My idea for teaching the song Faith came from the Chorister’s FB group. Find that thread HERE. Thank you to those who contributed to that post and all the information!
Now, this will take a little prep so start gathering egg shells asap – one for each child in your primary (hit up a few of your neighbors if need be!). When you crack them, make sure you only crack open the top as you want them to look like little “heads.”
The whole egg-head growing thing can be skipped if you are short on time, but it really provides a great visual for having faith! Just scroll through this part if it won’t work for you.
I buy my eggs by the 5-dozen at Costco so I saved the carton for storing/transporting them. I need about 60 eggs for my primary so this was perfect…
All you have to do is fill the eggs about halfway full with some potting soil. The kids WILL NOT be filling their own egg with dirt – can you imagine the mess? Ha!
I did want to do a test run with one so I sprinkled about 1/2 tsp. of hard white wheat kernels (from my food storage) on top of the soil, then I added a little more dirt to fill the egg to about 3/4 full. I added a bit of water and put it outside in the sun. I’m crossing my fingers (and having FAITH!) it starts to grow this week! I’ll keep you posted.
UPDATE: After a week of watering and sitting in the sun, here are my results:
I see one little shoot on that egg on the right – see it? I think I have a few more about ready to break the surface. I’m not sure if I should be worried?! This week wasn’t very warm, with lots of rain. I am still going to proceed as planned. I’m hoping (and still having LOTS of faith!) that the weather will be warmer these next few weeks. I think I’ll also be keeping these on the counter in direct sunlight instead of outside.
Now, on to implementing this egg/seed growing stuff into a lesson plan…
Before primary, cut out and tape one of these pictures randomly under each child’s chair (if you have a Junior and Senior primary, make sure you tape 2 of the same ones under each chair):
Then print these 4 pictures. I printed these on white card stock and placed in a sheet protector. I wanted VERY simple visuals to teach this song:
Download all the above documents using the access button below.
For the activity, ask the kids the following:
- If they know the sun will come up tomorrow
- If they know Heavenly Father hears their prayers
- If they know plants will grow from seeds
- If know they have a heart.
Then ask how do they KNOW these things? They are demonstrating faith! To have faith is to know something exists, even though we haven’t seen it.
Then tell the kids to look under their chairs and to retrieve the picture taped there (if there are 2, instruct them to leave the other one there!). Sing the song to the children as they find their pictures.
Gradually you will be placing each picture on the chalkboard that coincides with the phrase. You can also write the key words underneath each picture on the chalkboard. As you put up the pictures on the board, the kids with the matching pictures under their chairs will get to come up and sprinkle about 1/2 tsp. of wheat into an egg. I’ll probably have about 4 – 6 kids come up at a time. I’m planning on having a big bowl of wheat and several 1/2 teaspoons for them all to use. While they are planting their seeds, the rest of the primary will sing the song through to the phrase that’s posted on the board. I’ll also ask questions in between each phrase like:
- How are you showing faith by simply believing the sun will rise?
- How are we showing faith when we pray?
- How is faith like a seed and what must we do to help our faith grow?
- How do we feel that we have faith?
I may have a presidency member oversee the planting so I can continue on with the lesson. By the end of singing time, each of the 4 pictures will have been placed on the board, all the children will have “planted” seeds in an egg, the phrases will have been discussed, and the song will have been sung several times.
After the song is learned and time permitting, have the kids only sing the line of the picture that was under their chair, then have everyone trade pictures with a neighbor and repeat until everyone has sung each phrase.
After primary, add a little more dirt over all the wheat, gently water and place in the sun. Then show YOUR faith and watch it grow for the next 2 weeks until you use it to review at the end of the month! If progress is being made by the next week, I will probably bring in the eggs so everyone can see.
Find my lesson plan for teaching the 2nd verse HERE which also incorporates these eggs.
These printables are filed on my Resource Library page under Song Title > Faith.
11 thoughts on “Faith, 1st Verse”
Hey just wanted to share what we did. I decided to do a little interpretive dance to this song. I brought a big flowing dress and made up my own exaggerated moves. I told the kids that sometimes we feel a little embarrassed to show our faith but if we practice we can become comfortable showing what we believe even if we feel different.
In order to get them moving I started out with playing a selection from a tape my Mom had called "Primary 1 Nursery Musical Activities". This tape is a real gem and I plan on using it much more. I bet you would like it also and since I cannot seem to find it on the web I plan on making it into a CD and getting it to you some how. Some form of payment for all the help you are giving to me and others that follow your website. Thanks a ton.
Heather Heward – Moscow ID
Just an FYI for others wanting to try this. Wheat should really be soaked for best results. Here is a how to http://wheatgrassgrower.blogspot.com/2009/11/planting-your-wheat-berries-to-sprout.html
That way your faith pays off. (: If it is done this way you can bring back your hair the next week!
Thanks for the idea, we had a great time in primary today using it. (:
Julie Lopez,
Thanks for the tip – wish I would have known about it sooner! Hopefully it helps others out!!
~Camille
Julie Lopez,
Thanks for the tip – wish I would have known about it sooner! Hopefully it helps others out!!
~Camille
Camille,
I used to come to your blog weekly when I was primary chorister and needed to get a visual for another reason. Coming back to your blog brought back so many great memories of primary music and how beautiful your ideas are. Thank you for putting this effort into this blog.
Janis
Hi Janis,
Thank you for your nice comment! I love singing time and this blog – my heart and soul resides here and I'm so glad others like it too!
~Camille
Quick question, I wanted to do the eggs tomorrow for singing time teaching the song Faith. Did any of the eggs break while painting the faces on ordering any of the process
Hi Kara,
I didn't have any problems with the eggs breaking.
~Camille
I try to do the least amount of prep work possible 🙂 , so I thought I'd post for others out there like me. For this lesson I just didn't grow any plants. I thought about just doing one plant, but decided not to. I still posted the larger pictures that went with the song on the board and taped the mini pictures under each chair. Then we would briefly talk about the first picture on the board (the sun). Then we would sing the whole song through and the kids would stand up when we sang the phrase that matched their picture. Then I had them swap pictures and repeat! The kids love standing and sitting. I've found when you get their bodies involved, they are more involved and totally focused on the song. Thanks for the pictures and ideas!
Camille, I didn’t see the comment about soaking the wheat berries before planting them before we planted yesterday in Primary. (The kids loved this, by the way, and I am really looking forward to taking the eggs back so they can see how they have sprouted–fingers crossed!) Anyway, I was wondering how you watered yours and how often. I don’t want to over- or under-water, and they just seem too dry to me the way I am doing it. Thanks a million times over for your wonderful ideas and resources!
Hi Melissa!
My usual rule of thumb for watering any plants is when they look dry, I water them. It’s usually about once a week, but if they look like they need more water, bump it up to twice a week. I didn’t soak my wheat berries and they great wonderfully! Maybe they would have sprouted sooner if I did. Good luck!!
~Camille