We believe (hands over heart)
in the gift of tongues (point to mouth)
prophecy (ASL - one hand over brow as if you're shading your eyes to see better, other hand two fingers pointing to your eyes then away into the future)
revelation (pointer fingers on temples like you're thinking b/c revelation comes to your mind)
visions (move those pointer fingers down to your eyes)
healing (hands as if giving a blessing)
interpretation of tongues (hand cupped to ear)
and so forth (arms outstretched to include all other gifts)
Saturday, August 1, 2015
Monday, April 13, 2015
Article of Faith #6
Simple actions for the Sixth Article of Faith:
We believe (hands over heart)
In the same organization (hands on one side of your body making two sides of an imaginary box)
(This is the way our church is organized. Now have your hands travel back in time over your head to the other side of your body, again making two sides of an imaginary box. This is the church when Jesus lived on the earth. It's called the Primitive Church. Do you see how they look the same?)
that existed in the Primitive Church (imaginary box on the other side)
namely: (with your hand on the "Primitive Church side of your body, count on your fingers; there are five altogether) apostles, prophets, pastors (explain this is the same as bishops), teachers, evangelists (same as patriarchs)
and so forth (have a thumbs up sign with your opposite hand start at your open counting hand and travel to the modern day church side; thumbs up means we have those same things in our church today)
As an added bonus, look at your hands. Five fingers plus one thumb equals six. This will help you remember it is the sixth article of faith.
We believe (hands over heart)
In the same organization (hands on one side of your body making two sides of an imaginary box)
(This is the way our church is organized. Now have your hands travel back in time over your head to the other side of your body, again making two sides of an imaginary box. This is the church when Jesus lived on the earth. It's called the Primitive Church. Do you see how they look the same?)
that existed in the Primitive Church (imaginary box on the other side)
namely: (with your hand on the "Primitive Church side of your body, count on your fingers; there are five altogether) apostles, prophets, pastors (explain this is the same as bishops), teachers, evangelists (same as patriarchs)
and so forth (have a thumbs up sign with your opposite hand start at your open counting hand and travel to the modern day church side; thumbs up means we have those same things in our church today)
As an added bonus, look at your hands. Five fingers plus one thumb equals six. This will help you remember it is the sixth article of faith.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
We'll Bring the World His Truth
1st verse:
We have been born as Nephi of old to goodly parents who love the Lord.
We sang this line, then I called on someone to name their goodly parents "Joe and Sue Black" etc, then we sang it again, called on someone else to name their parents, and so on. We repeated it lots with no boredom because they all wanted a turn to say their parents names.
Then we sang the next phrase: We have been taught and we understand that we must do as the Lord commands.
This time I interspersed singing the line with calling on kids to say one thing their parents have taught them or one thing the Lord commands. Again, lots of repetition without boredom. This strategy works best with just a few words of talking then jumping back into singing again.
Four simple actions for the chorus:
We are as the army of Helaman (stand bravely with hands on hips),
we have been taught in our youth (pointer finger to head, indicating learning),
and we will be the Lord's missionaries (use your fingers to make a "missionary tag" on your chest)
to bring the world His truth (have your hands go around the whole world).
We have been born as Nephi of old to goodly parents who love the Lord.
We sang this line, then I called on someone to name their goodly parents "Joe and Sue Black" etc, then we sang it again, called on someone else to name their parents, and so on. We repeated it lots with no boredom because they all wanted a turn to say their parents names.
Then we sang the next phrase: We have been taught and we understand that we must do as the Lord commands.
This time I interspersed singing the line with calling on kids to say one thing their parents have taught them or one thing the Lord commands. Again, lots of repetition without boredom. This strategy works best with just a few words of talking then jumping back into singing again.
Four simple actions for the chorus:
We are as the army of Helaman (stand bravely with hands on hips),
we have been taught in our youth (pointer finger to head, indicating learning),
and we will be the Lord's missionaries (use your fingers to make a "missionary tag" on your chest)
to bring the world His truth (have your hands go around the whole world).
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Keep the Commandments
Simple actions for this song:
(The first two beats of each linee, pat your lap twice. The last two beats of each line get an
action. You can easily google the 2 ASL signs if they are unfamiliar.)
Keep (pat) the (pat) commandments (make a C with one hand)
Keep (pat) the (pat) commandments (make a C with one hand)
In this (pat) there (pat) is safety (two thumbs up)
In this (pat) there (pat) is peace (ASL for peace)
He (pat) will (pat) send blessings (arms out to encompass all the blessings)
He (pat) will (pat) send blessings (arms out bigger the second time, because the music gets bigger)
Words (pat) of (pat) a prophet (ASL for prophet-- I just do the seeing part, not the person part at the end; it fits the timing better)
Keep (pat) the (pat) commandments (make a C with one hand)
In this (pat) there (pat) is safety (two thumbs up) and peace (ASL for peace)
(The first two beats of each linee, pat your lap twice. The last two beats of each line get an
action. You can easily google the 2 ASL signs if they are unfamiliar.)
Keep (pat) the (pat) commandments (make a C with one hand)
Keep (pat) the (pat) commandments (make a C with one hand)
In this (pat) there (pat) is safety (two thumbs up)
In this (pat) there (pat) is peace (ASL for peace)
He (pat) will (pat) send blessings (arms out to encompass all the blessings)
He (pat) will (pat) send blessings (arms out bigger the second time, because the music gets bigger)
Words (pat) of (pat) a prophet (ASL for prophet-- I just do the seeing part, not the person part at the end; it fits the timing better)
Keep (pat) the (pat) commandments (make a C with one hand)
In this (pat) there (pat) is safety (two thumbs up) and peace (ASL for peace)
Article of Faith #5
Simple actions:
We believe (hands on heart) that a man must be
called of God (one arm reaches to heaven--just like "God" in AofF #1)
by prophecy (ASL for prophet: one who "sees")
and by the laying on of hands (put both hands on your head)
by those who are in authority (imagine those who lay their hands on your head when you are confirmed; they have priesthood authority; point to four different imaginary people in the circle, one per beat)
to preach the gospel and administer (use your fingers to make a pretend missionary nametag on your chest)
in the ordinances thereof (make an O with one hand - just like AofF#3 - and bounce it 4x to the beat)
We believe (hands on heart) that a man must be
called of God (one arm reaches to heaven--just like "God" in AofF #1)
by prophecy (ASL for prophet: one who "sees")
and by the laying on of hands (put both hands on your head)
by those who are in authority (imagine those who lay their hands on your head when you are confirmed; they have priesthood authority; point to four different imaginary people in the circle, one per beat)
to preach the gospel and administer (use your fingers to make a pretend missionary nametag on your chest)
in the ordinances thereof (make an O with one hand - just like AofF#3 - and bounce it 4x to the beat)
Monday, February 16, 2015
Hosanna
I made a poster with the words of the song.
I underlined the rhyming words: ring, king, sing, bring.
We talked about how voices usually sing, but in this song, they RING. What usually rings? A bell. Think of the bell at school. Is it loud? Does everyone in the whole school hear that bell? So we want our voices to be as loud and clear as a bell so that everyone can hear us say Hosanna and praise Jesus. That's what the word Hosanna means: praise and love to the person you are saying it to.
I outlined the word "life" and asked the kids why they thought I did it. We talked about how Jesus is "triumphant" because He triumphs over death and brings LIFE to us all.
Then we sang through the verse several times.
For the chorus, I passed out fake fern leaves to each child, and told them the story of the triumphal entry and waving the palm leaves. Each time we sang Hosanna, we waved our leaves over our heads (as if you are fanning someone) When we sang "All hail triumphant king" we waved our leaf downward and got on one knee, because that is what you do when the king is walking past you. So we practiced singing the last line as we bowed to our King.
Then we talked about echoes. How echoes are much softer than the originals. How if you try to yell something long, the echo will start before you are done yelling. Then we learned the descant (just the echo part on the chorus), with one side singing the first part loudly and the other side singing the echo softly.
(This was a very fun activity the kids begged to do again.)
I underlined the rhyming words: ring, king, sing, bring.
We talked about how voices usually sing, but in this song, they RING. What usually rings? A bell. Think of the bell at school. Is it loud? Does everyone in the whole school hear that bell? So we want our voices to be as loud and clear as a bell so that everyone can hear us say Hosanna and praise Jesus. That's what the word Hosanna means: praise and love to the person you are saying it to.
I outlined the word "life" and asked the kids why they thought I did it. We talked about how Jesus is "triumphant" because He triumphs over death and brings LIFE to us all.
Then we sang through the verse several times.
For the chorus, I passed out fake fern leaves to each child, and told them the story of the triumphal entry and waving the palm leaves. Each time we sang Hosanna, we waved our leaves over our heads (as if you are fanning someone) When we sang "All hail triumphant king" we waved our leaf downward and got on one knee, because that is what you do when the king is walking past you. So we practiced singing the last line as we bowed to our King.
Then we talked about echoes. How echoes are much softer than the originals. How if you try to yell something long, the echo will start before you are done yelling. Then we learned the descant (just the echo part on the chorus), with one side singing the first part loudly and the other side singing the echo softly.
(This was a very fun activity the kids begged to do again.)
Tell Me the Stories of Jesus
Thumbs up or thumbs down: Do you like to hear stories? Do you ever ask your mom or dad to tell you a story? I love stories too!
Today we're going to learn a song about telling stories, but these aren't pretend stories. These are real stories about Jesus.
Sing the first line: "Tell me the stories of Jesus I love to hear"
Can you think of some of your favorite stories of Jesus? (If you want, you can post pics of different stories on the board to help them remember: nativity, baptism, raising Jairus's daughter, with the children, etc.)
This time sing it with me, then I will point to someone (or call on someone raising their hand) to tell a story of Jesus. (The telling is short: just one sentence.) Then we will sing the line again, and someone else can tell a different story. (Repeat as often as you like, perhaps 4 times per line.)
Sing the next line and explain what it means. "If Jesus were here right now, what question would you like to ask Him? What story would you ask Him to tell?" Sing the line, have someone share their question, sing the line again, have someone else share, etc.
The next line tells about two places where Jesus spent lots of time: the wayside and the sea. What is the wayside? (Show a picture of the sermon on the mount to give them a clue.) In this picture, is Jesus in a city? The wayside is someplace out of the way of the city; the countryside. Sing the line, then show a picture of a "tale of the sea" and have a child tell what is happening in the picture. Sing the line again, and show a different "sea" picture, etc. (Examples of tales of the sea could include calming the storm, walking on water, fishing on the other side of the boat, etc.)
Sing the last line and have children share more stories of Jesus. Repeat as desired.
Sing the whole song together.
**The secret to making this work is to keep it fast paced, so the repetition of each line is only interrupted by a small amount of talking. The purpose is not to tell any of the stories in detail; just to remind them of the story with a few words.
Today we're going to learn a song about telling stories, but these aren't pretend stories. These are real stories about Jesus.
Sing the first line: "Tell me the stories of Jesus I love to hear"
Can you think of some of your favorite stories of Jesus? (If you want, you can post pics of different stories on the board to help them remember: nativity, baptism, raising Jairus's daughter, with the children, etc.)
This time sing it with me, then I will point to someone (or call on someone raising their hand) to tell a story of Jesus. (The telling is short: just one sentence.) Then we will sing the line again, and someone else can tell a different story. (Repeat as often as you like, perhaps 4 times per line.)
Sing the next line and explain what it means. "If Jesus were here right now, what question would you like to ask Him? What story would you ask Him to tell?" Sing the line, have someone share their question, sing the line again, have someone else share, etc.
The next line tells about two places where Jesus spent lots of time: the wayside and the sea. What is the wayside? (Show a picture of the sermon on the mount to give them a clue.) In this picture, is Jesus in a city? The wayside is someplace out of the way of the city; the countryside. Sing the line, then show a picture of a "tale of the sea" and have a child tell what is happening in the picture. Sing the line again, and show a different "sea" picture, etc. (Examples of tales of the sea could include calming the storm, walking on water, fishing on the other side of the boat, etc.)
Sing the last line and have children share more stories of Jesus. Repeat as desired.
Sing the whole song together.
**The secret to making this work is to keep it fast paced, so the repetition of each line is only interrupted by a small amount of talking. The purpose is not to tell any of the stories in detail; just to remind them of the story with a few words.
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