Sunbeam "I Am Like a Star"

Regular primary time is fun, and usually works out really well. Singing in with the Sunbeams has been more difficult. The kids have been having a hard time keeping on task, so I have tried to bring in some props. It worked! The kids wanted to hold the props and were excited about singing time again.

The only problem was that they break every prop I bring in to class. I made sun smiles similar to the one pictured below. Mine were made out of poster board. All was good and happy until one boy's ripped. I told him it was okay and I'd have to tape it. The next thing I knew, three other kids' suns were ripped too. Apparently it was a challenge. 

Picture from Sugardoodle.net

A few weeks ago I brought in jingle bells to sing the song "Christmas Bells." I had bought them at the dollar store and tied the gold hanging string that came with them (they were Christmas ornaments). I was also planning to use them for Primary singing time, so I planned ahead. I put clear fingernail polish over the knots so they wouldn't come untied. All was good for a time, then like the suns, 1 broke. The moment this happened, other kids' bell strings magically broke as well. I should have just taken them all away right then.

I spent Sharing Time in the hall, re-tying the bells. The knots hadn't come out. The strings themselves had broken, probably from the nursery kids shaking too hard. But all was ready for primary singing time.

I asked in Primary for the kids to be kind to them while we sang. We passed the bells around so everyone got at least 1 turn to shake a bell. When I was collecting them, I congratulated the kids that they didn't break any of them! 

Then a teacher sheepishly approached me. He explained that he had broken one! Ha.

(In his defense, I think one of my new knots that weren't nail polished had just come untied)

The kids pick a star to wear around their necks while we sing

"I Am Like a Star"

Anyway, that's the story about why I decided to make some fabric stars for the kids to wear around their necks when they sing "I Am Like a Star." I made it 100% from materials I already had. They aren't perfect, but if I ask the kids to be nice to them, I think they will hold up well.
I cut out 2 layers of denim from old jeans in a big star shape, then used my machine to zigzag around the outside to finish them and sew them together. I did similar with the smaller orange star, just 1 layer and then attached them.
We just had half our nursery class graduate to Sunbeams, so we only have about 4 kids each week. Since I made 10 stars, that leaves plenty for when the nursery grows, and also means kids will have their choice if they want orange stripes or if they want the beaded ones.

I do worry about the yarn tangling up. I haven't thought of a fix for that yet.

Any ideas on storing them so they aren't a big, tangled mess?

Singing is Contagious!

Today to help the kids practice the songs we're singing for Christmas really well, I let them give me the Singing Measles!

Image from here
I didn't redecorate myself at home to get a picture of it.

Materials: Round label stickers

Instructions: Tell the kids that good singing is contagious! Ask what the chicken pox looks like (lots of spots) and say we're going to play a game: If they are singing really well, they will become contagious. Their teachers will give the good singers each a sticker that they can use to decorate/infect me. After each song, tell the teachers to give stickers only to kids who were really singing. Then give them a chance to cover you with stickers :)

Pros: I got some very nice, loud singing out of them, the best I've heard in a month :)

Cons: It wasn't until I was sitting on a chair, letting myself be decorated by swarms of kids that I began to think about other contagions this time of year, ones that could really make me ill. When I got home, I immediately showered and dropped all my clothes in the wash.
No, this con won't stop me from doing it again, but maybe next time I'll bring hand sanitizer for everyone to use prior to starting :)

How well do you know your FAVORITE song?!

How well do you know your FAVORITE song?!

That's a challenge for the kids. After we did this activity I said to myself, "This is their favorite game to play." Then I realized that was wrong. What I should have said was, "This is my favorite game to play with them."

For some reason, whenever I pull out fancy props from the closet, the kids don't seem to like it quite as well as the really simple games we play.

Materials: masking tape, paper strips, Sharpie

Instructions: Tell the kids you want to challenge a person who things that they know their favorite song really well. Tell them that we will sing their favorite song for them, but leave out a word, and when we're done, they'll have to tell us what the word is.
Get a volunteer who is up to the challenge and find out what the favorite song is. Write a common word on a wordstrip, big enough to read, and tape it to their forehead. Then get them to show the pianist so he can not play the note for that word, too.
Then sing it, and then ask the kid what word it was.
Most of the kids are so proud, they keep their wordstrips on their forehead for the rest of singing time.

Samuel the Lamanite

Today I decided, very shortly before primary started, that I wanted to teach the Samuel the Lamanite verse of Book of Mormon Stories (p. 118) in conjunction with Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus (p. 36). We've already been learning Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus.

Arrows could not hit him for a man of God was he.
Get the whole cut out from LDS.org here

I thought this was great to remind the kids of more of the story of Samuel. The Christmas song tells about how he prophesied of baby Jesus's birth in 5 years and that a night will be as day. We discussed that this meant that the sun would go down, but it would still be light out. Note: we did this a week ago when we first learned the song.
The verse of Book of Mormon Stories tells another part of the story: Samuel taught from the city wall and people shot arrows at him and couldn't hit him. Also, he was a Lamanite teaching repentance to the wicked Nephites.

I taught it with hand motions, call and repeat:

Samuel the Lamanite, high on the city wall (form a wall with your hands)
Came to warn the people, and repentance was his call, (pretend you're Samuel, waving a hand from left to right, like you're looking at a crowd below you)
Arrows could not hit him for a man of God was he. (pretend to shoot arrows)
And he taught in the land righteously. (right hand out, left hand out [positioned similar to the "I don't know" pose], right hand in, left hand in, head down [end with your arms folded].
I never knew describing those actions would be confusing. These are the same actions I use for the end of the first 2 verses as well)

The kids really enjoyed this song, and I felt it helped the younger ones learn more about the story of Samuel the Lamanite.Still, I don't think we'll perform this song before "Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus" during Sacrament :)

Some of you get to be turkeys... A November singing time

On my hand turkey, I had actually written a clue for each song on each feather and the head. Before each song I let the kids guess what each clue meant.
ex. BoM was Book of Mormon Stories
ex. Head was Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes

Materials: a turkey picture (I just drew a hand turkey on the board with chalk), a bag/envelope with the following papers inside

--wearing red

--wearing blue

--wearing black

--boys

--girls

--blue eyes

--brown eyes
--green eyes

--freckles

Instructions: I told the kids that today I would pick some kids to be turkeys. Now turkeys don't really know the words to the songs: they only know one word. Everyone who is not a turkey sings all the song, but the turkeys sit quietly and then sing only the one word. (at this point all the kids were raising their hands, hoping to be turkeys).

Then I told them my envelope would tell me who the turkeys would be. I drew a slip from the envelope

(If I picked the blue eyes one, the children with blue eyes are turkeys).

Then I picked a word from the song, example "asleep" in "Away in a Manger," and that is the only word the turkeys sing. I also had them put their hands up on their chins when they sang the word, to look like the... thing that hangs off a turkey's neck. 

We sang each song through a few times, picking new turkeys and words each time.

Pros: The kids loved being declared turkeys. How surprising is that?! Also, this was a good activity to review a set of songs each a few times.

Primary CDs 2013

I just thought I'd share where I got mp3s for the primary song CDs (don't worry, nothing illegal).
The LDS website has suggested mp3s here, but I was so excited to find some other options too.

1) If the Savior Stood Beside Me--here is a free mp3 that's gorgeous from  Sally Deford's Website. I use the one from Angie Jack. Just a note on the church website version: the kids sing the wrong word on the 2nd verse. Just another reason to use the Angie Jack version.

2) Audio from General Conference children choirs!
I was thrilled to find these. Just search for whatever song you want. "My Heavenly Father Loves Me"  is under the name Primary Song Medley (yes, with I Know My Father Lives)
I like the children choir versions better than the ones suggested in the primary program links.

3) You can beg people from Youtube for the right to use their audio. I had little luck with this route, but I found lots of versions of songs I'd love to use if I had permission.

We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet

We started by doing what was suggested in the 2013 Primary Program book: I made word strips in different colors with each half of a line and then put the second halves of lines around the room. The first halves of lines (on the left) I put in order, taped on the board (because I hadn't figured out the yarn trick at that point).
Then I had the kids try to pick out the second half of each line. Some kids picked up immediately that the colors corresponded, the first half of line to the second half, but most kids really struggled to think which of the word strips came next.
After we had a line put together we sang it. That got boring, so I had 1/2 the kids stand up and sing the first part of the line and then sit down while the other half of the kids stood and finished each line for them. That was fun. Most of my directing was getting the kids up and down. With the teachers' help in the classes, the kids got the words.
The words are hard for kids and we did discuss them some.
I also brought in props to go with each:
Lines 1-2) The conference ensign with our prophet's picture on it
Line 3) A picture of the golden plates
Line 4) I drew a picture of the sun in chalk and talked about how the gospel makes us feel good, just like rays of the sun make us warm (very hard concept, yes)
Line 5) An apple, since food is a blessing (which the kids wanted to eat. Don't eat my prop!)
Line 6) A picture of a hand
Line 7) Work gloves for service
Line 8) A heart for love

Now I found that many word strips really cumbersome to magnet up or take up, so I bought a hot glue gun (just $3) and glued it to yarn. These fold up, and you can just hang them up.
You can also turn individual pages backwards when you're memorizing.

I also had the music coordinator in Sacrament have the congregation sing this as a hymn about a month after the kids started learning it.