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Friday, December 31, 2010

2011 Music Schedule

I recently polled my visitors:
"In Sacrament Meeting" was sort of supposed to be, well, funny, because really, I. AM. HUMAN. I'm often so caught up in my life or in the lives of my children, that I just don't get my primary things done by 9:00 AM on a Sunday morning! (Or, pathetically, by 1:00 PM on a Sunday afternoon.) So when I took my own poll, I marked "In Sacrament Meeting", as well as "Weekly" and "Yearly", Cuz...sometimes...Sacrament Meeting is all I have left! Now, before you shake your head and tsk-tsk at me, know this:

I am also a control freak, not a perfectionist, mind you, (there's a big difference!) but a CONTROL freak. I have a need for order. So, yes, I am one of those people who plan a whole year in advance. For primary music.

So, here it is, *...drum roll*... my planned out, imperfect, extremely flexible music schedule for 2011. I have done this same format for two years previous. My presidency loves me for it. I copy one for each of them as well as the pianist.
                                                              
I have not included the "songs of choice" for April or June in this copy. Also, my stake conference schedule will likely be different from yours, but if you would like to have a copy of this actual schedule, feel free to download this non-editable PDF:

Primary Schedule 2011.pdf

If you would like to have the editable version, it is possible if you have the program it was created in; Microsoft Office Publisher (which you will have if you own the Microsoft Office Suite). Email me at bridgettepatterson@gmail.com for a copy of the Publisher version.

We have about 100 children in our primary, so we are divided into Junior and Senior primaries. My Sunday schedule goes something like this:

After Sacrament Meeting, before Junior Primary Opening Exercises starts, (sort of a chaotic time, right?) I jump right into singing the prelude wiggle songs. We add more songs,  or sing less, depending on the cue from the presidency member who is conducting. It really quiets the children down and brings everyone's attention to the front of the room.

After a welcome from the presidency member, we have the scripture, the reverence song, prayer, and talks. Immediately following we have the welcome song for new children or visitors, and then the birthday song for those who had a birthday in the past week. Next we have a wiggle song, and then another reverence song to quiet the children and prepare them for Sharing Time. After Sharing Time, we have Singing Time, where we work on the songs of the month.

After Singing Time with Junior Primary, I go directly into the nursery and sing fun songs with them for 10 minutes. 

When I return to the Primary room, the Senior Primary children are already having their Sharing Time. When their Sharing Time is over, I'm up again for Singing Time. After my time is up, we go directly into Senior Primary Closing Exercises. We do the welcome song and the birthday song first. Then we have the talks, the Scripture, the reverence song, and the closing prayer. So the difference between the two groups for me is that the Senior Primary does not have the prelude wiggle songs, the wiggle song (after the birthday song), nor the second reverence song.

Ahhhh.....Clear as mud?

Monday, December 27, 2010

If I Listen with My Heart

I'm so excited for the new theme and teaching January's song,
If I Listen with My Heart.

I have made both a movie and a matching flip chart to introduce this song.

*See downloading tips at the bottom of this post



If I Listen With My Heart.pdf
You will want to print two-sided on white card stock, laminate the pages, then bind on the left side.


Have fun!

*To get the movie on your computer:

  1. After installing Real Player scroll over the top right corner of the video and a little blue tab pops up on any video you are watching. Click on the tab to start downloading the video.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Sing Off

This Sunday for singing time we are going to have a Sing Off!

I will have slips of paper under the bells with names of the songs we will be singing.

 I will have ways to sing the songs taped on slips of paper on the back of these snowflakes from my Christmas tree.
 I plan on suspending the snowflakes from the ceiling.

It doesn't matter what props you use, just as long as the children have one way to choose songs, and another way to choose how they are sung.

How to play:
Choose a class to come up to the front with their teacher. Ask one child from the class to choose a song for their class to sing by picking a song under a bell, and ask another child to choose how they will sing the song by choosing a snowflake. Then have the class "perform" the song that was chosen the way that is written on the snowflake, for the other Primary classes. After the class is finished with their song, move on to the next class until each class has had a turn to perform.

My List of Songs:
  • Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus p. 36
  • Away in a Manger p. 42
  • Once There Was a Snowman p. 249
  • Silent Night,  Hymns 204
  • Scripture Power
  • When Joseph Went to Bethlehem p. 38


Ways to sing:
  • Pantomime actions
  • Sing and Ring (I have enough bells for one class to ring them together)
  • Clap-Clap (Clap knees twice, then clap hands once or twice depending on the time signature)
  • Live Nativity (Choose class members to be Nativity members while they perform the song.)
  • Orchestra (Use bells, chimes, washboard, pan lids, recorders, maracas, rattles, etc. to combines sounds while they sing.)
  • Chain (Have the class link elbows and sway back and forth to the music as they sing.)
Normally, I would have mixed in a few silly ways to sing the songs, but because these are mostly sacred Christmas songs and I want to the mood to be a little more reverent,  I have chosen  more reverent ways to sing.

Do you have any ideas for ways to sing songs reverently? Please comment!

Have fun!

Friday, December 10, 2010

Christmas Passed, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future

Our Primary has been asked to sing 5 songs at our ward Christmas party next Saturday night. Because we have just finished reading the Book of Mormon in 90 days as a ward, (I did it! Yessss!) its sort of a culmination of celebrating Christ's birth and the Book of Mormon, and Christ in the Book of Mormon. So we have been asked to sing these 5 songs:

Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus
When Joseph Went to Bethelehem
Picture a Christmas
Scripture Power
Teach Me About the Temple

Last week we learned Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus and When Joseph Went to Bethlehem, and the children know the other three quite well already, so to review and polish all the songs this Sunday we will be playing my version of:

Christmas Passed, Christmas Present, Christmas Future

Prep:
Write the name of each song you want to review on a slip of paper or even on a blank Christmas card. Put each slip of paper/card in a box and wrap it up as a Christmas present. 

Instructions:
Ask the children if they have ever read the book, or seen the movie, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Explain that in the story, Ebeneezer Scrooge, a cranky old miser who doesn't like Christmas, is visited in the night by three angels, or "ghosts": The Ghost of Christmas Past, The Ghost of Christmas Present, and The Ghost of Christmas Future. Each angel shows him his past, his present, and his future, and in the end he learns about the true meaning of Christmas. Tell the children you are going to review Christmas songs today by playing a game called "Christmas Passed, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future". It doesn't have anything to do with ghosts or Charles Dicken's story, but it is called "Christmas Passed", because we are going to pass one of these Christmas gifts around as we sing each song. "Christmas Present" because when Sister (pianist) stops playing the piano anywhere she chooses to in the song, whoever is holding the present gets to open it while we finish singing the song! And "Christmas Future", because inside the present is the name of the next song we will sing! Whoever opens the present will tell us the name of the next song.
I plan on singing an additional fun Christmas song to begin passing the first present around.

Have fun!

Friday, December 3, 2010

Christmas Songs!

I know some of you have already begun singing Christmas songs, but I am just getting started this Sunday!

Here's two flip charts I made for this month:

You can download and print your own copy by clicking
 or 
or you can email me at bridgettepatterson@gmail.com and I'll send you the PDF.

Below are samples of the two flip charts. Don't try to download them from the images below...it's more trouble than it's worth. Easiest to click on the links above or email me. 


                                                                                                                                   For the When Joseph Went to Bethlehem flip chart, print on card stock (on one side only), then laminate and bind across the top edge.

                                                                                                                                   For the Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus flip chart, print on card stock (on both sides of the paper). Next laminate, and bind on the left side.
 

Have fun!