PRIMARY IDOL - We did "American Idol" (or you can do "Primary Idol") for singing time review and let me tell you, IT WAS AWESOME!!!!
We chose 3 teachers to be Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul who sat up front in front of the chalk board where I had their names written above each one. I also put up under each of their names on a little cardstock poster what each judge would be basing their points on - Randy Jackson was Words and Melody; Paula Abdul was Volume and Participation and Simon Cowell was Reverence inbetween songs and during songs. One week I did it, I had hidden the names of the review songs behind cut out hands I had all around the room when we had the Holding Hands Around the World song theme and once I picked my favorite songs, started out with a name that tune start and then had them sing the songs. Each judge has a stack of cards (printed on cardstock) with numbers 1-10, 10 being the best they could get. After the kids sang each song, I called on the judges to give their scores and WHY they gave the score they did. By the end of the singing time as they sang a Child's Prayer, the spirit was so strong in that room, that I started crying and got goose bumps - and EVERYONE could feel it. Just thought I'd pass it on.
Lori Thompson
GO FISH - I got this idea from my sister a while back and have used it several times. The kids love it!
To make a fishing pole, I took a long thin dowel and tied kite string to one end. On the other end of the kite string I glued a small magnet.
I then cut out a simple fish design and colored in the fish one side. On the other I wrote names of songs. On a couple of the fish I wrote things like, "Pick your favorite song" etc. I then attached a paper clip to the end one end of each fish. When the children are singing well I them to come up and try to "catch a fish".
This is great to do at the end of the year after you have done all of your program songs or on those Sundays when you don't have the time to prepare you as normally would.
Melona McCarthy
Salt Lake City UT
KID ART - Once when teaching a new song, I divided the song into eight or nine lines. Then I handed out the separate lines to small groups of children. The kids drew a picture that they felt represented the line of the song. When they were all done, we put the pictures together into a book and used it to help them remember the words. It was very effective, and the kids loved to see their artwork in singing time!
--Cathy Eldridge- Ucon Idaho
KITES - This idea has been great for me and I have been able to use it several times. I took a poster board and made a huge colorful kite. I then made small colorful bows out of the poster board. On the back of the bows is a song to sing, They get to place the bow any where they want on the chalk board. The kite is on the chalk board as well. When singing time is all done we take the chalk and connect the bows. Sometimes the string gets crazy! Once I told them that when I got to primary and opened my bag, I tripped and the bows blew everywhere. I told them that I didn't know where they went and that I needed help finding them. They love a good game of finding!
--Elizabeth Prisbrey - Henderson, NV
CUBE TOSS - A couple of weeks ago, I did both sen. and jun, sharing time, and virtually did the same thing for both. I had covered an 8 inch box with white paper and with bright felt pens, made it look like a dice, although we called it a "cube". I also put some little coloured pictures on each section to help the juniors, eg.one red heart on No.1, two coloured balloons on No.2 etc. I had made a list from one to six with three different activities for each number. The children sat in a circle and one would throw the "cube", then I would look at the list and give them the instruction listed.
No 1. was sing an action song,
- a) "Do as I'm Doing"; (they had to stand up and shake hands with everyone)
- b)"When You're Happy and You Know It
- c)"Jesus Said Love Everyone"
No2.
- a)HONESTY. I asked for examples of being honest then told a little story.
- b)BE A PEACEMAKER. Asked what it meant, then gave a few examples. Explained this would be setting an example to the other siblings in the family, and showing the parents they are following Heavenly Father's plan.
- C)BE PRAYERFUL.. Explained how much Heavenly Father loves to hear their prayers etc.
Nos. 3 and 4. They had to find pieces of puzzle that had numbers written on the back, that had been hidden around the room, (just to get a few wiggles out,) sit back down, and hand me the pieces when I called out the number and we made the piucture up of a family having Family Home Evening. We sang "Happy Families".
No5. was the favourite. They passed the cube around while they sang I am a "Child of God", and when the song was finished, the child holding the cube then rolled it.
No. 6 was a "Who am I" game.I gave out the clues and they had to guess who or what I was. The first one was the Scriptures. The second was Noah, the third was the rainbow.
This kept the children interested and we had a very happy, successful Sharing Time.
--Janet Pearson Bracken Ridge Ward, Brisbane Queensland Australia.
Singing
Olympics When it comes time for the sacrament program we review
by having a Singing Olympics. We invite four or five judges from the
ward to come (we are fortunate to have our Stake Primary President in our
ward, one of the Bishopric if they are available, someone from the Primary
Presidency, a music leader or really well known good singer in the ward,
maybe the choir director etc). A poster is made with all the songs
on for review and each song may receive a bronze, silver or gold medal.
The judges have a board with points, 3, 2, 1 that they can award for each
song. The kids really enjoy the challenge of trying to receive a gold
medal for each song. Julie Bell --Trioaks Ward, Utah
Who's Got the Rhythm? As part
of my program for learning new songs, we do different rhythm exercises. One
of them involves: for the junior primary, rhythm wands that they wave in
a pattern I make up to go along with the rhythm of the song and for senior
primary, we have rhythm instruments (tambourines, jingle bells, rhythm sticks,
maracas, clappers, and a few more).
One day for the senior primary, I chose 3 rhythms that occurred often
in the song and taught them each rhythm. I then divided the kids into 3 groups
and assigned a rhythm to each group. Then I put the song on overhead so
the kids could look at the music and we sang the song together. Each time
we sang a rhythm that was assigned to a group, that group had to stand up
while we sang it. I don't think the junior primary would be ready for this,
but the senior primary did very well and really focused hard to get their
rhythms right. --JR, Houston, TX
COMPOSERS: I wanted
to find a new way to choose helpers for my Senior primary, and this one
has been a lot of fun. We have been learning a little about the technical
aspects of music; what the different notes look like and how long you hold
each one, the sounds of different intervals, etc. One day I played a CD of
the program songs for our upcoming year and let them compose their own songs
on two lines of staff paper. They wrote their name on their song before turning
them in and now every time I need a helper in senior primary, I pick out
a song and our pianist plays the song they composed before we do whatever
they were going to help me with. The kids have been so excited to hear their
songs played, and love hearing the songs their peers have composed. Some
of the kids act a little shy about having theirs played and if they didn't
want to compose a song, I just had them write their name on a piece of staff
paper, so they would still get picked. Out of fifty kids, we only had 2 or
3 that didn't want to write one. When we get through all of them, we will
probably learn a more advanced technique and write new songs. --JR, Houston,
TX
Plastic
Carnival Duck Game: I ordered some plastic weighted carnival
ducks. I wrote the name of a primary song on the bottom of each and allow
the kids to come up and pick their favorite duck. Then we flip it over
to see which song they chose and then sing it. You can buy 12 ducks for
about $3.00 at Oriental Trading Co. --Krista Bateman
I saw your idea for hanging
shirts with clothespins. I took that idea and changed it a bit.
I am know for my crazy socks. So, instead of drawing t-shirts, I
unfolded a bunch of my socks, placed a song in one sock and a way to sing
it (western, opera, etc) in its match. I mixed all the socks up and
threw them in a laundry basket. I dressed like a maid (hair in a bandanna,
an apron around my waist) and walked into the primary room with my basket
of socks. The children got a kick out of matching my funny socks and
singing the songs in new ways. One child even asked his mother, who
was also his teacher, if they could play the sock game at home!
Choosing Sticks: When I was the chorister I wanted to make sure
that each child got a turn to be picked, so I came up with a simple and
very inexpensive idea (I also don't have to remember from week to week
who has/has not been chosen in a while). Because making cards and laminating
them for durability can get expensive, (and we are using tithing money!)
I purchased jumbo craft sticks at Wal-mart for about $3 for a box of 150
sticks. I painted one end of each craft stick yellow and the other
end red (any colors will work). When dry, just write the names of
the children on the center of the stick. Use full names if you have
some children with the same name. Then place all the sticks in a jar or
empty formula container, with the yellow end up. During choosing time,
select a stick from the jar. After you have chosen a child, place
the stick BACK in the jar with the RED end up. This way you can remember
that the red end has been chosen already. When all the sticks have
been turned to the red side, empty the jar, turn them back yellow side up
and start over! The sticks last forever. Tip: paint several extra
sticks so that when new children move into your ward you have sticks ready
for them. You can also have two different containers - labled SR
Primary and JR Primary.
TIC TAC TOE:
I always like to play Tic Tac Toe with
my senior primary. I would use a big poster board and make the squares right
on it. I would cut out the "X and O's" (I just made then on poster paper
as well). Of course the boys wanted to be against the girls. And the kids
always pick the middle square. So the middle square would be the song they
were learning for that month. The squares would have song tittles in them
or a questions regarding a song. Before they got a chance to come up and
put the "X" or "O" in the square, I would ask a question or dare.... This
was always soo much fun.
--Amy Branch
GRAB BAG BOARD: I bought
a 3-fold cardboard display board for science projects and cut 9 holes in
the middle section. I attached rope handles to the circles that had been
cut out and use them as "plugs". Then I taped plastic bags to the back of
the board and put slips of paper with songs to sing. (Or portions of one
song that the have to put in order on the chalkboard). This can also be used
as a punchboard with tissue paper tape to the front and a thin posterboard
with corresponding holes cut in it over the tissue paper. Lots of fun.
--Tiffany Jones
Leeds
1st Ward, Utah
BIT BY BIT: I had to teach
a more difficult song last week and could not think of a creative way
to make them learn it. I finally came up with something very simple
but very effective. I took small segments of the song and wrote them
on separate pieces of paper. I passed them out to small groups of
children and gave them a minute (exactly) to memorize that small line.
Then when the song was played through, they would sing their part and listen
to everyone else sing their part. Then I would switch the pieces of
paper around.
Not only did they master small
pieces of the song at a time, they had to pay attention in order to sing
at the right time. They really enjoyed it and I really enjoyed having
their attention!!
--Jenny Quigley
Twin
Falls, ID
OLD SHOES: At the beginning
of the year I wanted to see how well the children knew the new songs for
this years theme. This is what I did. I grabbed a bunch of old shoes from
all around my house. All different sizes ranging from my husbands to my
newborn baby's. Then I attached a song to each shoe. The shoes represented
our footsteps in following the example of our Savior so we can one day
attend the temple. The children chose a shoe from a big bag and we sung
the song on the shoe. The kids loved to see which shoe they would pick.
It was fun asking them if the shoe they picked would fit them. This gave
me a feel for how in depth each song needed to be learned. (This is something
easy and quick that can be done last minute when you can't prepare the way
you'd like that week. And can be used for other ideas, too.)
--Emily R. Crow
Evansville,
Indiana
"THE SACRED GROVE": In our
Primary Singing time we learned the words to "The Sacred Grove" by acting
it out.
I ask for trees and
select a few hands (how many trees you will need will deepend upon how
big you want your grove!)
Then, I ask for a morning sun.(I
select one of the children)
Next, I ask who will be Joseph.
( At first when learning the song, I had a boy come up to the class and
kneel down, but it works out better for us to have a child hold up a picture
of Joseph Smith. (boy or girl)
As we sing the song I point
to the grove. (children who have their hands in the air like they are trees)
I point to the Morning Sun (a
child with his/her hands in a circle above head)
Then, I point to Joseph (child
with picture)
I point to the ground when we
sing "upon the sacred ground"
They learned this song so quickly,
and they look forward to participating. It is a beautiful song.
--Tamara Loy, Gilmer II ward,
Texas
BISHOP'S TIE: When my dad was the Bishop of his
ward, the music leader had him come into the primary and she told the children
that if they sang really well, she would cut off the Bishop's tie.
(She had given him an old tie to wear that day, but the children didn't
know that) The children started singing and she held the scissors up
to his tie. Meanwhile, he's acting really nervous like he can't believe
she's going to actually cut his tie off. In the end, he got his tie
cut off and the children cheered - they had so much fun, and they sang really
well, too.
-Beth Clark
Chandler, Arizona
INCREASE THE VOLUME: I took
a quart jar of water and some different sized rocks and a ping pong ball,
and taught the children about finding the volume of a rock by displacement
of the water. (Water starts at one line, and when you drop the rock
in, the water goes up so many cubic units, and you can get the "volume"
of the rock) So I had "volume" rocks, and I filled the jar of water
almost to the top, and put the Ping-Pong ball in to float. After
we sang our song, a child would drop in a "volume" rock--large if they
sang well and knew the words, and a smaller rock if they missed some
parts. The idea was to "increase the volume" and get the water and
ping pong ball up to the top of the jar. I did set the jar in another
pan to help with the spillage (towels are handy also!)
"Connect the Stars"
There is a song about
Gordon B. Hinckley called "Gordon B. Hinckley - Constant as the North Star"
it's from the June 1996 Friend magazine. You can find it online at http://www.lds.org I taught this song by telling
the stories that went along with the verses about Gordon B. Hinckley.
Then I made a poster full of stars. Out of the stars I made a Big Dipper,
a Little Dipper and some other random shapes. I also included the North
Star and showed the children how the prophet would find the North Star (follow
the bottom left star to the top right star of the cup in the big dipper).
The children would see if they could find the shapes and sometimes they
would find ones that I didn't even put there and they would "connect the
stars" similar to "connecting the dots". The kids really got into it and
it was fun to see them learn.
-Shauna
"3-Headed Broadway Singer"
One desperate day,
I was searching for fun ways to help the children review the program songs.
I took my cue from the popular TV show, "Whose Line Is It, Anyway" where
they do a skit called the three-headed Broadway singer. To review the
songs, each child had to sing one word from the song in order. I pointed
to each child in a row and then went to the next row. It proved to be
extremely challenging for my older singers (who generally don't like to
sing anything). But it required a lot of thinking.
-Lauri Cale, San Angelo, Texas
"Good Marks"
All you need is one
or a set of stamp markers. I show them to the children and tell them that
the markers are going to help them sing better. I then choose a stamp--a
smiley face, footprint, heart, etc--and tell the children that as we sing
I will stamp whomever I see singing. I then look for those that are singing,
making an effort to follow along, being reverent between songs, etc. I
often use different markers during singing time. (sometimes I will call
on a child to choose a marker) This works wonderfully, soon every one is
doing their best! It brings out the individual's best effort, yet no one
is excluded. Somehow every one leave Primary with at least one or two stamps.
I have gotten no negative feedback about "He had more that I did", and with
a polite warning the parents as to why their children's hands are covered
in stamps, they share in the children's sense of accomplishment.
-Chavonne Klatt, Upper Mich.,
Milwaukee Stake
"I Want To Be A Super Singer!"
I am our ward's chorister,
I have the 5th Sunday's Sharing Time. I was having a hard time coming
up with a singing time/sharing time activity. So my sister gave me this
idea she did for a Sharing Time she did. It goes with the TV show "I want
to be a Millionaire". It was a big hit! The children look forward to the
5th Sunday.
I made a big sign that said,
"I Want To Be A Super Singer". Big enough that two children can fit under
it. (I cut 2 a poster board in half. Found a cardboard box big enough when
flattened to fit the four pieces of poster board, glued the poster to it
then wrote on it and glitered the words Super Singer! . Then went to the
lumber store and bought 2 - 3 foot stakes. Then I used 2 large juice cans,
covered the juice cans with some wrapping paper that had musical notes on
it, put in rocks to hold the stakes in. Then using duck tape, taped the sign
to the stakes on the backside. By doing this I could move the sign back and
forth from home.) I got 3x5 cards and wrote the questions on them. On the
front I glued a paper that I made on the computer with the words "I Want
To Be A Super Singer!" with musical notes around the words.
I asked one of the children prior
to Sharing time to help be the announcer (Regis). I would pick a child,
they would come and sit face to face with the announcer. I would have questions
about the songs we were singing that year. If they could not answer the
question they could ask for a "Life Line". This is some one in the Primary
room they could ask for help with the question. If they got the question
right I would give them a CTR ring, a bookmark, a card with a cute saying,
or a candy bar. Then we sing the song that was the answer to the questions.
Here are some questions you
could use (I used a highlighter to mark the answer):
Going with the theme
for this year in Primary. What voice do we listen to?
A. Easter Bunny
B. Satan
C. Our Prophet
D. A friend
Name the song of who we should
follow:
A. Neighbor
B. Prophets
C. People at the
store
D. Friends
In what song do we "Remember
the F"?
A. Latter-day Prophets
B. Families can
be Together Forever
C. Faith
D. Fun To Do
What is something that is important
to keep?
A. Worn out shoes
B. Broken Toys
C. The commandments
D. Dead Flowers
What Article of Faith talks
about Apostles and Prophets?
A. 23rd
B. 6th
C. 14th
D. 18th
I have many more. It is just
fun to make up questions with the songs you are singing. Make some easy
for the Jr. Primary. I make a copy of the questions so I know when it is
a Jr. Primary child's turn. We have a great time and a lot of participation.
-Luanna Hatch,
Taylor Arizona
THAT'S MY MOTHER
I wanted to do something different than
the same old Mothers Day songs for the kids to sing on Mothers Day. I made
up some verses to #135 (He's our Bishop), only I called it "That's My Mother".
The children really liked it and really sang out. The parents thought
it was a kick too. Our 2 year old is even singing it -- it's kind of catchy.
THAT'S MY MOTHER
(Sung to the tune of "He's Our Bishop"
CS #135)
Busy as a bumblebee, That's my mother.
(do a "rah, rah" signal with your arm on each "that's my mother")
Always cleaning after me, That's my mother.
Drives me all around the town. Helps me
write my homework down.
Hugs me when I have a frown, That's my
mother.
Teaching my what Christ would do, That's
my mother.
And she's serving others too, That's my
mother.
Baking bread the whole day long; could
be someone else's mom. (put finger to head like you're wondering)
It's for her I sing this song, That's my
mother (child points to his/her mom in the congregation).
-Gary Miner
REMOTE CONTROL CAR:Both
junior and senior primary aged children love this game. I place bowling
pins (with songs on bottom) in a straight line six inches apart
(more depending on the size of your RC car). The children try to
drive the car though the course without knocking over a pin. When
a pin is knocked down, we find the song to sing on the bottom. If
they are successful in driving through the course without an accident, they
can choose the next song to sing. :)
-Danae Leavitt
MAGIC WATER: I place six
clear cups of water on a table in front of the room. One cup is half
vinegar, half water. Each cup has a spoon with "magic powder" next
to it. (The "magic powder" is baking soda). Each spoon has
a drop of food color hidden under the baking soda. When the children
are called up to help me with my magic trick, they put the spoon in the
water and stir. We sing certain songs depending on the color the water
changes. I make up a chart to help us know what to sing: Green
= Give said the little stream; Blue = Book of Mormon Stories,
etc. If the water "explodes" (vinegar and baking soda mixed), the
child who is mixing during the explosion gets to choose the next song.
Make sure you have a rag or paper towels near by to clean the mess from the
water going over the cup. I usually do the activity in a cookie sheet
with a lip.
-Danae Leavitt
POPCORN TREE: I made a "popcorn
tree". I hot glued popcorn to a tree branch, and tied popcorn
balls to the tree with a song attached to each popcorn ball. When the
children were picked, they would cut the popcorn ball from the tree and read
the assigned song. We started singing time with "Popcorn Popping".
Now our little ones know there really are popcorn trees!!
-Danae Leavitt
SONG TELEVISION:I made
a "television" from a cardboard box. I used the cardboard tubes
from wrapping paper to rotate the long piece of paper with the pictures
representing words from the song. The children enjoyed learning
the song and singing with the TV.
-Danae Leavitt
APPLE BASKET TOSS: Using
an apple basket with 5 plastic cups glued to the bottom, the children toss
a Ping-Pong ball in hopes it will land in one of the cups. Each
cup except for the center cup has a color on the bottom. The center cup
is a free choice. When the ball lands in the "red cup", the player
selects a "red song". Write songs on different colored pieces of paper,
(4 of each). Some days it is very hard to have the ball land in a
cup. This is a perfect game to learn a song with. If they
miss the cups, we learn another line of the song! The children love
this!
-Danae Leavitt
BALLOON POP: We popped the
balloons to find which song to sing next. Each balloon had a song inside
it. The only way to find out what to sing was to pop the balloon.
This is a loud game! The children really enjoy it though, and they
sing very well to be able to be the "one" to pop the next balloon.
-Danae Leavitt
WHICH CUP? : Set three cups
upside down on a table in front of the children. Under one cup, place
a piece of wadded up paper or something else small that makes very little
noise. I have found that paper works the best. Make sure your
cups are identical. Let the children see which cup hides the small piece
of paper, then try and confuse them by changing places of the cups as quickly
as you can, sliding them place to place! If the children can guess
which cup the paper is under, they can choose the next song! If not,
you choose the next song! I like to save this game for the hectic weeks
that I don't have time to prepare for singing time as I would like too.
-Danae Leavitt
SWEET TREATS: For an attention
getter and to help pick songs the week of Valentines Day, I took a heart
shaped candy box and filled it with paper chocolates. Under each chocolate
was a song to sing or an idea of how we can show love to our family, Heavenly
Father, friends or ourselves. Let the children come up and choose a chocolate
and read it. When they are done let them match the song with the loving
action. For Senior primary you could use scripture and match them to the
songs.
HAIR-RAISING IDEAS: The
first (idea) is that we gave our 1st counselor in the Bishopric hair. He
is bald and the kids just ate this up!! He was such a wonderful sport and
is a very funny guy anyway, I took many different colors of ribbon and
curled them up as if to put them on a present. We sang our songs and if
it was nice he received one curl, if it was great he received 2 curls. If
it was perfect, he received 5. Perfect meaning that they were reverent in
their chairs and I could hear all of them and they were clear on their words.
This was so fun. I let them pick the colors so that they could participate.
We had silver, red, pink, purple, gold, etc... This is a way to get the songs
that they are tired of singing to be fun again.
The second is along the same
line. I have Long red hair and from time to time, I bring in my clips, barrettes,
and curlers and allow them to make me beautiful. If they are reverent and
are singing good, then I choose 3 kids to come up and put "pretties" in
my hair. I have a small primary, so those of you who have a large one could
call on the Presidency or a teacher to make you gorgeous.
Enjoy,
Rhonda Huntley, Paola,
Kansas, Olathe KS Stake
NAME THAT TUNE:Just like the TV show, the object is to guess the song
that is being played. Divide into teams. Go back and forth having the pianist
play one additional note each time. First team to guess it gets the point,
then sing the song. You could even hum that tune or whistle the tune or
do a certain action to the song eg.: Book of Mormon stories, the wise man,
popcorn. It’s a great way to get attention of the children when they are
alittle rowdy.
Mele Lasike
SINGING TIME BOOKMARKS:This
year, I wanted each child to take home something to remind them of the
CMSP songs. I went to our Elementary school and used the Elison Die's
to cut out bookmarks. Each bookmark had the song on one side and the
theme and scripture for the month on the back. When they were able
to sing the song to a member of the primary presidency perfectly then they
earned their bookmark. We laminated them, punched holes at the top
and gave them a binder ring with the first one and as they added a new one
each month they just put it on their ring. The senior primary carried
their bookmarks on their scripture totes. For 2001 I am going to use
a footprint pattern to put the songs on. The parents knew when the
kids brought home their bookmark that they should be able to sing the song
to them and many families then used the songs to sing in Family Home Evening.
Michelle Hemmelgarn
Dayton Ohio East
Stake
Huber Heights Ward
Christy's note:
I LOVE THIS!!! Here is a footprint that you
can copy and use for 2001!
SINGING TIME BIRDS:I have made copies of four
birds that I printed out from the encyclopedia. they are a parrot, hummingbird,owl
and canary. I put them on cardstock and switch the pictures during the
song. when I hold up the parrot they are to speak the words, when I show
the canary they sing them, when I show the owl they oooh and hum when I
hold up the hummingbird. I just use one or two for the junior Primary. They
all love it and have to pay attention!
