Come follow me

To teach 'Come follow me' I bought some great paper feet cut outs from Sam's Warehouse and wrote the words to the song on the feet. Then we sang through the lines of the song, and those children that were singing really well were given keywords and at the end they put all the words in order. We kept singing through the song, and then I'd take some key words away to make it harder.

The Holy Ghost

This week to teach the song 'The Holy Ghost' I brought in a large blanket that had a pocket and I wrapped the blanket a child that was sitting reverently and asked them how they felt, and pointed out that this good warm feeling is what the Holy Ghost is like. Then I would ask them to pick a keyword (picture for littlies) out of the pocket of the blanket. After they were all out, we learnt the song and then put all the pictures and words in the right order. And then when they were in the right order we sang through the song and the children would hold up their picture when we sang their line. It worked very well and there was a really lovely spirit.

Here's another helpful article from the August 2005, Friend magazine by Margaret Lifferth, called “Sharing Time: The Gift of the Holy Ghost,”

Excerpt from the article: The song for this month, “The Holy Ghost” (p. 105), teaches us many things about the Holy Ghost. Sing the melody and clap the rhythm. Explain that just as the beat is constant, the Holy Ghost can be our constant companion. Invite them to clap the beat with you as you sing it again. Repeat again, this time inviting the children to hum the melody with you as they clap. Because each half of each verse teaches one of the missions of the Holy Ghost, teach the words in four sections. Write the main words of the first two lines on separate pieces of paper (Christ, earth, promised, send, Holy Ghost, comfort). Sing that much of the song as you direct the children to listen for one thing the Holy Ghost does for us. Take responses. As you sing it again, invite two or three children to post the words in order. Sing that much of the song with the children over and over, removing words until they know it. Learn the rest of the words by repeating this process.

Carpark Gameboard

Wow. It's been a while again since I've posted on here. I blame Uni.

Last week for singing time I created a life size game board using chalk in the chapel car park. On it I had things written like 'Go back 2 spaces', 'girls only' etc. The children would split into two teams. Each would sing, and depending on how well they would sing they got a score out of 5, and that's how far they would move. The children were trying so hard!

Pass-off chart

For the Senior Primary I made these pass-off charts for all 13 articles of faith, The Books of the Book of Mormon, The Books of the Old and New Testament, the Commandments and Latter-day Prophets. I laminated them and made one for each child 8 and over. Before or after Primary they come to me and recite them and when they complete each one I punch a hole next to it. At the end they receive a special treat and certificate. I already have two of my Primary kids who have completed this. Amazing!

Glitter ball

I used this glitter ball on Sunday for a review game. The kids passed the ball around in a circle and when the music stopped they sang the next line. With the older ones we bounced it to each other and they were given one phone a friend if they didn't know the next line. These glitter balls are great. You can get them from Amazen Puzzles and Games for about $5.

Super Singer Award

This is an idea for a Super Singer award. You can buy them at $2 dollar stores in packets of about 6. I give one out each month to one of the kids that has been singing the best throughout the month.

Whiteboard Games

There are a few games you can play with a whiteboard:

-One that always goes down well is Pictionary. Two kids are given a board and try to get their teams to guess the song they are drawing.
- Guess that word: You send one of the children outside, write a word on the whiteboard that the kids can't sing and the child then comes in and has to try to guess the word they're not singing.

Well actually that's all I can think of for now. I'll add to it later if I think of more :)