The Fourth Article of Faith

Like many of you, I chose this song for June because it goes so well.  I found a really great flipchart for this song and I can't find where I got it from!  I wasn't going to do one, because they know it pretty well.  But I notice that the Sr. Primary knew it a lot better than the Jr.  So, I printed one and it has really helped!  I let five kids come up and each hold a part of the song.  The first week I wanted to sing it several times through, so I had each group go tap a new person to come up and hold pages.  Since we're split, we got through everyone in only few rounds!  Here are some other nice charts you can use that are on Sugardoodle.  If I ever find mine again, I'll add it to the post. :)

He Died That We Might Live Again

For our program song for April we will be learning "He Died That We Might Live Again".  Once again, I found some great ideas on Sugardoodle.  A lady named Bonnie shared the idea she read of a perfect introduction to the song.  She refers to this story, "Plane Crashes Into The Potomac"  and of the bravery shown by a couple of men to save other's lives.

I'm going to use the "Who, What, Where, When, Why, How" idea with wordstrips from Becky (same Sugardoodle link) for the Senior primary.  But for the Junior I think I'll do an Easter song introduction idea that I found on Teaching LDS Children.

Update 4/10/11 - I didn't end up having time yet to make the Easter song introduction box, hopefully I can for next week. The word strips worked so well though!  I've only done the first half of the song because we're also working on another song for Easter.  We'll finish it next week. To do the matching game, I printed the question words (who, what, where etc.,) on colored paper.  Then I printed the phrases on white sheets. I ended up doing a phrase on each sheet that I printed.  Before we began, I magneted the question words on the board.  For the Jr. Primary, I did them in order.  As we sang each phrase, we discussed which question it answered.  For the Sr. Primary, I mixed up the questions words all over the board.  Then as we sang each phrase, they had to figure out which question it answered and put it in order. As we learned it this week, I divided the phrases one way, but I'm going to change them for next week to this:

WHY: "He died that we might live again"
WHO: "Lord Jesus, our Redeemer true"
WHERE: "He died on Cal-v'ry's lonely hill"
HOW: "His life he gave for me and you"
WHEN: "He rose from the grave on Easter Morn"
WHO #2: "Our Savior and our King"
WHAT: "He showed his love for all man-kind"
WE CAN: "For his great love, give thanks and sing
                 "Re-joice! Re-joice! and sing, sing, sing."

For Junior Primary, after we learned each phrase, I picked a child to look for a plastic Easter Egg (I had hidden several around the room before we began) and we repeated and repeated until they found an egg -then we had to stop and go on to the next one.  They LOVED it!!!

Update 4/17/11 -  I forgot to take my list with me to church today.  (I hate it when I do that!) So when I got there I ended up rearranging all the question words because I couldn't remember what I had put down.  It still worked though.  Here is a picture of how it ended up at the end of today.

We continued our Easter egg hunt this week.  I went ahead and did an Easter egg hunt with the Sr. Primary too because they begged last week once they found out that the Jr. Primary had done one.  It's amazing how much more the children pay attention and sing well when they want to be picked for doing a good job. ;)  By the end of both singing times, they knew the song really well, and I had their attention most of the time! Yay!

Stand For the Right

I was scrambling around looking for a flipchart for this song and found this simple fun idea by Cara Webber on Sugerdoodle:

Our prophet has some words for you (boy stands holding picture of prophet)

And these are the words:

“Be true, be true.”
(only boy holding picture says “be true, be true”)

At work or at play,
(child holds up broom in one hand and baseball bat in other hand)

In darkness or light,
(child holds up flashlight and turns it on when everyone sings “light”)

Be true, be true,
(boy holding prophet’s picture says “be true, be true”)

And stand for the right.
(everyone stands when singing “stand for the right”)

What I changed:

For "Be true, be true" I actually made a sign for Sr. Primary to hold with the words on it.  For Jr. Primary I laminated a large bee cutout.



For "work" and "play" I used a duster and a baseball (they fit better in my bag than a broom and bat).

It was nice because I could put everything in a small bag and I took the bag with me for a couple of weeks.  They learned it really fast, and had it memorized by the end of March. :)

I Will Follow God's Plan

This is my favorite flipchart for this song, by Bridgette Patterson.   It uses some great pictures like this one from the Friend.

For Review:

I really liked this idea from Sofia's Primary Ideas . "To review this song, have the different sections of the Plan of Salvation cut out. " (She used this one from a Sharing Time on the  Plan of Salvation in the Friend by Margaret Lifferth.)

 

"Invite a child to come to the front and arrange in the right order- and see if they can do so before the end of the song. For older children, make this more complicated by having them arrange on a table only using their chin or elbow."

  My problem was that I felt these pictures were too small and I didn't have the time or means to blow them up.  So instead I chose Gospel Art Pictures and other Primary pictures that matched the small pictures like these ones below:

 I slid each picture in a sheet protector and stuck a strip of magnet to the back of the sheet protector.  That way I could stick them to the chalkboard and they could re-arrange them easily to put them in order.  I still put the small pictures up in order on the top, kind of as a "cheat sheet".  I think it helped them not get confused or discouraged. I also chose two children at a time so they could kind of do it as a team and that worked well.

New Testament Books Primary Wave

Today the kids were really restless after Sharing Time, so I tried an idea I found by Tami Reid on Sugar Doodle called Primary Wave that you do with the song "The Books in the New Testament" (adaptable to Old Testament too).

by Tami Reid / ga02182008

---

"I have a fun activity that we do with The Books in the New Testament.  This idea is based on the concept of the stadium "wave" that you see done at college or professional sports games where part of the audience stands up with their arms up in the air, then the next section of the stadium stands up and so forth until the whole audience has a "wave" moving through it.  We sing "The Books in the New Testament" with each class forming part of the wave and then going around and around the room with each "book" from the New Testament.  It works especially well with Senior Primary children.  It takes a little more work initially with  the Junior primary children.  However, they really enjoy this song/activity now that they know the words.  When we get to each class' verse, they stand up with their arms in the air and sing the name of their "book(s)."  Depending on how your room is situated, it may be easier for the music leader to stand in the middle of the room while leading this song/activity...

**Here's an example of how it goes...

Matthew --Sunbeams (Sunbeams stand up & sing "Matthew" with their arms raised high in the air.)
Mark -- CTR 5 (CTR 5s stand up & sing "Mark" with their arms raised while Sunbeams sit down.)
Luke -- CTR 6 (CTR 6s stand up & sing "Luke" with their arms raised while CTR 5s sit down.)
and John -- CTR 7 (Same pattern as above...)
The Acts -- CTR 8
and The Romans -- Valiant 9
1st & 2nd Corinthians -- Valiant 10
Galatians -- Valiant 11/12
Ephesians -- Sunbeams
Philippians -- CTR 5
Colossians -- CTR 6
1st & 2nd Thessalonians -- CTR 7
Timothy -- CTR 8
Timothy -- Valiant 9
Titus -- Valiant 10
and Philemon -- Valiant 11/12
then to the Hebrews -- Sunbeams
Epistle of James -- CTR 5
Peter -- CTR 6
Peter -- CTR 7
John -- CTR 8
John -- Valiant 9
John -- Valiant 10
Jude -- Valiant 11/12
Revelation -- Sunbeams
These are the Books of the New Testament -- All sing together

**My own children love to do this song in Family Home Evening with each person forming part of the "wave."

**Initially, to help the children learn the names of the books, I made posters with word strips and pictures signifying the name of the book (for the non-readers).  We were fortunate to have a Primary/ward with many Matthews, Johns, Phillips, Peters, Timothy's and even a "Corinne" (for Corinthians).   I had to get rather creative with some of the books obviously--some ideas might include a picture of a check mark for Mark; an oarsman in a boat for "Row-mans;" a glacier for Galatians, etc. "

It was a spur of the moment decision, so I didn't have it written on the board, or any word strips prepared or anything.  So I "winged it'.  We also have a small Primay and some of our classes are combined so I had to adapt that too.  I assigned the classes "their books" and we started out slow and progressively sung it faster until it was up to speed.  It took a little while for them to catch on, but they got it and seemed to have a lot of fun with it.  :)  Eventually I'd like to be able to sing it really fast with them.  I also had a thought that if you had them keep their arms down and went the normal pace so that it was reverent, it might actually be a fun song to put in the program. : D

UPDATE (6/19/11):  After trying several different ways, this is what I've come up with for this song.  We're going to use it in the program and I want to do the sporatic singing but a little more reverently.  So I've divided the song into five groups (some of our classes are combined because we're a bit small).  Each group has a color.

Sunbeam/CTR 5 = Group #1 (Yellow)
CTR 6/CTR 7 = Group #2 (Orange)
CTR 8 = Group #3 (Purple)
Valiant Girls = Group #4 (Pink)
Valiant Boys = Group #5 (Green)

I made a large poster with all the words and underlined each section with the groups color so that they know when to sing.  Each group stands up on their part to sing it and then sits down (except where noted). This is how I have it divided:

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, (Yellow)

the Acts and Romans, (Orange)
First and Second Corinthians, (Purple)
Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, (Pink)
First and Second Thessalonians,  (Green)
Timothy, Timothy, (Yellow)

Titus, Philemon, (Orange) Then to the Hebrews, (Purple)

Epistle of James, (Pink) - stay standing
Peter, Peter, John, John, John, (Green) - stay standing

Jude, Revelation— Jr. Primary - stay standing
These are the books of the New Testament. -  Everyone.

They loved it!  Especially since they figured out it was the same tune as their favorite program song this year, "Praise To The Man".  The keep begging to sing it again! :D  "I love it when a plan comes together!"

If I Listen With My Heart

I really love the Theme Song that they've chosen for this year.  The more we sing it, the more I love it! 

Week 1: Introduction and "chorus"

To introduce the song "If I Listen With My Heart", I chose an idea from Loralee Kurzius:

Call a helper to the front. As you do so the Pianist discreetly makes a small tapping noise, peaks over piano and says, “Did you HEAR that? What is thatPretend you can’t hear it. When the kids tell you they can, tell

Ask the helper to tell you about their favorite scripture story. After they begin, cover your ears.  If they stop talking, tell them to go ahead, you are listening and then start to hum and walk away while they are talking.

• Discuss whether or not you were really listening.
• What does it mean to “listen with my heart”?
• Ask them how to listen with your heart (eye contact-not being busy, etc.)

Week 2: Verse 1

I also used part of an an idea from Loralee Kurzius and changed it just a little:

If we had been little children when Jesus lived on earth we could have walked with him and listen to his words.  Well, we can’t go back to that time, but how can we hear his words today? (pull out scriptures) Discuss how reading the scriptures is listening to Christ's words.  Although He isn't here in person, we can hear His voice through the scriptures.

• Read a scripture quickly (she suggests Matthew7:26). Was I really listening to what I read?
• Ask how to listen with your heart when reading (with the spirit)
• Ask them to listen with their hearts while you read again (vs. 24).

To teach the words of the 1st verse, I wrote each line with a different color marker on a white board.  We went color by color to learn the verse.  That way, they knew when to stop and it broke the song up into learnable pieces.  If you were reviewing, you could erase each color as they learn that part really well.

Week 3: Verse 2

For this week, we reviewed verse one and the chorus and then learned verse two.  I found an idea that I really loved on the Teaching LDS Children website.  I laminated the whole thing so that I can use it over and over!  I showed it to my family the night before church when I got it all done, and they loved it! 

You can go to their website for the full directions and patterns. :)  It's really great!

Week 4: Verse 3

Next week, I plan on using part of an idea from Tanya Conrad:

I have several sounds recorded (from www.FindSounds.com).  The ones I chose were:

1. Laughter of a Child
2. Doorbell
3. Elephant
4. Ambulance (these are louder sounds). 

Then we will talk about how those are easier sounds to hear.  What about quieter sounds?  Then I will play:

1. Wind
2. River
3. Sparrow
4. Whisper (I whisper "And if I listen with my heart I hear the Savior's voice)

I will ask the children if they could understand what I said.

As I am using this for a different verse than she did, after I play the sounds I am going to talk about how the Holy Ghost is a quiet sound and we have to listen carefully to hear him.  We will discuss how if we listen to the Holy Ghost, we can hear the Savior's voice.

I also really love this idea from Loralee Kurzius:

"When I teach the third verse of this song , (HG comforts me) I'll not only wear my warm, fuzzy slippers, but I'll get the presidency

and teachers to do it too. The kids will be so curious about them by the time we get to Singing Time that they'll totally go home

talking about it and remembering that the Holy Spirit give you a warm, comforting feeling!!!"

To teach the words of the song, I think I'm going to use another idea that I found on Teaching LDS Children:

"Tell the children that they are now going to learn the third verse of the song “If I Listen with My Heart”. Explain that this verse is about the Holy Ghost being a way we can hear the Savior’s voice. The Saviour communicates with us through the Holy Ghost.  There are many different things that the Holy Ghost tells us that the Savior wants us to know.  
Ask the children if they have ever seen a stain glass window. Explain that a stain glass window is many pieces of colored glass combined to make a beautiful picture. When light comes through the window, its beauty can fill us with joy, and uplift and warm our souls. Explain that the Holy Ghost can also fill our lives with joy, warm our souls, and light up our life with beauty. Like the different pieces of a stain glass window, there are different things the Holy Ghost does. A few of those things are mentioned in this verse."



There's a story to go with it as well from The Friend with photos she's put together that you could use if you have time.  She does such a great job!



Click here for the story pictures, stain glass pattern, and word pages.


Week 5: Review


For the last week I want to review all three verses a couple of times. Before we sing, I'm going to review the three different ways we can hear the Savior's voice (the scriptures, the prophet, and the whisperings of the Holy Ghost).  I'm going to use this idea I found on Teaching LDS Children where you put a picture of the Savior in the back and use pictures of the scriptures, the prophet and the words "whisperings of the Holy Ghost" printed on vellum to place over the picture of the Savior showing how you hear his voice through those three ways.  Cool huh? (Click here for the verse one pictures and words to print.)



I will sing through the whole song with the flip chart I printed. (There are several different ones you can choose from on Sugardoodle) .  The second time through, I'm going to hand out "Listen/Hear" sticks for the children to hold up on the right word as we sing.  (This idea was originally in the Outline for Sharing Time 2011 pg.27) You print out these hearts with "Listen" and "Hear" on them and glue them to either side of a popsicle stick.  (Click here for the link to the "Love Cards" or go to sharingtime.lds.org for a simple b&w version you can color).






















They have to listen for the right words to hold them up on.  The two words are used a lot more frequently in the first two verses, and only in the chorus on the third, but I that's ok.  They'll have fun with them.  :)  (Update: The kids LOVED these!  I've used them for a couple weeks now!)

Update: I actually ended up doing something different that the heart sticks.  I'm going to use them in February.  Instead, I used an idea that I found on Precious Primary for reviewing songs called "Leaping Frog".  It worked so well, and the kids LOVED it!  There were only enough lily pads for the first two phrases (18 notes) in the song,  so then I used my frog on a popsicle stick to mark the melody up and down (as they suggest). (For following the lily pads, I used one on a skewer like the picture below).  Once the kids got the hang of it, I passed out a "frog on a stick" to every child and let them follow the lily pads in their mind, hopping with their own frogs and then do the melody up and down like I had done.  That was the most involved our little Sunbeams and CTR 5 classes have been in Singing Time and even the "big kids" thought it was fun!  This one is definately a keeper!!!




More Review:


In February, I plan to use another idea from on Teaching LDS Children to help them memorize the song.


"You put all the words the first verse seperate (or in small groups) and put them on the board.



Then I will have each child search for their "Valentine Word" under their chair (if you have Jr. and Sr. Primary split, they'll need to put them back).  Each word will be one that is sung in the song throughout the verse (the more frequent, the better).  You call multiple children up to take out "thier words" so you can sing it again. You could do this several times with kids taking words out each time." 

You could even adapt this to all three verses by adding words from the other verses and numbering the words 1,2, or 3.  Then after you have sung each verse through once,  you'd call multiple children up with the right number (verse 1, 2, or 3) to take out "thier words" so you can sing it again. 



For the second verse, I'll take the word strips from week three off the rings and magnet them in order (with their help) on the board.  We may see if someone can put them in order while we sing. :)


For the third verse, we may take the stain glass window apart piece at a time or something.  I'll have to think about that one some more.

I'm hoping to have it memorized in time for our Ward Conference the end of February when the Stake comes to visit!  :)