S.S.S Secret Service Sing-a-long

Hello, Hola, Good Morning! Geez Louise, it has been awhile since I have been on here. I have had to take some time off to catch my breath and focus my attentions on the program, which I must say was a huge SUCCESS! I am so stinking proud of my kiddo's. They have such beautiful spirits and they definitely shined through for the program this year. I'm telling you, it was every choristers dream come true! They sang with all of their little hearts and souls and touched every person in the chapel that day! I am one PROUD chorister mama!!!!

For this weeks singing time I am going to go with the theme for November on service. "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." Mosiah, 2:17

To start out I will be using 5 songs on service. The kiddo's won't know all of them so I figure 5 will be plenty. The songs I will be using are as follows:

As I have Loved you PG 136

Kindness Begins with Me PG 145A

I'll Walk with You PG 140

We'll Bring the World his Truth PG 172

 Jesus said Love Everyone PG 61


"You have all been called to serve a GREAT mission. Today you will uncover your assignments for the week. If you are able to complete these assignments you will officially become Secret Service Agents for the P.P.P. (Pinnacle Peak Primary) Serving your HF and his people." This calling is a GREAT honor and I know you can do it."

To Begin I will have 5 envelopes in the front of the room, they will look like this:

Inside each envelope will be the mission the child has to do to recover the Service song.

For #1 Your mission is to recover the song from the laser beam maze. Be careful not to touch the laser or you have to go back to the beginning. Once the song is recovered then we will sing it and discuss a service the children can do that week to go along with the song.(As I have Loved you)

Once we have sang and discussed a service each child will receive a small envelope like this one here:

They will get a tag to place inside their envelope. The tags will look like this:

They need to earn 5 of these tags, so that means they have to sing and recover all 5 songs on service and do a good job!!!
 When they do a service for someone the following week they will leave one of their tags. They are to get rid of all 5 tags this week to show that they did their service. This will earn them their prize for the following week and they will become official Secret Service Agents!

(I found these cute tags on the blog befickle.blogspot.com. She has lots of cute ideas, you should check it out!!)

Bomb!!!

#2) Your mission is to detinate the bomb to find the next song, of course it is hidden inside the balloon.  (Kindness begins with me) What can we do this week to show kindness to someone? They then receive tag #2 and move on to the next mission.

#3) Cipher Code: I found this code on this blog Here I will use this for the kids to decipher the code and find the next song to sing. (I'll Walk with you) Do you know someone with a disability? What could you do this week to help them? Receive Tag 3 and move on to next song

 #4) Uncover the next song:

The song will be buried in the sand, your mission will be to recover the song from the pit! (We'll Bring the World his Truth) What is this song about? How can you serve missionaries this week or how can you be a missionary this week? Tag #4

#5) Reveal the song from the invisible ink: I will write the title of the song in white crayon and the kiddo's will have to paint over it to get the song title. You can see how to do this Here (Jesus said Love Every one) How can you show love for someone this week?


Once we are done singing all 5 songs,  I will review with the children that they are to do 5 acts of service this week and leave a tag each time they do a service. They will get one of these cute cards I made up to keep track of their service.

They will also get 5 star stickers. They will place a star sticker in one of the boxes each time they do a service and leave a tag. If they do all 5 services this week then they can bring back their card next week to show me and get a PRIZE and become official Secret Service Agents of the P.P.P. (Pinnacle Peak Primary)

They will get a glowy star to stick by their bed. It will symbolize that they "Shine for their HF" and serve his people!

And a Star Lollipop of course....

An easier version for those looking for something a little more simple this week would be to hide the envelopes around the room with the songs in them instead of doing the activities. The kids could then search for the envelopes with the songs in them. They would then sing the song and discuss a service they could do this week. You could then have a few of them share with the primary the following week something they did as a service or to help someone.

Star Sticker for those willing to share

"Crocodile Dentist" Review

This poor little guy has a toothache! He will be joining us for singing time tomorrow in hopes of finding some relief!! My sweet presidency has given me full time this past two weeks to run though all the songs. The program is quickly approaching and I don't know about all of you but until you take the time to actually sit and go through each song, one by one, you don't actually know how well everything is coming together. I was pleased with my sweet kiddo's last week. They did an AWESOME job and everything is coming together beautifully. Therefore, I have decided that tomorrow we will have a little fun with this cute review game. It is basically the same thing as I posted before for Shark week but we will be using this cute little guy. I found him while walking through the game section at Target today for $9.99

This will be a really simple week so, for those who LOVE simple, here ya go!!

To Play: Break your kiddo's into two teams. Start with song #1 for the program and work your way through each song. Our focus will be on PP Program Perfect. We will work on sitting, standing, volume and getting all of the words. Team one will go first! If they do a PP job, then team 2 has to come push down a tooth in "CRANKS" mouth, trying not to get bit. Play then passes and its Team 2's turn to sing the same song and aim for PP status. If they do well then Team 1 will then have to take their turn and push down a tooth.

BEWARE: If you touch CRANK'S sore tooth, he WILL bite! Object of the game, be the first team NOT to get bit 3 times. The winning team gets to pick out of the prize basket first. 

There you have it, Simple and FUN!!! Happy Singing to Everyone this week and good luck to those having their programs! 

Play Doh Review

Happy Thursday Everyone! It sure feels like it has been awhile since I have been on here. I apologize for those checking in. Now that we are on the homestretch and putting the finishing touches on all of our music, it is just coming up with the review games to keep everyone on their toes and learning the words and messages that they need to be learning. School has started and kiddo's are in Cheer and football so things are busy in this neck of the woods. It seems I don't get much down time these days and you all know as well as I do that you have to have some quiet time to think up new ideas.

This week I am going to do my "Capture the Flag" review game I shared in a previous post. I am trying to stay a little ahead of myself so that my weeks are planned out and I'm not waiting until Saturday to throw things together. That's just too much right now with Football games and activities going on all of the time.

For next week I am going to do this simple Play Doh review game. Come on, what kid doesn't LOVE this stuff? Just walking into the primary room and seeing the bright colorful doh will stir some excitement, now to add in some singing time review and wha-lah, PERFECT! (this could just be wishful thinking, but we shall see.)

This activity will be short and sweet. The prep is simple and that is music to my ears these days! All you will need to do is grab yourself some of this:

The Plan: To start out you will get your volunteer to come to the front. You will introduce which song the children are going to sing. You will whisper to your volunteer the item that they are going to make with the doh while the children are singing the song. The item will be something to do with the song or something from the song. When the song is over, the children will try and guess what item the volunteer built and what it has to do with the song. This isn't only FUN, but they have to actively think of the words and what the item has to do with it!

I will pick easier items for Jr than Sr and they will go as follows:

I Know that my Savior Loves me 
Jr: Heart (love)
Sr: Flowers  (beautiful place)

He Sent his Son
Jr: World
Sr: Baby (newborn babe)

Follow the Prophet
Jr and Sr: Whale

The 4th Article of Faith
Jr: Hand (laying on of hands)
Sr: Baptism

 The Church of Jesus Christ
Jr: CTR (Do what is right)
Sr. Light bulb (follow his light)  

Come, Follow Me
Jr/Sr Footprint
  
The Miracle
Jr: gift (the greatest gift the world has ever known)
Sr: Bread (fed a thousand people with a loaf or two of bread)

To finish off I will send one of these puppies home with each child and challenge them to go through the songs this week and see what other fun creations they can make from each song.

That's the plan and I'm sticking with it!! Have an AWESOME weekend everyone and Happy Singing!

Capture the Flag Review

Well, here we are ya all! On the home stretch once again (how is that even possible?)  Songs have all been presented and now review, review, review!! I thought I would share an idea I had come to me last night. I am thinking this one would work best with Sr. primary but I may come up with a way to make it work in Jr as well. I will be using the beloved game of Capture the Flag and turning it into a singing time review. I am always trying to come up with ways to get the boys more involved. I am thinking this is one they will really get into.

TO PLAY: To begin you will need to get a different colored flag for each team.

RED TEAM

BLUE TEAM

PREP: Before primary begins you will want to make a center line down the middle of the room splitting your two teams apart. I will be using masking tape to do this before the kiddo's come into the room. If you share a primary and don't have time for this you can just bring in some string or rope to form your line quickly once primary has begun. Also, you will want to make a Jail on each side of the room. I will be using cardboard and just painting me some bars on it and hanging one on each side of the room. Explanation to come!

Once I start singing time I will decide my teams and sit my kids on their side of the line. To begin, you will need to have a sing off or something to determine which team will go first. Once you have your starting team, each team will then pick a child to be their playing piece for the first round. The playing piece must also participate with their team on the challenges or they will not be able to move.

To begin: Your chosen pieces will hide their eyes while a team member from each side will hide their flag on their side of the room (red hides their flag on red's side of the room and blue on blue's side of the room.) The flag can not be out of site. Just placed somewhere on their side of the room. Once they have placed their flag, the pieces will uncover their eyes. The starting team will then pick a flag card with the song they get to sing. If they sing and do a good job then their playing piece gets to roll a dice to determine how many steps they get to take onto the opposing teams side of the field/room towards their flag. Example: Red team will head towards blue teams flag and blue team heads towards red teams flag. Play will continue this way until a child reaches the opposing teams flag. Whichever team reaches the opposing teams flag first, scores a point for their team and play then starts over with new playing pieces on the line.

BEWARE: In the deck of cards their will be JAIL cards. If your team picks one of these on their turn, then their playing piece has to go to JAIL and looses their spot. They then have to pick a "GET OUT OF JAIL" card on their  next turn to see what challenge they have to do to get their piece out of jail and back on the playing floor. Once they do the challenge, which will be a question, crazy action, fill in the blank about one of the review songs, etc. then their piece will go back to the center line and start over.  

THE OBJECT: Be the team with the most captured flags (points) at the end!!

This is what I will be doing next week. I hope that it makes sense to everyone. Please let me know if you have any questions. I am going to try and post a few more review ideas this week but I won't make any promises. I hope this is helpful, happy singing everyone!


I have placed a google drive download for you to get the cards I will be using. This has not been easy and so with the jail cards I recommend using 5 of them in your capture the flag deck. This will send them to jail. Print out the other 5 and write what they have to do to get out of jail. You can do a fill in the blank on one of the songs for review, name that tune, sing a song a certain way (boys sing like girls, girls sing like boys, etc.) 
To make the cards just print on cardstock, turn over and print the songs on the back. 

Click HERE to use the cards that I have saved! Happy Singing Everyone!

"Our Greatest Hero" (The Miracle)

Hello All! I am so excited to start this Beautiful song on Sunday! Thank you to Shawna Edwards for sharing her talents with the world and with our primary here in Cave Creek, AZ.  This song has an AWESOME message and I want to present it in a way that the kids can relate and understand the importance and at the same time feel the spirit! Whew, this is a tough calling isn't it? Don't get me wrong, I LOVE it, but it can be mentally and physically exhausting coming up with ways to present these beautiful songs so that the children can understand the message, feel the spirit and have a good time learning each and every song they sing. I truly believe that if they are enjoying the whole process then the words and messages stick better and they will never forget!! They may not remember all the words, but they don't forget the message and how they felt and that is most important for building their testimonies of this gospel!

That being said, I am going to present this song using a "Hero" based theme. I didn't want to play games and get crazy while introducing this because it didn't seem right with such a spiritual song, however, after praying for guidance, I am going to go in a direction I feel will help the kiddo's understand the importance and AWESOMENESS of the miracle's that Christ did while he was on the earth. I have lots of ideas swirling around in my head at the moment and I haven't quite gotten them in any kind of order so this is a work in process. I am hoping to have this done by this evening or tomorrow morning since I will be presenting it this Sunday!!! I love how I can get an idea that "pops" into my head but then putting it all together is up to me and that does not come easy these days folks! I've been doing this calling for 3 years now and have done it for 6 previous years so I have to say, BRAIN DRAIN! I am running on fumes here.... I am so grateful for all of the creative ideas out there that I have been able to fall back on this summer. Thank you to everyone for sharing your AWESOME talents, you have all been a lifesaver!!!


PLEASE STAY TUNED AND CHECK BACK TONIGHT OR TOMORROW TO SEE HOW I WILL BE PRESENTING ON SUNDAY......

Well, here we are and it is Monday and I never did get this post put together and finished, ugh! I am so sorry to those of you who checked back in for the end result!  I had the craziest weekend and I had to learn an important lesson this past few days. We just simply can not run faster than we have strength. I certainly had a Super Hero sized idea but I did NOT have the Super Hero Strength to get it done.  D&C 10: 4 Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and means provided to enable you to tanslate, but be diligent unto the end. This scripture was totally meant for me. I was so stressed about how to put all of my idea together that I couldn't even hear anything else. I prayed for guidance and it just wasn't there. I had a pounding headache because I have never had this issue before. School has started here in AZ and Saturday was such a hectic day already getting everything together for that, we were away from home from 9AM to 9PM and I spent the whole time worrying because I had this grand plan for Sunday and I just didn't have the time to get it all together. I finally felt the answer come to me. Stop, slow down! I instantly felt relieved, and knew that I needed an easier plan for introducing this beautiful song on Sunday. No, it did not include some grand adventure, defusing a bomb, walking over lava, or some other crazy Super Hero feat, but it sure felt a lot better knowing that my HF knows me and loves me and if we rely on him, he will guide us at all times in our lives.

My introduction Sunday was AWESOME and so simple! The kiddo's absolutely LOVED it. I gave each class an envelope that contained a miracle that the Savior performed while on the earth. The envelopes were labeled 1-7, this way they would perform in the order of the miracles in the song.  They had 2 mins as a class to figure out a way to act out the miracle. Once seated, we started with envelope #1 and did a charades activity. As the class acted out the miracle the rest of us guessed what it was. I would then post the pic and words to go with that particular miracle and we would learn and sing that part before moving on to the next class. This was so perfect because the kids were a part of the song. They could relate because they actually acted out the miracle and then sang about it. It worked AWESOME for Jr and Sr.

 I am so thankful to my HF for knowing  me better than I know myself, for blessing me with the knowledge that he is always there no matter what, for blessing me with this calling and helping me along the way, and to all of you for your love and support and kind words when I need them the most! Thank you,

"Come, Follow Me" Fishers of Men

Matthew Chapter 4: 18-23

And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishers.
And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men,
And they straightway left their nets, and followed him
And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.
And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. 

Hello Everyone! I feel like I haven't been on here FOREVER! Oh man, I am falling behind! Summer has really thrown me out of whack! So much has happened this summer. I have felt pretty beaten and defeated the last couple of months. Why does life have to be so draining and exhausting? This is a tough calling to have when your feeling blue. I have been away quite a bit so I haven't had to actually stand up in front of the children and swallow back tears and put on that Happy face but this week I am finally back and hopefully all will be well! (fingers crossed)

Along with the blues, my creative brain is lacking. It is really hard to be creative and excited when you feel quite the opposite. I hope I'm not scaring you all away, just being honest here. I have had to rely heavily on my HF the last couple of months just to get through day to day. Of course, he is always there and has once again taken my hand and guided me through the storms of life. I prayed this morning for some guidance in preparing for singing time on Sunday. I have been drawing a complete blank on how to go about teaching this sacred Hymn to the children. I was once again blessed and inspired in the direction I feel my HF wants me to go with this.

 I will only be teaching Verses 1 and 6 for this song. I was thinking I will have the kiddo's sing the 1st verse, then have a violin join in the second verse while the children just hum along and then congregation will join in and sing the 6th verse with us.

To start out teaching this I will take the scriptures above and use that as my base or theme. It's easier for me if I have a theme or base to run with. Then everything else usually falls into place.

I will read and discuss the scriptures with the children and What Jesus meant when he said "Come, follow me" and I will make you fishers of men."  (Missionary work and serving others like Christ did) He was our perfect example.

For prep: I will be making an outline of a boat on the floor with tape. I will print out some fish and throw them around. Some fish will have the words to the song, other fish will have pics of items (food, scriptures, a child praying, pencil, phone, toy)

A child will come get in the boat and cast the fishing rod to catch a fish. If they get a fish with words to the song we will place them on the board and discuss them, if they get a pic of an item then they will say how they can use that item to be a "fisher of men." Example: Pencil: Write a letter to a lonely grandparent or friend that just moved) Food: bring a meal to a family in need, ETC.

As all the words are placed on the board we will sing and discuss their meaning until the 1st verse is complete. I will add in a couple pics of an "upset fish basket." if a child gets this pic, then I will scramble the words (fish) on the board and they will have to come up and unscramble them.

This is the cut out I will use for my little fishies! Just click, save and print and there you have it!!

This is the plan folks! I am hoping it works out well and we can make it through the first verse this week! I am falling behind and starting to PANiC a bit!



PS: I will be throwing in a little bribery this week as well! There's nothing better than a "fishy fruit snack" to help remind us to be "Fishers of Men!"

Happy Singing Everyone!

After prep pics: 

Big Fish with Pics for Jr Primary

Little Fishy with a pic of a Phone. How can you use a Phone to be a Fisher of Men? (Call someone who is lonely or in need and see what you can do for them or just let them know you care.)

Sr. Primary will have the little fish with the words on them

I took the end of a fising rod and Hot Glued a magnet onto the fishing twine. This will attract to the paper clips on the fish

I didn't get a pic of my boat outline because this will be done in the primary room on the floor. I will get a pic of it and post it today at church.

Thank you everyone, Happy Singing!!!

"The Holy Ghost" A Holy Compass

Good morning all! I wanted to get this on here today while it is still swirling around in my head. There are a ton of things swirling around up there these days so if I'm lucky enough to get an idea at all, I have to get it written down as soon as possible or I will LOSE it!!!! Ugh! I will be introducing The Holy Ghost this Sunday and will be doing it with a compass theme. Its really a pretty simple idea and for me these days, that is what I need!! I will present as follows:

Prep: Before primary begins I will walk around and place the flip chart pages in different places in the room. I will use the compass and get coordinates for each flip chart page. These coordinates will then be written in order on the chalkboard so that the children can use the compass to guide them to each set of pics and words for the song. I will be using this cute flip chart that I found at www.singplayeat.com, you can click Here to print off a copy of your own.

Discussion: I will show the kiddo's a compass. Who can tell  me what this is and what it is used for? I will tell them we are going to sing a song today about another gift from our HF, this gift is like a compass, it can guide and direct us through this life to help us return to our home above. It can comfort us at times of need, guide us and help us gain a true testimony of our HF. Does anyone know what this gift could be?


After our discussion I will show the children the coordinates on the chalkboard and explain to them that like the Holy Ghost guides us in the direction we should go, the compass is going to guide us to find the words to our song The Holy Ghost. I will call up my first helper. They will stand at the front of the room and follow the compass and the first set of coordinates on the board. This should lead them to my first set of pics and this scripture to go along.

John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost , whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your rememberance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (Christ talking to his disciples)

When Christ was on the earth, he promised he would send, the Holy Ghost to comfort us, our true eternal friend.


We will then place the first flip chart pic on the board and sing through it. The next child will be called to help and will use the compass to find the next flip chart page and scripture.

:

 D&C 8:2 Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.

The Holy Spirit whispers with a still small voice,



Play then continues with the last flip chart page on verse 1

D&C 42:17 For behold, the comforter knoweth all things and beareth record of the Father and of the Son.


He Testifies of God and Christ and makes our hearts rejoice.

VERSE 2:



D&C 35:6 But now I give unto thee a commandment, that thou shalt baptize by water and they shall receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, even as the apostles of old.


 And when we are confirmed, by sacred priesthood power, the Holy Ghost is given to us to guide us every hour.

Elder Tom Perry: If we listen carefully for the gentle promptings of the Holy Ghost, they will guide us back to our Father in Heaven.



Oh may I always listen, to that still small voice, and with his light I'll do what's right each time I make a choice.

You can click Here to print out the scriptures I am using for this activity!

I will then be giving these cute compass rings as a reminder to always listen and let the Holy Ghost guide us back to our Heavenly Home.