Patriarch

This Sunday I will begin by calling to the front the children who accepted the challenge to memorize any verse of Follow the Prophet.  I'll ask them one by one if they would like to recite their verse for everyone. Some will be too shy, and if that's the case I'll recite the words. Then we will all sing the verse together while the child holds the prophet poster. I'll encourage him/her to bob up and down while we sing.

Next, I'll use the Follow the Prophet posters I made with a game I like to call  "Patriarch".

Items needed:

• Hand held microphone.

• Prophet posters, or simply use pictures from the library the children can hold.  You could even make large name signs on paper that the children could wear around their necks with yarn. 

 Preparation: 

• Assemble a row of chairs in front of the room facing the children. One of the end chairs is the "Patriarch's" chair.

• Plug in the microphone.

How to play: 
Tell the children that you hope they have worked hard at learning the words to Follow the Prophet, because today they will be put to the test! Pick a few reverent children, who think they can remember the words to verse 1, to come to the front and sit in the chairs. Give the "Adam" poster to a child on one end (or the other) of the row. Tell everyone that this is Adam, the "Patriarch". Explain that the word Patriarch can mean either a man who leads a family or a tribe, or it can refer to the prophets whom we all come from such as Adam, Noah, Moses and Abraham. Further explain that in the church a priesthood holder is called to be the Stake Patriarch, and he is the one who gives patriarchal blessings. Tell them that in order to get to be "Patriarch" in this singing game, Adam must forget a phrase in the song, and the child next to him will get bumped up to "Patriarch" position.

For Jr. Primary begin the game by having the pianist play the introduction music. Hold the microphone to "Adam". Have Adam sing the first phrase: "Adam was a prophet", then hold the microphone to the next child who will try to sing the phrase: "first one that we know", then the next child: "in a place called Eden"...and so on. The children will know when it is their turn to sing the phrase because you will have the microphone ready at their mouth. Any child who can't remember the words gets bumped back to their own chair with their class, and the children in the game row move toward the "Patriarch" position. If the "Patriarch" is the one who gets the words wrong, he goes back to his class, and the child who was next to him occupies the position of "Patriarch". There is now an empty seat at the end of the row. Pick a new child to sit in that chair and begin the game again. Play until the verse is completed, then have the entire primary sing that verse together with the chorus. During the chorus switch the "Patriarch's" poster to Enoch, and pick up with the child where you left off at the end of the first verse. Continue this as long as time permits or until you have completed the entire song.

For Senior Primary children, forget the microphone and have the child in the  "Patriarch" position set the poster to the side. Add rhythm to the game by having them clap their hands to their knees once, clap hands together once, and snapping in the air twice with each phrase. If they do not sing their phrase correctly AND/OR clap-clap-snap-snap on the beat, they get bumped back to their seat and everyone in the game row shifts one seat over toward the "Patriarch".

Have fun!