Thursday, August 15, 2013

Song Review Game - Mrs. Potato Head (a new twist)

My primary kids don't have "A Child's Prayer" down pat yet, but I never want them to feel like they are just drilling and drilling on one song over and over, PLUS I had stake conference coming up and didn't want them to forget more than they learned when they take a two-week hiatus from singing time ... so it was time to take a fun break and review the songs already in their repertoire. We'll get back to Week 3 of "A Child's Prayer" later ... and if you missed it, here's Week 1 and Week 2.

I re-used the Mrs. Potato Head I made for a song review over a year ago, with a new twist.


Here's how I did it the first time, and below is the variation I did last Sunday.

First, the objects:
I drew Mrs. Potato Head and her parts free-hand and then colored them in. It was a bit of a pain, but totally worth it. If choristers are interested, I'll scan the colored drawings for you to print and cut out to use with your primary kids. Just leave a comment and let me know if there's some interest in printing out these parts! If choristers find this helpful, I'll try to post them to print out by Saturday afternoon.

You can let children use tape or magnets to attach the pieces to Mrs. Potato Head. I used Velcro stickers since I went to the trouble of laminating. If you want to make something yourself, another variation is to use a 3D object: I did something similar to this last year, with letting children decorate a real, live pumpkin for Halloween but you could even tell them that you have a box and it's pretty boring - and then have them decorate the box ... or decorate a cake (but they'll want to eat it) ... etc.

Second, how I played:
The object of the activity was to complete Mrs. Potato Head before Singing Time ended. Neither Senior or Junior primary was able to accomplish this task, but they sure had fun trying. I think this is one of my primary kids' favorite activities in Junior and Senior primary because it is very participatory.

I put a diagram on the wall showing what each body part or accessory represented:



Hair - 2-3 - I am a Child of God
Hat - 142 - Every Star is Different
Eyes - 228 - My Heavenly Father Loves Me
Nose - 103 - When I am Baptized
Mouth - 86 - An Angel Came to Joseph Smith
Hands - If the Savior Stood Beside Me
Clothes - Families Can Be Together Forever

If after we sang the song, a child drew the same type of item out of the bag, we sang the song again, but in a different way. I drew another name out of the name jar to decide in what way we sang a song. If I felt the song was too reverent for the way they chose, I just told them that and had them draw again.

Options included:

  • Staccato (good for pronouncing enunciation)
  • Volley (each side of the room switches off singing a different line of the song)
  • Sway (sway while you sing)
  • I love the options that the Crazy Chorister suggests for ways to sing a song here.
  • Backwards (face the back of the room)
  • Flamingo style (one leg up)
  • Teachers only
  • Children only
  • Hum
  • Girls only / Boys only
  • Clap (I have them clap to the rhythm. Incidentally, they love this one.)
  • In the dark (turn off the lights)
  • Every other word (this one was hilarious because it's SO hard to do but it was fun for the kids to try, and it made them think about the words)
  • Hot (pretend you're really hot and sing like you are sweltering)
  • Cold (pretend you're really cold and sing like you're freezing
  • Mouth Open (sing with your mouth wide open - I used this as a teaching moment to explain that if they don't enunciate, that's how they sound when they sing during the sacrament program)
  • Sport (I did this for the Olympics and made up a bunch of different sports that had different ways of singing, like pretending you're ROWING, or LIFTING WEIGHTS, or SWIMMING, etc.)

I love making different ways for children to sing how to sing a song, whether it's choosing an object, playing a game like spin-the-wheel (see upcoming post!) or plinko, or turning over a piece of paper. This time, I did the last item and just put items on paper, because I did not want the kids to deliberate too long over different objects to choose.

We sang several songs and had a lot of fun - and then, to make sure the children were ready for the teacher (a member of the stake primary presidency this time), we ended with a reverent song. The teachers really appreciate this :)


29 comments:

  1. I am NOT an artist!! I would love it if you would scan your potato head artwork in for me to use!! I love this idea and think my Jr primary kids, especially, will have a lot of fun with it!! Thanks for all of your wonderful ideas! Amazing, talented people like you make my job much easier!

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    1. Thank you for the nice note and I'm so sorry it took me so long but I finally posted the images! You can find them here: http://singingmagic.blogspot.com/2013/10/finally-mrs-potato-head-for-singing-time.html or send me your email address and I'll send them directly to you. Thanks!!

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  2. Love this idea! And would Love a copy of your pieces. Thanks for the great ideas!

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    1. Thank you! I'm so sorry it took me so long but I finally posted the images: http://singingmagic.blogspot.com/2013/10/finally-mrs-potato-head-for-singing-time.html

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  3. I would also Love a copy of Mrs. Potato Head along with the parts and accessories. Thank you for your hard work!

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    1. Ahh, thanks! I'm so sorry this took so long but I just got around to scanning and posting them tonight. http://singingmagic.blogspot.com/2013/10/finally-mrs-potato-head-for-singing-time.html

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  4. You shared so many great ideas in this post! Thankyou, I'm excited to put some of them into use!

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    1. Ahhhhh, thank you. It's nice to know I'm not just talking to myself, ha ha. I am soooo sorry this took so long. What happened to September and most of October?? I just posted them here: http://singingmagic.blogspot.com/2013/10/finally-mrs-potato-head-for-singing-time.html

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  5. What a lot of great ideas. I also would love a copy of Mrs. Potato Head and parts. Thanks for your hard work.

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    1. Argh, I am individually notifying everyone because I feel bad this took so long but you can find the pieces, finalllly posted, here: Thank you! I'm so sorry it took me so long but I finally posted the images: http://singingmagic.blogspot.com/2013/10/finally-mrs-potato-head-for-singing-time.html Thanks for your kind words!

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  6. This is such a cute idea, would I be able to get a copy of Mrs. Potato Head? Thanks!!

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    1. Better late than never, I hope :p I'm so sorry but I finally posted the images here: http://singingmagic.blogspot.com/2013/10/finally-mrs-potato-head-for-singing-time.html

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  7. Love the idea!! Can I get a copy sent to my email?
    mckaylittlewood@hotmail.com

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    1. I am sorry this took me so long but I just sent you the images by email. Please let me know if you do not see them in your inbox.

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  8. You're quite the artist! I would love a copy! daveandcatherine {at} gmail {dot} com

    Your ideas are amazing! Your secret word game for "A Child's Prayer" was a HUGE hit with both Junior & senior, & my Nursery kids love the simplified sign language for "I am a Child of God!"

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    1. I am sorry this took me so long but I just sent you the images by email. Please let me know if you do not see them in your inbox.

      Oh, and thank you for the feedback on the past singing time activities. I can't take credit for the original Secret Word Game - it's been floating around for years, though I did put my own twist on it :p I am glad you taught the children the sign language. That took a lot of planning, and it would be a shame not to share the research!

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  9. I love your ideas! Thank you for taking the time to post. I would love Mrs. Potato Head. candid93@msn.com

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  10. I would love your drawings to use for primary. So cute! my address is chef99marenbc(at)gmail(dot)com Thanks!

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    1. Thank you! I am sorry this took me so long but I just sent you the images by email. Please let me know if you do not see them in your inbox.

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  11. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE a copy!!! Please!! Thanks for all your hard work! Such a great idea! Stacie528@aol.com

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    1. Thank you! I am sorry this took me so long but I just sent you the images by email. Please let me know if you do not see them in your inbox.

      Delete
  12. I would love to use your Mrs. Potato Head this sunday. We have our program on Sunday and I am going to use it in Junior Primary. Love your ideas. Thank you for posting.

    angmitch@hotmail.com

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    1. Shoot, the comments aren't coming directly into my inbox and I didn't even realize someone had posted in late Sept. I am sorry I did not send these to you in time to use on the Sunday you had intended but I hope you still find them to be useful ... I just sent you the images by email. Please let me know if you do not see them in your inbox.

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  13. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  14. I would love to use your Mrs. Potato Head this Sunday. Please send me a copy.

    LEKKK@aol.com

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    1. I'm sorry I did not see this in time for you to use last month. I hope you will have another opportunity to use them. I just sent you the images by email. Please let me know if you do not see them in your inbox.

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  15. I would love to use your mrs. Potato Head. Please send me a copy.
    tmabauman@gmail.com
    Mary Ann Bauman

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I am sorry this took me so long but I just sent you the images by email. Please let me know if you do not see them in your inbox.

      Delete
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