Friday, October 27, 2017

After the Program--7 Ideas for Your Blank Canvas


Your canvas = singing time
I hope you all had a wonderful Primary program! It's my favorite Sunday of the year. However, I also really love the weeks right after the program, when we don't have scheduled songs to learn, and I can do whatever I dream up. :) Here are 7 ways I've approached these weeks over the years:
  1. Focus on holiday songs. In November, sing songs about being thankful (under the topic Gratitude in The Children's Songbook), and in December sing Christmas songs (p. 36-54 in The Children's Songbook).
  2. Prepare for a performance. Does your Primary sing a Christmas song in sacrament meeting? If so, plan that date now and start your song in November if necessary! 
  3. Choose songs that go with the theme of the Sharing Time lesson of the week (see the Sharing Time Outline).
  4. Work on some memorization songs. You could try The Articles of Faith (p. 122-132 in The Children's Songbook), Latter-day Prophets, or books in the scriptures (p. 114, 116, & 119 in The Children's Songbook). 
  5. Go with favorites. Collect the children's requests for their favorite songs, and go through all of them over a few weeks. 
  6. Teach some oldies but goodies. Let's face it, the current song rotation is pretty repetitive. You could pull out songs from your youth that you think this rising generation should know! (My list would include "Give, Said the Little Stream," "I Want to Be a Missionary Now," and "The Priesthood is Restored," for sure.)
  7. Look around you for inspiration for a theme. Does your ward have a missionary preparing to leave soon? Do you have a temple being built nearby? Have you recently experienced a natural disaster, or has your area been part of relief efforts? Is there a member of your ward with a serious medical condition? Situations like these can inspire a theme in choosing songs that will teach your children the gospel truths they need right now. 

These are just a few of the ways I've delighted in these post-Program weeks of Primary music. Please leave a comment and let me know what you've found you love for this time of year. Let's learn from each other. :)
Happy singing!



Looking for more?

Here are a couple gratitude activities I've posted about in the past: Teacher Appreciation Day and Singing Our Thanks


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