Praise to The Man

So, here we are.  The song that we've all been worried about since we first opened the 2011 primary outline last fall.  The big one.  The hard one.  The big words.  The challenging music.

Sigh.

I'm going to start things really simply with this one, given the complexity of it and also knowing that I really need to review Mother's Day songs with them and I haven't even seen them in almost a month!  (General Conference, vacation, Stake Conference - phew!)

I'm going to start by playing them an MP3 of Scotland the Brave, played on bagpipes and drums.  I've been listening to it on my phone now for a couple of days and man! - that song is amazing!  It gets me excited.  You know the kind of excited you are when you can't figure out why you're excited?  It's a great, triumphant feeling.

Here is a link to a youtube video that is kind of fun to watch.

So I'll start by playing the music, and I'll turn the volume up so they can really feel it.  Then I'm going to ask them how it made them feel.  I'll share with them that this song is a song of victory, of triumph over enemies.  At that point, I'll retell the story of Joseph Smith and how this song was written after he died as a song of triumph - Death shall not conquer the hero again!

All of this should only take a few minutes, then I'm going to pass out the following cards to each class.  Here is the link.  (Because my primary is combined, I always ask the oldest class to come up and sit with the 2 youngest classes and help them participate.  This keeps them engaged, and helps the little ones keep up with the rest of the primary.)

They are for the chorus only, and that is all I plan on teaching them tomorrow.  I'm just going to sing the chorus a few times while they put the words/symbols in order.  This type of activity works really well for my primary, so I do similar things quite often.  But hey, if it ain't broke, why fix it?!

So what are YOU doing to tackle this doozie?  Have you already had success?  Share with us!  We'd all love to hear, and it's never too late to share ideas.  Some people are still a few weeks away from this one, and our plans can always change with the  right inspiration!

{added Sunday after church}  The mp3 was a total hit.  The arrangement I have is by the Nashville Pipes & Drums, and it starts out very reverently, so the kids were just listening quietly (I told them that if they got restless I would have to turn it off).  Then there's a pause and the drums start in and the pipes get really loud.  The kids were visibly excited, and most of their little heads started bobbing up and down with the rhythm.  When the song was over, they wanted to hear it again!  I asked how the song made them feel, and some of the comments were amazed, excited, like I want to march, like I just won a race, like crying, reverent, hopeful.  It was awesome.  I didn't have time to do the chorus activity I had planned, but I decided to sing the entire first verse alone and if any of the kids knew the words have them join in.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the kids knew most of the words, especially the chorus!  We're going to have a lot of fun with this song, and I know that they felt the Spirit today as we sang about our Prophet Joseph Smith.  Oh, how I love this calling!!!!!  And be sure to read the comments, one has an excerpt from a letter from Joseph to W.W. Phelps that is so tender it gave me chills.  Thank you, Trish!
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Anyone from St. George?

Spring break is next week, and (I'm so excited!!) our family will be heading down to St. George, UT on Saturday.  I'm wondering if any of you live in St. George and would welcome a visitor in your primary!  I LOVE visiting other wards and seeing how things are done.  So, just leave a comment and let me know when/where your ward meets, and we'll try to make it.

We'll see how this goes over!
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General Conference

I am starting this week edified, uplifted, and energized, thanks to 8 amazing hours of General Conference.  I don't know about you, but each time conference comes around I feel a great...need...to hear the words of our modern prophets.  I went into this conference very prayerfully, and seeking answers to some very difficult questions and struggles that I've been dealing with over the past few months, several of which are directly related to this calling.  I was not surprised to find that several of the talks given were written especially for me (sorry if you thought they were for you!), and that many of the answers that I was seeking were laid out before me.

I don't know why we each struggle with such specific trials.  I see other people that go through similar things and they don't effect them in at all the same way.  But as small or as large as my trials are, they are mine.  And I am trying really hard to be gracious, patient, and as contrite as I can be.  This calling, in and of itself, is the best calling I've had in the church.  The children and the music bring me unmeasurable joy.  On the other hand, the joy has been accompanied by sorrow, hurt, and anger that have all been hard to overcome. 

I know this is very personal, and I hope you can forgive me for sharing so transparently.  But the refiner's fire is real, and I'm sure is burning around each of us in one way or another.  My mom told me recently that in order to truly become like Christ we have to work throughout our trials.  Not just through them.  And that is what I'm trying to do, with a renewed conviction that there are lessons to be learned still, and the sooner I can get them figured out the sooner I can move on to bigger and better lessons!

I hope you all enjoyed conference.  Not only the break (didn't you love Sunday morning?!) but the messages that made a difference to you.  I have a strong and growing testimony of this gospel and of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Many times a day when I feel like I'm going to lose it the words of our primary songs will come into my head and my heart will be uplifted.  I am grateful for the opportity to share these sweet testimonies with our primary children and to feel of their spirit not only on Sunday's but whenever I see them throughout the week.

Thank you for letting me share my thoughts with you.  I feel a sisterhood with all of you as we endeavor to do this calling, and I'm grateful for such a special association.

Have a great week!
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