Top 10 Favorite Songs

I've seen many variations of doing a Top Ten Favorite Primary song list. 

So here is my version.

Last week I had each class fill out a slip of paper telling me what their 3 favorite Primary songs were. (I've also done the wadded up paper snowballs with the song written on them). I compiled the data and this Sunday we will sing the results. 

There are a couple of ways you can do this.

It's super easy to prepare and easy enough for a sub.

Click HERE to download the directions above.

In case you're wondering, our #1 song is 'A Child's Prayer' with 'I Am a Child of God' as #2.

Merry Christmas!

Planning

I'm a planner and love it. I like to make spreadsheets, tables, and documents. But when it came to planning my Primary singing time, I wasn't sure what would be the most helpful. I read a lot of blogs and tried a bunch of different things and finally came up with what works for me. I thought I'd share just in case you're still trying to figure it out. Here's what works for me BUT it may not be what works best for you. 

This is a snapshot of last years plan. I have a page for each month. At the beginning of the year, I put what the theme of each month is along with the weekly themes (purple) and any suggested songs from the sharing time lesson.

I do both JR and SR. Sometimes I'll use the same activity and sometimes I do totally different things. I try to use the opening and closing song for the whole month. I like to pick songs that go with the theme. Then we get to sing them several times in the month which makes for a great review.

I also sing the same birthday and welcome song for the month. If it's a new one, we might do it for two months until I think they are comfortable with it. (blue & green)

I DON'T fill out the entire year at the beginning of the year. I do one month at a time and even then sometimes I change a week or two. This leaves room for inspiration or new ideas I get in the middle of the week.

Here is a glimpse of the blank first 2 months of next year.

The planning sheets comes in very handy when I need to know when I played 'Sing Pete Sing' or played 'Hot & Cold'. I can go back to previous months and see what I did. That way I can make sure I'm not doing the same things too often.

The last week of the month, I'll start filling things in as I plan my month. It's in a Microsoft Word document so I just type right in it and SAVE each time I close. 

For my pianist and myself, I print something like this to hand her each week. This lets her know what I'm planning and we can be a team. She's ready with the next song and there is no down time while we wait for her to find the next song. I fold it in half so just JR is showing. I have two different pianist, one for JR and one for SR. Then flip it over for the SR one.

It makes planning each week easy. I just go in and change the singing time songs because the Opening, birthday, etc. stay the same.
Here is an example of the blank weekly planning sheet.

I hope this makes sense and is helpful to some of you. 

If you would like to try my planning sheets just click HERE for the blank planning templates.
Just download them and you can edit and type right in them and make them your own.

Happy Planning!

5 Year Rotation

Many of you choristers know this but some don't. I didn't until I was called 2 years ago, but the Primary themes rotate every 5 years. So the sharing time lessons and the songs we sang in 2012 are the same lessons and songs we are learning this year in 2017.

Many of you may be planning your year and deciding on what your song choice will be for April. I like to choose songs that are not as familiar to the kids. There are some beautiful songs in the Children's Songbook that we don't have time to teach. 

So I put together an outline of the songs in the 5 year rotation. This lets me know what songs have been taught before (the ones my SR probably already know) and what's coming up so I won't choose a song that we'll be doing in the years to come. It also helps me know what songs I could use for opening and closing that are familiar to my kids.

Click HERE to download the outline.

I hope this helps some of you as you pick your songs for next year's program.

Happy Singing!

Pathway to Christmas

I want to have a Christ-centered singing time this Sunday for our Primary before Christmas. I discovered that my littlest grandkids (3-5 years) were pretty good at telling me the Christmas story. So I decided to let the kids help tell the story by asking some key questions, singing some Christmas songs, and move along a pathway as we do it.

It's a great way to involve the kiddos in telling the Christmas story and giving them a few extra facts along the way. The older kids can even use their scriptures to find some of the answers.

Here is my plan:

And a picture of what it will kind-of look like only with a little longer path.

You can make a pathway with the red and green cards I've provided or go the easier way and just cut colored paper (construction paper or Christmas scrapbook paper). You can even print (2 pages per page) on a different setting so you get smaller cards and save ink. I've even done a path game before where I've laid the cards on the floor and had a child stand on them (they were a full sheet of paper). Anything works.

I made kind-of a script in order of the Christmas story with songs. But feel free to change, omit, or add whatever works for you and your Primary. I made easy questions for JR and harder ones for SR. Some questions they will need to find the answers in the scriptures. I hope the kids will realize how much they know about the story already and feel pretty smart and special. I also hope it will help bring the spirit  of Christmas to Primary.

Click HERE to download my plan and cards.

Happy Singing and ENJOY!

Christmas Singing Time

This week I am going to teach my SENIOR Primary 'Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus'.

I thought it went so well with the theme of 'The Scriptures Teach Me about the Savior's Birth.'

Here is my plan.

You can download my lesson plan HERE.

This is where I got the idea. Thanks to this fabulous book!

For JUNIOR we are still working on 'Could I Hold the Baby' for our Sacrament meeting number. So I thought I'd bring my Fisher Price Nativity set.

I'll hand out pieces to the kids and as we sing the song, I'll touch the heads of those with pieces one at a time. They will bring their pieces up and recreate the Nativity. We'll do it several times so everyone has a turn. I'll start with the oldest class so the Sunbeams with understand what we are doing. I will also have my new little Nursery-Sunbeams-to-be in there so they can have a turn too.

I also want them to learn or review 'Once within a Lowly Stable'. So I'm doing it for the opening song for the whole month. Here is a flip chart for it.

Click HERE to download the flip chart.

Happy Christmas Singing!!