Sweet Farewell

This has been a difficult, yet wonderful week full of changes. I am very sad to report that I have been released as primary chorister. I love this calling, and have put my whole heart into it. I am going to miss singing every week with the primary. It has been a source of sweet joy. I wanted to give my primary children a sweet farewell, so put together this little basket of "hugs and kisses".

I printed the scriptural reference of Doctrine and Covenants 25:12 on adhesive full-sheet label paper, then cut into strips and punched out as 1/2" circles to stick onto the bottom of the candy. I plan on popping into primary for a couple minutes to share the scripture, express my love and testimony, then hand out some hugs and kisses. I will encourage the children to take the sticker off their candy and put on their shirts, to look up the scripture later at home. I have the download available here, if you'd like to print out some of your own self-made stickers.

Best of wishes to all you choristers out there. I have loved sharing a little of my calling with you!

"For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads." D&C 25:12

New Sunbeams

My daughter is one of the new Sunbeams coming into Singing/Sharing time this year, and I am a little worried about how she will adapt to sitting during Primary - especially while I am up front. I found this idea on Sugardoodle:

Have little cut outs of an egg and have them sit on the eggs to keep them warm. If they get up, just say... "remember to keep your egg warm" at the end of class/singing time, or whatever. They can hand in their warm egg for a cut out of a chick. It's worked really well! (Idea by Caryn in Atlanta)

I made some pom pom chicks and paper eggs to encourage the little ones to stay in their seats. We'll see how it goes!

New Song

I'm just now learning our new song for January, and love how teachingldschildren.com is going to introduce and teach, "If I Listen with My Heart". I will most likely use several of her ideas!

Tree Sing

Next Sunday I will bring out one of my old family home evening lessons to use in singing time. (You can click on the photo above to see the wording on all the ornaments better. ) Being that it is the day after Christmas, I will begin by asking who is planning on taking their tree down soon, then I will explain that even though we are putting ornaments and Christmas decorations away, we can still give "gifts to Jesus" all year long, as we serve one another. (Mosiah 2:17)

I will then pick helpers to come up and match the 2 sides of an ornament together, read the "gifts" on each, and sing a corresponding song. Here are a few examples:

ball ornament: "When my sister is sick and needs to rest, I read her the stories she likes best." sing: "Tell Me the Stories of Jesus"

candle: "I made a special thank you card to give to my father who works so hard." sing: "Daddy's Homecoming"

gingerbread boy: "My brother needs help with his paper route, so I hop on my bike and we get them out." sing: "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus"

gift: "I scrubbed and mopped the floor for the sweet widow living next door." sing: "Fun to Do"

This activity came from the book, "Tons of Fun! Gospel Activities", and as such, I'm not able to share a digital copy with anyone. It would be fairly simple, however, to use a miniature tree (or even a paper one) with hand-drawn ornaments of your own. Good luck, and hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

Sing a Story

This Sunday we will be doing a sing-a-story of Christmas (scriptures and song order came from "A Children's Songbook Companion"). I have my nativity poster ready to go, using just 5 figures, that will be placed inside numbered envelopes. On the back of each figure there is a scripture written to help tell the story of the birth of the Savior. A child will come up, get the appropriate envelope, we will read the scripture, place the figure on the board and sing the song.

1 - Star: Helaman 14:2 (sing "Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus")
2 - Joseph: Luke 2:1, 4-5 (sing "When Joseph Went to Bethlehem")
3 - Mary: Luke 2:7 (sing "Away in a Manger")
4 - Shepherd: Luke 2:8, 9-10 (sing "Stars Were Gleaming")
5 - Baby Jesus: Luke 2:11 (sing "The Nativity Song")

This will probably take 2 weeks to sing all the way through - especially since we are playing pipe chimes with "Stars are Gleaming", and the children will want to sing it 10 times, until everyone has had a chance to hold a chime!

Paper Chain Song Countdown

I wanted to give the children a little reminder of the songs we are singing in Sacrament Meeting next Sunday, so made a paper chain to help them countdown the days, and practice at the same time. I am attaching 7 strips of paper to a note that reads:

Make a paper chain, alternating red and green strips. Every night, take off one chain and practice one of the songs we will sing in Sacrament Meeting next Sunday, Dec. 12th.
Red = Away in a Manger (CS 42)
Green = Mary’s Lullaby (CS 44)

I may do this again next year the week before the big Primary program, using a different color link for each song they will be singing!

Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus

This Sunday we will be learning "Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus" (CS 36). These are my visuals, and I plan to write out the chorus underneath them on the chalkboard. To introduce the song, I will bring a globe and point out the distances between America and Israel. We will tell the story of Samuel the Lamanite, and then how there was no satellite or cell phones to share information, how night was as day to show the Savior had been born. I will have the children beat the rhythm on their laps while I sing the first time through, then use discovery questions to learn the song.