Preparing for 8 Song Race (Primary Program)

Our Primary Program is Sept. 19. That was 10 weeks from this last Sunday. We've leaved all 8 of the songs that the entire Primary will be singing. There is a special musical number that will be two children doing a duet. The 9-10 year old boys are singing Hymn 320, "The Priesthood of Our Lord" and the 9-10 year old girls are singing "Beautiful Savior" from the Primary songbook. I am helping with those songs, but they are mostly the project of the first counselor.
Back to the whole Primary,  we have learned:

• I Know That My Savior Loves Me
• He Sent His Son
• Follow the Prophet (ASL on chorus)
• The Holy Ghost
• I Belong to the Church of Jesus Christ
• Come Follow Me (ASL)
• I Feel My Savior's Love (ASL)
• I Am a Child of God (sung once in English, German, and Spanish)

On Sunday I brought a chart to Primary. There is actually two charts, one for SR and one for JR. There are 8 spaces going left to right- for the 8 songs. And going up and down there are 10 spaces (for the ten weeks we have left till the program).

Last year I used the cooking analogy to teach preparedness for the program. This year is the analogy that we are preparing to run a race. When preparing to run a race you can't just get up one day and go to the race and run 10 miles just like that. You're body wouldn't be able to handle it. Instead you have to build up to running 10 miles. You start one day running 1 mile, then when you've mastered one mile you run that first mile and then run a second mile. When you've mastered those two miles you add a third mile. This process is continued until you can run all 10 miles. We are preparing for an 8 song race. We can't expect to stand up one Sunday, with no other prep, and expect to sing all 8 songs as though we have them mastered. Instead we need to build up to doing all 8 songs at once. This is where the chart comes in. Each week we meet we will sing all the songs we have already "passed off", and then "pass off" a new song. In order to "pass off" a song or in other words, show that they have mastered it, they must sing as though it is for the program, Stand together, sit together, sing loud, nice, and clearly, smile, hold still, stand up straight, do their ASL properly, and watch me. If they "pass off" a song the chart gets a sticker for that song that week. For example, this last Sunday we started. They "passed off" 'I Belong to the Church of Jesus Christ'. Next week they will have to show that they still know 'I Belong to the Church of Jesus Christ' and then "pass off" a new song. The following week they will have to do 'I Belong...', the new song, and then a newer song. Just like with preparing to run 10 miles, you always have to re-run those first miles again to get to your goal. You don't get up 10 days in a row, run 1 mile each day, and then on day 11 run 10 miles for the race. And each week they get a new sticker on their chart for showing that they still have those other songs mastered.

I am hoping that this gives the children a fun activity way to look forward to how fast the program is coming upon us. Since our program will be so early this year, when it is all over we will have many Sunday's to just do fun activities. But till then we need to focus and work hard. I hope this visual and analogy is enough to inspire the type of hard work that is needed.