Mother's Day Song List

Families Can Be Together 188
Love Is Spoken Here 190
The Family 194
Quickly I'll Obey 197
A Happy Family 198
When We're Helping 198
Grandmother 200
I Often Go Walking 202
My Mother Dear 203
Mother Dear 206
Dearest Mother, I Love You 206
Mother, I Love You 207
Dearest Names 208

Summer Olympics Singing Time

*I used this wonderful idea from Camille's blog for a Summer Olympics Singing Time.

PREP:

• Paper Olympic rings, hung in a chain. Each ring had an Olympic "way to sing" on it.
• Song Titles in a bowl.
• Printout of Olympic Rings logo to hang on the board.

Here are the Olympic "Ways to Sing":
TORCH RELAY     pass a flashlight - the class where the torch is sings the brightest! (loudest)
SYNCHRONIZED SINGING     all sing
RUNNING RACE     run in place while we sing
ARCHERY     use "bow and arrow" arms for dynamics singing
VOLLEYBALL   two sides take turns singing
RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS    clap pattern (or just clap the beat)
WOMEN'S EVENT     girls only
MEN'S EVENT    boys only
CYCLING    "cycle around" and sing the song more than once
KAYAKING  "yak" (talk) the words
ROWING    each row sings a line

Picture of my stuff below:
*I actually had 10 rings in my chain. I wanted it to last the whole singing time!  

ACROSTIC WORDS for Praise To The Man V1

I wrote an acrostic poem for Praise To the Man in the last 10 minutes of Sacrament Meeting. I used the man himself, and words from the first verse and chorus.

PREP:

• Chalk (maybe 2 colors)
• Hymnbooks
• Words (below)

LESSON:

1. Sing Praise to the Man.
2. Ask what man this song is about?
3. Write the name JOSEPH SMITH vertically on the board.
4. Ask the kids to help you find words in the first verse to fill in the Joseph Smith's name. (May want to hand out hymn books)
5. First, look for the letter J.
6. Define/discuss the word. (Because there are some hard words in this song!)
7. Sing to that point/end of that phrase (some are in weird spots).
8. Repeat steps 5-8

   Jehovah

   Open the last

diSpensation

   Extol

   Praise

   Hail

   Seer

   Mingling

vaIn

   Traitors and Tyrants

   Hero

Clap It Out

This is an idea for Praise To the Man for Senior Primary.

It looks like a game. But it's really a way to define those tough words in Praise To the Man. Tell the kids you're going to clap out all of the big words in the first verse...

*Sing through the Verse one time first. Then,

1. Have a child choose a definition wordstrip. 
2. Find the word for that definition somewhere in the Verse.
3. Write the word on the board. Tape the definition next to it.
4. Talk it out. Discuss the word and it's definition.
5. Now, "Clap it Out" of the song. .... When singing, clap the syllables of that word.
6. Repeat and repeat until all the big words are being "clapped out" as you sing.
   
   (The secret is that, although they are clapping the words/syllables, they are still thinking them in their heads - and you are getting them to sing over and over again.)

Verse 1 Definitions → Words:
Conversed with a Higher Source → Communed
Heavenly Father? / Jesus? → Jehovah
Called to Holy Office → Anointed
Proclaimer of the word of God → Prophet
Group of time → Dispensation
Praise enthusiastically → Extol
Feel deep respect and admiration → Revere


PREP:

• Definitions on wordstrips
• Chalk to write each "hard" word on the board as we talk about it.
• Tape / magnets

More Service Songs - G.I.V.E.

After singing Give Said The Little Stream with actions, extend the lesson by singing more Service Songs. This really does need to be done in coordination with Give Said the Little Stream, as it's a continuation on the word GIVE...

Before Primary, put the letters G - I - V - E around the room. It's going to be kind of a match game, where the letter will be stuck on the beginning of a phrase.

G - How do we serve?  We go the extra mile!  pg: 167

I - Who can serve others?  I can, with my own two hands!  pg: 272

V - How does serving others make us feel? Serving others makes us very happy!  pg: 197

E - Who do we serve?  Every one of God's children.  pg: 263

THE PLAN:
Talk about how GSTLS is a song about service! ASK; But what other things can we think about when doing service?.... The letters on the wall will help us find out!

• Choose a child to go get a letter off the wall.
• When the child brings the letter to you, ASK the question about service. Then show the the letter combined with it's phrase and hang it on the board (save room for all 4 phrases).
• Sing the song. Maybe a few times.
• Repeat.
  
  

  

  (I had the letter, the question, and the song page number written on the back of the phrase page.)

ACTIONS For Give Said the Little Stream (all 3 verses!)

I just made these up!  Whewie!  :D

VERSE 1
"Give," said the little stream,        WATER WAVE HANDS
"Give, oh! give, give, oh! give."       GIVE (hands out in front) x2
"Give," said the little stream,       WATER WAVE HANDS
As it hurried down the hill;       WATER WAVE HANDS
"I'm small, I know,        "SMALL" FINGER AND THUMB NEAR EYE
but wherever I go       HANDS OUT SHRUG    
The fields grass grows greener still."       GRASS HANDS (wiggly fingers cross in front)

VERSE 2
"Give," said the little rain,       RAIN FINGERS
"Give, oh! give, give, oh! give."       GIVE (hands out in front) x2
"Give," said the little rain,       RAIN FINGERS
As it fell upon the flow'rs;       RAIN FINGERS
"I'll raise their drooping heads again,"       GROWING FLOWER HAND
As it fell upon the flow'rs.      RAIN FINGERS

VERSE 3
Give, then, as Jesus gives,       GIVE x1 / JESUS ASL
Give, oh! give, give, oh! give.       GIVE (hands out in front) x2
Give, then, as Jesus gives;       GIVE x1 / JESUS ASL
There is something all can give.      RAINBOW GESTURE ABOVE HEAD
Do as the streams and blossoms do:       WATER WAVE HANDS / FLOWER
For God and others live.       HEAVENLY FATHER ASL / LIVE ASL



CHORUS
Singing, singing all the day,       LEAD 2/4 TIME x2
"Give away, oh! give away."      GIVE (hands out in front) x2
Singing, singing all the day,       LEAD 2/4 TIME x2
"Give, oh! give away."       GIVE (hands out in front) x2

---------------> Need to fill more time? Extend Give Said the Little Stream (and sing more songs) with this lesson plan extension: Service Songs: G.I.V.E.

Mother Tell Me - A Two Week Plan

Here is my idea to split teaching Mother, Tell Me the Story in two weeks.


PREP:
'Story' Flip Chart (put them in a binder or something)
Blanket
Teddy Bear
Chair


WEEK 1:
1. Ask if the children if they like story time! Sit in a chair in front of the Primary and read the flip charts story-style to children while piano plays quietly in background.
2. Learn the 1st verse line-by-line.
3. Cement the verse with hot/cold singing using a Teddy Bear for the remainder of the time.


WEEK 2:
1. Mix up the 'story' (flip charts). See if a class can get them in the right order before the 1st verse ends.
2. Add in the adult part during Storytime Sleepytime.... Spread out a storytime blanket. Invite one class at a time to come up front to the blanket. All the kids sing to the adults in the room - then, see if the Adult part makes the kids on the blanket fall asleep!
3.  Combine parts.

Seed Shakers

Make seed shakers to use during the song, The Prophet Said to Plant a Garden (p 237).

Should be pretty simple.... color paper plates, fill with seeds, staple together.
Here are instructions at ABC Creative Learning.

Ideas: apples, pumpkins, watermelons...

    

Plant a Garden

An idea for The Prophet Said to Plant a Garden (p 237)...


"Plant" a garden (the song) using seed-shaped flip charts. Cut out seed shapes, and paste on pictures that go with the song.  



PLANT A GARDEN (learn the song):
Have the children stand in front and keep adding as we go along until the whole song is learned.

HARVEST (review/cement the song):
Sing the whole song. Choose a child "gardener" to harvest a crop. The child chooses a seed. Flip the seed over to reveal what that child-seed grew in to!

Lyrics/Picture Ideas:

1. The prophet said to plant a garden, so that's what we'll do.   PROPHET
For God has given rich brown soil, the rain and sunshine too.    SOIL, RAIN, SUNSHINE
And if we plant the seeds just right and tend them carefully,     SHOVEL
Before we know, good things will grow to feed our family.     PLATE OF VEGGIES + FRUITS

2. We'll plant the seeds to fill our needs, then plant a few to spare,     SEEDS
And show we love our neighbors with the harvest that we share.     HEART
Oh, won't you plant a garden, too, and share the many joys     HAPPY FACE
A garden brings in health and love to happy girls and boys!     HAPPY GIRL + BOY

Little Children Seeds

I can't believe I haven't posted one of my favorite gross motor movement activities for Little Seeds Lie Fast Asleep!

Tell the children they are seeds. Have them 'bury' themselves in the ground. (Crouch, get low. Yes, some kids lie on the ground.) Have them cover themselves up with soil and get ready to sprout!

• 1st Verse. Stay crouched. During "wake up wake up calls the sun", use a "blinking" hand above head to be sun's rays)
• 2nd verse, slowly 'wake up' and stretch tall!

*I randomly came up with this on the spot one day. The kids love it!

An About Me Post

Once upon a time there was a timid newlywed gal who got called to the one calling she absolutely in the whole wide word was terrified of: PRIMARY PIANIST. It was in a Ward with a desperate "need", so she suffered through. (Sorry to say it, but everyone suffered through).

Alas! Not all was lost on this scary experience. Ten years, yes YEARS - some kids, a few houses and multiple Wards later (boundary shifts = new friends, am I right?!), she was called to the second most absolutely terrifying in the whole wide world calling: PRIMARY CHORISTER.  Yet, that first trial experience of playing the Piano in Primary actually provided a good base upon which to begin building the Primary Chorister Calling.

Having somewhat been around music; taking music lessons, being in Marching Band, etcetera gave her.... no confidence. Nope, none. Many hours of scouring the internet, many mistakes in front of the whole Ward - and, well confidence is still growing - but she can at least stand in front of the children without fainting.  This blog is built around the fact that she is a self proclaimed "planner". All of that planning has to be stored somewhere - and this is the place.

So if you find something useful, please, by all means use it. Leave a comment, too.

Released

Whew. My first time at Chorister has come to an end.

Three years, done.

A Plan to the Program For 2016

***Guys, I suppose I'm what you'd call a "planner".  I had done a ton of planning for 2016... and then I got released!  The information below is a plan including Opening Songs & Monthly Focus Songs, all leading up to a 2016 Program.

First, a lot of the 2016 songs in the outline our kids had recently had full blown lessons on. (IE; IWillFollowGodsPlan, StandFTR, ILovetoSeetheTemple, TheLordGaveMeTemple) So for those months, I was planning to use the suggested song-of-the-month to be the opening song for the whole month, and choose another song (that still fit the theme) to focus on.

And that's how I came up with the 2016 Monthly Opening Songs List:

And then, that led to the "Focus Song of the Month" list. Which is, of course based off the 2016 Outline, but if we already knew a song then that song got moved to the "Opening Song List"(above) so we could focus on a song we may not be as familiar with (aka, hadn't had a lesson on in my 3 years as Chorister).

"Focus Song of the Month" list

And then, if I stuck with the plan.... between opening songs & monthly focus songs, the kids should be familiar with the songs [listed below] which would be in the 2016 Primary Program, "The Scriptures Guide the Way" (working title); which is a journey through life and how the scriptures plan a role in each step - using scripture references throughout.  It is very much a work in progress, as I wrote it a few days after we had our 2015 Program, then was released, and progress on it halted. So take it as it is.  :)

1. i lived in heaven
2. i will follow god’s plan
3. scripture power
4. heroes of the scriptures OR stand for the right
5. If I listen with my heart
6. search, ponder and pray
7. i feel my saviors love
8. arrangement/medley

*Of course, these songs would be hit hard during "Review Time", aka the few weeks before the Program.

*Important note: These song lists do not include Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day or seasonal or wiggle songs... my concentration at the time of this brainstorm session was how to get from January to the Program.

So anyway, that's that. I'd love to know if any of this could possibly benefit anyone. Or if there are questions - just comment.  :)

I guess I'm on to other things now.  Have a happy 2016 everyone!

Checketts-Hatch PRIMARY SONGS CHRISTMAS MEDLEY

Here is the Checketts-Hatch PRIMARY SONGS CHRISTMAS MEDLEY; including, When Joseph Went to Bethlehem, Away in a Manger & Silent Night.

Halloween Candy Activity

This is the easy song-review activity I'm doing the day after Halloween:

1. Have a bowl of various Halloween Candy.
2. Give the Pianist a pre-determined list of songs.
3. Invite a child to choose a piece of candy. The candy they choose will determine the next song. (So they think... but really, you're just going down the song list).
4. Sing.
5. Repeat.

*Beware of peanut allergies. I did not pick any peanut candies to be in the bowl....
*Be sure that the kids are aware that they do not actually get to eat the candy... that it's just for choosing songs...

Lullaby Babies

picture source, LDS.org

*This is a Christmas singing time. It will take some forethought and preparation...

PREP:
-Rocking Chair/Glider (from the Nursery or Mother's room?)
-Swaddled Baby Doll
-Ask 2 female singers to prepare Mary's Lullaby. Ask them to wear white.
-Ask a Mom to be "Mary". Have her dress appropriately and bring a swaddled baby doll (or even better, a Mom with a real baby!!!). And possibly manger prop (we happen to have a family who has one).

----> Discreetly set up manger in the back of the room before Primary. Instruct guest adults that they will quietly enter the room while we are singing our lullaby in the dark. Mary sits near the manger, caressing or holding the baby, the singers near/behind Mary.  When it's their turn, Mary tends to the baby while the others sing Mary's Lullaby to the Primary.


LESSON:

• Hold the swaddled baby doll and "shush" the children, pointing out that a baby is trying sleep! Maybe learning a song can help the baby sleep....

• Learn Oh Hush Thee, My Baby. (flip chart? or actions?)  Teach SR Primary the harmony on the chorus.

• Tell the children that we are going to rock a baby to sleep with this beautiful lullaby.  Dim the lights. Invite a girl to hold the baby and rock in the chair while we sing.

• After singing the lullaby to the baby, Ask: "Do you think Mary would have sung a lullaby to baby Jesus?"  (yes, probably, uh-huh).  Well, let's see for ourselves.... (direct attention to the other side of the room - cue pianist for Mary's Lullaby to be performed by guest singers).  [I wish, I wish, I wish I had a spotlight to shine on them.... I'm going to have to think about this...]

Jesus Once Was a Little Child, Checketts-Hatch Arrangement

This arrangement is just too sweet. It's the Checketts-Hatch arrangement of Jesus Once Was a Little Child.

Star/Burst Handouts (for the Program)

1)  Before the program, make a handout with a star on it that says, "You are going to be a Star shining brightly in the Primary Program on Sunday, November 9!"  *Idea: Have these be the treat inside the ribbon box.* 

If you're really ambitious and want to continue the theme.... make this a 2-part, before and after the program handout:

2)  After the Program, make another handout that says, "You did so well today in the Primary Program today that we BURST with pride!!! Love, ____"

Ribbon Wrapped Box

For a Program Song Review Singing Time....  


PREP:

• Put treats/prizes/handouts in a box (enough for all!).
• Wrap the box with ribbon - each ribbon has a tag that is a song title.
• Make one for JR and one for SR.

DO:

1. Cut a ribbon to choose a song.
2. Sing.
3. Repeat
4. After all ribbons are cut, open the box and give everyone one of what's inside.

Aaron Waite Piano Solo Arr. of A Child's Prayer

This is not for the kids to sing with.... but I love the Aaron Waite Piano Solo Arr of A Child's Prayer!  It sounds like a music box and is so lovely. Now I wish I played the piano better (much better) than I do.