I am Thankful

Flip Chart

I am so excited for Angie Killian's new song, "I am Thankful." It is a beautiful song. I created a flip chart that is big enough font to use in Sacrament Meeting in case your kiddos need a little extra help remembering the words. I like to use the pictures to because it helps the younger kids remember the words as well. I have recently started printing them on cardstock and I put the pages backwards in the binder and flip the pages down. It makes it easier for my primary presidency to flip them in time while I lead with hand motions. Here is the file in case you would like to use it as well. Just click on the file below and you can print it out:

Hand Motions

I decided to create a video with hand motions because I love teaching the kiddos hand motions/ASL. I base most of my hand motions on ASL but try to keep things simple so it is easier for the junior primary to follow along. They love hand motions! Here is my video:

Word Puzzle

Sometimes it can be fun to play a memory game. This week I plan to do one of my favorite activities. I went to www.blockposters.com to create a poster using a high quality image of Jesus Christ and the Woman at the Well. Then I tweaked the image a bit so that it would allow for me to have my entire flip chart on the backs. I was careful to make sure I flipped the pages left to right so that when I flip them over they stay in the correct orientation. Then I just put them in order and I can easily put them up opn the board or a wall before primary. It has 20 blocks which is a lot. So I plan to pick about 4 kids each time we stop to make sure we get them all flipped over. You can do less or more depending on how often your pianist stops. When they get chosen they choose a spot to flip the words over and we start to see the image appear. The goal is to see the full picture by the end and that we are singing it by memory then. I still use my flip chart during Sacrament Meeting when we sing, because it helps those who may not come every week. This game just helps them remember it a little bit easier too. I am going to post the file I used for this poster below in case you want to use it, or you can go to the website I listed and create your own. Here is my file:

Living Water Block Poster

.pdf

Download PDF • 8.07MB

Thankful Turkey

I had fun last week creating a turkey that the kids could help me fill in with things they are thankful for as we sang. Basically we passed around a stuffed turkey that I named Tom as we sang. Occassionally, the pianist would stop playing. When she stopped if the child was holding the turkey they would say something they were thankful for and I would write it on one of the feathers I had on the board. I just cut the shapes out of cardstock and laminated them so I can reuse them every year. I also told them that our goal was to write a different thing on each feather. Some of the kids came up with the cutest things to be thankful for. It was a great activity and we were able to sing through the song several times.

Video for Practicing

If you haven't heard this song or just want a video to share with your primary or even just need a way to practice it, this is the official video and it is fabulous!

Music

Angie Killian also has the music on her website as well as some free coloring pages. You can access that here by just clicking every step you need in the box below:

I plan to add other fun ways to teach this as I get closer to Thanksgiving. For now, I am having fun with Halloween :) I will update this post as more ideas come to me!