Choose and Review - Objects for Miracles

For one singing time coming up, I am using objects to represent miracles. The objects will go into my apron with an appropriate review song to sing. I have a nice collection of small objects and am always on the look out for other things. I'll give the children a chance to pick an object from my pocket and guess what that object has to do with a miracle that happened. I'll have a picture handy so that I can remind them of the story and testify of miracles. Then we'll sing the song.

• Liahona = Lehi's family is directed
• Whale = Jonah and the whale
• Lion = Daniel and the lions
• Earth = Christ created the earth
• Stone = Stones turned to light for the Jaredites
• Cricket = Seagulls destroyed the crickets
• Tomb = Jesus rose from the dead
• Fish = the loaves and the fishes
• Frog = the plagues of Egypt
• Sun = the sun that didn't go down
  

I love using objects. This kind of singing time is fast so I can review lots of songs and it is easy! It also keeps the kids thinking about what they know. Here is another post about using objects.

Song Review - Before and After

Write each phrase of the song on colorful papers. Fold them up and put them in a basket or can to choose from. Locate a large coin to use with this activity. I have a large, lightweight plastic coin and every time I use it I think I need to replace it with something heavier! When you are ready to review the song, have a child choose a slip and read it. Flip the coin. If the coin shows “heads,” ask the children to sing the phrase that comes before the phrase on the paper. If the coin shows “tails,” have the children sing the phrase that comes after. If the first phrase is chosen, the phrase before would be the last phrase of the song. If the last phrase is chosen, the phrase that comes after would be the first phrase of the song. The kids have a lot of fun with this activity and it really requires them to think.

Give-away Winner!

Well, that was fun! Congratulations Jamie, you've won the owl magnets. If you'll send an address to my email (kathleenmower@gmail.com), I'll send them out to you. My grandest thanks to everyone who responded. Your comments were all right on the mark and I appreciate you.

In case anyone wants to make the magnets, I purchased the felt owls at Hobby Lobby in the seasonal aisle. Then I found some silk greenery with the leaf triplets and also magnets. If you look at the picture you can see that I simply glued the leaves under a magnet on the back of the felt owl. I used a hot glue gun (a tool that I practically carry around with me). I tried to put the leaves in a couple of different positions so that the owls wouldn't look exactly the same on the board. Then I drew a branch on several cards and colored them with chalk.

If you can't find the felt owls, but still like the owl idea, you could just cut them out of construction paper and laminate them (or not). Then put a thin magnet on the back to post them on the chalkboard. If you made them big enough, you could even write the clues on the back of the owl and save the card step. Easy!

Music Aid - Monkey Hat

This is a fun foam Monkey hat that I found in a dollar store while I was on vacation. I'm putting it in with my other nursery singing time stuff to use with the song "Do As I'm Doing." I could use it with the Jr. Primary kids also, but our group is combined and I'm not sure how far I could push the older kids and I'm afraid it might become a reverence issue. But, for the little ones, I think this guy's pretty cute!

Teaching Method - Drawing the Phrases

I still need to teach the song “Faith” for our program. Some of our kids are kind of familiar with this song, but it sounds like I should teach it again. I’m going to use a teaching method on my master list called Drawing the Phrases. This idea is from the sharing time ideas in the May, 2003 issue of the Friend.

The suggestion is to help the children learn the song by using discovery questions about each phrase. For example, for the song "Faith," I could ask something like, “Faith is something that grows. Can you identify a word in the song that means something is growing larger?” When a child answers correctly, have them draw a picture on the chalkboard that helps illustrate something in that phrase. While they draw, have the rest of the children sing the phrase. Repeat the process of having a child draw each phrase while the children sing it.

I like this teaching method, but it doesn’t apply easily to all songs. The phrases for “Faith” (at least the first verse) can be easily illustrated by the children, so I think this method will be fun for this song. It certainly makes a change from the usual flipchart or pictures.

I do have some pictures that I made many years ago to help teach “Faith.” I can use these later as we continue to review the song.

Blog Give Away! "Whooooo Am I?" magnets

You would not know this, but Tuesday’s post marked one hundred. I am excited! To make it a real event, I am doing a “Whoooo Am I” give-away. Blog give-aways are so fun and I set a goal that for every one hundred posts I would think of a giveaway to match the hundredth post. In honor of the Who Am I? post, I used some felt cut-outs to make nine owl magnets. The magnets hold illustrated cards (blank on the back) on the board. You’ll need to write your own clues, or use the ones I posted. Choose an appropriate review song to go with each clue. Then, just post the owls and cards on the chalkboard and invite a child to choose one and read the clue. Sing the song. You can use the magnets again with variations like Who Said That?, Who Did That?, or Who Was Singing? (There are quite a few instances in the scriptures of people who sang!)

The time limit on the give-away is one week. Just leave a comment on this post answering one of the following questions: “What is the best piece of advice you could give a brand new chorister?” Or, if you are a new chorister, “What is the one thing you wish someone would explain or help you understand?” If you will leave your comment OR send me an email, I’ll put your name into a hat. Because I have readers all over the world, I'm willing to ship anywhere in the world. I will also try to check for comments quicker than usual, but please don’t worry if you don’t see your comment published right away, this is county fair time for us and I may be away from the computer. I’ll close the contest on August 12th, collect all the names and let my daughter draw a name. I'll announce the winner on the 14th. Since I've never done a blog give-away, I hope you'll be patient. Perhaps it is as easy as it seems. :)

Keeping in mind my reasons for creating this blog (see this post), by answering these questions you’ll be helping me with the blog. Plus, everyone else is interested in your comment. You could easily make the magnets yourself but please don’t let that divert you from leaving a comment. See if you can win them first!

Choose and Review - Who Am I?

"Who Am I?" is another easy, fun singing time that you can prepare ahead and have available for one of those weeks. Just write several clues for people or things and assign an appropriate song to sing. Put the clues in an envelope and have the children choose one. Read the clues and guess the person or thing. Sing the song. Although the following clues are already in my box, I think it would be fun to write clues about people involved with miracles to go with the theme in August.

• I went on a mission to the Lamanites and was put to work tending sheep. I was able to defend the sheep against robbers and the king listened to my message about the gospel. Who Am I? (Ammon = sing Book of Mormon Stories -118)
  
  Many beautiful things are part of me. I was created by God in just seven days. When people look at me, I can make them happy! What Am I? (The earth = sing My Heavenly Father Loves Me-228)
  
  One day as I was walking down the road I saw a man who had been beaten. I felt sorry and stopped to help him. I took him to an inn and even paid for his care before continuing my journey. Who Am I? (the good Samaritan = sing Go the Second Mile -167)
  
  No one believed Noah when he said I would come. For forty days and nights I fell on the earth and caused a great flood. Only Noah, his family, and the animals on the ark survived me. What Am I? (the rain = sing Dare to Do Right- 158 or Rain is Falling -241)
  
  I am small and round and was made by God to help Lehi’s family get through the wilderness. I can only work by faith. What Am I? (the Liahona = sing Faith -96)
  
  I was instructed by Heavenly Father to build a boat. My brothers laughed at me because they knew I didn’t know how. I prayed and God blessed me and helped me finish the boat. Who Am I? (Nephi = sing Nephi’s Courage -120)
  
  I had been taught that I should always pray, but in my country there was a law that said you could not pray. I obeyed the Lord and prayed anyway. I was put into a den of lions, but the Lord protected me and blessed me for being valiant. Who Am I? (Daniel = sing I Will Be Valiant -162)
  
  When I was young I did many things wrong, but I repented of my sings. With four of my friends, I went on a mission to the Lamanites. We became great missionaries. Who Am I? (Alma the Younger = sing We’ll Bring the World His Truth -172)
  
  I came down from heaven to help feed the children of Israel when they were in the wilderness. I taste like wafers made with honey. What Am I? (manna - sing For Health and Strength -21)
  

This makes a good singing time to prepare and leave for a substitute if you're traveling or have an emergency. If you prepare it and leave it in the closet or in your bag, it is also handy if you have extra time for some reason.