Jun 4 2011

Fathers: Song

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Fathers – pg 209

Father’s Day

Preparation

  • Print the song pages, ties, and word strips. Cut out the ties, small pictures, word strips, and word boxes. Attach one set of the words to the front of the ties, one per tie.
  • Put the word strips in a sentence strip holder.  (A sentence strip holder can be made out of poster board, strips of page protector plastic, and clear tape.) Put the second set of words in the sentence strip holder – in their correct spots but turned around.

Presentation

Post the first song page on the board – “The father of our home leads our family.”

  • Why does the father lead the family? Have you ever seen a two headed snakes. They are rare in the wild because they tend to get eaten because they want to go different directions when there is danger.  A family works together and discuss issues but a father takes the lead so that they don’t end up going in opposite directions. When a father is listening to the Lord he will always go the right directions and we are safe following his direction and lead.

Post the next part of the song- “with wisdom’s light, in all that’s right.” Point out the owl in the picture, and explain that it represents the word “wisdom”. Ask if the children have ever heard the expression “a wise old owl”. Explain that because of the ability of an owl to see in the dark, owls have come to represent manifestations of wisdom. Also point out the moon in the picture, and ask the children if they ever been out at night when there is a full moon. The light from a bright, full moon can help you see where to go when it is dark. Just like an owl and the moon are useful in the dark, a father who is following the wisdom, light, and direction of the Lord can help his family see the right (CTR) ways to go in a dark world full of Satan’s temptations.

Post on the board the next line – “My father’s good to me.”  Point out the child a getting a ride on his father’s shoulders. Ask the children to think about all the good and helpful things their father does for them. Invite the children to share some of them.

Post the next line on the board – “Fathers are so special. With a very special love.” Fathers have very special rolls in the family that are vitally important and needed. The next few lines tells about some of these rolls.

Post the next line on the board – “They watch us and protect us.”  Point out that the father  in the picture is watching his child so he doesn’t get hurt as he learns to ride a bike. Fathers do their best to take care of and protect their wives and children.

Post the next line on the board – “They guide us and direct us.” Explain that the words guide and direct have very similar meanings. They both mean to help show us the right ways to go and the right things to do.

Post the last line in the song  -“Back to our home above.”  Explain that the last line of the verse says that a righteous father can help guide us back to our home with Heavenly Father.

Have senior primary sing the song. (In junior primary have them sing after every couple of pages you post.)

Memorizing the Verse

Show the children the word strips. Now explain to the children that you are going to test to them  to see if  they can remember certain words. Show the ties with words on them and explain that their job is to put the tie in the place they think it belongs, and then turn over the word in the slot and see if they are right. (Go in order with the junior primary. Read the lines to them and their choices. Do half of the song at a time. You can post the pictures near each word strip to help junior primary remember the words.)

After all the matches have been made, turn over two to three word strips, but leave the tie words as a clue to the sentence.  Have the children sing the song. Continue in this manner until all the word strips are covered up and the children have the song memorized.

May 21 2011

Praise to the Man – Memorizing the First Verse

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Preparation

  • Print the picture pages.
  • Text ten people and ask them to send you a list of five to ten blessings we enjoy because of the restoration. Cut a poster in half and write the top nine answers on it in a row (the answers that are given the most). Cut the other half of the poster (or a different colored poster) into nine strips, and cover each answer with one of the strips. (Be sure to make a list of their order so you know which cover strip to take off when one is guessed. )The results from the poll I took were: Living Prophet, Priesthood, Holy Ghost, Temples, Book of Mormon, Eternal Families, Baptism. You can use my results or do your own survey. (I only had seven top answers, so I just covered up two that the children had guessed the week before, because it took two weeks to do this activity. They liked trying to figure out what was missing.)

Presentation

The following week after introducing the first verse, have the children start memorizing the verse. Post the word pages from the previous week on the board in order. Post the picture pages in random order on the wall next to the board. Explain that each picture matches one of the word pages on the board. Remind the children that because of the prophet Joseph Smith many wonderful blessings of the gospel are restored to the earth again.

Show the poster and explain to the children that you polled/asked ten people to tell  you some blessings that we enjoy because of the restoration. Explain that the top nine answers are on the poster. Tell them you will be watching for those who raise their hands first to call on and guess the answers. Be sure to praise them for their answers, even if they are not on the board. If they guess one of the items on the poster they get to come up and try to match a picture with its word page. (Have them put the picture next to its matching word page.)

After two matches have been made, have the children sing the song. After another two matches have been made, cover most of the words on the two previously matched word pages with their matching pictures. Sing the song all the way through again.

After another two matches have been made, cover the first two pages completely with their matching pictures. Then take the two other previously made matches and cover most of the words on those pages. Sing the song again.

Continue in this manner until all the pages are covered with pictures and the children have the song memorized.

Junior Primary: Have junior primary find the matching pictures in the correct order of the song. After they make the correct matches, sing only that part. Continue to build onto that with the above method.  The survey activity may be a little difficult for junior primary, but they will be able to do it if you give them clues to the answers.

Note: The pictures came from different “Praise to the Man” flipcharts on Sugardoodle. Thank you to all those people who submitted those flipcharts.

 

 

 

 

May 7 2011

Crying Mother Song Review

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Crying Mother Song Review –
Mother’s Day
This week we are reviewing the Mother’s Day songs the children have learned, and I am using the Crying Mother idea. I have seen the idea on several sites. Thank you to whoever originally thought of it. It is great!
Preparation
  • Items needed: a half a sheet of foam board- 15X20 inches,  a small 4X6 piece of foam board, two sheets of color paper, two water guns (or squirt bottles) with long tips on their nose, a glue gun, sticky tack, a black sharpie marker, and an easel from the meetinghouse library
  • Print the picture of the mother. Cut out the sign that says “Mother’s Day”. Cut out the insides of each eye on the picture of the mother, all the way to the edges.  Laminate the two sheets of colored paper, the sign that says “Mother’s Day, and the picture of the mother. Very carefully cut out the middle of the plastic part of the eyes. Do not cut into the printed paper part of the eye or the ink will bleed when you squirt water through the eye. Note: You may be able to use clear contact paper instead of lamination. I haven’t tried it, so I don’t know if it will keep a good enough seal so the ink won’t bleed.
  • Hot glue the two sheets of colored paper onto the middle of the foam board. Place the picture of the mother on the colored paper where you wish it go. With a pin, poke a hole through the cut out part of each eye, all the way through the foam board. Hot glue the 4X6 piece of foam board over the pin holes on the back of the foam board. Once again poke a pin through each eye all the way through the second sheet of foam board. With a knife, carve out a hole (where each pin hole is) through both sheets of foam board. The holes should be the size of the tip of the water gun (or squirt bottle).  Cut a small hole in each piece of colored paper where the pin prick is. Hot glue the picture of the mother onto the colored papers with the holes lining up with the holes in the eyes. With the black sharpie, color in the eye and color the tip of each water gun/squirt bottle.
  • Fill each water gun/squirt bottle, and coat the tips with a ring of sticky tack. Push the water gun/squirt bottle tips all the way into the holes on the back of the foam board. The sticky tack should hold the water guns in place but also allow you to take each out to refill. Try out the water guns/squirt bottles to make sure they will squirt through the holes, and adjust if needed.
Presentation
Show the children the picture of the mother. Put it on an easel  Be careful so the children don’t see the water guns/squirt bottles. Ask the children what day it is. (Mother’s Day)  Using sticky tack, attach the Mother’s Day sign to the bottom of the picture.  Remind the children they are going to sing to their mothers in Sacrament Meeting.
  • Ask, “Did you know that it makes some mothers cry to hear their children sing Mother’s Day songs?”

 

Explain to the children that today they are going to practice the Mother’s Day songs and try to sing them so beautifully that they will make a mother in the audience cry.
When they sing a song wonderfully, reach around the picture and squirt one of the squirt guns. Point it out and exclaim that they made a mother cry because of their beautiful singing.  It will surprise the children and get them excited.
Carry the picture around the room as they continue practice singing the songs. Explain that when someone is singing particularly good it will make the mother cry again.
Resource: Mother picture – Nursery Manual
May 4 2011

Book of Mormon Lesson Tips

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Display Board
A display board will be needed for many of the lessons. Various items can be used as a display board such as a wall, a chalkboard, a dry erase board, a flannel board, a poster board, etc. (See this link for directions on how to make a felt/vinyl display board.) The following items can be used to attach items to the display board: tape, magnets, sticky tack, removable double sided tape, Velcro, etc.

Scripture Use
The Book of Mormon will be used for every lesson. Encourage the children to bring their scriptures. Some lessons will specify when a Book of Mormon for each child is absolutely necessary. You may want to have extra copies of the Book of Mormon available for those lessons.

Scripture references in the lesson are meant to be looked up by all the children. Once the scripture reference has been found, choose a child to read the reference as the others follow along in their own books. This will give the children experience looking up and reading scriptures. It will also help each child focus on the scripture and understand it better.

Food Object Lessons
Some of the lessons use food for object lessons. Please be aware of any allergies before giving children food. If a child has a food allergy, provide an alternative food item for that child.

Scripture Story Visual Aids

The scripture story visual aids can be printed, or to save ink they can be shown on a laptop computer by scrolling down as each picture is discussed. Some of the lessons do require the pictures to be printed for activities associated with the scripture story. Read each lesson thoroughly before teaching to see which method will work best.

Scripture Stories

The scripture stories in the lessons are a shortened version of the original. In order to have a comprehensive understanding of the lesson and story, it is best to read the original scripture story in the Book of Mormon before teaching the lesson. There may also be important parts you could feel inspired to add back into the lesson for specifics needs in your class.

 

 

 

Apr 26 2011

Teach Me to Walk in the Light – Mother’s Day Song

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Teach Me to Walk in the Light (3rd verse)

Mother’s Day

Last year I used the last verse of “Teach Me to Walk in the Light”  and the song “Teacher/Mother Do You Love Me”  for the Mother’s Day Primary songs in sacrament meeting. I exchanged the word “guidance“  for the word “mothers” in this verse to help it go with the Mother’s Day theme.

Preparation

  • Print the song pages. Cut out the four word cards and attach them to Popsicle sticks. Cut out the words “songs of delight” and tape it to the front of a hymn book.

 

Presentation

Explain that the verse starts out like a prayer.

  • Who are we talking to when we pray? (Heavenly Father) After we address our Heavenly Father what do we do in our prayers? (We thank him.) So the song starts out with “Father in Heaven we thank thee this day.” (Put this song page on the board.)

 

Point out that we use the same type of prayer language in this verse as we do in our prayers. Ask if anyone can identify the special word we used to address Heavenly Father. (Thee)

  • What are we going to thank Heavenly Father for in this song? Hint- who will we be singing this song to? (For our loving mothers.) Ask the children if they remember the part in the chorus of “Mother Do You Love Me” were it talks about a mother’s example and teachings helping show them the way to be like Jesus. Explain that in this song we are thanking Heavenly Father for loving mothers who show us the way. So the next part of the song is “For loving mothers to show us the way”. (Put this song page on the board.)
  • What are we going to do to show are gratitude for our mothers this next week in sacrament meeting? (We are singing to them.) We also show are gratitude to our Heavenly Father for all he does for us by singing songs each Sunday that honor and praise him.
  • How does Heavenly Father feel when we sing these songs to him? (delighted)  The next part of the song is “grateful we praise thee with songs of delight”. (Put this song page on the board.)

 

In the song “Mother Do You Love Me” it talks about our Savior’s love lighting the path home. The Savior shows us the way back to our Heavenly Father. In “Teach Me to Walk in the Light” we end with saying “gladly, gladly we’ll walk in the light”. Which means we will gladly do the things Jesus has taught us to do. (Put this song page on the board.)

Have the children sing the verse. (You may wish break it down and sing a line at a time with junior Primary.)

Memorizing the Verse

To help the children remember the words, have a few volunteers act it out.

“Father in Heaven we thank thee this day” – Have a child kneel as if praying. (You may wish to put two chairs together so the child can kneel on the chairs and be seen easier.)

“For loving mothers to show us the way” – Have a mother hug her child and show the child the way by pointing to a picture of Jesus.

“Grateful we praise thee with songs of delight” – Have a child hold a hymn book with the words “songs of delight” taped to the cover.

Gladly, gladly we’ll walk in the light” – Have a child hold a flashlight or lantern and then walk in the light it casts. Explain that the light of a flashlight shows us the way to go in the dark. The words “walk in the light” means doing the things Jesus has taught because he shows us the way to our heavenly home.

Temporarily take the song pages off the board, and show the children the individual word cards. Have the children tell which acted out part each word card goes with. Review the words to each part as the word cards are placed. Have the actor hold up their word card during their part.

Put the song pages back on the board and have the children sing the verse again. Point to specific actors as the children sing their part.

Remove a song page and the child acting out that part, and sing the verse again. Continue removing pages and actors until the verse is memorized.

Apr 22 2011

Easter Song Review

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Easter or Holiday Song Review

Note: This activity can be used for any holiday by using appropriate candy and basket decorations.

Preparation

  • Items needed: a clear candy jar, several bags of cheap jelly beans, a bag of larger sized candy eggs, plastic gloves, a basket, a brick of floral foam, Easter grass, Popsicle sticks, and a glue gun. Optional: ribbon and bows.
  • Print and cut out the activity cards  and Easter eggs. Glue or tape a number to the back of each activity card. Write a song title on the back of each Easter egg. Glue the Popsicle sticks to the bottom of each card and egg. Hot glue the floral foam to the bottom of the basket. Cover the foam with the Easter grass. Stick the Popsicle stick cards and eggs into the foam.  If needed, decorate the basket with ribbon and bows.
  • With a Sharpie, number sixteen large candy eggs one through sixteen. Pour the jelly beans into the candy jar. Mix the large eggs into the jelly beans.

 

Presentation

As the children sing a song that needs reviewed, have a child try and find the large Easter candy eggs in the candy jar (with one hand wearing a plastic glove). Each time an egg is found, have the child read off the number. Another child will get the numbered activity card out of the basket and show the children. The children should do the activity on the card as they continue to sing the song. When the song is sufficiently reviewed, have a child choose the next song to sing by choosing an egg from the basket, and have other children take a turn finding the eggs and the activity cards.

Apr 19 2011

Teacher/Mother Do You Love Me – Mother’s Day Song

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Teacher/Mother Do You Love Me

Mother’s Day

Last year we did two songs for the Mother’s Day sacrament meeting, and they turned out beautifully, so I thought I would share them with you. The first one we did was a modified version of “Teacher Do You Love Me”.  We changed the lines to “Mother Do You Love Me”.  I asked a mother and daughter to sing the main lines, and then I had the primary children join them in the chorus. I changed a few things, because I wanted the daughter to sing the questions and the mother to sing the answers each time before singing the chorus. I included a copy of how we adjusted the lines.

Preparation

  • Print the visual aid pages and modified music pages.
  • Print the small review flipchart onto white cardstock. Cut out the pages and stack them in the correct order. Punch a hole in the top middle of each page, and connect the pages together with a hinged metal ring or a string tied into a loop.

 

Presentation

I explained to the children that the song starts out with a child asking her mother if she will love her no matter what she does. After the mother answers, we start the chorus by singing to the mothers – “I need your love, I need your light”. (Post these song pages on the board.)

  • What does I need your light mean? A light in the darkness can help someone safely find their way, like a lighthouse does for ships. A mother’s light is her righteous example to her children. She shows her children the right way to go by her example and teachings.

 

The next part says that a mother’s righteous example and teachings will show her children how to be like Jesus. Jesus is who we are supposed to strive to be like.  (Post the song page “to show me how to be like Jesus” on the board.)

The next line is “The Savior’s love will light the path.” (Post this song page on the board.) The Savior loves us and has shown us the way to go by his example and teachings. If we follow the Savior’s example we will be led safely back to our home with our Heavenly Father. (Post the song page “to lead me safely home” on the board.)

(Have senior Primary sing the entire chorus at this point.) (Have junior Primary go over the words again, and then have them sing half of the chorus at a time.)

I tested the children to see how well they were paying attention. I took down the visual aid pages and asked the following questions:

  • What are the two things the song says we need from our mothers? (love and light)
  • Which comes first in the song? (love)
  • What will our mother’s love and light show us? ( How to be like Jesus)
  • The saviors what, will light what? (love, the path)
  • And lead me where? (safely home)  Point out that the song doesn’t just say “will lead me home”, it says “safely home”. There are many spiritual dangers that can prevent us from returning home to our Heavenly Father, but if we listen to our mothers and try to be like Jesus we will return safely home to our Father in Heaven.

 

Have the children sing the chorus again. Go over any areas they have difficulty with, and then have them sing the chorus once more. (If needed put the song pictures on the board once again, and have the children choose two at a time to take down after each time they sing the song.)

  • After the children learned the chorus, we practiced the song with the mother and daughter so the Primary children would know when they were supposed to come in. Before starting I explained that they would sing the chorus two times, each time after the mother sings. I also explained that the second time they sing the chorus, the words in the last line change slightly. Instead of singing the word me, the word becomes us. The notes of certain words are also held longer and are more drawn out at the end. (You may wish to show them how this sounds.)

 

Review

I used the small flipchart to review the song the following week. The red pages had the first half of the words to each line on them. The children had to tell me what the remaining words were to each line. I flipped the page for them to check and see if they were right.

The second song we learned was the last verse of “Teach Me to Walk in the Light”.

Apr 11 2011

Book of Mormon Scripture Stickers

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Book of Mormon Scripture Stickers

  Set One

  Set Two

Set Three

Preparation

  • Print the scripture sticker page onto clear sticker paper which can be found at office supply stores. The sticker paper averages about a dollar a page when bought in a package of  fifteen. It can be bought cheaper in bulk at Online Labels, but these are permanent stickers and cannot be adjusted once placed.

 

Purpose

Scripture Stickers can be affixed onto scripture pages and are a reminder for the children of the scripture stories and their locations. The stickers are clear so the words of the scriptures can still be read through the sticker.

The Scripture Stickers can be cut into individual stickers and given to a child after each Book of Mormon lesson is taught so they can mark where that scripture story is located. Or they can be used as an encouragement or reward for when a child completes reading assignments. The stickers can be cut out and given to a child individually for each reading assignment finished, or given as a page when a child completes a reading chart goal (the child will then have to cut them out themselves).

If the stickers are given to the children individually, the cut out stickers can be stored in the pockets of card or photo protector sheets. With a Sharpie, label each pocket with the name of the scripture story, and then store the protector sheets in a binder.

Note: If these stickers are given out by a teacher or leader, be sure to have the children get permission from their parents before affixing the stickers into their scriptures. (It is a good idea to send a note home explaining the stickers and their purpose. Also explain in the note that you have instructed the children to get permission before they put the stickers in their scriptures.)

Source: “Book of Mormon Stories”

Mar 24 2011

Scripture Power – Verse Two

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Scripture Power – Verse Two

Preparation

  • Print and cut out the Armor of God illustrations. Also print the word pages and the armor labels.
  • Items needed: magnets or tacky putty to attach the armor pieces to the soldier figure on the chalkboard.

Presentation

Start off by telling the children about the movie clip (found in the New Testament CES videos) called “The Whole Armor of God”:

“The Whole Armor of God” starts off showing some young soldiers from ancient times who are battle weary, hot, and tired. Some of the soldiers put down their swords and take off their armor to rest by a river. Hooded, dark figures with bows and arrows sneak up on them. There is a battle, and the soldiers who took off their protective armor are injured or killed.

Remind the children that we are fighting a spiritual battle against Satan and his temptations. When we let down our guard, and don’t keep near us the things that will protect us, we become open to the fiery darts of Satan’s temptations. The second verse of “Scripture Power” talks about the protective spiritual armor we need in order to be protected from Satan’s temptations.

Show the picture of the soldier without his armor and ask the children if he is protected from attack. Put the sword in the soldier’s right hand, and inform the children that a sword is an item that was used for defense against attack. When we are spiritually attacked we need what is called “The Sword of Truth”. Write the words “The Sword of Truth” on the board. Ask what the words would become if you erased the S. (“The Word of Truth”) Explain that the words of truth found in the scriptures help us have a defense against Satan’s attacks, because knowing truth helps us recognize Satan’s deceptions and then we are not deceived. (Give an example of a scripture truth verses a deception of Satan.)

Inform the children that the first line of the second verse is – “I’ll find the sword of truth in each scripture that I learn.”  (Put this word page on the board.)

Inform the children that the next line of the verse is – “I’ll take the shield of faith from these pages that I turn.”  Put this word page on the board, and then put the shield in the soldier’s left hand.  Explain that as we obey the words found in the scriptures, we see the good results, and we gain faith and trust in God’s words.  Our faith  in God’s word  protects us against the temptation to do something that is opposite of His word.

The next line is –  “I’ll wear each vital part of the armor of the Lord.” (Put this word page on the board.)  There is a scripture in Ephesians 6:11-17 that tells about  the armor of God and what each piece represents. Each piece can be related to the things we learn and gain from the scriptures.

  • Put the helmet on the soldier, and explain that it is called the helmet of salvation. Salvation comes through Christ, so focusing our minds on Christ’s teachings (which are found in the scriptures) give us protection against unworthy thoughts.
  • Put the breastplate on the soldier, and explain that it is called the breastplate of righteousness and represents our righteous choices. As we make righteous choices our spirits grow stronger, which gives us more protection against temptation.
  • Put the girdle on the soldier, and explain that in old times people used to gird up their clothes when they were getting ready to get to work so that their clothes wouldn’t inhibit their movement. So we are to be girded with truth to protect our actions.
  • Put the feet coverings on the soldier, and explain that the feet represent goals or objectives (where you are going in life), and we are to shod our feet with the gospel of peace to guide our lives.

 

Just as each piece of a soldier’s armor protects vital parts of his body, so does each part of the armor of the God protect our vital and important spirituality.

With the armor of God on we are prepared to fight against the temptations of Satan and win. Explain that the last line in the verse is – “and fight my daily battles, and win a great reward.” (Put this word page on the board.) What is the great reward for winning the spiritual battles of life against Satan?( Eternal Life) Encourage the children to keep their protective spiritual armor on. We do this by reading the scriptures daily and striving to do the things found in them.

Sing the verse all the way through with senior Primary. (Sing each line as you put them on the board with junior primary.)

Memorizing the Verse

Have five children come up to the front and act out the words by doing the following:

Hide the paper sword in some scriptures and have a child “find” it, and then have that child point to the scriptures and then to his/her head for the part that says “I’ll find the sword of truth in each scripture that I learn”.

Give the second child some scriptures with the shield in it. Have the child “take” the shield from the scriptures and then turn the pages of the scriptures for the part that says “I’ll take the shield of faith from these pages that I turn”.

Have the third child dress up in a few pieces of armor (look online for how to make some easy costume armor and a shield) for the sentence “I’ll wear each vital part of the armor of the Lord”.

Have the fourth child hold a play spear made out of a wrapping paper tube and a triangular cut sponge stuffed in the top opening for the tip.  Write the word “temptations”  on the tube. Put some curly red ribbon coming out of the back of the spear so it represents the fiery darts of Satan. Have the third and fourth child do a simple mock battle during the words “I’ll fight my daily battles” by having the third child block the spear with the costume shield.

After the battle, have the fifth child put a medal around the neck of the child wearing the armor to act out the words “and win a great reward.  The medal can be made with foil and cardboard with the words “eternal life” written on it. Attach a large loop of ribbon to the top of the medal so it can be hung around the child’s neck. (Or a trophy could be used for the great reward with a sign attached to it that says eternal life.)

Have the primary sing the song while the five children act out the words. Take a word page off the board and have the child or children who are acting out that part sit down. Do this each time the children sing the verse. By the time all the word pages and all the actors are removed, the children should have the verse memorized.

( Angie shared the idea on sugardoodle about taking the S off the sword of truth. She got the idea from the 2005 Primary workshop.)

Mar 19 2011

Review of “Stand for the Right”

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Review – Stand for the Right

I did two reviews with this song. In the first review I made bigger versions of the pictures I had used in my original presentation. I put those bigger versions on the board in random order. I had a volunteer come up and choose the picture that comes first in the song and then tell the words that went with that picture. Then I had another volunteer choose the picture that comes next in the song and then tell the words that went with that picture. We continued in this manner until all the pictures were in order and all the words had been reviewed, and then we sang the song.

In the second review I used a Sign that said “Stand for the Right.” I had a child put up the sign, or put it down, while the children sang the song. When the sign was up, the children had to stand up, and when the sign was down, they sat down. Children love to do actions while singing. But the actions were also a reminder that the children would have times in their lives where they would have to stand for the right.