6/9/ a.m. update - Sorry - a little slow on updates this month. I know I have left some holes with "TBD" unfinished that I just barely filled in. Please bear with me. I am the Girl's Camp director this year, too, and Girl's Camp is coming up soon :)
While the Senior Primary knows "Love is Spoken Here," the Junior Primary does not know it quite as well. So, in Junior Primary, after ensuring the children knew the lyrics for "Love is Spoken Here," I then explained to them how to sing the song as a duet. I was surprised and pleased by how joyfully they sang - they sat with their backs straight, totally intent, and SANG their little hearts out.
The next day, a friend of mine emailed me and told me about a little moment that happened while she was talking to her daughter on Sunday. The girl is about 5. This is her third year in Junior Primary. My friend said,
"She started humming and then she burst out, 'Mom, we sang the most beautiful song today in primary!' She was talking about 'Love is Spoken Here.'"
The girl then explained to her mom the fun way we sang the song (which is the traditional way - girls, then boys, then everyone.)
I wanted to share that moment because it was so beautiful and perfect.
This week's lesson plan
1. Teach "The Dearest Names." The children learned it last year so they just need a brush-up.
2. Review "Love is Spoken Here."
First song - "Dearest Names"
Junior Primary
1. Tell the children there is a word I am going to say over and over again in the song. Ask them to listen closely and tell me the word. (Name) If the children don't know the answer, sing the song again and have them listen again.
2. Next, ask the children to listen carefully and tell me how many times I say the word, "Names."
3. By now, they should be able to sing with me. Ask them to stand up and sit back down every time I say the word "Name."
4. There are three words used to describe Father (Noble, Brave, and True). Show them a motion to remember them and have them act it out every time we get to that point in the song. If time, discuss what Noble, Brave, and True mean.
5. Play a volume game to see how loudly they can sing the song. Either have a teacher walk down the hallway to show how loudly they are singing, or make a little volume meter you can use to show them how loudly they sang that song. Have a primary counselor adjust the volume to show the loudness on the meter.
- OR -
If I don't have enough time, I might just play an echo game. I sing a line, then one side of the room echoes the same line, then the other side of the room echos the same line again. This repetition will help them remember the lines more quickly. To make this more interesting, I could even make up a fun action for me, and for one side of the room, and for the other side of the room. Or, I could throw in some questions from above and mix them with the echo game.
Senior Primary
1. The children know this song and just need a review from last year, so first, I'll just sing it for them and ask them to join me if they remember the lines of the song.
2. Snap, clap rhythm game. I have done this several times before but couldn't find a previous post about it. I think I may have tagged this post badly. So, to explain it again:
a. One side of the room will be the beat of the song, which they will do by representing each note in a measure with a different motion. "Dearest Names" works if I treat it as 3/4 time so that means 3 different notes/actions per measure: hands on lap, then clap, then snap: I (slap hands onto lap), Know (clap), A (snap), Name (slap hands onto lap) (clap) , a (snap), glor- (hands on lap), io (clap), ous (snap), etc.
b. The other side of the room will be the rhythm of the song, basically clapping their hands to the melody line of the song.
c. Switch and then have the other side do the same thing.
Second song - "Love is Spoken Here"
I didn't have time to make the volume meter like I described below, so instead, I want to ask a leader to leave the church building with a ball of yarn and tell us how far away she was able to walk before she could no longer hear us. She can come back and show us how much yarn it took! The object here is to encourage the children to sing loudly.
Both Junior and Senior Primary now this song now so I think I just want to sing it a couple of times, maybe with a Volume Meter and a Mumble Meter. I have an idea of how to make one with a strip of paper you can pull up ... so I'll post it and make a note that I've updated this post when I make it. That might not be until Saturday thoguh. I started thinking I could make funny pictures, but then the more I think about it now, the more I think that I like the reminder from Henkel House in the comments section a couple of posts ago, about how she made a super simple visual that was a big hit. I think I just want to focus on a big strip of color and big, fun meters, thermometer-style. I am basing this on things I remember vaguely from when I was in elementary school - definitely not a new concept!
If I have time remaining in Senior Primary, I will work on other volume and enunciation games.
While the Senior Primary knows "Love is Spoken Here," the Junior Primary does not know it quite as well. So, in Junior Primary, after ensuring the children knew the lyrics for "Love is Spoken Here," I then explained to them how to sing the song as a duet. I was surprised and pleased by how joyfully they sang - they sat with their backs straight, totally intent, and SANG their little hearts out.
The next day, a friend of mine emailed me and told me about a little moment that happened while she was talking to her daughter on Sunday. The girl is about 5. This is her third year in Junior Primary. My friend said,
"She started humming and then she burst out, 'Mom, we sang the most beautiful song today in primary!' She was talking about 'Love is Spoken Here.'"
The girl then explained to her mom the fun way we sang the song (which is the traditional way - girls, then boys, then everyone.)
I wanted to share that moment because it was so beautiful and perfect.
This week's lesson plan
1. Teach "The Dearest Names." The children learned it last year so they just need a brush-up.
2. Review "Love is Spoken Here."
First song - "Dearest Names"
Junior Primary
1. Tell the children there is a word I am going to say over and over again in the song. Ask them to listen closely and tell me the word. (Name) If the children don't know the answer, sing the song again and have them listen again.
2. Next, ask the children to listen carefully and tell me how many times I say the word, "Names."
3. By now, they should be able to sing with me. Ask them to stand up and sit back down every time I say the word "Name."
4. There are three words used to describe Father (Noble, Brave, and True). Show them a motion to remember them and have them act it out every time we get to that point in the song. If time, discuss what Noble, Brave, and True mean.
5. Play a volume game to see how loudly they can sing the song. Either have a teacher walk down the hallway to show how loudly they are singing, or make a little volume meter you can use to show them how loudly they sang that song. Have a primary counselor adjust the volume to show the loudness on the meter.
- OR -
If I don't have enough time, I might just play an echo game. I sing a line, then one side of the room echoes the same line, then the other side of the room echos the same line again. This repetition will help them remember the lines more quickly. To make this more interesting, I could even make up a fun action for me, and for one side of the room, and for the other side of the room. Or, I could throw in some questions from above and mix them with the echo game.
Senior Primary
1. The children know this song and just need a review from last year, so first, I'll just sing it for them and ask them to join me if they remember the lines of the song.
2. Snap, clap rhythm game. I have done this several times before but couldn't find a previous post about it. I think I may have tagged this post badly. So, to explain it again:
a. One side of the room will be the beat of the song, which they will do by representing each note in a measure with a different motion. "Dearest Names" works if I treat it as 3/4 time so that means 3 different notes/actions per measure: hands on lap, then clap, then snap: I (slap hands onto lap), Know (clap), A (snap), Name (slap hands onto lap) (clap) , a (snap), glor- (hands on lap), io (clap), ous (snap), etc.
b. The other side of the room will be the rhythm of the song, basically clapping their hands to the melody line of the song.
c. Switch and then have the other side do the same thing.
Second song - "Love is Spoken Here"
I didn't have time to make the volume meter like I described below, so instead, I want to ask a leader to leave the church building with a ball of yarn and tell us how far away she was able to walk before she could no longer hear us. She can come back and show us how much yarn it took! The object here is to encourage the children to sing loudly.
Both Junior and Senior Primary now this song now so I think I just want to sing it a couple of times, maybe with a Volume Meter and a Mumble Meter. I have an idea of how to make one with a strip of paper you can pull up ... so I'll post it and make a note that I've updated this post when I make it. That might not be until Saturday thoguh. I started thinking I could make funny pictures, but then the more I think about it now, the more I think that I like the reminder from Henkel House in the comments section a couple of posts ago, about how she made a super simple visual that was a big hit. I think I just want to focus on a big strip of color and big, fun meters, thermometer-style. I am basing this on things I remember vaguely from when I was in elementary school - definitely not a new concept!
If I have time remaining in Senior Primary, I will work on other volume and enunciation games.
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