Who? What? How?

Every last Sunday of the month, I review all the program songs we have learned. This is a review game I came up with that we will be doing again this Sunday.  Its a lot of fun and the kids really love it:

You will need:

1. 3 empty containers (I used recycled frosting containers after removing the labels.)
2. Labels (I printed mine on card stock and taped them on the containers.)
3. Directions printed on slips of paper. Make sure you have an equal amount in each container:

For the "Who?" container:

• Boys
• Girls
• Teachers
• Everyone
• Black/brown/hazel eyes
• Blue/green eyes
• Wearing anything black
• Wearing anything white
• Birthday in January-June
• Birthdat in July-December
• Cat lovers
• Dog lovers
• Horse lovers
• Broccoli lovers
• Left handed (that's me!)
• Right handed

For the "What" container:

• Teach Me to Walk in the Light verse 1 (or whatever song you are learning for May)
• Teach Me to Walk in the Light verse 2
• Teach Me to Walk in the Light verse 3
• The Church of Jesus Christ
• Follow the Prophet, Adam
• Follow the Prophet, Enoch
• Follow the Prophet, Noah
• Follow the Prophet, Moses
• Follow the Prophet, Abraham
• Follow the Prophet, Jonah
• Follow the Prophet, Daniel
• Follow the Prophet, Samuel
• Follow the Prophet, Thomas S. Monson
• He Sent His Son
• I Know That My Savior Loves Me, verse 1
• I Know That My Savior Loves Me, verse 2

For the "How" container:

• Very fast
• Very slow
• Very high
• Very low
• Whisper-sing
• Like a cowboy/cowgirl
• With eyes closed
• With no blinking
• Like a billy goat
• Happy
• Sad
• Swaying
• Like an opera Star
• Plug your nose
• Like a baby
• Like a grandpa/grandma

Prepatation:

1. Make a label for each of the three containers. 
2. Tape or glue the labels on the containers.
3. Print the above directions on paper and cut apart. 
4. Fold each slip of paper and put in the appropriate container.
 

 

How To Play: 

When singing time begins, walk in, full of enthusiasm, like a game show host:

You: "Hello boys and girls, and welcome to another round of (be dramatic) WHO? WHAT? HOW?! What's the name of the game?"

Pause, cupping your hand to your ear, and point to the first container labeled "Who?", then "What?", then "How?"

Children: "Who?What? How?"

You: "Very good boys and girls! For today's show we are going to review all the primary songs we have learned this year! Who will be our first contestant to choose (be dramatic) Whooo?, Whaaaat?, and Hoooow? we sing?"

Children will raise their hands. Choose a child to come to the front and take a slip of paper from each container. Have the child sit down and then read what has been drawn. For example: 

You: "Alright-y then! Johnny has chosen these three slips of paper! Lets see WHO is going to sing first. Aha! It says everyone with black, brown or hazel eyes! And just WHAT will they be singing today? 'Follow the Prophet, Adam'. Excellent! And now, HOW are our black, brown and hazel eyed friends going to sing? Aha! They are going to sing like a billy goat! Would all the black, brown, and hazel eyed persons please stand!"

Direct all the black/brown/hazel eyed children and leaders in singing 'Follow the Prophet, Adam', like a billy goat. Continue until all the songs and verses have been sung. 

Have Fun!

Teach Me, Teach Me

Here's the link to my PDF flip chart for Teach Me to Walk in the Light:

Teach Me To Walk in the Light.pdf


The idea for this activity is adapted from Keeping Kids Awake During Family Home Evening, Book Two,  Listening (p. 46), by Shelley Wille.


We are practicing Teach Me to Walk in The Light again this week, and this is a great activity to help children to really listen to their parents and teachers.

You will need:

• small table
• jar of peanut butter
• jar of jam
• loaf of bread
• butter knife
• table cloth
• dinner plate
• apron
• masking tape or any colored tape
• spot light, large flashlight, or bright lamp. 
•  blindfold
• a wet warm towel in a Ziploc bag

Preparation:

• Before Primary starts, create a simple course or "path" around the room.  Use the masking tape/colored tape to make a path on the floor. Weave the path in and out of an aisle, go around the podium, or around the piano. You don't want it to be very complicated, just long with several turns. 
• At the end of the tape path, place your spot light, large flashlight, or bright lamp with the light reflecting on the path. (If it needs to be plugged in, make sure you have placed it near a power outlet.) Keep the light on the spot light, large flashlight or bright lamp turned off until it is time to sing.  
• Put the table cloth on the table. Set out the plate and knife and all the ingredients for making a peanut butter sandwich.
• Put on your apron.

Presentation:
Chose a child (one that will take you seriously and not react too silly) to come up and be blindfolded. After he or she cannot see, tell them you have everything on the table for making a peanut butter sandwich, and you would like him/her to give you step by step instructions on how to make it.

The scenario will probably go something like this:

Child: "Get some bread."

You: Grab some bread out of the bag, maybe 6-8 slices at once, or as much as you can pull out in your fist at once. You might even smash it a little if you are not careful.

Child: "Spread some peanut butter on the bread."

You: Stick your fingers or whole hand into the peanut butter jar, pull out a gob of peanut butter and wipe it across your stack of bread.

Child: "Now put some jam on it." 

You: Dump a big glob of jam onto the peanut butter-laden pile of bread.

Child "Now put more bread on top."

You: Grab another few slices from the bag and smash them on top. "Anything else?"

Child "Now you eat it!"

At this point, ask the child to remove the blindfold, while you use the wet towel to wipe your hands.

 You: "I'll bet you didn't expect the sandwich to look like THAT, Right? But I followed your directions exactly! Sometimes we hear what our parents and teachers tell us, but we don't really LISTEN. We think we already know what they are talking about, or we think we know a better way. When our parents and teachers are teaching us, we must listen carefully, and even ask questions, so we will understand what is in their heart. The Holy Ghost also teaches us, and we want to always hear and heed the promptings we receive correctly."

Turn off the lights in the room, and turn on your spot light, large flashlight, or bright lamp.  Have a new child come to the front to be blindfolded. Place the child at the starting point of your tape path.

Explain "We are going to sing Teach me to Walk in the Light. 'Johnny' is blindfolded, and he is going to try to walk along this narrow path. We are going to help him by singing. When we sing loud, he will know he is going the right direction. When we sing softly he will know he needs to stop and go a different direction. 'Johnny', you must stop wherever you are when the song is over. Lets see how far he can get toward the light!"

Sing the entire song. When the song is over, ask "Johnny" if he is surprised at how far he was able to go.

 
If time permits, pick a new child to be blindfolded and sing the song again.

In summary, explain to the children how difficult it is to walk through life and learn from our parents and teachers, if we are in the dark. Our parents and teachers have had experiences that can help us find our way, but we must be willing to open our hearts and listen to what they say. We must always strive to walk in the Light. Close with your testimony.

Have fun!

Stake Conference for Me This Sunday....

...but I'll be back next week.

But hey, since you are already here, why not answer the poll on the right?

Have fun!

Queen for a Day

For the month of May the primary counselor over music asked me to teach Teach Me to Walk in the Light (Children's Songbook p. 177) as one of the songs we will be singing for our Sacrament Meeting Presentation. I LOVE this song and I am thrilled to be teaching it! I have made the following into a flip chart:


I will print it in storybook form so two pages will show at a time. I’ll laminate the pages and then bind it all together on the left side.

I think this is a familiar song to the children and their teachers, so it’s just a matter of polishing it a bit through repetition. I will explain how the children sing the first verse, the teachers sing the second verse, and everyone sings the third verse together. Then I’ll use the flip chart I made to explain the words of the song. Then we will sing it all the way through once.

Since this Sunday is Mother's Day, we will then review the song by playing Queen for a Day. (See instructions below.) I will alternate the verses, having a child choose from my bag for the first verse, then only the children will sing. I’ll ask a teacher to choose something from the bag on the second verse, and then only teachers will sing. For the last verse I will have either a child or teacher choose from the bag, and everyone will sing it together. There will be 15 items in the bag, so each verse will be sung three times during the game.


Queen for a Day

Preparation

Gather the items listed and put them in a bag. (I use a big cloth laundry bag with a drawstring that my grandmother made for me when I was young. It’s what I keep all my Singing Time surprises in, so when they see me carrying it into Sacrament Meeting the kids get really excited!)

Ask a mom in your ward to be “Queen for a Day”. I am going to ask the Primary President to be our queen. You could also ask an elderly woman, but make sure she has a sense of humor!

Find a tiara for your queen. I found one at my local dollar store. You might also borrow one from a teen in your ward.

In the Primary room, decorate a chair like a throne. (I’ll throw a large pink tablecloth over the chair and attach a large pink bow around the back with a big bow. Maybe I’ll add some silk flowers.

How to Play

Explain to the children how our moms do so many things for us every day, and on Mother’s Day, she deserves to be a Queen for a Day!

Introduce the mom as the primary’s Queen for a Day, and thank her for participating. Escort her to the specially decorated “throne” and place a tiara on her head.

Tell the children that you have brought your mystery bag, and inside there are items that show all the ways our moms care for us. As we pull out each item we will honor our queen by placing it on her.

Call a child or teacher up to the front to choose an item from the bag. Don’t let them peek; just allow them to choose the first thing they feel.

Have the child/teacher place the item on the “queen” and explain how the item relates to moms, then sing accordingly:
• FRYING PAN-Moms cook and bake for us: sing like bacon- (sing staccato short and choppy, bob up and down on chairs as if they are a hot pan.
• BATH TOWEL-Mom’s do our laundry: do the twist while singing
• KEYS- Mom drives us wherever we need to go. Sometimes mom is in a hurry: Sing fast while driving
• BOOK-Mom reads us stories: sing through hand puppet
• JUMP ROPE- Moms tries to keep in shape: jogging or jumping invisible rope while singing
• POM-POMS- Mom goes to our games and cheers for us: clap hands to the beat
• COWBOY BOOT – Mom likes horses/helps on the farm: sing like a cowgirl/cowboy
• HEART PILLOW- Mom prays for us: sing reverently and softly with eyes closed
• SONG BOOK: Some moms play the piano, some don’t: sing without the piano
• BABY DOLL: Mom loves her children: sing like a baby
• CLOCK or WRISTWATCH- Mom stays up all night with sick children: Sing without blinking
• POWER DRILL-Mom helps solve problems and she can fix anything: pat head and rub tummy
• IPOD-Mom likes good music: sing with ears covered like headphones
• HANDKERCHIEF – Sometimes moms cry: cry sing
• SWIMMING GOGGLES- Mom takes us swimming: sing with nose plugged

Finish by thanking the “queen” for being a good sport, and remind the children to be extra good when they get home by being kind to their siblings, picking up after themselves, and helping dad do all the things mom would normally do, so she can truly be Queen for a Day.

Have fun!