each time they Sing "right" have them lift up their CTR sign.

Sounds like fun...can't wait.

*thecrazychorister

SNOW!

2012-01-18T10:39:00.000-08:00

Hello,

We finally are getting snow here in the Inland Northwest! Sure took a while this year, but I'm actually really enjoying it....as long as I don't have to drive in it. :)

Anyhow, I thought I'd post a version of Pop Corn Popping that I sing with the kids when it snows...it's kind of fun....

I looked out the window and what did I see?
Snow has covered my Apricot Tree!
Winter has brought me such a nice surprise
Snow is falling right before my eyes!

I can take an armful and make a Man.
I'll build him up just as fast as I can.

It was a lot of snow,
and it seemed to me!
Snow had covered my Apricot Tree!

Author Unknown.

Questions

2012-01-13T08:43:00.001-08:00

Good Morning...

Some of you have asked questions recently in the comment boxes. I've done my best to answer them as I can. I answer them in the comment boxes..so if you want to recheck there, I hope I can be of some help to you.

Have a great day!

Week 3: Shield of Protection

2012-01-10T17:51:00.000-08:00

I hope all of you are having a great week. This week the primary president and I are combining efforts for singing and sharing time because of the suggestion for week three in the 2012 sharing time outline for January. It has the person doing sharing time teach a simple concept and then have the children sing a song to support that concept. It makes sense to combine efforts.

Anyhow, here is the idea I came up with to make it a little more interesting on the singing side of things beyond just having the children sing the song, but it also keeps a reverent atmosphere because all of these songs are reverent songs.

Preparation:

A Large Poster Board cut into the shape of the CTR Symbol---after making the shield cut it into 6 pieces. The Front of the shield should be the CTR Symbol when all pieces are combined. On the back of each piece, write the title to each song listed in the outline for week three.

Presentation:

Have the person doing sharing time explain the first concept. When they are done, explain to the children that you would like to have them help you build a shield of protection. Have them choose the title of the song that best fits the concept that was just explained to them. Then put that corresponding piece up on the chalk board with tape or a magnet to hold it in place. You can have the child choose a reverent way to sing the song (girls sing, boys sing, teachers sing, acapella, ooh the song, hum the song, sing really quite..etc)

Repeat the process with the other concepts and songs going back and forth between you and the person doing sharing time. When you are finished, you and the children will have built a CTR shield. Explain that each concept helps to build a shield of protection for us. Each good choice we make helps to protect us from Satan and helps us make it back to our Heavenly Father. Encourage them to always strive to have a strong shield of protection by always choosing the right.

Have a great week!

*thecrazychorister

Repeat Week: Which Brick Will It Be? (As A Child of God)

2012-01-05T09:10:00.000-08:00

Howdy Folks. We still do not have a chorister called, and so I have the privileged of taking on week two for the new song this month. When I was chorister, I really liked to take week two to cement the words and music in the children's minds by playing a game that accomplished that, but also was fun enough to distract them from the fact that they were singing the same song a bajillion times in 20 min.

Here's my plan for this week.

Prep:

Enough card board bricks to make a small wall. (Now I realize that most of us do not have these readily on hand. I happen to find them at a garage sale years ago....but here are a few replacement ideas that will still allow you to do the same thing. Small flat rate shipping boxes (you can get these at no charge from the post office), empty baby wipe containers, Empty juice box boxes (the long boxes that come with 12 juice packs in them, 12 pack soda box containers, or simply wooden building blocks or a jenga set.

One Word of the song placed on each brick (or if you do not have all that many just group them by 2-4 words to cut down on the box or block needs. If its for Jr. Primary, you might want to consider some pictures for key words to remind them since many of them do not read yet.

Presentation:

Before Primary set up the wall. Make sure all the words are facing front so they can be easily seen. Put them in order as well.

Tell the children we are going to review "As A Child of God" by practicing making good choices. Show them the wall. Tell them that the goal is to remove one word (or group of words) at a time (singing the song after each removal) and trying to see how many words they can remove without having the wall fall down. They must choose wisely, for if the wall falls down we have to sing the whole song without any helps to rebuild it. To spice it up a bit, you can have the children sing the song in a different way each time to keep it fresh...such as staccato, acapella, oohing, standing on one leg, covering one eye....etc.

This activity acts as a memorizing game since they must remember the words that have been removed. It is very helpful for the boys especially because besides memorizing, they are each trying to solve the puzzle of how to keep the wall standing and so it minimizes boredom and non participation.

Have a great week! Is it awful to hope they keep taking their time with calling a new chorister? :)

*thecrazychorister (sometimes)

Introduction Week: As A Child of God

2011-12-29T20:54:00.000-08:00

Well...some of the wards in our stake were split a few weeks back. I stayed in the Primary Presidency, but we lost our Chorister...so until we get another one.....I get to fill in!!! So much fun.

So, This coming Sunday we will begin learning "As a Child of God". I thought I'd post my plan just in case any one out there still visits this blog...

Preparation:

Two Large bags (Brown Paper Grocery bags work best)---on the front of one put Choice #1 and on the other put Choice #2.

Several objects that correspond with the words of the song....The words I picked are:

Earth (globe or picture of Earth), Choose (the word on a piece of paper), family (picture of family), light (flash light or other light you can bring), Holy Ghost (picture of a child praying with the word Holy Ghost attached to it), Right(The word Right and an arrow pointing to the right).

Several objects that are silly fill in words for the words in the song....what I chose is:

A Picture of Mars, A Cookie, Stuffed Animal, cell phone, Comic Book (or other magazine), A picture of a nice meal representing Dinner.

Okay...so are you confused yet....here is how it will all come together...

Presentation:

Before Primary, put the objects randomly into each bag. Make sure you don't have all the correct choices in the same bag so it doesn't get predictable.

Have a child come to the front. Tell them that we are learning a brand new song that will help us understand the importance of making good choices and how that can bring us peace and happiness. Tell them the first line to the song. Pull out the Globe and the Picture of Mars. Tell them that the first line of the song is....." I came to ? with the power to ? Have the child choose between the two objects to fill in the blanks. You could say... Is the correct line... I came to EARTH.....or I Came to Mars? Then sing repeat the line...and move on through the song until you get to the end. For the next part I'll say....Is the Line I came to Earth with the power to Choose or I came to Earth with the Power to Make Cookies? I think you get the picture. It's simple, yes...and pretty obvious....but I think it drives home the point that choice means something.

In case you have a child that thinks its really funny to choose the wrong answer....humor them and sing the wrong line and show them how it not only doesn't fit the song, but it doesn't fit the message either.

Anyhow,..have fun. It's great to be able to do this every now and then. Have a great week.

I Spy with my Primary Eye

2011-07-10T09:44:00.000-07:00

I used this for a sharing time idea, but I realized this could translate into a great idea for singing time as well.

Prep:

Objects or pictures that teach a line or concept of the lesson (song)

Presentation:

Put up the pictures or objects around the room. Have the kids make glasses around their eyes with their hands and have everyone say..." I spy with my Primary eye..." and then you fill in the blank with something like...."a picture of the temple" or "something we do before we go to bed at night (picture of praying child)"....etc. Choose a child to find that object in the room. Sing a line of the song it goes with, or teach the concept from that picture. Proceed until all objects/pictures have been found.

Jr. Primary LOVED it, and really got into it. With Sr. Primary, you could step it up a notch and attach a Scripture reference and have them look it up.

Have a nice week.

Primary Gone Wild

2011-06-30T08:34:00.000-07:00

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 shy 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

Good Bye

2010-12-28T20:25:00.000-08:00

Hey, they called a new chorister and she starts this coming Sunday.

It was a great experience being a Chorister and I'll always cherish all the fun and uplifting times I had each week.

Thank you for encouraging me with your comments. I hope you all have success and find joy in your calling as I did.

May the Lord Bless you.

-Melanie Ketcheson

One more for old times sake?---Christmas Singing Sugar Cookies

2010-12-07T07:35:00.001-08:00

Hey folks....they haven't found a replacement for me yet and so I've been pulling double duty for a couple of weeks. I think they are being kind and allowing me to back away slowly so I don't go into shock. :)

Anyhow, I had a fun idea this past week for singing time and it worked really well and was so much fun. I thought I'd post it.

Prep:

6-7 different shaped Christmas Cookie Cutters

1 12 x 12 piece of brownish (dough colored) paper

6-7 different colored paper

1 cookie sheet

Tape

Use your cookie cutters to trace their shape on the large piece of brown paper. Fit them like a puzzle so all of them fit just as you would if you were trying to get the most out of the last bit of cookie dough. I used the outside edge of the cookie cutter to get the largest shape possible for the dough part. Carefully cut them out and tape the large brown paper back together where you cut through. Write different Christmas songs on the back of the cookies

Now, using the inside edge of the cutter, trace and cut the different shapes out of the colored paper. This will serve as the frosting of the cookie so you want it slightly smaller than the cookie.

Before singing time begins, tape the "dough" on the board, and using a small piece of tape on the back of each cookie, carefully fit them back into their cut out spot on the dough.

Presentation:

I Welcomed the children to primary. I Explained that fun family traditions are always apart of the Christmas season and I wanted to share with them my family tradition of making sugar cookies. As we sang "do as I'm doing" I had them follow me in pretending to make the dough for the cookies and rolling it out.

I then showed them my cookie cutters. I explained that as the pianist was playing some music, they would pass one of the cookie cutters around the room. When the music randomly stopped, whoever was holding the cookie cutter would come up and try and find the shape on the dough that it matched. Place the cookie on the cookie sheet. (I leaned my cookie sheet up on the chalk board so all could see the cookies on the tray as we put them there) We would then sing the song on the back (I made it slightly harder for senior...they had to try and guess what song it was). If they sang the song really well, I told them we would be able to decorate the cookie.

To decorate the cookie, have them pretend to have a huge bag of whatever color frosting goes with that cookie. Have them pretend from their seats to frost the cookie their very best. Tape the frosting to the cookie. Repeat the process until all the cookie cutters have been passed around the room.

This was so much fun, and we were able to sing quite a few Christmas songs...even some they didn't really know.

I hope you all are having a very Merry Christmas!

*thecrazychorister (who apparently can't let go)

Nothing More Constant than Change....

2010-11-07T17:31:00.000-08:00

Dear Fellow choristers, My friends....

Today was a bitter /sweet Sunday. I was released from my calling as Primary Chorister, and as the tears fell...I was called to be the 2nd counselor of the Primary....and then the tears really started to fall. :)

The past two and a half years have been a joy to me. I have never felt so encompassed by the spirit through each step of my calling. I will be forever grateful for this opportunity to serve and hope someday I can have this calling again. It's simply too much fun.

I am grateful to all of you for your kind remarks and words of encouragement as I have shared the inspirations I received for this calling, and I'm grateful if I helped you in any way.

Now...what to do about this blog.... Well, obviously I will not be posting new ideas since I will need to concentrate on my new calling, but the suggestions on this blog will be at your disposal.

If I could leave you with one suggestion that I learned as I've had the privilege of serving in this capacity...., Don't rely on blogs like this one to do your calling for you. They are great resources and I benefited many times from others ideas, but YOU were called as Chorister of your ward primary for a reason. The Lord is waiting to help you grow if you will come unto him and ask Him how He would like you to teach these children. I have a testimony that He has made up for everything I lacked coming into this calling. He consistently gave me answers, lesson plans, and words to speak that made all the difference to the children I was called to teach. He knows their hearts and the way they learn best. Trust Him. Go to Him. You will find miracles are waiting for you and those kids.

Thank you for all you do in serving children of this church. We are truly raising a mighty generation that will have the strength to overcome all and endure to the end because they know the Truth and love the Savior.

I know my Savior Lives and Loves us. He is my friend, and I am so grateful to serve Him in anyway I can.

Bless you All,

Melanie Ketcheson ( aka: The Crazy Chorister)

Primary Program Reward...new take on used idea

2010-10-25T07:45:00.001-07:00

Hey folks! We preformed our primary program yesterday, and it was heavenly. My kids did so well, and many ward members were obviously touched. I am so grateful for all their hard work, and Heavenly Father who truly blessed all of us.

So, I wanted to give these kids a big thank you and also to relax a bit....we've had a few Sundays of intense practicing (not much fun for them). I decided to combine a couple of ideas I've used in the past, and it turned out to be the funniest and funnest reward for them and me.

I'm calling this.....

It's Either You or Me

Okay, so the basic idea is a combination of "Spin the Teacher", "crazy hat day", and "name that tune."

PREP:

A bunch of dress up items in a bag...(I took hats, gloves, crazy glasses, ugly ties, capes, etc....)

Borrow A swivel chair from the clerks or bishops office

8-10 pieces of paper with Random, fun Primary songs that the children know well (DO NOT USE THE PROGRAM SONGS)

PRESENTATION:

Okay, so explain that you're going to choose a teacher to come sit in the chair up front if their class is reverent. Have the pieces of paper with the song titles on them face down on the floor all around the chair....like a clock.

Have a teacher come up front and sit down. Have them lift their feet slightly. Have the pianist play some music and begin to spin the teacher (slowly). When the music comes to a stop, have the teacher put their feet down. Whatever piece of paper their feet is on, pick it up and show the title of the song to their teacher. Ask the teacher how many notes they think their class needs to get the song. Then you also give a guess to how many notes. If the teacher says, "5" and you say "6"...have the pianist give them the fewer notes first. If they get it right on the teachers guess...the teacher picks a dress up for you to wear. If miss on their teacher's guess and get your guess then you get to pick a dress up for their teacher to wear. Then sing the song.

This was too much fun for both the kids and teacher and me. I ended up looking like some sort of rodeo clown princess...and several teachers where wearing funny hats etc. They kids were so thrilled.

I will say, this was a more lively activity then most. We kept it under control, but expect a more lively reaction.

Anyhow, it couldn't have been a better day all around. I hope you had or will have a fantastic program.

Now, ...on to getting ready for Christmas!

*thecrazychorister

Primary Program Helpful Hints

2010-10-18T10:11:00.000-07:00

For all those who haven't had their program yet, this might be helpful to you. I have a few suggestions that might help your little primary kids sing their best and make a rehearsal go smoother.

A. Bring three different colored flags, pieces of paper, or something you can have some hold up at the back of the chapel. I had a red flag, a yellow flag, and a blue flag. I had a sister sit at the back of the chapel for our rehearsal. I told the children that during the songs, Sister Loomis will hold up the Red flag if you need to be louder, The Yellow flag if you need to be softer, and the blue flag if you're singing perfect. This worked SO WELL. The children not only followed my direction, but the sound was fantastic.

B. To help all the children stand together, I did a little exercise with them. We practiced standing up and sitting down. I made a motion with my hands directing them to come to the edge of their seats. I then swept my arms down and up to have them stand. I told them I didn't want a bunch of pop corn on the stage.....so I had them sing Pop Corn Popping and had them "pop" up out of their chair each time we sang the words "popcorn" in the song. They loved that, and it helped them understand the difference in that and what I wanted them to do. They did amazing after that...and all eyes were on me.

C. So, rehearsal can sometimes get crazy trying to get everyone to listen and be reverent during it...especially the little children. So, a great teacher let me have a huge bag of stickers. I gave a bunch to each teacher and asked them to give the stickers to children who are sitting reverently and paying attention. I then announced (after I got permission from the PP) that if the children worked hard, listened, and were reverent...they would receive a sticker. And those who had stickers...would get a cookie from me at the end. UM....you would have thought I was giving out $100 dollar bills. It was absolutely amazing. Each child earned their sticker and got their cookie...it WAS AWESOME! Please, get permission before doing this in your primary.

Have a fun and spiritually amazing program!

-thecrazychorister

Still Alive

2010-10-10T18:41:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let you know that I'm still alive...and I'll post real stuff soon. We've just been practicing the program and there's nothing new that I haven't already posted. So, We'll put this baby to bed in just two more weeks...and then on to new and exciting things.

Have a great week!

Primary Review Idea #3: Winston the Worm

2010-09-13T08:40:00.000-07:00

You know, there are just some activities that surprise you in how well they keep the attention span of those little kiddos in Jr. Primary. When I preparing for this activity, I had a feeling they would like it...but, this activity had every child in that room (almost 60 kids) singing, participating, and reverent when needed. I incorporated it into my Sr. Primary Idea, but it was not the main focus as it was in Jr. Primary. It was a blast. I hope you find it to be as well.

I normally do not provide pictures, but I wanted to make sure you knew that this was actually an extremely easy activity to throw together.

Prep:

1 Giant Red Apple with a hole on one side of the apple. (I made this out of a Heavy Red Poster Board. Draw the shape of an apple, and then cut it out. Use colored paper to tape over the stem and leaf)

1 Green Worm (I loosely sewed buttons onto one of my husband's scout socks. The sock should cover your arm at least up to your elbow.)

I also brought some stop and go signs, strong/soft signs/boy girl signs.....to help give variety to how we sang the song.

***optional: I just happened to have these worm looking stick figures that were left over in the primary closet from forever ago (I have no idea what they were originally used for). I thought it would be fun for them to be apart of Winston's family to incorporate some wiggle songs in between working on the program songs. I don't have a pattern for them, but I'm sure you could be creative enough to come up with a pretty close substitute. I named them Winifred, Wyatt, Weston, and Wendy.

My recommendation is to only work on four out of the eight primary songs. I found that was the perfect amount of time to work through all four songs plus four wiggle/reverent songs.

Presentation:

I began by telling the children how excited I was that it was fall. So many good things happen this time of year. The leaves change, the primary program is coming up, and I get to pick apples off my tree to make applesauce! I told them that sometimes I have the unpleasant experience of finding green worms in my apples. I told them I brought one of those apples today, and it just happens to have a green worm in it. Now, this isn't just some ordinary, run-of-the-mill worm...this just happens to be Winston the Worm. Now, Winston happens to love love love primary music...and when I told him that you were practicing for the up coming program...he told me he really wanted to come and hear you sing. But, Winston is a very shy worm. He usually doesn't come out of his apple unless everyone is reverent, singing their best, and smiling as big as they can so he feels welcome......(you can say whatever comes to mind for you....)

Have the children sing one of the program songs they are really good at. As you notice everyone being reverent and smiling, slowly bring Winston (your hand) out of the apple. I tended to ham this part up a bit....he came out a bit and then shyly went back in a poked his head out a bit and finally came out of the apple and waved hello. Have the children wave back to him. I asked Winston if he wanted to hear some more songs. He nodded and then waved me down to his mouth...I pretended that he was whispering something too me. I turned back to the children and said...Winston really wants to hear you sing...."fill in the blank on whatever you're working on"....and he really loves it when he can hold the Strong/Soft sign. Put the sign into Winston's mouth. Have the children follow his direction.

I could go on, but I think you get the point. Just do what comes natural to you. At one point, I had Winston smile huge (just extend your thumb and pinkie as far as they go)...the kids really loved that and felt good they were making him feel so welcome with their singing. I also had him sing along at one point, but because he's a worm you can hardly hear his little voice....

One little sunbeam jumped off her chair towards the end, came up to me and said, "Winston is just a sock!" I put my finger to my mouth and said, "Shh, he doesn't know that....let's not tell him it would hurt his feelings." She smiled and went back to her chair.

I sometimes had Winston introduce his siblings. Winston would go back into the apple and a sibling would pop out of the hole. Each Sibling had a favorite wiggle they lead the kids in.

This was such a fun 20 min. Have a great Week!

*thecrazychorister

Program Review Idea #2: Pop Quiz

2010-09-08T08:25:00.000-07:00

Hey folks. Sorry, I didn't get a chance to post this last week. Life is just busy beyond busy.

I'm not sure where I saw this activity idea, but I really liked the concept. It went over really, really well in my primary and the kids really loved it. Here is what I did...hope it helps someone out there.

Prep:

16 colorful balloons (8 Jr. pri - 8 Sir pri) one for each program song.

16 small pieces of paper (8 Jr. Pri - Sir pri) with a question or different way to sing the song.

2 pennies (1 jr. - 1 Sr.)

1 large push pin

Insert one paper in each balloon. Inflate. With one of the balloons, insert penny and a slip of paper that says "toss up"

Presentation:

Explain that the program is coming soon and we really need to make sure we know every song a well as we can. To help us do this we're going to have a "Pop Quiz" to help us.

Have one of the boys with short hair come up. Ask him if it would be alright if you used his head for a min. Lightly rub each balloon on his head and attach it to the wall or chalk board. (Just remember that since you have paper in the balloon it is heavier than usual, so this works great on a chalk board where it has the chalk tray to have a bit more support.)

Then call children up one at a time to pop a balloon and proceed to do what the paper suggests. When the balloon with the penny gets popped, tell them it is a "Toss up". Have them call heads or tails...if they get it right they can choose what song to sing or how to sing a program song..or who gets to sing it. If they don't get it, have the pianist play her favorite song and sing that one.

Really, this was such a fun activity....it really held their attention, and we got so much accomplished.

*thecrazychorister

5th Sunday Fun: Back To School (revised)

2010-08-25T08:45:00.000-07:00

All my primary kiddos are headed back to school next week, and I thought it would be fun to revisit this activity since it was a favorite last year. I've seen this idea around on many sites now, and I love some of the variations...so with those ideas and the crazy ideas of my own I've revised this a bit. The base of this revision came from a version of this idea posted on Sugardoodle by Erika Soelberg.

Our program is scheduled for the end of October, and since I feel we have a lot of time and know the songs really well already..I thought we would set aside our program songs this time around, and sing other songs we haven't had the chance to enjoy due to all our hard work. I also am doing this so they don't get so bored with the music that by the time the program comes around that shows in their voices and faces as they sing these amazing songs.

You can easily adapt this activity to fit the program songs if that is your wish. This activity can be done in the normal 20min...but I would suggest cutting it down a bit. I have the entire time on Sunday so I'm free to go crazy.

Prep:

1 Backpack

1 pencil box with enough pencils for each child to have one. Put a star sticker on 6-8 of them.

6-8 folders with different subjects listed on the front of the folder....and the song and activity listed on a paper on the inside of the folder.

Basket full of Apples for their teachers on your desk

Any other props that are needed for the activities that go with the songs. I'm not going to take the time to list them here as they will vary depending on how elaborate you really want to get...so take what ya wish and toss the rest.

Subjects:

Biology: "My Heavenly Father Loves Me"-- Have a small bag or box filled with different picture clues such as a bird, blue sky, rain, wind...etc. Have the child try and guess the song from the pictures. When they have guessed correctly, have several children hold the pictures while singing the song.

Art: "I Love to See the Temple"--Divide the chalk board in half with a line. Allow two children to see the title of the song. Have them race to draw a picture that will help their team guess the song. After a correct answer has been given, sing the song. For Jr. Primary...you might want to have a teacher do the drawing.

Language Class: "Children All Over the World"---write the different words for thank you on the board and have the children guess what language the words are. Practice saying the words a few times.

Anatomy: "I'm all made of Hinges" Sing this song as a little kid (really fast), as an old man (really slow) and as a Primary teacher...(reverent).

Music: "Primary Children Sang as They Walked..." Give the primary children a clue such as...."they probably walked up hills both ways to school and were happy about it".....then ask the two opposing teams how many notes they need to get the song. The group with the lowest notes can guess the song after the notes are played.

Reading: "The Books of the Book of Mormon"--Have them open their scriptures to the contents page. Sing the song with them once through while they are looking at the words. Have them close the book. Sing it three more times getting faster each time seeing if they can sing it without making a mistake.

Recess: "I Belong to the Church of Jesus Christ...."---Have them spread out their chairs a bit so there is room between them and the person in front of them. As you sing the song, have them move down a chair each time they sing the word "I". Have the person on the end quickly run around to the end of the row to begin again. (BTW..the kids LOVE this...although, it can get a bit rowdy..so just tell them we have to complete this task as reverently as possible to get a good grade in this subject.)

Math: "I like My Birthdays"---Show them a tray or box full of items. Have them take a good look at it. Take it away and remove 8 items. Show them the box again while they sing the song. See if they could figure out what 8 items were taken away.

Pop Quiz: Have a balloon with a paper inside and a dime. Have someone pop the balloon. The paper should say, "Toss up". Tell the child if it is Heads their teacher gets to pick the song, if its tails they get too. Have the child flip the coin. Sing the chosen song.

Presentation:

Explain that today you're going to prepare them to go back to school. Hand out the pencil box and have the children pick a pencil. Tell the children to check their pencils for a star. Have one of the children with a star pencil come up and pick a folder. Do the assigned task. When the child is done, have the pick an apple out of the basket to give to their teacher. Some where in the middle, have the pop quiz...be sure and bring a push pin to pop the balloon.

Have a great week!

*thecrazychorister

Program Review Game #1: Outta This World

2010-08-19T09:09:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for the weeks ahead to review the program songs? This can be challenging to help kids avoid boredom, but still accomplish the task of polishing up these beautiful songs. It is also a great time to review the messages these songs were intended to give and have the spirit witness again of the love the Savior has for each one of them.

It's been a while since I've posted an idea that has some real before-hand prep. I've tried to keep the ideas simple for the summer, but this idea will take some prep so don't put it off until Sunday morning if you choose to use it. Or, you can always just draw these on the chalk board if you want to make it slightly easier in the prep department.

Prep:

8 circles cut in various sizes and in different colors to represent planets (Put the title of one of the program songs on each of the planets)

1 cut out of a rocket ship. I'm going to put "Primary Rocket Express" on mine and make it really bright and colorful.

8 small flags that can be placed on the planets that say, "Claimed"

8 pieces of paper with one line from each song written on it (you can write a phrase for Jr. primary to make it easier for them if you wish)

Chalk

Before Primary, hang the planets around the primary room where they are easily visible. Place the slips of paper in a container. Have the flags on one side of the chalk board at the front of the room. On the other side, draw a Fuel Meter with the levels: Full, Half Full, Almost Empty, Empty..keep a piece of chalk and an eraser near by.

Presentation:

Tell the children that we are going on an exploration trip out into the universe. Tell them our goal is to "claim" as many planets as possible for our primary program. Have a child come a choose a slip of paper out of the container. Read or have them read the line of the song. Have the primary guess what planet (song) that line goes with. When they have guessed correctly, give the rocket ship and a flag to a child and have them stand beside you. Explain that we are going to sing that program song, and if they sing the song really well using our fuel meter as a guide we will be able to make it and claim that song/planet.

Tell them that the way the fuel meter works is as they sing:

Never Louder than Lovely

Smiling

Watching the Chorister for start and stops

Reverently folding arms and paying attention

and they know the words

They gain more fuel so they can make it to the planet. I'm not one of those people who just say, "good job you made it"...if they really didn't. If they have problems and don't make it to the planet...I'll stop and correct the mistake and try again. If they continue to have issues with that song...I'll simply tell them we didn't make that planet today, so we'll try hard to learn it in future weeks, and then I'll move on. If they do sing really well, I'll have the child who is holding the rocket and the flag move slowly towards the correct planet. When we finish, I'll have them place that flag on the planet and fly the rocket ship back home to begin the next song.

If you need to simplify that idea do so, and remember to have fun with it and make it work for your primary. It might make sense to only do half the songs one week and do the same activity the following week just to give more time to work on the songs that are troublesome.

Anyhow, I hope that gets the creative juices for program review flowing....

Have a Great Week!

*thecrazychorister

Review Game: Blind Fold the Teacher

2010-08-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

Hi guys,

It's been a really busy summer. I can't believe were are really to the last song of our program. I hope you all are doing well.

I found an adorable idea off the "Divine Secrets of a Primary Chorister" website, and changed it a bit to work for my primary.

Prep:

Colored Chalk
Christmas Present Bow
Blind Fold

Before Primary, Draw 5-6 pictures of present boxes on the board.

Presentation:

Tell the Children that we're going to review our songs for the year. Have one of the teachers come to the front (I like to pick the class that is being extra reverent to volunteer their teacher). Have them put the blindfold on and give them a Christmas Bow. Tell the children that you are going to point silently to the present the teacher is going to try and put the bow on. Explain that we'll sing one of our program songs as the teacher attempts to find the right present. As the teacher gets closer to the right present, the children should sing softer, and softer...whisper sing. As the teacher moves farther away from the present they are to sing louder, but never louder than beautiful singing allows. Do this with all your program songs as time allows and switch teachers with every song. Most of the teachers found the correct present within a few lines of the song...so just continue to sing the rest of the song after they have found it.

The kids loved this. I wasn't sure if it would go over in Sr. Primary, but they were totally all over it. The last teacher that I had come up I played a trick on. I pointed to an object just beyond the chalk board...and so they became really confused when the children kept singing loud. The kids really loved it, and the teachers all had smiles.

Success! Thanks for the idea "Divine Secrets"!

**The Crazy Chorister

New Song Sunday: I Know That My Redeemer Lives!

2010-08-07T17:07:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! I was gone on vacation with my family, but now we're back and I'm ready to teach the last song of our program.

The song I choose for August is "I Know That My Redeemer Lives". We will only be doing the first verse unless I happen to find extra time.

I found this great idea on the web, and even though I am going to scale it down a bit and change it around for my Jr. Pri kids, I think it would be more helpful for you to just read the original idea, then to have me try and put it in my words. I could not find the author of this great idea, but give them full credit, and a big "Thank You".....I really haven't had the time this week to put another thing together.http://www.ldsfamilyfun.com/media/PDFs/church/ideas%20to%20teach%20song4.pdf

I hope this helps someone out their too. Have a great week!

Wagon Wheel of Fortune

2010-07-18T17:14:00.001-07:00

As I was sifting through all these posts to get the right labels on them, I came across an idea that I never posted. I was going to use this for our primary pioneer Sunday (around the 24th of July), but I guess I changed my mind last minute and never posted the idea......

So....in case this will help any of you out there for next week....here is what I think I was going to do...

This was based off of using my "singing wheel" (look on sidebar for original idea) and making it look like a wagon wheel. Then I would have the child come up front, put on a pioneer hat or apron, or vest..etc..., spin the wheel. The wheel would land on a paper that would suggest a way to sing a song (staccato, whisper, accapella..etc) and then sing a pioneer song the way the paper suggests.

I know that's a skeleton of an idea, but perhaps some of you go-getters will find it useful.

Ideas at a glance

2010-07-18T17:10:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

I finally organized all the ideas posted on this blog and got the right tags on them. So, on the side bar under "Ideas at a glance" are all the ideas that I have posted over the past two+ years. Hope that makes it easier for you than sifting through a lot of back posts.

Have a great day!

-Melanie

Review Activity---Come Follow Me--- Just Follow The Pattern

2010-07-10T17:24:00.000-07:00

This activity went SO WELL, and the spirit was there again for this beautiful song. At one point, my pianist stepped out and we sang the song Acapella. It was so beautiful, and I thought it would be a real highlight to the P. Program. You might want to try it.

Here's this review activity

Prep:

1 piece of paper for each child (Sr.) one piece of paper for each teacher (Jr.)

Dress Pattern

Dress (or anything that has instructions that you created something from)

Picture of Jesus Christ

Learn how to fold a white Sunday shirt out of paper from this website ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hTf9MoLezk

Presentation:

Pass paper out to teachers or children. Hold up the dress pattern (or instructions of whatever you brought). I explained that I enjoy making dresses, but in order to do that I have to use a pattern. I explained in simple terms how I go about making a dress from the pattern. I held up a pattern piece and instructions and and explained that as long as I stuck to the pattern, it came out the way it should in the end. I explained that sometimes I make a mistake when I sew, but if I return to the pattern and go through the long process to undo the mistake and try again...It works. I then showed them the product that I made. I Explained that Jesus Christ set the pattern for happy living and gave us the way to return to our Father in Heaven, and if we follow the pattern we will be happy.

Sing "Come Follow Me". Talk about how this song teaches us to follow the pattern He has set.

Pass out paper to teachers or children. Tell them that we are going to sing a few songs about following Jesus. After each song, show them how to fold another part of the shirt. Do not tell them what the product will be at the end. The songs I used were...

Do As I'm Doing
Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes (I did this one backwards to see if they could still follow me)
Come Follow Me (I kept throwing this one in every few songs just for review)
Follow the Prophet
I'm Trying to be Like Jesus
Come Follow Me

I spread out the paper folding instruction to six songs. The teachers in Jr Pri did great, and the Sr. Kids did a great job too. I did warn the Sr. Pri in the beginning that this activity required reverence, and if I saw at any point that they couldn't handle things...the paper part would be done. But, I then expressed my confidence in them that all would be well and they could handle things. It went so great.

I then held up the white shirt and asked them if they got it by following the instructions. I told them that I loved to see clean white shirts on Sunday because it told me something about the person wearing it....it told me they wanted to be like Jesus. I then bore my Testimony that Jesus Christ set the Pattern we should follow so we can find peace, happiness, and safety.

**thecrazychorister

Childless Mormons

2010-07-07T20:03:00.000-07:00

Dear Fellow Choristers,

On my sidebar of listed resources is a resource that is not intended to help us in our calling, but I would like you to look at it anyhow and pass it on to anyone who you think could benefit from reading this. http://www.childlessmormons.yolasite.com/

It is simply the best, most comforting resource on this subject one can find on the net. It perhaps can spread some hope and comfort to those sisters and brothers out there who are experiencing the frustration and painful circumstances of not being able to have a child.

Thank you,

Melanie

New Song Sunday--Come Follow Me

2010-07-04T13:59:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness for tender mercies. I would feel completely ungrateful to Heavenly Father if I did not post this idea (even though it is late for most of you). I know he ran my singing time today.

I had planned to follow the suggestion in the 2010 handbook for this song, but then this week went kind of nuts. Last night at 10pm I was exhausted and realized that not only did my printer not have ink to print out flip charts but I didn't have the energy to draw and cut the footprints. I went to bed with a prayer an idea would come.

I woak up this morning knowing what to do (in part). I needed to connect Freedom (the 4th of July) with Christ. The rest of the presentation came during Jr. Primary as I was talking about the words, and I felt a deeper connection with this song than I have ever had. And the really tender Mercy...one of the presidency members had made and put footprints around the primary room for her part of sharing time....and it was just perfect. I realized things in my heart and felt the spirit testify to me how Freedom is found in Christ, Physically and Spiritually if we will only Come, and Follow Him.

Prep:

Chalk
Picture of Christ

Presentation:

Before the children come in the room, write the words of the first verse of "Come Follow me" on the chalk board. Underline or circle words or phrases that you identify as needing clarification of meaning.

Ask the children if they know what day it is....(4th of July). Talk about some of the fun things we do on the fourth.....etc

Then draw the American flag on the board. Ask the children what it is. Ask them what what the flag stands for: FREEDOM. Talk about two types of freedom word: Physical Freedom (because we live in a free country established by God) and spiritual freedom (if we choose to follow Jesus Christ we will be Free from sin and can return to Heavenly Father).

Explain that the song we are learning is about obtaining spiritual freedom by following our Savior. Have the children close their eyes. Have the pianist play the song. Ask if anyone recognizes the music. Ask a child that does when we usually sing this song....(sacrament hymn). Explain that the soft, reverent nature of this hymn makes it perfect for the sacrament.

Start with the first line...Say the line and have them say it too you. Sing the line. Keep doing this with every line of the song. Make sure and talk about words such as "Tred" and "Begotten". Take time to talk about the line "For thus Alone can we be one". This is where Heavenly Father opened my eyes today. When we came to this part, I not only understood, but it deeply touched my heart when I noticed that the music's minor key for "for thus alone" resolved to a higher key when talking about us being able "to be one". I pointed this out to the children by explaining that because we are living in a telestial state without Heavenly Father presence we are essentially "alone"...but by following our Savior, he will elevate us back to our Father's presence because we will be one with Him. We sang the song a few times more and I helped them see that true freedom comes through Christ. I hope that makes sense. I think I said it better there, but then and again...it was not my words coming out of my mouth.

I then just had the children walk around the primary room using the footsteps as their guide to make it back to a picture of Christ at the front of the room.

Happy 4th!

**thecrazychorister

June in a nutshell--Intro to Holy Ghost, Father's Day, and Program Review

2010-06-27T15:01:00.000-07:00

Hello again. I finally feel up to a bit of blogging. I am not sure it will be perfectly consistent, but I think I've found a better balance at the moment and I've missed serving you. Thank you for your patience and prayers, they have been felt. Thank you also for the loving and sincere comments. I count you among my blessings.

I know the following ideas are rather after-the-fact, but perhaps someone out there could benefit down the road, and I wanted to keep a record of what I have done. Sorry about the length of this post. There are three separate ideas listed.

Introduction Sunday: THE HOLY GHOST

Prep:

Chalk
Ear muffs, or ear plugs, or ear protection of some kind
Gift bag
Picture prompts

Before primary, put the ear protection in a gift bag.

Presentation: 20 min

Begin by drawing a few pictures free hand on the board. (I am a terrible free hand artist...so don't think you have to do anything fancy here. If you are worried about this ..practice a bit before you get up there. The kids actually liked the fact that I created it on the board in front of them.) After drawing each picture, ask the children to guess what it is. Draw a Fire, a map, a person giving a hug, and a quilt. Then go back and talk about the symbolized meaning of the pictures. For instance, ask them.."What does fire give us?" answer.."warmth and light". "How do you feel when someone hugs you?" answer..."loved, accepted." Write each concept next to the picture. (This should only take three min tops...move through it very quickly) Explain that these concepts can also be used to describe how we feel when were are feeling the spirit's direction and influence in our lives.

Bring out your picture prompts. Tell the them name of the song. Have the pianist play the song very loudly and staccato. Ask the children how that felt. Then have the pianist play the music as written. Point out the difference in the feeling, how the songs gentle rhythm produces a sweet and pleasant sound. Again, relate that to the spirit's still small voice. He is not loud, but soft...it requires the listener to pay attention, to block out other sounds, and to make a choice to focus.

Begin with the first line of the song. Sing the line to the children and have them whisper sing it back to you. Continue doing this through the entire verse. Then have the children sing the song with you a few times through.

Grab your bag. Take out the ear protectors. Have a child come to the front. Explain that sometimes we choose not to listen to the spirit. We close our ears to his promptings. Explain to the child that you are going to put the ear protection on their ears, stand behind them, and ask them to do something. Have them put the ear protection on and stand behind them. Whisper to them to raise their hand. They won't hear you and won't respond. Ask the rest of the children if they heard you...they will have. Remove the ear protection from the child and stand behind them again and give the same command in a whisper. They will hear you and raise their hand. Explain that we always need to be listening and not to muffle our ears with the distractions of the world.

Sing the song again. Bare Testimony of the Holy Ghost.

*******************************************

Father's Day---Who's Father is This?

Prep:

Jr. Primary
Chalk

Sr. Primary
Easy Button (from staples)

Questions: (use these or write your own)

1. What Father Appeared to Joseph Smith in the Scared Grove?
2. Who is Alma the Younger's Father?
3. Who is the Father of our Ward?
4. Who is Ammon's (the one who was a great missionary and cut off the arms) father?
5. Who is Nephi's Father?
6. Who is the Father of the Joseph sold into Egypt?
7. At least, How many Father's do we all have?
8. Who's words made Enos want to repent?
9. Who is the partiarch of the home?
10. Who loves you more than anything else in the world? (Mother is an acceptable answer here)

Presentation: 20 min

Jr. Primary:

Draw the outline of the head and shoulders of a man. Leave the face and head blank, but draw the outline of a white Sunday shirt. Begin asking the children your questions (you can make them easier or harder....whatever works for you). After the right answer is given, have a child come to the board and draw in eyes, or nose, or mouth, or tie....etc. Sing the child's favorite primary song. Continue until all questions have been asked and you have the primary dad on the board. Tell them how wonderful it was that they helped their dad get ready for church. Encourage them to go and give their dads a big hug and be helpful to him on this special day.

Sr. Primary

Bring a small table to the front. Put the easy button in the middle. Call two children up front. Ask them to put one hand on the table and one hand behind the back. Ask them the question. The first one to hit the easy button answers the question. If it is right, sing that child's favorite primary hymn. If it is wrong, give the other one the chance to answer. Continue to do this until all questions are asked or time runs out.

********************************************************

Program Review---"Fishers of Men"

Prep:

6 Fish cut outs ( 1 program song and page numbers written on the back of each and a number indicating how many baptisms)

1 boot cut out ( write chorister's pick)

1 soda can cut out (write Pianist pick)

1 Sandwich cut out (write teacher's pick)

(place paper clips on all of these)

1 box decorated in blue poster board to make a simple "lake"

1 "fishing poll" made from dowel, string, and a magnet on the end of the string.

Optional: I dressed up in my husband's fishing vest and hat.

Presentation: 20 min

Set up your lake. Tell the children one of the fun things to do in the Summer Time is fish. Sing the first verse of,"Oh What do you do in the Summertime". Then tell them that when Christ was on the Earth, he taught us that we should be Fishers of Men. Have a brief discussion of the meaning of those words.

Tell them today, we're going fishing. Explain that a child will place their line in the lake and try and catch a fish. The number on the back of the fish represents how many baptisms happen if they sing the song really well. Don't tell them about the other objects in the lake. Have a child come to the front and go fishing. If they catch a fish sing the song listed and hang the fish on the board with a magnet so everyone can see. (I drew a little "fishing line" that we hung the fish on so they could see what they caught). As they are fishing, explain that just like fishing, sharing the Gospel requires patience and diligence.

If they catch:

The Boot: Explain that sharing the Gospel isn't always easy. Sometimes we get "booted" out the door...but we should always keep trying. Sing the indicated song.

The Can: Explain that sometimes our desire to share "fizzles" out, but we CAN do our best. Sing the indicated song.

The Peanut Butter Sandwich: Explain that sometimes baring our testimony can be a "sticky" situation, but not to worry...The Holy Ghost can put the words into our hearts and minds to make it easier for us if we prepare and are willing to share with others.

Bare your testimony of sharing the Gospel and encourage the children to never be afraid to share what they know. Encourage them to become :Fishers of Men" by developing their testimony and sharing it openly.

*********************************************

Hope you have a great week.

**thecrazychorister

Vacation

2010-05-14T20:09:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Well, this marks almost two years since I've been called as the Primary Chorister. I really do love this calling...it has really lifted me up so many times, and I thank all of you for the kind comments you leave. They have really helped me.

Unfortunately, my family is going through some difficult stuff right now, and I feel that my time is really torn. I have decided to take a vacation from blogging for a while. I think I might even recycle some of my ideas....the thought kills me, but I must. If inspiration hits, I'll really try and post what I'm doing, but for now I think it would be best to take some weight off my shoulders in any way I can.

This happens to be post 101. If I were to guess, I think there are at least 95 different activities listed that could possibly help you. Some of my favorites were clear back at the beginning of this blog, so go and check it out.

I hope you'll forgive me. I hope miracles rain down and I'll be back before you know it. Just remember to have fun and love them...the rest comes from the spirit.

*thecrazychorister

New Song Sunday--Choose the Right Way (Choose Your Own Adventure)

2010-04-27T11:19:00.000-07:00

I am weeks behind. My family has been sick for almost three weeks and we missed 2 Sundays. We've really been hit hard with a number of things, but thank goodness for callings that help you concentrate on others instead of focusing on your own problems.

Anyhow, Since May is one of the "Choose your own song" months in our primary guide, I decided to go with "Choose the Right Way". I will be teaching the entire song, but concentrating on the words of the second verse since they go well with the monthly theme.

I loved those "choose your own adventure" books growing up. You know, the books that you got two or three choices of how the story goes and you see in the end what that leads you too...that is what I based this idea from. If you are doing another song, this could be adapted to fit that song.

Prep:

1 Flip Chart of the Song (Both Verses)

8 Choice papers (explained below)

1 "Choose Your Own Adventure" story (I'm posting mine below or you can write your own)

4 Word Strips that break the second verse into lines

Through the gospel I learn to be prayerful

To have faith, to repent, to obey,

And I know if I live by his teachings, I will truly be happy each day

Chorus....

Presentation:

Before Primary, I will hang my choice papers in groups of 2 around the primary room (A with B...C with D...etc). Hang the word strip of the song line underneath the choice papers, but facing the wall so they can't read it until it is time. On the back of the papers have a picture or words that describe the consequence for that choice. You will be telling the story so you don't have to write it all out for them...only the consequences. Clear as mud?....no worries, you'll get it as you keep reading.

I will begin by having the pianist play the music. We will all hum the melody together. I will talk about how it is a pleasant, happy tune that is uplifting. I'll show them the flip chart for the first verse. We'll repeat sing the song through once. I'm fairly certain the first verse is very familiar to my primary and won't take long to review. If your primary is not familiar with the song at all, go through the first verse a few times emphasising the happiness one feels when making right choices.

After reviewing the first verse, explain that now they know the principal of making right choices and feeling happy, we are going to go on a "choose your own adventure" and see what happens.

Read the first part of your own story or read the following...

The beautiful sunshine was pouring into Tommy's window. His alarm had just gone off telling him to get out of bed. He was very tired and rubbed his eyes. Tommy wanted to remain in bed for just a few more minutes so he turned off his alarm and rolled over. He heard his Father calling his name to come downstairs for Family prayer...

Does Tommy...

A. Get out of Bed and go downstairs for family Prayer.

B. Stay in Bed just a little longer and pretend he's asleep.

Let the children Pick which one they want. It will be alright if they don't pick the obvious good choice...it will be good for them to see what happens. Before you let them see what happens. Sing the first line to the second verse. Have them turn that paper around. Look at the picture and read what happens below.

Choice "A"...

Tommy decides to get out of bed right away and go downstairs. He gets a great big hug from his Father. He is asked to say the family prayer, and as he is praying he feels the spirit and he happier and stronger inside to face his day.

Choice "B"

Tommy is just too tired to get out of bed. He continues to hear his father call him, but ignores it...and tries to fall back asleep. Soon his father comes into his room. "Tommy, you need to get out of bed. It really frustrates me when you don't come down for family prayer. We said it without you because your sister needed to leave early. It looks like you won't be able to stay up later anymore because you simply cannot get out of bed when you are asked too."

Sing the line of the song one more time to emphasize prayer.

Go on with the story....

Later that morning, Tommy is at school. He realizes that his math test is today. His mother has been helping him study, but there were still a few problems he doesn't understand. His teacher passes out the math test. Tommy looks down and the first problem is one of the hard ones he isn't sure about...

Does He...

Choice "C"

Realizes he's done his best to study and says a little prayer for the spirit to help him remember what he knows.

Choice "D"

Gets really nervous and decides to look at his neighbor's paper for the answers to the questions he is unsure about.

Have them choose, then before going on sing the next line to the song....talk briefly about faith, repentance, and obeying in context with the story.

If Choice "C"

Tommy does his very best on the Math test. He has answers come to his mind easily, and he is even able to figure out a few of the most difficult answers. He feels a peace inside knowing he prepared the best he could and left the rest in the trust of Heavenly Father.

If Choice "D"

Tommy gets really nervous and doesn't think he can do it. He looks at his neighbor's paper several times to write down the answers. His teacher notices what he is doing, fails him on his math test, and sends him to the principals office. He apologizes for his behavior to the principal and realizes he has done wrong.

Sing the line again, and emphasis repentance and obedience.

Continue on with the story...

After school, Tommy is walking home with his friends. Mark, the new kid, is walking by himself just behind them. His head is down and he looks lonely. Tommy notices him when one of his friends says that he thinks Mark is a funny looking kid. Everyone laughs. Tommy feels something in his heart.

Does Tommy...

Choice "E"

Tommy laughs along with his friends and ignores the feelings he's having.

Choice "F"

Tommy stops and looks at Mark and listens to the feelings in his heart

Sing the next line to the song. Talk about being like Jesus. Go on...

If Choice "E"

Tommy laughs with his friends and runs ahead tossing a football back and forth and thinking about the new video game his friend invited him to play. He turns around just in time to see Mark look up with tears in his eyes.

If Choice "F"

Tommy stops and turns around. He smiles at Mark and asks him if he would like to come over to his house and play some foot ball in his yard. Mark smiles and says that would be great. Tommy's friends run ahead of them, but Tommy feels great inside and is happy to get to know Mark.

Sing the line again. Sing all the lines up to this point.

Finally....read the final part of the story

Later than night, Tommy was asked about his day. He ...

Choice "G"

tells his mom about his day. He feels really good inside because he made a lot of good choices.

Choice "H"

says he doesn't want to talk about it. He goes up stairs and feels really bad inside. He knows the only way to feel better is to repent and try and make better choices in the future.

Sing the chorus to the song. Sing the entire song twice through. Sum this up by saying that all of us our faced with many choices through the day. Knowing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and living it will help us make the better choice..and making the better choice will lead to peace and happiness. We must always choose the right.

I hope that made sense. If you have questions...please ask them. Have a great week.

*thecrazychorister

Truly Amazing

2010-04-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

Hello. For all those who still are looking at this blog, as unhelpful as it has been lately, thanks. April just ran away from me, and I haven't taken the time to sit down and post.

I felt strongly to share this with you today. I know the time is past for this song, but I hope it might help someone out there.

Last week I introduced the song to my primary. They are all familiar with it, so it was wonderful to really get into the words of the song and allow the spirit to bind it to their hearts. For the first time in a great while, I struggled knowing just how to present this to my primary. I walked into church that Sunday with only a brief attention getting activity (suggested in the Primary guide) and a prayer that Heavenly Father would direct me to help them learn what they needed to know.

I showed them a picture of Captain Moroni and briefly explained this title of liberty. I related this to our song by saying that just like the title of liberty stated who they were, what they believed in, and what they were going to do....so does our song. I took it line by line and had the children repeat sing the line back to me.

For Jr. Primary...I paused on the line "I know who I am". I asked them, "Who are you?". A little girl from the back of the room squared her shoulders and said boldly, "I am a Child of God." The spirit rushed in and I was over come. I was compelled to stop and bare testimony of this simple truth, and explain to the children the feelings they were having as well...for the entire primary was touched. I then had a red, yellow, and blue primary flag in my bag and had the children wave that as we sang it for a final time.

Later, in Sr. Primary as we were repeat singing the last line..."His Truth I will Proclaim" the thought came to my mind to remind them of Lehi's dream where he finally partakes of the fruit and is filled with the love of God. I asked them if they knew the first thing he desired to do. Again, a child said, "He wanted to share it." The spirit again flooded the room and filled our hearts to the brim. It was a powerful moment for all of us. So simple. So powerful. I then had them sing it again as they stood and moved down a chair for each "I" said in the song, which brought smiles to everyone's face and really was fun.

I have reflected this entire week on that experience. Heavenly Father wanted our Jr. Primary to know they were children of God, and he wanted to strengthen the Sr. primary in their resolve to share the Gospel in word and deed. I am so grateful that I had this experience because it has taught me truly to rely on the spirit in this calling. He has so much more to teach them than I ever could figure out on my own.

This week I am simply going to review the song with them using a game I've already posted before.. (not sure which one yet)....and work on a Mother's Day Song.

I hope you too can seek the Lord's help for inspiration for your primaries. He loves them and knows them and will help you teach them what they need to learn the most.

Your sister in the Gospel

-Melanie

Easter and the next few weeks....

2010-03-24T16:07:00.000-07:00

Our primary president will be doing a special presentation on Easter this coming Sunday. I am simply in charge of leading the children through some Easter Hymns. I am excited for what she has planned. I know our primary will feel the spirit and feel the Love their Savior has for them.

Consequently, I will not be posting new ideas for the next few weeks. Of course, next week is conference and the week after that we have our Stake conference.....which leaves only two weeks in April for I Belong to the Church of Jesus Christ. It's a great song that I'm looking forward to teaching, and I will be posting my ideas when that time gets closer.

Anyhow, have a great Easter and enjoy conference!

*thecrazychorister

Follow the Prophet Conclusion--Nephi and Thomas S. Monson

2010-03-14T12:56:00.001-07:00

Noah and Joseph were fantastic! Thanks so much to my last min subs...sickness has hit our ward big time.

So to finish this up, this coming week Nephi will come. He is going to bring the "sword of Laban" with him. I'll have his verse line by line on the board, and he'll help the children point to the right line with his sword one at a time.

Then...Our Bishop's last name is Monson. I've asked him to come out of the time machine and tell the children that Pres. Monson is really busy getting everything ready for conference. Then our Bishop will tell the children some fun facts about Pres. Monson, and give his testimony of listening to the living prophet, and we'll learn his verse. Then, We'll sing the verses that we've learned to the bishop. He's requested that we play a game we used a few years back called "cut the bishop's tie"....I think you can find it if you go to Sept 2008 on the side bar....anyhow, for each verse the children get right, we'll cut a part of his tie off (old ties I bring.)

Wow, this month flew by! April is going to be really quick too....we have general conference and then we have our Stake Conference...which leaves only two weeks for April's song. I'll try and post my introduction for April soon.

Have a great day!

-thecrazychorister

Follow the Prophet continued---Noah & Joseph Smith

2010-03-08T08:07:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! I am very happy to report that the Time Machine worked... Adam and Eve came to our Primary room and it was a total success. Thank you so much Brother and Sister Fuller!

So, this coming week I've decided to have Noah and Joseph Smith come through our time machine. I've asked an older couple in the ward to play the part of Noah and "Mrs." Noah. I've asked one of our teachers to play the part of Young Joseph Smith.

Prep:

4 picture prompts (one for each line) that Noah can bring with him (these could be mounted on animal cut outs, raindrops, pieces of the ark....etc)

4 picture prompts that Joseph Smith can bring with him (could be mounted on golden plates)

Bring your time machine stuff back.

Presentation:

Tell the children that the time machine is back. Set the dial (or whatever your way of doing this is)..have the children power up the time machine by singing the chorus to follow the prophet. Have Noah and wife come out. Have him tell a bit about himself and their situation (I'm having him come to our primary right after they got off the ark on dry land so he can tell the whole story) With your picture prompts...help the children learn the verse. Wave goodbye to Noah and wife.

Set the dial to Latter-Days...Have Joseph Smith come out. Have him give in his own words the account of the first vision. With the picture prompts that he has brought help the children learn the verse. Than Joseph and send him back through the time machine.

I'm so excited for Sunday! It's been great to hear how you have made your time machines and how it has worked for you. Thanks for all you kind words. Have a wonderful week.

*thecrazychorister

Introdution Sunday--Follow the Prophet

2010-03-01T09:26:00.000-08:00

Are ya ready to tackle this one? I hope you are, it's going to be so much fun.

I'm changing my monthly method a bit this month. This song is big, and repeat week and program week will be incorporated into the activities I'm going to do...but it won't be the main focus this month. All four weeks will actually be somewhat of introduction weeks....but we'll get the job done. Two weeks ago, I already handed out a different verse to each primary class (most of the Jr. primary classes are paired with a Sr. Class so it will work for the program)...so they've been looking over what their verse says already.

I read a primusic group email that suggested the main idea of the time machine. I'm sorry I don't remember who exactly was so brilliant as to come up with this, but thanks a million. My crazy mind took hold and added too it a bit...

So here's week #1 of "Follow The Prophet" ADAM WAS A PROPHET

Prep:

1 Time machine (Okay, I've thought a lot about the best way to go about it. For me, the best way to make a time machine will be to decorate the inside of the primary room door to look like the door of a time machine. You can do this anyway you want, and I really haven't got that far yet...so who knows what it will end up looking like. Just make sure it has a little mock dial that can be turned to "Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon/Pearl of Great Price, Latter Days". The reason I choose to do it on the Primary door was I didn't want anyone to have to sit in a box and wait until I was ready for them to come out...this way, they can just wait for me to say loudly out side the door...."Let's see who comes out of our time machine.")

1 wonderful husband and wife team that will play the part of Adam and Eve. Have them dress up in simple clothing....animal skins ...etc. Post Garden, obviously. Give them a little script as to what they need to say..have them memorize it and put it into their own words so it looks natural for them.

5 picture prompts ..one for each line...that have been mounted on apples (or whatever fruit you would like) cutouts to hang on the board. Have Eve bring these with her.

Draw a picture of a Tree on the board big enough for your apples to fit on.

Presentation:

Tell the children that today is an exciting day. We're going to have a visitor from the past, but before we can do that we need to learn the chorus of our new song. Teach the chorus any way you would like too.....most of the children know this by heart. This shouldn't take more than 2 min.

Go over to the "time machine" Set it to Old Testament times. Put your ear to the door and whisper..."I think its working....I'd better get back."

Have Adam open the door with his back to the children and say, "Over here Eve, I think I found some more firewood." Have him turn around and looked shocked to see the children....Have Eve show up looking at Adam (not noticing the children) and say, "Look Adam, I found some nice apples..." then have her notice his shocked look and look at the kids and have her look surprised.

At this point, invite them to come to the front. Have them introduce themselves (maybe even sing the "hello" song too them for kicks)...then have Adam tell a bit about them and about their lives. Have them be quick and to the point. It should only take two min tops...guide their story through questions. Have Eve show the children the apples, and have her tell them that she thinks this will help the children to remember who they are and what they did...

Have a child come and see if they can pick out the first line of the song. Have them put it on the tree. (For Jr. Primary, have Eve hand them the correct apple and have them put it on the tree.) Sing through the lines. Combine it with the chorus. Have the class that is going to sing this verse come to the front and lead the rest of the Primary in singing it.

Have Adam tell the children he was happy to meet them. Have him encourage them to do their best and keep reading the Scriptures and Following the Living Prophet. Have Adam and Eve wave goodbye and go back into the time machine.

This should take up your time. If not, you can then quickly teach them the Enoch verse.

Next week---Noah. Make sure and keep your time machine stuff, we'll be using it all month.

**thecrazychorister

Test Sunday-- Odd Ball Out

2010-02-26T09:56:00.000-08:00

Okay, So my kids know this month's song really, really well...and I know they will pass it off first time through, so I'm going to quickly have them pass off their song by singing it through "program perfect" (standing, all eyes following me, no picture prompts, smiling, singing out, following chorister dynamics). Then we'll move on to the fun stuff. I realized last week after singing the "Hello" song for the 20 billionth time (a different way to keep in interesting) that there are so many great songs to sing that they don't know and that I never have time to teach them...as well as birthday songs...so this week seemed like a perfect opportunity to fill our song buckets.

Prep:

4 different shaped balls with a small tag on it with song title and pg # (tennis ball, baseball, football, wacky ball...whatever you have available)

1 Large, empty bucket with a sign that says "Song Bucket" (25 gallon preferred)

Pick 4 songs out of the children's Hymn book in the "welcome" and/or "birthday" section that your primary has never sung.

Presentation:

Have the children pass off the monthly song. Tell them they did so well learning the song this month, that we get to move on to other great songs. Bring out the bucket and place it at the head of the room. Bring out your bag (or basket or whatever) of odd balls. Tell them that there are some songs that we sing over and over again because we just haven't had time to learn other songs. Sometimes new songs sound odd to us because we've never heard them, and we tend to stick with things we know becasue they are more comforatable. Tell them that today, were going to take some of these "odd balls" (songs we've never heard) and put them into our song bucket (our rapporteur) so we can use them in opening exercises.

Have a child come forward and pick one of the balls. Give the tag to the pianist. Have her play the melody of the song once through. Sing the words line by line to the children, having them repeat the line back to you after each one. Sing the song all the way through with them. Ask the children if they think they have it. Have the children sing through the song, and have the child with the ball try to make the ball into the bucket before the end of the song.

Don't bother with picture prompts. These songs are fast and simple and can be easily learned just by singing the line and having them sing it back too you. If you choose a song that is longer, you could use picture prompts to help...or any other technique that you have found is most effective with your kids.

Have a great day!

*thecrazychorister

Don't under Estimate yourself....

2010-02-20T07:19:00.000-08:00

Before you scroll down and read this weeks idea, I need to to suggest something.

I am so grateful for the Internet and the opportunity we all have to benefit from each other and to have so much fun in our callings. When I started this blog, I had no idea there were so many out there that had the same need for ideas for a primary chorister as I had. I was simply trying to find a way to record what I had done for some future date if I ever have this calling again. I am so happy if I've helped you in even the smallest way.

My hope for this blog is not to be the end all say all to what you do in your calling. I don't post many pictures because I really would hope that you take these ideas as simply suggestions that can be improved upon, changed, and adapted to fit your situation. I would hope that I'm not the "Saturday panic" blog...your primary deserves more. Although, we all have those weeks...me included. I really believe that each of us was set apart in our own wards for a reason. We can be inspired for what our specific primary children need. Some of the ideas I post simply will not work for you.... at times, some of them haven't worked for me either.

I encourage you will all my heart to pray and ask for guidance in your calling. Rely on Him who inspired your calling to this position. He knows how they learn, how they feel, and how best they will take these precious songs into their hearts. Never under estimate your own abilities to bless their lives or to receive inspiration from Heavenly Father. He called You because You had what they need right now.

I hope your day is wonderful. Thank you for inspiring me to be better.

-Melanie

Program Review Week--You've Got Mail!

2010-02-18T14:19:00.000-08:00

Boy, I'm very late with the post this week. To much to do. Anyhow, This activity with help review Jan and Feb program song as well as get the machine going to tackle the up and coming "Follow the Prophet" song for March. Many of you are feeling worried about teaching this song. I hope this gives you some ideas you can use.

Prep:

1 Mail Box. You can make your own, use a real one, or perhaps you picked up the mail box that I suggested in the last post.....anyone will work just fine.

2 Envelopes per primary class..make them look as real as possible. Address them to specific classes (1 envelope will contain the review of the program songs or some other song that go with the message for the month, the other envelope will contain that Classes "Piece of the Puzzle" for March's song, and will be handed out at the very end....so keep them separate.

1 song picture to go in each envelop (Use your Jan and Feb song for two of the songs and then pick out a few other songs that match the monthly message. It would be easy if you just went to the Jolly Jenn site (on the side bar) and printed up one page to the song of your choice...it has pictures and words...and then they can guess what it is.)

1 very wonderful person who is willing to play the part of the mail carrier. It would be wonderful if they could carry a satchel, wear a hat, and really act the part.

Before Primary, set the mail box up at the front of the room. Give the letters to your carrier and make sure they know what order you want them delivered in. Have them totally out of site.

Presentation:

Tell the children that you wanted to start out with a wiggle song. Choose a favorite song or have a child pick their favorite wiggle song. At the very end of the song, have your carrier march very happily to the front of the room. Greet the Mail Man by saying, "Why hello, Brother/Sister so in so...how are you today?" Have them respond, "I'm doing great. Primary songs always make me feel happy. I just had some mail to deliver. " Have them put it in the mail box and then say, "See you later, Jr Primary (or Sr. Primary)" and then they should walk out of the room. Ask the kids if we should see who the mail is for....Call up a child to open the mail box and then read who it is addressed too...it should be something like:

Sister Smith's CTR 5 Class

Jr. Primary

(Ward and Stake)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Have the child hand it to that classes Teacher. Have them pull out the picture and guess what song that words and picture go too. Then sing the song. After the song, have your carrier come back in with another letter...go through the same process. At the very end, after each class has received a letter, have the carrier come back in for a final delivery. Have Him put an envelop for each class into the mail box. Have a child from each class come to get theirs. Have them open it. It will have a prophets name on it, as well as the words for the "Follow the Prophet" song for each child to take home with them. Each class will have a different prophet. Explain that next month we will be learning this song. Encourage them to learn the song as a class in the next two weeks and to practice their verse at home.

*******

The idea here will then help tackle the enormity of the song. Each class will either sing their verse or help teach that verse in the process and all the children will sing the chorus. Two weeks is a great amount of time for them to at least be familiar with the words. Encourage the teachers to take a little time to review the words with the kids.

I will be picking specific prophets to "highlight" along the way for specific activities in march (I am so excited about the first one) to learn the song and the reasons why we love these men so much.

Have a great week.

*thecrazychorister

Good Things To Come....

2010-02-11T08:56:00.001-08:00

If you're looking for the repeat idea for this coming Sunday, keep going...it's just below this post. I just wanted to give you a heads up so perhaps you could go and find what I just got and I am totally thrilled about.

I've been planning an idea to do in the near future called "You've Got Mail", but I hadn't figuared out how to create my mail box. Yesterday, I was buying Valentine Cards for my kids at Walmart (the only store we have around this area), and I saw this on the shelf. It's perfect...and it was only $3.00. It even lights up when you open the door (totally my style). So, just in case you're interested, go see if your local Walmart is carrying these and grab one. They are in the Valentines section. They might even go on sale the Monday after Valentines and be even more affordable. Most of them have Spiderman or Tinkerbell on them, but there was this great design too that was so perfect for Primary and the theme of the activity I'll be doing. I'll be posting the idea soon.

Have fun!

-thecrazychorister

Repeat Week--Sing Your Heart Out!

2010-02-08T16:20:00.000-08:00

I love the theme for this week in our Outline, "Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, all mankind may be saved" and I love the theme for February, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Can you not think of a Greater expression of Love? And, since this coming week is Valentines, I thought it would be wonderful to associate this holiday with the Love our Father has for each of us...and also the love we have for our Primary kids.

Prep:

Picture Prompts (I highly recommend printing these from the Primary Singing Ideas Blog link I have on the side bar...She's a Genius Flip Chart creator and I Love, Love, Love her charts.) After printing them, mount them to some heavy paper and cut them out into heart shapes.

10 Red, white, and/or Pink Valentine hearts that have different ways to sing the song. (I'm going to try and put a list together of my favorites that work best for our primary...especially for more reverent songs such as this one.)

****Not to do with the review, but if would like*****
1 paper or foam heart cut out for each primary child that has the following saying on it, "Thanks for Singing Your Heart Out Each Week." Love, " . I will attach 1 Hershey Hug to each Heart.

Before Primary: Put The Picture Prompts in Order on the Chalk board or the front of the room with the words facing out. Put the Little Hearts with the ways to sing the song on the board below them turned around so they cannot see what is written.

Presentation:

Begin by bearing your testimony of the Love the Savior and Heavenly Father has for each of them. Tell them that Valentines is a holiday to express our love for others in special ways, and that the biggest and most special way love was ever shown to anyone was the giving of God's only begotten Son to save the world. Tell them it is a precious gift that we have the choice of accepting or rejecting, and it was given to all the world

Point to the song on the board. Tell them for Repeat Week we're going to play a game called "Sing Your Heart Out." Call two children to the front. Designate one child to go out in the hallway for a moment with another leader. Have the other child choose one of the picture prompt hearts to take out of the song. Have the other child come back into the room. Have them try and say the line of the song that was removed (encourage them to get help from teachers and other children if they looked worried or scared). Once they have guessed correctly, have them choose one of the smaller hearts. Have all of the children sing the line that was taken out...(hence, sing your heart out) in the way the song suggests. Repeat the process, but each time a heart is removed...have the children sing all the lines of the hearts that were removed...eventually you will end up singing the entire song and they should have it memorized. Don't worry too much if time runs out before you get to the end, but really it should work time wise if you go quickly.

At the end, again emphasize that Father and Jesus Christ showed love for us. Encourage them to in turn show love to others by doing something extra specially kind for someone today. Give them the hearts you made. (If you choose to do this, I would suggest giving it to their teachers to pass out after church is done so you don't have any distractions for sharing time or class.)

Happy Valentines!

**the crazy chorister

Introduction Week--He Sent His Son--"Door #1 OR Door #2"

2010-01-31T21:02:00.000-08:00

Crazy to think we're on to a new month already. I am excited to review this song with our primary. I am sure the entire Sr. Primary knows it by heart already, and so most of the work will go on in Jr. Primary....but, we're going to have fun learning the deeper meaning to the song this month for everyone, and of course have fun doing it.

Prep:

2 Heavy poster boards. ( First, Cut a door in each poster board making sure to leave one side attached so it can open and close like a door. Use Glitter Glue to write a #1 on one board and a #2 on the second board. Second, fancy the boards up any way you wish to make them bright and eye catching. Third, attach magnets or heavy tape to the back of the boards so they can be hung on the chalk board or wall.

6 3X5 cards that have the following questions written out (one question per card)

How could the Father Tell the World of Love and Tenderness?
How could the Father Show the World the Pathway we should go?
How could the Father Tell the World of Sacrifice, of Death?
What Does the Father ask of Us?
What do the Scriptures Say?
What Does He (the Father) Ask?

6 Pictures that coordinate (there are a lot) with the following phrases. (attach each phrase to the picture it goes with. Make sure the pictures and phrases can fit easily behind your doors)

He sent His Son a new born babe, with peace and holiness
He sent His Son to Walk with man, on Earth that we may know
He sent His Son to die for us, and rise with living breath
Have Faith Have Hope, live like His Son.
Help Others on Their way
Live Like His Son

6 Pictures that Coordinate with the following phrases...or create your own phrases and find pictures that go with them .

He Gave us All Ice Cream and Cake
He sent His Son to do all our chores for us so we could go play outside
He Sent His Son to die for us, but that was the end
Complain a lot to other people when things are not going your way
Only help others when there's something in it for you
Eat All your vegetables

Picture Prompts if needed

Presentation:

Before Primary Begins, set up your doors at the front of the room. Place the first two picture phrases behind each door. Tell the children that we get to find out what our monthly song is today. To help us discover it we're going to play a game called "What's behind door #1....or door #2". Call a child to the front. Sing the first line of the song to the child..."How could the Father Tell the World of Love and Tenderness?" Then ask the child if S/he thinks the answer is behind door 1 or 2. Open the door they choose. Ask the child if they think that is the correct answer. If it is...have the entire primary sing the question and the answer. If it is not, let the child have the option of seeing what's behind the other door. If the child says that they think the silly phrase is the right answer, humor them by trying to put that to the music....and then explain that not only does it not fit the music, but it doesn't fit Heavenly Father's plan either and quickly talk about the significance of the line your singing...and open the other door for them.

As the child is sitting down, quickly replace what is behind each door (or have an adult helper do this for you while you are singing the song) and go onto the next question.

Continue this until you have gone through the whole song. Asking questions and then answering them. If you have time at the end, sing the song once or twice all the way through. Make sure and bear Testimony that the Plan of Salvation was laid out before we came to Earth, and that if we understand and accept our Savior's Love we can come back to Father in Heaven.

**thecrazychorister

5th Sunday-Test Week "Singing Golf"

2010-01-27T08:27:00.000-08:00

First, thank you to everyone who has left kind comments. It's been so wonderful knowing that so many of you are being helped and loving your callings. I am so grateful for the Internet and the many resources we have that assist us to teach these children in ways they learn the best.

Second, I just wanted to clear up something for everyone. Early last year, I posted my "monthly method" for teaching on the side of my blog. It was something I felt was inspired for my calling and was very helpful for me to be organized. I just wanted to make sure everyone knows that this is NOT an Official, Church Directed way to teach. This is not in the primary guide or the handbook. If it works for you, or part of it works for you, great. If not, you in no way have to use it. There are countless methods you can use, and I encourage you to pray and find what will help your primary the best.

With that said, let's move on. I realized I am doing "Test" week out of order, but I wanted a bit more time for this activity. An idea sparked in my brain from an idea suggested for a sharing time on Sugardoodle by Lisa Christiansen. I've adapted it to work for singing time. This can easily be used for your traditional 20 min or you can expand it to the entire time if you have that assignment.

PREP:

A small bucket or container

7 or more cut out pictures of Golf Balls (depending on how much time you have)

9 pieces of green paper (construction or card stock) Tape them together to form a "Green". On Each Paper have a different way to sing the song it...(Staccato, Stop/Go, Boy/Girl, Teach stands on one foot. etc)

1 Black circle paper to represent the hole...Have the words...."Teacher Challenge" written on the hole

A yard stick or something else long enough they can hit the ball with. You might even have an actual child size putter...that would be great.

1 part of the Program song written on a small piece of paper with a question and taped to each golf ball. (EX. "Wrapped in the Arms of His Gentle Love" Which verse of the song is this line in? 1st or 2nd?)

Some Lego's, or books, or something that you can put around the "Green" to contain the ball when it is putted. (I hope that makes sense...but think of it like a mini-golf course only with just this one hole. )

Presentation:

Set up the "Green" before primary begins. Tell the kids that we're going to test on our program song today. Show them the bucket with the golf balls in it (or the pictures of golf balls in the bucket). Explain that just like golf balls have holes and dents in them that help them go farther, we too, through life, will have to go through some things that will give us some dents and holes. Heavenly Father loves us so much that he gave us a perfect path to follow through the example of his son, Jesus Christ, and the things we go through can help us be stronger and go farther.

Have a child come and pick a ball. Read or have them read what the line of the song is. Have them answer the question. If they cannot, they can get help from others. When the answer has been answered correctly, have the child putt the ball. If the ball lands on the green, sing the song as suggested on the green paper the ball rests on. If they get it in the "hole" or it comes to rest on the black then the children get to choose a way for the teachers to sing the song. This can be really fun for the kids and teachers so be creative in suggestions. You might want to have a separate bucket with teacher suggestions in it the kids can choose from. Continue this process until all your golf balls are gone from the bucket.

Have them sing the entire song. Then, bare your testimony of its truthfulness.

*thecrazychorister

Concept Review--"It's For You!"

2010-01-19T13:44:00.000-08:00

I wanted to help review the concept for week four in our outline "Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ Love Me" by doing an activity with the kids that helps them understand this and helps them know that singing beautiful music is singing praise and showing our Heavenly Father and Savior that we love them too and want to be near to them.

I adapted this idea from an idea posted on the Sugar Doodle web site a few years ago.

Prep:

1 Cell phone that can play a primary song ring tone

An assistant that will stand in the hallway and call your phone at specific times. Provide them with a script that they can follow.

Presentaion:

Begin by baring your testimony that you know Heavenly Father loves you and loves them. Tell them that you are grateful for prayer so you can feel your Heavenly Father's love when you talk to Him. Tell them that you're grateful for music so you can sing praises to Him. Tell them that today you would like to talk about some ways they can better feel the love their Father and Savior has for them.

At this point, have your assistant ring your cell phone. Look surprised and maybe even a bit flustered. Dig in your bag and pull it out before it stops ringing. Answer the phone. Have your assistant ask to speak with one of the Primary kids. Hand the phone to the child and say, "It's for You!". Have your assistant tell the child how much they love to hear the primary sing and have your assistant ask the child to ask you if they could sing...."I Feel My Savior's Love". When the child asks you, be really excited and say yes. Have the assistant say thank you and goodbye. Get your phone back from the child. Have the primary sing the song.

Ask the children what that songs says about how we can better feel our savior's love. Write some of their answers on the board. During this...have your assistant call your phone again and ask for a different child. They'll ask the child to ask you if the primary can now sing...."My Heavenly Father Loves Me"....

Continue this process with two or three more songs....always talking about the meaning afterwards. Have the assistant always compliment the child who is talking on the phone and praising them for their singing efforts.

Have the phone ring one more time. Answer it. Put it on speaker phone. Have the assistant thank the primary for their beautiful music and tell them how it made them feel inside...that their music made them feel loved. Have them say goodbye and have the kids say goodbye.

Finish by telling the kids that much like talking on the phone, we can communicate with our Heavenly Father through prayer and song and feel His love in return.

Pizza Instructions....

2010-01-17T21:20:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,

I can't keep up with the requests for the Pizza instructions so I'd thought I'd make it easy on myself and just direct you to this YouTube video that has complete steps on how to make this cute pizza. I modified it a bit making it 8 slices instead of four, and made a whole lot more toppings using the same method (bacon, pineapple, anchovies, olives, tomatoes, extra cheese, sauce..etc). I made my own pattern using her specifications and I was trying to include that here, but my scanner is not working right now. I'm sure you really don't need the patterns anyhow...we all have mixing bowls at home that are the right diameters anyway...right?

This year, they get the crust for free and they earn their toppings week by week. I give the Sr. primary a "Challenge" each week to learn a certain part of the song. When they come back the next week, the first thing I do is have them pass off their weekly challenge and earn their topping for that slice of pizza.

So, just go to here. If you need more help, leave a comment here and I'll try and help you. Thanks for all the nice comments and requests.

Also, some of you wanted to do the Ice Cream Idea from last year. That is listed in 2009 Jan under Motivators for the year. They earned a scoop for every song learned "program perfect". I only had one Ice Cream chart for both Jr. and Sr. When we got through earning all the scoops...I let them earn some bonus toppings. It was so great when the party day came. It was a great highlight to the year. Also, some of you wonder if that would be tough on the budget.... i think it cost a total of $23.00 for out large 112 kid primary. And, everyone had at least two large helpings. So, I think it will work out for you. But, remember to get permission from the Pres. before putting any of this forward to the kids.

Have a great week. If you have all of 5th Sunday coming up in a few weeks-I've got you covered so hang in there.

*thecrazychorister

Program Review Week--Primary Cranium

2010-01-12T08:59:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone! This coming Sunday is Program Review Sunday. Obviously we don't have much by way of Programs songs to review yet, so...I thought this would be a great Sunday to combine efforts with your presidency member.

If you go to page 3 in our "Outline for Sharing Time" it gives a lot of fun suggestions to review concepts for weeks 3 and 4. I read this and it totally reminded me of a game my family loves to play. Cranium. If you have never played this game, that's okay. I suggest looking up the game on the web and just reading about it to get the general idea. My version is simple.

So, here's how I modified it to fit for Primary and the suggested Sharing Time in our outline.

PREP:

1. Talk to your sharing time presidency member and get them on board with you.

2. On Four pieces of paper, write four different categories. Mine will be ....
"Notable Notes" (guessing the song and then singing it),
"Back to the Drawing Board" (drawing a concept and others guess what it is...if it is a song sing it)
"Who Am I" ( giving clues to a person or concept in the Scriptures we recently studied...if it corresponds to a song sing it)
"Up, Down, All Around" (a few different things to get the kids up and moving to some music while reviewing a concept)

3. 4 Slips of paper for each category that give the suggested activity or song. Please feel free to come up with your own...here are just what I've decided to Use.

"Notable Notes"
1. My Heavenly Father Loves Me
2. I Feel My Savior's Love
3. I Know that My Savior Loves Me
4. I Am A Child of God

"Back to the Drawing Board" You could use Play dough for the older kids instead of having them draw.

(For Jr. Primary, have the child pick the category and you Draw the picture and have them guess it. For Sr. Have the child try their hand at drawing and help if they need you.)
1. Draw a Picture of one way Heavenly Father Loves You (have the child suggest this too you)
2. Draw a Picture of Your Family (Families can be together Forever)
3. Draw a Picture of the Temple (I love to see the Temple)
4. Draw a Picture of the Scriptures (Scripture Power)

"Who Am I"

1. John the Baptist. (Have written clues about him such as..."I was a prophet. I was the Cousin of Jesus Christ. I Baptised Jesus." Make them easier for Jr. and harder for Sr.) ....song could be BAPTISM

2. Joseph Smith

3. A Child in the America's who saw Jesus

4. A Primary Child, today, who loves Jesus Christ

"Up, Down, All Around"

1. Play hot potato with a bean bag. Have the children pass it around the room while singing a song. When the music stops, have the child holding the bean bag say the next word or line in the song.

2. Sing the Child's favorite wiggle song double time

3. Have the Children face the primary doors. Open them and have them sing a song. When someone passes the primary doors, have the children wave and smile to see if they can get someone to wave and smile back.

4. Have a child hide your bean bag, and have another child find the bean bag as the children sing softer and softer as they get closer to finding it.

Before Primary, Have the Categories up on the Chalk Board and a small bag of slips under each category that they can choose from.

Presentation:

Explain to the children that we get to play a fun game that will help us review all the wonderful things we've been learning so far this month. Explain the categories. Pick a child to come and choose a category. Have them choose a slip from that Category and then complete the challenge.

Make sure, if you are doing this activity to tag team with the presidency member. You can do the singing stuff and they can do the non singing stuff.

This activity should take all 40 min. Have fun with it, and make it your own.

*thecrazychorister

Repeat Week--Pick a Primary Pocket

2010-01-06T15:39:00.000-08:00

Since our song is new, it is really important to repeat it this week to help cement the words. Here's the repeat week idea for January.

Prep and Presentation:

1 Large Apron with 7-10 large pockets (you could use a T-shirt, or even make a large poster board with different pockets on it if you don't want to wear it. Anything that you can attach some pockets too.) Put this on when your time to teach is here.

7-10 objects that will represent different ways to sing the song

Small Slinky: When the child pulls it out (louder but not too loud). When it is pushed together we go soft.

Small Stuffed animal monkey: Sing the song in Oohs and Aahs (this helps them memorize the beat and melody of the music without the distraction of words.)

An Apple: Have the teachers sing the verse and then the children sing the chorus. Have the child who picked the apple give it to their teacher.

Small Toy Hammer: Have them "hammer" the beat with their fists on their palms (not hard) and do this while singing Staccato.

Paper Streamer: Have the child lead the music by waving the streamer to the time of the music

A Wiggle Worm (you can find these at the dollar store) : Use this for a surprise wiggle worm song of the child's choice

A pocket full of Letters: Have the child pick a letter. Skip whatever words in the song start with that letter.

Flashlight: Spot light a random child or teacher some time during the song. Ask them to say the next word or phrase.

Note that says, trade places: You sit down where the child was sitting and have them conduct the song.

A Large Coin: Heads boys sing, Tails girls sing (have the child who came up flip it)

There are many many more ideas you could use, so be creative and have fun with it. Some of you have asked in the past if I have them sing the entire song all the way through each time. The answer is no. I usually mix it up and try to notice right off where they are struggling. I go back and forth between first and second verse, chorus, etc. It never gets boring because it never stays the same. I tell them before we start that our goal is to be able to sing the song at the end in its entirety without the picture prompts. Jr still usually needs a bit of time, but Sr. has always gotten it. The important thing to remember is if you are having fun, they will. So don't make yourself board with it, just be spontaneous.

Have a great week.

*Orginal idea by my primary teacher when I was in primary
**Idea Adapted by thecrazychorister

Motivation for the Year and Helper Pics for January

2010-01-04T12:27:00.000-08:00

I usually do a Motivator for the year. Last year we built an ice cream "Sunday" one scoop at a time for each song we learned. When the children knew the song "Program Perfect" they earned their scoop and then we celebrated the Saturday before our Program with a big Ice Cream Sundae party. They were so excited about it all year long.

This year, we're going to build our Pizza. They get a slice each song Introduction Sunday, and then they get to add toppings as they make that song "Program Perfect" Then, the Saturday before our program in October...we'll have a Primary Pizza Party. If you like this idea, you can easily make a chart out of poster board. I recently got hooked on making felt food for my kiddos and so I'm going to make a pizza out of felt that we can use. It will be an eight slice pizza instead of a four slice pizza and more toppings too, but here's a picture to get the idea. I made a whole bunch of felt food for a Christmas gift for my kids and it was way easy and way fun. If you want me to send the pattern I made and the instructions on how to make this, leave your email in the comment box and I'll figure out how to get that too you.

Anyhow.... I also decided to solve my "picking helper" problem. I'm tired of the sticks...It was annoying and I had several children come to me saying that they hadn't been picked in forever and just knew their name wasn't in there. So, some brilliant person on the primusic website suggested a great idea to do something fun to pick the names and the child could keep it afterward. That helped me to think outside of the box for a min, and I ended up back in the box...the crayon box. Here's what my crazy brain came up with.

I'm going to buy 1 box of 64 crayons for Sr. and one for Jr. I'm going to print out some small labels that have the different children's names on them. It will say, "Thanks for being a great helper in music today. Child's Name." I'll bring my box of crayons with me and call it my "Primary Colors". Then, I'll choose a color (choose a child) and they get to keep their crayon. I'll make sure and have some extras so I can add newbies last min and also visitor crayons to include those who visit our primary.

When the boxes are empty, I'll post my next idea for choosing children here.

I'll be posting my Repeat Week game mid-week so stay tuned.

*Thecrazychorister

"It's Saturday Night and I need a Fast Idea" #1

2010-01-02T18:10:00.001-08:00

Okay folks...I decided to add a new posting on Saturday Nights. I can't promise it will be every Saturday night, but hopefully it will help some of you who've had the kind of week I've had and just need a quick alternative to the idea right below this one.

So you basically present the idea just below this post for "I Know My Savior Loves Me" but you eliminate making the story book. Just tell the children the story while they are gathered 'round you. I would suggest going to the "Primary Singing Ideas" blog that is in my blog list on the side and print a copy of the flip chart for the song (It's a great flip chart). Then teach them the song using the flip chart in the same way and conclude the same way. I believe this will have close to if not the same impact as the idea below and it takes little no prep.

If you want the half-way-between idea..go to the library before primary and get a picture of Christ appearing in the America's and display this picture while you tell the story. Make sure you're not taking more than about 2 min to tell the story. You want the most time for the song.

Some have asked if I made my book with both first and second verses...the answer is, "Yes". I don't know how much time I'll have, but I came prepared to introduce the second verse if there is time.

Introduction Week--I Know that My Savior Loves Me

2009-12-30T08:24:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to our brand new year. Hard to believe we're starting over again on a new program, hu? I did do a few games over the Christmas Season with my primary, but I absolutely had no time at all to post. So, If anyone wants to know...perhaps I'll post it for future reference.

Keep in mind a couple of things before you launch into this Sunday...Remember that for most of us, children will change classes this Sunday. This in and of itself will deplete the time you have to present just because of the mild confusion and such. Also keep in mind that this is a brand new song and your goal will be to have the children familiar with the melody and rhythm. Don't worry so much if you don't get past the first verse. Anyhow, here's how I'm going to introduce our beautiful new song, I Know that My Savior Loves Me.

Preparation:

1. 12 page (homemade) story book telling the story of Jesus appearing to the children in the America's. Only have it be a Picture book for the first six pages. You can fill in the story for them. On the last six pages, show the same pictures with the lines of the song below each corresponding picture. Such as, the first picture would be of a beautiful landscape and the words below would read...."A long time ago in a beautiful place children were gathered round Jesus" etc. (Each of the pages of my book will be on half a poster board and then bound together with rings. I want it to be able to be easily seen by all the children. You can make it whatever size you wish)

Arrange the primary room by putting all teacher chairs in a semi circle. Put some blankets on the ground and have a child's size chair that you can sit in. Do not have your backs to anyone...make sure everyone is in front of you. (Check with your presidency member that will be doing sharing time to make sure they feel comfortable with this set up for their part.)

If you would like, bring a few articles of clothing you can easily put on before primary that would suggest you are from Book of Mormon times.

Presentation:

Invite the children to sit in a semi circle around your chair. Have the pianist play the melody of the song as they arrange themselves. Begin by asking the children how they would feel if I told them that the Savior Himself would walk through our Primary doors today to be with them. Let a few of the children answer this question.

Tell them that a long time ago, children just like themselves had that experience. Bring out your story book. Tell them the story of Jesus visiting the children in the Americas (You need not give every single detail...in fact, be brief and tell main points to the story . )

Tell them that for our new year and theme we also have a new song. Point to the title of your book(it should be the title of the song). Flip to the first picture that describes the first line of the song. Have the pianist play it. Have the children say and sing the line with you. Move on to the next. etc. Come back and review. When you get to the chorus, tell the children that we are going to stand and sing those lines. Help them to see that this part of the song is where they get to sing their testimony (which is very powerful).

Close by baring your testimony on how much you know the Savior loves little children, that He knows them personally, that He hears and answers their prayers.

PS... I just found an incredible flip chart that you could use for this song on Primary Singing Time Ideas..those gals are amazing! (the link is to the right of this post.)

**Thecrazychorister

Hear what they say to you....

2009-12-03T13:35:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! This activity is meant to help bring in the Christmas season by reminding all our precious primary children that their Savior lives and loves them, and that Christmas is just as alive today as it was over 2000 years ago....we just have to open our ears and hearts to hear its message.

Preparation:

(Please do not feel like you need to buy things for these costumes...just use what you have at home...it doesn't have to be "authentic" looking)

1 Samuel the Laminate outfit
1 Card board box painted to look like a wall
1 Joseph outfit with a block of wood and a fake wood workers tool (out of cardboard)
1 Mary outfit and a rocking chair
3 Shepherd outfits (bathrobes and a head band) with staffs
3 Angle outfits (Simply some scarves will do)
1 large star
A set of bells

Place all of the outfits around the primary room with numbers above the spot (#1-#5) Have 1 bell at each spot. Sing Christmas Bells (pg 54). Ring a bell at the beginning and end of every sentence of the song while the children are singing. Ask the children what the Christmas bell said to them in the song. Tell them that the Christmas bell is going to help us learn a little more about the Christmas story. Tell them that when they hear your bell, they should be as reverent as possible so you can pick someone to help you.

1. Ring the bell. Choose a reverent boy to go to spot #1. Help him quickly dress like Samuel. Have him stand on the "wall". Ask the children if they know why Samuel the Laminite is a part of the Christmas story. Sing "Samuel foretells of Baby Jesus" pg. 36 Have the child bring the bell to the front of the room. Have him ring the bell so the children get reverent. Have him place the bell next to your bell and sit down.

2. Pick another boy to to find spot #2. Help him dress as Joseph and have him hold his wood and tool so everyone can see. Tell them that Joseph provided for his family by creating beautiful and useful things out of wood. Tell them there is a song about Joseph's role as the provider and protector of the Christ Child. Sing "When Joseph Went to Bethlehem" pg 38 Have him ring his bell and place it next to the other bells.

3. Pick a Girl to find #3. Help her dress as Mary. Tell them of the love Mary had for Jesus. Sing "Once within a lowly stable" pg. 41 vs 1. Have her ring her bell and place it next to the others.

4. Choose 3 children (boys or girls) to be shepherds. As they get dressed, tell of how blessed they were to hear from angles of the Christ Child's birth. Sing "There was Starlight on the Hillside" pg 40 second vs only. Have one of them ring their bell

5. Choose 3 children (boys or girls) to be angels. As they get dressed, tell how amazing a choir of Heavenly Hosts must a have been to behold. That the announcement of the royal birth came with music and Heavenly praise. Have one child hold the star. Sing "Stars were Gleaming" vs 1.
Have one child ring their bell and place it with the others.

Have 5 children come to the front (five who haven't yet participated). Sing "Christmas Bells" again, but this time have all five bells join. After you have sung the song, explain that each part of the Christmas story is special and can fill our hearts with joy. Tell them that each time they hear a bell this season to think of the little babe in Bethlehem who was born so they might have eternal joy.

(If your primary, like my primary, is not familiar with all these songs...you might want to make a poster with the words on it so they can sing along the best they can. Don't worry if they don't know all the words....the spirit will teach the message anyway..and its a great way to introduce the music too them. You could also provide a copy of the songs to your teachers so they will sing with you and help the children.)

*the crazy chorister

Monkey See Monkey Do

2009-11-11T08:26:00.000-08:00

This activity will actually be for the 3rd week of November. I've been relieved of duties for this coming week because of a special activity the presidency is doing with the kids. The theme for week 3 is "I can be a good example to my family".

Preparation:

7 monkey faces that have a song listed with a different way to sing the song on the back of the faces. You should hang these (or mildly hide them) around the primary room.

On the chalk board write the words: "I can be a good example in my home by..."

Presentation:

Sing the 4Th verse to "The Family is of God" to the children. Have them listen for the word that you leave out. Leave out the word "Example". After singing, ask them what word you left out. Have quick discussion of what the word "Example" means.

Explain that even when they are not aware of it, they are an example to others. Explain that the strongest example for good or bad will be felt in their own homes. Tell them, that for many of them, they are the example to their younger brothers and sisters. Younger siblings often learn by coping behavior. If they see older brother smile, they try smiling. If they hear someone say a bad word, they try and say the bad word. Explain that monkeys often mimic each others behavior..and that there is an old saying, "Monkey see, Monkey do". Little kids often want to be just like their older siblings and try and do everything they do regardless if it is right or wrong. So, If they show a good example they will be able to strengthen their families with their righteous example.

Tell the children that there are some monkeys hiding in our primary room today watching them. The monkeys have some ideas on how they can be good examples in their families. Pick a child to go and find a monkey. Sing and do the corresponding activity. Have the children pick a word from the song that describes what they could do in their homes to be a good example and write that word on the board.

I can be a good example to my family by...

1. (smile) If you chance to meet a frown (Have a child hold smile/frown sign)

2. (cleaning up messes) Do as I'm doing (Have a child pretend to be picking things up off the floor and have the primary mimic the behavior)

3. (Reverent attitude) Reverently, Quietly (Have a child hold quite/loud signs)

4. (Prayer) Love is Spoken Here (Have the girls sing/boys sing)

5. (Reading Scriptures) Scripture Power (Have the children sing this staccato)

6. (Obedience to parents) When my mother calls me (Have a child be the chorister)

7. (Following Jesus Christ as Our Example/Showing faith in Him) Baptism (Have the children sing this without music)

End by quickly reviewing the words the children came up with. Show them there are many ways they are examples to their families. Share your testimony on strengthening family and others by righteous examples.

Tag Team

2009-11-02T14:39:00.000-08:00

In our primary, we decided to take November and December to experiment with combining sharing and singing time as the new program guide for 2010 suggests. I am super excited about the possibilities. For those of you who already do this, I hope to be able to help you out more. For those of you who still will be separate I want to assure you that my monthly method will remain pretty much the same with a few tweaks here and there..and there will still be many ideas to help teach the program songs. I will not be including the sharing time portion (I just don't have time in my life for that). My hope is that the combining of sharing and singing time at least twice a month will help us unit in the lessons we are teaching and actually allow for singing more songs throughout the year than just the program songs.

We do plan on handing out Cds of all the program music to the children for a Christmas present. There will be an attached letter for the families. I know this will help us be able to learn the songs faster and we can focus on the message more then the technical aspects of learning the song.

Okay...enough chit chat...here's what's up for this week...

Theme: I am thankful for my families and I can serve them

Opening song: " Where Love is"

First time up (I plan on only taking 4-5 min)

Prep:

1 poster board with the words to the 4th verse of "A Family is of God" written out with 4 key words missing.

8 word strips (4 of them will be the correct words..others will be silly words.)

Your poster board could read:

I'll Love and ______ my Family, and be

A Good ______ to each Family member

And when I am a Mom or ______, so glad

I'll help my family ________....

Word choices would be: Serve, Example, Dad, Remember, Smile, Dance, Fish, jumprope.

Presentation:

Bring your poster board to the front of the room. Have your word strips visible on the board. Quickly have the children fill in the blanks with the correct words. Sing the song correctly. Express the gratitude you feel when your family works together to serve each other. (note: if a silly word is picked, you can have the kids sing that line to hear the silly word sung once...but then quickly move on..)

Second Time up (10 min)

Prep:

Learn how to do the simple signs to "Love one Another" on the church web site. http://www.lds.org/cm/display/0,17631,7231-1,00.html.

Presentation:

Display a picture of Jesus Christ. Have the pianist play the music once through while you sing to your primary kids. If that makes you uncomfortable to do it alone, invite the teachers to sing with you. Explain that their are lots of ways to sing and song, and for those who have a difficult time hearing or cannot hear...they sing with their hands. Proceed to teach the children the song in sign. Do not concern yourself if they are not perfect at it right away. Just use your entire 10 min to go through the signs as many times as possible.

Third Time up (5 min or remaining time)

Presentation:

Go through "Love one Another" another time to review what they learned. Have them stand up and combine the spoken words with the signs. Explain that service is the using your hands to help others. You show love for your family when you serve them, and just as they are singing a song with their hands....they can express love through service as well. Share your testimony that they will feel happy in their lives and more peace in their homes if they serve their families. Challenge the children to share "Love one Another" in sign language with their families.

I hope that made sense. When I am not up, the presidency member will have an introduction, a story, and then an activity to also teach this principle to the children. I am so excited to see how this goes.

An Amazing Program!

2009-10-25T15:52:00.000-07:00

Well, it's finished! We presented our program today for our ward, and my little primary kids sang their hearts out. I was so proud of them. I want each of them to know how much I love them. I am grateful to be a part of their lives, and that we have so much fun learning the gospel together. We received many kind compliments from ward members. Everyone seemed to comment on how well the children knew the music. I was happy the kids did so well.

So, on to the rest of the year and a start to a whole new theme. I will begin to post my ideas weekly beginning after next Sunday. We have Stake Conference, and I'm glad I have a week off to get back into the creative thinking mode. It's been a good two months since I've had to plan anything....so this will be a nice change.

Just to give you a heads up... With the approval of my Primary President, I have finally chosen the two songs we will sing for May and August. May's song will be "Choose the Right Way" from the Children's song book (pg 160). It included all of the main ideas of the monthly and weekly themes for that month, and I felt really great about it. August's song will be "I know that My Redeemer lives". Again, this Hymn speaks of the daily miracles that Jesus Christ, in His mercy, affords each one of us. I wanted the children to understand that miracles are in their lives everyday because of the Savior. In the program outline booklet it says to choose the songs from the Primary songbook. Due to this, I did ask for special permission to use this Hymn for August.

So, I look forward to having a great time the rest of the year in Primary, and I'll let you know how I plan on doing that in about a week or so.

Life Changing

2009-10-18T22:58:00.000-07:00

I felt I needed to share this with you all, please forgive the personal nature of this posting as it does not coincide directly with directing Primary Children.

Six months ago I came home from a long and frustrating day at church. I sat down in my favorite chair next to my bookshelf and pouted. I was very frustrated at my lack of the spirit. My eyes happen to wander to the bottom shelf, and there, smashed in between many other books was Preach My Gospel. I had received it from a Bishop a few years back, but never took the time to read it. I reached for it and thumbed through it. I even began reading the first chapter a bit. I came to a part where the missionaries daily schedule was laid out. I at once felt jealous. I knew there was no way I could get up early enough to beat my children out of bed to study and read the Scriptures without being so tired the rest of the day. My daily Scripture study was infrequent and could only take place after the kids were in bed. I wasn't getting what I wanted out of it because I was so tired myself. I tossed the book and went to bed that night discouraged....Then, a miracle happened.

I was awakened at 5:30am the next morning. Wide awake. I wondered why I was awake. I decided I need to go back to sleep. Then these words came into my head, "This is your time, get out of bed." I did. I grabbed my Scriptures and this book.....and my life hasn't been the same since.

Over the past 6 months, Heavenly Father has helped me arise early (this is a miracle, believe me). I have studied a spirit directed course of Preach My Gospel. I have replaced every word missionary with motherhood and every word investigator with children. It has been so helpful and wonderful in teaching me how I can better fulfill the mission I am serving right now. With each chapter I have been surprised how much I've been able to learn. I have coupled this with a daily chapter of the Book of Mormon and a Conference talk. I have filled three spiritual journals with insights and words of encouragement and love from my Heavenly Father. It has been a heart changing experience. And, my prayers to be able to share the Gospel with others have been answered many times. I have found that my inhibitions and lack of confidence in my abilities to share the Gospel have been replaced with faith and confidence.

Yesterday, I finished Preach My Gospel. It was kind of emotional closing the book, it has been so exciting each morning to see what I can learn and improve on next. I am excited to begin again and find those things that I did not pick up on the first time. I've decided to begin studying the life of Christ and use Preach My Gospel to help me in my understanding.
I would like to challenge any one of you who read this blog to get a copy of Preach My Gospel. This is not simply for our Full-Time missionaries. This book was inspired in a way that can touch you, your spouse, and your family. I know for myself that your heart will be softened, your spiritual ears made sensitive, your ability to love and serve others increased, and your burdens made lighter. As you study this book and ponder of the Scriptures answers to prayers will come, and you'll find a joy that is sweet.

I would like to share my Testimony that I know that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ. I know that the Book of Mormon was written by prophets of God and Translated by the gift and power of God through Joseph Smith. I know that Jesus Christ is the only one who can provide the way for us to return to our Father in Heaven. I know his arms of mercy are extended to all of us if we repent and come unto him. I am so grateful for the power of prayer and the knowledge that we are never alone. He knows us. He loves us. He's waiting for us. He knew my desires, and he helped awaken me each morning....all I had to do was move my feet.

I'm still here don't worry--

2009-10-13T16:26:00.000-07:00

Hi guys. To those of you who still check this blog, I'm sorry for the lack of posting lately. We have simply been ultra focusing on our Primary Program for these past weeks, and I haven't really needed to think of anything new. Our program is in two weeks, and after that I will be forced to get those creative juices flowing again.

So, don't worry. I'll be pulling something out of my Mary Poppins bag of tricks soon.

-Melanie

How's it coming?

2009-09-04T18:28:00.001-07:00

Hey guys,

I hope you all are having fun reviewing for your programs. I hope you've been able to take some of these ideas and make them your own. I would love to hear from any of you who would like to tell me which ideas have worked best for you. Let me know what you did to expand on them.

New posts should start in a few weeks for the coming months. It will be a fun three months to relax before our new year starts.

Keep it up! They're all counting on you. Let me know if I can help with anything specific.

-Melanie

Program Review Activity #10--All Business

2009-08-21T10:04:00.000-07:00

This activity doesn't sound fun on the surface, but it will really polish up those kids for their program. I do this activity the Sunday Before the Program. Most of the time this ends up being in the chapel, so it needs to be as reverent as possible.

Prep:

Two Gigantic Elephant ear cut outs

Huge Smile cut out

Big Sunglasses (dollar store)

Presentation:

Explain to the children that their program is next Sunday! Tell them that today we are going to pretend its the real thing. Focus on Dynamics today, posture, and keeping your eyes on the chorister.

Start with warming up their voices. Have them begin with breathing. Have them breath in for 4 counts and out for 6. Do this a few times until everyone is very calm. Take one of the program songs and sing it in Oohs, aahs, mmms, eees, lalas. Talk to them about opening their mouths and throats to sings the music.

Practice the stand and sit together. Have them watch you for the cue. This can be fun. Don't get out of hand by doing it too much.

Take each song in turn and start some where in the song. You don't have to do the beginning. Perhaps start in the part of the song where they are having the most trouble or you want them to change the dynamic. Work for 2-3 min only on a song. Go through it quickly, stopping every third song or so to check the stand and sit reflex with a quick wiggle song for the little ones.

Use the ears to have them sing louder. Use the mouth to prompt them to smile. Use the Glasses to get their eyes on you.

You can do this so many ways. I plan on really winging it. It should be great. Good luck.

Program Review Activity #9--Concept Challenge

2009-08-21T09:51:00.000-07:00

I want to make sure the kids remember the whole purpose to our program by reviewing the meanings of our songs. I believe if the song is sung with the concept understood...we'll have a successful program.

Prep:

Chalk to write the Titles of the program songs on the board.

8 Concept Questions on 3X5 cards --one for each program song (You might have to make two sets -Jr and Sr.)

Questions Examples:

1. My friend asks me if I think we lived before we came to earth and what our purpose is here. (Name the song that could BEST answer your friends question. 'I lived in Heaven')

2. My Mom asks me what I know about the Baptism of Jesus Christ. (Name the song that could BEST answer your mom's question. 'Baptism')

3. My Friend wants to know why I like my church so much and why I put my faith in God. (Name one of our program songs that could help answer his question. 'How firm a Foundation')

Presentation:

Explain to the children that our program songs have taught us some very important concepts of the Gospel that can help them be better family members and missionaries. Tell them you will ask each class a question. Have the children figure out which program song will Best answer the question they have been asked. Go over the words of that part of the song that would answer the question. Sing the song.

Continue through the questions until time is over.

*thecrazychorister

After the program celebration Idea #2-- Stump the Chorister

2009-08-21T09:02:00.000-07:00

My primary kids love to see me be silly and mess up. I do it all the time with songs just to see if they are paying attention. That's kind of where this idea stemmed from.

Prep:

Several funny dress-ups (ties, hats, shawls, wigs, glasses...etc)

3-4 children's Hymn books

Presentation:

Congratulate the children on a fine program. Explain that in order to celebrate you get to play a game called "Stump the Chorister". Pass out the children's Hymn books to a few of the teachers. Tell them to have their class look through the Hymn book and come up with a question about a song. (Rules: No questions on page numbers, no obscure hymns that they themselves don't know the words to, no questions such as "what is the 5th word in this song"...etc)

Have a one child come up from each class (in turn) and ask you their question. Explain that if you get the question right, you get to pick a dress-up that their teacher has to wear. If you get it wrong, they get to pick a dress-up that you have to wear. Have fun with it. Most likely you'll end up looking really funny...but that's the whole point. The sillier you end up looking, the more reward the kids end up getting.

Sing the song that the question was about, and then call up the next child. Continue until time is up.

*thecrazychorister

After the program celebration Idea #1-- Play it again

2009-08-21T08:50:00.001-07:00

I like to have a really fun activity to celebrate the success of our program. Our program is set for the end of October, but I know a few of you have it coming up in September. I have a few ideas this year, and haven't choose between them yet...so you get to read my ramblings as I figure it all out.

This first idea is really pretty simple. Two weeks before your program, hand out a paper to all your teachers with three to four activities that you've done throughout the year that the children really enjoyed. Have the teachers quickly take a vote in their class. Collect the papers from your teachers the following Sunday, and choose the activity based on the majority vote. If there is an obvious tie between two activities...try and combine them.

Instead of singing the program songs...have the children pick their favorite songs to sing during the activity.

*thecrazychorister

Program Review Activity #8--Ideas from last year

2009-08-17T08:47:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,....

I hope you've found some ideas you could use for this years program review. I hope the next few weeks are fun and productive for your primary, and that you can look forward to the great privilege of helping the children bring the spirit to your Sacrament meeting through this beautiful music.

If you haven't found anything that works for you or you need more than what I've listed in the past few weeks...let me direct you to last years postings around this time. I think most of them will be in September of '08. Some of my favorites were:

1. Singing Olympics

2. Song Hospital

3. Bishop's Tie

4. Walkie Talkies

5. Spin the Teacher

All of them worked very well and were a lot of fun. I plan on posting ideas for "after the program" celebration activities shortly. I hope you all have a great time.

Way to go! It's been quite a year.

-Melanie

Program Review Activity #7-- Eternal Family Fun!

2009-08-13T15:57:00.000-07:00

This is a spin on the traditional game of "Family Feud". You could use this for a normal 20 min time frame, or it can easily take the entire time if you wish.

Prep:

2 flyswatters

8 questions written out that coincide with the program songs.

1 table set at the front of the primary room

Presentation:

Divide the room into two. Call one child from each team to the front. Give them each a flyswatter. Tell them that you are going to ask a question. If they know the answer they need to quickly slap their fly swatter on the desk. Then the child answers the question. If they are right, then they get a point. Then their team sings the song for an extra point....or they can choose to have the other team can sing it for no extra points. You could even make it teachers vs. kids if you want for added fun.

Make sure and make your questions very, very simple for Jr. Primary. You could even have the pianist play part of the song while you ask the question. Keep it very positive and don't worry about points so much as getting them to sing the songs.

*thecrazychorister

Program Review Activity #6-- 8 Questions

2009-08-13T15:45:00.000-07:00

This is a pretty simple and easy game for quick reviewing. I'll use it for a normal 20 min singing time in September.

Prep:

Chalk

8 Pictures that coincide with the program songs (you could just use one picture from your past picture prompts.)

Presentation:

Jr: Call up a child. Have them face the primary. Tell them that you are going to put up a picture that goes along with one of the program songs behind them where they cannot see it but the rest of the primary can. The rest of the primary is going to give you clues to what the picture is. You have 8 guesses. Have the children raise their hands if they want to give a clue. When the child guessed correctly what the picture is, help them figure out what song it goes to, and then sing that song. If they don't guess correctly, just pull the picture down and let them see it.

Sr: Call up a child. Explain that you will write a phrase on the board that they will not see, but the rest of the primary will. Tell them that they have 8 guesses to try and get the correct answer. The primary kids cannot say any of the words in the phrase to describe what it is. If they get it in 8 guesses or less, sing the song. If they do not, have the pianist play the notes to that part of the song and give them one last guess. Then sing the song. Remember to have the children raise their hands in order to give a clue (no one should be shouting anything)

*the crazy chorister

Repeat Week--Surprise Sunday

2009-08-07T12:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I didn't even think I would be in my ward on Sunday and even got a Sub. However, plans just changed a bit so I will be there, but have no time in between to plan anything....so...here's the plan.

I am going to go early to church and check out all the "stuff" in the primary closet that former choristers have left. I think I'll pull out some random things. I'll have the kids come up and choose an object. We'll create a game on the spot and sing our song over and over.

I'll have to do a follow up on this to let you know if the crazy chorister finally had a major disaster or if it pleasantly and crazily worked out. Wish me luck.

For those of you who are more prone to plan and have more time than I, I suggest checking out one of the other repeat week activities on the blog and see if that works for you.

Have a great Sunday!

Program Review Activity #5--Tic-Tac-Sing!

2009-08-02T22:11:00.000-07:00

I know, I know...you're wondering if I ever sleep? Well, I should be...but this idea just jumped into my head and I thought I'd post it before it left ...what can I say, I'm crazy.

This is a 20 min singing activity that can be expanded if needs be.

PREP:

Colored Chalk

3 willing Teachers/parents/bishopric members/young men or young women. Pretty much anyone willing to give up 40 minutes of their Sunday to help ya out.

9 question cards (1 for each of the program songs and then a random one) These cards will have a question relating to each individual song. Examples: In the song "I lived in Heaven"...What does it say you did in Heaven?" or In the Song, "How Firm a Foundation" how many times is this phrase said..'upheld by my righteous hand'. ETC. You can make the easier or harder than that depending on your primaries needs.

Before singing time begins, draw a tic-tac-toe board on the chalk board and tape the song cards to the spaces. Arrange three chairs at the front of the room.

Presentation:

Tell the children that today we will be playing a fun game called Tic-Tac-Sing! Introduce your helpers, and tell the children that you will be asking for the help of reverent children that are really listening and singing their best.

Explain that one child will come up. He/She will choose a card from the board. The child will then choose on the of the helpers to answer the question. The chorister reads the question to the helper, and the helper will either tell the truth or a false answer to the question. The child will then decide if they were telling the truth or being false. If the child gets it right, they get to put an x in that space. Sing the song. Then have another child come up and continue the process until a tic-tac-toe has been achieved.

Continue through the songs until you are finished or time has run out.

I expect this one will hold their attention nicely.

* based on the Hollywood squares concept from the primusic group
** adapted by the crazy chorister

Program Review Activity #4--Blast To The Past!

2009-08-02T17:20:00.000-07:00

Out of all the review activities, I think I've been anticipating this one for months ever since I saw the concept on the primusic site (thanks so much to whoever posted it). It just sounds fun to the kid side of me.

This will be an activity that reviews all 8 program songs in 20 min.

Prep:

1 time machine (haha.. now you can call me crazy! I mean one home-made time machine. You can use a big refrigerator card board box..just call your local furniture store and see if they have one you can have. Then go crazy decorating it anyway you wish to make it look cool. I just happen to have a stroke of luck this past week when a family member gave my kids a really cool space ship made out of heavy card board that I'll be using. This is what it looks like before I make it cool..http://colormehouse.wordpress.com/gallery/rocket_playful/.

8 objects that were used to teach the program songs this year. Example could be ....a brick: "how firm a foundation"--A builders hat--"My Eternal Family".....I don't know what you used, but find something that the kids would recognize goes to that song. You could bring different objects for Jr. vs Sr. to make it easier or harder for the kids. Have a fun way to sing the song on the object.

Before primary, set up time machine and put the objects inside it.

Presentation:

Tell the children that they get to take a trip back in time to retrieve objects from the songs we have learned. Call someone up. Tell them to go inside and find one of the objects and bring it back out. Have the pianist play a fast version of a fun wiggle song while you wait. When the child brings out the object, have them tell you which song they think it is from. Sing the song the way the object's paper suggests.

I'm so excited, I can't wait!!!

*original concept by the primusic site
**adapted by the crazy chorister

Program Review Activity #3--Sundae Sunday

2009-08-02T15:56:00.000-07:00

All year my primary kids have been working towards a goal. For every song they memorized word perfect, I have added an ice cream scope to a cone (see post entitled "motivation for the new year" under other in the label section) We are on the last song, and when that it finished they have earned an ice cream party around the time of the primary program.

So, to celebrate the conclusion of our goal and to have some fun, I came up with a way that we can polish up the songs a bit, and keep the motivation and fun going. I will use this for the 5th Sunday of Aug, and I have permission to have the entire time so this will include all of the program songs.

Prep:

8 Ice cream scoop cut outs on white paper with a different program song listed on the back.

1 bowl cut out (rather large to hold the scoops of ice cream)

8-12 different cutouts of ice cream toppings (sprinkles, peanuts, whip cream, bananas, chocolate sauce, hot fudge, strawberry topping, cherries, crushed candy bar, carmel, m&ms...etc)...have a different way to sing the song on the back of each topping.

1 marker

A box of crayons

Mount all the ice cream scoops, toppings, and bowl on the board randomly.

Presentation:

Congratulate the children on making their goal Tell them to prepare for the program and their ice cream party they need to make some choices. You will choose reverent children that sing their best to come forward and pick out an ice cream scoop and a topping to put in the bowl. When they choose the flavor they want that ice cream scoop to be, have them take a moment to quickly color it to look like the ice cream flavor they want. Sing the song how the back of the ice cream topping suggests. Don't be afraid to take some time with the songs and point out spots that really need attention. When you have gone through all eight songs, tell the children that they have just picked out the ice cream and toppings that will be at their party.

If you haven't used this as a motivator all year you could just tell them that its a fun game to review the program songs. They have to see just how yummy they can make their Sundae.

*idea by the crazy chorister

Program Review Activity #2-- Back to School

2009-08-01T12:44:00.000-07:00

I will be using this activity to review the last four songs of the program. Again, this activity can be expanded for a longer time frame. I will keep it to 20 min. This activity will be the Sunday before school begins.

Prep:

1 Backpack

4 school folders with the titles Math, Reading, Science, and Geography. Inside the folders have a song title and the activity listed for the subject.

4 Bright colored paper apple cut outs with numbers on the 1-4 (tape them to the bottom of four random chairs in the primary room)

Chalk

small bell (if you have it)

Poster Board with the song names on them and a Box next to the name of the song

Globe

1 3X5 index card laminated (If you don't have laminating sheets, just cover it in scotch tape)

1 Small glass of water

Presentation:

Tell the kids that it's an exciting time of the year because we get to start a whole new school year. Tell them we will be attending the Primary Musical School today. Write your name on the board, and put up the poster with the song titles on them. Tell them they will get a letter grade for each song after we have sung the song.

Tell the children to look under their chairs. If they got an apple, ask the child with #1 on the apple to come forward and ding the bell and give you (the teacher) the apple. Have them open your back pack and pull out a folder. Open the folder and read the song and the activity. Do the activity and then have the child with #2 come to the front.....etc. Continue until all songs are reviewed. Make sure and give them a letter grade reflecting how they sang. Be positive.

Folders....

Math: "Seek the Lord Early" --Have the children count on their fingers how many times in the song they sing the phrase "Seek the Lord Early". You could even have them stand up and turn around every time they do sing that part of the song. Ask them to tell you the answer they came up with.

Reading: "Jesus once was a little child"-- Write the letter "C" on the board. Have the children clap every time they sing a word with the letter "C" in the song.

Geography: "Baptism"---As the children sing the song, start to spin the globe. Have the pianist stop the music suddenly. Have one of the children stop the globe with their finger. See if they are close to Israel or the river Jordan. If they are way off, pick up the song where you left and have them sing it the best they can for a good grade. If you actually do get close to it (within a few countries) , they get an automatic A+.

Science: "Families can be together Forever"--Tell the kids how grateful you are to know that you have been sealed to your family (if you haven't, just express your gratitude for the knowledge that you can be together forever.) Take the glass of water and put the index card over it. Turn the glass upside down. The card will stay. Point out that the air pressure has caused a sealing of the card to the glass so it defies gravity. Have the children sing the song, and tell them to watch and see if the card will stick to the glass through the song. If they sing well, and the card stays put (which it will)....give them an A+

Are we having fun yet?

*concept by the idea door
**adapted by the crazy chorister

Program Review Activity #1--It's A Primary Party!

2009-07-30T10:37:00.000-07:00

Okay, if you are looking for the introduction activity for this month, it's the next post just below this one...I just thought I'd get started on the task of posting all these fun review games for our program. My repeat week activity for this month will be posted sometime next week.

Use the program review activities in whatever order you would like. I will be using this activity to review four of the eight program songs and plan on only taking the 20 min time. It is an activity that can easily be used two weeks in a row to review several songs if you wish.

The primary was organized on the 25th of August 1878. This will make it 131 years "young". I thought it would be appropriate to hold a little birthday party for the primary in celebration in this special birthday month. Our review will include some simple birthday party games. This is an activity that is easy to do in 20 min or can be expanded to include the entire time (whatever you wish it to be). If you would like to read a brief history of the primary you can do so at http://www.lds.org/churchhistory/museum/primary/exhibit/1,16230,4088-1-32-99-0,00.html

Prep:

For games:

4 Colorful pieces of paper that have the individual songs listed on them

1 Bean Bag

1 Helium filled Balloon

For "Decorations/Atmosphere" (If you want to do this it is nice but not required)

A few Balloons

A few streamers but up on the board

Primary Party hat for you and your pianist

Presentation:

Explain to the children that it's the Primary's Birthday and we are going to celebrate with a musical party. If you would like, read the brief history of the organization of the primary to the children...(it's only a paragraph long and it's really fun information). Tell them you have four games to review our songs.

Musical Chairs:

Bring four chairs to the front that you have already stuck the papers with the program songs securely too. Call up 3 children. Have the pianist play music as they circle the chairs when the music stops, the children sit down on the nearest chair. Whatever chair does not have a child in it, that is the song that is sung. Use your balloon to direct the children to sing loud or soft. When the balloon is up have them sing louder, when the balloon goes down have them sing softer.

Sing and Freeze:

Take the three remaining song papers off the chairs and have one of the children choose one without looking. Explain that we will be singing this song while we move. Have the children follow your movements while singing the song (you could put your hands on your hips, flap your arms, jump, twist...etc)...have the pianist suddenly stop the music. When the music stops we have to freeze in place. Anyone that moves sits down...continue singing the song stopping once or twice more.

Telephone:

Take the two remaining songs. Have a child blindly choose one of them. Look at it, and choose a short phrase that is within that song. Whisper it into the child's ear. Have them pass it on through the primary (or a little group you've called up if your primary is huge). Have the last person say what they heard and see how close it is to the original. If it isn't too bad or silly...sing the song and substitute the phrase that was said.

Hot Potato:

With the remaining song, take your bean bag and toss it to a child. As you sing the song have them toss it around to different children. When the music stops, the child holding the bean bag gives the next word or phrase to the song.

Finish the "party" by having them sing "This month is such a special one" for the primary presidency.

Have fun with it.

* idea by the crazy chorister

PS It happens to be our prophet's birthday this month as well, so you could spin it in that direction too.

New Song Sunday--Families can be Together Forever

2009-07-28T09:23:00.001-07:00

Can you believe we're on our last song for the year? Let's make it a good one.

Just one thing before I get to it, I had hoped to teach the children this song incorporating sign language with it, but I realized that now is not the time to complicate life for me or the kids. I believe we would need several weeks to memorize and get it right for the program, and I have to do some much for the other songs it just isn't possible this year. So, just a word of advice to those of you who feel overwhelmed....simplify, simplify, simplify.

Prep:

1 ziplock bag with a picture of the temple taped to the bag

5 Fisherprice little people (representing a dad, mom, and three children)...if you don't have Fisherprice little people (which, by the way, I am sure someone around you does or your nursery room has them)...you could use just about anything you wish.

1 picture of the temple

1 picture of Jesus Christ

1 picture of the council in heaven

picture prompts

Presentation:

Ask your pianist to gently and quietly play Families can be together forever. Ask 5 reverent children to come to the front. Show the children the little people dolls. Talk about how two of them are a Mom and a Dad. Give two of the children the dolls to hold up. Show the other dolls and explain that these are their children. Tell the primary that they are a family. Have the other children hold these dolls up. Ask the children to put the family in the bag. Seal the bag. Talk about how through temple marriage, we are sealed together forever. Turn the bag upside down and show how the family all stays together. Then put them in the bag again without it being sealed. Turn the bag over and let the dolls fall on the ground. Talk about how those who aren't sealed may have a good marriage and a good family; they may be happy for now, but without the sealing there is no promise. In temples, sealing work is done for those who died without having this take place in their lives. We can help our families here on earth to have those promises and blessings as well as our ancestors. Explain that Jesus Christ made it possible for us to be together forever as families. Show the picture of the temple. Explain that in the temple we make covenants that bind us together for eternity if we choose to live righteously in this life. Show the picture of the council in heaven. Remind the children that in the song "I lived in Heaven"..we learned that we all lived together with people we loved. We want that for our future lives in eternity and we can take steps today and for the rest of our lives to make that happen.

Show them the first picture prompt. Say the words, explain anything they don't understand. Have them sing it with you a few times. Continue with this process until the song is completed.

Have a great week--and don't forget to take a breath now and then.

*original concept-the idea door
**Adapted by the crazy chorister

My Plan for the next 10 weeks....

2009-07-27T10:46:00.000-07:00

Wow, vacation is fun but I am so happy to be home again. Thanks for being patient with me as I didn't post for this past Sunday. My sub decided to review with a "singing cube" and reported that it went very well.

I have been getting comments and emails from many of you worried about your up coming primary program...don't worry, there is still plenty of time (even for you September primary programmers). I thought I would tell you the schedule I will be following for the next few weeks so you could have an idea of my plan to get the program polished up.

Aug 1--Introduction of Families can be Together Forever
Aug 8--Repeat Week/Test at the very end of singing time
Aug15--Review Game with Jan-April songs
Aug 22--Review Game with May-Aug songs
Aug 29--Huge Review Day with all program songs (ask to have the entire time this day)

Sept 5-26 = Really Fun and Engaging review games that will really polish up each song. They will be able to be completed during the 20 min allowed. I might do a bigger activity towards the end of Sept. if I get the whole time. I have some ideas that I think will provide the energy for our program.

As the summer speeds by, I find myself getting even more busy...so, as I get time I will post one or several of the review games I intend to carry out. They will not necessarily go in order of the weeks I plan on doing them. I hope that doesn't mess up any of you, but I think it might give you extra time to plan out your own schedules and fit the activities in when they work for you the best.

That said, I have laundry to do.

Program Review week: Pioneer Singing Game

2009-07-16T09:01:00.000-07:00

I decided to combine our Program Review this month with a Pioneer theme. It should be fun.

Prep:

1 large poster board or a large piece of butcher paper in the shape of the USA with the Mormon Trail outlined on it (so it looks like a map). Today, I just drew it on the chalk board free hand. If you happen to live outside the US..you could use a boat or ship to outline the voyages the pioneers took across the Oceans.

7 small cutouts of covered wagons, handcarts, horses, people...etc (anything you want really)

4 pictures that go along with pioneer stories

4 short pioneer stories that involve children

picture prompts for you program songs (if needed)

Pioneer Honey Candy (if you want to include this aspect the recipe will be at the bottom of this post)

Presentation:

Begin by explaining to the children that pioneer children did a lot of walking. They walked with their friends and family. As they journeyed together across the plains, heading a prophet's words, they were strengthened as individuals and families. One of the things little pioneer children did to strengthen each other and their families was to sing. Singing made them happy and helped them endure their hardships. Music can strengthen your family.

Have a child come to the front and choose either a wagon to go across the trail, or a picture with a story. If you are going to sing a song...point out your map and explain that as they sing the song they will be helping the pioneers across the plains. Move the wagon closer and closer as they sing well. If they do a great job...that wagon make it to the end. If they don't sing or don't know the song that well have the wagon stop in the middle or such. If you have time at the end....try and rescue the stranded pioneers by singing that song again. This will be a great indication of which songs need more work. If they choose a story, tell the story quickly and sing a pioneer song that goes with the meaning of the story.

When time is up, tell them that you have a special reward for singing so well. Then hand out your pioneer honey candy. (if you feel this is appropriate)

This activity worked very well. We were able to get through almost all of the program songs and several stories.

Honey Candy
2 cups honey
1 cup sugar
1 cup cream
Combine all ingredients and cook slowly to a hard-ball stage. Pour onto buttered platter. When cool enough to handle, grease hands and pull until a golden color. Cut into pieces.

Happy Pioneer Day!

*original idea from idea door
**adaptation the crazy chorister

Repeat Week-- Guess Who?

2009-07-08T08:52:00.000-07:00

This month I have choose to teach the children Jesus Once was a Little Child. Last week's introduction activity went so well, and we hand enough time to get through the entire song as well as practice our pioneer song for Sacrament meeting later this month. A funny thing happened while we were learning the song...I asked the children if they knew what the word "Mild" meant (He was pure and meek and mild). One of the children raised their hands and said, "Not spicy?" Boy, I love this calling.

Since part of this song says, "He played as little children play, the pleasant games of youth.", I have been reflecting on some of the games I played as a child that I loved. One of those games was called "Heads up 7 up".

The basic idea to the game was 7 children would be picked to come to the front. Everyone else would be told "Heads down, thumbs up"...the children in their seats would then close their eyes and put their thumb in the air. The 7 children would then go silently around the room and touch one child's thumb (which that child would then put down so the other six children wouldn't pick them twice.) The 7 children would then come to the front of the room again, and the teacher would say "Heads up 7 up". The 7 children who had their thumbs touched would then stand up. They would each take turns trying to guess who out of the seven up front touched their thumb. If they guessed correctly, they got to switch places with the person up front. The goal was to try and be sneaky and quite enough where no one could guess it was you and so you got to remain up front.

So, how did I turn this into a Repeat week activity?....

Prep:

10-15 creative ways to sing the song (I have posted these all over the blog, but I'm going to try and compile them into one post for future reference)

picture helps if needed

Presentation:

Sing through the song once to remind the children of what they are learning and review any words or phrases that are difficult to understand to refresh their memory.

For the sake of time and reverence I decided to play this with only three kids up front instead of seven.

Call up three reverent children that were singing in your review. Explain "Heads up 7 up" to them only call it "Heads up 3 up" or "Guess who". Tell them that you will give one of the children up front a card that has a fun way to sing our song on it. Direct the primary to put their heads down and thumbs up (include the teachers in this it makes it more fun for the kids). The three that were chosen will then go and touch the thumb of three other children in their seats. When they are back up front, say, "Heads up 3 up" and have the children that were picked stand up. Then, instead of the child trying to pick who choose them, they are trying to pick who has the card. The first person to pick the one with the card gets to switch them places for the next round. Then you sing the song as directed on the card. Continue to play this game until time is out. You should be able to sing the song at least 6-7 times.

I really like this game because most of it is in complete silence.

Have fun.

***thecrazychorister

New Song Sunday- Jesus Once Was A Little Child

2009-06-26T15:33:00.000-07:00

If you're wondering where my post for this week's activity is..scroll down a bit to previous posts.

I decided to post this today since my upcoming week is very busy. I am so excited that we were able to choose this month's song. Jesus Once was a Little Child fits well with the monthly theme and it was a childhood favorite of mine. Here's the plan to introduce it on Fast Sunday....

Prep:

3 baby pictures of different primary teachers (Have them also provide you with a picture of when they served a mission or got married in the temple)

1 picture of Jesus as a child--there are several beautiful depictions in the GAK

1 picture of Jesus teaching, healing...etc. Again, there are many to choose from.

Picture Prompts

You may want to scan the pictures into your computer and use the projector to show them to the primary, or you can do it the old fashioned way and hold them up for all to see.

Presentation:

Tell the children that we get to learn another new song. Have the pianist play through the song softly as you get out your primary "Photo Album". Have the teachers sing with you to the children the first verse of the song.

Next, as the pianist softly continues to play the melody, show the children the different pictures of the teachers as babies or children. Have the children guess who is in the picture. Have one of the pictures in the set be a picture of Jesus as a child. (Do not waste a lot of time on this, it should really take only about 3 min or less)

Now, show the pictures of the primary teachers on their mission or being married. Again, have the children guess who it is. Have one of those pictures be of the Savior teaching or healing. (Again, don't loose time by saying too much about the pictures...)

Tell the children that their primary teachers were once children and now are grown up and have gone on missions or been married. Tell them that someday, they will be all grown up and do the same things. And, just as Jesus Christ was a child just like them, someday we can all be like Him if we live the Gospel. We all have divine potential.

Get out your picture prompts and begin by singing the first line to the children. Have them repeat the line. Ask them to next try and listen for three qualities that Jesus had as a child (pure, meek, mild). After they answer the question, have them sing the line. Ask them to listen for a word that repeats itself three times at the end of the song. When they give the answer (try, try, try)..explain that in order to be like Him we need to always do our best and keep going forward even when we make mistakes. Sing the First verse through once or twice. If you have time, continue on with the second verse and point out the important qualities and similarities that Jesus has and that they have.

Hope this helps some of you...

Take Time To Take a Breath....

2009-06-24T15:32:00.000-07:00

I don't usually post anything personal per say (so forgive my indulgence), but I had to share the little piece of heaven I get to enjoy outside my door everyday. It's inspiring, and it reminds me that this world is full of the beauty of our Heavenly Father despite the hardships we might endure. I hope this lifts you like it lifts me.

Keep up the good work, you're making childrens' lives more beautiful.

Test Week- Always Smile at a Crocodile

2009-06-22T15:08:00.000-07:00

Howdy Folks! I am always amazed at how quickly time goes by ..and we're to another Test week already. Here's the plan to see how well they know this month's song.

Prep:

Crocodile Game (straws or sticks if you don't have one)

I have this simple little game that we bought for my kids last Christmas. It is just this little crocodile that you lift its mouth open and push down the teeth. When you get to the tooth that it is set on, it shuts the mouth quickly (no pain involved). It rotates so you never really know what tooth it is set on. My kiddos love it, and I thought it would be something really fun to take to primary. If you don't have one or can't find one, I am sure you could use sticks or straws and make one shorter than the rest and have the child that gets the short straw be the participant...you could call it "the short end of the stick"...or something like that.

Anyhow, here's how you play...

Presentation:

Tell the children that you brought your pet Crocodile to church today. He is shy, and you were hoping that they could make him feel welcome today by smiling and singing their best. You could even have them give him a name if you want.

Anyhow, tell them that he has come to test them on their knowledge of this month's song. Explain that you will go up and down the isle with him as they are singing this month's song, all the while having a few kids push a tooth down. When his mouth closes, the person who pushed that tooth will then have to say the next line of the song. If they get it right, Mr. Crocodile will open his mouth again. (Jr. Primary can use their classmates or teachers for help). I will make it clear that Brother Crocodile won't open his mouth for people who are not singing or being reverent. Do this twice all the way through the song and then tell them they pass it off (if they sung it well both times).

For Sr. Primary, I plan on making the last round a speed round. They have to push the teeth fast and we'll stop several times throughout the song.

For Jr. Primary, we'll do this at an even pace for two rounds with that song just to make sure they know it, and then we'll continue this activity only allowing the child who chooses the tooth that closes the mouth to pick their favorite primary song.

Have a great week!

**thecrazychorister

Program Review Week--Flies in the Primary Room, Shoo Fly Shoo

2009-06-14T21:18:00.000-07:00

This coming week is Father's Day. We'll be singing in Sacrament meeting, and sadly I won't be there to hear those cute kids sing...but, I know they'll do great. I also won't be there for Primary and so I have a sweet sister who was so kind to take my place...Thank You Sister Worth!

So, on to this week. My sister is a middle school English teacher (a great one at that), and gave me a cute idea for a review game that she plays with her kids before tests. I choose to use flies as my theme because I live way out in the country with cows and horses and yep,...flies. This time of year is especially bad for that so I think everyone will relate in my primary. But, if you live in the East you could use fireflies and attach a picture of a Mason Jar to your fly swatter and call it "catching fireflies" or you could do pictures of butterflies and use the little dollar store nets....be creative and have fun with it. Here is my version.

Prep:

2 new (unused) fly swatters. (I got these at the dollar store. They have some really cute and colorful ones to choose from.

6 pictures of flies or bugs with the songs for the program on them. ( I simply looked up Free Fly Clip art on the web and found the picture I wanted)

Tape or magnets to hang them on the chalk board (I am going to use tape, I think it will hold better for this game)

Clues for Sr. Primary

Picture prompts for each song (if necessary)

Presentation:

JR: Tell the kids that some flies have come to primary today and you need help getting rid of them. The only way they will fly away is if we swat them and then sing them out. Have a child come and take a swatter and swat whatever song they would like. Then sing that song creatively or normally. Don't bother with clues because most of the kids can't read anyway. They will just like the fact they can slap the silly fly.

SR: Tell the kids that some flies have come to primary today and you need help getting rid of them. Give two children each a fly swatter. Tell them these are tricky flies and so they really need to listen and move fast. Give them a clue that they can quickly figure out such as "this fly has landed on the song that talks about where we lived before we came to Earth." Then, the children will race to see who can slap the correct fly first. This is NOT suppose to be a competition, just some fun..so don't keep score or put people up against each other like that. Sing the song that is correct.

You should be able to do all 6 songs within your 20 min time frame, but if for some reason you don't get to all of them...no worries. Have a great week.

PS Dad, I love you. Thank you for your encouragement and support. I am grateful for you. Happy Father's Day.

PPS Honey, you're the greatest. I love you. Thanks for being my bestfriend. Our kiddos are so lucky to have you be their daddy. Happy Father's Day!

Clues for Hide and Seek the Lord Early

2009-06-14T08:24:00.000-07:00

I am sorry this is late for some of you. I have had company this week and barley was able to write out my clues. They are pretty universal to every one's primary room, so I hope they can help some of you. Make the needed changes to have them fit better to your primary room and teachers.

Clue #1--sing soft/loud
As we enter Primary
she plays soft songs so dear.
She helps us sit so reverently
we feel the spirit near.

(Pianist)

Clue #2--sing staccato
I have two hands and a face
I move round and round,
but go no place

(Clock)

Clue#3--Boys/Girls sing
It is hard to hear in the back
without this neat device.
It magnifies the sound we hear
so we need not say it twice.

(Microphone)

Clue#4--Turn around and sing to the hallway to get a wave
Our primary would be very dark
if it were not for these.
They let us see the world outside
and feel the gentle breeze.

(Windows)

Clue #5--Have them Hum every time they would have sung the word "Seek"
Set up just for primary,
a place to sit and hear
our talks and songs and lessons
of Jesus Christ so dear.

(Chairs)
　
Clue #6--Ooh, Aah, hum...the entire song
Her smile is quite radiant.
She serves with all her might
to teach her class the gospel truths
and help them choose the right.

(Girl teacher)
　
Clue # 7--Follow the leader
He’s really tall, about 6'4".
He speaks a different tongue
he learned while on his mission
ask him to speak it some.

(Boy Teacher)

Clue #8--Sing as if we are preforming the primary program
You’ve sung your best and past the test
You’ve memorized this song.
If you seek you find
now look behind
He’s been there all along.

(Picture of Christ at the back of the Room)

**thecrazychorister
　

Repeat Week- Hide and Seek the Lord Early

2009-06-08T15:40:00.001-07:00

I had so much fun yesterday introducing June's song to the Primary kids. It went over really well. Here is next Sunday's plan for repeat week. Remember, repeat week's purpose is to sing the song as many times as possible while still having fun.

Prep:

8 3x5 cards with clues written on them (Hide these cards around the primary room before the children get in there.) I suggest not to put them in envelopes because some kids have a difficult time opening them. Help the younger kids read the card.

Each card will contain a clue to where the next card is hidden in the room. It will also have a way to sing for that turn such as....sing Acapella, Staccato, whisper sing, turn around and get someone from the hallway to wave at us by singing with gusto, sing the first two lines of the song, fast, slow....etc.

Presentation:

Tell the children that for repeat week you hid a very important gift and we are going to play Hide and Seek to find it. Tell them you have hidden clues all around the room and in order to find the next clue we have to sing how the card suggests. Go through the activity finding the hidden cards and singing the song. The last card will lead us to a picture of the Savior. Congratulate them on "Finding" the gift.

Simple and effective. Have a great week.

*thecrazychorister

Discovery Week-Seek the Lord Early object list-

2009-06-04T19:05:00.000-07:00

Some of you requested an object list for the activity listed just below this post. Here is what I will be using--

Magnifying Glass--- "Seeking" (they won't realize that it is actually a clue before the end...so it ends up being the "missing piece" that we had all along. It will help them understand that they have been given the Gospel in their hands and if they use it by reading the Scriptures, making right choices, and following Jesus Christ they will find Him early in their lives and have His spirit to be with them all their lives.)

Watch-- "Early"

Picture of Primary Kids Singing--"Youth"

Judges Gavel--"Truth" (It is to help them understand that with the Lord's help they will be able to judge between right and wrong, good and evil, truth and falsehoods....if you do not have access to one of these you an use a picture of one)

Scriptures with a picture of the Savior inside---"Scriptures find him there"

Mormon Ad "Need to Talk"--"prayer" (here is a link so you can see what I am using...http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/NewEra/1985.htm/new%20era%20june%201985.htm/mormonad.htm)

An Iron Rod--"Obey" (I happen to have a steel rod that I can bring...if you don't have access to something like this, again you can bring a picture of an iron rod or you can use the picture in the GAK of Lehi's Dream)

Copy of the May 2009 Conference Ensign--"Living Prophets"

Big Heart--"Love will Abound"

Picture of Jesus Christ's Second Coming-"He will be Found"

I hope that helps some of you. Remember to make this your own and think what your specific primary will respond to and understand. I am using these objects in conjunction with my picture prompts because I do not want to bring this stuff back week after week. I want them to just remember the objects and the picture prompts will just help mostly to remember the words for succeeding weeks. Happy Crazy Choristering!

New Song Sunday-I'll Seek the Lord Early

2009-05-29T16:08:00.000-07:00

The fifth Sunday is upon us, and I have the whole time. I was actually sick the Sunday that I planned on doing my Primary Peril Game..and so that is what I am going to do this Sunday. You can find that idea if you check the April section of this blog.

So, I decided to post my introduction idea for the upcoming song in June, I'll Seek the Lord Early. I posted a similar version of this idea way back when I started this blog. I entitled it "Solve the Music Mystery"....but of course, I had to tweak it just a bit.

Prep:

Trench Coat
Brimmed Hat for you and another for your pianist (like Sherlock Holmes and Watson)
Dark Sunglasses
Magnifying Glass
Scriptures
Picture Prompts--(I happened to make up my own for this and will try and find a way to post them)
6-7 question marks you an put up around the room with different objects that go along with the song.

Presentation:

I am going to enter from the back of the room with my trench coat, hat, and sunglasses on. In my pocket will be the magnifying glass. I will act very mysterious like I am looking around the room for something, under chairs, behind kids...just to make sure all eyes are on me. I then will pretend like I am noticing them for the first time. "Oh, hello...have you seen it?" I'll ask. "Have you seen the new song in town....I heard it's a real good one.....I heard it's just waiting for us to find it. My boss told me I need to find out what that song is all about..I need to know what the message of the song is, what the melody is, and the words. Will you help me?" I plan on hamming this up a bit..maybe even faking an old time detective accent for the part.

At this point, I'll pull out my magnifying glass. I'll explain that this will help us find the clues. I'll had the magnifying glass to one of the kids and ask them to go find one of the clues. We'll discuss the clues as they are brought back. They don't have to be in any order. This part should really only take about 3 min. After all the clues are back, explain that you now need to get them in the right order so you can solve the mystery. Have the pianist play the song and show the first Picture Prompt. Say and sing the words. Have the children decide what object goes with what picture and get them in order.

After you have sung the entire song and put all the objects in order....tell them that they are awesome detectives and that they not only solved the mystery and found the song, but they now know how to "Seek the Lord Early"

*the crazy chorister

Review Activity-Singing Science Experiment

2009-05-24T16:36:00.001-07:00

My primary kids learned the song for the month super fast and so I decided to do a review of all the songs for the program. I found an idea for "magic potion" and decided to change it just a bit. The link for the original idea is http://primarysingingtimeideas.blogspot.com/search/label/Review. Scroll down a bit, and you'll find it.

Prep:

Food Coloring
5 Glasses
5 Spoons
Baking Soda
White Vinegar
Water
Cookie tray with sides
Paper towels
Safety Goggles
5 different colors of paper with one song title on each paper/and direction on the back
5 Magnets or pieces of tape to hang the papers on the board

Fill your five glasses with 1/4 cup water and 1/2 cup vinegar. Place one drop of food coloring on each spoon. Cover food coloring with a heaping spoonful of baking soda. Place cups and spoons on tray because it will make a mess. Have paper towels handy. Make sure and bring extra of all ingredients so you can re set this up for Sr. Primary.

Before singing time display your different colored paper with titles at the front of the room where everyone can clearly see them. Make sure and write a little activity they can do for each of the different songs on the back of the paper. For example, these are the activities I did for each one of the songs...

I lived in Heaven: The child who was called on became the chorister for that song and I sat in their seat.

How Firm a Foundation: I had all the children turn around and face the doors of the primary room and sing as powerful as they could to see if they could get someone to wave at them or give them a thumbs up sign. It worked out really great.

My Eternal Family: I had the children follow my every move through the song..like I waved or put my arms up or flapped my arms...etc

Beautiful Savior: We sang this Acapella

Baptism: I had the children stand on one foot as we sang the song.

Presentation:

I explained to the children that today we were going to do singing science experiments. I had the children sing through the song for the month, "Baptism", and I watched for children that were paying attention, singing out, and doing their best. I then invited a one child at a time to come up and pick a spoon to stir into my "water solution". I put on my safety goggles and brought an extra pair for the child...saying that we should always remember "safety first". The child then would pick a spoon, stir it in, and watch the foam reaction. The kids loved this. As the bubbles settle, the color appears. Whatever color appeared we would sing and do the activity on the piece of colored paper that had that song title.

It worked great. The kids sang out and payed attention. We were easily able to complete this in the 20 min allowed...I even had three min left to review one of our Father's Day presentation songs.

Thanks to the originator of this idea, it was totally crazy...just like I like it.

*originator: Primary Singing Ideas Blog
**Adapted by the crazy chorister

Program Review Week -Primary Kerplunk

2009-05-18T09:44:00.000-07:00

I loved this idea so much the moment I read it on http://primarysingingtimeideas.blogspot.com/search/label/Review. Thank you to that blog site for such a great activity.

The way I used it was slightly different. I wrote down all the songs we have learned for the program so far on little pieces of paper and put them into a box. I had one child draw the song from the box. Then they could pull a stick from game. If no marbles fell, they could choose how many verses to the song we sang or if they wanted to sing a different song completely they could choose to do that. If marbles fell, we sang one verse for every marble. If more marbles fell than were verses in the song we just sang through the song, all verses, and stopped to improve different parts of it. We were able to review all five songs in the given time just great.

Pretty simple, and the kids just loved it.

Thanks again for the great idea primarysinging timeideas!

Repeat Week-"All flowers remind me of you"

2009-05-05T14:54:00.001-07:00

We will be continuing to learn our May song Baptism this coming Sunday. Last Sunday went so well with our introduction activity. The spirit really helped the children in learning the song and feeling the beauty of its simple message.

Since this Sunday is Mother's Day, I decided to create a Repeat Activity that would let the children also celebrate the joy of the day.

Prep:

A Large Vase (or in my case a pot with some foam in it covered by a bit of peat moss)

1 Flower for every woman that will be in the Primary Room (You can make them paper flowers, silk flowers, real flowers...in my case...I am making some sugar cookie flowers on sticks.

A small tag around each flower stem that indicates a different way to sing the song.

Picture Prompts

Presentation:

Bring your vase (pot) of flowers to the front of the room. Tell the children how well they did in Sacrament singing to their mothers and how pleased you are with their efforts. Tell them that today is repeat week, and to review our baptism song we will be picking flowers for the women in our primary to honor them on this day. In order to be able to pick a flower, classes will have to sit reverently and sing their very best. Have a child come to the front and pick a flower. Have the children sing the verse of the song in the way the paper states (fast, slow, staccato, acapella..etc). Tell the class that the child came from that this flower is for their teacher and to sing their very, very best for Her. If they do a great job, have the child give the flower to their teacher. If their teacher is a man, have the child give it to one of the presidency or the pianist. Continue to repeat the song as many times as possible as the children continue to give the flowers to the women in the primary.

Happy Mother's Day Mom! I will be forever grateful to you for teaching me the primary Hymns and this beautiful Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love you.

*the crazy chorister

Discovery Week- "Tour Guide"

2009-04-28T19:10:00.000-07:00

May's song is 'Baptism'. In my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. It tells of one of the most amazing acts of obedience and humility in the world's history. My goal through this activity will be to help the children really know and feel the importance and power of this piece of music.

Prep:

A Name Tag that says "Tour Guide-Primary Tours"

1 picture of Jesus Christ being baptised by John the Baptist

1 Picture of the River Jordan (I haven't found the one I want just yet, but when I do I will try and post it here)

A Globe

Colored chalk--I may or may not use this to write down answers to my questions on the board.

Picture Prompts

Presentation:

Tell the children that today is going to be so much fun because we are going to take a pretend trip to a very special place and we get to learn our new song for the month of May. Have everyone stand up. Tell them to grab their pretend suitcase in their hands. Have the pianist play a few wiggle songs right in a row. As the music plays in the back ground, have the children move their feet to the rhythm. Tell them that your late for your plane so you'll have to reverently jog in place....oh no you dropped your suit case (sing hinges to pick it up) make it fun and get those wiggles out so they can concentrate on the next part of the activity..finally tell them they made the plane just in time and have them sit down.

Spend a few min telling them that they are now flying over a huge ocean and perhaps what they can see now and then. You could use the globe at this point to show them where they are going. Tell them they are now off the plane. Have them close their eyes as you describe them walking over some rocky paths in a place that they've never been. Tell them its hotter than here and as you come around a corner you can hear something....at this point have the pianist play just the bottom hand to the song. It has the rhythm of a river and ask them what the rhythm of the song reminds them of. Have them open their eyes.

Show them the picture of the Jordan River and tell them this is the special place that they traveled so long to get to. Show your picture prompts for the first verse and tell them that you want them to listen to the song and see if they can hear where they are. Continue to sing the song as the children answer Who was there, what happened, why it was important, and what should we do now that we know this story. Put up the picture of the Savior being baptised after the first verse has been learned and reference it for the next verses.

The first part of this activity should only take maybe 3-4 min. The rest of the time will be spent singing the song, understanding the words and story, and getting the rhythm down.

I hope that all makes sense...its been a long day.

*the crazy chorister

Review Week--MusicShip Hit and Sing

2009-04-22T14:15:00.000-07:00

It has been a crazy month for me. Besides General Conference and Stake Conference, I cannot seem to keep my family well. I hope May is better.

Anyhow, here is my plan for Sunday. We will be reviewing "Beautiful Savior" and our mother's day songs: "Love is Spoken Here" (First verse), "Mother Dear", and "Mother I Love you (Sung to the tune of "Teach me to walk in the Light").

A while back, I saw a suggestion for a review game using the game Battleship. Unfortunately, I could not recall where that was, so here is my version.

Prep:

1 blue poster board (Create a Grid with numbers on the vertical side and letters on the horizontal side. Put the words "Musicship" at the top. Make sure and include enough spaces so you could fit different size ships on the board. My ships will have 1 hit possible per verse of the song.)

Enough Dots or Music Notes to place in the spaces when a Ship has been Hit.

A smaller version of the board on paper to allow you to know where you have placed the ships.

Presentation:

Tell the children that today they get to play "MusicShip-Hit and Sing". Allow a child to give you a number and letter from the board. If they make a "Hit" have them sing that verse of that song in a fun way (Slow, fast, boys, girls..etc) and place a marker where they made the hit. If they miss, you get to pic the verse and the song that they sing and they get to do it very reverently. When they "sing" (sink) the ship...have them sing the whole song once through to earn a point on the board.

Don't worry if you don't get to all the verses of each song. This will help you to notice the particular verses that perhaps need a bit more work.

I hope you have a great week.

Easter idea/Beautiful Savior

2009-04-08T13:33:00.001-07:00

Between having the flu and spring break with the kids, I have really neglected to post on the blog lately. But, I'm back and excited to contribute. If you have left me a comment asking for help on a particular song, I am sorry that I haven't gotten back to you. I will try and get to those asap.

With that said, I've changed my mind again. I went back to my original idea to teach "Beautiful Savior". I know that is the song I am suppose to teach the kids even though we will only have two weeks to do it. So here goes...

This idea is purely the genius of another primary chorister, Tammy. She posted this idea on the Yahoo Primusic site a few days back, and I knew it was a perfect way to convey the message of the song and bring the spirit in for our Easter Primary experience. I have changed a few things because I always do, but it is essentially the same. I am not sure if this is the exact media presentation she used, but I found it was very touching and beautiful.

Prep:

1 Easter egg
1 picture of Jesus Christ
Laptop and projector (or burn the presentation on cd)
picture prompts
some flower in a vase or another beautiful thing from nature

Presentation:

Tell the children some of the things that you find beautiful. Show them the vase of flowers and tell how its beauty has the power to lift someones spirits. Pass the egg around to various children. Ask them to share what they find to be beautiful. Then tell them that there was One who's sacrifice and life was more beautiful and powerful then all of those mentioned, He made All beautiful things possible. Then show the following presentation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsqJFFyHFFQ

After, have the children sing the song with you using the picture prompts.

Happy Easter!

Primary Peril: Multi Media Option

2009-03-19T21:27:00.000-07:00

I finally finished my "power point" of Primary Peril...only to have my husband explain to me that it is not really power point, it's a freeware program called OpenOffice. OpenOffice is just like Microsoft Office except it is free.

That said, anyone can go and download OpenOffice for free and then you can run this program. If you are a true PowerPoint person..sorry. There are a whole bunch of really neat templates for cool people like you at http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/PPT-games/. Feel free to customize them however you would like.

For those of you who would like to use what I made here are the instructions.

Download OpenOffice from: http://www.openoffice.org/ and click on "I want to download OpenOffice.org." Then follow the instructions to install the program. REMEMBER ITS FREE.
Go to this link: http://sites.google.com/site/thecrazychorister/Home/game-shows-1 and download Jr. and Sr. Primary Jeopardy.
Feel free to customize these for your own situation.

Any questions? Ask my husband. I don't get it.

Hope this helps someone out there.

An Easier April

2009-03-18T13:11:00.000-07:00

I was originally going to go with Beautiful Savior (I absolutely love this song) for April, but I've been feeling so anxious over the lack of time for teaching that I reviewed the theme again to see if there was another song that felt right for this month.

Someone said they were going to do Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam. That was the perfect answer. The kids, including Jr. Primary, know this song very well already, but there is a second verse to this song that would be very easy to teach and would bring a freshness to the song for the program. And, it teaches the message for the month as well.

I'm a happy chorister again.

If you are going to do Beautiful Savior and need some help with it let me know. I did have some ideas floating around on how to teach that one, but the relief I feel right now was worth giving up and being flexible.

Enjoy conference and please feel free to ask if you need help with ideas with your song choice.

Primary Triple Header- Test Sunday

2009-03-17T14:35:00.000-07:00

There are so many things to accomplish on the 5th Sunday of this month, I asked my president if I could have the entire 40 mins of Sharing/Singing time. Since I will be loosing two weeks of teaching time in April for General and Stake Conferences, I have my work cut out for me.

So, on the fifth Sunday we will be testing and passing off My Eternal Family, reviewing our Mother's day Sacrament meeting songs, and hopefully introducing our April song, Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam....thus, the idea for the "Triple Header" was born.

PREP:

1. A picture of a baseball diamond with bases. You could use a poster board to display the picture. You can easily create this with chalk on the board, or you could get really fancy and create separate paper pictures of the bases to put up on the board. I've also seen a cute set of small bases at the dollar store if that is available to you.

2. Four individual pictures of a "Primary Baseball Player" with tape or a magnet on the back for easy removal and reapplying. (I'll leave this one up to you. There are a lot of clipart ideas around that would work just great.)

3 A baseball hat for you and the pianist with the the words TEAM PRIMARY on it. (I plan to just print this out on my computer and tape it to the hat)

4. Large signs with the words Foul Ball, Strike, First Base, Double, Triple, Homerun and Timeout.

5. Baseballs with different ways to sing the song taped on them, or you can use cut out pictures of baseball with the instructions on them (for the test of My Eternal Family only)

6. An Empire Vest and Mask for the Primary President. (If you don't have access to these you can make a simple vest out of black poster board and use a baseball hat with the words Umpire on it)

Presentation:

Come to the front of the primary room with your cap on. Explain that there is an important Baseball "triple Header" today and its going to take a lot of quite concentration. Have the primary Pres. come up front and dress her in her Umpire gear. Have here hold up the different signs and explain what they mean. The first game will be to pass off there song for this month.

Foul Ball: They didn't start all together with the chorister's direction
Strike: Hardly anyone was singing or the words were not clearly being sung
First Base: Good Effort, needing some improvement with picture helps
Double: Great Effort, most everyone singing with picture helps
Triple: Fantastic Effort with picture helps
Homerun: Everyone singing, watching the chorister, words correct, without picture helps
Timeout: Randomly the Umpire will hold up this sign, if everyone goes quiet and reverent quickly, the entire Primary gets an instant homerun!

Since there won't be a whole lot of time for the "Test", I would suggest using 4-5 baseballs of different ways to sing the song to test their knowledge.

Staccato 2nd verse
Start somewhere in the middle of the song (could be considered the "curve ball")
Western Sing
Sing the entire song to pass it off

Have a child come and pick a ball. Sing the song how it suggests and turn to the Umpire for a call on the song. Move the player to that point and go on until that game is complete.

For many of you, this is where you will stop. But, just in case...here is what I will proceed to do. I will have Two baseballs that have the mother's days songs on them (We are singing the first verse to 'Love is Spoken Here' and 'Mother I love you first and third verse). I'll have a child come and choose a baseball, and we'll sing it through a few times with picture helps and then once without. Again, I will use the Empire to help us know how we're doing.

And Finally, if I am so blessed to have time work on my side....I'll have a Child come and pick the last "baseball" out of my bag. However, it will not be a baseball this time, it will be a picture of the Savior. I will explain that our New Song for the month is one they might already know. It is called Jesus wants me for a sunbeam. Everyone will obviously know that first verse, but I think most will be surprised to learn it has a second verse. We will sing it a few times through. If they are reverent and attentive through this process I'll inform them that they "WON" the Triple Header!

It's a whole lot for one Sunday....I think I need some Crackerjacks!

*Adapted by the crazy chorister from a baseball game suggestion from sugardoodle.

Primary Peril Q&A 2009

2009-03-15T17:35:00.000-07:00

I was very surprised to see how many of you requested this in an email. For those of you who still desire to have this, here it is. I hope it helps.

Primary Peril Outline 2009

Program Songs

100
JR= The last line in this song is "Who unto the Savior, for refuge have fled" (HFAF)
SR= "I’ll Strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand" belong in This verse of This song. (HFAF)

200
JR= Where we lived before we were born on earth. (ILIH)
SR= Father said He need someone who had enough of This in This song. ( 2nd verse, ILIH)

300
JR= In the song, My Eternal Family, we are taught we are all THESE. (Builders)
SR= As I try to live God’s word, I feel THIS in THIS song. (The spirit there, MEF)

Wiggle, Wiggle, Wiggle

100
JR= I am all made of THESE, because everything bends. (Hinges)
SR= Following the leaders actions in THIS song is the best course of action. (Do as I’m doing)

200
JR= In This song, you touch your head, THESE, knees, and toes. (Shoulders)
SR= In this song your hands hide and then end up flying. (My Hands)

300
JR= In the spring, this song gives us a nice surprise. (Popcorn popping)
SR= When the sun comes out, this song disappears. (Once there was a snowman)

Blast from the Past!

100
JR= THIS place is where the heart is (Home)
SR= Chosen to witness for his name (Called to Serve)

200
JR= Would I act differently if HE stood beside me? (The Savior-If the Savior stood beside me)
SR= We Thank Thee for Sending THIS to guide us in these latter days. (The gospel-We thank thee oh God for a prophet)

300
JR= You are a child of HIM (God-I am a child of God)
SR= Here you listen and pray (the temple-I love to see the temple)

Our Savior, Jesus Christ

100
JR= In this song, you shine for Him each day. (Jesus, wants me for a sunbeam)
SR= In this song, He teaches us to ‘Treat them kindly too’. (Jesus said love everyone)

200
JR= He was a little child like me. (Jesus once was a little child)
SR= One line of this song is ‘and he was pure and meek and mild’. (Jesus once was a little child)

300
JR= In All the world around me, I can feel HIS love (I feel my Savior’s love)
SR= He knows I will follow Him, give all my life too him. (I feel my Savior’s love)

Primary Peril - program review week

2009-03-10T09:47:00.001-07:00

I've seen an idea for Jeopardy around on many sites. I changed the name so it sounded cool. I was just waiting for the right time to do this, and Program Review week seemed like a good time. I tend to use this week to throw in a few songs that we typically don't get to sing for variety.

Prep:

4 category title strips (Program Songs, Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle (movement songs), Blast from the Past (last year program songs), Our Savior (any song with Jesus in it).)

3 "Answers" for every category (Example: If the category is "Program Songs" one of the answers could be "In this verse Father said He needed someone who had enough love". The question the child would say is "What is 'I Lived in Heaven' -second verse".***obviously this particular question would be for the senior primary. Believe it or not, my Sr. Primary kids would find this rather easy. It would be wise to make a separate set of answer cards for Jr. primary so the its more on their level). Remember to put numbers on the back of the answer cards such as 100, 500, 1000.

*Due to the fact that I don't have all my answer/question cards worked out yet, I'm not going to post it here. However, if you would like a copy of what I am going to do, just leave a comment with your email address and I'll send it too you as soon as I have it all done.

Presentation:

Before Primary, set up the Jeopardy board (If anyone needs instructions for this let me know). Call up a child, allow them to pick a category and a number. Tell them the answer, have them respond in question form (this will be difficult for the little ones so don't be too tight on the jeopardy rule thing) and then sing the corresponding song.

*Inspired by: The Idea Door
**adapted by: The Crazy Chorister

Singing Land! - review activity

2009-03-05T15:49:00.000-08:00

My idea for this game came from playing my four-year-old's favorite game, Candy Land. I decided to create a "Singing Land" version of the game for my Repeat Week activity.

I will create this free hand on the chalk board in the Primary Room so it can be bigger for everyone viewing it; however, you could create your game board on a poster board in advance.

PREP:

Red, Yellow, and Blue colored chalk to create your playing board, or bring your already made poster board.

1 Spinner (I took the spinner out of my Chutes and Ladders game box. It's perfect for this and even has that happy, Primary look too it.)...or, you could make your own. You could also make one dice cube that has the different colors on it.

10-12 3X5 cards with different, quick repeat activities on them. (clap out beat while singing first verse, whisper sing, sing to the back of the room, do as I'm doing while you sing the third verse, hum the song, cut off when the chorister does...etc)

2 playing pieces. (I plan to create two different colored musical notes that have a magnet on the back of them so they can be easily moved on the chalk board from space to space. One will be for Jr. Primary and one for Sr. Primary)

Presentation:

Okay, so if you're going to create your board with chalk, you'll have to find a way to do this before Primary starts. My board will pretty much look like a candy land board with fewer spaces. The squares to land on will be bigger. After creating your board, tape up a repeat activity every few spaces or so. You can embellish it as much or as little as you would like. On space that you do not have singing activities you could put phrases such as: "You were kind too your sister, move ahead one space", "You helped your mother do work around the house move to the next blue space." (this would help to make it go along with the meaning of our song)...etc.

Simply call a child up, allow them to spin the spinner, have them move their piece to the allotted spaces and do the activity. Where ever you end for Jr. Primary, keep their piece on the board to motivate Sr. Primary.

*note: Remember, the chorister's goal with this game is not to see if the kids can get to the end (that's the kids goal) it is for the children to repeat the words as many times as possible in the allotted time. So, don't get worried if you don't go to the end of the game board.

Have a great week!

*Originator: The Crazy Chorister

MISSING TOOLS-second verse of "My Eternal Family"

2009-03-03T11:52:00.000-08:00

Usually I have "Repeat Week" the second week of the month; however, this month has five weeks and we didn't even touch the second verse of "My Eternal Family" on Sunday. So, I decided to spend the extra Sunday working on the second verse and I will have "Repeat Week" next Sunday.

I will be posting my "Repeat Week" activity in a few days for those of you who would like to move on to bigger and better things. Or, you could adapt this activity for a repeat activity by attaching different ways to sing the song to the different tools.

With that said, here is my lesson plan for the second verse of "My Eternal Family".

Prep:

1 Diaper Box wrapped with the word TOOLS on the front.

1 garden kneeling pad

1 comforter (blanket)

1 large paper rolled like blue prints would be. On it you will have the outline of a home and a picture of the scriptures inside. (You could just go the easy way and use a Book of Mormon, ...but what's the fun in that?)

1. Picture of Your family and a Picture of the Temple

Picture helps

Have number tags that are clearly visible on the objects. Place them around the Primary room before children enter.

Presentation:

I am going to come in with my hard hat and my "Tool" box in hand. I am going to tell them that today is so exciting because I brought my tool box that I use to build my home for them to see what's inside, but before we can do that we have to sing the first verse again to remind us what our song is about. After the song has been sung, open your tool box and looked surprised. Say, "Oh no! My tools are missing. I wonder where I left them." Call up a helper to find object #1. Place the Hart Hat on their head while they hunt for the object. Have them come and put it into your box after you talk about what it represents. Hold up your picture helps and say and sing the line two times. Continue this until the entire verse has been sung. Go back and sing the entire song together.

Line one: Garden Kneeling Pad (Represents the need for us to be on our knees to pray for guidance).

Line Two: Comforter (The word Comforter is another name for the spirit. The spirit will guide us as we invite Him to be in our homes)

Line Three: Blue Prints (Represents our Heavenly Father's plan for our lives and the guide the scriptures can be.)

Line Four: Family Picture (We want our families to be together for ever in Heavenly Father's Presence.

When you get to the chorus, just remind them they already know that part and review it with your picture helps.

*Originator: The Crazy Chorister

Following the Leader

2009-03-01T23:41:00.000-08:00

A few of you have asked how I find ways to keep the craziness of kids under control during singing time. I am sure there are several ways to go about this, but here a few ideas that have really been successful in my primary.

First and foremost, these kids know I love them. I go out of my way to learn their names. When I see them in the hallway or when I enter the chapel before church begins I say hello and ask them if they are ready to have a fantastic time in Primary today. I do my very best to make coming to Primary the highlight to their week.

I often begin singing time with a wiggle song (especially for the Jr. Pri). This helps them get the need to move and be free out of the system a bit. I specifically choose wiggle songs that have actions that they have to follow me (Do as I'm doing, Hands, Head, shoulders knees and toes, Once there was a snowman, Popcorn Popping,). Or, you can even do some hand rhymes such as Open/Shut Them.

After the wiggle song, I ask them to sit down and be reverent so I can explain the fun things we get to do today. If they are still having a hard time paying attention I speak softer and softer to where I might only be moving my mouth. Kids find this really interesting and stop so they can hear what I am trying to say. I will continue to almost wispher so they have to really listen to hear me.

I never ask open ended questions such as "Who would like to be my helper today?" I have a cup full of popcycle sticks with every child's name on it, and the kids know that they have the same chance as anyone else to be called up. It took a few Sundays, but the kids are very used to this and there is no begging or throwing fits because they didn't get their name called. It usually takes me about a month before the rotation begins again, but everyone does get a turn eventually.

I let the teachers do the discipling. That is a huge reason why the children have their teachers present during Sharing/Singing time. Let the responsiblity for taking care of a child who is having a rough time fall to the teacher. I usually will stop mid sentence and wait with my arms folded until the child stops or is removed. Again, it took a few weeks, but the kids have come to understand that I'm consitant and that they all miss out on FUN when we have to stop. The kids have really become their own disciplinary group. They really all keep each other in check.

I hold the kids responsible to learn and sing the song their very best. I tell them that they have the opportunity, through music, to invite the spirit in to our Primary to help us learn and feel Heavenly Father's love for us and for the ward. I challenge them to take the music home, teach it to their families, and understand the meaning. For the Jr. Primary this might seem a bit much, but you would be surprised the parents of the Sunbeams that have come up to me and told me that their three year old will not stop singing our lastest primary hit.

Pray to know the specific needs for your primary kids. All Primary rooms are not the same and the dynamics won't be either. However, all children want to be loved and all children want to have fun. The spirit can direct you in how best to do those two things for your primary kids.

Above all, Hang in there.

Gifts

2009-02-24T08:20:00.000-08:00

I am excited to begin teaching March's song: My Eternal Family. I've been pondering how to teach this one for a long time.

Every 1st Sunday of the Month is "Discovery Sunday". We always get to discover what the new theme and song for the month is going to be. I try to come up with an activity that will stick in their minds so it will help them recall the words and meaning of the song as we progress through the month. So, here it is...

Prep:

5 card board boxes that have been wrapped or gift bags. I plan to make them bright and exciting to look at. It will be much easier if you have a removable top to the boxes so they don't have to unwrap it (they can be of varying sizes depending on the object that will go within them)

All the following items will be wrapped in an individual box: VERSE #1 A Hard Hat and tool box (these were all out of my kids toy box), a picture of a family, a serving tray with a paper heart taped to it, a paper growth chart (you can make your own by taping several pages together and marking height marks on the side), a picture of smiling lips with kind words surrounding it, a small hammer, and a child's toy, a picture of the council in Heaven, a small hand dumbbell, a picture of a family standing by the temple. You can make boxes for the second verse; however, I don't believe time will allow for it...at least in my situation. I plan to cover the second verse if I have time by just using the props we've already discovered and through the picture prompts I will bring that I will be using the rest of the month.

Picture Prompts from the Jolly Jenn web site....or you can make your own.

Presentation:

I will line up the boxes and tell them that I have brought the Primary some special gifts to open. Each Gift has a clue to a part of the song we will be learning this month in Primary, but before we open them we need to close our eyes and listen to the music of the song. After the song has been played once through slowly, I will then allow one child at a time to come and open a box. As we open and discover what is inside each box we'll discuss what the object could possibly represent. (you should really guide this discussion with the Jr. Primary so time isn't taken up on certain objects). As we decide what the objects represent, I will show my picture prompt for that line of the song and we'll say it and sing it two times.

After we have learned the entire first verse, I will tell the children that our families are a precious gift that Heavenly Father has given too us, and that we need to be good builders in our families to keep them strong and keep them full of love so we can be together forever.

*Originator: The Crazy Chorister

PS. I apologize to those I promised that I would post "pictures" that I made for this. Honestly, I really just drew a silly picture of lips with some nice words surrounding it. And, I used pictures of my family and other pictures I had around my home for the other pictures involved with this activity. It wasn't something that I thought was actually worth putting on this page. I'm sure you all could do much better. I did however find a terrific flip chart for this song on the Sugardoodle site. The link is in the comments section of this post.

Punch It! --the new and improved posting

2009-02-20T09:36:00.000-08:00

Hey,

Sorry it took me so long to post this week. Here is my Challenge/test activity that I will do this week so the kids can pass off their song for the month.

Prep:

1 Heavy Duty poster board (cut 12 holes in the board the size of your containers)
12 small plastic containers (I am using small XS Ziplock plastic containers)
12 Strips of paper with challenges on them
12 small sheets of Tissue paper to cover the containers
Picture helps for the song

1 tape and tape recorder for challenge 12

Cut 12 holes in your heavy duty poster board. Make sure that the hole is big enough so the container can easily fit into it, but small enough where the lip of the container will hold it snugly in place.

Place your challenge papers inside the containers. Here are the challenges that I came up with...

Challenge 1: Sing second verse without picture helps (4pts)
Challenge 2: Sing the line that comes AFTER these words: "Is Laid For Your Faith" (5pts)
Challenge 3: Choose a different song to sing (2pts)
Challenge 4: Sing either the first or last verse without Chorister helping with words (6pts)
Challenge 5: Automatic 10 pts!
Challenge 6: Sing the Line that comes BEFORE these words: "and cause thee to stand". (5pts)
Challenge 7: You have 20 secs to put picture helps in order. (5pts)
Challenge 8: Whisper sing 1st Verse/ Staccato second verse (5pts)
Challenge 9: Teachers have to say the first two words of the last verse (3pts)
Challenge 10: Watch Chorister for cut off, if you cut off correctly (4 pts)
Challenge 11: Stand on one foot while singing either 1st or 2nd verse double time (6pts)
Challenge 12: Have your voices recorded while singing your best. Listen if you got it. (8pts)

Cover each container with tissue paper. I decided to go crazy and cover each one with a different color of paper. I held the tissue to the container by putting a rubber band around each one. Remember to bring extra tissue sheets so you can redue the board for Sr. primary.

Here is a picture of the board I made. (Note-I did add the words "Primary Punch" to the top of the board later on)

Front View

Back View (you can see the challenge paper in the containers)

Okay, so simply explain that you will call upon a child to come and punch one of the holes. Have them remove the paper and read it. It will contain a challenge on it that the kids will participate in . Go until time runs out. You should be able to get through all of them in the 20 min time period.

I hope that makes sense.

*Originator: The Idea Door

**Adapted by The Crazy Chorister

Getting Families involved...

2009-02-11T09:16:00.000-08:00

I've decided that every month I will hand out a invitation to the children to give to their parents. This will invite them to sing our current primary song in FHE that month. I will provide the words to the song for them on the invite. This month, I bought those craftstore foam cutout hearts and pasted the invite onto them so it's more sturdy and they won't loose it as easy. I might stick a magnet strip on the back so they can hang in on their fridge, but...we'll see if I get to that this week.

I am a true believer that what is reinforced in the home will stay with the child for a life time. And, I think it will truly help the little ones get the words perfect.

This along with the CDs that were made should be a powerful teaching boost to knowing the songs for the program.

*Idea by The Crazy Chorister

Ward Conference

2009-02-08T16:19:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. First, thank you so much for all the positive feedback that you are giving me. I really just started this blog to keep track of what I was doing for myself, but I am so happy that my blog and other wonderful blogs dedicated to primary choristers are helping so many of you. Thank you to many of you who are sharing your ideas as well.

Second, just so you know..."The Brick Wall" idea I posted this past week went AMAZING! I am shocked too say it, but my primary kids know all the words to this song and sing it out. I feel really blessed because the first week was sort-of rocky. I always encourage the kids to go home and ask their parents to include the song of the month in FHE so they can learn the words better. I think its working because there was a marked improvement.

Third, my ward conference is this coming Sunday. The Stake has asked that all the Primary leaders attend RS/EQ/HP, so I get a break. I hope the stake has them sing the song at least once, but I might have to do a bit of reviewing on week four.

I will be working on and will post week four probably sometime later this week. I always do a Test Day on the fourth Sunday of the month, and this one is a good one.

Thanks again for all the support.

Hang in there, do your best, and the Lord fills in the rest.

The Brick Wall

2009-02-05T09:51:00.001-08:00

First, I would like to say this is one of the hardest songs I have taught to Jr. Primary. There are a lot of difficult words to understand, but I think they'll get it with time and repetition. Also, if you are looking at this sight and are NOT a member of the Primusic group on Yahoo...go get on. It's a great forum for many brilliant chorister minds. I was inspired by some of the comments and of course had to twist it into something totally crazy....so here it is.

How Firm a Foundation week #2
My second week of the month is always "Repeat Week". So I find interesting ways to help the kids repeat the song as many times as possible so it's burned into their minds.

Prep:

Card board bricks: I know this isn't a resource that most people have. I happen to get these at a garage sale last summer. If you do not have these and wish to do this, I would suggest possibly getting some Styrofoam bricks from the craft store, you could use baby wet wipe boxes (if you have enough of them)...or possibly even those plastic zip lock containers....or you could do a smaller version of this using children's wooden building blocks. (I was inspired by the Jenga idea so you could do this with a set of Jenga blocks as well.) **Stacy in the comment section suggested Kleenex boxes. I love it! It would be such a great substitute for these blocks. She also put a great link for the bricks...go check it out.

Action strips: Type out some different ways to sing the verses such as: Boys sing, Girls sing, Hum the song, change the tempo, you lead....etc. The idea here is to give variety, but to allow the repeated singing of the same song so it doesn't get boring.

So, before primary..build the wall. The Word strips can be facing the kids or you could hide them on the inside of the bricks so they don't know what they are going for. I am going to leave several bricks without a action strip so they can get a bonus try if they don't get a word strip.

Basically you'll ask someone to come up. They have to try and remove a brick from the middle or side of the wall and place it on top of the wall without it falling. I had my four year old try this by herself and she did very well so I am confidant that we would be able to go several rounds before it would spill over. You could assist Jr. Primary to remove the bricks if you're nervous about it. The motivation here is...if it spills over we have to sing the entire song straight through...so they will be very careful.

I will sum it up by saying that when you are not careful with your testimony (if you don't pray, read scriptures, obey mom and dad...etc) you will leave holes in your testimony that eventually will cause your FOUNDATION to collapse. You need to always be working on making it strong .

Some bricks removed

*Originator: The Crazy Chorister

How Firm a Foundation

2009-01-26T15:01:00.000-08:00

So, our new song for Feb is "How Firm a Foundation". I decided to introduce it in the following way.

Prep:

2 see through containers
1 flat rock (rather large)
1 lego house
4 cups sugar
1 pitcher of water
Printed picture helps off of the Jolly Jenn site

Tell the children that you are going to learn a new song for this month, but before you do you would like to sing "The wise man and the foolish man" At this point, draw their attention to the first container that has the rock in it. Place the lego house on the rock. While the children sing "the wise man built his house upon the rock", pour the rain on the rock. Obviously the house will stand still. At this point, talk to the children about what happened to the house when the rain fell. Then sing "The foolish man built his house upon the sand"...Place the same lego house on the "hill" of sugar in the other container. When the rain comes down..pour the water over the house....eventually,..the house will fall as the sugar dissolves beneath it. Talk about what just happened to the house and why it happened.

Then show the title to the song they will be learning. Ask them "What does Foundation Mean?" Talk about the rock being the foundation for the house and how you need something very strong to hold up through tough storms...relate that to the Savior and the Gospel being our "Firm Foundation" in our lives to save us from the storms that will come.

Teach the song showing the picture helps. Say a line and have them repeat it and then sing that line....continuing until the song is complete. Discuss any hard or difficult words that may come up. Help them get comfortable with the sound and feel of the song.

*Originator: As far as I know, Sister Bell who lived in my ward years ago.
**Adapted by The Crazy Chorister

Master Singing Challenge

2009-01-24T22:23:00.000-08:00

I can't believe January has flown by. This week will be the last week for teaching "I lived in Heaven" officially. Here's what I plan to do to test how well the kids know the song.

Prep:

8 cards with challenges written on them (4 for Jr. Pri and 4 for Sen.)
Seal the cards in envelopes
Hide cards under four of the primary chairs..(make sure you spread them out)
A label for each child that says "I am a Master Primary Singer. Ask me to sing "I lived in Heaven"

In General:

Announce that today is a special day. It's a day to test and see if the Primary kids remember all the words to their song that they have been learning. Tell them you have special Challenges that will help to determine if they are "Singing Masters" for the month.

Tell them that you have hidden these special challenges under some of their chairs. After the envelops have been found, ask the children not to open them until asked. Remind them that only reverent children will be asked to help.

There are four levels to the challenges.

Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Master

Go through the challenges one by one, asking each child that is holding the corresponding envelope to open it, read it (or have their teacher read it), and then proceed to complete the challenge.

After all challenges have been completed, and you are satisfied that they know the song, announce that they are "Master Singers" for the month. Hand out the labels that you made and encourage them to sing the song to their families.

Jr. Primary:

This is what I have listed on my cards inside the envelops

Beginner Challenge: Sing the song without picture helps OR without the piano playing

Intermediate Challenge: Have the girls sing verse 1. Have the boys sing verse 2. Everyone sings verse 3

Advanced Challenge: Come and put the picture helps in order for one of the verses

Master Challenge: Have Your voices recorded singing the song. The Chorister will play it back. Listen if you've mastered the song.

Senior Primary:

I made this a bit more complicated. I added a point system to help motivate them and keep them focused on the end goal. The points don't mean too much except I'll say they have to have at least 25 points to prove they've mastered the song. I also gave them an A/B option for the challenge.

Beginner Challenge Option #1: Sing verse 1, 2, and 3 without the piano (3pts)
Beginner Challenge Option #2: Singer verse 1, 2, and 3 without picture helps (4pts)

Intermediate Challenge Option #1: Girls sing verses 1, 2 without the chorister (5pts)
Intermediate Challenge Option #2: Boys sing verse 3 with no picture helps (6pts)

Advanced Challenge Option #1: You have 15 secs to put the picture helps in order forall three verses. (7pts)
Advanced Challenge Option #2: Pass the bean bag while you sing the song. Each person has to say one word of the song before they pass it on. (8pts)

Master Challenge: Have you voices recorded singing the song. The chorister will play it back. Listen to see if you've mastered the song.

If you have (10pts)

If not, go back and do one of the challenges you did not do to practice some more.

If the kids are doing really well, I will tell them that I have a final Challenge envelope. I'll ask one of the reverent children to come open it. It will say....

Ultimate Challenge: Go home and sing this song to a member of your family that is not in Primary. Ask them to make sure you got all the words right. Then, have them sign this card (provide some 3X5 cards) and bring it back to the chorister for a reward.

Hope that all made sense! I'm exhausted.

*Originator: The Crazy Chorister