Welcome to Primary Baskets: For Inactives and New Members

Welcome to Primary Baskets: for Inactives or New Members

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but this is why. I have been planning, and praying, and preparing this basket. I wanted to stop by and say Hi to all the inactive and new member families with primary kids. I wanted a chance to just let them know I'm the new Primary President and welcome them out. So I started with "I want to take them cookies" Then I wanted to add a Faith in God Packet, then I wanted to send them invites for upcoming activities. Once I was in that deep, I started realizing that the inactive or new members I wanted to go visit haven't been here all year. They don't know our Primary theme, our Sunday schedule, etc. So after that it turned into a very big basket I wanted to send. I have put alot of prayer and time into these and they are finally ready to go out!



Here's what I put in them.

A Letter to the Parents. Kinda covering my resume and telling them in detail about what were doing in Primary. I included my testimony, invitation for them to come, my goals for the primary, etc.



The Sunday schedule. Remember, my families haven't attended this year and might feel better understanding how their child's Sunday program is laid out.

A Theme outline. This way the parents can see, what the theme is and what songs and sharing time lessons are going to be prepared. There were so many great Theme outlines out there a chose not to make my own. This is the one I used.  http://brandonmelissajohnsonfamily.blogspot.com/2012/11/2013-primary-binder-cover.html 

3 lesson handouts. Again, this is a chance for them to see the exact lesson outline with the handout that were being done this year.  

Articles of Faith Cards. These are just fun. I loved the ones I found from this site.  http://reliefsocietybr.blogspot.com/2011/04/more-scripture-mastery-ideas-articles.html

A Crown. We made crowns at the beginning of the year to add to the theme "I am a Child of God, who is our Heavenly King. That makes me Royalty" I wanted all our new and inactive members to have a crown on our wall. Here's where you can find my crowns.  http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5197319858486929811#editor/target=post;postID=473621228193492929;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=6;src=postname

Activity Days Packet. I included the Faith in God Manual and also these lovely binder pages from Sugardoodle. This is great, fun program that can get kids excited to service and follow our Heavenly Father. Our Branch has combined Activity days with the boys since a Cub scout program isn't setup yet due to not having enough boys. So I adjusted the packets a little to a more boyish look for the boys.  http://www.sugardoodle.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8175

An Activities Calender/ Invites. Sometimes coming to a casual outside of Sunday activity is the most un intimidating way to meet people. Since this is a Primary Packet I included the Primary Program in hopes that some parents will want their children to be involved in this.

I finished of my kit with a cute bowl, tissue paper, and streamer. I rolled some of the individual pages and tied them with streamer to add a little volume to my basket.

Last but not least, I included that best cookies EVER!! This cookies are sure to get people excited! The recipe can be found at my sister-in-laws blog.  Little Bites of Heaven is what they are. MMm!
 http://morttome.blogspot.com/p/mini-fruit-pizzas-on-sugar-cookies.html
 

I also included tons of prayers. What I should put in them, How I should present them, and when? Only the Lord can take it from here!

I hope these help you! I spent alot of time preparing them and even more time praying about them. Let me know if you think there is something else that should be put in them. I'd love an excuse to stop by their homes again. Thanks!

Primary Theme 2013: Royalty

Primary 2013 Primary room Décor

“We are Royalty”

 

I’m BACK!! I’ve been out of primary for a while, but I’m back now with some changes. I am now part of a great Texas Branch! I also joined Primary again, but this time as Primary President!

I was totally stunned at first, but I’m just super excited to be with our Heavenly Fathers children again. I had my first Sunday solo today and loved being there. Don’t remember why I was so worried before.

I will still be doing Singing time, But I’ll also be doing Sharing time, Activity day(Faith in God Days, might be a better name for it since we have both boys and girls in the class), AND Sunbeam/Nursery teacher. So I’ll separate my blog updates in these different areas so that anyone looking for just one of these topics can find them easier.

So my first job as Primary President was to decorating the primary room with this year’s theme. We have only one real wall in our Primary room, the rest are sliding doors. But we are going to make the most of that one wall we can.

I know everyone has taken the I am a Child of God theme their own way, but with most my primary being girls, I decided to add a little more twist to the theme, but Staying reverent at the same time.

I explained to the Children that they were Children of God, but also Royalty. Royalty? We talked about what it would be like to be a Prince or Princess. How would we act (Royalty act very well behaved) How would we treat other royalty (Prince and Princesses are taught to treat other Royalty very respectfully) And most important question, What makes someone a Prince and Princess(A girl perfectly said “you have to have Royal parents”) Bingo! Do we have Heavenly Royal Parents? What does that make us?? Their eyes lit up!

So I gave each child This paper Crown I found online and typed Prince/Princess on them. They decorated them and were going to put their pictures on them.

I went to the Best store in the world HOBBY LOBBY! :) and bought a mirror and put a sticker crown on it, Found a castle sticker and spray painted it silver (It was pink, which my husband informed me, was not boy friendly), Also found the prince sword and shield. I’m heading to the Primary room later this week to Decorate it all, so Sunday the kids can remember they are Children of God, which makes them Royalty.

I kept it reverent with pictures of Christ and only subtle décor. Reverence and respect to our Heavenly Father is most important!

 

It was amazing how easy it was to use the Princess/Prince concept to get them to be good in primary. Do princesses sit like that? Are Princes mean to other Princes? It was amazing to see how quickly the listened when I said “Lets sing the way our Heavenly Father excepts his Princes and Princesses to sing”

 

 

(This is the unfinished look. I still haven't put the kids pictures on the crowns since i wanted to take the picture first. Also, not all the crowns are up. I printed out the PTTW quote and posted it above the chaulk board)

 

I also can’t wait to use this concept for primary activities later this year.

A Royal Ball? “Tea” Parties? So many possiblities and chances to remind the kids how important they are!  

Don't Hit the Butterflies

Don't Hit the Butterflies!! 

So Fast, Fun and Easy!!

To get started:

I printed the Bee's pictures from my CD that I've referred to in the past. I got the Butterflies from online. My husband refs High School football sometimes and has all the fun flags that I use, But just a normal Bean bag would work too. I write songs on the back of the Bees, but not the butterflies. I lay all the bugs scattered on the floor far enough apart that there is empty space between the bugs. 

How to play:

Tell the kids "throw the flags at the Bees, but not the Butterflies." If it lands on a butterfly or just empty space, the kid passes the flag to the next kid to try until a Bee is hit then sing the song on the back!! The twist of the Butterflies and empty space is to allow room for error so more kids get a turn. Remove the Bees as they land on them, but keep the Butterflies on the floor so the game gets a little harder-I save the older kids for the last few tries and tell them "its really hard now I need my need my older boys!" They love that. Its that easy!!

Hints:

I assemble the bugs differently for Senior and Junior primary since they are different ages. I reassemble the bugs after awhile, too.  

It doesn't have to be Butterflies and Bees. Just pick something you want to hit (like bugs or weeds)  and something you don't want to hit (like birds or flowers)

Ski Resort Singing Time!

Ski Resort Singing time!

I saw this idea on a site a long time ago, but it was to small to blow up. So my Brother-in-law made this for me. It's made from one poster board cut in half and then placed side by side. Its a little worn from lots of use, But it still works great!

I used Glitter and markers to add the effect. I attach the pictures together and tack it to the tack board.

The sign on the Mountains says "Avalanche Pass(sing) the sign on the ice says "Thin Ice (whisper)"

The sing on the Hills says "Humming hills(Hum)" and The sign on the Cabin says "Rest Area(Piano only)"

I had a little Ski Man attached to a long stick, but He wore out. So the kids just use the stick now to point to the areas. I have a kid come up and control the Ski Man and board. As we sing the kid moves the Ski Man to the different areas of the board and we follow the singing command suggested on that area. Its a lot of fun!

Primary Dice - Singing Time Activity

Primary Dice

When I moved to this ward they had this dice in the Primary closet. I believe I need to credit Sister Day for making this. I use alot. It's a foam block covered in colored paper. Each side is represented by a picture not a number.

Since it is completely laminated, you can attach different things to each side with just tape.

This Dice has One Propher, One Faith(the word), Two kids praying, Three baptism picture, Four Temples, Five Gold Plate.

I have used the diferent sides to represent different ways to sing, Different songs, different activities to play. I just place the "code" on the white board so they all know what each side represents. For Example, Temple= Fun song, or Faith=singing Strong(Lion) vs Softly(Mouse).

Singing Activity Visuals

Primary Singing Time Necessities

I spent a lot of time on these, but it has really been worth the time. I got all these visuals from this CD.

This CD has tons of clip art that is great! I bought it years ago when I 1st started teaching singing time, but I believe you can still get this CD at Deseret books. I have transferred the pictures to a Window word and re-sized them there to the size I wanted, then just printed the pictures on colored paper, then laminated them! That's It!



I'm sure a lot of people are aware of this idea for singing time. When the "Go" sign is up you sing and when the "Stop" Sign is up you stop singing and just listen to the piano.

I printed this on white card stock and colored it with markers. Boys vs. Girls. All girls sing when the "Girl" sign is up and the boys sing when the "Boy" sign if up. Everyone sings if both sings are up. 

These next pictures took a little more work after I moved them to Microsoft Word then I inserted the words on them, then printed them on colored paper. I wanted to make sure I also put the real musical terms on them so the kids can get use to seeing them in the hymn book. "Mouse" sign you sing softly like a mouse(I don't like to say Quietly since some kids will not sing then. Softly, I think implies quietly without saying it). "Lion" sign you sing strong like a Lion (I try to avoid saying the word "Loud" since some kids think that means screaming. Strong means Powerful so I think loud is implied) You can alternate these while singing too.

"Sheep" sign, you sing smoothly like a sheep's wool. Tell the kids to try to avoid breathing tell you signal them to do so, to help make the song sound smooth. The "Goat" sign you sing choppy like a trotting goat. Tell the kids to make several small breaths with each syllable. I had the kids march like a goat to each syllable to help them learn this. Try this idea with Popcorn Popping! Its a big hit! If you have a great Piano player you can alternate these signs in a song too.

"Rabbit" sign, you sing faster. "Turtle" sign, you sing slower. This is a fun thing to do alternating each line of the song 

I had to draw these. I found the little people from a website and was able to draw them. The kids love this! "Standing girl" sign, you stand and "Sitting boy" sign, you sit down. Alternate these in a sound and you will keep the kids attention, for sure!

When I first introduced these I brought one set each Sunday tell we had them all understood. The kids will do one set of these Visuals for a whole singing time while learning how to sing the different ways. Great way to learn new songs!

After the kids have learned all the Visuals, I use them to help the kids know how different songs should be sung. For example, As a Child of God should be sung Strong(Lion) and Smoothly(Sheep) at the same time. Have the kids concentrate on adding both styles to the song as they sing. You'll be surprised by the result.

I will refer to these Singing Activity Visuals often in my lesson, cause I use them all the time!!  

Bean Bag Toss Singing Time

Bean Bag Toss Singing Time

This Sunday was the end of practicing As a Child Of God. So as a fun sign off activity we played Bean Bag toss. We have this game with all our yard games and thought it would be fun for Singing Time and it WAS! Each Hole in the base is worth either 1, 2, or 3 points.

I put the kids into two teams. The Red Team and Blue Team since that was the colors of the Bean Bags. I had four kids from the 1^st team throw their Bean Bags into the nets to see how many points are possible for that round. Then I had just that team sing the first verse of the song to see if they “earn” all their points. If they didn’t sing well they might only get half the points (this never had to happened, but I made sure they knew it could happen). Then the next team throws their four Bean bags to see how many points they can sing for. They sang the same one verse. We did this for all three verses, and then moved to some other songs we have been practicing. The kids were aware that they would lose points if they were not reverent, and that really helped keep them calm, through this very exciting game. They had so much fun and I could tell they really knew the Songs! This was a great game since it gave everyone a turn to play, plus we sang just practice songs and everyone still had fun!

As a Child of God

Here Is my hand signs for As a Child of God performed by my daughter Emily! She is my little CTR!

I broke the song down so you can see each part of the song and what sign goes to each. I bolded the exact word that each sign represents.

 I Came(point to self)

 To Earth(point down to the ground)

 With power to Choose(show your "power" muscles:)

 

 Good Choices bless (Make a "Blow kiss" sign which is "good" in sign language)

 
Me and

My Family too. (Put your hands to your chest then spread then out and then together like a book to represent you then all the other people around, like a family)

 As a Child of God (you "pat" the head of imaginary kids sitting in a circle around you, like when the children gathered around Jesus's knee)

 I recieved Special Light (make a flickering hand sign to represent a flashing light)

 The Holy Ghost helps me

To know what is right

Singing time Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger Hunt

I love doing this type of lesson cause everyone can have a turn and they really look forward to it; so they are very good singers cause they are excited for their turn. 

Preparations needed for this lesson is:

• A picture that can be transformed into a puzzle. I got my Picture Puzzle from my singing time CD called Primary Partners Singing Fun! My Family Can Be Forever. 
• Come up with a lot of fun hiding places in your Primary room to hide each piece.
• Pick some songs. Enough for each puzzle piece.
• You will also need some advance time in the primary room to hide all the pieces before the kids get there.
• Prepare a Cheat Sheet with all the clues listed in a row.

You can get any picture and cut it into as many pieces as you need to fill your time. I had 30 minutes this Sunday so I cut it into 17 pieces.

I flipped them all over and put clues and a song on the back of each piece. 

For example, one piece would say "Tick Tock" so they know the 1st clue is hidden on the clock and also written on it is "Nephi's Courage" so they know what to sing after. They then start building the house top to bottom on the board as the clues are found. You can hide them everywhere: under tables, on the piano, and even on people!  Don't forget to make you a sheet with all the clues in what order and where there hidden just in case.

 Since I have alot of kids I put them in groups of 3. They all look for the clue. Whoever finds it(kid 1) gives it to kids 2 who waits tell after the song is sung then reads the the next clue. While the next group of kids are looking for the next clue, kid 3 puts the pieces on the board to build the house.

If you spend some time on this lesson it will be your kids favorite. Just do a different picture every time. Make the clues fun. If your really creative you can make them rhythm. I'm not that good,but it would be fun.

Sample clues:

"Testing, Testing 1 2 3" -Microphone

"I looked out the ____ and what did I see" - Window

"Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam" -Under one of the Sunbeam's chairs

"The Chapel ___ seem to say to me" - Door

"Choose the Right"- Under the CTR Class chair

"You've had a birthday Shout Hurray"- Birthday board

(Draw some notes on the back) - the piano

You can also make it a very long puzzle/Scavenger hunt so that maybe it could take two whole Sundays!

New Method for Teaching Primary Songs in 2012

This year I decided to change my strategy a little on teaching. Our song list this year is:

As a Child of God

Choose the Right (Hymn, 239)

Stand for the Right (CS, 159)

Tell me the Stories of Jesus ( CS, 57)

When I am Baptized (CS, 103)

Nephi's Courage (CS, 120)

The Wise Man and the Foolish Man (CS, 281)

I'm trying to be like Jesus (CS, 78-79)

 I usually teach a song a month, which involves singing it multiple times over and over again, in many different fun ways, which I believe works great. But this year most of the songs are already kinda known, at least by the older kids. So I have heard about a way of teaching music where you just get them use to singing some of it or hearing it with you, then they will learn all the other words eventually. I started with the the first Sunday of the year singing at least half the songs every Sunday, using fun little tools to get them started and familiar with the song before we fully introduce it later on.

For example, with Choose the Right I had the kids jump out of there sits every time it was time to sing “Choose the Right” in the song. So I would sing it(Lol, this takes courage, but it's working) when it came time to sing “Choose the Right” I would point to the kids and they would jump out of their sits and sing the line, then sit back down and wait till the next time they could jump up. I found that the kids were listening very closely to the words waiting for their turn to jump up. Some of the kids were even able to predict that the line was coming. Now at the end of this month, I have noticed the kids are singing with or/and were trying to sing the words they didn't know with me. This activity has been so fun for the kids. They look forward to singing it every Sunday and have learned so much of it without even breaking a sweat for me

 HINT: the 3^rd verse says “choose the right,” a lot, making this game a lot of fun.

 The kids already know Stand for the Right, but Sunbeams don't know it. Every time we have sung it I have had the Sunbeams come up a help me “conduct” the song. They look forward to it, but secretly it is getting them watching all the other kids sing it and keeps them focused to listen and learn the words. And its working!

 

Tell Me the Stories of Jesus, was a new one to most of the kids. This is a great one to make Signs for. We made several fun signs for this song that I will post. But the kids are learning the words as well, which is great, because it is only January! They love this song because it's a “no pressure” style of learning. Just keeping it fun, until we really have to learn it!

Nephi's Courage is another on that most kids already know. But we like to march in place to this song to "help make our voices sound strong and confident." And of course we throw our fists in the air at “I will go, I will do”. Just keeping it fun!

With I'm trying to be like Jesus, which is a song the older kids already know, I have the younger kids use there “Magic Conducting Wands”(painted Popsicle sticks) to help me keep beat while I sing. Which is at least getting the kids familiar with the song, and some can already sing the chorus.

It is really amazing the this new idea I'm trying for this year seems to already be working.  I also am hoping that it takes some stress off the months where we work on mostly "that months" song.  Remember this isn't to teach them, but just to have fun with it, get familiar with it, and love it before we spend time on it. So keep it fun!

 

Tanyas Singing Time

  Introduction to Tanya's Singing Time!!

I love teaching Singing Time! I’m not the best singer, but I love teaching. 

My name is Tanya and I’m going on my third year as Primary Chorister. I have taught in two different wards now. My first ward was very small with less than 20 kids. Now I teach in a ward where there are More than 50 kids! This has changed my strategies on teaching. It’s split between Senior and junior Primary, but that’s still almost 25 kids a lesson. 

My theory with my Teaching is that if kids have fun they learn, and also think its important to give everyone a turn to help, get out of their chair, and just over all, be noticed in front of the other kids. This, I’ve learned, brings the most participation and learning. So that is my focus in teaching. I’ve never blogged before, but I know how little of ideas there are out there beside Sugardoodle, which is great, but the only option that I’ve known about. So this is to share my ideas in hopes to help the other who are looking for more ideas! This is also to help me keep my ideas organized. 

I do have a CD of all the primary graphics that I use A LOT!!! I strongly suggest investing in something like this. I love visuals and I can’t draw! 

My hope is to keep up every week with my Singing time ideas. I will most likely post after Sunday so that I can provide any issues or adjustments that might help others get more success

My Sister Kristy will do most of the posting for me since right now I work full time.  Wish me Luck!