Combined Singing/Sharing Song Review with General Conference focus!

This Sunday's Sharing Time/Singing Time lesson will cover several objectives:

1. Highlight some of the teachings from General Conference.

2. Have a final song review before the Primary Program, which is the following week.

3. Show the children how the songs they have been learning and the talks from General Conference are closely related.

You can of course modify it to be just the standard 20-minute singing time. 

Below, I've diagrammed the song that we are singing in the Primary Program this year, then mapped them to a General Conference talk, as well as a song activity for the song that will be fun but also focused on understanding and practicing lyrics. 

I'm debating how I want to put this together but I've collected images that are relevant to each talk (took a screenshot of the speakers from their talks - links below so you can do the same). For instance, for Sister Bingham, I collected an image of her, as well a photograph of a bird on a broom that goes with the story she told in General Conference (again, links below if you need to refresh you memory). I will clarify for the kids that this isn't the actual bird from her story. Or, where President Eyring was talking about reading the Book of Mormon and heeding the prophet's advice, I found a picture of a child reading the scripture, etc:

I think for the most part I'm going to have the children match the image to the speaker, ask the Primary if they can recap something they learned from the speaker, and then for the "prize" for making the match, we play a song game, which for the most part will be "helmet hero." I've picked out which words I want to use for "helmet hero" on the right side of the page. I don't typically play "helmet hero" with Junior Primary kids so for them, I've brought out my red light, green light. But if you don't have that, I'd say just have fun with motions (every time you hear "xx" word, spin around, or "this side is going to clap out one rhythm, this side of the room is going to clap to the melody line of the song.)  

Another alternate way I thought about playing this was "Memory." If they match up two memory cards, we sing the matching song with accompanying fun activities.

Song / Pianist	Gospel Principle	General Authority Talk	Song activity
As a Child of God This song is about the power to choose, which leads to: blessings, feelings of peace, and the opportunity to serve others.	JAN Agency is the gift to choose for ourselves “Wherefore, men are free … to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men.” - 2 Nephi 2:27	https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/10/a-yearning-for-home?lang=eng “A Yearning for Home” by President Uchtdorf Story of Bobbie the Wonder Dog Just like Bobbie and other animals have a powerful instinct to go home, we have a powerful instinct to return to our father in heaven. “Two reasons why we should return to the Lord. First, your life will be better. Second, God will use you to make the lives of others better.” “Those who heed the inner call and seek God, those who pray, believe, and walk the path the Savior has prepared—even if they stumble along the path at times—receive the consoling assurance that “all things shall work together for [their] good.”7 For God “gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”8 “Perhaps you don’t consider yourself all that useful; perhaps you don’t consider yourself a blessing in somebody’s life. … Blessings will come not so much because of your abilities but because of your choices.” OR: “The Truth of All Things” by Elder David F. Evans https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/10/the-truth-of-all-things?lang=eng	Helmet Hero: (everyone but the child in the front of the room can see the missing word in the song. So we sing and skip that missing set of words. The child has to identify what words are missing.) Vs.1 The [Holy Ghost] helps me to know what is right. Vs. 2 I feel so safe and happy because Such [feelings of peace] come from family love. Vs 3 I’ll strengthen my family [by my good works]
Page 281 - The Wise Man and the Foolish Man (with Sign Language) (goes with June/July song assignments)	FEB When we choose the right, we are blessed “If ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.” - Mosiah 2:22	“That Your Joy Might Be Full” by Jean B. Bingham, RS General President https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/10/that-your-joy-might-be-full?lang=eng Story about the bird that flew through an open door. “Like that bird, sometimes we are afraid to trust because we don’t understand God’s absolute love and desire to help us.” “As you study Christ’s life and teachings in a myriad of ways, your faith in Him will increase. You will come to know that He loves you individually and understands you perfectly. In His 33 years of mortality, He suffered rejection; persecution; bodily hunger, thirst, and fatigue;10 loneliness; verbal and physical abuse; and finally, an excruciating death at the hands of sinful men.11 In the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross of Calvary, He felt all of our pains, afflictions, temptations, sicknesses, and infirmities.12 No matter what we have suffered, He is the source of healing. Those who have experienced any manner of abuse, devastating loss, chronic illness or disabling affliction, untrue accusations, vicious persecution, or spiritual damage from sin or misunderstandings can all be made whole by the Redeemer of the world. However, He will not enter without invitation. We must come unto Him and allow Him to work His miracles.”	Motion game: Stand every time you hear/sing “man” Spin once every time you hear/sing “rain”
Page 159 - Stand for the Right	MAR Living prophets teach me to choose the right “O, remember, my son, and learn wisdom in thy youth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God.” - Alma 37:35	“Fear Not to Do Good” by President Henry B. Eyring https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/10/fear-not-to-do-good?lang=eng “Those of us who took his inspired counsel to heart have heard the Spirit more distinctly. We have found a greater power to resist temptation and have felt greater faith in a resurrected Jesus Christ.” “In a season of increasing tumult in the world, those increases in testimony have driven out doubt and fear and have brought us feelings of peace.Heeding President Monson’s counsel has had two other wonderful effects on me: First, the Spirit he promised has produced a sense of optimism about what lies ahead, even as the commotion in the world seems to increase. And, second, the Lord has given me—and you—an even greater feeling of His love for those in distress. We have felt an increase in the desire to go to the rescue of others. That desire has been at the heart of President Monson’s ministry and teaching.”	Helmet Hero: Our prophet has [some words for you] And these are the words [be true, be true] At work or at [play] In darkness or [light] be true, be true and stand for the right.
The Miracle (optional song) http://smallfryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/miraclelyrics.pdf	APR Jesus Christ teaches me to choose the right “For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.” - John 13:15	Maybe “Has the Day of Miracles Ceased?” by Donald L. Hallstrom https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/10/has-the-day-of-miracles-ceased?lang=eng Clark Fales fell off a peak on Mount Shasta while hiking with 30 other young men. He survived despite “multiple fractures in his neck, back, ribs, and wrists; a punctured lung; and a multitude of cuts and abrasions. A renowned neurotrauma surgeon “happened” to be on duty that day; he is at this hospital only a few times a year.”	Helmet Hero: With His hands he healed [the leper], He made the lame to [walk the blind to see.] Jesus bled and died to save me, A price that I could never [pay alone,] When he rose again he gave me, The greatest [gift the world] has ever known!
Page 103 - When I am Baptized	MAY I choose the right when I am a baptized and confirmed members of the church “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” - Acts 2:38	Repentance Is Always Positive by Stephen W. Owen, YM General President https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/10/repentance-is-always-positive?lang=eng Parable of prodigal son Repentance is for everyone Story of young man who ‘came to himself’ and decided to prepare for a mission. He became an excellent missionary. The mission president reminded him that he would have to be diligent. “Elder, you could forget or deny everything you have just testified of in a matter of months If you do not continue to do the things that built your testimony in the first place.” (Ties into song - he remembered his covenants.)	Helmet Hero I like to look for rainbows whenever [there is rain] I want my life to be as clean as earth [right after rain] I know when I am baptized my [wrongs are washed away] And I can be forgiven and [improve myself each day]
Page 120 - Nephi’s Courage	JUN/JUL I choose the right by living gospel principles “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children  of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he has commandeth them.” 1 Nephi 3:7	Turn to the Lord by Bishop W. Christopher Waddell https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/10/turn-to-the-lord?lang=eng	Helmet Hero, vs.3 3. The Lord gives us commandments and asks us [to obey]. Sometimes I am [tempted] to choose another way. When I’m discouraged, and think [I cannot try,] I will be [courageous,] and I will reply
Page 78 - I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus	AUG I choose to fill my life with things that invite the spirit “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things” (Articles of Faith 1:13)	See Ye Out the Best Books By Elder Ian S. Ardern https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/10/seek-ye-out-of-the-best-books?lang=eng Caterpillar destroying rosebush story	Helmet Hero Vs.2: 2. I’m trying to love my [neighbor;] I’m learning to [serve my friends.] I watch for the day of [gladness] when Jesus will come again. I try to remember the [lessons he taught]. Then the [Holy Spirit] enters into my thoughts, saying:
	Closing Song Choose the Right - (congregation to join in for the last verse) Emma Gubler  (1st and 2nd verse) - organist (3rd verse)

P.S. My Primary Children's Christmas Book comes out on Tuesday!!

Description of book: "Create a Christ-filled Christmas with this gorgeously illustrated ABC book that's all about the Savior. From the A for angel to the Z for zzz, this book celebrates the true reason for our rejoicing with rhyming text and a clear focus on the nativity story. Perfect for families to read together at Christmastime and all year round!"

Goodreads Book Giveaway

     

My Nativity ABCs

by Esther Yu Sumner

Giveaway ends November 20, 2017.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Singing Time Activities to Learn the Songs Better - "Conducting Elephant" and "Helmet Hero"

I had fun with Singing Time today. Then again, I always do, but I love when everything goes more smoothly than expected. I highly recommend these activities when you want to review and reinforce songs that you have been teaching.

Scroll down to learn about:

• Junior Primary - Conducting Elephant
• Senior Primary - Helmet Hero

Junior Primary - Conducting Elephant 

I drew an elephant onto a piece of cardboard, then cut out a hole for the trunk. I added some grey paint later when I happened to have some Acrylics out for a different project. I am glad I ended up adding color, but in hindsight, I would just use a piece of gray poster paper and a black Sharpie.

I demonstrated the Conducting Elephant to the children with the first song we sang, by putting my arm through the hole and conducting through the hole so that it looked like I was waving the elephant's trunk around. I then told the children that if they sang the song very well, they would get to wear the gray sock (the elephant's trunk) and conduct the song.

This worked well, as the children sang more and more with each time a child went up to conduct. Each time I called a child up, I reminded them that I was looking for good singers so that I could have them come up, and by the third time through, almost everyone was singing. However, even the children that weren't singing at first was very intrigued and attentive. I am not sure why it took some of the children a few times through to start singing, but they were reverent until they decided to sing, and did eventually join the rest of the children, so I consider this a win.

I had also planned to give a very brief conducting lesson, which I forgot to do, but the children were great with finding a rhythm and gamely trying to conduct on their own. I actually stayed up front and conducted with them, or in the case of a little CTR4 girl, helped to hold her elephant while she conducted.

Credits
I first heard the idea for the Conducting Elephant at the Idea Door in a 2010 post. The blogger could not remember where she heard the idea but I have since seen it listed on other websites. The earliest reference I can find is in 2008 at j e n n y s m i t h . n e t

Senior Primary - Helmet Hero

I was originally going to make a game modeled after a show that aired for a short time, that I loved, calling "Singing Bee." In this game, contestants had to perfectly quote the next line of a song after the game show band stopped singing the lyrics. I was going to modify it so it was child-friendly (in other words, so children wouldn't feel bad if they messed up), but then I stumbled onto Headband Hero, which was the same concept, but way less complicated, at ldsprimaryposters.com:

"A great one for when the kids are needing to repeat a song over and over, but to help it not be monotonous. Invite 1 child to come to the front of the room and wear a ‘sweat’ headband on their head. The singing leader has a bucket of words. She pulls one out and shows it to the pianist and the other children and places it on the sweat band, where the 1 child can’t see it. Begin singing the song. As you come to the word that is stuck on the headband, the primary doesn’t sing that word. The child with the headband on has to try and tell us what word comes next - that we didn’t sing. Sr. Primary loves this one."

I made some modifications that I felt worked very well:

1. I did not have a headband so I made a hat out of foil. I just used the simple origami of a paper hat, but I used foil instead of paper.
2. I took words from several songs I wanted to review, but I assigned a color to each song to help me keep track of which words belonged to which song.
3. I let the children choose the word themselves, but not see it, as I attached it to their helmet. 
4. I sang each song through to the end before I asked the child to guess the word that we had skipped over. This helped cement the song in the children's minds.

I was super happy with how well this activity went. I have some older boys that really don't like to sing, and they were really into it, especially because they kept hoping they would have a chance to wear the "helmet." I used the Singing Time jar to fairly choose someone to come up. We did this our entire Singing Time without having to change up the activity.

Mother's Day Song Review

Last chance to practice for Mother's Day next week!

We have been learning two songs: "I Think the World is Glorious" and "Mother Dear." We have not had much time to learn these songs so the children know them, but not confidently and well. You can apply this activity to your Mother' Day songs that you need to review, but of course, I've tailored my lesson to these two songs.

Junior Primary

Learning "Mother Dear" (Practicing Lyrics)
In Junior Primary, we actually need to finish re-learning "Mother Dear" so I'm going to put all the fun pictures on the wall (deliberately big, bright colors), and just have the children take the pictures down one by one to learn the lines just as I have taught this song in the past, but skipping any extras I had added on before.

Update after church: The Junior Primary LOVED "Shy Samuel." I have a CTR 4 that struggles with primary in general, and even he was entranced. The children sang loudly and with enthusiasm when I introduced Shy Samuel. (In this pic, my arm is going through the bottom of the box into the puppet.)

Pop up Puppet (Practicing Volume)

If we have any time left, I'll have the Junior Primary practice each song for volume. I'll tell them I have a shy friend who wants to hear us sing but he'll only come out if we're nice and loud. And then I'll have head start to poke up out of a box until his whole body is out if they sing loud enough. I can even wave his arms around and make him dance for joy :) I saw a primary chorister in my ward do this years ago.

For mine, I found a puppet (one I owned already), then a box that it fit inside. I then wrapped the box so it had a nice home. I am going to introduce him as Shy Samuel. Shy Samuel is very ... well, shy! But ... he loves music, and the louder you sing, the more he wants to come out and hear all of your beautiful voices. If you sing loud enough, he might even come out and dance. (As the primary sings, he'll slowly start to come out of the box and begin dancing. If the children don't sing loudly enough, then he'll just stay in his box.)

Echo Chamber (More on Lyrics)

If we still have some time left, I will have them sing in Echo Chamber style, which is that I divide the class into four sections. I sing a line, then each corner takes turns echoing the line back to me. The repetition helps ingrain the song in their head.

Senior Primary

Echo Chamber (Lyrics)

We're going to start with Echo Chamber as above. I will tell them to listen carefully and pay attention to the words because they are going to need it for Tic Tac Toe!

Tic Tac Toe (Lyrics)

Senior Primary has had time to learn and re-learn both songs, but they are a little bit fuzzy on the "Mother Dear" song because they had about five minutes to-relearn it. 

For them, I will play Singing Time Tic Tac Toe, which is what I consider to be a traditional Singing Time Song Review Game for all the songs, but I am modifying to be for just the two Mother's Day songs that we will be singing next week. So, rather than having them identify the name of the song for which the line is from, or answer trivia questions about the song, I'm going to have them identify the next line of the song.

Basically, it goes like this:

Choose a reverent child or choose a child from the name jar, making sure they are from the correct side of the room because you are playing one side of the room against the other. They get to choose where they want to put a circle or a square. There is a line of a song behind each square. They can ask kids in their class only - no other kids on their side of the room - and then they have to tell me correctly the next line of the song. But they only have 15 seconds to answer. If they are right, they get to put their circle or x in the square. If they are wrong, the other side gets a chance to "steal" that space. 

Or, have them play against you! If the person in the class can't answer the question correctly in 30 seconds, you get to put up an X against their Os. I like this version because then we could sing the song in between turns, and even if I win the first time, they should eventually catch up and win, too!

My questions:

In the first line of the song, fill in the blank, "Mother Dear, I love you so, your (happy, smiling face) is such a joy to look at,"

In the first line of the song, finish the sentence, "Mother Dear, I love you so, your happy, smiling face, is such a joy to look at; it (makes homes a lovely place).

What is the second line of the song, "Mother Dear." Hint, it starts: "Mother Dear, I love you so. Your (lovely, shining eyes)" and make a comparison to stars.

In the second line of the song, "Mother Dear," complete the sentence, "Mother Dear, I love you so. Your lovely shining eyes, are just (like stars that twinkle. way up in the bright blue skies).

In the third line of the song, "Mother Dear," complete this sentence, "Mother Dear, I love you so. I'll try the whole day through (To please our Heav'nly Father. I'm so glad he gave me you.")

In "I think the World is Glorious," the second verse of the song only has one line different from the first verse of the song. Fill in the sentence that is different, "For I have t(eachers kind and true and parents who love me."

etc. ...

If There is Any Time Remaining in Senior ...

Helmet Hero

I will bring out Helmet Hero, which I have planned as a back-up activity several times and still not done in quite some time. This is one of my most popular activities so if you don't want to do Tic Tac Toe, do Helmet Hero. My most stubborn boys will play this game!

Balloon (Volume)
I'll have a teacher blow up a balloon while they are singing. Then, we'll let it go and watch it zip around the room, maybe with a goal to hit something ... or something ... okay still trying to think of a fun Volume game for Senior that I haven't already done, that takes 10 seconds to prepare :)

++

2018 Update

Hi everyone,
I hope you have been enjoying my blog. I still receive and respond to requests even though I was released as a chorister 4.5 years ago. I still serve in the Primary though! After years of serving in Primary, I've written a book that is available at Deseret Book and Costco during the Christmas season. Or year round, you can find it online. It's called "My Nativity ABCs." I have a second Primary-oriented children's book coming out this fall. You can pre-order "My Nativity 1-2-3s" on Amazon!

I also recently began sharing my General Conference cards that I make for my Primary kids on Etsy. You can download your own digital copy for $4 and then print as many copies as you want to make for your Primary kids!

Song Review Day!

Sunday is going to be Singing Time Review Day.

In Junior Primary, I want to especially work on our new song, "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus," since I didn't have much time to review it.

In Senior Primary, I want to review songs where I know we have the most trouble remembering the lines of the song.

It's time for Helmet Hero, shared here. I might mix it up by associating a different hat with each song, and letting the child choose a hat - and then lyrics (which they can't see of course), to play the game.

In Junior Primary, time pending, I will do Helmet Hero, except I will send two children out of the room and tell the children the missing lines of the song, since they can't all read yet.

This was a popular activity and it's been close to a year since I did it, so I'm excited to do it again. I might also bring back the Singing Elephant for Junior primary.

"If the Savior Stood Beside Me" - Week 3 - Fun Song Review Games

Now that we've spent two weeks learning both the gospel doctrine and the lyrics of the song,  I want to find a fun way to lock those lines in our minds. Senior Primary is far enough along that I will mix "I am a Child of God" and "My Heavenly Father's Love" into this activity, but for Junior Primary, I will primarily stick with "If the Savior Stood Beside Me."

I found these these cute little green St.Patrick's Day hats at the dollar store - 5 for $1!

Little Leprechaun - Putting the Green Hats to Use
I will put a fun game under each hat (the games listed below). A child will come up and choose the hat. Depending on the hat they choose, we'll play a certain game for a single verse or the song or two if necessary depending on how much lyric time we need for each game. After the game is over, the teacher for the class that was singing the best has to wear the hat for the rest of primary. (This could be substituted with hand-drawn clovers taped to the wall, etc.)

Every Other Lyric
Just to make this more exciting, I'm going to have everyone stand up and form a big circle. We're going to go around the room and have everyone take turns saying the next word of the song. That's it! If they are horrible at it, then I'll go around and say all the words and point to each person. This will have the effect of secretly making everyone listen and commit the words of the song into their memories better than before! (The hat prize mentioned above obviously doesn't work for this game.).

Hot Potato
I will bring a fun object into the room. Maybe something squishy. I have done this spur-of-the-moment before and used whatever objects I had used for the lesson that day. The children pass the item to the person next to them, and if the pianist stops while they are holding the object, then they have to say the next word of the song. If they forget, they can ask the person on either side of them. Teachers have to play, too, but I always tell the children that it's easier for children to memorize than adults, so they have to be prepared to help their teacher!

Beware, this is not the most reverent game. I have to warn them not to THROW the item at people but to be gentle, and that they need to all sing, sing, sing! However, they love it, and used sparingly, it is a fun, effective way to keep the children enthusiastic.

Singing or Standing By Color
I don't want to bring out all the favorite games at once so I'll add this one as a safe filler. I'll bring five popsicle sticks with a different bright color attached to each in a big round circle. If they are wearing that color, they have to sing. OR, maybe I'll have everyone sing but they have to stand up while their color is up, so I get to see children bopping up and down. They will still have the incentive that their teacher may end up wearing TWO of the green hats if they sing the best. I'll add a picture once I've made these pieces.

Helmet Hero

One child is called to the front of the room. The child has some lyrics of the song written on their "helmet." The class will sing the song and skip that line. Then, the child has to tell us what lined we skipped over. For junior primary, because they can't read well, I would send the child out of the room so I could whisper the words that we are skipping over to the children.

I made my last version of this helmet by folding a half-sized poster board into a paper hat. I used paper clips to change out what it said on the hat, by clipping the sheet in. It worked great! I am considering painting it with chalk paint as well ... I'll add some pictures if I do this approach.

Even my most reluctant singers love this game. It's so great to have them come up and realize they really are memorizing the words of the song!

Beat it!
I will have half the class clap out the beat of the song, and have the class clap out the rhythm of the song while we sing it. 

I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus - Focusing on the Savior

I mentioned earlier that I was waiting until this upcoming Sunday to teach "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus," and that this time, I would like to use the excellent recommendation given in the primary manual, especially since the manual rarely suggests how to teach that month's song. This month's recommendation follows a lot of the music teaching principles I've read about and even learned about in our stake primary chorister training (which hardly anyone attended - it's really a pity because even though I heard a lot of things I was already doing, every tiny small thing I didn't know has been a BIG help in improving how I teach music and the gospel to these children).

I sent people to the PDF online last time but there's a good link that's not in PDF form here:
http://www.lds.org/manual/2012-outline-for-sharing-time/august?lang=eng

To what I've taken a screen shot of here:

I realized the link I posted previously had a link that didn't work so if you want to teach the manual-recommended lesson for this song, you can print the images here:
http://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/images/gospel-library/manual/08710/08710_000_aug-04-shapes.pdf?lang=eng

It's nice because the images are offered in black and white AND color so you can print according to your print preferences.

I have been having so much fun with elaborate Olympic activities though that I think I need to go back to some basics and keep it simple this week, especially for a song like this where I really want to focus on the Savior.

I will simply put up various pictures of Christ and depending on time, share a couple of short stories of things that Christ did and how we can be like him. I might liken them to at least one modern-day example in the news. I am tempted to ask children to volunteer their own stories but we have done that twice recently just with the regular sharing time, and frankly, it's kind of stressful because the children ramble and throw out really incoherent stories sometimes. I think it might work better if the child is asked in advance and has time to prepare their thoughts with a parent.

I will delve further into the meaning of this song the following week. I also want to play Helmet Hero again soon (a previous post of mine, taken from a great idea that's made the round on various blogs, and that was very effective for reviewing songs before the program last year).

P.S. I had two blog comments mentioning that they incorporated the American Icon singer, David Archuleta, (who is serving a mission right now) by playing a video of him singing this song. I think that's a great example of a way to tie something current that the kids can identify with to the gospel. You can read the comments from Connie and Michelle about this here.  

The Big Review!! Getting ready for the Primary program. Working on trouble lines.

Our ward's Primary program is coming up at the end of this month! Do you feel like your children know the lines of each song well?

The key to working on trouble spots is to find fun ways to get children to think about the words of the song and fun ways to practice repetition with a trouble spot. From personal experience, these were all particularly effective and fun song reviews for working on lyrics and memorization.

Senior Primary

Helmet Hero - This way, Primary kids were all staring at the phrase and thinking about it, and the kid in front was concentrating heavily as well. (Could be used in Junior if you have the child leave the room and tell the other children what the word says - since they can't all read.)

Senior or Junior Primary

Echo Chamber - This gets all the children out of their seats and focuses on repetition in a fun way. Also, this one takes NO ADVANCED PREP!

Secret Word - In the version I shared in this old post, I was going for words that were repeated often. However, if you have a song with trouble spots, I would focus on that word being the secret word. Even if it only gets said once, children will notice if a class suddenly does something funny or interesting right when that word or phrase is sung. Again, this gets children to concentrate. You can also modify this and use an image that might not be obvious but is a secret image that goes with the mystery line.

Red Light, Green Light - This one is great because it's easy to re-use, and makes the children think about the words of the song as they are humming or not singing.

Junior Primary

Singing Elephant - This one is only effective if you pull it out rarely so it's a special treat, and I would use it once children know the words fairly well.

What are your most effective song review activities?

10 Song Review Ideas to Get Ready for the Primary Program

It's that time of the year when Primary choristers and leaders are preparing for the Primary Program.

Here's a round-up of my favorite song review activities that I've personally seen be very effective for the kids - not just singing every song over and over again, but finding ways to identify problem areas and strengthen them in a way that is fun and effective.

These activities are highly engaging so everyone is paying attention, plus someone gets the honor of coming to the front of the room so there's high participation all the way around.

I've added a "prep work" level so you know if you can prepare this the morning of church or if you need to do some work in advance.

1. For Senior Primary: Helmet Hero. For Junior Primary: Singing Elephant.
Prep work: Moderate for Senior, High for Junior
What: Children get to come up to the front of the room and fill in the blank to finish the missing lines to a song. This is difficult for Junior Primary because they can't read so I have them play Singing Elephant instead.

2. Red Light, Green Light
Prep work: Moderate
What: The entire class is forced to think about lines of the song when they stop singing and then start singing again in random spots depending on what color thread is pulled out of a canister. Let the kids pull the thread out!

3. Echo Chamber
Prep work: None
What: This is a no-prep activity and it really drills the lines into children's heads without them feeling bored about it, as children split into each corner of the room and take turns echoing one line at each other before moving to the next line. You need to give your pianist a little bit of warning though! The other fun way to do this is to have the two sides of the room echo each other, but I like four corners better.

4. How Loud Can You Sing?
Prep work: Low
What: (Same link as previous post so you have to scroll down a bit for this one.) I do this one last because once the kids can show me they are confident that they know the words, we work on their confidence in being able to sing loudly but beautifully while in the big chapel.

5. Singing Olympics
Prep work: High
What: This is if you want to "go big" and if your president will let you have the entire hour for singing time. Prepare fun activities that lead to choosing a song, then the judges review your for how well you know the lyrics, how loudly you sang, if you were watching the chorister, etc. It's a really great way to identify where the children need help singing. Oftentimes, it's the second verse of the song that's a problem. This is also best as a two-week activity. But, it's so fun!

6. Judges Song Review
Prep work: Low
What: If you want to do something similar to #5 but with way less prep work, prepare some simple but themed signs like these ones, put the songs for review in a jar, and ask a few judges to come in at the end of the song, hold up signs for how the children did. You can make it fancier if you want by having a progress bar up on the board that shows how the judges ranked each song.

(If I get at least 10 requests for these guys, which also includes Proud Pumpkin and Say What Werewolf. I will re-draw them and scan them for folks to print out.)

I made a fancy progress bar several years ago for Pioneer Day but you could even just draw bars on the chalkboard and color them in:

7. For Junior: Pop-Up Puppet
Prep work: Low
What: The kids in Junior primary LOVE this puppet that slowly creeps out of a box and looks around if the children are doing a good job with singing. So this is also a good way to test lyrics and volume. I love this because all I did was put wrapping paper around a box and put my arm through, using a puppet I owned. If you don't own one ask your neighbors. My friend that was a chorister before me had a really cool homemade one that was attached to a stick and sat inside what I remember as being an ice cream cone shaped funnel. But I can see using a Pringle canister.

8. Hot Potato
Prep work: Low
What: This is another great no prep activity. Grab a potato, a pom-pom, something easy to pass from one child to the other. They sing the song and when the music stops, whomever is holding the item has to tell everyone the next line of the song. A few caveats: I don't like to make kids too uncomfortable with being put on the spot so they are allowed to ask the neighbor to the left and right of them for help with the words. Also, they are not allowed to throw the item. They have to pass it gently.

9. Pretend It's the Day!
Prep work: Low
What: Pretend it's the day of the program. Have them come in, talk to them in low voices, maybe describe the scene. Ask them if they are at the edge of their seats. Have them slowly rise. Make them sit back down and stand again if they did this poorly. Sing the song, etc. This one isn't going to be as fun if you don't get into all the extra moves and I wouldn't do this until the end. It's more of performance preparation than song review so I saved this one for the end.

10. Follow the Leader
Here's another end-of-the-line prep one but it's also so great to work on dynamics with them. You could even have a child come up to the front and get to try doing the moves and having everyone follow that person.

And finally, on a related note, but not one that will help with song reviews:

I have a little announcement! I have a new children's book coming out that I wrote for my Primary kids. From now until October 10, 2017, you can enter to win one of ten free copies here!



My Nativity ABCs is available for pre-order now on Amazon and will be in bookstores in mid-October. I'm so excited. Thanks for all the support of my primary chorister blog over the years. After years of putting together creative ideas for the children my mind has been so full of ideas for the children. I'm so excited to share this with the Primary kids. I actually have this book to a tune in my head (it's a rhyming ABC story).

Busy Week? Children a little hyper from vacation? Wing it.

This was one of those simple Sundays where I didn't plan much. I knew it was a holiday weekend so I didn't want to teach a new song when half the class could miss the crucial initial lesson. However, Junior Primary was a little behind on the Father's Day song so I did want to perfect that piece with them.

So, I did a little bit of carefully planned non-planning, which means I grabbed a few activities I have done in the past and let the mood of the class help me decide what I was going to do in Junior Primary and Senior Primary. The classes were great, today!

Junior Primary wanted to make up actions for "Love is Spoken Here," so I abandoned my back-up plans and let them help me make up actions for the whole song. It worked like a charm and everyone was happy.

In Senior Primary, I played "helmet hero" which I have planned for a back-up activity probably three times now, but never really played.

Senior Primary was a bit rowdy, so I ended by having the children sing "Reverently, Quietly" before I had the teacher come teach her lesson.

So what's the point of today's post?

1. You don't always have to have an elaborate activity planned but don't come unprepared either. Keep a few back-up activities in your "back pocket."

2. Don't be afraid to abandon your plans and do something different than you have planned. I've done this numerous times and they have been some of my singing time lessons. I don't think anyone realizes I've changed my plans, either :)

3. I think it's okay for the children to get a little excited once in a while but if the children get a little too rowdy, invite the spirit back in with a reverent song, before turning the time over to the teacher. This has always worked for me, and the teachers always thank me for doing this.

I've been wanting to put together a post of my best "back pocket" singing time activities and the children's favorite singing time classes, ever. I would love your help. I have a lot of readers, but very few actually comment. I would love, love, love it if you would comment this time and share with my your most successful singing time activities or a favorite activity, so that I can compile a Top 10 or Top 20 post. 

Up next: I'm working on a new way to teach "I like to look for rainbows" for Junior Primary. If I finish making the props tonight, I'll post early this week ... (FYI for new choristers: Most of the primary learned this song last year so your focus is a refresher for everyone, and a way to help the youngest primary children learn this song.)