My Flag, My Flag

Every country has their own flag.  "My Flag," p. 225, is a great song for any country!  The repetition makes this song easy to teach and fun to sing.  When you look at the words in "poem" style, you can see the repetition and rhymes.

My flag, my flag, my country's flag,
I love to see you wave;
My flag, my flag, my country's flag,
The banner of the brave.

Wave on, wave on forever,
The banner of the free;
Wave on, wave on forever,
The banner of the free;

The flag of liberty.

The children will need to hear the melody several times, so sing 2 lines at a time a few times then go to the next 2 lines.  It helps if you can move your hand with the melody so the children can see when the melody goes up or down.

Find pictures or actual flags of different countries and see if the children can identify which countries they represent.  Missionaries that you know may have one from the country they served in that you might borrow.

My Country

Regardless of the country that you live in, patriotism is important.  The Primary Songbook  has 2 great songs about showing patriotism - p. 224 and 225.  Once the children know these, they will become favorites.

"My Country" p. 224

• Sing the song for the children
• Tell them that countries all over the world have different landscapes:
• mountains
• deserts
• icebergs
• Sing the first verse then ask them to sing with you.
• Ask: What kind of landscape do we have here where we live?
• What other landscapes does this song mention?
• Did you hear any rhyming words? pride - wide, bound - found
• Sing the second verse
• Ask the children to share what this verse talks about.
• Can it apply to any country? Why?
• Sing it with the children.  Listen for rhymes.
• Sing the whole song a few times

Father's Day Fun

Choose some favorite Father's songs from the Primary Songbook - p. 201, 209 - 2011, 188, 191, 192, 193 are all great family songs that appropriate for Father's Day.

Depending on time and how many songs you choose to sing, ask 1 or more children to tell something about their father.  Then sing one of the songs.  things they can tell about their father could be:

• Favorite: food, game, color, scripture story, etc
• What does he do when he goes to work?
• What do you like to do with him?
• What does he like to do for fun?
• What's your favorite family activity?

*There are several activities in past posts.  Check them out!

Father's Day

Father's Day is two weeks away and there are several songs that celebrate fatherhood and grandpas.  One of my favorites is Fathers, p. 209.  I like the message and the importance of those who "father" each of us.

Begin with the chorus.

• phrase 1: We sing "special" twice: father's are so special with a very special love.
• phrase 2: they watch and protect - they guide and direct
• You may want to make word strips of these two sets of words so the children keep them together.
• phrase 3: Ask the children where the home above is. This phrase will have more meaning if they know that it's talking about heaven.

Verses:

• As you teach each verse, make sure the children know what father we are singing about.
• Use the rhyming words to help keep the words in order.
• Be sure to sing each verse separately several times so the children know the melody and words.
• This may take more than one week to teach.

Choose to Live the Gospel

Making the choice to live the gospel is important.  Sometimes we do it without thinking and other times we forget to think about living the gospel.  When the Lord commanded Nephi to return to Jerusalem to get the records, Nephi had no idea what kind of choices he would have to make to get them.

Ask the children what choices he had to make in order to bring the plates back to his father.  You might what to tell the story, read it or ask questions to help the children tell the story.   ( 1 Nephi 3:1-10, 18:4)

• What happened when they asked Laban for the plates?
• What did they decide to do?
• What happened when they offered Laban money?
• What choices did Nephi have to make after?

When the Lord asked Nephi to build a boat, what choices did he have to make as he did his best to do what the Lord asked him to do?

What are we asked to do?  How do we make choices to do what the Lord asks us to do?

• What do we do to prepare for Sunday so we can go to church?
• What choices to we make to honor our parents?
• What choices to we make to serve?

Sing each verse of Nephi's Courage, p. 120 after the discussion for each verse. You may have other questions that will help the children see that they make choices all the time.  Are they making good choices?