Transposing on LDS.org

The theme for the month of November is :When We Serve Others, We Serve God.

So for my opening song, we will be singing: 'A Happy Helper' on page 197A. 

This is a new song to me and I think it's perfect for the monthly theme.

It's a little high, so I went to the church's website (LDS.org), went to Serve and Teach, Other Callings, Music Callings, Church Music Website, Music Player, where you can listen to the songs. You can also change the key lower or higher. Be careful not to make it too hard for the pianist with lots of sharps or flats. It's in F major now so I hit the 'key' button at the top of the page and went down to D major with 2 sharps. Then I printed a copy for my pianist.  

I also made a flip chart to help us learn it.

Click HERE if you'd like a copy.

The King of Primary Songs

We are learning 2 new Christmas songs to sing in Sacrament meeting this year. I hate to start Christmas songs before Thanksgiving but we need the time. At least Halloween is over.

We are singing: 'Christmas Day' by Jenny W. Francis and 'The Baby Jesus' by Jo Marie Borgeson Bray. They are both found in The Friend and on LDS.org. However, The Baby Jesus copy is kind of hard to see with the yellowish background. A chorister on the LDS Chorister Facebook page took and cleaned it up in Photoshop so it's much easier to read. Thanks Cindi Brown Meier! (I've included it in the download).

Here's how I'm teaching the songs:
I found the cutest puppet on Amazon.com.

I'm calling him the KING OF PRIMARY SONGS. He is going to sing each line of the song and the kids will echo him. Then when they have it pretty good, I'll bring out some of the 'citizens' of his kingdom. (Other puppets, I'm borrowing them from my granddaughters) I will pass them out to good singers to come up and help us sing the song again with the other puppets. We'll do this several times, passing the puppets to good singers.

Not sure if I'll do this with the Sr. Primary. My 11 year old boys might not get as excited as my Sunbeams.

I have made flip charts for the two songs if you're interested in using them.
Click HERE to download 'Christmas Day'.
Click HERE to download 'The Baby Jesus'.

You can read how I like to use flip charts HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!

The Primary Pose

"Let me see your 'Primary Pose'."

That's what I say when I want my Primary kids to give me their attention and be reverent.

The very first time I do Primary, when I'm new to the calling, I explain the Primary Pose.

I hold up my camera and I ask the kids what they would do if I wanted to take their picture. Well, they all start striking different silly poses. 

Then I tell them that in Primary there is a special pose too. It's called the 'Primary Pose' and this is what it looks like. Then I strike the pose: 

arms folded 

mouth closed and smiling

quiet feet 

eyes on the speaker 

I get them to all try it. From then on, when ever I say, "let me see your Primary Pose," that is what I get. 

My kiddos LOVE to show me the pose!!

Flip Charts

Good ole Flip charts.
What would I do without them? Probably sing a solo with the wrong words.
 Some people love them and others don't even use them. But I do, but not all the time. I have my limits.

I place my flip charts in a binder in plastic sheet protectors. I know some like to flip them over the music stand. But I just hold the binder and flip away. Each week I change and update the flip charts I will need for the following Sunday. Sometimes it's just one or none. I like to use the same opening and closing song for the month. That way they get a chance to sing it several times. I'll start the month off with a flip chart and by week 3 & 4 we won't need it.

Here's how I use them.

1. ONCE-IN-AWHILE SONGS: I'm getting older and sometimes have a hard time remembering all the words to the songs. I even get the verses mixed up. I hardly ever use my songbook. So a flip chart comes in handy. I use them for songs we  haven't sung in awhile. I know my teachers appreciate the words because they are like me and mix up the words. Sometimes if I don't have a flip chart for those 'once-in-awhile song', I'm the only one singing. So I use them for the teachers, myself, and my kiddos that can read. It's generally the opening or closing song or a special one requested by the Presidency for Sharing time.

2. TEACHING A NEW SONG: Sometimes when I'm teaching a new song, I will use a flip chart. However, I won't put it in the binder. I'll place the cards on the board as we learn each phrase. Then take them down as we memorize it.

I also have guidelines (my own OCD thing) as to what makes a GOOD flip chart.

1. The print needs to be BIG and DARK. Preferably black ink. Sometimes I will put a special word in a different color to emphasize it but be careful that only a few important words are different. Otherwise, the chart gets to hard to read. And stay with the same color. Don't make it too colorful either.

2. The font needs to be easy to read- nothing fancy. Some kids can't read cursive so my flip charts are never in cursive. 

3. There needs to be just the right amount of words on a page- not too few and not too many. I hate to be turning the pages every 2-3 words. And I hate to have so many words on the chart that I lose my place. This is hard when you're creating a flip chart- getting the right amount. I like to do a phrase or sentence per page but sometimes they are too long or too short. Just do what feels natural.

4. I like a picture that goes with the words. Some kids are visual learners and when they see the picture they will remember the phrase. It also helps my Jr. Primary who are mostly non-readers. They see the pictures and the teachers and readers have the words. I try to use pictures from the church's website LDS.org. They have a ton and it's easy to search and find what you need.

Well, there you have it- flip charts 101 by me.

 Disclaimer: However you use or don't use flip charts is up to you. You need to do what fits your style of being the chorister. I'm only sharing what works for me.

If you are into flip charts, I will have some posted on here from time to time. I want to make them easy to find. In the sidebar at the right of a post under LABELS, look for SONG:  then the name of the song after it. If there is an FC after the name, you will know that there is a flip chart to download.

Here's one to get you started.

Click HERE for a flip chart for 'The Chapel Doors'

Family Stick Puppets

What Primary child doesn't know the song: 'A Happy Family'? It's taught at home as well as in Nursery. I remember singing it as a lullaby when my kids were little.

Here is a really cute set of stick puppets. There are LOTS of uses for them. I use them in Jr. Primary and Nursery when we sing A Happy Family. I have also used them with other songs about the family. I've even used them when telling a story in a lesson.

If you'd like the file, just click HERE for a download.

I have another post with MORE family stick puppets HERE.

ENJOY!

Thankful Pictures

There is a great Facebook group for LDS Choristers. There are tons of ideas on there. I have posted on there before. So if you've seen my stuff on there then this will be a repeat. I'm going to post one here. It's my Thankful pictures. With Thanksgiving coming up these could be used for lots of things.

One way I use them is in the Nursery with the song: Family Prayer. I pick several pictures that the kids can relate to and put the pictures face down in the middle of our circle. We hold hands and walk in a circle as we sing. Then we kneel down. Next I pick 3-4 children to take turns picking a picture card. They turn it over and talk about why we are thankful for it. You could also do this with the Jr. Primary, just pick 6-7 children at a time to come up to the circle.

Another way is with the Sr. Primary but it could work with Jr. too. I pick several of the pictures and pick a Primary song to go with it. Then have a child pick a picture and play a form of 'Name That Tune' to try and guess the song. Then sing it and talk about why we are thankful for it.

If you'd like to download the pictures click HERE.

I've also included some of the songs I chose to go with some of the pictures.

Enjoy and happy singing!

3 Wiggle Songs

Another one of my all-time favorite callings is NURSERY!

I absolutely love spending time with the 'wee-little-ones'. They just can't help but make you smile!

And of course, the music portion of Nursery, I LOVE!
So along the way in this blog, you'll find helps for Nursery music too because I know many choristers go into Nursery and do the music.

One of my favorite song activities is singing: Rain Is Falling All Around.
I bring in a small spray bottle filled with water. Before we start to sing, I spray a few times above the kiddos heads and we talk about what rain feels like and how important it is in our lives. We also discuss who gives us the rain. Then I give every child 4-5 raindrops. As we sing the song, we gently drop our raindrops on the ground. And believe it or not their favorite part is running around picking up the raindrops. Then we do it all again.

Because they loved it so much, I made snowflakes and colored leaves to sing at other times of the year.
 With the snowflakes we sing: Falling Snow. And for the leaves we sing: It's Autumntime. 

All the songs are in the Children's Songbook.

If you'd like a copy of my leaves, raindrops, and snowflakes you can click HERE.

Happy Singing!