Spin the Human

Yesterday I was in desperate need of something quick and easy to do for Singing Time.  I had spent so much time over the week working on Nursery singing aids, I didn't have much ready for Primary.  I decided to play Spin the Human, since it had been a good 6 months or so since we had played it.  I probably found the idea on Sugardoodle (or on another blog??), but don't have time to find the exact link.  It's super easy, quick to get together, and fun for the kids.

I brought my old computer chair.  It is not pretty.  But it spins.

And is fairly lightweight, making transport manageable.


I wrote the following on the back of different colored pieces of 8-1/2 x 11 pieces of paper (I won't mention that I actually wrote them in Sacrament Meeting... while attentively listening to the speakers, of course!):

Your class gets to help with the actions to a Mother's Day version of Popcorn Popping! (You can check out the words and actions for this fun song here - sent to me by a friend.  I'm not sure if she made them up or found them elsewhere... I just can't take credit!)

Girls ONLY sing the 4th verse to I Feel My Savior's Love


Turn around in a circle every time we sing the word "Mother" in  Mother, Tell Me the Story


Boys ONLY sing the 1st verse to I Feel My Savior's Love


Your class gets to sing the song Smiles while doing the actions, then lead the Primary in singing it.

Choose a Do As I'm Doing action (or come up with your own).  Lead the Primary in singing while doing the actions.

Stand on one foot while singing the song Mother, Tell Me the Story



Place the papers evenly around the chair, word-side down.


The game is simple.  Choose a helper.  Have him/her sit on the chair with feet together, legs off the floor (the "pointer").  Spin the chair (I always ask if they would like a fast or slow spin... most want fast).  Whatever paper they land on determines the song/activity.  I remove the papers as we do them, then just tell the kids to pick whatever paper is closest to them once they stop IF they don't happen to land directly on one.

I love easy.  The kids love getting a chance to spin.  Perfect.

Smiles

I'm always posting a day late these days.  Probably because I'm always scrambling at the last minute.  Life is hectic!

I actually spent a ton of time this week working on a choosing poster for Nursery... a new-to-me part of my calling.  Before our ward was split, we had two giant Nurseries, and plenty of people that needed a calling, so Nursery Music Leader was a separate calling from mine.  We no longer have the luxury of many members in need of a calling, and we only have one Nursery (with very young babies children, might I add), requiring necessitating allowing me to stretch myself a little more.  Most of you probably already do the Nursery singing time, and I don't want to come across as whining complaining unwilling, but I came home from church exhausted yesterday.  The most exhausting part of my day:  the last 15 minutes of church with the Nursery.  I'm sure once the children get used to the routine (and get a few more months under their belts, since the majority are in the 18 mo. - 24 mo. range), I won't be spending as much time corralling and then cajoling them to sing.  I would share my completed choosing chart, but literally finished it just in time to head out the door to church, then decided to leave it neatly stacked on top of the Primary cabinets for easy access next week.  I will try to remember to snap a picture of it.

I can share my favorite visual for the song Smiles, though.  I also spent some time getting these put together, but didn't manage to complete them in time for usage this week.  There's always next week, right?  This is my favorite graphic for the song - found in one of the Primary manuals.

You can access the PDF here.

I printed them with various skin colors, then my oh-so-helpful-and-kind daughters helped me do some quick coloring to give them personality.  As you can see, almost usable, but not quite.  All I need to do this week is trim the lamination.  I think I can manage that.

I made enough for each nursery child to use, plus a few extra, since the nursery class continually grows throughout the year.  I plan to use them in Primary, too.  I think the older kids will get a kick out of them.

Word Nerd and Mother's Day

Last week we started on I Feel My Savior's Love.  I meant to start it a couple of weeks ago... maybe even a month ago... but haven't found a minute to squeeze it in.  We played WORD NERD to keep learning a somewhat new song (I was surprised that most of the kids were not familiar with it) entertaining.  In a reverent/respectful/worshipful kind-of-way.

I promised we would play again this week.  But I definitely need to make it a bit more challenging, especially for those Sr. Primary smarty pants.  But this week I plan to focus on learning our Mother's Day song,

 Mother, Tell Me the Story.  

I love this game because it is so simple, yet the kids have fun with it.  I try to grab cheap, nerdy glasses whenever I see them (the dollar store is the best) -- the kids LOVE to have a good selection to choose from.  I select a child to choose a pair, then I tape a word from the song we are learning on to the top of the glasses.  The Primary is instructed NOT to sing that word in the song (I have the helper leave the room momentarily in Jr. Primary so I can tell the children who can't read what the word is).  After we have sung through the song, the helper then tells us what he or she thinks the word is.  Like I said, simple.  But it makes repeating a song 4 or 5 times much more fun.

I plan to teach both verses of our Mother's Day song, with a mere two weeks to do it.  I have asked one of our Primary teachers to sing the part of the mother when we sing it in Sacrament Meeting, but will have the teachers sing that part as we practice.  I have confidence that the children will learn quickly, practice earnestly, and sing beautifully.

Nephi's Courage - Verse 3 Added

I couldn't sleep last night, so I decided to make good use of those restless hours, and catch up on some Singing Time projects.  I finally completed verse 3 of Nephi's Courage... YAY!
You can access the complete flip chart here.

I also fixed an error in He Sent His Son -- noticed while we were singing it last Sunday.  An "is" instead of "His." (Ooops.)  You can access the modified, corrected version here.

Sunday morning I was so grateful for the quick, simple Singing Time plan found here and here.  I'll admit, I was in a pinch, and needed help!!  I love that ideas are so available via technology, and that so many are willing to share.  A million thanks.

I grabbed some of my empty plastic eggs, and printed out the following wordstrips to put inside each one:

• Make your funniest face.
• "Swim" back to your seat.
• Name a Book of Mormon prophet.
• Rub your belly and pat your head while we sing Follow the Prophet.
• Use a balloon to lead the Primary in singing Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam.
• Hop back to your seat.
• Turn the flip chart while we sing Gethsemane.
• Lead the Primary in a SILENT verse of Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.
• Name one of the current apostles.  (The week before General Conference we worked on the Living Prophets song, found here.  It was a huge hit, and I was pleasantly surprised at how fast the kids picked it up.  In Sr. Primary, when a child had found this particular egg, I decided to challenge the Primary and see if they could name them all.  They did.  Impressive.)

I quickly hid the eggs around the Primary room (in full view of all children present, since, with the recent ward split and another schedule added to our {tiny} building, we no longer have the luxury of setting the room up in advance), and chose reverent children to help find the eggs.  It was a tender mercy that I found a Singing Time plan that was doable, fun-but-reverent, and effective in the short amount of time I had. 

Watch for the flip charts for When I Am Baptized, The Holy Ghost, and Mother, Tell Me the Story... also the result of my highly efficient sleepless night/morning.