Update On 'I Lived in Heaven'

Update On ‘I Lived in Heaven’
Sr primary has already learned the whole song. JR primary has only got through the first 2 verses. I don't know what it is about this song, but for the little children it seems much harder. It has been suggested that the minor key and the lack of a chorus could be reasons. I figured that since I have their attention, I would keep on teaching, and after a while I am hoping the repetition will start to sink in.

I had thought of two different activities to do after we had learned the entire song.
JR- for JR primary I was planning on taking the pictures that go with each line, mix them up and randomly put them on the board. Then I was going to have 4 children at a time come up and find the four pictures that go with each verse. From there the other children help them put their pictures in order. Then we’d all sing that verse while the 4 children held up the pictures.
SR- for SR primary I was planning a little more complicated of an activity. I was going to put the words on a page on one side of the chalkboard and the pictures on the other. So not only would the children have to find the line that goes with the picture but then find the sets that go to the verse and then put them in order.
Last Sunday, in SR primary we had some time leftover after we learned the whole song. But not enough to do the game I had planned. So I played the game I had plan for the JR primary. It worked really well. But now I have to decide on another activity for this Sunday. I think I might make the a fill in the blank board.

To use Words or not to use words?

Some thoughts about Singing Time

Using “words” to teach

In JR primary I have a very few children in JR primary who can read, and they just know the simple words. However, when I don’t use any words I think the littlest children learn the song stronger than when I used words (even just keywords). It seems as though the words are actually inhibiting their long term learning. On the other side of not using any words, the teachers won’t try to learn the song. But when there are words the teachers sing and try to help their children to sing. So which is better? No words, and having long term learning for the children. Or using words and having the teachers help in the learning process. The last consideration is if I don’t use words then I have to need to make more than one visual- one for JR and one for SR.

In SR primary the oldest children can read any word I put up there, but the youngest in SR still have problems with larger words. Here is the advantage of words, not only do the teachers sing the try to learn the songs, but the older children try harder to learn the song also. The older children then sing louder which has been encouraging the younger children to sing.

So in conclusion, which is better? Using words, or not using words? That seems to be the question.

Teaching: How Firm A Foundation

Update:
I mentioned this in my 'Activity: I Lived in Heaven' blog, but I wanted to mention it here also. I am going to work this song a little different then just tell them the line, we sing that line, and then sing it again (maybe a few times) before learning the next line.
Since this song will be different for the children, I am going to start by having them humm and then la la la the melody. After that will will say together all the lines a few times before we sing them. Then I will start into my normal routine. We'll see how it all works. I am going to start teaching it next Sunday (Jan 25th).

How Firm a Foundation:

I wanted to make sure I finished this plenty early before Feb. For a few reasons 1- I wanted to be able to share my idea before hand. 2- I will be out of town for two Sunday’s in Feb 3- I hope to use some of the Sunday’s in Jan to start teaching this song.

My idea consisted of trying to build a foundation. So each of the words are on what I wanted to look like a brick. I am debating making something to be mortar between each layer. With words I could think of something to help the children (especially the little ones that can’t read), I tried to add pictures for those words. Each brick is half a piece of construction paper tall, and most are a construction paper wide.

As we learn the verses, I plan on flipping over the bricks and hiding the words and pictures. I was considering taking away the bricks, however I decided that taking the bricks away would make it an “unfirm foundation”. So that was fixed by only flipping over the bricks.

I plan on using the magnets to hold the bricks to the chalkboard.

I am worried that the few pictures I did use, are too small. Also I really wanted more pictures but I either couldn’t find pictures small enough to fit on the brick, or I couldn’t think of a picture to go with the particular words. I hope all ya’ll can find better pictures to use.

I am also debating having the words go up instead of the traditional down. That way I build the foundation up. I think the children can handle the non traditionalism, but I haven’t ever tried it so I don’t know. Has anyone else ever tried this method?

I Lived in Heaven-3rd Verse and 2009 Program thoughts

Third verse of “I Lived in Heaven a Long Time Ago”

This verse was the hardest for me to decide on what pictures to use. If I had been doing copied pictures I think they would have been easier. But I finally decided and figured out how to make them. Of all the pictures I made this section I am especially proud of because they turned out so cool (specifically the 2^nd coming picture and the Mesa Arizona Temple). I was disappointed in my bride and groom and how plain my returning home to God picture came out.

This year’s schedule:

In discussion about this year’s program (2009), I was asked to decide on which songs would be used each month.

Jan- I Lived In Heaven A Long Time Ago

Feb- How Firm A Foundation

Mar- My Eternal Family

April- My Redeemer Lives (Hymn #135)

May- Baptism or I Want To Be Baptized , I haven’t decided which yet. I will be having my baby this month (near the beginning), so I will be picking whichever will be easiest for a sub to teach.

June- See the Lord Early

July- Jesus Said Love Everyone, I was surprised when I learned that none of the children knew this song. As I was looking through the songs and the lesson, I noticed that the lesson focus on having us learn to love others as he loves them. I felt this song was perfect. In addition, there are always so many children out on vacation and all I thought this song would make it easier for those out to learn later.

We are also considering using ‘Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam’ for the Sunbeams to sing and perform as their part of the program. It also goes with this month’s theme.

Aug- Families Can Be Together Forever

PS the alternative song options are being considered for special music numbers

Singing Time: I Lived in Heaven

I know that most of you who actually want ideas on how to teach this month’s song already had to come up with an idea. I really liked my idea but I did it a little too complicated and it wasn’t ready to post in time to give you ideas but I thought I was really good.

This month’s song is: I Lived In Heaven.

Since the song sings like a story I thought I would teach the song like a story. I created the pages to read like a book, and the pictures to look like a photo album. I did everything out of construction paper. That many pictures cutting out the small pieces of construction paper takes a lot of time. If I had wanted I could have used a simpler form of art work- ie images off the internet, one of the fancy gospel centered art idea books, stickers, pictures out of the Friend ect. But I have a talent for construction paper artwork, so that is what I think of first. I still haven’t finished the third verse’s pictures yet so I will have to post those when I am done. When a page was open the left side had the words.

The font I used is the basic Comic Sans font done in “outline” so I could color in the words. That was something else that took so long. It was a lot of coloring. One of the teachers asked why I don’t just print it in color. Maybe I should of, it would have saved me a ton of time. However, I want to save my color ink for when I print a picture since I can get a set of markers for a dollar. I colored each verse the same color, the first verse was colored purple, second was green, and the third was blue. The right side is where I tried to make the page look like a scrapbook. I’m not a scrapbooking person, so this was hard to think through for me, I am also not a girly frilly girls so the harder I tried they just looked girly and silly to me. Oh well. I then put all the pictures in the sheet cover sleeves, and then into a three-ring binder.

As we sang the song I flipped the pages. In the future I will take some of the pages out of the binder and have children hold them for me. I like when I find ways to involve children. They behave better then.

I only taught the children the first verse in Junior primary, I may have been able to do the second verse, but I didn’t want to push my time. But we easily did both 1^st and 2^nd with the Senior Primary. We could have even had the time to do the third verse, but since it wasn’t finished I didn’t want to, so we sang through the first two verse a couple more times and then I just gave Sharing time an extra 2 minutes. For future lessons with this song I plan on putting all four pages of words on the board, and then all for pages of pictures. I will have the children match the pages and after they are matched we’ll sing that one line, then once we get all of the lines matched with the pictures we’ll sing the whole verse.

My husband has the idea of teaching each class one line of the song. I could have their teacher help the class learn that one line (after introducing the song to everyone) then we’d focus on getting the song all together by having that class sing louder on their line. I think this concept could work really well with the Senior Primary, I’m just a little skeptical how well with Junior Primary.

I am looking forward to this New Year. Since we now have church in the morning, I have the goal to focus on my next week’s lesson after church. Then maybe I will be better at sharing my ideas than in the pre-sense than I have been.

Happy New Year!!