Pioneer Day Singing Time

A couple of years in Primary I did a Pioneer Day of singing. There was a bit of prep before hand, but the results were fantastic.  

Days before I got a big box large enough for a sunbeam and drew wheels on it with marker - this would be our "wagon" (or you could just use a wagon if you have one, but the kids loved pushing a child around in the box).  I collected sticks to make a "campfire" with and brought a blue blanket to be a "river."  I also got some paper cups and some pieces of paper that we wadded up into balls for a pioneer game of toss and catch.  Then I made a few pioneer button spinners (you can find lots of examples online).  I also prepared some snacks, I chose dried apple slices and pretzel sticks.

Following is my plan with dialog and songs to sing.  I planned out which corner to do each section in and placed my objects around the room accordingly.  The kids know about half of the songs which helps them not feel too uncomfortable when we sing the songs they don't really know.  You can play the songs from the Church music app if that helps.

The kids had a lot of fun and remembered the activity for years!  It also helped them be interested in Pioneer stories of their own.  I told them to go home and ask their parents if they have any pioneer ancestors and to ask them to tell their stories.

You can find my Singing Plan here:  Pioneer Day Singing Time

Praise to the Man (vs. 1-3)

Several years ago I taught the primary children "Praise to the Man" verses 1 & 3. I was a little nervous that the words would be too hard or that they wouldn't understand.  I'm not sure how much they really understood all the words, but THEY LOVED IT!  

With a little explanation of some of the words and phrases, they were able to learn the words, we kept the tempo upbeat and the kids really enjoyed singing this song.

You can find my flipchart here:  Praise to the Man 

Dearest Mother, I Love You

Here's a sweet little song for Mother's Day which is quick to teach and easy for the kids to learn: "Dearest Mother, I Love You" (page 206b of the Children's Songbook).  It also lends itself to very well to easy hand movements if you want to do that.  Practice for a couple of minutes each week for three weeks before Mother's Day and you are probably good to go.

It makes me sad that some leaders don't want to teach Mother's Day songs in case some child doesn't have a living mother, or their mother is not "kind and true" or for whatever other reason.  I feel that we should be teaching children what the ideal of motherhood is, so that if their situation isn't currently ideal, they have something to strive for in their own life.  They may also see and appreciate these qualities in some "mothering" person in their life whether it is an aunt, grandma, teacher or neighbor.

Please don't deprive mothers or other mothering person the wonderful opportunity of seeing their little precious one singing in church on Mother's Day.  If they don't ask you to have your Primary sing, please ask them.

You can find my flipchart here, complete with sample signs you can use:  Dearest Mother, I Love You