Looking Forward to St. Patrick's Day

I'm going to be on vacation the Sunday before St. Patty's Day, so this will be the second activity for my substitute chorister.   I borrowed this GREAT riddle idea from Kathryn, and added a little extra to it in lieu of the special day.

Everyone knows Leprechauns LOVE silly riddles.  So I've added some super silly ones in addition to the song riddles.

So the activity will go like this:  A child will be chosen to come pick a shamrock.  (They will all be attached to the board with small magnets. )  On the other side are TWO riddles.  The first one is a St. Patrick's Day riddle.  After the kids have fun with that, the chorister will read the second riddle, which is a question regarding songs they know.  After they guess the song, another helper will choose, from the "Silly Sack," the way they should sing the song.

If you want to download the silly singing cards, click "here".

This is basically a choose and review, with some fun songs mixed in.  I chose songs I was pretty sure the kids would know.  Here are the riddles:

1. Why do people wear shamrocks on St. Patrick's Day?
       Regular rocks are too heavy.
Song Riddle:  I like to imagine what it would be like to hear Jesus talk to me.
                            Hint:  I would not listen with my ears.
                      What song am I?  "If I Listen With My Heart"
2.  Knock, Knock!
        Who's there?
     Irish
        Irish who?
     Irish you a happy St. Patrick's Day!
Song Riddle:  Heavenly Father has provided a way for us to get back to him.
                           Hint:  "Plan"
                       What song am I?  "I Will Follow God's Plan For Me"
3.  What does Ireland have more of than any other country?
        Irishmen!
Song Riddle:  Everyone needs to hold onto this.
                           Hint:  Lehi's Dream
                      What song am I?  "Hold to the Rod" (chorus only)
4.  Knock, Knock!
        Who's there?
    Warren
        Warren who?
    Warren anything green today?
Song Riddle:  The Lord wants us to be brave and courageous
                             Hint:  Another word for brave is "Valiant"
                       What song am I?  "I Will Be Valiant"
5.  Why do frogs like St. Patrick's Day?
         Because they're always wearing green!
Song Riddle:  The apricot trees don't have any of this right now.
                           (No Hint on this one)
                       What song am I?  "Popcorn Popping"
6.  Why can't you borrow money from a Leprechaun?
        Because they're always a little short.
Song Riddle:  You need to build your house on the right foundation.
                            Hint:  Rain
                       What song am I?  "The Wise Man and the Foolish Man"
7.  Why did the leprechaun stand on the potato?
        To keep from falling in the stew!
Song Riddle:  I hope they do this when I've grown a foot or two.
                           Hint:  2 years
                      What song am I?  "I Hope They Call Me On a Mission"
8.  What do you get when two leprechauns have a conversation?
         A lot of small talk!
Song Riddle:  Jesus wants me to be this...
                           Hint:  Sun
                      What song am I?  "Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam"










  

Broken Hearts for Valentines Day

I've been spending the last few several hours trying to teach myself how to scan something I've created onto the computer....then post it here for you to click onto.  I scanned my pictures on the flatbed...and it ended up in 4 separate pages.  So there will be four URL's to click on here...   Hmm...I'll try to do better next time.

I didn't really want to take a day off from teaching "I Will Follow Gods Plan" in order to just sing fun songs for Valentines Day.  Tomorrow is Ward Conference, and the Stake folks will be there....so I wanted to teach the second part of the song.....while incorporating Valentines Day in a fun way.

I took this idea I saw from last year.  I'm not sure who's idea this was, so if it's yours, please post a comment to that effect so you'll get the credit.  Last year's version had the words from "He Sent His Son."  So I just used her idea with this year's song for February.

My plan is to place one half of a heart into an envelope, address it to "Shadow Ridge Ward Primary Children,' place a sticker of "Christ with little children" I bought at Deseret Book, for the stamp.

I even postmarked it.....if you can see it.  I know, it doesn't even resemble a real postmark, but it gives the effect....ever so slightly......  It says, "Created With Love..."

I worried that the kids would take too long opening the envelope the conventional way...so I just placed a heart sticker on the back to close it.

I'll have helpers pull the envelopes out of the Mailman's mail pouch, open them, then we'll sing the phrase which is on that half.  

As we continue opening the envelopes, more pieces of the song will be revealed and the kids will try to match them up.  If they get the whole song matched up, they'll get a valentine treat!  (Oh heck...They'll get one anyway....) Hopefully, by the time the valentines are all matched up they will have learned the song fairly well.  Afterwards....I'll have a valentine treat for them, which they will take from the mail pouch as they leave Primary.

Here are the PDF heart files.
My Life Is a Gift......
My Choice Was to Come.....
I Will Work....
Then I Will Be Happy.....

Here's the yummy treat I'll be handing out.  I put a little bit inside a snack-sized ziplock for each child.

The recipe is on this link:
 http://mycomputerismycanvas.blogspot.com/2011/01/valentine-bark-recipe.html

Primary Valentines Mailman

I've been working on this little guy for next week, the day before Valentines Day.  I found him on "The Divine Secrets of a Primary Chorister" Blog:  http://divinesecretsofaprimarychorister.blogspot.com/2008/11/mailman.html

I blew him up and colored him on a thick foam board, then with a large needle and dental floss, I attached a little denim bag I already had.

To get the U.S. Mail on the front, I just printed off the  words on my computer, using a red font, outlined them in thick black, cut them out, then attached them on the front of the bag with a product called, Aleene's Paper Napkin Applique Glue.  You use it just like Mod Podge, but it bends with the fabric a little more.  Mod Podge would probably work too.  I just happened to have this stuff.

I'm going to jazz up the background some, not sure how just now, but I'll think of something...   I'll have
valentines inside with the names of songs about love and caring.  Then before the kids leave, I'll re-fill the bag with valentines just for them....with a special treat.

What will you be doing for Valentines?

Valentine's Day Singing Time

It was SUPER FUN!!  I shamelessly copied all the visuals and used all the ideas from the Beehive Blog.  (The link is in my previous post.)  It turned out really cute, and the kids just loved it.  I had the kids sit in a circle to make it easier to pass the little stuffed pillow.  I found the pillow at JoAnn's and used it instead of the suggested cupid cutout because it went along with the "conversation hearts" theme, and was less likely to get ruined.  (The older boys can be a little rough.  :-)

 Preparation, however, was actually a lot more work than I had anticipated (isn't everything?)  But it was worth it. 

The best part was the surprise song for our pianist in our Senior Primary.  (Also from last post.) When she realized the kids were singing to her, she started to cry, and could hardly keep playing.  I gave her a hand-made valentine card with a message from me, and a copy of the words to the song.  It was a lot of fun for the kids to participate in a surprise like that.

They also loved their valentines.  I even scored a hug from one of the junior primary boys!  It just doesn't get any better than that. . . .

What a fun singing time!  We didn't review "He Sent His Son", which we learned last week.  But with two more Sundays this month, I'm sure we'll be able to nail it. 

If none of this makes sense, please check out the link I posted, last week, for instructions on how to use these visuals.

Love you guys!  Thanks for reading!

Valentines Day Sunday

This idea turned up on facebook this week, and I'm afraid it's BETTER than what I had planned.  So I am totally doing this on Sunday.  I'm sure the kids will LOVE it.

SugarDoodle.net Valentine Singing Time Idea - http://beehivemessages.blogspot.com/2010/02/primary-music-idea-conversation-hearts.html

However, I'm adding just one more item to this itinerary.  In Senior Primary, the last song we sing will be "I Love to See the Temple."  However, I'm going to pass papers out with different words to the song.  This will be a big surprise for our pianist!  After we're done singing, I'll present her with some flowers for Valentines Day.  Pianists are our unsung heros, and I can't wait to spotlight her!  The words are as follows:

Dear Sister (name), we love you
And love to hear you play
Your music brings such rev'rence
And joy to Primary.

We appreciate the gift you share
It helps us feel the spirit
We are blessed to have you here with us
And thank you for your service.

Valentines Day

Instead of using the same old tongue depressor choosing sticks to pick helpers, I threw this together last night in the spirit of Valentine's Day.  I got a Cricut Machine for my birthday, so I used it to cut hearts out of valentine scrapbook paper.  Then I hot-glued a sucker stick on it, and wrote the kids' names on the back.
I cut out some white hearts to decorate the 35-cent bucket and added ribbons for a little flair. 

It worked out great!  I drew the names from the bucket, then hung them on the tree.  That way I wouldn't choose the same kids over and over.  The names from Senior and Junior Primaries were separated by placing them in zip-lock bags. 

I figure I can change these out for all different seasons.

By the way, teaching "He Sent His Son" using the outline I posted last, was very effective.  I used a lot of kids to help me pull stuff out of the bag, and hold the objects up when we sang about them.  I like to use the kids as much as possible, as they pay more attention and seem to have more fun that way. 

One little guy raised his hand and asked if we could learn sign language for this new song, too!  CUTE!