I'm still here...

I have just been a little busy with these two... 

We can't wait to welcome this little one to our family in late July!! 

I have a bunch of ideas to post for you guys so look for those in the next few days! 

November Plans

Sorry I have been MIA, life has been crazy and then I got sick. I am planning on keeping it pretty simple this month. We started out the month by learning Latter Day Prophets, and I plan on just doing some gratitude songs with a little Christmas mixed in. 

Most of the older kids all ready knew Latter Day Prophets but I thought that it would be really fun to play Who Am I? I bought one of the picture packets that has all of their pictures and I would read from the back of it when they were born, any interesting facts, when they were sustained as prophet, etc. I would then have them guess who it was and how long they were Prophet of the Church for. When we had figured out who it was we hung their picture up on a string that I had going from one side of the room to the other. The kids & teachers really enjoyed learning about all of our Prophets!! 

I am hoping to be able to post about our upcoming Thanksgiving & Christmas activities in the next few days! 

Saying Goodbye

One of our Primary teachers is leaving on a mission in a few days, so last week the Primary President asked me if I would come up with a card that we all could sign for him. I instantly knew what I wanted to do, a giant tie!! I drew the basic shape on a piece of poster board that I folded in half and then cut it, I then covered it in some boy-ish looking paper and we were good to go. It was a huge hit! We also issued a challenge to our kids that while our Elder is out sharing the gospel with others that they will do the same, I am in the process of designing some postcards so that anytime one of the kids do a Missionary Act they can write a postcard to our Elder and tell him about it. I can not wait to see how many postcards we will be sending out!! 

 Sorry for the bad picture I had to hurry and snap one with my phone before Primary started. 

Shine

In preparing for our program I made it a point to let the children know that there are other ways to bear our testimonies other than standing at the pulpit on Fast Sunday. One way we can do that is through singing. I also made sure to share my testimony on singing to them this last week and how much music has affected my life. I am so excited to give them this simple Thank You gift for all of their hard work this year!!

Thank You for letting your testimonies SHINE!

And I only broke about a dozen of these while trying to finish them, which if you know me is a huge accomplishment!!

Motivation

~I can not take credit for this idea, it was posted over on the Yahoo Group~

Are you looking for an idea that will allow you to review all of your songs? This idea will keep the kids engaged and they will beg to keep singing so they can get their prize!

I took a big box, I used a flat rate box from the post office, and put a few rocks in it. We started this in January and I needed to make it feel like there was something in there as I did not want treats sitting in this box for the next 8 months. After putting a few rocks in there I wrapped it all up and then tied 8 ribbons around it. I then wrote all the names of the songs for this years program on the front. I took this into Primary on the first Sunday of the year and explained to the kids that through out the month we would work on one song and that the last week of the month would be test week. If they passed the test they would get to cut a ribbon off. When all the ribbons were off we would open the present and see what was inside. I so wish that I had a picture- I'm sorry!

I new what I wanted to put in the box, so I got busy creating these little gems.

2 mini Hershey's bars wrapped with paper and a label stuck on. I cant remember where I first saw this idea so if you know please let me know so I can give proper credit.

They were a lot of work but so worth it, the kids loved them! I also included a handwritten thank you note to the kids, thanking them for working so hard all year. They loved it and it was a great way to keep them motivated!

Minute To Win It

3 weeks until our program and I am very nervous!! I am not the type of person that enjoys getting up in front of large crowds so this is a huge step for me! My kids have been working so hard these past few weeks and I knew that we needed to have a little fun this week so we brought out their favorite game- Minute to Win it. I think they could play for hours. I know that there are so many different game ideas out there but here are the ones that we have used in our primary that work really well-

1- Place The Face-Show them a picture of Mr. Potato head they must then recreate the same face. I always throw in random objects and extra pieces to make it more challenging.

2- Arrange The Picture- I have taken a 5x7 picture of the Salt Lake Temple and cut it into pieces they must put the picture back together.

3-Fix The Mix- I got a package of the magnetic letters from the dollar store and place them on the chalkboard in no particular order, they must put them in the right order.

4- Dress The Part- I bring a small suitcase full of clothes that missionaries wear, they must put on the outfit.

5- Don't Drop Fred- Take a boiled egg and draw a face on it, I have a fabric hopscotch game that I bring and lay out on the floor. They must hold the egg on a spoon while doing hopscotch.

6- Hot Air Race- Bring a bag of balloons and choose two kids to come up, see who can blow up the most balloons in the time given.

7- Laundry Toss- Kids must throw 5 balls in varying sizes into a laundry basket.

8- Don't Miss- Kids must drop 20 clothespins into a mason jar in time given.

We started out by singing a song and I told the kids that I would pick someone who was trying their hardest to sing to come up and pick a game, of course they all wanted a turn and we were able to still review all of our program songs and have fun, that's a double bonus in my book!

Welcome

Welcome to Sharing Through Singing, I have been the Primary Chorister for just under a year and I love it. I have grown so much in the past 11 months, both spiritually and musically, I love children and I love music. I hope that you will be able to take what has worked well for our primary and adapt it to fit your own. I have always stressed to my kids (yes, I call them my kids, they are great) that the most important thing about singing is to do so with the Spirit. Music can touch us in ways that words can't and our Primary songs have such beautiful sweet messages! There is no better way for our young children to share their testimonies than through song, nothing compares. Thank You for stopping by and I hope that you will come back often!