Month: October 2015

Follow the Prophet

I try to Follow the Prophet. He is such an easy man to love. 

We all try to Follow the Prophet. And it is so great that our church does a conference twice a year where we can hear directly from the apostles and prophets. I loved hearing the words of the prophets at General Conference.

My favorite last conference was “Stay By the Tree” and this time was the “Ponderings” and hearing from Bednar, Holland and especially the new apostles. One of them, Elder Rasband,  was from our stake and he had recently moved away. I looked up some of his writings and this one really spoke to me recently. On Conference Sunday October 4th, 2015 I wrote this on my facebook page.

It’s been 10 years today that we lost Danny Moss in a car accident when he was a senior in high school. It was just days after a conference weekend and I remember him putting a golf ball in the living room while listening to conference with me on a Sunday morning. I’ve been reading some of the talks by Elder Rasband and this quote is a good one for me to ponder on.

“You can at the end of the day give an accounting to the Lord that has little to do with what happened and much to do with how you were sustained by the power of God. I have felt that influence in my home, in my assignments, and in the lives of my wife, children, and grandchildren. It is a sweet peace to know the Lord is with you and that you are His and that when His hand reaches out to you the grip is familiar and the message is clear: “Come unto me”

I love this picture of Danny and John at Yellowstone at a scout campout when he was around 15. 

He spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began (Luke 1:70).
I’m so grateful for General Conference and the feelings and inspirations I receive as I ponder the words of the prophets and apostles. I think certain talks are sent right for me to hear, don’t you? 

I took this picture last month when I was down at temple square to see my friend get sealed to her forever family. She had been waiting many years for her husband to join the church. Her kids are in their 20s. She has been a great example of faith and hope to me. 

A really good article in an old FRIEND Magazine that could be used for a sharing time or a singing time on following the prophet is HERE. There are lots of ideas for using the stories of Moses or stories in the Book of Mormon for teaching children how prophets listened to the Lord and obeyed even when it was hard. And how we can do the same by listening to modern day prophets. 

My daughter’s Baby Emma Lee. Isn’t she so cute? She smiles at me a lot. 

 I have felt so blessed and lucky lately. I have 2 new grandbabies that were born a month of each other. I got to attend 2 baby blessings to see their fathers bless them in church. Life is good.

My son’s baby Alexa Jane. I love this picture of 3 generations. 

What a great 4 generation picture here. I’m so glad I snapped this picture with Grandpa and Great Grandpa! 
Baby blessing day was a wonderful family day spent in Chicago. I’m so glad families are forever.
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Primary Singing Time Ideas 2015

Here are some of my Primary Singing Time ideas that I’ve used every month over the years I’ve done this calling (4 times over many years). These things I keep in the cupboard at church and pull them out every so often when I’m not that prepared (nobody ever has THAT problem do they?)

Making sure all the kids get a chance to be picked…..just like in my classroom at school, I pull sticks out of the can to be sure each child has a chance to come up and participate in the singing time games….

Primary Singing Time tools – I use lots of these kinds of things on sticks so I can call on kids to come up and help me lead the singing in fun ways….

We hold about 8 of these up around the room while singing “I am Like a Star Shining Brightly” as everybody  does the hand motions opening and closing their fingers like blinking stars.

I teach school and my motto has always been; if I’m bored, the kids are going to be bored too. Don’t be boring. Do fun activities along with teaching the songs. I hope I never got stale. I always wanted to do fresh, fun things to get the kids involved.

Try a game of Going Fishing using each fish as a song (list songs in washable marker on the back) or you could use them to write small questions and tape them to the backs of the laminated fish. The pole is just a dowel with string and magnet.

The other thing is to always bring the spirit into the singing time. The songs most often do it themselves. But I always taught lessons along with the songs. I would bear my testimony about my work in the temple. I would tell the kids about how important it is to include others and be nice at school with stories of things I had seen that made me sad.

I have made dozens of these kinds of things where you pull a string on the back and the thing grows, or goes up as they do a great job singing…..they are always delightful fun. Try a rocket blasting off, a thermometer going up in red, etc. 
I went down to temple square to see a friend get sealed to her family. It was so pretty down there I had to snap a few pics with my good camera. Here I am! 

I think I might frame this one. I love to see the temple! 

I encouraged them all the time that they could make a difference in their own families by instigating kindness  or exhibiting helpfulness to their siblings and parents.

You can’t tell from this picture but the red tongue goes up as the kids sing louder or better. It is a funny one with the furry red head of hair on Lester. 

I would try to repeat things that were spoken about in the sharing time lessons when I had inspirations. The singing time is primarily a teaching time. So make it so.

I use lots of pictures and visual aids to go with all my songs. My favorite method to teach a new song is finding a flip book from Sugardoodle with words to go with pictures. 

If you’d like to start out the new year with a few cute conducting ideas to keep the kids learning and interested, check out these posts by some music experts in the trenches of Primary Music. Teaching kids how to conduct is always fun too. And if you don’t know how, just read some expert blogs and copy them!

Here are a few ideas on leading singing from some experts in the field…..

Leading Sticks by Brooke Wakefield on Sugardoodle
It’s All in the Hands by Ali Katherman on Sugardoodle
A Conducting Wand on Sugardoodle
Conducting Elephant by Tifany Hoecherl on Sugardoodle

I’m so grateful for this place. It is a peaceful destination where one can go to get inspiration. I love the reflection pool too.
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