Runaway Gingerbread Man

Where has the time gone? Oh my goodness, I can't believe Christmas has come and gone and we are already to the New Year!! I promised two weeks ago to have this posted and the time just got away from me. I'm not very good at this whole blog thing. I get so busy with life and don't get to my posts. I will try and be better. Of course, this would mean that I would have to be very organized and have my singing time planned out at least a week ahead. I find this to be a problem because my ideas come to me randomly while I am lying in bed, complete silence in the middle of the night, and usually only a couple days away from prep time. We will have to see how this works out! I have been checking out other blogs and see that some of these "superwoman choristers" have their singing times planned out for a month in advance. Wow, you are AWESOME!! There is no stinking way I can do that unless of course I copy your exact outline, and though this is something I would have dreamed of having when I was chorister years ago, I love to be creative and try and come up with some things on my own. I feel I have been blessed with a creative side and with life as crazy as it has been raising 5 children, I now only have 3 left at home and may once again be able to connect with this part of my life again. So, please bear with me on this journey and I will do my best to get these things out to you as they come!!

I love the sites and sounds of this season. Living in Arizona without snow, I like to keep my snowmen out from November - March, then it just gets so stinking warm that you can't pretend anymore and you have to pack them away for yet another season. I love Christmas, I love baking goodies and I love Gingerbread Men!!! So, this idea came to mind around 3 AM, while lying in bed for yet another sleepless night. I just decided that if I wasn't going to be able to sleep then I can use this quiet time to come up with ideas for singing time. May as well make good use of the silence! Oh, and by the way, counting sheep doesn't work! Once my mind starts going, its hard to get it to STOP!! So, I thought this one up and tried it with my kids a couple weeks ago!! I must say they LOVED it and it made for a great singing time activity!!

For this one, I just cut out my gingerbread man from the poster board. You have to be careful because you still want to use the outline of your man for the activity. I just told the kids that I made a gingerbread man to use for singing time and he has ran away. So, all you have hanging is your outline and it appears that your gingerbread man has jumped right off the board and ran away!!
I then made little gingerbread men cutouts and on the back of these were my clues. Now, let me tell you how hard it is to come up with clues that include primary songs. I was up until 1AM thinking up my clues and putting this all together. So, you will have your first clue right on the board next to your outline and you just play the part. Act surprised that he is gone and tell the kids it looks like he left a clue so that we can try and find him. I will include the clues that I put together, but you can come up with whatever works for your group. Keep in mind, the clues I used were hidden throughout the building, this may not work for everyone. I would just send a member of the presidency and one child to get the next clue while the rest of us sang the song on the back. Each clue leads to the next and so forth until you find the "runaway gingerbread man" and his hiding spot. I finished off with homemade gingerbread cookies for the kids to enjoy once we found the "runaway." This turned out to be lots of fun for both Jr. and Sr. primary. Give it a try and share your thoughts and please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you for stopping by and Happy Singing!!

Clue #1 "Do as I'm Doing and run, run, as fast as you can, clue #2 you'll find in a pan (kitchen)
Clue #2 Christmas bells are ringing and so are my ears. If someone made a hoop here, you'd hear lots of cheers (gym)
Clue #3 I am like a star shining brightly, smiling for the whole world to see, clue #4 hiding in this tree (Christmas Tree by star)
Clue #4 I love to see the Temple shining oh so bright, You can find the next one hanging by a light (light switch)
Clue #5 The wise man built his house upon a rock and the gingerbread hid his clue upon a clock (clock)
Clue #6 I looked out the window and what did I see, popcorn wasn't popping but a clue was there for me (window)
Clue #7 If the Savior Stood beside me, would I say the things I say, you will find this last one, where you go to pay (tithing box)
Clue #8 You will never find me, singing Oh so bold, but its pretty dark in here and really, really cold (refrigerator)