Gratitude

November has come, which means GRATITUDE is the theme!

I have Sharing Time the last TWO weeks of November and have been struggling to come up with something fun.  Do any of you have any suggestions?

I liked this idea (from HERE) about spiritual blessings:

 

I love this object lesson on Gratitude (from Sugardoodle):

 

OBJECT LESSON: Tell the children, "Look around the room and find all the things you can that are purple." After they had a few minutes to do so, she had them close their eyes. Then she said, "Okay, now tell me all the things you saw that were yellow."And they couldn't do it. That's because they had focused so intently on the purple that they didn't even notice the yellow things."  You can see the application to contentment and gratitude. When we focus on what we don't have, pretty soon that's all we can see, so we become discontented, and whiny, and unsatisfied. But when we focus on our many amazing blessings, we become more and more aware of them, and thus more and more content and humble and grateful. And I might add, happier. And more peaceful."  (Mary Ellen Edmunds, You Can Never Get Enough of What You Don't Need, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2005], p. 153.)

 

Fun game:

GAME: To show the children just how easy it is to be grateful, play alphabetical gratitude. Go around the room and have each person say something he is grateful for. The first person names something that starts with the letter a, and the next person names something beginning with the letter b. Continue around the room as many times as necessary until the entire alphabet is complete.

 

If you have a small group, you could make a 'web of gratitude':

http://www.lds.org/ensign/2006/06/random-sampler/web-of-gratitude?lang=eng

 

 

 

Testimony Meeting

Last week I was able to do something I've wanted to do for AGES - invite the children to share their testimonies!

I had heard of some music time leaders doing this as part of their singing time, but it never fit in for me.  Now that roles have switched and I was in charge of Sharing Time - especially on a week when the topic was Sharing the Gospel - I thought the timing was perfect.

In Jr. Primary, especially, we talked a little bit about what things are and are not appropriate to talk about in a testimony - what their purpose is, what topics they can be about, etc.  Then I turned the time over to the kids after setting up a few chairs in front for those waiting for a turn.

They did such a great job.  Since their testimonies were so short, I think just about everyone who wanted to got the chance to share in about 10 minutes.  But their sweet spirits shone through and they taught us all much better than I ever could.

If you get the chance to do the same, I highly recommend it!  These kids are amazing!

Primary Song Snowflakes

If you love any ideas where the creative part has been done for you, check this one out!  Sure, cutting the snowflake would take some time, but the kids would be AMAZED with these Primary Song Snowflakes.  Download the document from the always-talented OCD Primary Chorister HERE.

Snowman and Snowflakes:  

Once There Was a Snowman #249

Stars

I am Like a Star  #163

Stars Were Gleaming  #37

Hearts:

Love One Another  #136

Jesus Said Love Everyone  #61

Reverence Is Love #31

Temple:

I Love to See the Temple  #95

Families Can Be Together Forever  #188

"CTR" Letters and Shield:

Choose the Right Way #160

Dare to Do Right #168

Choose the Right #239, Hymns

Sunshine:

Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam  #60

Rainbows, Clouds, 8 and Raindrop:

When I am Baptized  #103

10 Commandments:

Keep the Commandments #146

Children Holding Hands

Holding Hands Around the World

Children All Over the World #16

Boo Bowling

I thought this idea from Kyle Katee Payne on LDS Primary Site was super fun!!

They said: Boo bowling today! Really easy, wrote on back of ghosts mouths things like reverent song, wiggle song, piano picks, teachers sing, pick your fav.
Child will bowl with pumpkin and chose one from the ones that got tipped over:)

Examples of Service from Prophets

Tomorrow's Primary theme is about how Prophets and Apostles show us how to serve.

Want a great matching game for it?  I found this HERE at All Things Bright and Beautiful.  Use it as a ready-to-go sharing time, or pick a song for each time the kids get a match.

Sharing Time: A Month of Service

The theme for September is service.  Our Primary President did a sharing time yesterday that did a great job of introducing the monthly theme of SERVICE.  With the help of some other moms in the ward, she got and printed pictures of the children in our neighborhood performing acts of service.  Some of them were big, like helping with an Eagle Scout project, while others were as simple as hugging a sibling.  I think including real-life examples with pictures of kids we all know really helps to get the kids' attention!

I have a short sharing time next week, and am thinking I would love to have the kids perform an act of service.  The theme for next week is about how the prophets and apostles perform service, so we will talk about how they work so hard for the church without getting paid.  Then, I would love to have the kids take a few minutes to draw a picture or write a letter to either the missionaries in the ward or one of the leaders of the church.  This is one of my favorite topics and I hope we can all find ways to encourage our primary children to serve one another!

Our Ward's Got Talent!!

Yesterday, our new chorister (yes, I was released, but since I'm in the Presidency now I will keep this blog updated as much as possible with both singing and sharing time ideas) did 'Our Ward's Got Talent!'.  I had heard of this idea but had never figured it out, and it was really fun to watch.

She told the kids she was SURE we had a lot of talent in the ward and hung up a sign saying '8th Ward's Got Talent!!' Three chairs were set up near the front for volunteer teachers/leaders to be the judges.  Each judge was given a set of score cards - one with one star, one with two stars, one with three stars, etc up to five stars.

On the board were papers with pictures of stars on them.  On the other side of each was a song name.  A Primary friend was picked to select a star, and then the kids sang their best while the leaders judged.  They had so much fun!  She even tied it into my Celestial Singing Poster - any total of 12 stars or more was Celestial, 8-11 or so was Terrestrial, and below that was Telestial.

Another tool she used to get Jr. Primary to sing LOUD was to tell them she bet she could sing louder than ALL of them!!  They were so excited to show her she was wrong.

I've asked her for her word doc for the activity, if she sends it I'll post it here for all of you.

Paper Orchestra, Paper Snowballs

I've been wanting to try the infamous Paper Orchestra for ages.  Keep the kids entertained with a single piece of blank white paper!?  Yes please!!  Many ideas are out there for this activity, here are my favorites, from SugarDoodle HERE.

1. Roll the paper into a tube.  'Toot' one of the verses or lines of the song or the chorus.  Rotate which part you 'toot' so that the whole song is sung.
2. 'Snap' the paper - without tearing it - by holding the sheet loosely and then pulling taut.  Great for "Popcorn Popping" 242.
3. Put the paper on your knees and slap it, tickle it, or rub it to make different noises
4. Clap to the beat of the song with the paper in between hands with palms together; try to keep the paper airborne between claps.
5. 'Do as I'm Doing' - let the kids make up ways to use the paper.
6. Crumple paper only on certain words.
At the end, if you do this activity in the winter, have the kids write their favorite song on the paper, crumple it up, and throw a 'paper snowball' at you.  Then pick a snowball to sing!

Echo Ed

My son participates in a great music class that is part of the "Let's Play Music" program.  One tool his instructor has used could easily be adapted to help review/parrot songs for learning:

 

Ed: "Hello!"

Children: "Hello!"

Ed: "Would you like to echo with me?"

Children: "Would you like to echo with me?"

 

Then sing whatever line(s) needs work, and have the kids sing it right back to you.  At the end, make sure you have Ed say "Thanks for echoing!  Bye Bye!"

 

I have been surprised at how well this works for the kids EVERY SINGLE WEEK.  They are always excited to Echo with Ed!!!

2014 Manual/Song List Available Now!

I was so excited today to see that the 2014 Manual - Families Are Forever - and Song List has been released!!!  You can see them at:

Manual: http://www.lds.org/manual/2014-outline-for-sharing-time-families-are-forever?lang=eng
Songs: http://www.lds.org/manual/2014-outline-for-sharing-time-families-are-forever/how-to-use-music-in-primary?lang=eng

The songs include:

January: He Sent His Son (34-35)

February: I Will Follow God's Plan (164-65)

March: I Stand All Amazed (193 of Hymns)

April: The Family is of God (outline)

July: Baptism (100-101)

August: Seek the Lord Early (108)