"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.

Daddy Day!!! Fathers Day Singing Ideas

Happy Monday! Yes, I did fall off the face of the earth..... Unfortunately, life has thrown a few punches lately and I have been busy trying to dodge and survive each and every blow. Good thing it will be worth it in the end, right?

I have found myself reflecting back to my singing time "A Singing Disaster" I know my Savior loves me. Its message was one of building our homes/lives on a solid foundation and how that is so very important. The storms do come, the storms WILL come and we HAVE to have that solid foundation to withstand those great storms and their destruction. I am so grateful for this calling. I know I am right where my HF wants me to be at this very moment in time. I am grateful I have MY testimony to stand firm in my beliefs and to HOLD on tight for when those storms do arise.


Since this past month has pretty much been a DISASTER, I have not yet had the opportunity to start our song for the month. I was away for two weeks and had to work on our Fathers Day song presentation on Sunday so the plan is to start "The Holy Ghost" this week. Stay tuned for my idea on presenting this in the next couple of days.

Today, I thought I would pull together some Father's Day ideas for anyone in need this week. There are plenty of them out there but who wants to go searching all over the web. I will do the work for you and you can come here for all your singing time needs.... Ok, that totally sounds like a commercial. (What a dweeb)

The first idea is the activity I did with my kiddo's last year. "Gone Fishin" You can find that by clicking right Here. This was a lot of fun and it was a GREAT way to review all of the songs up to this point.

This next idea was put on the primary chorister page on facebook. A big shout out to Lora Lee Thompson for this one. To play you will have to find yourself 3 daddies who would be willing to come participate. Your 3 daddies would put on a bib and sit in the small kiddie chairs. You would then get you 3 jars of baby food and 3 spoons. One for each daddy. Rate how the kiddos sing with one, two, or three fingers. That is how many spoonfuls of baby food they have to eat. Invite good singers to come and feed the daddy. Have wet wipes and paper towels available.. This is totally my kind of activity! AWESOME idea Lora Lee! Thank you for sharing.

This next one is brought to you by "The Ordinary Adventures of a Primary Chorister" blog. You can find the idea Here. "Boppin Pop" Who doesn't want to bop their pop.. This one sounds like a lot of fun and I know my kiddos would LOVE it!

And of course, there is always pin the tie, match the tie, cut the tie, or this version Here on the blog, "The Children Sing". This one is about Scripture Fathers and would be GREAT for Sr. primary. Thank you Kathleen,

This next one is a really cute idea. You can find it Here. It relates to cutting ties but you make these really cute shirt and ties out of paper and the dads favorite songs are inside. You then have dads as your judges, wearing their ugly ties and if they think the kiddo's do a good job then the kids get to cut the tie. Read it, I promise you will LOVE it!

Last of all, click HERE for 3 really cute Fathers Day ideas. WE all know that our Daddy is our HERO!



This about wraps it up for the day. I hope there are some ideas on here that will help those in need this week.  I will be posting my "Holy Ghost " presentation tomorrow. Thank you all for your patience with me on this journey! Happy Singing Everyone!!!

Red, White and Blue! Memorial Day or July 4th Singing Time

Hello All! It seems like forever since I last posted on here. School is finally over and I might actually get a break for awhile now. The last couple of weeks have really "sucked" the life out of me and I am afraid I am suffering from major brain drain...I totally feel like this:

Not much brain function going on at the moment!!! I am walking around in a ZoMBie state. I am hoping after a week of rest this will improve and I will once again get back at least a little bit of my old self.... Stay tuned for updates!!

I always LOVE when there is a holiday because that makes my planning a little easier. I at least have a theme to start off with. I have decided that for tomorrow I will be doing something a little messy but fun! The idea has been out there for quite sometime. You can see it Here

I will be using red, white and blue potions for this. If the kiddo's mix a red potion then they will pick a song that we have been learning for the program out of a red bucket.

If they mix a blue potion then they pick a game to sing one of the program songs out of the blue bucket, (silent singer, hide the note, name that tune, mystery word,  etc,)

If the potion is clear then they will pick song and how to sing it out of the white bucket. (sing in one breath, sing holding your tongue, do the wave like the flag and sing smile sing, etc.) 

I am thinking I will do this with both Jr and Sr. however, if you want something easier for Jr you can find a cute and simple idea posted under my 4th of July.Memorial day posts from last year.

You can also find this sweet and simple idea on Pattie's primary place Here

or for Sr. you can get a copy of some patriotic songs off of this site Here I thought of making copies of this and having the kiddo's sing a few of these tomorrow. Maybe if they mix a white/clear potion then they sing a patriotic song.

Well, there ya have it folks. This is about all I can muster at the moment. I am hoping to get some energy back this week and get some plans going for teaching The Holy Ghost and for Fathers day I will be teaching this song from the 1983 Ensign Here

Happy Memorial Day Everyone!

Mama Cakes

I have a cute idea I will be doing tomorrow to celebrate Mothers Day. This may be a bit more prep than others are looking for at this last minute but I have been so busy and my brain has been so overloaded that I was not able to think up an idea until this morning while I was lying in bed being lazy!! It seems that meditation and quiet brain time have become a special occasion these days! Its actually quite scary!! Perhaps we should all take time out and remember this sweet talk by Dieter Utchtdorf Here. I know I need to!!

So, as I lay and contemplated a theme for Mothers Day, my mind kept wanting to turn to FOOD, sugary, sweet, fattening yummy's. I guess you can't really call it food can you? Its basically food for me, but not everyone else:) Maybe if I had actually gotten my behind out of bed and eaten something, OOEY, GOOEY GOODNESS, wouldn't have been the only visions dancing in my head this morning!!! However, I was able to come up with a cute idea while visions of YUMMY's danced around up there!

I will be putting the idea on here and posting pics later today/tonight as I get everything put together. Hopefully we aren't looking at midnight before this is complete!

To begin: Draw a huge recipe card on a white poster board. You can purchase this for .33 at Wal Mart! The following will be written on the card

Recipe: Mama Cakes (things that make a MOM the best in the world)

For the ingrediants you will post a small pic/symbol by each word on the recipe card and these are the symbols that the children will look for to find the ingrediants hidden around the room.

Ingrediants:

1.) LOVE: You will have a child walk around and find the baggie that has the heart symbol. It will have some sugar in it and a strip of paper with the song and a quote: "No love is greater than mom's love."  Song: (Love one another Pg. 136)  You will have someone read the quote and then they sing the song. Once this is complete you will have the child dump the sugar in the bowl and move on to the next ingrediant.

2.) FLOWERS: "A Mother is like a flower, each one beautiful and unique." Song: (I Often go Walking Pg. 202 1st verse) Ingrediant: Flour

3.) Babies: Mama's love their babies!! "I'll Love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be." Song: (I Am a child of God pg.2)  Ingrediant: Dash of salt

 4.) Bake Goodies: Mama's bake Yummy stuff. "Happiness is ...baking a cake." Song: (Popcorn Popping Pg. 242.)
Ingrediant: Brown Sugar

5.) Good Examples: "To the world you are a Mother, but to your family you are the World." Song: (Love is spoken here Pg. 190) Ingrediant: Baking Soda

6.) Eternal Queen: "There is no role in life more essential and more eternal than that of Motherhood." Song: (Families can be together Forever Pg. 188) Ingrediant: Egg

When you mix all of these characteristics together you get the end result!! AN AWESOME MOMMY? Mommy Cake, that is:)

I will then pull out a baking sheet filled with these cute little mini cupcakes for the kiddo's. They will each get one for doing so well  and take one to their MOMMIES!!! Happy Singing and HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!

Easy, Peasy, Pumpkin Pie!!! (More easy Prep for those CRAZY weeks)

LOL! I love this pic! It's silly, but wouldn't it be nice if our kiddo's sang out like this! I think its every choristers dream to teach the kids to LOVE the music of the gospel and to SING with all of their hearts. I know I LOVE and look forward to the weeks where it feels like the kids are actually feeling the music and enjoying singing the songs.

I have been having the craziest past few weeks. The end of the school year is insane and it seems the teachers are in a HUGE hurry to get everything crammed in for the end of the year. To top it off my darling and only daughter turned 12 on May 2nd and being the social butterfly that she is, decided she wanted a party with 20 of her nearest and dearest friends. Why is it that raising boys seemed so much easier and not quite as SCARY?  I'm not sure I'm ready for this whole girl thing, UGH!!

Needless to say, come Saturday night, I was totally worn out from partying with all these balls of energy and hadn't even begun to prep for singing time on Sunday. I quickly opened my blog and picked a fun and simple idea from my previous post. I then realized the next few weeks are going to be insanely busy and if its that way here then I'm sure there are others out there like myself who just can't find enough hours in the day and before you know it, Saturday night hits and its like,"Whoa, I forgot to do my prep for tomorrow!!!! What should I DO"?

I have a few more short and sweet singing time games and activities just for those exact UT-OH moments that we all have! They take minimal prep and can be put together last minute for those moments that we need them.

Crazy Hat Day

This first one is brought to us courtesy of the Crazy Chorister and can be found on her blog Here
For this one you can bring in multiple crazy hats. If a class sings extra well then the kids get to pick a crazy hat for their teacher to wear through out the rest of singing time. You will have the kids trying extra hard so that their teacher gets to wear a silly hat. Prep, putting some hats in a basket or bag to bring and picking what songs to work on. Simple!!!

Spin a song

For this next one all you need is a spinning chair from the Bishops office and some songs written out on white paper. I have seen this in multiple places so thank you to whoever came up with this short and sweet idea! You will place the songs in a circle and the chair will go in the middle. You can pick a teacher or child to sit in the chair. I would have the pianist play a song while you spin the person in the chair around. When the music stops, the song is picked by where ever the child or teachers foot is pointing. SWEET!!! This one could get a little crazy so you may have to remind the kiddo's that we can only do the fun stuff if they participate and keep it down!!!

Cup/Shell Game

This is the good old hide the ball under the shell/cup game. All you need for this one is 3 shells or cups and a ball or small object to hide. I found one version on this blog Here
To play: You will hide your object under a cup and mix it up. Pick a child to come and try and find the ball. If they get it right then they pick their favorite song to sing, if they are not right then you get to pick a program song to sing. Easy, Peasy!!!

Pictionary

This one may not work for Jr primary but would be so simple for Sr. All you need is chalk, eraser and some strips with song titles in a can. You could split the kids into two teams and they can compete to see who gets the most right. Once they guess what song the person is drawing then they sing it to get the point and play passes to the next team. If a team can't guess it then they other team can try and guess for the point. ETC.

The last one I have for today can be found Here

Hum It!

To play you will need a radio, phone, ipod something that you can play the music with headphones. You will have a child come to the front and put on the head phones. You will push play. The child will then hum the song they are listening to and the other children will listen and try to guess the song he/she is humming. When they get it right then they will sing it and then whoever guessed right is next to wear the headphones.


I hope these are helpful to those in need this week! Our callings should not be over whelming, but a blessing in our lives! Happy Singing Sunday and HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!