Teach the Children- Patriotic

I used the following story at Christmas time as a singing time idea:

Teach the Children- symbols of Christmas

Each symbol had a corresponding song. It was a really AWESOME singing time. In preparing this year for a patriotic singing time, I thought, why not do the same idea but with patriotic symbols?

This is what I came up with:

I told the kids I had fallen asleep one 4th of July, watching the fireworks through my window.

As I drifted off, I had a dream about some of the fathers of our country. I dreamt I saw George Washington

and Abraham Lincoln.

I showed these pictures and pointed out that George Washington was praying and Abraham Lincoln was reading scriptures. I said that in my dream, they were crying. They said that children were no longer being taught why it is such a blessing to live in the United States of America. I told the kids the fathers of our country asked me to teach the children about the symbols of America and why this a blessed place to be.
I showed a picture of the Statue of Liberty

I told the kids that her torch shined bright for all the world to look to as a symbol of hope, liberty and freedom. So they know that this is a place all are welcome to seek these things,

I showed other things like the Liberty bell, a bald eagle, and American flag, the Lincoln Memorial statue and explained their symbolism. Last, I showed a coin:

I explained that some people don't think we should have God in our country. They think He should not be in the pledge of allegiance or on our money.

And I read Psalms 33:12

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord..."

I said that we live in the Promised Land, but that this will only remain the Promised Land if God remains in our country.

I said we need to have pride in our country and the fact that it was formed by those seeking religious freedom. Because of those people. and so many others who have given their lives since then, we are blessed to live in freedom.

 

This singing time lesson was REALLY awesome! Especially for Senior Primary. But it went way over Junior Primary's head, so if I had it to do over again, I would have adjusted things for them, but overall it was GREAT!

 

I then got special permission to teach" God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood. The kids had learned this song in school, and they LOVE singing it! Even Junior Primary! I cannot sing this song without crying!

 

We replaced the first few lines of the song with an alternate version my daughter had learned in school:

"In history I learned about so many countries where

People lost their right to freedom

The blessings you and I both share."

Wiggle My Ears

I ADORE President Monson! His amazing story-telling ability makes the gospel fun and approachable to everyone. One of my favorite stories he has shared is the following:

 

 

 

How could you NOT love this man? Such a fun story. So- when we, as a Primary, decided to learn "We Thank Thee, O God, For a Prophet" this month, I couldn't help but use this story as my motivator to get the kids to sing.

 

So- I made my own poster of President Monson that looked something like this:

 

 

After I pasted a large picture of President Mosnon onto my Foam Core board, I cut his ears separately, and pasted those to strips of poster board. I then cut slits in the Foam Core board where his ears should have been and slipped the strips of poster board through the slits in the foam core. I could then "wiggle" his ears from the back.

 

The better the kids sing, the more Presidnet Monson's ears will wiggle. Hee hee! Should be fun :)