13th Article of Faith Song

This article of faith is so beautiful and poetic.  We want the movement to enhance the message so we are going to choreograph this one in style!

Beginning:  Have the children start by standing with the feet apart and hands at their side.  They sing the first phrase in this position.

Action Part 1:  Walking up the Wall:  Then as they begin to sing the words "Honest, True, Chaste, Benevolent, Virtuous"  they will "walk" their hands upward in front of them. So start with "honest" and extend right hand in front at waist height. Then on "true" the left hands joins, only a little higher. The right hand on "chaste" is again higher, left hand on "benevolent" and finally on "Virtuous" both hands are extended straight up.

Now both hands forming fists, elbows bent, the arms jerk downward as the children say "Yes".

Action Part 2:  The Disco Dance:  Then we are doing a rolling of the hands to the beat while hands and body move first to the right and then to the left in "disco" style while singing the song.

At the words "We believe all things" the Action Part 1 repeats: Walking Up the Wall. Right hand out in front "We believe all things". Left hand: "We hope all things". Right hand: "We have endured many things".  Finally both hands are up high on the long note for Hope. Then we walk our hands downward as we sing "to be able to endure all things." (five walking steps downward)

Action Part 2:  The Disco Dance repeats now as we sing "If there is anything virtuous, lovely or of good". . . Then on the words "report or praiseworthy" where we have a fermata (hold) we roll our hands in front of us quickly. Then resume the disco dance through the end of the song. End with a little jump right hand extended backwards and left hand extended forwards.

Senior Primary can learn this easily.  Jr. Primary  - teach a little bit each week until they have it.

12th Article of Faith Song

This song is a march!  It has to be to fit with the patriotic theme of this article of faith.

The actions are like this:

We believe in being subject to kings - Marching following by three imaginary "beats of the drums" while singing "boom, boom, boom" along with the piano part.

Presidents,rulers, and magistrates - Marching

In obeying, obeying - Divide into sections A and B again.  The A section sings first while freezing in a "saluting pose" while the B section keeps marching.  The B sections now sings the echo "obeying" while also freezing in "saluting pose"  (A section continues to be frozen)

Honoring - marching resumes

And sustaining, sustaining - same action as "in obeying"

the law.  Stay frozen and end with two imaginary beats of the drum "boom, boom"!

After the kids know the song well, I would line them up and I would be the leader - The Drum Major.  (I may even want a hat and baton to lead my group around).  Our room is small so I would have them follow me right out the front door of the primary room and down the hall and into the back door of the primary room.  There is no one we would really disturb by doing this.  Don't forget that when you are marching in a line EVERYONE needs to stop moving forward when you sing the "obeying" and "sustaining" sections of the song!

11th Article of Faith Song

This is our only song that is in 3/4 time - having three beats per measure so we will just have some fun with triple time.

The song is easy to learn.  It has a quiet quality and needs to sung with a lovely singing voice.  The last note needs to be held while the piano plays a short ending.

Teach the song with a simple beat pattern of both hands touching lap following by two claps of the hands. Cue this as Down Clap Clap.  Emphasize that the first action is the strong beat while the clapping is the weak beat.  They should FEEL that strong beat so make it a loud clap on the lap followed by two softer claps of the hands.

As soon as you can hear and feel that Strong Weak Weak beat of the movement add the song.  End by doing Down Clap Clap Down

Only doing what I did above will entertain the children for a couple of minutes.  It is much too easy once they can do it.  So the fun part of this song is to see how many triple beat patterns the children can invent that will go with this song.  And then let the children take turns leading the movement while everyone sings.

Some examples:  Stomp foot, clap, clap;  Clap, touch head, touch head;  Clap, jump, jump

You want to let the children be as creative as they can without being irreverent and just plain silly.

10th Article of Faith Song

This is one of the more difficult songs.  So we are going to make it a lot of fun!  Don't forget to help them understand what the words mean.

We know that movement makes it a lot more fun and helps to learn the words.  Isn't it funny that you give them MORE to learn, and it makes it EASIER!

I would start by teaching first the two most difficult parts.

1.  Start with the duet where one group sings "That Zion" and holds that last note while the other group sings "the New Jerusalem".  Then the same with "will be built upon" which is held while the second group sings "the American continent".  Make a game of it.  Change parts.  Let the first group freeze while they sing their long notes while group two dances or claps while they sing theirs.

2.  Then teach the final phrase:  "its paradisiacal glory".  Teach them what the word means and then chant it.  Clap it.  Stamp it with your feet.  Repeat the word paradisiacal over and over until there is no question but what they get it!

Now you are ready to teach the song with the movement.  This song needs to move.  It is in cut time but needs to be felt as if there were two beats per measure.

SENIOR PRIMARY:  For these kids the song will be done with partners - standing in a circle. The partners are facing each other one facing inward and the other outward.

The movement has four actions.  1.  Clap legs 2.  Clap your own hands  3.  Clap partners two hands  4.  Clap your own hands.  I would cue it as Down Clap Partner Clap.

Using this action sing the whole song.  Practice until the children can sing and clap the pattern without thinking.

Now change the Zion section to this:  The partner on the outside raises hands high above head and freezes as they sing "That Zion" while the inside person claps the rhythm of the words and sings "the New Jerusalem".  Then outside person brings hands down and pushed them right back up on "will be built upon" while the inside person claps the rhythm of the words and sings  "the American continent".

Then the original pattern resumes on the word "Christ" and continues to the end of the song.  They will end with "Down Clap" on the final word "glory".  It would be fun to make that last clap loud!

Now the inside circle moves one person to their right and everyone has a new partner.

JUNIOR PRIMARY:  The older class in Junior Primary may be able to do the same movement as Senior Primary but your little guys won't be able to do that.  So I would just use this pattern for the whole Jr. Primary:  Clap their own hands twice.  Clap their partner's hands twice. I would then do this pattern with a song they children know very well.  This would work well with the song "Fun to Do".  Teach this while the children are in their seats looking at you so you are actually clapping your own hands twice and then touching the air twice "pretending to be touching your hands" :)

The first week I would make a game of this.  Get the kids in a circle with the partners facing each other and sing "Fun to Do" while doing this action.  "Clapping our hands is fun to do, fun to do, to do, to do.  Clapping our hands is fun to do. To do, to do, to do."  Now the inside circle moves one person to their right and everyone has a new partner.  Begin again.  Make sure you are doing this with a nice fast tempo and you can even speed up if they are getting it and challenge them more.

Week two teach get into the circle formation and repeat what you learned last week.  Now tell the kids they are going to do the same thing with their hands while you sing them the new article of Faith song.  Then ask everyone to sing also with you as they clap their hands.  This is a time when the teachers and leaders can really be a help to you.

Week three review the clapping with the article of faith song and then teach them to do the Zion section the same as you did with senior Primary.

9th Article of Faith Song

This song has only two actions which can be taught to the children before you teach the song.  The first action is a clapping on the off beat.  To do this the hands move outward on the beat and then clap on the off beat.  I tell the kids they have to feel the beat by "hitting the air" as their hands go outward.  Then the clap has a softer feel than the outward movement.  Cue this by saying "Out clap, out clap, etc" while the music plays so they can feel this movement with the beat of the song.

Action number two is a simple rolling of the hands to the right and then to the left in front of the body. You feel the beat of this movement as you step on the foot in the direction you are rolling the hands.  As you model this for the children they will easily pick it up.

So now you alternated those two actions with each musical phrase.

Action 1 - We believe all that God has revealed.
Action 2 - all that He does not reveal and we believe that
Action 1 - He will yet reveal many great and important things
Action 2 - pertaining to the kingdom of God.

Once the kids can do the actions then sing the song with them as they do the movement.  Then invite them to sing along.

At this point you can add a simple addition to make it even more fun.  On action 2 they can turn around in a full circle as they roll their hands.

Note:  even though these are hand actions the whole body really need to get into the feel of the song.  I find that I am just bouncing as I do this.  The more fun the movement is, the easier it will be for the children to learn the song!

8th Article of Faith Song

1.  This song begins with the children all standing in a very formal choir stance, hands joined in front of them, fingers interlaced, hands tight against chest, with elbows out to the sides. In this position they sing "We believe the Bible to be the word of God".

2.  As you sing the next phrase "as far as it is translated correctly" you lean forward as if you had something very special you needed to say.  Using your pointer finger you wave that finger on the phrases "far, la, rect, ly".  

3.  Now the fun begins.  With knees bent and hands down beside them the whole body bounces to the beat while singing "We also believe the Book of Mormon" and then hands swoop downward and as the music moves upward on the next phrase the hands reach up high "to be the word of God".

4.  Now hands are in the air and first the right hand bounces upward and then the left, etc as you sing "Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah".  End with both hands shaking as they move downward as the music also moves downward on "It is the word of God!"  I like to add a feeling of finality by having the hands clap against the legs right after the word "God".  So it would sound like "It is the word of God. Clap".

7th Article of Faith Song

My Primary always sits in two sections with a walking space or row dividing the two sides.  I am going to assume you all do this.  For this song it is important that there are two distinct "sections".  I will call them the A and B sections.

The song is in 6/8 time but it is duple time or two beats per measure.  This gives the effect of "rocking" and it will be very easy for the children to pick up this movement.  Have them stand with their feet apart so they are balanced and as you sing the song everyone will lean first to their right and then to their left to the beat of the music.  BUT when you get to the repeated words "visions and healing" then the groups become independent of each other and move only when they sing.  So the A section will sing first and the B section will be the echo.  So B freezes while A sings "visions" and leans to their right.  A now freezes as B sings the echo and leans to their right.  Now everyone is leaning right.  The opposite now takes place and the A section leans to the left on "healing' while B is frozen and then A freezes while B sings the echo and leans to the left.  Then everyone leans right/left as in the beginning while they finish the song up to the word "tongues".

At this point with legs still spread apart everyone stands upright and does the clapping rhythm (short long short long).  The song ends with a bow (one hand across body in front and the other across body in back) as they sing "and so forth".

6th Article of Faith Song

This is one of my very favorites.  I can hardly wait to do this with the children.  The hardest part of the song is learning and remembering the words "apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists and so forth"  so I made this the fastest part of the song.  You may have to start slowly to learn the rhythm of those words but by having to learn it really fast, the children will have those words embedded in their brains.

Start by reminding the children what a scale is.  Sing the C scale.  Then show them how the melody begins by climbing up that scale.  Then demonstrate the actions by walking your hands on your lap.  As they sing the first line they will "walk" their hands on their laps,  keeping the beat with the "half note", ie; we - lieve - same - za - ist - prim - church.  By going upward very slowly you accentuate the fun of going downward quickly. On the word "namely" you do a drum roll on your lap.  Then you sing that last sentence by patting your lap as if you were running with the words.  You are actually keeping the beat with the eighth notes as you do this.  This is the part that eventually you want to be able to do as quickly as you can.

The optional way to do this is to just stand as you sing the first line.  Slowly walk the half notes as you sing the first line.  Then do a drum roll on their legs as they sing "namely".  Then on the last line they lightly "jog" along with the eight notes as they sing that last line.  You can do an ending on "and so forth" just like you did in the Fifth Article of Faith Song.

5th Article of Faith Song

As we did on the Second Article of Faith song, we are going to dance a little with this catchy tune.  I don't want to do the same thing.  I want a different movement to be associated with each song to help the memory process.  So this time we are going to learn a simple bounce step that even the little kiddies can do.

Start with the right foot and the right hand, the arm straight down at the side with the palm of the hand facing the floor.  Bounce twice on the right side and then do the same on the left side.  Do this from the beginning until the words "laying on of hands".  Then on the words "by those who are in authority" raise the right hand in the air as if twirling a rope and walk around in one complete circle.  Then go back to the bounce through the end of the word ordinances.  On that final word "thereof" - jump landing with left foot and left hand reaching forward and the right foot and hand reaching backwards! 

4th Article of Faith Song

Can't miss out on using 1,2,3,and 4 as the central theme of this song.  We are going to use the following movement:

We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the gospel are:  Stand Still

First:  Extend 1 finger

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ:  Point heavenward on the phrase beginning "Lord"

Second:  Extend 2 fingers

Repentance:  Since repentance is a change or turning around we will extend both hand palms forward on the second syllable "pent" and then turn the hands around, palms facing yourself on the "ance".

Third:  Extend 3 fingers

Baptism by immersion:  arm is brought forward bent at elbow with hand pointing upward, palm facing sideways (the other hand is under the elbow giving support).  Then on the word immersion the arm rotates sideways at the elbow downward and then upward to represent immersion.

for the remission of sins:  since remission wipes away our sins, both arms are crossed and sweep outward to designate the wiping away of sins

Fourth:  Extend 4 fingers

Laying on of hands:  both hands are set on head

for the gift of the Holy Ghost.  Just keep hands on head the whole time.

3rd Article of Faith song

The new melodies for these songs are more upbeat - easy for children to learn.  But that part only kicks into their "musical" intelligence and memory.  We want to also use their kinesthetic intelligence and memory by adding movement to each of the songs.

The 3rd Article of Faith song is about the atonement of Christ.  It doesn't in and of itself call forth a particular movement.  I am going to do a simple hand jive with the kids.

The song begins with two half notes on "We be". . .  First the right hand is extended in front on that first note, the left hand joins on the "be".  Now both hands are out in front and ready to begin the jive.

Use this pattern:

Both hands pat the lap twice:  Say:  "Lap, Lap"
Clap twice:                             Say:  "Clap, Clap"
Right hand hitch-hike twice :   Say:  "Hitch-Hike"
Left hand hitch-hike twice:      Say:  "Hitch-Hike"

Repeat this pattern three times.

Then on the fourth time, end with both hands doing a double Hitch-Hike on the word "Gos-pel".

To help your little ones learn the hand jive, practice it by saying the words, then whispering the words, next mouthing the words, and lastly by thinking the words.  You could also practice the hand jive to another song they already know such as "Fun to Do".

Around the World with "Our Primary Colors"

To go along with the Friend magazine's international focus this year, we are singing the song Our Primary Colors and learning the colors RED, YELLOW, and BLUE in all the different languages.  This is just for fun so we aren't worried about if we pronounce them perfectly.  Google translate does provide an audio pronunciation for you, though, and that is very helpful.

Here is what we've done so far.  The first is Spanish.  The second is Russian.  The 3rd is Russian pronunciation.  I'll add the others are we go along.

NB:  It turns out that one of Primary teachers went to Russia on this mission.  The kids with thrilled that he could read the Russia characters and speak the language.  It made it so much more fun to have him help us!

I Will Follow God's Plan (Missionary Moments)

As you know, Senior Primary is very different from Jr. Primary.  These older kids need to be challenged. Sometimes I like to challenge them musically, but sometimes I just want to talk in depth about the gospel message in a song.  I Will Follow God's Plan is the perfect song for a gospel discussion.  

So I created 6 scenarios and printed them out and rolled them up tightly and put them in balloons.  I am choosing kids to come up and pop a balloon any way they wish and then they get to "take advantage of a missionary moment".  

We are focusing on making statements of what we believe - not trying to convince another person that they have to believe us.  The sentence can start with "I believe. . . " or "My church teaches us . . .".

Here are my scenarios.  You could create your own easily.

A friend at school is mad at his parents and he says to you, "I never asked to be born!" Did we humans have any choice about coming down to earth?

Another friend is not happy with how her life is going.  She lives in a home where there is not a whole lot of love and caring.  She says "Why did I have to be born to this family?"  What could you say to her that would show you believe our life is a gift from God?  How is life a gift?  

Another friend - friends give us lots of opportunities to share the gospel, don't they.  This friend just doesn't know what to do with his life.  Spends most of his time just playing video games or watching TV.  What could you say to him that shows him that what we do with our life is important.  What does it mean if someone says in the gospel sense "My life has a plan".  

You are watching a movie with a friend and the main character in the movie says that it doesn't matter what you do because there is no purpose at all to human life.  What will you say to your friend?  Will you let him just believe what that actor said?  What is the purpose of life on earth? 

You are talking to an aunt who is not a member of the church.  She says to you "I remember when you were born.  One minute there was no ______________ and then all of a sudden there you were!"  What could you say to her to let her know what the gospel teaches us about when and where our life really began?  When and where did human life begin?    

You have a church friend who's house just burned down in a terrible fire.  He is the kind of friend who you've always been able to say anything to.  But now he is wondering what bad things like this happen especially when you've been trying your best to live the Gospel.  What could you say to him about the fact that we all chose to come down to earth that might help him accept this disaster in his life?  Why do you think we wanted to come down to earth?