"Spring Fever" meter

I feel like I have been M.I.A. from this blog for way too long.  Things are finally settling down a bit after our move.  Fortunately we had a couple weeks after the move where I didn't have to do my calling as we had general conference one week and then sacrament only the next week (they'd just refinished the wood floors in the gym and the smell was a little too much for everyone).  So I had a few weeks off from my calling.  It's nice to get back into the swing of things though and spend some time with my favorite little peeps.

I don't know about you all, but here in Georgia, Spring is definitely in the air, as my allergies can attest.  I thought it would be fun to make a "Spring Fever" thermometer to measure the level of "Spring Fever" with our singing in Primary.  Spring Fever is different than a typical fever.  Spring Fever symptoms include:  Excited, Enthusiastic, Energetic, and Expressive.

What better way to determine if they had these symptoms than through their singing.   Fortunately, if the kids had a high level of Spring Fever, there was a special remedy/pill to treat it (jellybeans that I'd found on clearance after Easter).  

As we sang several different songs that went along with the theme for the month, I called on different children to come up and control the meter. This worked really well as I only called on the kids that seemed to have an extra high level of "Spring Fever".

While this was a very effective music time tool, and I will definitely use it again, I am going to have to come up with a better system for the lever that rises.  It was just kind of loose and wobbly under the board. 

To make the meter...

1.  Glue the meter wording onto a poster board. 

2.  Use a second layer of poster board to make it extra sturdy

3.  Cut out a 2-inch strip in all layers (where the meter will show).  I did this with an x-acto knife and it worked great.

4.  I secured another 3"wide x14" long strip of poster board to the back of the poster (right behind the area that was cut out.  I secured this strip to the top and the bottom.  This held my lever to the back of the board and made it possible for the lever to slide up and down underneath this strip. Like I said, I will come up with a better system for this and pass that information along when I do.  There's a better way I am sure.

***If anyone wants a copy of the Spring Fever meter, let me know and I will email it to you.  

Happy Spring to you all!