A Pillar of Light: Joseph Smith's First Prayer Singing Time

 

Joseph Smith's Frist Prayer (hymn 26) is one of this months suggested songs for 2021.  And also the Doctrine and Covenants is our book of scripture we are learning this year, so I thought this song would be great to introduce first this year  :) 

Currently my ward is doing a virtual singing time on the 5th Sunday's and I also split with my awesome music leader partner.   So for this Singing Time Activity I plan doing it with my children at home.  And you can too!  All you need is a flashlight!  

Also, you can print the song visual we created HERE of Joseph Smith's First Prayer.  Read/review the FIRST VERSE together.  Tell the children for this verse we will be holding the flashlight down or outwards like we are looking/searching for the perfect spot to pray.  Just as Joseph did.

Sing the first verse all together, room lights low/dark, and move the flash lights back-and-forth as said.

For the SECOND VERSE, read the lines all together and tell them they are going to kneel, as Joseph did, and point the flash light up on their face.  Sing all together (displaying the words from the flipchart linked above).

For the THIRD VERSE, first read the lines all together, and tell them to hold the flashlight over their heads.  Just as the PILLAR OF LIGHT came down upon Joseph.  Sing the verse.

For the last two lines that are repeated (While appeared two Heavenly Beings..) you may have them hold up 2 fingers  and shine the light on the wall making a shadow of "TWO beings".

And for the FOURTH VERSE, first read the lines all together, and tell them to hold the flashlight up towards the ceiling.  As if they are listening to the Lord and Jesus as Joseph did.  Sing all together.

I hope you get the idea. It was really hard to take pictures in the dark!  

My hope is that as the sweet children learn the words and story of Joseph's First Vision, they can feel the Spirit testifying that it is TRUE!!!!  A scripture that would work well with this Singing Time is Joseph Smith History 1:16.

We are excited to learn and study this year in the Doctrine and Covenants and grow our testimonies of Joseph Smith!!!

*****For some awesome ideas on how to teach this song in Primary Singing Time, CLICK HERE and check out LDSPrimaryPrintables.

-iheartprimarymusic

When We're Helping

Here's a simple idea when teaching the Primary song, When We're Helping:

Gather 5 boxes around your house and tape the lyric to the song on the boxes. 


During singing time, call up 1-2 children to HELP stack them in the right order as you sing the song.  They may need you to start it over (which we want! - so they can hear the song repeated).

After they have them in the right order, have all the children sing along once more!!!!

If you're looking for a video of this song played, CLICK HERE, onto our Youtube page.

We also made a scripture chase challenge that goes along with this song and it could work for Primary or FHE, CLICK HERE for that.


Make sure to bear your testimony of being happy as they help others - because we love them :)


-iheartprimarymusic

Dare To Do Right : Primary Singing Time Idea

Usually when you talk about a "DARE" it's a mischievous thing, well today we're going to learn the Primary song Dare to do Right and it's about DARING you to do RIGHT and good things.






Let's find out what good things we are DARED to do in this song!  Listen to the words of the song (As music leader, sing the song with the piano or play on the Sing-Along App).  Ask these questions:

What are the dares? (to do right, to be true).

How are we supposed to do the right and be true? (bravely, kindly, well) - sing/play the song again if needed.



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In the military, when soldiers do a great thing, they are awarded a medal.  Today we are going to sing the song together and earn our Primary "DARE MEDALS" by learning this new song.  Because doing the RIGHT is also a very great thing!

For each medal, we will have a "good" dare.  Who would like to earn a medal????


(medal printouts link included at the end of this post!)

Call up 7 children to come pick a medal (displayed on the table) and hold in their hands.


Line them up in order and start singing Dare to do Right as follows:

(there are STOPS after each line as you sing, so that the certain child can earn their medal - and to sing it over and over without them realizing it ;)  Make sure to inform your pianist of all the stops!)





Sing all together and have child hold up the RIGHT medal:
"Dare to do Right!"  (stop). 
For the RIGHT metal:  I dare you to wink with your RIGHT eye.
(Pin/tape metal on shirt.)


Sing all together from the beginning while child holds up TRUE medal:
"Dare to do Right!  Dare to be True!" (stop)
For the TRUE metal: I dare you to tell us your TRUE (full) name.
(Pin/tape metal on shirt.)


Sing all together from the beginning while child holds up their WORK medal:
"Dare to do Right!  Dare to be True!  You have the Work that no other can do;"  (stop)
For the WORK metal: I dare you to pretend to knock on a door like a missionary.
(Pin/tape metal on shirt.)
You could ask, what work can we do in the gospel???


Sing all together from the beginning while child holds up the BRAVELY medal:
"Dare to do Right!  Dare to be True!  You have the Work that no other can do;  Do it so Bravely, (stop)
For the BRAVELY metal: I dare you to BRAVELY hold a brave pose (like superhero).
(Pin/tape metal on shirt.)
Ask, "What does it mean to be brave in doing the right and being true?"

Sing all together from the beginning while child holds up the KINDLY medal:
"Dare to do Right!  Dare to be True!  You have the Work that no other can do;  Do it so Bravely, so Kindly," (stop)
For the KINDLY metal: I dare you to KINDLY give someone a hug.
(Pin/tape metal on shirt.)


Sing all together from the beginning while child holds up the WELL medal:
"Dare to do Right!  Dare to be True!  You have the Work that no other can do;  Do it so Bravely, so Kindly, so Well, (stop)
For the WELL metal: I dare you to give us your biggest smile.
(Pin/tape metal on shirt.)


Sing all together from the beginning while the child holds up the ANGEL medal:
"Dare to do Right!  Dare to be True!  You have the Work that no other can do;  Do it so bravely, so kindly, so well, Angels will hasten the story to tell."
For the ANGEL metal: I dare you to give us your sweetest angel face while flapping your "wings".
(Pin/tape metal on shirt.)
Explain that when angels see us daring to do right and being true, they love to share the story.



This is meant to go quickly.  So have them do there dare quick and keep on singing!!!!



Sing the song all together now that they have the DARE MEDALS!!!

For the chorus, pass around the RIGHT medal as they sing.  Have them pass the medal to the RIGHT every time they hear the word "DARE" sung.  Who ever ends with it gets the TRIPLE DOG DARE (to help lead the song all the way through!!!!!)

This songs' words were written in 1835 and it's as important today as it was then to DARE TO DO RIGHT!!!!


Ask the Primary children to give an example of how they can DARE TO DO RIGHT.

(examples:  Stick up for a schoolmate at school, ask someone to speak good words when they are around you, play with a classmate at recess, help a sibling or parent/grandparent at home, read your scriptures, bring treats/visit/make a card for someone in need, keep the commandments etc.  and there's soooooo much more!)




Encourage the children to DARE TO DO RIGHT in their lives.  Daring to do Right and to be True is the RIGHT thing to do.  And it is doing as Jesus would and as He would have us do to live with Him again.  Be brave, be kind.



Find all the MEDAL PRINTOUTS HERE.


(And we also thought it would be fun to let every child take one home to remember to do RIGHT.  Click HERE for printables of the COLOR "RIGHT medals".  and HERE for Black and White "RIGHT medals".)





***Did you like this post?  We'd love to hear from you - it's what helps keep us going!




Much love,

-iheartprimarymusic

Nephi's Courage Latter-Day Loops

Yay!!!!  I just got these in the mail and am so excited to start planning for Singing Time next year!!!

These will be perfect to go along with the Book of Mormon theme and to be used for teaching and singing the song, Nephi's Courage!

These adorable characters are from @latterdayloops.  They have the cutest church themed looped characters - go check them out on Instagram for your Primary!!!



-iheartprimarymusic

Choose the RIGHT Way

One of the suggested songs for this month is Choose the Right Way, so we thought we'd share a visual we've made for this song and how we plan to sing it on Sunday :)



There's a RIGHT way to live and be HAPPY!!!!!

It is choosing the RIGHT everyday!!!!

I am learning the teachings of Jesus, they will help me and show me the way.

Choose the RIGHT way, and be HAPPY.  I must always choose the RIGHT!!!







Pass out 3-5 smiley faces to the children as they are sitting down (or one per class).

Sing the song and every time the word "RIGHT" is sung, have the children pass their smiley face to the child sitting next to them on the RIGHT.

When the song is over, whomever is holding a smiley faces gets to come up and hold it up during the next time you sing it.

Pass out 3-5 more smiley faces and repeat (sing song again, passing smiley faces on the word RIGHT).  Whomever is holding a face, comes up and holds it up as you sing the song again.


This is a short and easy song, so do this a few times and move on with another song!

I tried to mimic the CTR shield with this poster and printed the flipchart visual from Jolly Jenn's flipcharts HERE.


Before you sing this song, you could talk about how we feel when we make wrong choices (pretty crummy).  How do we feel when we make good and RIGHT choices?  (good/happy!).  Who likes to be happy???  Let's learn how to be happy and choose the RIGHT, by learning the words and tune to this song, "Choose the Right Way".



In the end, bare your testimony how how we can have a happier life by choosing good choices and striving to be like Jesus.

You could send them home with this CTR maze to do with their family and sing the song for their CFM-FHE lesson :)  This shield maze is found HERE on lds.org - designed by Regina Thompson.



Thanks for stopping by!!!!!



-iheartprimarymusic

The Iron Rod

I was really excited to see that this was one of the suggested songs in January 2020!!!


I love this song and wanted to make sure that the children understood the words to it and the story behind it.  So I thought making a poster would be the best way!!!!

*Also, at the end of this post is a link that will lead you to iheartprimary's Book of Mormon Singing Times.  Click the link for more 2020 BofM ideas :)

The little boy at the end of the song moves/slides, so that you can lead him to Heavenly Father, Jesus, and his family :)




To introduce this song, I'm going to quickly tell the children of Nephi's vision and the importance of holding onto the Rod (the Word of God).




Next, I will tell them the words and meaning on the poster.  Then, I will have them listen to the piano to hear the melody of the song as I point to the words on the poster.



After that, I plan to sing the words to them and have them listen for answers to some questions.



So before I sing the song, I will ask a question such as, "What does the Iron Rod represent", "What are the 3 ways the Iron Rod is described in the song", "Where will holding onto the Iron Rod lead to?".

As they listen to me sing, they need to find out to answer to the question.



They are welcome to start singing along as we sing it again to listen for the answers.


I hope in the end, that they know what the song is conveying and that they start to realize the importance of holding onto the Word of God and the true Gospel in their lives.






For a link to this hymn on the Church's website, click HERE.

For a Google Doc of the clipart that was used for this poster, CLICK HERE.  Just print ans glue to make your own song visual!






If you're wondering how I put together the THROUGH part, here are some instructions:

First, I glued a small strip of white paper down.  This is so that you wouldn't see the blue poster board underneath when you slide the boy.

Then I made my Iron Rod and used an exacto knife to cut a small strip cut-out of where I wanted the boy to slide. 

I put a penny down (this is what keeps the boy in place).

Then, I glued the Rod down over the penny- ONLY ON THE OUTSIDE THE EDGES.  This is so that the penny can still slide!

 Lastly, I put a very small line of hot glue on the penny where it slides.  Then added the boy on top.

Magic!!!!



Hopefully this makes sense and can help another chorister!!!




And one last thing, I plan to hand out this coloring page for them to take home.  Hopefully this will encourage them to sing this song with their family for CFM-FHE and talk about and read the scriptures about the Tree of Life.

---------->   And as told at the beginning of this post, HERE is this link that will lead you to our Book of Mormon Singing Time ideas and activities to help inspire you in 2020!

*****Hey you!  Needing ideas on HOW TO TEACH NEW SONGS in 2020????  Click HERE for our ideas on how to Teach a Song from Scratch! We'd love to be able to help inspire you with some singing time ideas :)

-iheartprimarymusic

Kindness Begins With Me

I love using POSTERS as visuals!  POSTERS are big, colorful, engaging, interesting, and can tell the story of the song!


Yes, they can be a pain to drag around and store, but I love them!!!


Having said that, I thought I'd share the poster visual I made for Kindness Begins with Me.  I went to Walmart to get a white poster board for it and found this fun one with sparkles on the border!


Perfect!

To use this song in singing time, you could use the Gobble Gooble Turkey idea.  As the children sing, watch to see who is sing their best and from their heart.  Pass out pom poms or cotton balls to those children after the song.  Have them tell a way to be kind, something they've done to be kind, or a way that was shown kindness to them - and then have them put their pom pom or cotton ball in.



One of the repeated things I say to my children as home is, "It's always best to be kind".  and Jesus Christ was THE ULTIMATE example of kindness!!!



We KIND-ly thank you for visiting our site today!!!



-iheartprimarymusic

Children All Over the World

Children All Over the World

How fun are these?!?!?!?!?!?  This is a great song to sing in November when we focus on THANKS giving :)


Children love having visuals to help remember the words to a song and to connect with it, and this song is perfect for a visual!

To introduce this song, you could stand at the microphone and say "wir danken dir".  The children might looked confused.  "Wir danken dir" is a German word.  Does anyone know what it means?

It means, THANK YOU!  Do you think Heavenly Father can understand all languages of children as they pray?  Yes!  Let's sing a song about saying thank you to Heavenly Father from all over the world!

Show each poster and tell which country they represent and how to pronounce the way they say, "thank you".  Have them repeat after you.


“Gracias.” (grah-see-ahs) SPANISH
“Malo.” (mah-loh) TONGAN
“Wir danken dir.” (veer don-ken deer)  GERMAN
“tak,” (tahk) DANISH
“merci,” (mare-see)  FRENCH

“Kansha shimasu,” (kahn-shah shee-mah-sue) JAPANESE

You may want to put the pronunciation on the back of the poster as a reminder for you!  (it's not cheating!)

Heavenly Father LOVES all His children and LOVES to hear from them everyday in their prayers!  Bear testimony of His love for each of the Primary children and the importance of prayer!


So,

"Gracias.”

“Malo.”

“Wir danken dir.” 

“tak,” 

“merci,” 

“Kansha shimasu”
OR
"Thank you" for visiting iheartprimarymusic today!  

-iheartprimarymusic

Faith is

Hebrews 11

"Faith Requires Trusting in God's Promises."

In part of this week's lesson it talks about FAITH, so we thought it would be appropriate to talk about the Primary song, Faith, and share our song visual

Faith is knowing the sun will rise, lighting each new day.
Faith is knowing the Lord will hear my prayers each time I pray.
Faith is like a little seed:
If planted, it will grow.
Faith is a swelling within my heart.
When I do right, I know.

Here is a few pictures of the fun song visual we have for our Primary.  The kids LOVE watching the object slide up as we sing the song.  I hope this is something they visually remember as THEY GROW and remember the message of what it means and how it makes them feel.

Here are some pictures of the back in case anyone would like to see :)

It was put together with fishing string, eyelets and clamps on the back.



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For my family's CFM-FHE lesson, we read Alma 32:21, then sang this song.  We discussed what Faith is and why it's like a seed.

Then I put some objects from around the house into a paper sack (a banana, Hot Wheels car, basebase, spoon, toothpaste, etc.)  I asked my boys to stick their hand in the bag a FEEL what was in the bag without looking and tell me what one object was.  They guessed it right and I asked how did they know what it was -without seeing it?  

By feeling!  (duh, mom!)

This is how faith can work, we FEEL something is true and right through the influence of the Holy Ghost.

To end, I asked them to show me their muscles.  

They were quick to show them ha!  

I asked, "How do you work/grow your muscles? Show me".  My oldest started doing push ups,  my middle did squats and my youngest jumped up and down.

What would happen to our muscles if we sat around in bed all day? (get weak)

Just like our muscles need to be worked to grow stronger, we need to work our FAITH EVERYDAY.

How can we strengthen our FAITH? (Going to church, read scriptures, service, prayer, kindness, obeying the commandments, etc.)

At the end, we did some fun exercises together such as star jumps, leap frogs, run in place, and sit ups.

-iheartprimarymusic

I Know that my Redeemer Lives Song Visual

In case anyone needed an idea on how to make a song visual for 'I Know that my Redeemer Lives', here is how our turned out for our Primary!

The quotation marks (") are for the words "He Lives" - it's sung 27 TIMES. 




TWENTY SEVEN!!!!








HE LIVES!!!!!!


-iheartprimarymusic

If the Savior Stood Beside Me

This is the program song we will be singing for April.  :)

"If the Savior Stood Beside Me"

 

5 Little Snowmen FAT

For those of you lucky music leaders who help with the nursery, here's a FUN song to sing during the winter months!!!  It's called 5 Little Snowmen.
You can have each nursery child hold a little snowman.... or have them each wear a funny hat and melt :) 

For the very last verse you can sing these words:

No Little Snowmen fat
Only their funny hat
But the next time it snows,
I'll build more of those
Oh what fun is that.