Music Room Bulletin Boards

I have been busy preparing for the new school year and getting my classroom ready. I got the idea above for the background on Pinterest. Thankfully, I had some vintage sheet music lying around that I didn't have a use for. Worked out perfectly! I had just enough. Pinterest has been an excellent resource. Excited about many new ideas, worksheets, and games to try with my students.

Music Walk Game

Music Walk Game

# of Players: group game, 2 or more players

Materials: Music, CD player, Music cards (at least one per player)

Instructions for making cards: Write whatever musical terms or symbols you wish to review. You need at least one card per child. Will be best if cards are laminated, or use cardboard.

Game Instructions: Play music. Children walk in circle around cards or step on cards if you are not afraid of them getting messed up. When music stops, children stop in front of a card. They must name the symbol or definition. If unable to do so, they are out. Remove cards that were identified correctly. Continue until cards are gone or all students are out. If you do not wish students to get "out", reward points for correct answers instead. Add your own variations to suit your group.

Family Fun Nights

Bonjour! My name is Kami Gimenez and my family and I are blessed to be serving God as missionaries to the French West Indies.
One of the highlights of our week is our Family Fun Nights. It's a great tool that you can use to bring your family together and grow closer to one another! We have a specific night set aside each week (for us it's Friday) for our Family Fun Nights. We do have a few requirements though. First of all, we must do a fun activity together. Then, we always have junk food, a fun dessert, and soda! And we always have fun!

We also plan what we will be doing early in the week so we can look forward to it with anticipation. Sometimes we vote on the dessert we will have(chocolate stuff usually wins around here!) and sometimes a few family members "take over" the night and surpise us with what will happen.

There are endless possibilites to what you could do! Here's a few ideas:

~Pick a story from the Bible and each person has to bring to Family Fun Night something they created to tell the story.

~Go on a scavenger hunt and try to find the most unusual things that begin with each letter of the alphabet.

~Do a science experiment.

~Have a family auction.

~Get outside and get some fresh air while playing Hide and Go Seek.

~Play a board game.

~Have an Olympic Competition night.

~Recreate your favorite restaurant and "serve" your family. Don't forget to pretend to be a crazy waitress.

Most of all, have a great time making memories with your family. They will remember these special times of being together and laughing. Make it special and enjoy every minute!

Visit my blog http://www.adayinthelifeofamissionarywife.blogspot.com/ for a sneak peek into our lives as missionaries and for more ideas on Family Fun Nights!

7 Things to Teach Children About Prayer

I have been teaching about the subject of prayer to my students. I came across an article I found helpful, 

7 Things to Teach Children About Prayer

Please remember, I do not necessarily endorse everything on a site that I share. 

Jesus Saves - Spring Bulletin Board

The Lesson of the Droopy Rose

Hello, from sunny Jamaica!

My name is Maria and I'm a happy Christian wife {and mom} living on the Island of Jamaica.

I blog over at raising4princesses.

I'm so honored to be asked to guest post here today!

I don't remember where I heard this story before, but it is something from my girlhood that really "sunk in" and stayed with me.  The Girls Only Club is going good, meeting every Saturday at 10:00.  I enjoy planting little seeds of purity in my young girls hearts.

Today, I laid 2 beautiful red roses in the center of the concrete table.  The girls "ohh and ahhed" over them.  We admired them throughout the meeting, enjoying their faint scent floating on the breeze.  

After we finished our worksheets, I gently picked up one of the roses, held it to my nose and {dramatically} breathed deep.  "Doesn't a rose just smell heavenly?"  We passed that rose around the table.  Each girl held it to her nose, smelling the red rose.  

Next, I rubbed one of the outside petals between my fingers.  "Don't they feel so soft and velvety?"  Each girl had a chance to rub the rose between her fingers and against her cheek.

The rose made 2 more circles around the table, letting each girl enjoy it's beauty.  After much delicate abuse the petals were droopy and several fell out.  I laid the well-used rose back in the center of our circle, beside the untouched one.  "Now, if you could take one of these roses home with you, which rose would you choose?"  Each girl said the perfect looking, untouched one.

"Today, you are young, beautiful, pure...just like this fresh rose."  I went on to describe in detail how not to turn out like the droopy rose.  

"When Prince Charming comes charging over the hill on his white steed, which "rose" do you think he'd choose?"

Playing Games

Have you ever played a game and the kids are just begging to play one more time? Great! That's wonderful! But it is just the time to stop playing. You don't want to wear the game out until they are sick of it. Play it just long enough to have a good time and have them wanting to play again. That way next time you pull it out, they will be eager with anticipation. 

Games are a great way to review and reinforce certain concepts and sometimes even just for fun. The internet is a great resource for games of all types. Pinterest is also becoming a great place to get ideas and also a great way to organize them. Just remember variety is key. Use different games, play them different ways - do anything you can to make it exciting and fun. They are much more likely to remember something if they had fun while learning.