J. Ashley Hall Arrangement of Families Can Be Together Forever

HERE is the J. Ashley Hall arrangement of Families Can Be Together Forever.

Shari Orme Families/Temple Medley

HERE is the Families Can Be Together Forever/I Love to See the Temple medley from Shari Orme Music.

Below is my "cheat sheet" I printed out the keep me on track. It helps me with the counts between verses.

Below is my visual aide to help the kids know what verse we are on. It's all on the same foam board, back and front, that we flip over and manipulate.

VERSE 1: Families Can Be Together Forever V1  (CSB p188)

VERSE 2: I Love to See the Temple  (CSB p95)
*It's my Temple Puzzle.

VERSE 3: Families Can Be Together Forever V2  (CSB p188)

Build a Temple Paper Puzzle

(say the title of this post 10 times fast.  heehee)

We built this Temple (Salt Lake) in our Primary as part of the Families Can be Together Forever monthly theme. We sang "I Love to See the Temple" while we assembled the Temple and "Families Can Be Together Forever" during the singing meter board.

In making this Temple visual aid I learned that my chalkboard is 4 papers tall (you learn something new every day, right? lol). So, luckily, this fit perfectly. I drew a chalk grid on the board to help the kids keep the pieces in line. In JR I had it already set up so they put it up in order. In SR it was more of a puzzle. (Also, all pieces are numbered on the back so I can figure it out after it's all mixed up). I did sort of a question and answer thing - ask a question, but a piece up, sing, repeat.

After the big temple was built we had extra time, in which I did the Singing Meter, this time with Temple spires on it. To use the singing meter board over and over again I told the kids there are lots of Temples being built nowadays and I reset the board and pick to kids to work the strings. The kids love operating the singing meter board.

SLC Temple Paper Puzzle,
separated so you can see the individual pieces

SLC Temple Paper Puzzle, all put together

all colored and ready to go

Singing Meter with Temple Spires

See how it works?
If the kids sing well the Temple gets built!

Building a Family Tree

I had and idea to build a family tree. Then I saw the idea to build a family tree on Sunbeam Singing. Her family pictures work great for this! Draw a tree on the board and build the family tree with the pictures found on her blog.

*Or, instead of a Tree, build the family on a drawing of a Temple.

*Extra - each picture comes with a question. Ask the question to the child who picked the person. When they answer it, they can stick the person on the tree. Sing. Repeat.

people from Sunbeam Singing

Recognizing the Worth of Family Members

Staci on the LDS Primary Choristers Facebook Group had an idea to pass around pictures of family members. Have the piano playing and stop. When the pianist stops call out the name of a family member (Mom, Dad, Brother, Sister, whoever). Whoever has that family member then say something nice about that family member.

Help The Family Get Sealed GAME

image from LDS Image Library

FIRST - Create a Game Board. Either on posterboard, on the chalkboard, or with "spaces" on the ground.  The Game Board ends at a picture of a Temple.

SECOND - Create the Game Pieces. Either with paper/cardboard that can be taped and moved around a posterboard or chalkboard, or use children as game pieces (put hats on them so they know who they are in the Game).

NOW, PLAY! - The end goal of the game is to the get the whole family to the Temple, where they can be Sealed and become an Eternal Family.

---> Start Game Pieces at the beginning of the game board. Go in a preset order (ie, Dad, Mom, Sister, Brother... repeat). Choose a child to roll a die. Move game piece to that spot. That spot may have a question on it. Child who rolled the die must answer the question for the game piece to get that spot. If no question, game piece can stay for free. Sing, and choose child trying their best to be the next die roller.

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*Questions can be Temple Prep questions or questions specific to the song. Make up some appropriate questions.

QUESTIONS based on Families Can Be Together Forever:
V1
Who has a family here on Earth? (I do!)
How long is Eternity? (A long, long time)
How long can Families be together for? (For all Eternity).

Chorus
Families can be together forever, through who's plan? (Heavenly Father's)
Who's family do you want to be with for all Eternity? (My own.)
Who has showed you how you can get married in the Temple? (The Lord)

V2
When can you start preparing to go to the Temple? (Right now! While I am in my early years.)
How can you prepare to be in an Eternal Family? (Make good choices every day.)
Can just anybody get married in the Temple? (No, They have to be worthy.)
When you get married in the Temple how long are you married for? (For Eternity... Forever!)

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UPDATE:

• My kids liked the game.
• I just drew squares on the board. Easy gameboard set up. And then moved the pieces with magnets.
• It's an easy game that I can repeat again, and probably will.

Eternal Ring

Explain to the children that a wedding band is a symbol of eternity because it goes around and around with no beginning and no end. The kind of marriage they want is the kind like this ring. An eternal one - one that does not end. The kind of marriage you can only get with a Temple marriage.

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UPDATE:

• This takes 30 seconds to explain to the kids. Then you're ready to move on.
• I didn't think it was that impactful - but apparently it was. I keep hearing it mentioned. The last few weeks since the lesson when the Teacher in front of the room says "eternity" I'll hear a child blurt out "like a circle! like a ring! it never ends!". Apparently this little lesson made a good connection. 

Eternal Mirrors

Hold a mirror. Have a Teacher hold a mirror opposite of you, facing you. Have a child stand between both of you. Have them look in one of the mirrors. What can they see? Can they see their reflection going on forever? Tell them to imagine their family members standing with them. Tell them to imagine the family members who have come before them. Tell them to imagine the family members who will come after them. Ask them if they would like to be linked to all of those people? Tell them that is what it means to be sealed to your family for eternity.

Example of an infinity reflection:

image source

Videos for Families Can Be Together Forever

Mormon Messages: Can Be Together Forever (child singing edited with Eyring speaking):



Children's Choir from Northern Utah singing Families Can Be Together Forever:

Families Can Be Together Forever LESSON PLAN

*I will be doing this for the full 50 minutes...

1.  LESSON:

- “Sealed” Lesson: figures and temple pic in ziplock bag
- Eternal Ring: A wedding band is a symbol of Eternity because a ring goes in a circle and never ends. The kind of marriage they want is kind of like this ring. An eternal one - one that does not end. The kind of marriage you can only get in the Temple.

2.  ASK:
- ASK the boys to stand up. ..... What might they do to be good Fathers?

- ASK the girls to stand up. ..... What might they do to be good Mothers?

3.  VIDEO: Mormon Messages

4.  LEARN SONG: Families Can Be Together Forever

5.  SING LIKE A Family Member

6.  GAME: Help the Family Get to the Temple

Families Can Be Sealed For Eternity

picture from LDS image Library

Show family figurines.

Explain that these people are a family.

Put all of the people in the bag with the temple picture on it.

Seal the bag - make a big deal of "sealing" it.

Turn the bag upside down and show how the people all stay together inside the bag.

Explain that through Temple marriage our families can be sealed together and can be together forever.

Take the temple picture off the bag. 

Unseal the bag and turn it upside down. Let the people fall out.
Explain how the bag wasn't sealed and even though they had a good family and were happy while they lived on Earth, the family wasn't sealed together and they didn't stay together for eternity.

Explain that we can go to the Temple to do the work for our immediate family - the family members we see every day, and also for our family members who have died and didn't have the chance to do the work while they were on the Earth. Jesus Christ made it possible for us to be together forever as families.

Show the picture of the Temple.
Explain that in the Temple we make sacred Covenants that bind us together for eternity if we choose to live righteously in this life.

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PREPARE:

• 1 gallon Ziplock bag
• Figurines of Pictures representing family members
• Temple Picture

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UPDATE:

• Be sensitive to those with different family situations.
• Really emphasize that this is for their future family. THEY can get married in the Temple and have THEIR kids sealed to them. Or, that they can do Temple work for their family that has passed on and didn't have a chance to have the Gospel on the Earth. This lesson could make a child currently in an unfortunate situation feel sad.  :(
• I could tell the kids "got it" with this demonstration. They liked it.

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*Original idea from The Idea Door

**Adapted by The Crazy Chorister

***Readapted by PN29 (Ashlie Johansen)

Pioneers / Family History

picture from LDS image library

*I want to tie the July 2013 song Families Can Be Together Forever and Pioneer Day (July 24, in Utah) together with the song Genealogy. ***Apparently I am old (?, barely 30s here) and the words and the title of the song Genealogy have been changed to: Family History, I Am Doing It.

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Opening song: Families Can Be Together Forever

Read/Write on Board:
D&C 2:2 And the hearts of the children shall turn to their Fathers.

Explain:
What does this mean? This means that we think of those who came before us. Those who lived long, long ago. Without them, we would be here! We are very thankful for the people who came before us.  How do we learn about the people who lived a long time ago? We do our family history! Each one of us has a Family History, and it's our very own. Yours is different than his, and his is different than hers! Yours is yours and mine is mine. (Talk about own family history).

Learn Family History, I Am Doing It.
Then sing the song like Pioneers.

Family Vacation!

image source

To go with the July 2013 song, go on a "Family Vacation". I want to do this the 2nd week in July, when the outline talks things you can do as a family.

ONE WAY - Pack items that represent songs to sing.
IE: scriptures (Book of Mormon Stories), picture of child praying (Child's Prayer, Pray In Faith, ), board game (Family Night, The Family), go for a walk (Pioneer Children Sang As They Walked)...

ANOTHER OPTION - Each object is a *way to sing (when learning a song and repeating it over and over). *I have a cardboard puzzle map of the USA. We'll pull out a state that we're "visiting" and sing-like...

• TEXAS - "horsey feet" while you sing like a cowboy
• SOUTH DAKOTA - Mt Rushmore, sing stiff like a statue, don't move a muscle in your face
• NEW YORK - sing Broadway style or Metropolitan Opera
• OREGON - rain fingers, sing staccato
• ALASKA - sing shivering with teeth chattering
• LOUISIANA - MardiGras parades!, march in place
• OKLAHOMA - Tornado Alley, spin in circles
• WASHINGTON DC - sing proudly with hand on heart
• HAWAII - do the hula, sing only the vowels
• ARIZONA - Grand Canyon, echo the last word of the phrase
• UTAH - sing like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
• IDAHO - whistle like a Farmer
• CALIFORNIA - do the wave
• FLORIDA - hand shark fin, sing with shark teeth bared
• NEVADA - it's the desert out there, sing thirsty
• TENNESSEE - Nashville, strum the guitar and sing with a 'twang
• MISSISSIPPI - hold out the "S's" when you sssssssing!
• INDIANA - Indiana 500, sing super speedy
• OHIO - change all vowels to "O's"
• WYOMING - make bear claws and sing growly like a bear
• IOWA - "grow" like a stalk of corn while you sing
• KENTUCKY - Kentucky Derby, ride a horse

***I am also thinking of using my Singing Meter Board, turning it sideways and putting car pictures on it. To make the car go we have to sing reverent forte! (see pic of the cars in the previous link)



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UPDATE:

• The kids liked it. It's more appropriate for JR, my SR can get a little out of hand when we do 'sing-like-a'.
• I had too many options. We had fun, but we didn't get to do the most fun ones. 

Family Member Correlation Songs

picture from LDS image library

Get individual pictures of family members. On the back of each family member is a song to sing. Invite a child to pick a family member. Sing the song.

• Mom - Mother Dear
• Dad - Daddy's Homecoming
• Sister - A Happy Family
• Brother - A Happy Family
• Grandma - The Family
• Grandpa - Family Night
• Aunt, Uncle, Cousin - I Have a Family Tree

Sing-Like-A Family Member

OCD Chorister has THESE cute and fun how-to-sing cards - the family version!

Ward Time Capsule

image source

*I'd like to do this activity when the monthly song is Families Can Be Together Forever (June 2013)*

1. Explain that our Ward is like a big family and the Father of our Ward is Our Bishop.

2. Learn Fathers- verse 2 or Our Bishop.

3. Invite the Bishop to help the Primary children make a Ward Time Capsule.

Ideas of what to put in the time capsule:

• trace Bishop's hand
• take note of who was in Bishopric positions, Primary Presidency, Primary Teachers and other positions in the Ward
• take note of who is the Prophet and his Counselors 
• put in some of their own drawn pictures
• put in some of their hand traces
• A picture of the whole Primary
• Pictures of each class
• filled out questionnaires
• a CTR ring
• CD of that year's Program Songs
• ask Teachers to bring an item for each class (or have them make an item from each class, something with each kids' name on it or something....)

Or, if you have a smaller Primary, have them make individual time capsules. With a form like this or something.

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SEE LDS TIME CAPSULE ACTIVITY IDEAS HERE:

SugarDoodle

Mormon Share  

Paper Circle of People

image source

Instructions out how to cut out a circle of people are HERE. I want to use this idea for Holding Hands Around the World, but am still trying to figure out exactly how....

IDEAS:

1. HOLDING HANDS AROUND THE WORLD - MAIL SWAP: Have each child choose a person in the circle to draw a face and color clothes on. Write their name on the shirt with Sharpie. Send with our letters (we're doing a mail swap activity with another Ward in a different Country). Or make them part of a bulletin board.
2. HOLDING HANDS AROUND THE WORLD: Have paper already folded and marked. Each child gets to cut out their own circle of friends to take home. (My Primary is too big for this).
3. FAMILIES CAN BE TOGETHER FOREVER: A visual to show the children that families can be linked together for eternity.