Easter

This is last minute, as Easter is less than two hours in my time zone of the world, but here it is anyway.

As always, I often borrow, and Camille's primary ideas has FABULOUS ideas for Easter. Lots of them. She posted this idea in 2013, and as it required advanced planning, I had a great activity for the next year, if I actually got around to doing it and I surprised myself by actually doing it!
 
The Easter Footsteps is a page from the friend, that I had downloaded onto a thumb drive and someone took it to Costco and printed it in large poster form and it cost me about 9 dollars. Years later, I had it laminated (I was timid about laminating it since it had an almost photo quality about it, but it came through beautifully).

I can't remember if I used Camille's original 6 songs in '14, but for this year, since we learned In His Holy Name last year, I found a place to put in that song.

And except for Event #3, all this wording (as well as the picture) are all from Camille's Primary Ideas:

Event #1: I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus p. 79 (He taught how to be like Him)

Event #2: Hosanna p. 66 (this is how the people praised Christ).

Event #3: In His Holy Name (Jesus healed others)

Event #4: To Think About Jesus p. 71 (Jesus suffered for our sins in Gethsemane)

Event #5: He Died That We Might Live Again p. 65 (just as the title says - He died that we might live again!)

Event #6: Jesus Has Risen p. 70 (Christ was resurrected just like we will be one day)

Happy Easter!

 * I did have an old post about this, and I DID change the a few of the songs (but I didn't label it "Easter" so I didn't find it until after posting this.) That original post is here.

 
* UPDATE* We didn't know "He Died That We Might Live Again" p. 65 at ALL. Not me, not the kids, not the pianist, so we did "Did Jesus Really Live Again" p. 64 and the kids didn't really know that one either, but if I choose to do this again, I will make sure I have a poster or flip chart. In 2014, (in the original post that I did), I picked "I Will Follow God's Plan" pg. 164 for the first song, simply because we were singing it that year (and this year, too, consequently), but I may pick Camille's first song when I do it next. In my original plan , I picked "I Stand All Amazed" Hymns 193 for the last song, and that is what I sang this time, but if I do it again, I may pick "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" Hymns 200 simply because it is fun (but I would have to warn the pianist)

2016 Outline Songs!

Yes, as you may have heard, the 2016 Outline for Sharing Time is now available and therefore the songs are out!

You can find the Outline HERE

However, you might notice that I did not say "new" songs because they aren't new. They are the same exact songs used in 2011, when we had the same theme. In fact, (as far as I can tell, because I think I only went through January to May), the entire Outline is the same. Word for Word. Picture for Picture. Song for Song. (The only different thing is the picture on the cover - which I think actually looks like the same model used for the 2011 cover, just older)

(so cute, huh?) (You can decide if you think they look like the same child)

If you can't tell, I really wasn't excited by this discovery. Actually I was quite disappointed. The new outline form started in 2010, so I can't be 100% sure that this pattern will continue, but if I were in charge, I would definitely see the advantage in just recycling the material. 

Because it is GOOD material. And they are GOOD songs. And in my ho-humness discouraged state, I went to one of my favorite sites, that I know has been going on for more than 5 years - Sofia's Primary Ideas. Each month (for YEARS) she goes over the monthly theme and week by week, she expands on the theme presented in the manual. It is an EXCELLENT resource for the primary presidency. And occasionally, she also goes over a song (which I love!!!!).

And I tested her: I went to September of this year and September of 2010 (same exact monthly and weekly themes) AND HER ACTIVITIES FOR THE SAME EXACT THEMES WERE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How super amazing is that!!!!!!!! So if she can do that for 3-4 weekly themes EVERY MONTH for the last 5+ years (not completely sure if 2008 and 2009 are repeats of 2013 and2014, because the new format started in 2010 - haven't researched that completely), I can totally come up with new ways to teach the same songs.

(I haven't hit my 5 year turn around point yet, but I was getting kind of bummed by the impending redundancy)

But no more! I am going to embrace this knowledge with fervor! I am going to remember a hallowed teaching mantra: Repetition encourages Retention! I am going to realize that this is inspired! This is what the Lord wants us to do! This is the direction He wants us to go!

However, this does encourage me to remember to not use ANY program songs from previous years as my pick your own songs. Which shouldn't be difficult, because I went through the 5 year rotation and realized that there are 18 songs from the songbook that are used for all 5 years. There are 5 "in the back of the outline" songs. And there are 4 Hymnbook songs.

 

HERE is my 5 year plan outline. Now, keep in mind, I wrote this for myself and it includes the songs that I personally chose for 2013, 2014 & 2015 but if you would like a reference for the next few years and to know which 18 songs are used, you might like it.

HERE is Sugardoodle's list of primary songs from 1998 to 2014 (Sugardoodle has become difficult for me to scroll through lately, but it is worth it and this is a nice list and there are a number of different songs on there - in fact, I may have to exhume "I'll Follow Him in Faith" from its buried in obscurity status: It's really cute!)

And after ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL this reading, here is the list!

2016 (I Know the Scriptures are True)

January – If I Listen with My Heart – Outline

February – I Will Follow God’s Plan – 164

March – Stand For the Right – 159

April – Song of Choice (Jesus Christ is My Savior and Redeemer) Beautiful Savior 64

May – Praise to the Man vs. 1 and 3 Hymns 127

June – Song of Choice (The First Principles and Ordinances of the Gospel of Jesus Christ make it Possible for me to live with God Again) Search Ponder and Pray 109

July – I Love to See the Temple – 95

August – The Lord Gave Me A Temple – 153 

Italics indicate my personal choices towards which I am currently leaning. June is more of a "song that goes with the yearly theme" than one that follows the monthly theme (basically because I missed Search Ponder and Pray)

Don't forget to check out the post on 2016 songs from the OCD Chorister (yes! She's back!!!!) - she has several links to some of the songs for which she has done lesson plans/visuals.

After our primary progam, I may delve into yearly planning! Get excited for 2016! Woo Hoo!!!!

How do you Roll on the 5th Sunday

Well, we are going to roll with ROLOS!

Yep, I am going to try the Rolos for Solos that has been filtering around the internet these days, but FIRST!!!!!! I am going to do the Back to School Review thanks to Camille's Primary Ideas

Because I do have the entire time on the Fifth Sunday:
This is how we'll roll

First we will do the Back to school review and you can find my list HERE (Completely forged from Camille with my songs replacing her pick your own songs and since I have opted [yet again] to not sign this year - I replaced the pencil idea with a highlighter idea).

This way, we sing through all the songs, so when I am ready to switch to the solos part - we have already gone over them. What I am going to do for the solos part is just ask the kids who would like to sing, that child gets to pick what they sing and I will have them sing a few lines or a verse (depending on the child) and then we as a primary will either finish the song or sing it again. I have starbursts as an alternative. And as I saw on the Facebook page, everyone gets a rolo at the end for being a good audience

HERE is my image-pilfered-from-google sign that I will post when we are done with the Back to School review

"In His Holy Name" building mountains activity

I am posting this post-singing time, but there are a few weeks in August left, so I thought I would post anyway.

So on the Chorister's Facebook page, someone posted an idea about building the song from the bottom up (which you could basically do with any song, really), so I made some mountains!

I took a piece of posterboard folded it in half, drew a line from the top middle down to about an inch from the bottom to make my mountain. (And I could have gone to Hobby Lobby and bought the gray poster board, but I am super cheap and just used a gray crayon to color the mountain except for the snow capped "top").

I thought that working from the bottom up would be a good thing and for the verses it was okay, but when I tried that for the chorus, it was disastrous and I ended up erasing quite a lot

If you look closely, you can see how much I wrote and re-wrote beneath the the letters written in marker.

Then, I cut up the verses and for junior, we built from the bottom up and put the pieces on the board, and then attached a flag at the top.
For senior, I threw all the cut up pieces from both verses on the floor and had the kids arrange the words back into their proper place. Then we played guess the words of the piece that we just took away

Thank you Facebook!