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!

...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").

------------------------------------- (halfway there!) ----------------------------------------------------------

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.

Tie Guys SINGING METER BOARD

I'll be using this Singing Meter Board to review our Father's Day songs this year.  :)

*Here is the original Singing Meter Board post.  With how-to and ideas.  :)

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!

Scrambled Eggs 2.0

Preface: I have THIS Symbols of Easter Scrambled Eggs Lesson plan.  It is cute and it went very well. I was going to use it again this year...  BUT THEN, I realized I had different needs this year. With Stake Conference, General Conference and Easter all happening at the same time I needed BOTH an Easter activity and a review activity. So I modified my own idea, and here is Scrambled Eggs version 2.0.

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PREP (make a set for JR and one for SR):

1. Print off Song Titles
2. Cut Song Titles and put in Plastic Eggs (*Cut apart each word for SR, and just one cut in the title for JR.)

IN ACTION:

PARAPHRASE: Tell the kids that your Easter eggs got all scrambled up and you're going to need their help to unscramble them!

1. Choose a Class to come up to the table
2. Have them pick and Egg and unscramble the Song Title
3. Sing that Song
4. Repeat

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(Here's my Easter song list for this year):

• Did Jesus Really Live Again? 64
• He Died That We Might Live Again 65
• Easter Hosanna 68
• Jesus Has Risen 70
• To Think About Jesus 71

Prophet Math

I made up these Math Story Problems for Follow the Prophet.

LESSON:
Read one of the math problems and let the kids figure out what verse we're going to sing! They may need the worksheet at the bottom to help them figure it out. In JR Primary the Teachers will need the worksheet and will need to guide the kids to the answer.

• Two People - 1 Apple = VERSE 1 (Adam)

• 1 Prophet + 1 City + 0 Sin = VERSE 2 (Enoch)

• 1 Prophet + 1 Boat + 1 Rain Storm = VERSE 3 (Noah)

• 1 Prophet + 1 Wife + 1 Prayer + 1 Son = VERSE 4 (Abraham)

• 10 Commandments - 1 Prophet - 1 Promised Land - 1 Wilderness - 2 Tablets = VERSE 5       (Moses)

• 1 Mom + 1 Boy + 1 Tabernacle + 3 Words "Here I Am" = VERSE 6 (Samuel)

• 9 Ocean Waves - 1 Prophet - 1 Whale = VERSE 7 (Jonah)

• 10 tigers - 1 King - 1 Prophet = VERSE 8 (Daniel)

• 10 News Stations - 1 World = VERSE 9 (Now)

I made this lyric worksheet for the kids to fill out as we do the math to figure out the verses.

*Notes:

• I felt like we needed  a 'different' activity, so why not throw some math in there?  :)
• I will probably only use this in SR Primary...
• *Actually, I used it in both JR and SR.  Junior loved counting on their fingers and figuring out the number with me. Senior loved filling out the worksheet.
• YES, it's true that the verse can be figured out without the Math through context clues and because I didn't pull ALL the names out the worksheet. Anyway, if you move fast enough they can't get ahead of you. OR, actually pull all the names and clues out of the worksheet (but I was in a rush when I made it and didn't have time to scan through it all)...  ANYWAY, it worked well, anyway.  Should I say "anyway" again?
• This was a fun activity! I'd do it again.

ASL for the Chorus of I Know That My Savior Loves Me

I KNOW he(JESUS) LIVES!

I will FOLLOW  FAITHFULLY.

MY heart(LOVE flat hands) I GIVE TO Him (JESUS).

I KNOW that MY SAVIOR LOVES ME.

Article of Faith Match Game

(the numbers are points from a game I had in conjunction with the matching)

1. Hang pictures on the board
2. Pick a WORD off the table
3. Find the PICTURE on the board that coordinates
4. Sing the match once (or more) for a run through
5. Repeat.

HELPFUL LINKS:

• Article of Faith Key Words on LDS.org
• Article of Faith SONGS

image from LDS.org

Heartfelt Testimonies of Jesus Christ

Here's an idea for repetitive signing of I Know That My Savior Loves Me with an added testimony bearing experience.

source

1. Bring a paper heart, a pillow heart.... some kind of tangible heart shape.
2. Sing the song while passing the heart.
3. When the piano stops (either sing the whole verse, or have the Pianist stop randomly) have the child holding the heart answer, "how do you know your savior loves you?"
4. Point out that they are bearing their testimony of Jesus Christ.
5. Repeat

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UPDATE:

I did this last week and it went well! The surprise to me was how BIG the kid's testimonies are! They really had a lot to say. Great activity.  :)

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.

Prophets Words: Be True!

A music time activity to learn about the focuses of the teachings of Prophets with the song Stand For the Right;

1. Have prophet pictures on the board.
2. Invite a child up.
3. Sing while child picks a quote bubble off the table, and identifies correct corresponding picture.
4. Tape up the prophet's "quote bubble" near his mouth with what a little summary of what he said.
5. Read it (in SR, ask a child to read it)
6. Repeat.
7. End by paraphrasing that our Prophets give us good council and ask us to be true.

PREP:

• Prophet Pictures
• Names
• *Quote bubbles with "be true" and each Prophet's summary typed up.

*Short summaries for the quote bubbles;
---> Here are short summaries for the PAST Prophets
and
---> Here are short summaries for the CURRENT Prophet and Apostles

Matching Socks

1.  Have a laundry basket full of socks. Ask a child to come up and match a pair. Inside one of the socks is the song to sing.

2.  Sing

3. Repeat


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*This is a good activity for Mother's Day. And HERE is the Mother's Day Song List.

The Family is of God: Family Roles

Use the children themselves to learn or review The Family is of God.

I've typed up what I'm going to do below. Edit it to your own preference. Below just gives an idea of how it goes.

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PREPARE:

• Props for the kids to wear that represent each verse.
• Word strips of key words in each verse. (I'll draw a picture with the word for JR's sake.)

Suggested Props to Wear:
Verse 1: Ribbon that says "me" on it
Verse 2: Tie
Verse 3: Apron
Verse 4: Ribbon that says "I" on it

*Wordstrips are suggested below.

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IN ACTION:

Work on one verse at a time.

1. 
Call up a child. Put the "me" ribbon on child.
Say, "our Father has a family, its me! It's you! All others too, we are his children.
*Tape wordstrips on the child's clothes as you go along talking out the verse: EARTH, BIRTH, LIVE, LEARN
(Hint: position wordstrips so the are in order somehow. Like, starting from the shoulder down the arm and then down the leg.)

Sing that verse a few times.

2.
Call up a male child. Put a tie on him.
*Tape wordstrips on the child's clothes as you go along talking out the verse: PRESIDE, PROVIDE, LOVE, TEACH, LEADS, PRAYER, SHARE

Sing that verse a few times.

3.
Call up a female child. Put an apron on her.
*Tape wordstrips on the child's clothes as you go along with the verse: CARE, PREPARE, NURTURE, STRENGTHEN, OBEY, PRAY, LOVE, SERVE

Sing that verse a few times.

4.
Call up a child. Put the "I" ribbon on child.
*Tape wordstrips on the child's clothes as you go along with the verse: LOVE, SERVE, EXAMPLE, GLAD, HELP

Sing that verse a few times.

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******If you are not comfortable taping the words on the children call up additional children and have them hold signs with the words, standing in order next to the child wearing the prop.

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*A PN29 Original

ASL for I Stand All Amazed

I was only planning on teaching the first verse in sign (the rest just normal singing), but I ended up typing it all out... so I'll just have to see how well my kids catch onto it!  I've already taught the 1st verse to my CTR5 and Sunbeam. They got it pretty fast, so I'm feeling optimistic.  :)

I will use the song Fun To Do to teach the signs! See here.

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1. I stand all amazed   (I, AM [stand], AMAZED)

at the love Jesus offers me   (LOVE, JESUS, OFFERS, ME)
Confused at the grace   (CONFUSED, GRACE)

that so fully he proffers me.    (THOROUGHLY [fully], HE, PROFFERS [same as offer], ME)
I tremble to know  (I, OVERWHELMED [tremble], KNOW)

that for me he was crucified,   (ME, HE [Jesus], CRUCIFIED)
That for me, a sinner,   (ME, SINNER)

he suffered, he bled and died.   (HE [Jesus], SUFFERED, HE [Jesus], BLED, DIED)

*(Chorus)
Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me  (WONDERFUL) HE [Jesus], CARE, ME)
Enough to die for me!   (ENOUGH, DIE, ME)

Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me!  (WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL, ME)

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2. I marvel that he would descend from his throne divine (MARVEL, HE [Jesus], DESCEND, THRONE/DIVINE)
To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine, (RESCUE, SOUL, REBELLIOUS, PROUD, ME)
That he should extend his great love unto such as I, (HE [Jesus], EXTEND, LOVE, ME)
Sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify.  (SUFFICIENT, OWN, REDEEM, JUSTIFY)

*(Chorus)
Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me  (WONDERFUL) HE [Jesus], CARE, ME)
Enough to die for me!   (ENOUGH, DIE, ME)

Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me!  (WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL, ME)

---------------------------------------------

3. I think of his hands pierced and bleeding to pay the debt!  (ME, THINK, HANDS, PIERCED, BLEEDING)
Such mercy, such love and devotion can I forget?  (MERCY, LOVE, DEVOTION, ME, FORGET)
No, no, I will praise and adore at the mercy seat, (NO NO, ME, PRAISE (hallelujah is a long lasting sign),
Until at the glorified throne I kneel at his feet. (UNTIL, AT, THRONE/DIVINE, ME, KNEEL, AT, JESUS, FEET)

*(Chorus)
Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me  (WONDERFUL) HE [Jesus], CARE, ME)
Enough to die for me!   (ENOUGH, DIE, ME)

Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me!  (WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL, ME)

I Stand All Amazed "Take Two" VIDEO NOTES (notes to My Ward are Green):

• We only know the first verse. It it undecided if we'll go further.
• verse 1: "STAND" has been changed to "AM". (no sign here, I took it out - so not STAND or AM. Go right from I to AMAZED)
• chorus: "ENOUGH" should be two bounces on the hand (two syllables = two bounces, easy peasy!)
• chorus: add "floating O's" when you sing "ohhhh, it is..."
• verse 2: "JE-SUS" sign should be on "that He" (I goofed a little)
  There are a few slight 'hiccups' where you can tell i'm trying to remember what comes next. I did this in one take and one take only, so it is what it is.
• verse 3: slowly continue "BLEEDING" through the end of the phrase.
• verse 3: video is missing the sign "UNTIL, AT" (it's typed above...)
• My children were talking and tapping things in the background.
• The link to the video on YouTube is here.
• Nice, gentle help from those who know ASL would be appreciated. :)

Lastly, read why I like to teach sign for songs.

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*The idea of doing this song in ASL is not mine. The idea for these signs in these particular places is.

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.

He Sent His Son Jeopardy!

Play He Sent His Song Jeopardy!

1. Divide the Primary into teams
2. Invite two kids up to the buzzers
3. Determine a category chooser (I used the picking sticks to give another child a chance to help).
4. Choose category.
5. Ask question
6. First to buzz gets chance to answer. If they don't get it, the other player gets a chance to answer.
7. Give points to the team of whoever got it right, then sing that Q+A phrase. 
8. Repeat

I intended to write the name of the song on the board next to the game title. It didn't happen - but was a good thought.

Laminated pieces. The categories and questions are taped on and can be removed for future use.

Categories and Questions specifically for He Sent His Son:

TELL

• How could the Father TELL the world of love and tenderness?
• How could the Father TELL the world of sacrifice and death?
• TELL us what this whole song means [that Jesus lived and died for us!]. (sing last phrase)

SHOW

• How could the Father SHOW the world the pathway we should go?
• SHOW us all of the actions we learned for this song. [In JR: SHOW us your favorite action we learned for this song.]  (Sing the whole song with the actions)
• SHOW us where Jesus' hands were pierced when he hung on the cross. (sing the "of sacrifice, of death" Q+A phrase)

ASK

• What does the Father ASK of us? What do the scriptures say?
• What does he ASK?
• Who did Heavenly Father ASK to bear the sins of all Mankind [Jesus]. (sing the "pathway we should go" Q+A phrase)

*The first 2 questions are taken straight out of the song. When those are figures out, song that Q+A phrase. The red ones are the super hard questions. They're toughies. The part in parentheses suggests which part of the song to sing after those questions are answered.  :)

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PREP:

Two bells/buzzers

Game title
Category titles

9 category questions with point value on the back

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UPDATE:

• As I'd expected, this activity was a little tougher in JR - but with lots and hints and help we made it through.  ;)  And SR Primary loved it. Sometimes things lean younger or older. This activity leans older, but that doesn't mean it can't be done in JR. Just gotta make it work sometimes.  :)
• In JR I utilized my flip charts for this song (seen in this post). That helped.  :)  Visuals usually do for JR.
• Also, everyone in the Primary found out that I can't do math. In fact, math is nowhere near anything I studied in college. At all. DOH.

"The Plan" Life-Size Game: The Roadmap To Return

1. Put a game board of colored pieces of paper on the floor - starting at Heaven, leading to Earth, then going back to Heaven.. The pieces will have stuff to read/do on the back.
2. Invite a child to toll a die. Have the same child, or invite another child to move the playing piece.
3. Read the tasks on the spaces they land on. (Have the pieces face down so the kids don't know what to expect.)

START by singing ♫ "I Lived in Heaven".

These are the MUST STOP MILESTONES:

• Birth - ♫ I Am a Child of God
• Baptism - ♫ I Like to Look For Rainbows
• Mission - ♫ I Hope They Call Me on a Mission
• Temple Marriage - ♫ I Love to See the Temple
• Death - ♫ God Be With You til We Meet Again

OTHER Spaces include:

• Happy things, such as eating veggies, adding family members
• Bad things, such as eating too much candy or not being nice.
• Fill-in-the-blanks of the song ♫ I Will Follow God's Plan. They earn moving forward however many spaces they can complete.

When setting up the game pieces, half the spaces lead to Earth, half lead back to Heaven. Hopefully it's somewhat obvious that some spaces need to be planned out so that certain life events happen in life order. You'll have to figure that out, in person, with your own game board.

When a Team gets to Earth they have to sing the whole song (their team only) and if it's good enough, they can start the trek back to Heaven.

When the human playing piece gets back to Heaven EVERYONE in the Primary gets a ribbon to take home. I want to print these on cardstock and put them on a string;

I hope this makes sense! I'm tired-typing right now.  :)~

I've typed it all up HERE.
*1) Scroll down past the few first pages (1-8) which are this lesson, The Plan
*2)Unfortunately, GoogleDocs reformatted it a bit and some things are in odd places...    :/

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*UPDATE:
1) I have pictures of the actual game I will post later.
2) The game took a little longer than I expected, but all in all, it worked out okay.
3) The kids liked the ribbons at the end and looked so cute proudly wearing them in the hallway after Primary.
4) SR Primary thought is was HILARIOUS when they got TWINS!
5) This was a lot of prep to make the document, put the game board together and the ribbons too. I found myself on Sunday stringing ribbons during Sacrament.....  (probably also had to do with a week consisting of Parent teacher conferences, my daughter breaking both arms, my #1 job being a SAHM, my second side job out of the home, and the late Saturday evening performance I was in with the dance team I joined...)

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 ♪


----------------------------------

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"

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

Sheet Music The Includes The Extra Part of A Child's Prayer

There's a version on A Child's Prayer that has a signing 'parent' intro. I found it on Barlow Bradford, HERE.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir sings it in the first video in this compilation:

Night time, quiet time,
Loved ones gather at day's end.
I hold them close, I help them know
That God will always be their friend.
Then just before I say good night,
My little one kneels by my chair.
I close my eyes, I dim the lights,
And listen to this simple prayer.:

Heavenly Father, are you really there?
And do you hear and answer every child's prayer?
Some say that heaven is far a-way.
But I feel it close a-round me as I pray.
Heavenly Father, I remember now.
Some-thing that Jesus told disciples long a-go:
"Suffer the children to come to me."
Father, in prayer I'm coming now to thee.

Pray, he is there; Speak, he is listening.
You are his child; His love now surrounds you.
He hears your prayer; He loves the children.
Of such is the kingdom, the kingdom of heav'n.