Singing a song over and over is FUN!!!

We need to sing a song over and over to memorize the words and think about the message.  Here is a list of different ways to practice a song over and over that will make it fun and keep the kids' attention.


1. Alligator mouth to control the volume- when his mouth is open wide, you sing loud. When it's open a little bit, you sing quiet.

2. Eddie Spaghetti -

 Pull a piece of yarn up through the hole.  Colors can mean different things, like boys/girls sing, or hum/sing.  (2 things I've learned about this: first- make a two or three-foot loop of yarn and just use that to pull through instead of actually pulling through all that yarn in the bowl - it gets tangled.  second- use a dark color and a light color because color blind boys can't see a difference in this red and green yarn.)  The bowl is made from an overhead transparency taped onto the posterboard.

3. Speedometer- this one works best if the chorister controls the speed of the song; otherwise the kids will change it too frequently. I cut a half-circle out of a piece of cardboard and covered the whole thing with contact paper on the front and back to make the clear window.  The needle is attached with a nut with a bolt on the other side so it moves easily.  Kind of like using a brad but heavy-duty.

 4. Thermometer- you can use this to have kids sit/stand, sing louder/softer, or it can measure how well they're singing.  Make a ribbon loop using one red piece and one white piece.  Cut a slit in the top of the poster and one in the bottom and thread the ribbon through, then glue the ends of the loop together and pull it up or down.

5. Happy/sad balls - kids sing happy or sad, depending on which ball you hold up.  (I also cut the mouths open with a steak knife and sometimes I put papers inside and the kids can pull out a paper to see how/what we're going to sing.)

 6. Conducting elephant - this one helps the kids learn to follow the conductor.  Sometimes our stubborn elephant visitor will stop conducting in the middle of the song and the kids have to stop singing until he moves his trunk again.  Or he will hold out a note really long and they have to keep singing it til he cuts them off.  They think it is hilarious.  

7. Bishop Bubblegum: Draw a picture of your bishop (or just draw a plain boy and call him something like "Billy Bubblegum").  Stand behind the poster and blow a pink balloon through the hole when they are singing well.  Let air out if they aren't singing well.  Their favorite part is at the end of the song when you let go of the balloon and the "gum" flies out of the Bishop's mouth and sails around the room!

8. Everyone conducts

9. No pianist/ No chorister

10. Whisper sing

11. Teachers only/Kids only

12. Girls/boys only

13. Stop sign- make an octagon on red paper and one on green.  Glue them to a paint stick.  When you hold up the green side, the kids sing.  When you turn it around, the kids hum the words.  The piano just keeps playing like normal the whole time.  This helps them to keep thinking of the words because when you turn back to green, they have to start singing the words that the piano is playing.  This one never gets old.

14. Flamingo Style (On one foot)

15. Sing as far as you can in one breath

16. Make a funny face while you sing

17. Opera style

18. Cowboy accent

19. Drill sergeant style (march and say the words grumpy)

20. One class sings while the other claps the rhythm, and the other hums

21. Everyone clap or step to the beat or rhythm

22. Popcorn style (staccato) this one is everybody's favorite!

23. Ice Cream style (Sit/stand on queue)- Hold an ice cream scoop in each hand.  The kids are ice cream. Their chairs are the cones.  You scoop them up [stand] and smash them down onto the cones [sit].  They love this! (And it's good practice for standing together for the Primary program.)

24. Get a microphone with a long cord and plug it into the wall.  Then have kids sing parts of the song solo into it.

25. Have one kid go out in the hall while the other hides a small object.  When the first kid comes back in, sing louder as they get closer to finding it and sing quieter as they get farther away. 

26. People wearing this color sing (it can be fun to hold up a banana for yellow, etc.)

27. Eyes closed

28. Magic word- I pick one word and they do an action every time we sing it (stand; move down a chair, jump).  They especially love when I put an extra chair at the end of each row and have them move down one each time we sing it (left the first time, right the next, etc.).

29. Super singer spray: fill a squirt bottle with a sweet drink that doesn't stain and shoot it into the mouths of the kids who are singing loud.  Be sure the squirt bottle is set to stream and not mist, or it will go all over their faces.  They will sing louder than you ever thought they could!

30. Blindfold a teacher and have them pin the [whatever] on the [whatever] (the kids sing loud/soft for how close the teacher is to pinning it).

31. Have each class sing one line of the song.  The class who sings the best has its teacher come up and wear a crazy hat while we all sing the whole song together.  I have a turkey hat and a green curly wig that I use for this.

32. Bring a roll of TP.  Pick two teachers.  Teacher A walks around teacher B wrapping her in TP while the kids sing.  She runs around her faster if they are singing good; walks slow if they're singing bad.

33. Cut a brother’s tie:  invite a member of the bishopric in or some other funny brother in the ward.  Give him a thrift store tie to be wearing when he comes in.  The kids sing their song and you cut off a big chunk of his tie if they sing well or a small chunk if they don't sing as well.  Have him tell the kids, "No! don’t sing well!"

34. Musical chairs: walk (to beat/rhythm) while singing. When piano stops, sit in the nearest chair.

35. Record them singing it and play it back for them

36. Race the piano

37. Each class is assigned a secret word (I, and, etc.).  That class has to do some silly action (quack, jump) each time we sing their word.  We sing the whole song and then we all guess what each class had.  We have to keep singing it until they have figured out what each class had (this works for Senior but not for Junior).

After singing lots of different ways, have kids vote on their favorite way and which way fits the song best.

Transitioning Between Different Parts of Primary

When you switch from opening exercises to Singing time to Sharing time (or however your schedule is organized), you will lose a lot of children's attention in those few seconds when one leader is leaving and another is coming.

To prevent this, we have the pianist start playing an action song [see list below] as SOON as the first leader is done and the next is coming.  That also gives the leaders time to take down or set up their stuff.  The children stand up to do the wiggle song and it helps them get some oxygen into their brains and get their wiggles out.  This is SO SO important to get them alert and engaged so that they are able to learn.

Here is a list of songs that we sing when we transition into Singing time each week. I choose one each week: 

p. 242 Popcorn Popping

p. 60 Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam

p. 266 If You’re Happy

p.241 Rain is Falling

p. 240 In the Leafy Treetops

p. 249 Once There Was a Snowman

p. 281 The Wise Man & The Foolish Man

p. 279 Oh, How We Love to Stand

p. 271 I Wiggle
p. 276 Do as I’m Doing

Here is a list of songs that we sing as we transition out of Singing time.  I call these my "freezing songs" because at the end of the song, we all freeze on the last action and they have to stay that way until the Sharing Time person thaws them:

p. 118 Book of Mormon Stories (they are frozen at the end with their arms folded)

p. 273 My Hands (they are frozen at the end with their arms folded)

p. 274 Roll Your Hands (they are frozen at the end with their arms folded)

p. 275 Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes (they are frozen at the end with their fingers on their nose)
p. 277 Hinges (they are frozen at the end with their hands clapped)

We sing 2 wiggle songs each week, one during each transition.  You can easily adapt it to your Primary's schedule.  For example, if your ward does Sharing time before Singing time, the presidency member who taught the lesson can do one of these freezing songs and you can be the one to unfreeze the children.

I don't want the Senior Primary kids to feel like they're being treated like babies, so after the pianist plays the introduction to the action song, I ask them to show me thumbs up or down if they would like to sing this song or not (the majority is always thumbs up so we always have wiggle songs).

Fun ways to CHOOSE (songs or ways to sing)

1. Spinner - I used the spinner from a Twister game and taped a posterboard circle to it.  Then I divided it into sections and taped on pictures of different ways to sing.

2. Dice - get a big  cube-shaped box (like 8 inches so all the kids can see it) and tape ways to sing on all the sides.

3. Tennis ball full of papers: I cut slits for the mouths so when you squeeze the ball, they open and the kids can take out a paper.

4. Swatting bugs with a fly swatter: I blew up black balloons and twisted a pipe cleaner around the knot to make antennae.  Then I twisted a paper clip around a fly swatter and cut the ends to make them sharp.  We would swat a "bug" and inside is a red paper (its guts) with a way to sing our song.

5. Fishing - put songs on fish and stick a paper clip to them so they are magnetic.  Then hang a magnet from a piece of string on a pole and that is your fishing pole!  We did a variation of this for Pioneer day: I scattered little black papers (crickets!) with paperclips on them all over the floor.  They had songs written on them.  I made a seagull out of white cardboard and glued a magnet to its beak.  Then we swooped it around and sang the songs on the crickets it ate.

6. Mailbox full of envelopes that have ways to sing (you can use this for a Valentine's theme or missionary letters)

7. Raindrops on umbrella

8. Clothes hanging on a clothes line
9. Draw a Cookie Monster on poster board.  Cut a hole where his mouth is.  Tape a ziploc bag behind it to catch the cookies you will put in.  Make paper cookies with songs on them.  Kids select a cookie and feed it to him.  You can also have a glass of "milk," a cup with white papers in it with ways to sing the song.

10. Cover the front of a magnetic dart board with song titles and throw darts at it.

11. Have an adult in the hall call your cell phone at the beginning of singing time (have the volume up really loud).  When you answer, the adult asks for one of the kids in the primary.  When you give the kid the phone, the adult asks them if the primary could please sing him/her a certain song.  You all sing the song into the phone and then hang up.  They call back a moment later and ask for a different kid and a different song.

SEASONAL

Clean out backpack: school supplies have songs/ways on them

Tree with leaves, apples, popcorn to pick off

Easter eggs

Flags/firecrackers

Put features on a Pumpkin

Pluck feathers off a Turkey

Put foods in (or take foods out of) a cornucopia

Crack walnuts open with a Christmas nutcracker.  I previously put song titles inside and hot glued them shut.

Snowball fight: at the end of singing time, they write their favorite songs on a piece of white paper and throw at me.  We sing those next week.

Put features on a snowman

Pick Christmas bells off garland

Reviewing/Mastering Songs for the Primary Program

When it gets close to the time for the Primary Sacrament Meeting Presentation, the kids might be getting sick of singing those same few songs over and over.  But you need to keep doing it, and here are 4 ways that make it SO fun for them:

1. Song Doctor: wear a stethoscope or other Dr props.  Your Primary Program songs are the “patients” coming in for a checkup (I have a picture or title printed for each song).  Make a posterboard hospital and a big band-aid.  We "check out the patient" (sing the song), then diagnose what it needs (volume, words, etc).  We take the really sick songs to the hospital, the slightly sick songs to the band-aid, and the healthy songs go home.  Next week we work on our sick songs.  This is a good way to assess which songs need more work, without making the children feel like they are the ones doing a bad job if they don't sing it well.

2. Cut the Tie: Invite a member of the bishopric to visit and give him an old tie to wear.  Tell him the kids are going to sing songs for him today.  Tell the kids that if they sing well, they get to cut a chunk of his tie off and keep it!  Have him play along and say, “No! Don’t sing well!” Pick a different kid who gets to keep the piece of tie for each song (you actually do the cutting and give the piece to that kid).  If they sing bad, cut only a tiny piece off.  You will be amazed at how well they sing!

3. Song Cookies: wear an apron, conduct songs with a mixing spoon, spatula, or oven mitt.  Each program song is a different ingredient. (For example, say you need to add 2 cups of 'He Sent His Son,' and have a note on the bag of flour that says 'He Sent His Son.')  They have to sing that song well in order to mix that ingredient in.  You will really find out how well they know each song because they want their cookies to taste good!  Then give the dough to a presidency member to “bake.”  (have already-baked cookies on a sheet).  While she is gone, you can work on any songs that need help.   We do this every September, but you will need the whole 35 minutes for this one (Singing time plus Sharing time).  Our presidency has always been happy to oblige.  This is always the children's favorite singing time of the year.  We even made gluten-free cookies one year!

4. Cell phone caller: Have someone outside call your phone and ask for one of the children (have it on speaker phone).  The person asks that child if the primary could please sing them [program song].  We sing it and the caller says thank you and hangs up.  Then you act like you’re going to start singing time again but they call again, asking for a different kid and requesting a different song.  This continues until all the program songs are sung or singing time is over.  The kids love it!

My Opinions

1. Children need to move!  If they are not invited to move their bodies during Primary, they are not engaged and they are not learning what you are teaching.

2. Children shouldn't be forced to sing.  Just because someone isn't singing doesn't mean he isn't learning the gospel or feeling the Spirit.  Singing isn't everyone's favorite thing, but Singing Time should be enjoyable whether children are singing or just listening.

3. Primary Singing time and Sharing time is about the children, not about the adults who teach it.  Teach it on their level.  Chapters 2-3 in Part C of Teaching, No Greater Call is a great resource for understanding how different ages of children learn.

4. Children should have many chances to participate.  Have popsicle sticks, little papers with their names, etc., and use these as much as possible.  Try to come up with ways for them to be involved.  (This will also really help their behavior as you explain that if you pick a name of someone who is distracting their neighbor, you will have to skip their turn.)

5. I like to have just one Welcome song and one or two Birthday songs to choose from so that the children know them really well.  That way they sound like they really mean it when they are singing to the visitor or the bday child. I would not recommend having them do the "zippedy-yay and heidi-ho" one, because how would a 10-11 year-old boy feel about having to sing that?  (We do "We Welcome You" and "Happy Happy Birthday" or "You've Had a Birthday.")

6. Singing Time can be the highlight of these children's week!  They can feel the Holy Ghost testifying to them of the truth of the words of the songs, and they can have so much fun at the same time!

Other Great Stuff!

Helpful links:

lds.org's section for primary music leaders has ideas for how to plan your singing time, how to teach music, music in nursery, and other great resources.

Teaching, No Greater Call: Age Characteristics of Children

Teaching, No Greater Call: Teaching Children in Mixed Age-Groups



Some Stuff I do:

After we sing the birthday song, the birthday kid blows out the "magic candle." I have a light-sensing candle that I got for $2 at Christmas time, and I hold my finger over the light sensor while we're singing the song so the light bulb is on. Then at the end of the song, they blow it and I move my finger so the light goes out.  They think it's so cool.  Even the Senior boys want to blow it out.

Here is what my monthly schedule looks like in case you wonder:
     1^st Sunday of the month: Introduce new song (teach the tune & first verse)  

     2^nd Sunday: other verses

     3^rd Sunday: sing it over and over (see post about singing a song over and over).

     4^th Sunday: review this month's song and all songs from previous months.

     5^th Sunday [I get the whole sharing time]: super fun review (see post about reviewing/mastering a song for the program) or a song that’s not in the program.

Nursery Singing Time

In Nursery we do mostly action songs, but I also like to stick in some simple songs that teach them the gospel.  Then at the end I do a song that gets them reverent for the prayer.

Here are the action songs we do in nursery:

Rain is Falling

Popcorn Popping

I'm so glad when Daddy comes home (don't do this one if it isn't true for some children)

Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes

Oh how we love to stand

If you’re happy

If you chance to meet a frown

In the Leafy Treetops

Wise & Foolish Man

Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam

Fun to do

Once there was a snowman
Hinges

Here are the gospel teaching songs we do in nursery:

I kneel to Pray

The Chapel Doors

I Love to See the Temple

Father, I Will Reverent Be

My Heavenly Father Loves Me

You will need to make actions for these songs to keep the nursery children engaged.  

We also sing these with the stop sign, tennis balls, alligator, and mouse (see the post "singing a song over and over is fun").

Here are songs we sing to get reverent at the end:

I Wiggle

My Hands upon my head

Roll your hands

Book of Mormon Stories

Fun way to teach "The Family is of God"

The Family Game Show!

This is a fun way to teach the April 2014 / 2019 song, “The Family is of God,” to the Primary children.  Through this game they will be able to understand the meaning of the song and they will feel the Spirit while having a great time learning!

Materials:

1.    A mobile device with the MP3 of Music and Voice of “The Family is of God” downloaded onto it.  You can find it here: https://www.lds.org/callings/primary/sharing-time-2014?lang=eng

2.    Print pages 2-9 of this document (the table and the big words).  Keep the table for yourself to use as a reference during the game.  Cut the categories and questions out and glue them to colored paper as seen in the picture below.  You will glue the categories to the front of the paper and a magnet to the back.  Then for the rest of the papers, you will glue the question and the magnet to the same side so the kids can’t see the question when it is up on the chalkboard. (The five categories correspond with verses 1-4 and then the chorus.)

Instructions:

1.    Divide the children into teams (probably by classes will be the easiest.  

2.    Get 2 teachers to be your assistants.  One will read the question cards and the other will pass out the Skittles.  I decided to give Skittles instead of points for correct answers so the teams aren’t really competing with each other and there’s no winners/losers (okay, it’s really because candy makes everything more fun!) but you can just do points if you don’t want to use candy – instead of drawing 1, 2, or 3 Skittles on the backs of your question cards, just write the # of points.  I am actually going to introduce this song on the last Sunday in March so I can use candy and not have it be on a Fast Sunday.

3.    The team that goes first chooses a category and a point value that they want to answer.  For example, “We would like ‘Moms’ for 2 Skittles.” 

4.    Your assistant reads the question card while you find that part of the song on your device.  So if team 1 chose the ‘Mom’ category for 2 Skittles, you would look at your table and see that it’s one minute and 47 seconds into the song.  You play this little clip for them and give them one chance to answer.  If they can’t get the whole answer, it goes to the next team.  You play the clip again and give them a chance to answer.  If they can’t, it goes to the next team, and so on until a team can answer it (that way they get to hear the difficult sections a lot of times).  Everyone on the team can contribute to the answer.

5.    Your other assistant passes out the Skittles while the next team chooses a category (having 2 assistants will keep the game fast-paced and allow the maximum amount of learning in the short time you have…I think we will play this game for 2 different singing times though).  Each child on that team gets the number of Skittles on the back of the question card.

6.    After all the questions from one category have been answered, you can have them listen to that whole verse if you want.  Keep playing until you run out of time.

* *Above is how I taught it to Sr. Primary.  I modified it for Jr. to make it easier and less pressure on them: Any child was allowed to give the answer and we didn't have skittles.

	(verse 1)	(verse 2)	(verse 3)	(verse 4)	(chorus)
	Heavenly Father’s Family	Dads	Moms	My Family	Families
1 pt.	What did Heavenly Father send us to do in our families? 0:21-0:27 - Live and learn	What should a dad lead? 1:02-1:05 - family prayer	Should we sing this verse for Mother’s Day? 1:35-2:19	How will I feel when I’m a parent? 2:32-2:37 - so glad	Who created the family? 2:57-3:05 - the family is of God
2 pts.	How did we leave Heavenly Father’s presence? 0:17-0:22 - He sent each one of us to earth, through birth	Why does a family pray together? 1:04-1:11 - to share their love for Father in Heaven	What does a mom teach children to do? 1:47-1:56 - obey, pray, love, serve	Who should I be a good example to? 2:25-2:32 - each family member	How does God share His love? 2:42-2:57 - God gave us families
3 pts.	Who is in Heavenly Father’s family? 0:06-0:16 - me, you, all others too	What is a dad’s place? 0:51-1:01 - preside, provide, love and teach the gospel to his children	What is a mom’s purpose? 1:36-1:46 - care, prepare, nurture, strengthen her children	What can I do for my family? 2:21-2:32 - love, serve, be a good example	Why did God give us families? 2:42-2:52 - to help us become what He wants us to be

Heavenly Father’s Family

Dads

Moms

My Family

The Family

What did Heavenly Father send us to do in our families?

How did we leave Heavenly Father’s presence?

Who is in Heavenly Father’s family?

What should a dad lead?

Why does a family pray together?

What is a dad’s place?

Should we sing this verse for Mother’s Day?
(The reason I did this question was because I needed 3 questions for each category and there wasn't another question from the song.  The kids answered 'yes,' so this was what we sang in sacrament meeting on Mother's day.)

What does a mom teach children to do?

What is a mom’s purpose?

How will I feel when I’m a parent?

Who should I be a good example to?

What can I do for my family?

Who created the family?

How does God share His love?

Why did God give us families?