Last week I introduced the song "Build an Ark" using the 2013 training video done by the General Primary Presidency. It went so well and everyone was engaged. I got choked up a few times from feeling the spirit.
I continued teaching "Build an Ark" this week and it went great! I made an ark with cardboard. I bought a moving box for a television set from Home Depot to make the ark. It was quite the project. Your ark can be as small or as large as you like. You could even print one off on your printer at home. I got some clipart from google and from Etsy to make the animals in the windows of the ark. I also printed off some animals to tape around the Primary room.
Supplies needed:
*Tape or Glue to secure animals in the windows of the ark
*Cardstock to print off animals
*Brown cardstock
*Black marker for each child (I text the Primary Presidency and the secretary happened to have a drawer full of black markers)
*Bluetooth Speakers
Preparation:
*Make Ark
*Cut brown paper into "wood" pieces
*Write actions on the back of each set of animals (explained better later in the blog)
Lesson/Activity:
*Questions are in RED
*Answers to questions and speaking is in GREEN
*Singing is in BLUE
Introduction:
Can you guess who we are going to be singing about today?
Yes! Noah!
We learned about Noah last
week. We learned that he was willing to
do whatever the Lord asked of him and because he did what the Lord asked of
him, he was prepared when the rainstorm came.
*Sing the first verse of the song*
What did we learn from Noah that we can apply into our own
lives?
We can also do what the
Lord asks us to do which will help us in our own lives when trials (storms)
come our way.
*Sing the 2nd verse of the song*
Building our own Arks:
What does building our own arks mean?
Building a
testimony.
In the second verse it says, “I can” many times. We are going to help build Noah’s ark today and we are also going to build our testimonies. Do not look now. I will tell you when to go. Under your seat you will find a piece of brown paper which will be wood for the ark. On the piece of paper, you will write “I can” and then how you can build your testimony. Your teachers can help you write if you need help. Really ponder what you can do to build your testimony. You have a few minutes.
READY GO!
(As the children are writing, play "Build an Ark" on the Bluetooth speakers. I played it twice through and everyone was done at that point.)
Activity:
If you look around there are many animals that are not in the ark. We need to help Noah build a strong ark as we build strong testimonies to protect us from the storms in our own lives. Our storms are trials and temptations. Each set of animals will tell us something we need to do before they will get into the ark.
Ask a child to pick one of the pair of animals that are taped around the room. Read the back and follow the directions. Here is what I had for each set of animalss:
Skunks: Sing second verse and chorus while plugging your nose
Pigs: Sing first verse and chorus. Oink on the words Noah, Boat, Ark, and Rain. (I wrote the four words on the chalkboard before primary started.)
Bunnies: Hop every time the light switch is turned on or off. (Choose a child or teacher to turn lights on and off.)
Frogs: Catch bugs with tongue while singing second chorus. (This one is silly and the kids love it.)
Monkies: One child comes to the front of the room and makes up his/her own actions to the song while everyone else follows along.
Ducks: Quack one verse
Wolves: Howl every other line of the second verse
Donkeys: Sing "Hee-Haw" for certain words in the song
You can choose to print off different animals and do whatever actions or sounds you want.
Incorporating the "wood" blocks (Building a strong testimony):
Before Primary, preferably at least the night before, ask the primary presidency to help you with the activity. Have at least one or two presidency members walk around the room while the children are singing. Have them tap three or four children that are singing their best and participating. Those children will bring their "wood" (paper) up to the ark. Have one presidency member tape the children's paper with their statement of how they can build their testimony onto the ark.
The children had so much fun and also felt the spirit!
