Ultimate Name That Tune

This Sunday is our ward's Children's Sacrament Meeting Presentation! Wahoo! Here's the fun activity I have been dreaming up all week for after the program:

This idea for this game came from an old game show called

Face the Music.

It's a great and entertaining clip to watch, and really fun to play along, too! My version of Ultimate Name That Tune is taken from the middle part of the game show, where three competing contestants are given a category, such as "Person". Next they listen to a song. The song, or song title, contains a clue about the person they are hoping to guess. If they know the song they hit the buzzer and try to guess who the person is, based on the theme of the song they just guessed. If they don't guess the person correctly then they go to song number two, which gives another clue about the person. The group of three contestants gets four song-clues to try to guess the correct person. 

So here is my version of the same game:

Ultimate Name That Tune!

Ultimate Name That Tune game cards displayed on the white/chalk board.

Objective:

To guess and then sing the Ultimate Tunes, which are the 7 songs associated with each of the 7 clue cards. The Ultimate Tunes are listed on the back of the clue cards, followed by 4-6 hint songs that contain clues about the Ultimate Tune.  

You will need:

• 7 sheets white card stock.
• Magnets or tape to hold game cards on the white/chalk board. 
• Ultimate Name That Tune.pdf 
• Dry erase markers and eraser, or chalk and eraser. 

Instructions: 

• Open the above PDF. Select print, but make sure you have your printer set up to print on both sides of the card stock, then go ahead and print the cards. Print a second copy of the even pages on regular paper for your own reference, as you will be handing the card stock prints to your pianist to use. 
• Display the game cards on the white/chalk board randomly, using magnets or tape. Save room on the white board for drawing your clues. 

To Play:

I plan on starting with the youngest class. Ask the teacher to send a reverent child to the front to choose a category card from the white/chalk board. Give the category card to your pianist without letting anyone see the song or clues printed on the back. *Note that the correct clue word from each song is underlined on the backs of the clue cards. Sometimes it won't be the exact word that is in the song, but very close. Such as "House" instead of "Home". 

Lets say it's the three year old's class, and a child from that class has picked the "Family" game card. Tell all the children that Sister So-and-So's three year old class gets to try to guess which primary song is about "Family",  by listening to and guessing clues within other songs played on the piano. 

Tell the pianist that the three year olds are ready to Name That Tune! Have the pianist play the first song on the clue card list, until the three year old class can guess the tune. When they have guessed it (or you have helped them guess it), tell them what the clue is from that song, and draw a simple picture of the clue on the white board. If the clue is "house", draw a simple stick house, and write the word "house" under it. Then have the pianist play the next tune containing a clue. When that song is guessed, tell the children what the clue from that song is, and draw a simple figure representing that clue on the white/chalk board next to the house. Put a big "+" symbol between the two drawings so that the children will understand that the clues need to be added up to make a song title. Do this with all the clues until you have enough pictures (with words) on the board for them to put them all together and guess what song you will all be singing. As soon as they guess the Ultimate Tune, go ahead and sing it, even if they have not heard all of the clue songs on the list. 

Be very flexible and easy going with this game. Of course, the three year old's will need lots of help, and they will raise their hands even if they don't have any idea what the song is. That's okay, play along with them! Give them lots of hints! If someone from an older class guesses the clue song, or the Ultimate Tune, that's okay too. Be sure to smile, and praise every effort. Have fun singing the Ultimate Tune when they finally put all the clues together and guess it. All the other classes will be very excited to try to guess the clues and Ultimate Tune right along with each class as they take their turns. If someone from another class shouts out the answer, ask the class guessing if they heard it and if they think it's correct. 

As you move on to the next game card and an older class, repeat the process. But as the children are able, let them guess what the clue from a song title might be without so much help. With the Sr. Primary you might not want to draw at all. Just have them guess which word in the song or title is the clue, and then have them keep track of all the clues in their head (or on their fingers). You might say something like this:

"So the category is 'Obedience'. You have already guessed the clues, 'Plates', 'Book of Mormon', and 'Commandments'. Do you know what the song is yet? No? Okay, Sister Pianist, play the last clue song."

If the children have all the clues but still cannot guess the Ultimate Tune, have the pianist play the Ultimate Tune on the piano until the children finally guess it, then sing it!

Another option would be to divide the room into two teams, instead of classes, or go boys/girls. You could have one child from each team come to the front to compete with each other, like in the Face the Music game show clip. In that case, use a desk bell or buzzer, or fly swatters for each child to slam on the table if they know an answer. Whatever you decide to do...

...Have fun! 

Primay Pyramid II

This Sunday I am being given both singing and sharing times to rehearse the music for our Sacrament Meeting Presentation. (40 minutes with Jr. Primary and 40 minutes with Sr. Primary.) Next week we will be rehearsing the entire program in the chapel, and the following Saturday I believe there will be a Primary Activity Day where we will have a complete run through again before the Presentation the next day.

So for this week's 40 minute rehearsals I'll be doing an adaption of Primary Pyramid.

My original idea for Primary Pyramid is here, so you might want to read about it first.

Primary Pyramid II

I am going to post a pyramid on the white/chalk board, and it will look like this:

 

Click to open and print the PDF of the above pyramid:

Program Perfect II.pdf

Open and print the pdf. You will need 10 sheets of cardstock. You will need to change your printer settings to print on both sides of the paper, or have it print all the odd pages first, then flip them all over, reinsert the paper into the printer and print the even sides. 

To Play: 

Each point card has an attribute printed on the opposite side. The idea is that each point card card represents a song. (A song that you will assign, so you will want to make a list of songs in the order you want to sing them. I plan on doing the easiest songs for the lowest points, and the most difficult songs for the highest points.) Under each card there is an attribute, or way to sing the song, and the attribute must be performed perfectly before the song can be "passed off". Each attribute is expected to be performed perfectly on each additional song, as well.

Start with the 10 point card and flip it over to see the attribute, then sing the song you have assigned as the 10 point song. If the attribute is sung to your liking, tell the children they have passed it off and give them 10 points! (Tally points on the white/chalk board). After the 10 point song is passed off, move on to the 15 point song, and so on. However, if the 15 point song is not sung with the same perfection as the 10 AND the 15 attributes, erase their 10 points off of the chalk/white board and "bump" them down to the 10 point song and attribute, and they have to try to pass it off over again before moving up to the 15 point song again. I plan on only "bumping" down one point value when they don't pass off combined attributes, instead of to the very beginning.

Another example: Say you are singing If I Listen with my Heart for the 50 point song (No talking through-out entire song -including piano), and the children have just passed off Praise to the Man as their 25 point song (Start together, stay together, finish together). If there is a point at which the children don't start, stay, or finish together while singing If I listen with My Heart (even though it was the attribute of the previous song), stop them at wherever the mistake was made in the song and explain what the problem was. Then go back to Praise to the Man and sing it over to re-pass it off again before moving on to If I listen with My Heart again.

The last attribute (1000 points) is to make a Program Perfect recording of the last song, so don't forget to bring a recording device!

Complicated? Might be. I might have to adapt it in the middle of my music time if it's not working well, or if we are using too much time.

Adapt it to your own needs, especially if you don't have the 40 minutes that I do for this activity, or if there are just too many bumps in every song, just try to have the children do each attribute perfectly for the song you are singing, instead of bumping them back.

Have fun!

Truth or Consequenses 2011 Program Review Edition

Ward Conference tomorrow!

We are going to play an updated version of Truth or Consequences (click here to go to my original post last October). We will play it the same way, but with trivia questions relating to all the program songs for 2011.

Here is the PDF with trivia questions for the 2011songs:

Truth or Consequences for 2011 Song Review.pdf

Click on the above link to open the file. Print the first three pages first (I did mine on cardstock), then flip the pages over so you can print pages 4-6 on the back side of the cards. Page 7 is a list of the songs and questions.
Keep in mind I have two additional songs, (The Iron Rod and Scripture Power), as well as the two songs that were songs of choice (Reverence is Love and The 4th Article of Faith). Your songs may be different so you'll want to add your own trivia questions to replace mine.

Have Fun!

Program Perfect!

Our song for June is The Fourth Article of Faith. The children did so well last week learning it, so I am only going to have them sing through it once or twice this week. Afterwards we will be working on our Father's Day Sacrament Meeting presentation song, Teach Me to Walk in the Light. I have decided to ask the Bishopric to sing the second verse for the Father's Day Sacrament Meeting performance. *cough-cough* I'll let you know how that goes. LOL

*Update* The Bishop said YES! YeeHaw! (I am so grateful!)

The children learned Teach Me to Walk in the Light last year, so all we need to do is polish it! We will be playing:

Program Perfect!

 You will need: 

• Sand timer, game timer, kitchen timer, or any other kind of timer. 
• Tape recorder or other device to make an audio recording (I am using my Smart Phone).
• These: Program Perfect Level-Challenge Cards.pdf. Open and print on one page of white or colored card stock, printing on both sides of the card stock. Cut out each Level card.

Front and back sides of the cards:

To Play:

Display the cards, front side out, on the white board. Explain that you want them to really polish this song for Sacrament Meeting next week, but that you will take it one level at a time. Turn over level card 1 and explain the challenge.

The idea is that the children have to pass off one level before moving on to the next. If, as a group, they do not pass any level (either because it was not sung well, or because the level challenge was not done properly), they must go back to the previous level and pass it off again before moving on to the next. I plan on stopping mid-song when I can see a level will not be passed off, and immediately going back to the previous challenge.

For level one, set the timer to a predetermined amount of time, (unless it's a sand timer, just turn it over) and attempt to sing the song before the timer goes off or the sand runs out. You could even have a child try to conduct the song to see if they can help everyone pass the challenge.

For level 5, have the children sing their very best, as if they are doing it for their parents, as you record them.


Proceed through each level, and at the end of level 5, play back the recording of the children singing.  

Have fun!

Afterthoughts:
This activity went very well! I was amazed at how the Jr. Primary zipped right through all the challenges without having to repeat any of them! Naturally I thought it would be too easy when it was Sr. Primary's turn. However, I had to stop Sr. Primary mid-turn when they were holding up one foot because one child began hopping all over, and then several others followed. I guess hopping on one foot has sort of a viral effect. Who knew?  Then I made the Sr. kids do verse three only on the every other word challenge. I saw some of them losing their places and it made me crack up and lose my place, resulting in all of us having to go down one level. It was incredibly fun.

Tip: One thing that really helped us all on the every other word challenge was covering our mouths with our hand when the words were silent.

Riddles Review

Because we are having stake conference in two weeks, and because I want to start Praise to the Man a week early (next week), and because the children have learned our April song so quickly (Reverence is Love), I am doing my End of the Month Review tomorrow. It’s a little bit of fun I am calling:

Riddles Review

Basically, each song I will be reviewing comes with a “Challenge”.  We will sing the songs on my review list in order, and I will explain each song’s challenge before singing so the children can try their best to win as a class. The class that wins the challenge for the song sung gets to send their teacher to the front to answer a riddle. (Each class should get at least one turn.) The teacher will get 15 seconds to answer the riddle, at which time I will ring a bell and demand ask for an answer. If the teacher is able to answer the riddle (don’t worry, they won’t*), they get to choose a bag with an object in it for me to wear during singing time. If the teacher is unable to answer the riddle, or gives an incorrect answer (which is, of course, the objective), I will choose a bag containing the object that they must wear until singing time is over.


*After doing this activity in Senior Primary, and ending up wearing most of the props myself, I highly recommend much more difficult riddles! The kids were really smart and told the teachers the answers! LOL

Prep:

1. Decide which songs to review. I am using the songs we have learned for the Sacrament Meeting Program (in blue) and adding a couple of Easter songs (in purple).  Each song’s challenge is attached. Here’s my list:

If I Listen with My Heart   

Challenge: Class where ALL the children in the class sing.

I will Follow God’s Plan   

Challenge: Class that knows all the words without looking at the flipchart.

Stand for the Right    

Challenge: Class that tries their hardest even thought they might not know all the words.

Reverence is Love   

Challenge: Class that sing most reverently. 

Scripture Power   

Challenge: Class that sings while smiling the most.

The Iron Rod   

Challenge: Class that sings most energetically.

He Sent His Son 

Challenge: Class that follows the chorister’s directions most exactly.

Did Jesus Really Live Again?   

Challenge: Teacher sings very well and set a good example for the children.

2. Gather *silly dress-up items and put each one in large paper bags. Since I have 8 songs, I will need 8 bags. So you will need as many bags as you have songs. I am using big brown paper bags, but you could use gift bags, or empty boxes, just whatever you have.

*I try not to include gender specific items. 

Here are some ideas:

• Funny hat(s)
• Huge toy sunglasses
• Kimono 
• Hawaiian sarong
• Wig 
• Snorkeling goggles
• Apron
• Ugly tie
• Trench coat 

 
3.  Prepare a list of as many difficult riddles as you have songs. Here is my list of riddles ( I found them here ):

What gets wetter and wetter the more it dries? 

A towel.

You throw away the outside and cook the inside. Then you eat the outside and throw away the inside. What did you eat? 

Corn on the cob

What goes up and down the stairs without moving? 

A Rug.

I can run but not walk. Wherever I go, thought follows close behind. What am I?   

A Nose.

What goes around the world but stays in a corner? 

A Stamp.

Give me food, and I will live; give me water, and I will die. What am I? 

Fire.

If you say my name I cease to exist. What am I? 

Silence.

I am weightless, but you can see me. Put me in a bucket, and I'll make it lighter. What am I? 

A Bucket.

Be sure to act very sorry and sympathetically when the teachers don't answer the riddles correctly. If they by some miracle (for them) do happen to answer a riddle correctly, express great chagrin in having to wear a bagged item for yourself!

Have fun!

DIY Sign Language

This is the second week that I'll be teaching Reverence is Love, but this activity could be applied to any song. 

I'll start by using the flip chart and having everyone sing the entire song. Next, I'll pass out key words of the song, each word written on a separate slip of paper. For junior primary I'll give maybe two or three words to each class, but for senior primary I'll pass out every word of the song (but I won't have the duplicate words written more than once).

I'll explain to the children that they have 90 seconds to decide on a sign language sign for the word(s) they have been given, and I'll show them a few examples. I'll tell them that it doesn't have to be real sign language sign, but if they do know a real sign language sign and want to use it, they can!

I'll ring a bell when the 90 seconds are up. Next I'll ask the class or child to come to the front and show what their sign is, and teach it to the rest of the primary children. We will begin with the words as they appear in the song.

After a complete phrase of signs is learned, we will sing that phrase two or three times to really get it in our heads before we move on to learning sign for the next phrase.

It will be interesting to see what the children come up with!

Have fun!

Stand for the Right with 6 Be's

I really like this video created by Heather over at The Joys of Our Life:

I especially love the beginning (Examples of Righteousness, from the April 2008 Priesthood Session),where President Monson is saying "...stand for the right..." I am going to go to my ward library and see if they have a DVD of the broadcast to play in primary. If the ward library does not have it, I'll either play the audio from my iPod (you can download it here), or I'll just read this much:

"My young friends, be strong. The philosophies of men surround us. The face of sin today often wears the mask of tolerance. Do not be deceived; behind that facade is heartache, unhappiness, and pain. You know what is right and what is wrong, and no disguise, however appealing, can change that. The character of transgression remains the same. If your so-called friends urge you to do anything you know to be wrong, you be the one to make a stand for right, even if you stand alone. Have the moral courage to be a light for others to follow. There is no friendship more valuable than your own clear conscience, your own moral cleanliness—and what a glorious feeling it is to know that you stand in your appointed place clean and with the confidence that you are worthy to do so."

What you will need:

Open and print this PDF:
Click Here: President Hinckley's 6 B's

This is what it looks like:
Cut out each of the small and large speech bubbles. Attach a handle to each of the large speech bubbles (paint stick, straw, wooden dowel, plastic spoon, stick from a tree...whatever you can find!).

Presentation:

Begin by showing a picture of President Monson, and telling the children, "Our Prophet has some words for you! And these are the words...." Cup your hand to your ear and wait for the children to finish the phrase, "....be true, be true." Explain that you have some other words from the prophet you would like them to hear, and play the DVD of President Monson mentioned above (or the audio clip, or read the paragraph).

Sing the song, Stand for the Right one time through.

Next, ask the children if they remember who Gordon B. Hinckley was, and show his picture. Put his picture on the whiteboard with magnets or tape.

Explain that President Hinckley also had some "words for you", called the 6 Be's. Hold up your fingers with each "Be" and recite:

1. Be grateful.
   
2. Be smart.
   
3. Be clean.
   
4. Be true.
   
5. Be humble.
   
6. Be prayerful.
   

Show the large quote bubbles with the 6 B's printed in them, one at a time. Give each class one of the speech bubble "Be" to hold, and explain that everyone gets to sing Stand for the Right again and again, singing one of the "6 Be's" replacing the words, "be true, be true".  Put the smaller speech bubbles in a jar and randomly draw one out as everyone begins singing "Our prophet has some words for you..." Show which "Be" bubble you have drawn to everyone as you sing "...and these are the words...". At this point, whichever class has that speech bubble has to sing out the words, for example..."be smart! be smart"...and then everyone joins in to finish the song. After each speech bubble is sung, attach the smaller one (that you drew from the jar) to the white board around President Hinckley's head.


Have fun!

Primary Feud

It's the last Sunday in February, and I want to review both January's and February's songs. We are going to play:

Primary Feud

You will need:

•       Something to hit the table with.  I am going to use two fly swatters, each decorated with a silk flower.  Children could use their hands instead, slapping them on the table when they know the answer.  Another option would be to have a bell, or two bells. You could also use one object in the middle of the table that a child could grab if they know the answer, like a stuffed animal or even a sock or glove. 

      

•  A small classroom table 
• Create questions about the song or songs you are reviewing.  Make them challenging and thought provoking for Senior Primary, but make them extremely easy and obvious for Jr. Primary.  
• Or use my questions below. Copy and paste them into your own word processor, or open and print this: Trivia Review.pdf    Cut each question/answer/song phrase into a paper strip.  Fold each slip of paper and put them in a hat or a bowl or basket or any container. Make sure you separate the Senior Primary questions from the Junior Primary questions.

To Play:

I plan to sing both review songs before starting. I'll tell the children to listen carefully to the words in the song as they sing, so they will be able to "win" at the game we will be playing! After singing, invite two contestants (two children, or a teacher and a child) to come to the front of the room. Explain that you will read a trivia question drawn from your hat/basket/container. The first contestant who knows the answer will slap the fly swatter on the table. Whichever contestant has slapped first will give an answer. If they do not answer correctly, make a dramatic "Wha-Wha-Wha-Whaaaaa" or "Bzzzzzt!"sound to indicate they were incorrect, and give the other contestant a chance to answer correctly. When the correct answer is given, have everyone sing the part of the song written after the question.  Next, two new contestants come to the table to try to answer the next question. Keep playing until you have about three of four minutes left, and then sing both songs all the way through again. 

Senior Primary Trivia Questions:

Unscramble this opposite phrase in the song, “I Will Follow God’s Plan for Me”:

Your death is not stolen property

My life is a gift

(Sing first two phrases of I will follow God’s Plan for Me)

Unscramble this opposite phrase in the song, “I Will Follow God’s Plan for Me”:

Your expiration is random

My life has a plan

(Sing first two phrases of I will follow God’s Plan for Me)

Unscramble this opposite phrase in the song, “I Will Follow God’s Plan for Me”:

Your demise has no direction

My life has a purpose

(Sing first two prases of I will follow God’s Plan for Me)

Unscramble this opposite phrase in the song, “I Will Follow God’s Plan for Me”:

Out of outer darkness it ended

In heaven it began

(Sing first two phrases of I will follow God’s Plan for Me)

Unscramble this opposite phrase in the song, “I Will Follow God’s Plan for Me”:

You were forced to leave that ugly foreign place on the moon

My choice was to come to this lovely home on earth

(Sing phrases 3 and 4 of I will follow God’s Plan for Me)

Unscramble this opposite phrase in the song, “I Will Follow God’s Plan for Me”:

And run away from the darkness to let me do my own thing until I’m old.

And seek for God’s light to direct me from birth

(Sing phrases 3 and 4 of I will follow God’s Plan for Me)

Unscramble this opposite phrase in the song, “I Will Follow God’s Plan for Me”:

I won’t lead disorganization for you!

 I will follow God’s plan for me!

(Sing chorus of I will follow God’s Plan for Me)

Unscramble this opposite phrase in the song, “I Will Follow God’s Plan for Me”:

Letting go slowly of my mumbling and my impatience

Holding fast to His word and His love

(Sing chorus of I will follow God’s Plan for Me)

Unscramble this opposite phrase in the song, “I Will Follow God’s Plan for Me”:

You won’t play, you will not say mean things

I will work, and I will pray

(Sing chorus of I will follow God’s Plan for Me)

Unscramble this opposite phrase in the song, “I Will Follow God’s Plan for Me”:

You will not ever run off in the wrong direction

 I will always walk in his way

(Sing chorus of I will follow God’s Plan for Me)

Unscramble this opposite phrase in the song, “I Will Follow God’s Plan for Me”:

Now you will be miserable on Mars

Then I will be happy on earth

(Sing chorus of I will follow God’s Plan for Me)

Unscramble this opposite phrase in the song, “I Will Follow God’s Plan for Me”:

And out of your shack below

And in my home above

(Sing chorus of I will follow God’s Plan for Me)

Recite the first phrase of “If I Listen with My Heart”?

If I had been a little child when Jesus lived on earth

(Sing verse one of If I listen with My Heart)

In the song “If I Listen with My Heart” how does the first verse teach us to listen with our hearts to hear the Savior’s voice?

Searching the scriptures

(Sing verse one of If I listen with My Heart)

In the song “If I Listen with My Heart” how does the second verse teach us to listen with our hearts to hear the Savior’s voice?

Listening to the living prophet

(Sing verse two of If I listen with My Heart)

In the song “If I Listen with My Heart” how does the third verse teach us to listen with our hearts to hear the Savior’s voice?

Listening to the Holy Ghost

(Sing verse three of If I listen with My Heart)

Name four specific things the Holy Spirit does in the song “If I Listen with my Heart”?

·         Teaches truth and right

·         Comforts me in times of need

·         Testifies of Christ

·         Speaks to me in quiet ways that fill my soul with peace

(Sing verse three of If I listen with My Heart)

According to the song “If I Listen with my Heart” what will happen as you search the scriptures?

As I search the scriptures I can hear His (Christ’s) words of peace.

(Sing verse one of If I listen with My Heart)

According to the song “If I Listen with my Heart” what does the prophet teach us?

How to live in righteousness and peace

(Sing verse two of If I listen with My Heart)

How many times is the word “peace” sung in the song “If I Listen with My Heart?”

Three

(Sing verse 2 or 3 of If I listen with My Heart)

Junior Primary Trivia Questions:

Where did you live before you came to earth?

In heaven

(Sing verse first two lines of I will follow God’s Plan for Me)

Is your life a gift?

Yes

(Sing first two lines of I will Follow God’s Plan for Me)

What does “my choice ” mean?

It means I get to choose.

(Sing lines 3 and 4 of I Will Follow God’s Plan for Me)

Where you once a baby?

Yes

(Sing lines 3 and 4 of I Will Follow God’s Plan for Me)

Complete this phrase: I will follow God’s plan ___ __.

“For me”

(Sing chorus of I Will Follow God’s Plan for Me)

Where do we find God’s words?

Scriptures/prophets

(Sing chorus of I Will Follow God’s Plan for Me)

Name somebody you know who works and prays.

(No wrong answer)

(Sing chorus of I Will Follow God’s Plan for Me)

How can you be happy on earth?

(No wrong answer)

(Sing chorus of I Will Follow God’s Plan for Me)

What will happen if you listen with your heart?

I will hear the Savior’s voice

(Sing verse one of If I listen with My Heart)

Who is our living prophet today?

Thomas S. Monson

(Sing verse two of If I listen with My Heart)

Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Ghost, Comforter, a member of the Godhead, etc.

(Sing verse three of If I listen with My Heart)

Have fun!

Snowball Fight

Fifth Sunday tomorrow. We have worked so hard on If I Listen with My Heart, so its time for some easy going mid-winter fun!

First, I'll play the DVD I made of If I Listen with My Heart. I haven't played it for them since I introduced them to it the first week of January, so it will be a real treat for them to sing it with the music video and see for themselves how far they have come.

Then, Snowball Fight!

I'll give everyone a half sheet of paper and pencil, and ask them to write their favorite primary song on it. The teachers and presidency members will have to step in here and help the ones who can not write.

 

As soon as everyone has a song written on their paper, I'll tell them we are going to have a snowball fight.

(Then I am going to wait for the reverent calm again...my goodness! They get so excited!)

On the count of three, I'll ask the children to wad up their paper into a "snowball" and get ready to throw it...at me! I'll say something like this: "I'll count down from three, and when I say "snowball!" everyone throw their snowball at meeeee!" Of course, I'll give a few false starts, like, "3....2...1....macaroni and cheeeeeese!!!"....and then finally I'll brace my self mentally and say it!

With the mess of "snowballs" around me, I'll pick up one, open it, and we'll sing the song written on it. We'll continue opening snowballs and singing until we are out of time.

Can't wait!

Have fun!

Crazy Hat Day!

Tomorrow I am doing Crazy Hat Day! 

 Ususally for Crazy  Hat Day! I use my son's HUGE sombrero. I put all kinds of tacky items on it, dangling from it, all over it, you get the picture. I review the song and whichever class I judge sings the best, their teacher gets to wear "the hat". It's crazy fun, and we get a lot of repetition in. My hat usually ends up looking something like this, except huge, because of the sombrero:

However, I was scrolling through some other blogs and I really liked this version from The Crazy Chorister. I have a lot of hats collected, so instead of the one big hat, I'll have one of the children from the best singing class come to the front and choose a hat from my big green bag. Oh, I have three or four tacky wigs, too, I'll throw those in.

So tomorrow we are going to be reviewing verse three of If I Listen with My Heart. We will begin by singing the entire song all the way through for a refresher. Then I'll talk about the words in verse three and explain what they mean, and how they relate to the pictures in my flip chart. The children already know the song pretty well at this point, so we will then play Crazy Hat Day! to practice singing the third verse.

Have fun!

POST SCRIPT.....
This was an absolute blast. We had reverence. We had fun. And what a fantastic song, right? I so love being chorister!

Sing Off

This Sunday for singing time we are going to have a Sing Off!

I will have slips of paper under the bells with names of the songs we will be singing.

 I will have ways to sing the songs taped on slips of paper on the back of these snowflakes from my Christmas tree.

 I plan on suspending the snowflakes from the ceiling.

It doesn't matter what props you use, just as long as the children have one way to choose songs, and another way to choose how they are sung.

How to play:
Choose a class to come up to the front with their teacher. Ask one child from the class to choose a song for their class to sing by picking a song under a bell, and ask another child to choose how they will sing the song by choosing a snowflake. Then have the class "perform" the song that was chosen the way that is written on the snowflake, for the other Primary classes. After the class is finished with their song, move on to the next class until each class has had a turn to perform.

My List of Songs:

• Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus p. 36
• Away in a Manger p. 42
• Once There Was a Snowman p. 249
• Silent Night,  Hymns 204
• Scripture Power
• When Joseph Went to Bethlehem p. 38

Ways to sing:

• Pantomime actions
• Sing and Ring (I have enough bells for one class to ring them together)
• Clap-Clap (Clap knees twice, then clap hands once or twice depending on the time signature)
• Live Nativity (Choose class members to be Nativity members while they perform the song.)
• Orchestra (Use bells, chimes, washboard, pan lids, recorders, maracas, rattles, etc. to combines sounds while they sing.)
• Chain (Have the class link elbows and sway back and forth to the music as they sing.)

Normally, I would have mixed in a few silly ways to sing the songs, but because these are mostly sacred Christmas songs and I want to the mood to be a little more reverent,  I have chosen  more reverent ways to sing.

Do you have any ideas for ways to sing songs reverently? Please comment!

Have fun!

Christmas Passed, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future

Our Primary has been asked to sing 5 songs at our ward Christmas party next Saturday night. Because we have just finished reading the Book of Mormon in 90 days as a ward, (I did it! Yessss!) its sort of a culmination of celebrating Christ's birth and the Book of Mormon, and Christ in the Book of Mormon. So we have been asked to sing these 5 songs:

Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus
When Joseph Went to Bethelehem
Picture a Christmas
Scripture Power
Teach Me About the Temple

Last week we learned Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus and When Joseph Went to Bethlehem, and the children know the other three quite well already, so to review and polish all the songs this Sunday we will be playing my version of:

Christmas Passed, Christmas Present, Christmas Future

Prep:

Write the name of each song you want to review on a slip of paper or even on a blank Christmas card. Put each slip of paper/card in a box and wrap it up as a Christmas present. 

Instructions:

Ask the children if they have ever read the book, or seen the movie, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Explain that in the story, Ebeneezer Scrooge, a cranky old miser who doesn't like Christmas, is visited in the night by three angels, or "ghosts": The Ghost of Christmas Past, The Ghost of Christmas Present, and The Ghost of Christmas Future. Each angel shows him his past, his present, and his future, and in the end he learns about the true meaning of Christmas. Tell the children you are going to review Christmas songs today by playing a game called "Christmas Passed, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future". It doesn't have anything to do with ghosts or Charles Dicken's story, but it is called "Christmas Passed", because we are going to pass one of these Christmas gifts around as we sing each song. "Christmas Present" because when Sister (pianist) stops playing the piano anywhere she chooses to in the song, whoever is holding the present gets to open it while we finish singing the song! And "Christmas Future", because inside the present is the name of the next song we will sing! Whoever opens the present will tell us the name of the next song.

I plan on singing an additional fun Christmas song to begin passing the first present around.

Have fun!