King Benjamin's Tower: Primary Singing Time Idea

This week in our Come, Follow Me Lessons, we're reading about King Benjamin's address to his people.  King Benjamin stood upon a tall tower for them to be able to hear and delivered a special message.

In his message he counseled to serve God and our fellow man, and to keep the commandments, listen to the Spirit, of repentance, of Jesus Christ and the Atonement - among many other things (Mosiah 2-5).



So we thought it would be fun to have a




KING BENJAMIN'S TOWER SINGING METER!!!!

Printables at the end of this post :)

Move the tower up and down as you all sing.  The taller the tower, the louder they sing!

The shorter the tower, the quieter they sing! (whisper)



Some suggested songs to sing (and a scripture to read first) that refer to King Benjamin's message are:

Mosiah 2:17 - When We're Helping
Mosiah 4:16 - "Give" Said the Little Stream
Mosiah 2:18 - Can a Little Child Like Me?
Mosiah 4:15 - Love One Another
Mosiah 2:22 - Keep the Commandments
Mosiah 2:33 - Listen, Listen
Mosiah 4:10 - Repentance
Mosiah 3:17 - He Died That we Might Live Again


But you could also sing this month's songs that you're working on :)





In the end, bear your testimony that King Benjamin's words are just as true and important today!  You could also bear testimony that we have a living Prophet (Russell M. Nelson) that WE can listen to and follow today!!!





***If you want to print a tower for your children or family, CLICK HERE.  For a King Benjamin clipart CLICK HERE.

Print out, cut on the lines and glue onto something that will hold the tower down.  I glued mine on a piece of foam board - but cardboard would work great too :)






You could also pass out a coloring page/dot-to-dot from lds.org as an activity:

Happy Singing!


-iheartprimarymusic

Joseph Smith Singing Story:FHE

We know, we know:  FHE isn't what we usually post.  But since we had done this SINGING STORY the "last week of church" ....you know, before the social distancing ;), we thought it could easily be adapted to a fun FHE Lesson, and work well with the special Spring 2020 General Conference commemorating Joseph Smith's First Vision coming up!




Okay so here it goes!!!!



***Before you start, you'll need to print out a small gold plate visual , and our hieroglyphics pages HERE and HERE.

Also, if you want a short video of these pages and instruction as it goes along, CLICK HERE.  Read along with your family and pause to sing and do the activity :)

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Let's get started!

Tell you family: Today we're going to READ and SING a story about Joseph Smith.  It's only 3 short chapters.  After each chapter, there will be an activity and/or song.

Ahem, CHAPTER 1:

After Jesus Christ and all His Apostles died, His true church and Priesthood were not on the earth anymore.  (So there was no Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints when Joseph Smith was a boy.)  Joseph wanted to go to church and desired to know which church was true and which to join, so he went into a field near his home and prayed to God.  Heavenly Father and Jesus appeared to him and told him to join none of the churches, but to restore Jesus's true gospel: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

We too can PRAY to Heavenly Father about anything we need, or questions, or just when we want to say thanks or tell Him we had a good or bad day.

*****Have every family member get on their knees and sing A Child's Prayer. The Sing-Along App is great to play from and shows the words.

 Ask them to listen for the QUESTIONS in the song, and the ANSWERS. Discuss after you sing. 

(The Sacred Grove, Can a Little Child Like Me, I Pray in Faith and If with all your Hearts are other great options to sing).







CHAPTER 2:

Angel Moroni appeared to Joseph many times and told him where to find the gold plates that the ancient prophets had written on.  They had been buried by Moroni on a Hill named Cumorah.

Do you think YOU would be a good FINDER of the Gold Plates???

***Tell your family, We are going to see if WE can find the "Gold Plates"!


Play 'Hot and Cold' while singing a selected Primary Song.  An Angel Came to Joseph Smith or The Golden Plates, and Books in the Book of Mormon would be a fitting songs, but ANY song you'd like would be great too :)

So for this activity, send a family member to another room, they are the "finder".  Have another member hide the plates somewhere in the room.  These could be the paper print out provided a the beginning of our post or another version of them.  Call the "finder" back in the room and have your family start singing.  When the finder is far from where the plates are hidden, sing SOFTLY, when they are warmer, sing more LOUD.  You get the idea :)  Let every family take a turn that would like to.

CHAPTER 3:

Through the power of God and using special tools, Joseph Smith translated the ancient writings on the Gold Plates into English.  One of the special tools he used was called the Urim and Thummim.  His translations are what we know as the Book of Mormon.

***Today we get to use our "Urim and THUMB-ims"!

Tell them that you're going to tell them some choices, and using their THUMB-ims they're going to indicate if it's a good choice or bad choice.

For example:

You choose to wake up and say your prayers (thumbs up).

You choose to eat cookies for breakfast (thumbs down).

You choose to help mom clean up after lunch (thumbs up).

You choose to help your little brother tie his shoes (thumbs up).

You choose to play with a classmate at recess that was sitting alone (thumbs up).

You choose to obey dad when he asked you to come inside for dinner (thumbs up).

You choose to not to read your scriptures before bed (thumbs down).

LASTLY, you get to TRANSLATE your closing FHE song number!!!

Decide which Primary song you'd like to sing (we chose, When I am Baptized).  Display the hieroglyphics key, and one-by-one, show the individual hieroglyphics symbol for the matching song number and translate. 

So for instance, if you chose When I am Baptized, you would show these:

Let them TRANSLATE the hieroglyphics to the corresponding number, then look the song up in the Primary Children's Songbook!

In the end, bare your testimony of Joseph Smith and how each member of your family can pray to Heavenly Father just as he did.  Encourage them to bear their testimony of Joseph Smith as well.

Did you know the Book of Mormon has now been translated into 97 different languages?????   For an activity after, you could print these mazes:

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We hope this can help some families in their FHE and in bringing the Spirit in their home and testify of the Prophet Joseph Smith.  Thanks for visiting out site!

-iheartprimarymusic

Moroni's Trumpet

Since this next General Conference will be a special commemoration in celebration of Joseph Smith's first vision, we thought it would be important to learn a little bit about...

MORONI!!!


Because isn't he a big part of how the Gospel was restored???


***This lesson is tailored for FHE since the church is on a world wide gathering suspension due to Covid-19.

Show a picture of an Angel Moroni on top of a temple nearest you.  Ask if anyone knows why he has a trumpet? (In the scriptures, trumpets are used to sound warnings, proclaim news, and herald visitors. Moroni holds a horn to his lips with his right hand, symbolizing both the spreading of the gospel throughout the world and the long-anticipated Second Coming of the Savior, which will be announced by trumpet-blowing angels (see Matthew 24:31))

Ask: How can WE spread the Gospel??





Next, tell your family about the recent earthquake in SLC, Utah (March 18, 2020) and that Moroni's Trumpet was lost from his hand.  And that you all will help get it back!

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Each member of the family will get a turn placing a trumpet onto the SLC Temple/Angel Moroni by playing "Pin the Tail on the Donkey".

(Print out THIS picture of the SLC Temple and THIS picture of Angel Moroni and the trumpets on yellow paper).  Laminate if you're an overachiever.




Here are the instructions:



Decide who will go first, have them read a fact about Moroni (or help them read), then blindfold and spin that family member and tape the trumpet on the temple.

Here are some facts about Moroni that can be read per trumpet:


-Moroni was the son of Mormon.

-He was the last Nephite prophet to write in the Gold Plates.

-In chapters 4-5 of Moroni, is written the mode of administering the Sacrament that we use on Sunday's.

-Moroni's final message written, is on how to know the truth of the Book of Mormon.

-Moroni sealed up the plates and hid them in the hill Cumorah.

-In 1823 Moroni was sent as a resurrected being to reveal the Book of Mormon to Joseph Smith.

And of course, there HASSSS to be some Primary Music during this FHE!!!!

The perfect song is An Angel From on High.  Play this song on the Sing-Along App (or play on the piano/guitar, if you're talented ;)), after the children make a "gold trumpet" and let them hum the tune in their trumpet!!!  It's number 328.

Orrrrrrrrrrrr you could play it in your car as you go to your nearest temple and LOOK for Angel Moroni at the top of the temple.  Sound your trumpet when you see him!!!



For some interesting facts about Moroni from lds.org, CLICK HERE.

And if you're still looking for more ideas, you can have your kiddos complete this maze.

In the end, bear your testimony that Moroni was a true prophet who wrote in and buried the Gold Plates, and later gave them to Joseph Smith.  Joseph Smith translated the words on the Gold Plates into what we know as the Book of Mormon.  

Just as Moroni's TRUMPET is a symbol of spreading the Gospel, we TOO can spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We don't need a trumpet, but we can share our testimonies with our friends, neighbors, families, and those around us.  And through our words, the Spirit can be felt and will bring others to Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father.

p.s. and be sure to ensure your kiddos that they found where Moroni's trumpet landed and will restore it to its proper place!

-iheartprimarymusic

UnSHAKEable like Jacob

In this weeks Come, Follow Me Lesson, it talks about Jacob's faith.  His faith was so strong that it could not be shaken (Jacob chapter 4).




At the beginning of Primary, hold up a picture of Jacob (Nephi's younger brother) and tell them that Jacob's faith was so strong it could not be SHAKEN.  When others around him were not choosing the right, Jacob continued to obey the Lord and he invited/pleaded for others to as well.  But no matter what, he was firm in his testimony.

To help the children understand what this means we thought this Primary Singing Time activity would be fitting:

PRIMARY YOGA!!!!  This idea was found HERE on Camille's Primary Ideas website (a fabulous resource for Primary Music Leaders!)

Choose a song to sing and as the song is being sung, hold up one of the position cards.  Have the children hold the pose without falling  =  UNSHAKEN!!!!!

Tell them to try to hold the positions without falling as you switch out cards during the song.


At the end of Singing Time, ask the children what we can do to make sure our faith is strong and unshakeable like Jacob's (ie: read scriptures everyday, choose good friends, come to church, stand for the right at school, pray, etc.).

Just like we work our bodies in yoga to become strong and unshakeable, we also need to work our Spirit's by doing these things (listed above).  As we do these things, we can be unshakeable like Jacob and return to our Heavenly Father.



Now let's get going on some YOGA!!!!!!



-iheartprimarymusic

Lucky Scripture Scratch

LUCKY SCRIPTURE SCRATCH

We thought this activity would work on its own anytime of year, so we thought we'd post it seperate from our St. Patrick's Day Singing Time Activity List :)  Stay tuned to the end of the post for BLANK scratch cards (no Primary Singing Time on them).



This Singing Time Activity is carried out similar to the Clover Lucky Scratch posted in our St. Patrick's Day post.  Before Primary print out THESE Scripture Scratch cards (there are 2 to a page, so print out as many as you think you'll need to fill your time).  

There are TWO WAYS we thought of that could work for this Singing Time:  

First, print out the scratch cards, then write a SONG TITLE on one gold plate- TRY AGAIN on another - and then leave the last one BLANK. Do this to all cards, but mix up the order of sequence.  Laminate (or use packing tape) and paint.  For the "paint", mix a ratio of two parts paint to one part dish soap.  I used craft paint from good ole' Walmart.  

During Singing Time, call up a reverent child who gets 2 chances on their scratch card.  If they scratch the try again, have them scratch another one, if they get a blank, have them say something they have been blessed with in their life.  If they scratch the song, sing that song.  The winning scratch is the song.  Because of their chances/odds and having 2 tries, they should be able to get the song every time ;)

(the picture above shows the 2 different ways you could carry out this Singing Time)


Second, print out the scratch cards, write a SONG title on one scripture, TRY AGAIN on another, and lastly write PICK A SONG on the third.  Again, write these on all cards, but mix up the order of sequence. Laminate and paint.  

Before singing time, write a list of songs you are working on, or would like to sing that Sunday, on the chalkboard.

Call up a reverent child and they get ONE scratch.  If they scratch the SONG: sing it, TRY AGAIN: scratch another one, PICK A SONG: they get to choose a song on the board that you wrote before Primary started.


Make sense?  Hope so :)  Good LUCK!!!!

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For a Google Doc of BLANK cards, CLICK HERE!!!!

These would be great for anytime of year when learning about the Gold Plates and also with incorporating for a CFM-FHE lesson in your home!


-iheartprimarymusic



***Looking for more St.Patrick's Day Singing Time Ideas?  Check out our Post of over 10 ideas HERE.

Nephi's Courage: Primary Singing Time Idea

If I had to write down my TOP 5 favorite Primary songs (which would be extremely difficult because I have soooo many favorites), this song would be on there!!!!



I remember singing this as a child and feeling so strong and proud, that I too, would be courageous like Nephi and Go and Do as the Lord commands!!!

He truly does prepare a way for the things He asks us to do.  I see it all the time in my life and recognize the way that things in my life seem to always work out as I do my best to serve Him.

I am sooooo excited to introduce this song in Primary.  And I feel the importance, more than ever, in teaching the meaning of this song and its words to help build the Primary children's faith and courage in the Lord.  I hope with all my heart and in prayer that I can be an instrument in doing this.

I've thought and pondered a lot on how to teach this song - even though I think the senior already know the tune and most the words - and this was the idea that I kept coming back to.


So here's how I plan to sing this wonderful and fun song by Bill N. Hansen Jr. and Lisa T. Hansen. 



Nephi's Courage:

To start, I will need 4 children to come to the front of the Primary room and hold up their mask. Have them each hold the corresponding visual ie, plates, gates, etc (printables HERE).

Then, we will sing the first verse and chorus: 

1.  The Lord commanded Nephi to go and get the plates
   From the wicked Laban inside the city gates.
   Laman and Lemuel were both afraid to try.
   Nephi was courageous. This was his reply:
2. “I will go; I will do the thing the Lord commands.
   I know the Lord provides a way; he wants me to obey.
   I will go; I will do the thing the Lord commands.
   I know the Lord provides a way; he wants me to obey.”

We will sing the verse with Nephi getting the plates from Laban and Laman and Lemuel will hold a sign that says "Afraid" and look afraid.  

For the chorus, "Nephi"  will hold up the blurb that looks like he is responding to the Lord's command.

  

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Second verse:

The Lord commanded Nephi to go and build a boat.

Nephi’s older brothers believed it would not float.

Laughing and mocking, they said he should not try.

Nephi was courageous. This was his reply:

We will need 3 different children to be:  Nephi and Laman and Lemuel.  They will hold the corresponding pictures and words HERE.

Have Nephi hold up the picture of the boat.  Laman and Lemuel hold the blurb that says, "It will not float".  Then, they laugh and point.  Nephi, looks courageous, and will hold up chorus blurb (Go and Do).  See the link above for the visuals.

It will probably help if you can point to the certain characters as their part is sung.

You may want to pick older children to act as Laman and Lemuel so they know when to laugh and point.

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For the third verse,

The Lord gives us commandments and asks us to obey.

Sometimes I am tempted to choose another way.

When I’m discouraged, and think I cannot try,

I will be courageous, and I will reply:

Call up 4 children to each hold a paper of the song visuals - pages found HERE.

For the Color Printable masks CLICK HERE.

For the Black and White printables CLICK HERE. (because we all know we need to save our ink haha!).  

(I printed mine in black and white and then colored with chalk.)

As with all ideas on here, we hope to be able to inspire other music leaders that are looking for sparks of inspiration for their Singing Time and hope to help get juices flowing!

Wishing you COURAGE in your Singing Time :)

much love,

-iheartprimarymusic