Singing Time Plan: July #1

Happy 4th of July!  I hope you're planning a wonderful holiday.  Let me help plan your Singing Time for the following day. :)

Junior Primary
Follow the footsteps	"I Feel My Savior's Love"  (p. 74)  Partner scarves.  Partners hold long scarves and move them up and down, then side to side with the music.  I have pictures in my previous post here.
	"Come, Follow Me"  (Hymns #116)  Follow the footsteps.  Cut out paper footsteps and tape them to the ground in a circle around the room.  On the walls along your path, have pictures of the Savior. Invite the children to follow you, stepping on the footsteps.
	"The Holy Ghost"  (p. 105)  Arm circles. Stand and sway side to side with the music--swing your arms right, left, big circle around, left, right, big circle around.
	"I Know That My Savior Loves Me"       ASL

Senior Primary	First letter fill-in
"I Feel My Savior's Love"  (p. 74)  Rhythm stick roll.  With a partner, softly roll rhythm sticks back and forth.  Find a more detailed description in my post here.
"Come, Follow Me"  (Hymns #116)  Melody map.  I can take no credit for this awesome activity!  I took the idea straight from Sharla Dance, and you can read her explanation here.  I made my own chart to mimic one of hers.
"Tell Me the Stories of Jesus"  (p. 57)  Scripture search.  Sing verse 2 and ask the children to find the story in the scriptures, using the topical guide.
"The Holy Ghost"  (p. 105)  First letter fill-in.  Write the first letters of every word of the song on the board, in order.  (See picture at right).  Pass out chalk and ask the children to come fill in the words as you sing. They don't have to go in order, though, which they'll enjoy. :)

Happy singing!

Nursery Music Time--An Example Agenda

Rhythm instruments in Nursery

Chubby fingers. Wide eyes.  Energy that can't possibly be contained in one spot.  These are some of my favorite things about Nursery!  These 18-month to 3 year-olds absolutely soak up music time, and I love teaching them because it's an entirely different experience than with the older children.  I listed principles of effective Nursery music time in my previous post here, and if you want the most benefit from today's post, pause for a moment to review those principles.  Here, I'll give an example of how to put those principles into practice with a Nursery music time plan.  You can find the principles mentioned in italics.  Here's my agenda:

“Here We Are Together” (p.261)

Always start with the same gathering song, so the children know what to expect.  Help them find a carpet square while you sing.

“Rain is Falling All Around” (p.241)

Pass out felt raindrops attached to yarn. Dangle them over your head, toes, etc. as the lyrics suggest.  At times, call out, "Freeze!" and see if the children can match your placement. Repeat.

“Once There Was a Snowman” (p.249)

Do actions as the lyrics suggest.  Note that this song matches body movements to high and low notes. Repeat.

“I Love to See the Temple” (p.95)

Pass out one laminated temple picture to each child as you're singing.  Be sure to sing more quickly than you normally would sing this song.  Collect the pictures as you sing a second time.  Note that this spirit-filled song still incorporates something to hold.  

“Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” (p.275)

A chance to stand and wiggle after sitting still! Repeat fast and slow. 

“Follow the Prophet” (p.110)

Pass out rhythm instruments.  Encourage the children to follow your example and keep a steady beat.  Repeat the same verse.

“The Wise Man and the Foolish Man” (p.281)

Invite the Spirit by telling the children that this is a story Jesus told.  Sing with actions. Repeat.

“I Am a Child of God” (p.2) 

Invite the Spirit by telling the children you will show them a child of God. Give a dollar store hand mirror to each child.  Be sure to sing quickly, and then repeat as you take back the mirrors.  

This is obviously just one idea for a Nursery music time.  I'd love to hear which songs and activities your little ones love, too. :)


Happy singing!

Singing Time Plan: June #4

Junior Primary
Draw your own idea	"The Holy Ghost"  (p. 105)  Paper cups.  Use as an instrument, tapping on lap and on the opposite hand.
	"Tell Me the Stories of Jesus"  (p. 57)  Magic chalkboard.  Tell the children you brought in a magic chalkboard, and it will draw a picture of what you sing.  As you sing, draw a fast, simple illustration, then hide the chalk and pretend like you're surprised. Ooh, they eat this up!
	"I Feel My Savior's Love"  (p. 74)  Draw your own idea.  Pass out crayons and paper and ask the children to draw something that helps them feel the Savior's love for them.
	"Come, Follow Me"  (Hymns #116)  Mirror image.  I got this idea from Sharla at TeachingPrimaryMusic.com.  Stand face to face with a partner. One person moves their hands with the feel of the music, and the other person follows the movement as the mirror.  See the video link below for example movements.

Senior Primary	Mirror image video with Sharla
"The Holy Ghost"  (p. 105)  Paper cups.  Choose a complicated rhythm!
"Tell Me the Stories of Jesus"  (p. 57)  Magic chalkboard.  Same as for Junior, above. After one sing-through, ask for ideas of details you could add to your illustration.  Sing while you add them.
"I Feel My Savior's Love"  (p. 74)  Envelope game.  See my description in a previous post, here.
"Come, Follow Me"  (Hymns # 116)     Mirror image. See description in Junior, above.  As an added challenge, ask the children to move their hands higher when the pitch rises and lower when the pitch falls.

Happy singing!

Rhythm Band: Recycle Bin Edition

    Confession:  the first time I tried this activity with my Senior Primary kids, it totally flopped.  I realized--after the fact--that I hadn't given them enough experience with a single rhythm instrument to be able to follow the more complicated instructions given with a band.  So I rolled it back, giving them symbols on the board to correspond to actions and rhythms with a single instrument.  (See examples of this in my posts on egg cartons and sand blocks.)  Once your children know how to follow this style of notation, they'll be ready and eager to try it in a band setting!

The Instruments

The makings of a rhythm band

You could use any rhythm instruments you like, really, as long as you have enough for every child.  I normally choose 4 of my recycle bin favorites:

Ice cream buckets (to use like a drum)

Egg cartons (with a rhythm stick for tapping)

Pairs of paper plates (to use like cymbals)

Paper cups (for tapping and clapping)

Sheets of paper (for both patting on your lap and shaking quickly)

I tend to shy away from my nicer instruments for this activity, since those are more interesting in their own right. Also, this is the only way paper can be interesting.  Also, buckets are only tolerable when there are less than 20 of them going at once.  (*cringe* Yes, I learned this one the hard way!) 

The Patterns

Now that you've chosen your instruments, you need to choose a short pattern for each one.  Using simple symbols, write each pattern on the board on separate lines.  The following picture shows how I write the patterns on the board, so that the symbols vertically line up for the same moment in time.  Here, each instrument's pattern takes four beats to complete.  I've added vertical lines for you (which I won't use for the children) to show where the four beats are.  

Rhythm band patterns

Here is the interpretation of my symbols.  Please note that you don't have to use mine! Use whatever symbols and rhythms make sense to you.  This is just one idea.

Paper plates:  The long arc represents a cymbal crash where they make a large circle with their arms extending up, then out.  The two diagonal slashes represent one paper plate crossing to tap the opposite shoulder.

Buckets:  The first two beats represent syncopation with flat palms hitting the drum:  eighth, quarter (hold your palms there!), eighth.  The tiny zigzags represent light finger tapping, using two alternating fingers on both hands. I have them tap sixteenth notes for the first of those beats and eighth notes for the second beat.

Paper:  The two flat lines are eighth-note taps on their laps, then they rest for one beat.  The wavy line represents holding the piece of paper in both hands, letting it hang down and shaking it very quickly.

Egg cartons:  The pointy swoops represent scraping the carton back and forth with a rhythm stick.  They then tap with the stick, two eighth notes and one quarter note.

Presenting the Activity

Demonstration:  To teach the children how to do this activity, I start with all the instruments up front.  I demonstrate each one individually, singing as I do so, and I invite them to follow my hand movements, even though they don't have instruments yet.  I let them know that we'll be trading around instruments periodically, so they should learn each part.  

Rules:  Right before I ask children to help me pass out the instruments, I remind them that in a band, all the musicians have to follow the conductor.  I try to make it a game, where they have to sit up straighter when I dramatically raise my hands, and they have to instantly freeze when I cut them off. We practice that a couple times, and then it's finally time to begin.

Distribution:  I ask children to pass out the instruments so that each item is scattered around the room.  While they're doing that, I start singing and pantomiming the actions for one instrument.  I don't hold an instrument, so that I can switch quickly between the four.  I'll point to a line of symbols then do those actions for a line or two before switching to the next. 

Breaking it down:  If I see the children are having trouble, I'll use the earlier practiced motion of cutting off the music.  Then I'll break it down, one instrument at a time, to go over the pattern. I sing as I'm demonstrating, so that even as it seems the activity is going slowly, the music learning never stops. 

Shaking things up:  Once they have it, I call out, "Switch instruments!"  Then I hold up ten fingers and begin to count down, to let them know they have a deadline for trading with their neighbor.  As soon as I reach zero, I begin the song again, and we repeat. 

This is one of my favorite Primary music activities.  The kids can tell when you're having fun, and your smile will be contagious. :)

Happy singing!