Finishing Up Teaching "I Will Follow God's Plan"

My favorite singing times are when the kids are involved interactively.  They responded really well to my "Broken Hearts" singing time last week, so I hope this one goes as well.


I'm going to put pictures, representing the key words in the song, under random chairs before primary begins.  When we're ready to practice this song, I'll tell them to look under their seats for the pictures.  We'll begin singing the song ... but STOP when a picture is needed.  I plan to have a printout of the piano music with the "stops" indicated so the pianist and I will be on the same page. . .no pun intended  :-)

Each time the music stops, the children must look at their picture and decide if it's the one that fits.  Then he/she will bring it up and post it on the board.  After all pictures are up, we'll sing it without stopping, then begin removing the pictures until they can sing it completely from memory.


Below I've listed the key words.  Click onto the word, then copy and paste the picture onto a document.  Size as large as you want, then print them out.  I recommend laminating them (clear contact paper is cheap) and saving for future use.  These pictures could be used for many singing times/activities in the future.  Print out the pictures with an asterick TWICE, because the word is used more than once in the song.


Gift
Plan*
Purpose
Heaven
Choice
Home*
Earth*
Seek
Light
Birth
Holding
Word
Love 
Work
Pray
Walk
Happy

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

I Will Follow God's Plan .. First Half

I only taught the first half of the song today.  I wanted to be sure we had both lines learned well, and still had time for fun.  I know I said I didn't really want to use posters or flipcharts...but I changed my mind at the last minute and put a poster together this morning.  I covered it with blobs, and planned to uncover each line as we learned it.  The tan felt is covering the second half, which I'll have covered with the blobs for next week.              

I began with this gift box, and had a helper open it up.  

This was what was inside:  (They expected it to be empty, like filled with love or something.)

Then we talked about the plan...

At this point we played the hot and cold game with the gift box.  I used Mr. Crescendo Crocodile to help out the game a little.

After a few times with this, they had learned the line pretty well.  On to Line 2:

I had been taking the blobs off the poster to learn the words. 

 Now with Line 2 it looked like this:

Then with the last blob gone, it looked like this:

So then it was time for another game.  We hid this flashlight with a picture of Christ on it, to go with "to seek for God's light to direct me from birth."

 That's all we learned today.  I think we had fun learning it, and the kids paid attention.  

That's always a plus!                                                     

I Will Follow God's Plan

Okay...  I think I'm ready to take this one on.  I DON'T want to use the old standbys this time....that of flipcharts and/or posters.  I want to do something unexpected and different.

I'll start out with a beautifully wrapped gift....ask the children to listen to the song as I sing it...to guess what's inside.  I'll pick a child to unwrap the gift, and inside will be a paper with the words, "MY LIFE" written on it.

I downloaded this darling folder game off the Green Jello with Carrots Blog that is a great pictorial for the "PLAN."  Maybe ... I'll have a helper(s) help me with placement of the pictures on the board.  Or if time is an issue...as it usually is, I'll just show it to them already put together.  I don't want to spend the whole time explaining it.  Just a quick overview.

Then for the line "My choice was to come to this lovely home on earth, and seek for God's light to direct me from birth,"  I'll have a flashlight with a picture of Christ taped to it.

For the Line "I will follow God's plan for me, holding fast to His word and His love,"  will be scriptures.

Then ""I will work, I will pray, I will always walk in His way."  A pair of shoes.

The Line, "Then I will be happy on earth, and in my home above."  A small world globe, or I could just point to the earth and Celestial Kingdom on the "Plan."

Now as we learn each line, I'll choose a child to go into the hall, then we'll play the Hot/Cold Game with the objects, singing the particular line of the song that goes with the object.  By repetition, they'll be learning the song in a fun, participatory, entertaining, and visual way.