LESSON PLAN: Jesus Once Was a Little Child

This is for the song, Jesus Once Was a Little Child  55.  We'll learn the song, then play simple children's games. 


1. LEARN SONG: Jesus Once Was a Little Child

*SEGUE:
When Jesus was a child, do you think he liked to play games?
Let's play some children's games while we sing this song. 

2. HULA HOOP
· Invite a child to hoop
· Sing as long as the hoop stays up, stop if it falls down!

3. FOUR CORNERS
· Mark 4 spots in the room.
· Have a chair up front, close to the board, facing the board.
· One child sits on the chair, covering eyes.
· I count back from 10 while all other children go to corners.
· Sing the song.
· Child in the chair listens to the song, then chooses which corner was singing best. Those children sit down and hum. Remaining standing children are still in the game.
· Choose a now sitting child to sit in the chair.
· Repeat until all kids are sitting.

...In His Footsteps LESSON (Come Follow Me)

PREP:
Jesus picture
"COME" paper footprints
"FOLLOW" paper footprints

"Come" sign
"Follow" sign
"Me" sign
More paper footprints (blank)
marker
tape/magnets

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LESSON:

Objective: Learn a song, line by line.

First, have a picture of Jesus on the board.

Give one child a paper footprint that says "COME"
Give another child a paper footprint that says "FOLLOW"
Have the children start at the back of the room.
*Tell them they can only move one step forward to the front of the room when the primary says their word.

Leader has two signs (to show the Primary which word to say). Alternate between "come" and "follow".  The Primary kids help the 'walking' kids reach the board!

When they reach the board, stick up each child's paper foot print by the picture of Jesus...."come", "follow".... and add "ME"!

Sing just the words "come follow me!"

----> ASK: Who said that? (point to the picture on the board) Yes, the Savior!

Then add... "the Savior said"...

Sing to ("said").

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Okay, we learned the first part of the song! Let's keep going...

Point to the footprints on the board.
The next part says... "then let us in his footsteps tread"...

Sing to ("tread").

----> ASK: What does that mean? To 'tread in his footsteps'?  Yes! It means to follow the things Jesus did!  Can you think of some ways to follow in Jesus's footsteps?  (gather answers, write each one on a paper footstep and put up around the picture of Christ).  ....IDEAS: Forgave, Obedient, Humble, Prayed, Loved, Served, Taught...

Sing again to ("tread").

Add... "for thus alone can we be one"...

Sing to ("one").

Add... "with God's own loved, begotten Son".

----> ASK: Who do we walk with?  Yes, We walk with Jesus Christ!

Sing the whole song!


*If time allows, we will then repeat-sing the song with this activity.

U.S.A. Questions AND Ways-To-Sing

What material is the Statue of Liberty made of?
Copper                 

WAY: "building hands"


The Statue of Liberty was given to the U.S. to celebrate the 100th birthday of our Independence. Who gave it to us?
France                  

WAY: sing like you're 100 years old!



What does the Statue of Liberty hold in her left hand?
The Declaration of Independence.                           

WAY: stiff like a statue



Every President but one lived in the White House, who was he?
George Washington                       

WAY: _____



Who is said to have sewn the first American Flag?
Betsy Ross                          

WAY:  "invisible sewing"



What do the colors of our flag stand for?
RED-courage, WHITE-purity and innocence, BLUE-loyalty              

WAY: "flag hand" one hand cups elbow. other arm is pole, and hand is the flag.



What is our National Motto? Hint-It's printed on our coins.
In God We Trust                               

WAY: march in place


Our national bird is a symbol of strength and power. What is it?
The Bald Eagle                   

WAY: "bird beak" hands

LESSON PLAN: The Holy Ghost (verse 1)

THE PLAN - The Holy Ghost 105

 

1.      INTRO (CONSTANT COMPANION):

          -- Show metronome.

          -- Listen to the song and clap the beat

          --  *Explain that the beat of the song is constant. It is always there and always reliable. Explain that, just like the beat of a song, the Holy Ghost can also be a steady, constant companion.

          -- Do the song again, this time hum and clap the beat.

2.      OBJECTS for VERSE 1

When Christ was on the earth,           SMALL GLOBE, BALL, OR PICTURE of the EARTH

He promised he would send               ENVELOPE

The Holy Ghost to comfort us,          BLANKET

Our true, eternal friend.                     TWO KIDS

The Holy Spirit whispers                   CHILD w/FINGER ON LIPS

With a still small voice.                       CHILD POINT TO VOICEBOX

He testifies of God and Christ          PICTURE of HEAVENLY FATHER & JESUS

And makes our hearts rejoice.            PAPER HEART

·        *****Invite children to hold each thing and line up in front.

·        Sing.

·        Then have them trade with someone sitting down.

·        Repeat.

3.      REPEAT SING Verse 1 - Cup Beats

          -- Explain that just like we discussed in the beginning, the Holy Ghost can be a steady, constant companion.  AND, songs have steady beats, right?!  You remember we did a simple 1-2-3-4 beat earlier, right?  Well, now we're going to use cups to make the beat a little more fun. Still steady.... and fun.  :)

          -- Show cups and how to use them. Very simple drum pattern in JR, a little more complicated in SR.

            --Sing and repeat!

Sing Sunbeam Style

For the song Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam...

Make crepe paper 'Sunbeams' so everyone can have something in their hand:

how to make

Use the crepe paper 'Sunbeams' to move while singing these "Sunbeam Style" ways:

• back and forth
• high and low
• "disco"
• around in circles
• sunbeam lead (3/4 time)
• "lasso"
• draw an X
• little waves
• "rainbow" above head
• vertical zig zag
• figure 8
• flick and fall
• loop de loop

*I'll have a child pick from these sun sticks (I have a whole bunch in a vase) to determine which Sunbeam Style way to sing:

how to make

Personal Pennant Parade

A lesson plan for the song I Will Be Valiant...

*Keywords in no particular order in this pic!
Thankfully, they are numbered on the back.   :)

1. LEARN SONG - BUILD A PARADE

• ---> Listen to piano or CD---> *point out that it sounds like a parade!
• Invite children up to hold a few word banners, in order.
• SING! *Tell kids to hold up their word when they sing it! 
• + Add more banners/words;
• SING
• Repeat, until whole song is learned.

2a. REPEAT SING: 'A'

• Have the children holding the banners look for Super Singers to trade with. Sing, trade, sing, trade.....  (*Remind them to hold up their word when they sing it!)

2b. REPEAT SING: 'B'

• Sing. Have the kids (or Teachers) take some words away, and those kids sit down. Sing, take away words, repeat - until all the words are gone...... 

3. BANNER PENNANTS

• Design name on their own banner pennant.

4. BANNER PARADE:

• a) March around room, singing and waving Pennants.
• b) Lead (4/4) while singing [while in place].

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PREP:

• Keyword Pennants
• Blank Pennants (make copies)
• Crayons
• Straws/Sticks

Pennant Banners the kids designed and took home.
My 4YO son scribbled all RED all over his. He loves red!

*I found blank Pennants HERE

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*NOTES/UPDATE:

• For some reason this song reminds of a College prep song. Just short of bringing a Drumline into Primary (big bass, quints and all, of course!), the Pennants will just have to do for my Parade.
• PS - I was in marching band.  OHHHHHH, NOW it all makes sense.  haha.  ;)
• But really, what better way to personally declare something that write it on a flag and march around the room?  Sounds fun.
• My kids LOVED it. My 4 year old son marched all the way home (and then some!).  He loves his flag. Senior Primary also loved it! I don't know it is about my older kids, but they love a good march around the room! 
• I must admit, it was a very brave move to march around the room in JR Primary. They actually are good to just march in place.... really, it's fine to stay put. Good to know for next time.
• In JR Primary I did a simplified version. They just held the flags, they don't really read the words of course. They just like to hold stuff.  :)
• In Senior Primary it spontaneously became a lesson about dynamics. We marched all over the place and they wanted to sing Piano in the hallway and Forte when we got back into the Primary room. It turned into a Crescendo parade! Who woulda thought?  It was very fun.  :)

INTRO TO: Follow the Prophet

This is my lesson plan for introducing and singing Follow The Prophet:


1. INTRO ACTIVITY:

PLAY:  Simon Says..... (follow what I do)

PARAPHRASE: Great! You guys are good at following directions. But what if the Prophet says to do things? (Give examples...)

--What if the Prophet says... don't drink beer - what do you do? (You follow the Prophet!)
--What if the Prophet says get married in the Temple - what do you do?  (You follow the Prophet!)
--What if the Prophet says to go to Church - what do you do?  (You follow the Prophet!)



2. CHORUS / with movement:

• JR march
• SR clap pattern (lap, lap, clap, snap)

3. PROPHET VERSES:
Now let's sing about Prophets of old...

a.  Get out visual aids  (I Sing, U Sing or Pat Graham)
b.  Invite a child to choose one
c.  Sing that verse + chorus
d.  Repeat



*The next week I will review the song with this CHAIR SPIN idea.

Christmas Nativity LESSON PLAN

*This is how my scattered ideas come together in a lesson plan. This one is for Christmas, centering around the Nativity. Links go to the individual activity I've posted somewhere on this blog.

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PREP:

• Nativity Set
• Manger, Star and Baby Doll
• Hymn Books

*Set up Manger and Star somewhere in the church before Primary.

THE PLAN:

1. THE NATIVITY SONG
*READ LUKE 2:11-12 --->
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

ACTIVITY:

JUNIOR PRIMARY: "who's new in the nativity"
· Learn the 1st verse
· Display nativity with Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. Explain that people came to visit...
· Send a child to go in the hall
· Invite a child to add a piece to the nativity
· Hallway child guesses "who is new" in the nativity
· Repeat

SENIOR PRIMARY: "nativity character verses"
· Pass out lyrics to the song
· Invite a child to pick a piece of the Manger
· See what verse the piece/nativity character is in, then;
· Sing that verse
· Repeat


2. JOURNEY TO THE MANGER
TRANSITION: Paraphrase: "Look at everyone who came to the stable to see the Baby Jesus! Can you imagine if you saw the Star on that night? The star would be saying to you, COME, COME AND SEE THE SAVIOR! Let's sing and go see if we can find a star...."

SING Oh Come All Ye Faithful and walk. Find the manger.

TALK reverently at the manger, read the scripture again, Luke 2:11-12

LESSON PLAN for Children All Over the World

For the song Children All Over the World, Print off the FLAGS for Children All Over the World and use them in this lesson. On the back of the flag,put the word and annunciation;

Lesson:

1. Put the flags on the board, flag face up
2. Learn the song, humming the words to add later....
3. When the song is learned (sans foreign words), Flip over one flag at a time & add that word into the song
4. When the whole song is learned, give a flag to each class. When the song gets to the foreign words, only sing the flag your class has.

If extra time.... use the around the world KIDS to get in some movement (and review):

1. Invite a child to pick an around the world kid
2. Sing that way

Here are some ASL/actions for the song.  

Backwards Blast Off!

Preface:
So.... we've mostly learned our songs for the Program. But now I want to add a few little things, like, go over where some of the songs split at the ENDS. (Namely in 2014; Love is Spoken Here and He Sent His Son). It's not necessary to do parts in songs, but if we have the time (which we do), why not give it a try?

Additional Preface/Background:
This lesson totally takes me back to my piano lessons when my Teacher (hey Rick Jones!) would have me work backwards when doing a new piece and learn the ending of the song first. 

3...2...1....  Here goes!:

Paraphrase,
"We have songs to work on today. They are songs you already know, but we need to work on the ending a little bit. Since the part to work on is at the END, we'll be singing the songs.... BACKWARDS!"

"To help us out, we'll have a countdown. Aaaaaand, What happens at the end of a countdown? That's right! A rocket ship goes to space! (display rocketships and launcher). SO, we'll choose a song ship, we'll sing and when we've finished our countdown we'll blast the song ship!" (NOW you've got their attention!)

Have the songs already divided into the number of phrases you want. Display the highest number (which coordinates with the last phrase of the song, right?). Work on that phrase. When it's good enough add on the next phrase, and the next until you've counted all the way down and are singing the whole song. Then it's blastoff time! Have the kids join you in a countdown and BLAST OFF that song's rocket ship! Then repeat for the next song you're working on.

Wow. That was wordy. Here's the short(er) version:

1. Have a child pick a song ship.
2. Each ship comes with it's own countdown. Start with the highest number, go phrase by phrase adding on until the song is reviewed. As you finish each phrase, post the number in descending order on the board.
3. When the countdown is completed blast off that rocket and...
4. move to the next rocket.

Really bad Photoshop job by yours truly trying to show a song in 5 phrases for a "countdown".
As this is a review activity, I will be posting the countdown numbers, but not words to the song. This is MY typed up cheat sheet.  ;)  I will read and review the words to the kids, but the kids do not get the words.  :)

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For the rocket I will either use my singing meter board with rockets on it.....,

OR I might make a balloon/straw/string rocket like this one (on Science Bob):

OR I might make something like this homemade rocket launcher (from Instructables) made with tape, paper, a water bottle, a quarter and a toilet paper tube. FYI, by "me making it", I mean a family home evening lead by my Husband ;).

If I had a store bought launcher, I'd use it. But creativity's a good thing, too.   :)

Primary Pumpkin Patch

An idea for an Autumn Program Prep Music Time.

Paper Prep:
Cut out some bigger-ish crow shapes. Give the Crows "names". 

Name suggestions for the Crows might be;

• watching eyes - Ms. Attention (Ms. Alert)
• tall bodies - Mr. Stature
• smiles - Mr. Happy
• words - Ms. Melody
• volume - Mr. Loud

Cut out pumpkin shapes and write song names on them, which will be stuck on the board, or around the room to be the "Primary Pumpkin Patch"

Extra Prep:
Straw hat for yourself / Teachers.

  

Getting Helpers:
Before Primary, ask some people to be Crows. The Crows are the judges who will determine how well the kids do.

Instruct the Crows that they will "fly" away when the kids are doing well in their area (which is their Crow's name) for that song.

Tell the Crows to only fly away if the kids are actually doing well in that area. If the kids aren't doing well in that area, the Crow sticks around! And then you and the kids will discuss what they can do better to make the stuck Crows fly away. But let the Crows know not to fly away "just because", but that they are actually helping you out! Making sure that unless the song really is good, you want to sing it 2 or 3 times. You can also help them out by saying things like, "WOW! The kids looks really HAPPY, don't they?!", and such.

Also tell the Crows that they will fly back for each song. So stay around! Don't go to class!

*Extra instruction for one of the Crows - the one for "Volume" will fly down the hallway and stick on the wall at the point where he can't hear us singing anymore. The better the kids sing, the farther Volume Crow goes down the hallway! After church the kids can go see how far down the hallway Volume Crow. This also means you'll have to make one Volume Crow for each song. **Actually, when I do this Primary Pumpkin Patch activity I will be spreading it out over two Sundays. I will use the Volume Crow by himself the 2nd Sunday.

In Action:
Explain that the Primary Room has been transformed into a Primary Pumpkin Patch!

Some times Crows come and try to get the pumpkins. Scarecrows are in pumpkin patches to make the Crow go away, right?! So today we'll be Scarecrows, JUST IN CASE any Crows come.

But! Since this is the PRIMARY Pumpkin Patch, we will be SPIRITUAL Scarecrows. We will sing so Spiritually and so Lovely that the Crows will leave.

**Draw parallels about how the pumpkin patch is like our life and sometimes bad things come into our lives and we have to get them out. For instance, when you have a bad thought - you can sing a Primary song to get the bad thought out. [sing: Hum Your Favorite Hymn 152]**

 But luckily there are no crows in OUR Primary Pumpkin Patch (signal Crow helpers to come in)....

OH NO! We will have to sing really well to scare these crows out of here! Point out each Crow and it's "name", explaining that doing certain things will scare off certain Crows.

1. Choose a Pumpkin to see which song to sing.
2. Sing it until all the Crows have "flown" away.
3. Then choose another Pumpkin and...
4. the Crows come back for the next song!
5. And, repeat.

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***Adding a "competitive" element for Senior Primary:

Give each Song points for how many crows fly away, and see which song they can earn the most points for.

• 5 points each crow that flies away on the first try
• 3 points for those that leave on the second try
• 1 point for any crows the leave third try.

--Sing the song a few times, keeping track of the points, then add them up and move on.


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Making Crows and Pumpkins:

making the Crow template

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*This is a Primary Notes 29 original idea by Ashlie Johansen

Conductor Review

Before the Program I want to dedicate one singing time to a Conductor review. Sometimes during the year we forget what the Conductor does and why they are there. Pre-Program is a good time for a review!

Items to review that are incorporated below:

• watching the conductor
• who is the conductor?
• when to start and stop
• standing and sitting together
• volume control

OKAY, HERE GOES:

Besides yourself, a slinky is the only prop for this lesson.

*Choose one familiar song to do this with. I'll be using I Am a Child of God, or a Program Song.

1. Get attention: Play "Same Shape". See if they can make the same shape you are making with your hands/arms/body. Congratulate them for paying attention to you with watching eyes.

2. Explain that the Conductor tells you what to do. Something like, "When we are going to sing a song, the Pianist plays an intro and when my arm comes up that means we are about ready to start! Watch!" (Tell Pianist to play intro and a phrase or two into the song). Get feedback, did they see your arm? Maybe even mess up on purpose to see if they are watching.

3. Divide the room in half, assigning 1s and 2s. Tell the kids to sing, only if you are holding up their number. They'll have to watch closely! Sing the whole song, switching off numbers.

4. Show stand up and sit down hand motions. Do it a few times. *Invite a child up to lead standing up and sitting down.

5. Explain the cut off 'pinching' motion. Have entire Primary sing any note (yes, any random note. It sounds funny, but who cares?), then cut it off. Do it a few times. *Invite a child up to be the person cutting off. Repeat. (JR loves this)

6. Show a slinky. Wide means sing loud. Close together means sing soft. Sing while manipulating the slinky for volume variances. *Invite children to use the slinky.

7. Show "Hand on Her Ear Means She Needs to Hear" more or less volume. (The motion is one had to the ear, the other hand either going up or going down.) Sing while indicating volume this way. *Invite kids to try.

8. End by telling them that watching the Conductor is important and now they know how to do it and they will do awesome and their parents will be so proud of them.

Wwwwwwrapping Up and Reviwwwwwwing the "W" Lesson Plan for Baptism

*This is a continuation of the posts, Baptism Verse 1 - "W" Questions AND Baptism Verses 2 + 3 - More "W"s.  This is for REVIEWING all of the verses of the song Baptism. Instead of posting the lesson plan in one LONG post, I broke it up. Easier reading, hopefully. :) I'll spread all of it out over a few weeks.

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6. "W" QUESTIONS
After all the verses are learned, test their knowledge with "W" questions.

Set up:

• Post the "W" words on the board (they saw these when we learned the song, so it will all be familiar to them)
• Pass out the coordinating cards (the ones the Teachers had while learning verse 1).

Now sing!

• Pass around the smaller cards while we sing (like hot potato)
• Sing a verse. Go one verse at a time in a rotation.
• Pick a child that has a card in their hand. Allow them to choose one of the questions that matches the color card they have. With the way I have it color coded some will have many choices, others may not. That's life, right?
• Repeat

I wrote the lyrics, which also happen to be the answers, on the backs of the cards.
I can always use a little help up there!

7. HALF AND HALF (yes, again like we did when learning verse 1 - but the whole song this time.)

• Post ALL the lyrics (or not!)
• Have one side sing half the phrase and the other side finish it.
• Sing
• Cover up a lyric phrase
• Repeat until it's all covered and learned.

Baptism Verses 2 + 3 - More "W"s

*This is a continuation of the post, Baptism Verse 1 - "W" Questions.  This is for the 2nd and 3rd verses of the song Baptism. Instead of posting the lesson plan in one LONG post, I broke it up. Easier reading, hopefully. :) I'll spread all of it out over a few weeks.

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4. VERSE 2 - WHY?

First, Learn the verse by posting the "W" word with coordinating picture and singing as we go along.

Then,

• Sing with actions:
   -Hands make a book/Bible
   -Draw a question mark in the air
   -Hands make a door opening
   -Point upward to Heaven

\
WHY    "To fulfill the law," / said Jesus,
WHO or WHY    When the Baptist / questioned why,
WHY    "And to enter / with my Father
WHERE  "In the kingdom / up on high."

5. VERSE 3 - WHO? WE.

First, Learn the verse by posting the "W" word with coordinating picture and singing as we go along.

Then,

• Use a WHO CONTAINER (like this one) to choose kids to stand and sing. 
• Choose a strip from the container and ask those kids to stand and sing.
• Choose another strip from the container and ask those kids to stand and sing.
• Keep choosing strips and singing until all the kids are standing and singing.
• END by saying that WE ALL can be baptized like Jesus.

WE    Now we know / that we must also
WHAT    Witness faith / in Jesus' word,
WHAT   Be baptized / to show obedience,
WHO    As was Jesus Christ, / our Lord. 



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 ****Part 3, the review part of this lesson can be found HERE

Baptism Verse 1 - "W" Questions

This is for the first verse of Baptism.  

1. MOVE LIKE WAVES
Ask children if they've ever been to the ocean, lake, to a river or stream. The water goes fast and slow, up and down. Listen to the music and move like water.


2. LEARN Baptism VERSE 1

--- The big ones will be posted on the board with a coordinating picture underneath.
IE: who will have a Jesus picture under it. "when" a map of Judea, etcetera...
--- The smaller cards are for the Teachers (see below)

ANSWER THE W's:

• Post the W words on the board. (WHO, WHEN, WHAT, WHERE)
• Ask and answer, posting pics and singing as we go.

Then,

• Pass around the smaller "W" words (to Teachers).
• The class with the W sings the coordinating phrase (as also posted on the board). IE, the class(es) with "WHO" sings "Jesus Came...".
• Switch around the "W" words from class to class and sing some more!

WHO    Jesus came / to John the Baptist,
WHEN    In Judea / long ago,        
WHAT    And was baptized / by immersion
WHERE    In the / River Jordan's flow.  


3. WATER WANDS (as seen on Camille's Primary Ideas)

HERE are my water wands

Optional "water choreography" for the ribbon wands:

• "COMES IN" (a tide comes in...) - Jesus came, Baptist...
• "WHIRLPOOLS - ...in Judea, ago...
• "WATERFALLS - ...and was, immersion...
• "WAVES" - ...in the, Jordan's flow...

4. HALF AND HALF
Have one side sing half the phrase and the other side finish it.
(*pssst.... that's why I wrote the grey lyrics above with the "/" slashes.)

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The second half of this lesson (and the rest of this song) can be found HERE.

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Update:

• Teaching with the "W" questions went well. Answers and lyrics learned. Bam.
• I only did ribbons wands in JR.  *Another update! I ended up using them later in SR... and they loved them! SR kids asked to take them home!
• I only did "half and half" in SR.
• Could have done away with "move like water" at the beginning. Sometimes they are into that stuff, sometimes they are not. Apparently after two days of fireworks (4th of July last Friday) they are too tired for that stuff on Sunday afternoon.
• "Half and half" is a GREAT way to teach the kids to follow you (without knowing they are learning to follow you, haha!)
• A note about "half and half":  .... make sure YOU, THE LEADER, are paying attention to what you are doing! I only messed up once....    ;)     It's always an adventure in Primary!

Music Appreciation (Vivaldi's Four Seasons)

I came across this Vivaldi and The Four Seasons lesson plan. I love it! I won't do it in Primary, but I want to do it with my own children.

Follow THE PLAN

This is for teaching the song I Will Follow God's Plan.

POST "THE PLAN" on the board (a big poster board, or a bunch of papers with big text printed or written on it outlining all the steps of what we will do [see list below]).

TELL the kids we have to follow this plan to make sure we learn the song of the Month. We have to do every step in the plan to be able to learn the song. At some points there may be choices in the plan, but we have to do each step. (For the flipchart part I drew my own pictures, as seen here.)

(((    *You have to really interact with the kids to make sure this is going to work and get the point across. This isn't one of those "just singing some songs" lessons, everyone has to feel involved. Have the kids direct you and make them feel like they are in charge of making sure you are following the plan! Make a big deal if kids jump ahead in the plan, or don't follow the plan, or are following the plan. Really point out the plan and make everyone feel involved in it. (I hope this makes sense.)    )))

THE PLAN (check off each thing when you've done it):

1. Listen to pianist play the song
2. Sing only the last part from "I Will..."
3. Jump up and down five times
4. Sit down on your chair
5. Put up all the pictures
6. Sing the whole song!
7. Take down two OR three pictures
8. Sing the whole song!
9. Take down some more pictures
10. Hum or Clap the rhythm the whole song!
11. Take down some more pictures
12. Choose either: pat head 5 times OR pat tummy 5 times
13. Sing the whole song!
14. Listen to Sister Chorister

ASK, How did we learn this song? Did we follow the plan? Yes, we did! - and because we did we were able to learn the song like we were supposed to. Does anyone else have a plan for us? Yes, that's right! Heavenly Father does!

EXPLAIN - this song is about following the plan Heavenly Father has for us. Where does HF's plan for us begin? (in Heaven). And it continues on Earth! We are born to get a what? (a body). We make good choices in our life to stay close to HF. How do we walk in His way? (go to church, baptized, mission, married in temple…).

My "Plan" all typed up is the first few pages (1-8) of THIS GoogleDoc. Pages 9 to the end are this game, The Roadmap to Return
*GoogleDocs reformatted it a little bit from the original on my computer...

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At this point you can end. Or, you can add on;
--- THIS LESSON, where you talk about some beautiful things that Heavenly Father has in store & "paint"a beautiful scene in their life's plan with Primary Music Paintbrushes as they sing I Will Follow God's Plan For Me.

--- "The Plan" Life Size Game---------------------------

UPDATE:
JR was into this. SR, not so much. Maybe because JR can't read, so they were surprised by each thing we had to do. SR read ahead and they weren't impressed, but they did it anyway. I could tell they were bored and tried to go fast through it.

Sent on a String

Learn the song "He Sent His Son by asking questions and getting the answers 'sent' to the Primary.

I had someone hidden behind a rolling chalkboard. There was a string that led from them to me (taped to the table). They had numbered tubes ready to be sent to the Primary on my cue. The pictures for the 'answers' in this song were rolled up inside the tubes. I added the pics to the flipcharts as we went along and learned the song. Full lesson typed out below the pictures...

These are the hand drawn pictures I added to the text on my flipchart.
The 'questions' I put on the charts already, the 'answers' were rolled in the tubes and sent to us.

This was the flip chart. The 'question' already had the picture.
Once the 'question' was learned well enough, the 'answer' was sent in the tube via the string.
**I put the Q's on one color paper and the A's on another. It helped visually.
***I don't always post ALL the words, but for some reason I did on this song.

Always number and label everything.  :)

-------------------------LESSON:

SAY: We are going to learn a new song today. Let's listen to it first.

♫ Listen to the Pianist Play through the song ♪

1

SAY: This song is made up of questions and answers. We are going to ask questions and see if we can get the answers. What we're doing today is kind of like prayer. You can pray to Heavenly Father and he will give you answers. Today we are going to ask questions in our singing voices and perhaps the answers will be sent to us.

SAY: Let's ask our first question. (put up picture or Earth/heart). *Learn/sing... "How could the Father tell the world of love and tenderness?"

- Sing a few times and when it's good enough, cue the first answer to be sent. [The answer is attached to a toilet paper tube on a string that is already set up and you have someone in on it to help you out].

Finish the verse, then SAY: We have been sent an answer! Let's see what has been sent to us. Okay.... What were we asking?... (kids answer):"How could the Father tell the world of love and tenderness?".... and the answer to that is (show picture of baby Jesus).... "He sent his Son, a new born babe, with peace and holiness" (put picture up by the first picture).

♫ Sing that part a few times. ♪

2

SAY: Okay, let's ask another question. Let's sing and ask (put up picture of path)... "How could the Father show the world the pathway we should go?"  Hmmm... that's a good question! Let's sing and see if we can get another answer...

- Sing a few times and when it's good enough, cue the second 'answer' to be sent. 

OPEN the answer: "He sent his Son to walk with men, on earth, that we may know." (put up picture of shoes)

♫ Sing just that question and answer. Then sing from the beginning to that part a few times. ♪

3

SAY: Let's ask another question. Let's sing and ask (put up picture of gravestone), " How could the Father tell the world of sacrifice, of death?"

- Sing a few times and when it's good enough, cue the third 'answer' to be sent. 

OPEN the answer: "He sent his Son to die for us and rise with living breath". (put up picture of empty tomb)

♫ Sing just that question and answer. Then sing from the beginning to that part a few times. ♪

4

SAY: How about another question? Let's try.... " What does the Father ask of us? What do the scriptures say?" (put picture up of scriptures)

- Sing a few times and when it's good enough, cue the fourth 'answer' to be sent. 

OPEN the answer: "Have faith, have hope, live like his Son, help others on their way". (put picture up of faith/hope/help).

♫ Sing just that question and answer. Then sing from the beginning to that part a few times. ♪

5

SAY: This is our last question... it's a really short one. Think we can do it? ... "What does he ask?" (put up picture of question mark)

- Sing a few times and when it's good enough, cue the fourth 'answer' to be sent. 
OPEN the answer: "Live like His Son." (put up up picture of Jesus)

♫ Sing just that question and answer. Then sing from the beginning to that part a few times. ♪
♫ Sing whole song ♪


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PREP:

--string/yarn
--5 toilet paper tubes (unless you're going to send one tube back and forth, but uhhh......)
--tape, or some way to attach the messages to the TP tube (or, roll the messages up inside the tube)
-- a helper
--rolling chalkboard
--flip chart
--Pictures for the questions and answers in the song:
Earth/heart
baby jesus
path/arrow road sign
shoes
gravestone
resurrected Jesus / empty tomb
scriptures
faith, hope, help
pic for "Son"

The 6 Be's

TELL the kids that Gordon B Hinckley gave a talk with counsel to help us all be better, happier people.

1. Write 6 "Be's" down a column on the board.
2. Invite a child to choose a wordstrip.
3. Ask the Primary how they can act like that word. (IE; "Grateful. How can you be grateful?").
4. Tape it up on the board next to a "Be".
5. Sing the song on the back.
6. Repeat.

The Be's are:

• Be grateful. (I Am Glad For Many Things 151)
• Be smart. (Choose the Right Way 160, Hum Your Favorite Hymn 152)
• Be clean. (When I Am Baptized 103, The Word of Wisdom 154)
• Be true. (Friends are Fun 262, I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus 78, Kindness Begins With Me 245)
• Be humble. (I'm Thankful to Be Me 11, almost any gratitude song in the CSB)
• Be prayerful. (A Child's Prayer 12, Pray in Faith 14)

WRAP UP by paraphrasing what was said at the beginning and testifying that we can all try to BE our best every day with Gordon B. Hinkley's six Be's.

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*(To make it THANKSGIVING THEMED, display the words on turkey feathers that the kids pick off of a turkey (then you stick on the board). At the end tell the kids that the six Be's help us to be more thankful every day.)

*(To make it SPRING/SUMMER THEMED, make the wordstrips black and yellow striped to look like bees! Or actual cute bee shapes.)

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PREPARE:

• chalk / eraser
• 6 wordstrips
• tape

Pick a Pie

• Prepare pie visual aides that are missing pieces. Secretly, they are the songs you’re singing’s time signatures; 3/4, 4/4, 2/3, 6/8…

• Tape pies on baking sheet.

Wear an apron. Tell the kids that you’ve been baking this week! (show baking sheets with pies taped on). You’ve been baking musical pies!

• Invite a child to pick a pie.

Point out that you already sliced the pie. Show how the pie had four slices. Then explain how you got hungry and ate some of the pie (well, not true for 4 / 4 time - that’s still a whole pie - but this example is 3 / 4 time...). Show how there are 3 slices left. So, this makes it a 3 / 4 (three-fourths) pie. That means that the song we’re going to sing is in 3 / 4 (three four) time!

• Write the time signature on the board. Tape pie next to it. --Or, tape pie by a time sig already written on the board.

• Invite the pie picker’s whole class to help you lead with mixing spoons. Show them how to “stir in the air” the conducting pattern.  (Especially in JR, point out the pie parts every time and go over the leading pattern.) (In SR the rest of the kids sitting down could possibly clap the beat, with the 1st clap being the downbeat.)

• Pick another pie and repeat

see how music can be a pie?
source