A Happy Song

We hope it is time for spring right?  That the sun is on its way and the earth will awake? I am in the mood to sing something about springtime!

Well here is a song I NEVER hear anymore, so I made some visuals for it.  I hope the kids enjoy singing it and that we can revive it and have it become a favorite again!

Ducks in a pond sing a happy song

action:  clamp hand open and close like a ducks beak

Mother Hen crackles to the whole day long

action: do the chicken arms up and down

Birds in their nest

action: cup hands to form a nest

and wind in the tree tops

all join in singing a happy song!

action: wave arms back 'n forth in the air like wind

then hold hands out (like when we sing what did I see?) for all join in part

The 2nd verse is super cute, too.

Once There Was Tulip

My husband just bought me these.  They are my favorite flower.  They reminded me of another little variation of a primary song that is so fitting for spring.  Again, I am tweaking the lyrics of an old favorite so the song gets more longevity throughout the year.  This is to the tune of ONCE THERE WAS A SNOWMAN.  So with the tulip, you do the actions in reverse, starting out small on the ground, and growing up tall, tall, tall like a flower would grow!

Once there was a tulip, tulip, tulip...
Once there was a tulip, small, small small, (get on the ground, then pinch your fingers to indicate a teeny little seed)
In the spring (or sun), it grew, grew grew (start standing up slowly and getting taller and taller)
In the spring (or sun), it grew, TALL, TALL, TALL

Have You Ever Seen Bunny?

I like to tweak lyrics to certain songs, adds a little variety to some of the kiddos favorites.

So in honor of spring and Easter...  I got these ears for 97cents at Wal Mart.  I did this in November with "turkey" and I called up 4 helpers who had to put on some feather headbands (bought from JoAnns) and my helpers demonstrate how they think a turkey would walk. Then I had the entire primary stand up and sing with me and do the turkey walk. So I will do the same but with the bunny ears. The little kids got really into this last fall, and it is a fun wiggle song for the spring time.  Since the ears are blue and pink, I will ask for a boy and girl helper as ask them to show me how they would hop and then we will sing...

To the tune of HERE WE ARE TOGETHER

Have you ever seen a bunny, a bunny, a bunny?
Have you ever seen a bunny hopping along?
Hop this way or that way, and this way or that way (hop in all directions)
Have you ever seen a bunny, hope this way or that?

It seems like any spring time animal could be used.  A duckie or lambie or goosie....!

St. Patricks Day Singing Board Game

Once again, I can't take credit for this.  My sister Kirstin created this and I copied it.  It is a spoof off any board game.  Can be played with dividing the primary into two teams OR you can just take the journey from start to finish with the entire primary.  I made two magentic markers.  I will use the chalk board to put this poster up (with magnets).  You use a dice to roll and see how many spaces you go.  Some of the spaces are SING IF, which have coordinating cards.  Other spaces have PICK A CARD, which have coordinating cards.  The other spaces are just fun, things to do with green, lose a turn, go back, ect.  This was just free handed on a poster board.  The spaces can be anything you really want.

SING IF CARDS:

Sing if if you are wearing a CTR ring

Sing if you are wearing green

Sing if you have green eyes

Sing if you love the color green

Sing if you hate green beans

Sing if you know this song (have pianist play a little bit of a song & guess)

Sing if you have ever drank green milk

Sing if you don't like being pinched

Sing if you have ever eaten LUCKY CHARMS cereal

Sing if you CHOOSE THE RIGHT

PICK A CARD CARDS

What is your favorite thing that is green?  (ex:  trees, flowers, mountains, my eyes, ect)

What is a new missionary called? (a greenie)

Green is for GO, get another turn (have child roll dice again)

What does "green with envy" mean?  (Jealousy)

What is green and has four leaves and one stem? (a four leaf clover/shamrock)

True or False?  Green is a primary color?  (false)

Name a symbol we see at church that is green and has 3 letters in it.  (the CTR shield)

The cards could be use seperately as well, without the board game.  You could just choose a helper and have them pick between the two decks.  You could divide the group into teams and have the cards worth points and see what they earn by answering the questions right or singing the songs well.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!





GOODBYE SONG

Have you noticed that when we have visitors we sing the HELLO song but when people move away or teachers or leaders get released, there is no song of appreciation or farewell?  Our primary has sung this for years. I think it is sweet.  Someone genius changed the lyrics to HELLO FRIENDS....

GOODBYE FRIEND(S) IT'S SAD TO SEE
YOU LEAVING OUR PRIMARY
WE'LL BE SAD BUT THIS WE KNOW
YOU'LL BE LOVED WHEREVER YOU GO

This is kind of a sweet send off!

A Pinch Of This Or That...

As I review the song Choose The Right and Stand For The Right, I have a plan that coordinates with St. Patrick's Day.  I will choose a helper to help lead a certain verse or chorus of our monthly song.  If they sing it well, my helper will get to pinch me!  This will not take the entire singing time, it is just something I will incorporate in my presentation. I think the kids will think it is funny!

The Irish Hatter

I stole this idea of course.  I just love this one!  So these hats came from Dollar Tree and Target.  They are so silly and the kids just love embarassing the leaders.  You can use these hats a variety of ways. I am half tempted to wear one while I do singing time because they already think I am a clown, I might as well dress for the occasion!

Anyway, I have 5 hats (may need to buy a few more).  Each hat will have a song that coordinates.  I will choose a helper.  The child will choose from the hats or goofy headbands.  The helper will lead the children in the song.  At the end of the song, he will choose a leader (or his teacher) to wear the hat he has chosen.  I think they will think it is really funny to see the adults wearing these things.  Me, too!

You could also put ways to sing a song on these hats.  Or the kids could wear the hats.  Endless possibilities.  My own 4 children are already fighting over which hat they get to wear on the 17th of March so they don't get pinched.

St Patrick's Day Fun

I am always thinking of the next thing, BE PREPARED (I stole that motto).  So of course Valentines Day has come and gone.  So now what?  St. Patrick's day!!!! I have spent alot of time blog stalking and found some ideas that I have morphed into my own.  I found some very cute supplies at the Target $1-Spot and $1-Tree.  I got this pack of 12 foam shamrocks...half were glittery and half were plain.  On the glittery ones, I have put the word RIDDLE.  On the back is a silly Irish Riddle.  On the other shamrocks is the word SONG and on the back are primary songs.  I have attached magnets to them. I love that the chalk boards are magnetic.  It is so much easier to post things up and have children pick this way, tape is always a nightmare I feel.  So this is the game.

I will split the primary in half, using the asile up the center to divide it evenly.  Two teams.  Each team gets a chance to come pick a shamrock.  They can pick a glittery one or a plain one.  If they pick a plain one, their team has to sing the song by themselves and if they perform it WELL, they will earn 3 points.  If they choose a glittery shamrock, they have to answer the silly Irish riddle on the back.  They can have help from their team (including leaders).  If they get it right, they get 5 points.  The team with the most wins. 

Riddles:

What is out on the lawn all summer long?  Paddy 'O Furniture
What do you call a fake stone in Ireland?  A Shamrock
Why do frogs like St. Patrick's day?  Because they are GREEN!
Where would you find a Leprechaun baseball team?  The Little League
What kind of bow cannot be tied?  A rainbow
Why do people wear shamrocks?  Because real rocks are too heavy

There are alot of Irish jokes/riddles out there, but I felt these were easy and tame for church.  The kids only have to answer along the lines to get it right and I figure with teacher's help, they might get most of them.  Hopefully it will be fun!

The songs I have chosen
I LIKE TO LOOK FOR RAINBOWS
GIVE SAID
FOLLOW THE PROPHET
JESUS WANTS ME FOR A SUNBEAM
FUN TO DO
HAPPY & YOU KNOW IT  (if you love wearing green, clap your hands!)

Again, I do games in addition to singing the song of the month. I like to mix in oldies that the kids don't get to sing because there is an agenda to learn the NEW song of the month.  I tried to find songs that went along with Green and St. Patrick's Day.

Happy New Year Tic Tac Toe

A month late, but I will post it anyway...

I found this idea on another blog, forgive me as I don't recall which one it was.  Not my idea but I made it my own.  I had this tic tac toe board already and I just put a header on it. It is removeable and so we can play tic tac toe on any old day.  But this one was for New Years.  New Years fell on a Sunday this year.  Crazy!  But I had to do something relating to RESOLUTIONS or GOALS.

So I divided the room into two groups....GROUP "X' and GROUP "O"

They picked a marker and place it on the board when it was their turn, of course trying to get THREE in a row.

On the back of the markers were resolutions having to do with songs

RESOLUTION:

BE KIND TO YOUR PRIMARY TEACHER

have the chosen child ask their teacher their favorite primary song

RESOLUTION:

"LEARN TO DO HIS WILL, TO LIVE WITH HIM SOMEDAY"

What's the song?  I AM A CHILD OF GOD - sing it

RESOLUTION:

"I'M CHANIGN HOW I LIVE, I AM CHANGING WHAT I'LL BE!"

What's the song?  Scripture Power - sing it

RESOLUTION:

"TO SHINE FOR HIM EACH DAY"

What's the song?  Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam - sing it

RESOLUTION:

TO STAND "TALL, TALL, TALL"

What's the song?  Once There Was A Snowman - sing it

RESOLUTION:

To make at least one snowman

What's the song?  My version of Popcorn Popping (snowflakes up to my knee) - sing it

RESOLUTION:

TO LISTEN TO THOMAS S. MONSON, in other words....

What's the song?  Follow The Prophet - sing it

RESOLUTION:

BE HAPPY

What's the song?  If You're Happy and you know it - sing it

RESOLUTION:

To LOVE SINGING IN PRIMRAY

What's the song?  Singing a song is fun to do, to do do do - sing it

RESOLUTION:

I TRY TO SHOW I LOVE THE LOVE IN ALL I SAY AND DO

What's the song?  One In A Million - sing it

This particular day, we sang so many songs.  It was so fun. I really get bored just hammering the song of the month every Sunday.  Usually it is a song we will retire once the program is over and we hardly ever sing that song again.  It is so tragic, but true.  I want the children to be familiar with ALL the songs in the book and this is a way to really get them familiar with all the GOOD stuff in this primary book rather than just singing AS A CHILD OF GOD 100 times.  BORING!  I think that song has a great message but so do all of them.  So I really try to sneak in songs we wouldn't sing otherwise.  I think one day, kids will remember the songs from primary, and it won't be the NEW song they learned for a program.  It will be the old standards like I AM A CHILD OF GOD AND POPCORN POPPING AND I HOPE THEY CALL ME ON A MISSION.  So I think it is really important to do some of these songs even if you have an agenda to teach the new song all month long.

My two cents!  Sorry!

Once There Was A Snowman

Kirstin's idea again.  This one makes me laugh every time I do it.  The snowman has different noses....

a triangular nose

a pig nose

a kitty cat nose

an elephant nose

a carrot nose

You could come up with your own goofy noses.  Okay, so obviously you can have the kids pick a nose and put it on...they always laugh if it is anything but the carrot because a snowman with a silly nose is SILLY. 

But this year, I did a new twist to it.  We played PIN THE NOSE ON THE SNOWMAN, like the old game of pin the tail on the donkey.  I used a blindfold and had the kids pin the nose.  It was kinda fun and different.  Some got the nose right on target, others did not.  We did some giggling!

Winter Fun

I always do singing times that coordinate with seasons or holidays.  So last month, I did some WINTER things.  Again, ideas from Kirstin.  Thanks KIR!  These are little winter people.  You can use them a variety of ways.  I have a poster with a winter scene.  The kids can choose a person and stick them on the winter scene, the song on back is what you sing as each person is picked.  Or you can hide the people and have the kids find them.  Last month I just had the people already stuck to the winter scene and the children pulled the ones off they wanted, the song was on the back, but on the front, I attached a little slip that said how the song would be sung when a specific word of the song was sung.  Here is how this works...

Song:  ONE IN A MILLION - word "million" action, TWIRL around

song:  I HOPE THEY CALL ME ON A MISSION - word "hope", action JUMP FOR JOY

song:  FOLLOW THE PROPHET - word "follow", action Clap

and so forth...

Pick songs that do not need a certain reverence.  The kids got so into this.  They have to pay attention to the lyric and wait for the word to come and then the action follows. 

This was really fun and I put a new twist on a poster I have had for 10 years!

My Big Mitten

My Big Mitten

Here is my big mitten!  I made it from a two posters, I sealed all the edges except the one at the bottom so you can put you hand in it, I formed a pocekt with the two posters.  Emme is helping me show how this works.  It's huge and a tad ridiculous.  I suppose I am not afraid to look silly in front of the kids.  I use this prop to lead songs...silly songs as it obviously it NOT appropriate for just any primary song.  But if you want to get the kids attention...put on the ginormous mitten and they giggle.  I bring this out during the winter months.  I have also let children use it to lead the primary...some are shy of this and others are not!

The Love Quilt

The Love Quilt

A Tribute to my mother, the QUILT QUEEN!

I love quilts...perhaps everyone does.  But I grew up with a mother who made quilts for just about any occasion because she felt life is a little better when you have a pretty or soft quilt.  So I had to do make a quilt singing time and it made sense it would be in honor of Valentines Day.  Nothing says love like a quilt...just ask my son who just recently got a new silky quilt from him Gramma.  He is feeling so loved right now!

My quilt is a family quilt...6 pieces and each has a word on it

1.  grandparents (song:  It's Always Fun When Grandpa Comes)

2.  brothers and sisters ( We are a Happy Family vs. "I love brother, he loves me, we love sister....")

3.  Ancestors (Family History I am Doing It)

4.  Mothers and Fathers ( Either Mother I Love You or Daddy's Homecoming)

5. Love (song about love like LOVE ONE ANOTHER)

6.  LOVE (song about love like I FEEL MY SAVIOR'S LOVE)

Here you can piece the quilt and explain that the LOVE pieces bring the design together  You cannot have an eternal family without LOVE...all the pieces form a big heart in the midde.  You could put a picture of the Savoir in the middle as well which would be sweet. 

So, you have the kids pick the puzzle pieces and have them try to make them fit together...takes a few tries but the kids like the challenge!  The songs are on the back of each piece and you sing the songs that coordinate with each piece. 



Scripture Hearts

Scripture Hearts!

Thanks Kirstin!  Yes, my sister gave me this little sheet of heart pictures that coordinate with scritpures that use the word heart.  I morphed it into a singing time.  Sadly, I will not use this with the junior primary this year as they just aren't quick when it comes to searching scriptures and looking up things and reading them to find clue.  However, this would make a fun singing time for the seniors or a family home evening, primary lesson or even sharing time.  Here are some hearts for thought....

Epheisians 4:18  Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the BLINDNESS of their hearts.  (heart with blind fold on it)

2 Nephi 4:30  Rejoice, O my heart, and CRY unto the Lord and say, O Lord, I will praise thee forever, yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.  (heart with tears on its cheek)

Mosiah 24:12  And Alma and his people did not raise their voice to the Lord their God, but they did POUR their hearts to him: and he did not know the thoughts of their hearts.  (heart with a cup, pouring out his hearts)

Proverbs 15:13  A MERRY heart maketh a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart, the spirit is broken. (heart with a huge smile on its face)

Proverbs 17:22  Me merry heart doeth good like MEDICINE but a broken spirit drieth the bones.  (heart that looks like a nurse)

2 Nephi 16:10  Make the heart of this people FAT and make their ears heavy and shut their eyes lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and be converted and be healed.   (heart that looks puffy or FAT)

Hebrews 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Isreal after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my LAWS in their mind and write them in there hearts; and I will be to them a God and they shalle be to me a people. (heart that looks like a sherriff)

D&C 2:2 And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the father, and the hearts of their children shall turn to FATHERS.  (heart with a little heart =father & son)

Matthew 6:21 For where your TREASURE is, there will your heart be also.  (heart with a treasure box)

So I enlarged the pictures of these hearts and laminated them.  I stuck them on the chalk board and gave out a reference in which the children had to go "chase" in their scriptures. I told them to keep in mind we are looking for references to "hearts" and what kind of hearts.  And they would read the scripture and match it with one of these hearts, on the back is a song to sing.  Kinda fun.  Who knew there were so many good scriptures out there with the word HEART in it.  Happy Valentines Day!