Feel the Music - Round 2

Last year, in preparation for the primary program, I came up with an idea called "Feel the Music."  I won't go into a ton of detail on the purpose of the game here, but to read all of the details click on this link for the original post.

The gist of it was to feel an object and guess what it was just by feeling it.  I made a board with holes to put hands through so you can't see what you're holding.  We used that singing time to focus on the feelings that music gives us, and how we as a primary can bring the Spirit through our songs and that people's testimonies can be strengthened when they feel the Spirit - including ours!

This year I came up with a new way to use the same game - get the same point across but with a different twist.  I always like to change things up!  Here's the idea, that I came across on a homeschooling blog called Teach Beside Me, which belongs to Karyn (who also follows this blog - hi, Karyn - thanks for the awesome idea!!).  Fill balloons with textured items, 2 balloons for each thing - I used beads, beans, rice, cotton balls, sugar, oats, and rocks.  Put them in a bowl or two, and have the child find the two that match.  Follow the rest of the game, or come up with your own spin.  Either way - it was a very cool singing time, and the Spirit was very strong.   Try it...see how it makes you...feel!

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Get the Bugs Out!

With program review in full swing, it's fun (and hard!) to come up with different ways to go over the same songs week after week until the program.  For those of you whose programs are coming up soon, YAY! - you're almost there!!  And for those of you who have until October or November to fill in the time, YAY! - you still have lots of time to have fun!!

Here is a fun review game called Get the Bugs Out.  It involves mess, bugs, and singing.  Are you on board?  Good.  Here goes.

First thing you need is a great big batch of slime.  You may have your own recipe somewhere, or you can google it, or use the concoction that I use, which seems to work fine and is a cinch to put together.  Here's how:

2 parts cornstarch
1 part hot water
Food coloring (probably green since isn't slime green?  the only slime I've ever seen is green...)
Add food coloring to water - make it nice and dark since the cornstarch will lighten it.  Mix cornstarch with colored water a little at a time until the desired consistency is reached.  That's it!

Of course, I only had 2 cups of cornstarch, so this made quite a tiny batch.  Looks like milk, eh?  That's because I also appear to be out of food coloring.  While I am clearly out of obscure craft ingredients, we do, however, have food in our house, which is good!

Next, you'll need some bugs.  I got a pack at the $1 store, or you could print and laminate paper ones.  Write a number on each bug.  You can play this several different ways, but here are two ideas for you.  1.) Assign each number a specific program song, and have the kids sing it the best they can keeping in mind certain "song bugs" - stand up straight, smile, dynamics, eye contact, etc.  If they rock, they pick another bug out of the slime.  If they roll, they try the song again until all the bugs are out.  2.) If you're working on a few specific songs, assign each bug a "song bug."  So if they draw a number 2, they sing each song while making sure to smile, smile, smile.  Or enunciate, enunciate, enunciate.

Put the bugs in the slime (you'll want to do this before singing time starts, so it's all ready - you'll need to wash your hands, but the slime rinses right off.)

Invite a child to come up and pick a bug out of the slime.  Of course, you'll probably want to have more than a half-a-glass of slime - you'll at least want a mason jar full.

Have a rinsing bowl and dry towel there for the kids to rinse the bug and their hands.  Find out the number, and sing!

This game is fast paced, can be used for Junior and Senior primary, and can be tweaked to work in tons of different ways.  Have fun, and if you choose to do it, let us know how it goes!
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The Choosing Tree

This project is a work in progress, since I currently have no color ink to print this poster.  So I apologize for the less than stellar picture of the tree graphic.  (A dual apology for the lousy picture of the Jeopardy headings, given aforementioned lack of ink)


I love having options of choosing helpers and songs.  Every kid wants a turn, and every song review can be spiced up by turning into a 10-layer ice cream cone, building a hamburger, filling a jar with jelly beans, etc.

Here is the tree (here is the download of the tree):

And on this tree you can put popcorn or apples.  I am working on some other things, and will post them as they finish.

You can label the popcorn and apples with each child's name, and draw them out of a jar/can/etc.  Then stick them to the tree, and pretty soon your tree will be full of children who've already had a turn.  When the tree is full, use a different seasonal graphic (apples for fall, popcorn for spring, etc.)

Hints on the tree:
This graphic is actually formatted to print on 8 pages as a poster.  I intend on sticking it to a posterboard and laminating it, then laminating the little graphics so I can use them over and over again.  Here is how I think you can get it to print in the 8-page format and not on one single sheet of paper.  If you can't get it to print from Google Docs, send me an email or leave a comment and I can email you the PDF and you can try printing directly from that.

OK, here is what you can try:
Once you have downloaded the PDF, click File > Print
Under the printer settings, see if you have a function called Page Scaling
If you do, select "tile all pages"
This should convert it back to the 8-page format

I hope you can get it to work!
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