Thankful Turkey

Choose 8 to 10 songs that the children love to sing including some "thankful" songs.

Using the Turkey from the November 22, 2014 blog post:

• cut 1 large circle and one small circle
• draw the face as shown 
• Cut out 10 to 20 (or more) feathers from colored paper
• Tape the turkey on the board with no feathers
• Give each teacher 3 or 4 (or more) feathers and ask them to help the children write something they are thankful for on each feather.
• choose one class (I look for reverent classes) and ask 3 or four children from that class to bring up the feathers and read what was on each feather
• tape them around the big circle (the body of the turkey)
• Sing one or two of your chosen songs
• Choose another class and repeat the process, singing a song after the feathers are place on the turkey

Instead of cutting out the turkey, you could draw it on the board and tape the feathers around it's body.

This activity can be long or short to meet your music time.

Autumn and Gratitude

There are 24 songs listed under "Gratitude" in the Primary Songbook.  How many do you and your Primary children know?

Autumn Day p. 247

• 1st line: Use a fall picture
• 2nd line: As you sing this line look to your right then left.  Point to the children then yourself.
• 3rd line: Use real apples or pictures of a red and yellow apple
• 4th line: Picture of a tree full of apples or leaves
• 5th line: Picture of children with Jesus

Sing each line, then have the children sing it with you a few times. Continue through the rest of the song.  The children can help hold pictures.

It's Autumntime  p. 246

This is an easy song to teach and fun for this time of year.

• Sing the 1st verse.  
• Ask how many times they heard the phrase "it's autumntime."   (4 times)
• Have the children sing it with you.
• Sing the 2nd verse.
• Ask How many colors they heard and what were the colors.  (3 colors, yellow, red, and brown)
• Have the children sing it with you.
• Sing the whole song with the children
• Ask if anyone can tell what the rhyming sound is or the rhyming words.  ("ou" sound, down, town, brown, found)
•  How many times they sing the phrase "it's autumntime" in the entire song.   (8 times)

Use colored paper (yellow, red and brown) to help the children sing the colors in order.  You can use colored leaves in those colors, too.

Cut out several yellow, red and brown leaves and pass them to several children. Have them stand when they sing the color of their leaf.

I Am Glad for Many Things

One of my favorite thankful song is "I Am Glad for Many Things," p. 151  I have spent the entire singing time on this song.  Children come up with something that they are thankful for and we substitute it in place of "many things."  (You may need to change more words in the song to make sense.) Keep track of what the children are thankful for by writing it on the board.  See how many things they can be thankful for without repeating anything.  Use the last verse to finish.

Example:
I am glad for my Savior, my Savior, my Savior.
I am glad for my Savior who is mine today.

I am glad for sunshine bright, etc.

I am glad for my fam'ly, etc.

I am glad for forests green, etc.

I am glad for oceans blue, etc.

I Think the World Is Glorious

Teaching children to be grateful is critical as they grow.  "I Think the World Is Glorious" p. 230, describes the many things that we all have been blessed.  Children will love this song and especially enjoy the chorus.

Make or find pictures of the following for the 1st and 2nd verses:

• the world
• birds, bees, flowers
• teachers and parents

The chorus:

• write the word "sing" 4 times and put musical notes around each word.
• attach each word to a stick

Sing the first line using the world picture.  Ask the children to sing it with you.  Tell them that the Lord has given us many things and we need to be thankful for all of them.  Sing this line 2 more times with the children.

Show the pictures of the birds, bees and flowers while the pianist plays the 2nd line.  Sing it for the children then ask them to sing it with you.  Ask them why the birds, flowers and bees are a blessing to us.  (There will be many answers.)

Now sing the 2nd verse.  Tell them that the first line is repeated in the 2nd verse so they already know it. Sing it with them.  Show the pictures of teachers and parents.  Sing the 2nd line then have them sing it with you twice.  Sing both verses (without the chorus).

Sing the chorus.  Ask the children how many times you sang the word "sing." (8)  Ask 4 children to hold the words "sing."  Have them hold it up high as you sing the chorus again.  Tell them to listen for the rhyme in the chorus - love and above.  Ask them to sing with you.  After each time you sing the chorus, ask the children with the sticks to give them to 4 other children to hold up as they sing it again.

Sing the whole song using children to hold the pictures and the word sticks.

For Health and Strength

"For Health and Strength" p. 21 is a fun song to add to our thankful songs.  It can be sung as a round.  First, sing the song several times so the children know it well.  Then divide the primary in half and have one side begin and sing it all the way through.  Have the other half begin singing from the beginning when the first group sings "and."  Trade sides and have the other side begin and the first side begin second.

The teachers will be a big help if your primary has never sung songs like this.  If you are especially adventurous, divide the room in fourths and have each group begin as it shows in the songbook.  Try having everyone stand up.  As each group finishes singing, have them sit down.  the last group will be the last to sit down.

Make sure that you review thankful songs that you recently learned.  This will help the children retain them for next year.

Thankful Song

This month is a great time to learn some of the "thankful" songs in the Primary Songbook.  "I Am Glad for Many Things," p. 151 is fun to sing.  After you sing the first verse, sing it again but instead of singing "many things," substitute something that you are thankful for, such as "Primary."  Ask the children to think of what they are thankful for and use their ideas in the song.  You could sing as many verses as you'd like as the children share their thankfulness.  End with the last verse to tie all the thankfulness together.

The Thankful Chain

We've all made paper chains for Christmas whether it be for decorations or a count-down chain.  How about a "Thankful" chain?!?

Cut 25 1" strips of fall colored paper 8 1/2" long.  Write the titles of the songs you would like to sing during singing time - 5 or 6 songs.  On the rest of the strips write "I am thankful for __________."  Mix the songs with the other strips and make a paper chain.

 Hang the chain on the chalkboard, podium, piano, several chairs, any place where the children can see and reach it.  Tell the children that on each chain there is a song or an "I am thankful for __________." sentence.  If the link has a song on it, the primary will sing it.  If it has "I am thankful for __________.", the child will tell something that he or she is thankful for.

Encourage the children to make their own "Thankful" chain at home with their family and see how long they can make it by writing things that they are thankful for.

The "Thankful" Tree

Whether your are reviewing or learning a new song, this activity will help children think of what they are thankful for.

• Cut out enough autumn leaves for everyone in your primary.  (all different colors)  Die cutting is fast and school supply stores have them already cut into packages of 25 or more.
• On a poster board, draw a tree with branches (no leaves)
• pencils

Every time  you sing a song (or phrase if it is a new song) have a child write something that they are thankful for on a leaf and tape it to the tree. 

If you are using this "Thankful" tree activity for the entire month, keep track of who has put up a leaf and
continue throughout the month.  By the end of November the tree should be covered with "thankful" leaves!

If you are doing this activity one or two weeks, ask several children to write on a leaf after each song so that the tree is covered by the end of singing time.

The "Thankful" Turkey

Here is a great way to sing "thankful" songs and and share things that you are thankful for - the "Thankful Turkey!"  Cut a large circle from brown paper for the turkey body.  Draw or cut out another small circle from tan or grey paper for his face.  Draw a beak and eyes and a red waddle.  Paste the face in the middle of the large circle.  Cut several hearts from all colors.  These will be the turkey's feathers - thankful feathers.  Put the hearts in a basket.  Choose songs that talk about thankfulness or favorites from the Sacrament Meeting Program.  Before you sing a song choose several children to pick a heart and tell what they are thankful for, then tape the heart around the turkey body as feathers.  You can have 10 feathers (hearts) or as many as 50 if time permits.  A challenge would be not to repeat anything that the children are thankful for.

I Am Glad for Many Things

"I Am Glad for Many Things," p. 151, is a great song showing thankfulness.  It is simple to teach because of the repetition.  Once they know the words and have sung it a few times, you can help them come up with things that they are thankful for.  Ask the children to think of something that they are thankful for.  While they are thinking for a moment, bring out the bag or basket of items that you have brought from home that we all could be thankful for.  Your basket could contain anything you feel inspired to bring such as: measuring cups, a computer mouse, a phone, disposable diaper, a toothbrush, a can of soup, tuna, peanut butter, a bar of soap, glue, scriptures, The Friend magazine, etc.  Sing the song again and in place of "many things," use one of the items you have brought.  Some of the words won't fit the three notes in the song but do your best to fit them in with a few extra notes.  You can have the children suggest things that they are thankful for and use them in the song.

As time permits, review "Autumn Day" p. 247.  Encourage the children to look around and see how many things that they are thankful for each day.

Gratitude

We can never teach gratitude enough!  If we said "thank-you" more often there would be more peace.  Those hyphenated  words are powerful, indeed. The Primary Songbook has 24 songs listed under "gratitude."  How many do the children know and how often do we sing them?  I am going to put more of these songs into our repertoire and help the children understand the importance of being thankful -- and this month is a great time to begin.

"Autumn Day" is a perfect song for this time of year.  It is about the abundance we have at harvest time.  The rhyming phrases are very helpful in learning this song.  Cut our 10 apples (I used red and yellow paper for the apples).  Make them large enough to print the word at the end of each phrase.  Draw a tree on the board and tape the apples on the tree so the children can see the words.  Sing the song for them and have them listen for the rhyming words.  Sing two phrases, then have the children sing the phrases with you.  Ask a child or two to pick the apples that match the phrases and put them in the order that we sing them.  I like to put the apples in a row under the tree.  When you have all the apples/ words in order, explain the importance of the last two phrases - or ask the children to tell why the phrases are important.  What should we learn from this song.

If time permits, sing "It's Autumntime" on page 246.  Ask the children what we could be thankful for in this song.  Answers could include: beauty, colors, our eyes that we can see the beauty, raking leaves with friends or family - thankful that we can serve, be with friends and family, etc.

Thanksgiving Turkey

Thanksgiving or giving thanks is a great concept to teach children.  I love to give the children many opportunities to express their thankfulness -- they come up with treasured ideas.  I made a simple turkey and 10 feathers (more or less).  Tape the turkey on a board.  Let the children either put the feathers on the turkey or take them off.  There are several things that you can put on the feathers:

1. titles of "thankful" songs
2. titles of favorite songs
3. phrases of a song that you are working on

Ask the children to tell one or two things that they are thankful for, then let them choose a feather.  Sing the song or phrase on the feather.

How to make a simple turkey:

Make one large circle for the turkey body.  Cut another small circle for the head.  You can put a waddle, eyes, mouth and feet if you would like.  Cut several feathers out.  I made the feathers out of several different colors.  It should look like this: