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.

DIY Rain Drop Craft

DIY Rain Drops

So we’re wrapping up the Primary program season. If you haven’t had your program yet, you’re probably in the last couple weeks of review. Hooray for not stressing anymore (even though you're trying not to anyway) about whether or not your kids will remember all the songs! This sounds like a great time for a Primary music-centered craft project. :) 

Yes, yes, normally I like simple, fast activities like you do. But every once-in-a-while you just itch to make something fancier, right? Ok, if not, then you might not want to attempt this. Cuz it's not a five-minute project. But it's fun, the product is adorable, and they'll make lots of tiny kids happy. Reason enough for you? Then read on. :)

Using the Rain Drops

This is not an original, folks! I saw Sharla Dance (http://teachingprimarymusic.com/) use these at one of her workshops, and I loved them so much that I had to make my own. (Disclaimer, my awesome mom and sister helped me figure out how...) 

These rain drops admittedly have a limited use. I mostly use them in Nursery or Sunbeams, as they don't hold the interest of the older children. I like to pass one out to each child (you really have to have one for each child!) and sing "Rain is Falling All Around." You just hold the end of the yarn and dance the drops around like they're raining. These youngest kiddos are still trying to learn about where their bodies are in space. So, slowing down the last line of the song, "Rain is falling on my nose, on my head and hands and toes," and having the rain drop touch each body part when mentioned is a fun challenge for them. 

Making the Rain Drops

Materials Needed

• card stock or cardboard
• blue felt
• blue yarn (I chose different shades of felt and yarn for fun.)
• googly eyes
• rice
• fabric glue
• Fray Check
• Sharpie marker
• scissors
• sewing machine or needle, thread, and patience ;)

Instructions

1. Cut out a rain drop-shaped template out of the card stock or cardboard. Size really is just your personal preference. Mine are about 2 1/2" tall. 

2. For each rain drop, trace and cut out 2 pieces of felt, using the template as a guide. 

3. Sew the 2 pieces of felt together, sewing only around the edges to make a kind of tiny bag. Leave the area by the point open, as you will need to put rice in through this hole. 

4. Put rice in through the hole. ;) I don't know how much. 2 teaspoons, maybe? The idea is just to add enough weight so the rain drop will hang down nicely.

5. For each rain drop, cut 1 piece of yarn to your desired length. Mine are about 12" long.

6. Insert one end of a piece of yarn (maybe 1") in the hole of your tiny, rice-filled bag.

7. Sew a lateral line across the top of your rain drop to keep the yarn in place. Sew around the tip of the drop to keep the shape of the drop intact.

8. Glue on the googly eyes wherever you'd like them.

9. Apply fray check to the exposed end of the yarn, so it will last more than one singing time. 

And now you're ready to sing, sing, sing! The consumable materials required for this project are super cheap, so it didn't bug me that it took a little while to make. You could even grab the Primary music leader from the ward next door and help each other get these whipped out in no time.


Happy singing!

Looking for more?       Here is a sample Nursery music time that utilizes these cutest of rain drops. :)