Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Musical Measles!

I am the music lady at church. After our first hour of service with everyone together, I spend the next two hours (not completely without interruption mind you) with children...teaching them Primary songs. I have to say that this is a very difficult calling...one of the toughest parts about it is that I can't just open up a book, read some scriptures and carry on a discussion about the scriptural text and applications.

I have to catch the children's attention and hold that attention for extended periods of time...working with kids from 18 months to 12 years old - quite the spectrum. However - the toughest part about this calling is that the kids want something interesting and fun, and I pretty much have to come up with a new idea every week. I occasionally try to do do-overs, but they generally seem to crash and burn the second time around. So - I scour the internet, I pray and ponder, and I search for new ideas to grab the kid's attention and help them learn the songs. Sometimes we are very reverent, sometimes we are not as reverent as we could be, but by golly, they are learning those songs and having fun at the same time! (Yes, I taught them disco moves to one of our songs this year - sorry you missed it!)

Several weeks ago I did this one.
 

I'd read about a similar idea, and then I made it mine. I cut out different colored and sized polka dots. I wrote songs on them as well as singing styles (girls only, teachers only, stacatto, loud, soft, humming, opera, cowboy etc.)

I also covered my face, hair, etc. with round colored stickers and burst into the room singing (I quickly changed in the hall just before heading in). I told the kids I had musical measles and they might get them if they too sang.

Two children came up and picked polka dots from my sweater and skirt. We then read their backs to find each song title and singing style. Then we sang. Once the kids were singing well, my assistant 'George' (my husband really is a great sport) walked around the room placing stickers (musical measles) on all of the kids who became infected.

A friend Brandon seems to stop by frequently to check us out and see if I'm wearing funky wigs or anything that he could possibly tease me about in the future. He caught me in my polka dot glory just before I headed in a couple of weeks ago.
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2 comments:

Jules said...

Oh my goodness you are so brave. I can't can't can't get that wild and crazy with my primary kids. I'm not sure I would recover from the musical measles. I just am not willing to put myself out there. Your primary kids are soooo lucky!

Brandi Johns said...

WOW, you are very into your calling. That is cool. OK, so I heard that you should take milk jugs and cut the bottoms off and put those over your plants leaving the lids on at night and off in the day. You can also put plastic over that with christmas lights all around and turn those on at night. So much work. Have you heard of that? Love the garden, but it gives me stress! LOL I know the walls of water work but I am SO CHEAP!!!!