Halloween Candy Activity

This is the easy song-review activity I'm doing the day after Halloween:

1. Have a bowl of various Halloween Candy.
2. Give the Pianist a pre-determined list of songs.
3. Invite a child to choose a piece of candy. The candy they choose will determine the next song. (So they think... but really, you're just going down the song list).
4. Sing.
5. Repeat.

*Beware of peanut allergies. I did not pick any peanut candies to be in the bowl....
*Be sure that the kids are aware that they do not actually get to eat the candy... that it's just for choosing songs...

Staccato Sticks

1. Pass out popsicle sticks.
2. Use them to tap the tunes you're reviewing, as you very deliberately sing staccato.

Ideas to tie into themes:

• Back To School = pencils
• Doctor = tongue depressors
• Summer = popsicle sticks

Flower Patch

A busy week requires something easy for Sunday Singing Time. So this week it was song names on the back of cute Dollar Store plates, which I called "the flower patch".  I also used my dancing flower to make things fun.

TP Snowman Bowling

Stack toilet paper rolls.
Roll up songs inside.
Make a cute top hat.
Bring a ball.

BAM. Snowman Bowling.

*NOTES:

• Have a few kids be the "snowman restackers" and "ball getter".  Makes your life easier.  ;)
• SR Primary (mine, at least) gets crazy with games. It was loud, but I expected that, so I let it happen and went with it.

Melting Snowball

Make it:

• Create a layered "Snowball" by winding up white (or maybe even blue) crepe paper streamers.
• As you're winding it up, put something in the layers. (Ideas: words from a song, song titles (to sing), pictures, ways to sing...)

Use it:

1. Pass the "Snowball" around the room while you sing.
2. Sing until the piano stops (either random or at the end of the song).
3. Then have the child holding the snowball unwrap a layer until they find something.
4. Repeat.

Snowball Search

1. Fill a bucket with cotton balls.
2. Also include song titles, written on white circle shaped paper.
3. Invite a child to dig through the "Snow".
4. Sing the song title they pulled out.
5. Repeat.

Simple Snowball Toss

1. Put song #s in a cotton tin
2. Choose a child to throw a cotton ball into the muffin tin
3. The # it lands in is the one you sing!

A Noteworthy Review Game

Paraphrase: 

We are going to play a game. The point of the game is to have as many "notable points" left over. If we have "no notes" left over then we are not ready for the Program!

1. Start with a number of "notable points". (I'll write on the board next to a note drawing)
2. Have pianist play a note of a song. Add notes until the kids get it.
3. Subtract how many notes it took to get the song from the total.
4. Repeat with the next song.
5. See the total at the end.
6. If you still have remaining points you are ready for a Primary Program that will surely be "Noteworty".    ;)

We thank you, ___________

So there was this week I had something planned. And I didn't follow the plan. If you know me, I like my plans and it's NOT like me at all to ever deviate from a plan! But I did. And it turned out great.

After hearing a High Councilman talk in Sacrament about what he used to do in a family night where someone would sit in a chair and the others in the family would say nice things about them, my Primary Music plan was thrown out the window and instead an impromptu Music Time was full of thankfulness for Primary Teachers and Leaders. A few lyric tweaks to "For Health and Strength" and my creative kids came up with fun songs to individually thank their Teachers.

I asked the kids for 3 words to describe their Teacher. Each Teacher's song was different and adorable, but something similar to this one from Junior Primary; ♪ ... "For teaching, loving and bringing me treats - we thank you, Sister _____ ..." ♫

HOW TO DO THIS EASY SINGING TIME:

1. Get chalk and an eraser
2. Invite a Teacher to sit in a chair up front
3. Ask the children what nice thing this Teacher does for them
4. Figure out some words that will work and write them on the board
5. Sing the song (we sang it 3 times in a row)
6. Repeat

Conductor Review

Before the Program I want to dedicate one singing time to a Conductor review. Sometimes during the year we forget what the Conductor does and why they are there. Pre-Program is a good time for a review!

Items to review that are incorporated below:

• watching the conductor
• who is the conductor?
• when to start and stop
• standing and sitting together
• volume control

OKAY, HERE GOES:

Besides yourself, a slinky is the only prop for this lesson.

*Choose one familiar song to do this with. I'll be using I Am a Child of God, or a Program Song.

1. Get attention: Play "Same Shape". See if they can make the same shape you are making with your hands/arms/body. Congratulate them for paying attention to you with watching eyes.

2. Explain that the Conductor tells you what to do. Something like, "When we are going to sing a song, the Pianist plays an intro and when my arm comes up that means we are about ready to start! Watch!" (Tell Pianist to play intro and a phrase or two into the song). Get feedback, did they see your arm? Maybe even mess up on purpose to see if they are watching.

3. Divide the room in half, assigning 1s and 2s. Tell the kids to sing, only if you are holding up their number. They'll have to watch closely! Sing the whole song, switching off numbers.

4. Show stand up and sit down hand motions. Do it a few times. *Invite a child up to lead standing up and sitting down.

5. Explain the cut off 'pinching' motion. Have entire Primary sing any note (yes, any random note. It sounds funny, but who cares?), then cut it off. Do it a few times. *Invite a child up to be the person cutting off. Repeat. (JR loves this)

6. Show a slinky. Wide means sing loud. Close together means sing soft. Sing while manipulating the slinky for volume variances. *Invite children to use the slinky.

7. Show "Hand on Her Ear Means She Needs to Hear" more or less volume. (The motion is one had to the ear, the other hand either going up or going down.) Sing while indicating volume this way. *Invite kids to try.

8. End by telling them that watching the Conductor is important and now they know how to do it and they will do awesome and their parents will be so proud of them.

ABC Song Choices

1. Bring alphabet magnets.
2. Invite a child to choose one.
3. Have the Primary help them think of a song that goes with that letter. I made a poster to help them out and so we're all on the same page [below].
4. Repeat

*Optional;

--Theme it as "back to school".
--Or, call it a Primary Song Quiz

--Or, put the letters in a pan and call it "alphabet soup". Then use kitchen stirring spoons to "stir" in the air as you sing.

-----------------------------------------------------

UPDATE:
I did this without really thinking it through and it failed. First we had all of the kids ages 3-18 in the room (5th Sunday lesson where all the Adults leave). So there wasn't a lot of discipline happening around the room. Second, I didn't have a lot of time. Third, the kids picked hard letters right off the bat! Fourth, it was loud in the room and I could get the room's attention, nor hear the suggestions the Pianist was tinkering out. Disaster? Yeah, sort of....

BUT, I'm giving it another chance! I feel that it's important for the kids to see that something can fail and can be done again as a success. Although.... I don't really think they thought that, from their vantage point they just wanted to endure and get outta there - they don't really care... BUT I DO, so I'm giving it a better go this week. I have given it much more thought and anticipate it will go better!  IT WILL!

Back to School Backpack

Fill a backpack with back to school items

that tell the kids how to sing.

• BINDER PAPER CLIP - sing with lips clamped shut
• CRAYONS - only those wearing the color I hold up sing
• ERASER - "erase" words and leave them out as you sing
• GLUE STICK - glue legs and arms together and sing all stuck together (stick a different way for each verse)
• HAND SANITIZER- use hands to sign the song (choose a song we know sign to, of course!)
• HIGHLIGHTER - stand up tall and sing "brightly"!
• RUBBER BANDS - sing with rubber band stretchy lips and face
• RULER - use as a volume meter and measure up inches as well as they are singing
• SCISSORS - cut off the song, then resume, and so forth
• SHARPENER - sing "sharply" (staccato)

*This idea can be found all over the place.  This is my minuscule addition to the already existing idea.

Sunshine Buckets

Imagine my surprise when my SENIOR kids went for this! Both JR and SR had lots of fun with it.

For the chorus of Scatter Sunshine,

1. Tell the kids to grab some "sunshine" from the air/all around. Gather it all up and put it in their "buckets". (you do it too!)
2. Hold your big "bucket" in front of you. Comment about how it's SO full, it's overflowing!
3. Make sure everyone's the bucket is full!
4. Now, grab fistfulls of the sunshine of your bucket and scatter it all around while you sing the chorus. 
5. *Bonus, when the song has the note that goes up and octave from D to D ("daaaaa-ayyyy!") use both hands to "scatter" your sunshine above your head.

We had so much fun scattering sunshine we sang it over and over!

BUT THE REAL REASON we sang this song (besides it being the end of summer and I had a summer theme going on) was to make THIS giant card for our recently released Pianist.

House Full of Love

To repeat-sing the song song Love Is Spoken Here, 

• Draw a simple outline of a house on the board. (Square with a triangle top - easy enough, right?)
• Tell the kids we need to fill the house with love.
• As they sing, hand out paper hearts to kids trying to sing their best.
• Invite the children to tape their hearts on the board. When they stick up a heart they say something they can do to bring love into their home.
• Repeat.

At the end review with the kids ways we can fill our houses with love. (speaking kindly, be nice to each other, help clean, give hugs... etcetera).

PREP:

chalk

cut out hearts

Stick Figure Family Guess

To repeat-sing a song, such as the chorus of The Family is of God;

1. Draw one of their families in stick figures as they sing.
2. At the end of the song they guess who's family it is.
3. Repeat. 

*Idea from Katie H on the LDS Choristers Facebook Group.

Quiet As a Mouse

Meet Church Mouse. He always remembers to be quiet as a mouse in Heavenly Father's House.

This is MY MOM's mouse. She used to bring it to Nursery for this lesson. Now THAT shows how long I've been blogging church ideas! Our Church Babies Blog was put together over 5 years ago, after many, many years of being in Nursery.

For a musical lesson on reverence first learn a reverent song. After the song is learned, repeat sing by playing "hot/cold". Only, play it opposite of the normal way it's done;

**Tell the children that when we are reverent we should try to be as quiet as a mouse in Heavenly Father's house.

1. Have child go in the hallway. They are the 'seeker'.
2. Have a child hide a picture of a mouse.
3. Find the mouse by singing loud if the 'seeker' is is far away and everybody quietly HUM if the 'seeker' is really close!
4. Repeat.

Here are some reverent songs to learn:
The Chapel Doors
Reverences is Love
This is God's House
We Are Reverent
I Will Try to Be Reverent
Reverently, Quietly
When I Go to Church


PREP:
Mouse picture or stuffed animal

Egg Carton Coin

Have an empty egg carton with numbers written in each egg hole. Each number represents either; 1) a way to sing, OR 2) a song to sing. Put a small bead or coin in the carton. Ask a child to shake the egg carton. Open it. Whatever number the coin landed on is what you do.

Four Corners

·        Mark 4 spots in the room.

·        Have a chair up front, close to the board, facing the board.

·        One child sits on the chair, covering eyes

·        I count back from 10 while all other children go to corners.

·        Sing the song.

·        Child in the chair listens to the song, then chooses which corner was singing best. Those children sit down and hum. Remaining standing children are still in the game.

·        Choose a sitting child to sit in the chair up front.

·        Repeat until all kids are sitting.

My WHO? Container

I have a container that I've cut strips of who can sing. I wrote "WHO" on it.  It's my WHO? can.  I use it to extend signing time and keep them singing. Since it's something I keep using it over and over, I thought I'd post about it.

For example, for the song  I Will Follow God's Plan I asked the Primary, "Who will follow God's plan?"  I invited a child to pick from the WHO? Container - and then I make a big deal about those kids ("Yes! people wearing blue will follow God's plan!!!") and only those kids sing. I first used the WHO? Container for the song I Lived in Heaven.  It's the same idea...(see it here!).

-----------------------

Ideas for WHO paper strips:

• hair color
• hair length
• eye color
• clothing color
• age (older than/younger than)
• girls / boys
• missing teeth
• have had a birthday this year / birthday coming up

___________ Will Follow God's Plan

Choose 9 kids. Use their names to fill in the song  I Will Follow God's Plan.

Abby's life is a gift; Ben's life has a plan.
Cameron's life has a purpose; in heav'n it began.
Dan's choice was to come to this lovely home on earth
And seek for God's light to direct him from birth.
Eliza will follow God's plan for her,
Holding fast to His word and His love.
Gretchen will work, and Holly will pray;
Izzy will always walk in His way.
Then James will be happy on earth
And in his home above.