Skittles game

on our new facebook page, Annie left this idea just moments after I started up the page. I can tell the facebook page is going to be a great resource for ideas and information! Check it out!

Skittles game:

(As always, be sensitive to food allergies.

Fruity candy is usually safe, but always get approval from the primary presidency first!)

"We take a bag of Skittles and I draw names and the child comes to the front of the room. They close their eyes and put a skittle in their mouth and try to guess the color. If they get it right then the get to pick a song, but if it's wrong then it's my choice. It's a great way to review program songs, the kids love it, and it's super easy...hardly any planning involved. I always give each child 3 or 4 skittles after singing time so there's no fighting."

Some variations I thought of for reviewing ONE song:

• You could use this like I use the magic potion game. Write out the words to a song on a dry-erase board using marker colors to match the colors of skittles you have. If they guess the correct color, you erase that color of a word. If they guess it wrong, you don't erase any words. You can switch this, depending on the tendency of your primary, i.e. they prefer to get them wrong so they don't have to erase any words. :)
• The color of the skittle represents a certain phrase of a song. If they guess it right, they sing just that phrase. If they guess it wrong, you sing the entire song.
• The colors represent different ways to sing the song, if guessed correctly. If guessed wrong, you just sing it normal.
• Do you have any ideas? suggestions?

Love this idea, Annie! Thanks so much!

Lesson plan for Sunday

Here is my "lesson plan" for Sunday

Review song: "Follow the Prophet"

I'm going to bring in a few rhythm instruments:

a triangle

wood agogo (I had to google it to find out what it was called...:)

Guiro

maraca

One at a time, I'll have a child come and play one of the following rhythms while we sing a verse of the song:

For example, on the triangle, the child will play the quarter note, followed by 3 quarter rests. (I'll help them if needed)


For Senior primary, we'll add on each time we sing. So, we'll have the triangle play the first rhythm, the agogo play the second rhythm, the guiro the third rhythm, and the maraca play the rhythm of the melody, all playing simultaneously.

For Junior's, we'll keep it simple, by having just one instrument and one rhythm at a time.

Month's Song:  "Come Follow Me"

I'm going to try the "Balloon-pass"  found on this blog. I'm focusing on the first verse this week, and will learn the 4th verse next week. 

Idea: Pass around a blown-up balloon while singing through the song. Whoever has the balloon when the song ends, will pop it. (For kids that are afraid of the popping, have a pair of sissors to trim off the knot, so it won't "pop". ) 

Inside the balloon, is a paper with a question or scenario. Have the child read and answer the scenario/question. Continue with a new balloon. 

I'm slightly worried about kids holding on to the balloon so they can pop it, instead of passing it on...so I'll try to think of a remedy for this....

I hope to sing through the song 5 times, so here are my 5 questions:

1) My brother hit me, because I wouldn’t let him have a turn playing a game on the computer. What should I do?

  

2) Mom is calling for me, and I know she’s going to ask me to do a chore, but I’m busy doing something. What should I do?

3) I’m bored in sacrament meeting. What should I do?

4) Name one way we can follow the savior.

5) We just did a fun activity for sharing time and my friends are having a hard time remembering how to be reverent. What should I do?

*A special thanks to my own children for the inspiration behind these scenarios....

TIP: We have two singing times, one for Junior, and one for Senior, so I printed out two sets of questions, and have them pre-stuffed in the balloons. I don't want to haul around a bag of blown-up balloons, so I'll blow and tie them up behind the piano, during the opening exercises.

I have a bag for Junior primary, and a bag for Senior primary.

Other song:  "Here Comes the Ox Cart"

I do NOT like to spend a lot of time on visuals, unless I plan on using them over and over.  However, I made an exception for this song.  I am NOT an artist...which might help explain the gigantic cart pulled by the tiny ox....oh well....

The wheel turns with a little handle on the back. 

It's some hardware thing I found in my husband's tool box that is attached to a screw from the other side.

The kids can turn the wheel slowly, as we sing the song.

To introduce the song, I'll ask them to listen to what kind of song the wheel is.

(Sing the song for them)

        I cut the wheel into wedges that can be lifted up, to reveal a question about the song. 

I'll have a child lift a flap, read the question, we'll sing the song, and then have the primary answer the question.

Questions:

1) How many times do we sing "creak"?

2) What is the wheel made of?

3) What kind of animal pulls the cart?

4) How fast does the cart go?

I put a little piece of double-sided tape under the wedges, so they would stay down when I needed them to.

You can easily put actions to this song. Have the kids roll their arms, and then bend from side to side at the waist for the "creak" part. I think this could be a fun "wiggle" song for July.

Another new blog and facebook page!

I personally am loving all of the singing time blogs out there! I just found this brand-new blog that someone linked to on the yahoo groups page.

(If you are not a member, you should join! It's an awesome resource!!)

The blog is called "Singing Testimonies". It only has two posts up, but quite a few ideas. One I think I will use this sunday.

Also, I have started a facebook page so we can better share ideas and ask questions. I receive lots of questions and great suggestions via the comments on this blog, but I'm afraid many do not see these suggestions. I hope the facebook page will be a better source.

You can check it out here. Let me know what you think!
*Remember, it was just created...so there's nothing there yet! That's where YOU come in!*

July flipchart: Come Follow Me

So, this flip-chart still isn't the way I wanted it, but my time has run out. Hopefully you can download the word-document  and tweak it the way you want! :)

I hope this is helpful to at least some of you! I only did verse 1 and 4, as that seems to be the pick of the majority.
Word document for verse 1
Word document for Verse 4
PDF file for verse 1
PDF file for verse 4

To introduce this song, I'm taking it straight from the Children's Sacrament Meeting Presentation outline for July, which is as follows:

"Encourage the children to follow you as you touch your nose, shake your hands, and fold your arms Tell them that we can follow Jesus by doing the things he did.


Have them tap the rhythm of the song with two fingers of one hand against the palm of the other hand as the music plays.


Prepare footprints with the words of the song written on them.  Invite the children to place the footsteps on the board one at a time, as you sin and they echo each phrase. Arrange the footsteps so they lead to a picture of the Savior." CSMP outline 2010, page 15

For SENIOR primary, you could then mix up these footprints, and have a child come and try to find each correct footprint in the right order, as the primary sings through the song. you could have them just point to each footprint, or actually put them in the right order. This last  option would work best if using magnets on a blackboard.

If you are planning on doing this as well, here is a link to the footprints I made, with the phrases on them.
Word file footprints
PDF file footprints
Here are pictures of the flip-chart:

Ordinary Adventures of a primary chorister has a GREAT flipchart as well.