One way I’ll be teaching When I Am Baptized (archives) is by bringing in some symbols from nature (and from the song lyrics) to show and explain how the first and 2nd verses of this song tie together. We’ll use these symbols to bring meaning to the words and the message in a concrete way.
See 30 When I Am Baptized Singing Time Ideas!
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When I Am Baptized Nature Symbols
Supplies:
- 2 blank CDs
- Spray bottle
- Soil
- Hand sanitizer
- Globe
- Dryer sheet
- Trophy / award
Rainbows: A simple way to implement a rainbow as a visual aid in Primary is passing around a blank re-writable CD! I have a whole spool of CDs from creating this year’s CD for the Primary families, so I’ll just be a blank one of those CDs – one to pass around to each side of the room.
Rain: I’ll be using a simple spray bottle with tap water. I’ll spray the water as a mist to represent rain. You can ask for volunteers that want to feel the rain so you don’t mist anyone that will be upset if they get a little wet. Or, simply spray the mist into the air, not towards any people.
Earth: I plan to bring in a ziploc bag of soil. This can demonstrate the earth and will tie into our discussion of how things grow and improve, and the earth is cleansed!
Made clean again: For this line I plan to bring in a dryer sheet. They have a strong scent and tie to laundry but are safe enough the kids can pass it around to feel and smell the dryer sheet. Another idea would be to bring in Febreze fresh laundry scent.
Life to be as clean: Bring in hand sanitizer to show one way we can clean our bodies. The kids can have a small bottle of hand sanitizer (pass the bottle and let the teachers help). As a substitute in a pinch, you can also use baby wipes!
Earth right after rain: I’ll bring in a globe I happen to already have as part of my boys’ bedroom decor. I got my globe at Target, and I love it! But, you can skip this one if you don’t have a globe already, but it can be a fun visual to bring in of the earth. You could also simply print a picture of the earth.
Best I can: Bring in a sports trophy or award. If you don’t have one at home you can print a simple picture of an award.
Talk about symbolism – Tying in the 2nd Verse
How do the symbols we just talked about (rainbows, rain, soil, globe, dryer sheet) remind us of baptism?
What does it mean that are “wrongs are washed away”?
Discuss how rainbows are a symbol from Heaven given after the flood with Noah that the earth was baptized and cleansed and the rainbow was given as a promise that the earth as a whole wouldn’t be flooded again.
Talk about how rain cleans the soil and helps things to grow – just like we can work on growing our testimonies and “improve myself each day.” Rain is one way the earth is cleansed on a recurring basis. What is a way that we can be cleansed each week to remind us of our baptism? (Taking the sacrament.)
Tie in the symbolism of how dirty clothes are washed and cleansed so we can wear them over and over.
Finally, we’ll discuss what ultimate award we are all trying to achieve – and how everyone can be a winner! The reward of living with our Heavenly Father again someday.
As this lesson has a lot of everyday items around your home to gather and symbolism to remember, I’ve copied the lesson into a printable format so you can stick it right into your singing time binder and it’s there for when you’re ready to gather the items and teach this lesson!
When I Am Baptized Printable Lesson Plan
There is no printable song helps to go with this activity.
You can find the entire lesson plan right here in the post! If you’re looking for a printable copy of the lesson plan, it’s included in the INSTANT Primary Singing membership when When I Am Baptized is the featured song of the month.
For another fun singing time activity, head over to this When I Am Baptized Paper Plates lesson plan.
What other fun ways could you incorporate nature symbols into your lesson plan for teaching this song?
