Tuesday, May 4, 2010

You Can Learn Alot of Things From the Flowers!


This is a VERY fun way to pick a song or teach a Sharing Time lesson. Primary children can learn about how to choose the right and treat others with love and kindness by WEEDING out bad choices!

A child comes up and chooses a flower from the vase.

It will either have a Heart - Star - or....WEED entwined on the stem with a message or action that is either SHINING (star)...LOVING(heart) or....MEAN & PRICKLY (weed)


  • You'll need a dark vase (or a clear one that has colored paper inside)
  • Flowers with bendable ends
  • (I purchased these flowers from the $1 section of the big red bullseye store!)
  • Yucky green colored felt
  • black pipe cleaners (hot glued on the back of the weeds)
  • green or bright colored pipe cleaners
  • wiggle eyes
  • black foam (for the ANGRY eyebrows!)
  • hot glue gun to make everything stick!
  • Hearts and Stars cut out from foam sheets with a loving or shining example of how to treat others
  • The weeds....have 2 black pipe cleaners glued to their backside
  • The bottom tip of the stem is folded up securing the star or heart or weed!
Sing: "Kindness Begins With Me"...or "I'll Walk With You"...or "Love One Another"
Have fun learning from the FLOWERS!

EL SONGBRERO!



THIS IS MUY DIVERTIDO...and it helps the Primary children think about and listen closely to the words of the song!

I suggest playing this game... Boys vs. Girls!
THE MAIN RULE IS NOOO SHOUTING OUT THE WORD! (I usually carry at least 2 words for each song...just in case!)
Choose a child to come up and sit on a chair in the front of the Primary room.
Place "El SONGbrero" on their head
Then...tape the word you are going to LEAVE OUT of the song. (perhaps a picture for Jr. children)
Sing the song and not sing the word taped on "EL SONGbrero"

If the child guesses the missing word correctly, their team gets a point!

The SONGbrero's word post sticks are made from 3 bamboo skewers pierced thru the top of the hat, then covered with duct tape, and hot glued to the inside dome of the hat. I then cover the glued tips with another piece of duct tape. I attached a drawstring toggle to the strings...a faster and much more comfortable way to adjust the hat. Have fun!

BUTTERFLIES!!!


Catch a butterfly and catch a song!
Hint to the kids...do not swipe the net like you're serving a tennis ball. The butterfly goes in the net, then the kids PULL the net toward them and voila...the butterfly slides off the clear string and is CAUGHT!!!
  • Plain no frills butterfly net ($1 section of the bullseye store!)
  • Embelished with sticky back glitter foam
  • A thick long dowel (long enough to fit in my "Magic Quilted Bag!"
  • Foam / Glitter Foam
  • White Duct tape
  • hot glue glue everything on tight!
  • clear craft string (the kind you make those keychains with:O)
  • Butterfly outline (I googled "butterfly template-outline-clipart)
  • cut out the butterfly's body
  • I free handed a the butterfly center body part
  • I punched 2 hole with my large punch
  • wiggle eyes big and small!
  • round styrofoam ball or ping-pong ball (for the nose) attached to the net...this helps capture the butterfly and slide off the string
  • Write a number (w/permanent marker) which corresponds with a song
Have fun!

Mr. Gobble D. Grateful!


Mr. Gobble D. Grateful can help your Primary children recognize some of the many blessings in their life. The children talk about ways we all can SHOW gratitude to Heavenly Father for those blessings. Feathers are laid out on a table with the "blessings" side down (not showing) the child picks a feather, reads the blessing, and then talks why they are thankful for that particular blessing. The child then sticks the feather in Mr. Gobble D. Grateful. Afterwards...sing a song!

How to cook...I mean MAKE Mr. Gobble D. Grateful:
*one large styrofoam ball painted brown
*foam sheets
*glue gun
*bamboo skewers
*glue both sides of the feather with the bamboo skewer in the center
*wiggle eyes (glued on)
*CD stack holder
*gratitude stips (taped on)

The Case of the MISSING CLUES!



Inside this mystery case, are clues which are part of the songs the Primary children are learning!


  • I pass out maracas or other "shakers" to most of the children
  • One child is chosen to be the "Detective"
  • I show the clue card to Jr. kids - and describe the clue to Sr. kids
  • The chosen "Detective," puts on the "Detective Hat" and carries the magnifying glass out to the hallway with a teacher or presidency member
  • Then the children in the Primary room help me choose a good spot to hide the clue
  • The "Detective" comes back into the room
  • The children in the room shake the shakers (louder or softer) the closer or further away the detective gets to the clue (warmer-colder)
OK....time for the RULES:


  • No shouting or talking!
  • Once the clue is found, we sing the song!
  • The child who had a turn with the shakers, shares with another, who hasn't had a turn

The Clue Cards

It's ELEMENTARY Watson...I mean...Brother Watson!

"If you chance to meet a FROWN...do not let it stay!




...Quickly turn It upside down and SMILE that frown away!"
Made with:
  • a plastic rotating spice rack
  • sticky back glitter foam
  • big wiggle eyes (glue gunned on)
  • wooden spoon ($1 store)
  • small dowel
  • duct tape!
I usually call up 2 Jr. Primary kids
1. showing a SMILE and
1. showing a grumpy FROWN
The kids have fun and we all end up smiling in the end!

:O)

Monday, May 3, 2010

O' Christmas Tree!


Have fun singing and learning the true meaning of Christmas!
The Star and the ornaments are laid on the table.
A child comes up and picks an ornament.
On the back of the ornament will have a song or question like...

"How can you share the love of our Savior this Christmas?"
or

"What gift can you give to someone who is loney or sad this Christmas?"

On the back of the star I have:
"How can your let your light shine this Christmas?"

The child then puts the ornament on the tree and all the kids
can sing a Christmas song!

Singing Time...Over the Rainbow!


Your Primary kids will have fun singing
their best to earn a gold coin!
Have a very reverent child come up and pick a shamrock.
A song is taped to the back of each shamrock.
If the kids sing really great...they get a gold coin!
Tape the gold coin to the shamrock.
How to make this:

  • This is a LARGE blue cardboard poster.
  • 2 - large 2 inch slits were cut in order to make part of the blue poster board slide into both sides of the black pot (not a space or hole...slits so a center flap of the board feeds into the pot)
  • The Rainbow, Sun, Clouds, and grass are made out of peel n' stick glitter foam sheets
  • The pot of gold is stuff with "GOLD" candy and shiny gold tissue paper
  • I bought mini gold twix bars and prepacked sandwich bags for the teachers to take and hand out to the kids to take home
  • Shiny gold cardstock was circle punched to make the coins
Best of LUCK!!!

Friday, March 26, 2010

SEARCH...PONDER and...


...PRAY!
Last year...I tape the word "SEEK" for the "I'll Seek the Lord Early" song
Magnifying Glass made from:
  • a white styrofoam ring covered with
  • black duct tape
  • clear transparency paper was used for the "glass" and for "ponder"

What is NOT shown is the child you will pick to come up and demonstrate "PRAY"

PRICELESS ACCESSORY!


This is a very fun accessory that I've had for YEARS!

Which ever class sings the best...their teacher gets to wear one of these!

Yes...there have been guy teachers wearing these too!
...one man was bald and his class of 11/12 year old boys chose the PINK for him! He was a good sport and was PROUD to wear it...because lets face it...anything that will help inspire 11/12 year boys sing their best...is worth it!

PRICELESS!

Oh...I also wear one of these when I go into Nursery

LET'S GO FLY A KITE!


Made with foam...hot glue...wiggle eyes. ribbon and a dowel
When the kite FLIES HIGH sing STRONG
When the kite FLIES low sing whisper soft!

OUR PRIMARY COLORS ARE 1...2..3


Jr. and Sr. Kids LOVE to dress up for this song!
  • RED - Fists on hips when saying COURAGE
  • YELLOW - Holding a yellow flower or yellow plate of foam cookies and bowing for SERVICE
  • BLUE - Holding the sword high when singing TRUTH and then pointing the tip of the side of the head for THOUGHTS and swinging the sword back up for DEEDS
OH yeah! Primary Colors ROCK......out loud!

SING that TUNE!


Ok...this has to be BY FAR the most requested game for Singing Time!

Ingredients
  • 2 wooden spoons
  • 2 sided hands cut from foam sheets
  • hot glue the 2 sides of the hands together (outline fingers etc...)
  • service bell
  • small table
  • small square of gripper shelf paper (kind of a foam mesh) keeps the bell from sliding off the table

Practice round first:
The kids have to hold the "hand" sign DOWN to the side of their leg
Count "1..2..3" then the kids get to practice hitting the bell
I do this twice to test their reflexes.

Ok...the GAME (girls vs. boys is VERY popular!)
  1. The Pianist place a short part of a song
  2. The first person to sing a part of that song gets ONE point for his/her team.
  3. We then sing the song in it's entirety

THIS IS WHERE IT GETS INTERESTING...

THE SIDE WHO SINGS THE BEST gets ONE point.

Sister Poppins just LOVES to PLAY GAMES...all sorts!
HAVE FUN!!!

THE SONG SHUTTLE!!!


SPACE is not the only "final frontier"...
SINGING TIME can be out of this WORLD as you bring in...THE SONG SHUTTLE!

This is just made with:
  • 1 blue foam board
  • Green duct tape for the bottom edge (terra firma!)
  • elastic
  • white cardstock (orange and yellow for the flames!)
  • a thick embroidery needle duct taped to the nose cone of the shuttle
  • and one BIG tipped Sharpie Pen
  • Slice into the very top of the board and slide in a....
  • Blown up a balloon
The better the children sing...the closer they get to BREAKING the "SONG" Barrier (Balloon)

***VERY IMPORTANT FINE PRINT***
Now...in our Primary we have a couple children who are VERY sensitive to loud sounds. I give them a heads up when the kids get closer to breaking the song barrier...and a member of the Primary Presidency or Teacher will take them to the hallway.

I am in the process of creating a "Singing Time ISS...(Internations SONG Station) in which the SONG SHUTTLE can dock to as an alternative to the balloon thing. I'll update this posting when I finish.

SUPER SINGER SCOPES...and hat!


THE SUPER SINGER SCOPE

This is a really fun way to "scope out" the BEST singer...who will get to pick the next song or come up and participate in a fun activity...matching game etc...

(Both scopes are made with sticky back glitter foam sheets)

and the "SUPER STAR SINGER SCOPE" and
"SUPER STAR SINGERS HAT !!!"
Ok...same concept as above...however, the class who is scoped out as singing the best....their teacher gets to wear the hat!


Have FUN!!!