Singing Time Plan: August #5

Playing the melody with hand bells In the Pacific Northwest, this week marks the end of summer, as school starts September 1st.  I'll be glad to see all of my Primary children back from vacations and family trips!  Even though large Primaries can be noisy, I love to see the classroom packed. :)  Take a look at what I have planned for this week.

Junior Primary
	"Come, Follow Me"  (Hymns #116)  Hand bells.  My youngest class struggles with this activity, but my older classes in Junior Primary need more of a challenge than what I've been giving them. I'm going to give it a try!  For the first time, I'll have them play the melody instead of just background chords.  For a detailed description of how to present this activity, see my post here.
	"Follow the Prophet"  (p. 110)  Body rhythms.  We'll be stomping, patsching (patting both hands on both knees at the same time), and arm crossing in a pattern.  I'll be sure to repeat each action twice before switching, to help the little ones keep up.
	"Help Me, Dear Father"  (p. 99)    Stand at times.  The first time through the song, count together on your fingers the number of times you heard words about "me" or "my."  The next time through the song, have the children switch between sitting and standing each time one of those words is sung.
	"I Know That My Savior Loves Me"   ASL quiz.  We'll continue on from where we left off last week.

Senior Primary
"Follow the Prophet"  (p. 110)    Partner rhythms.  I use a more complicated body rhythm than for Junior Primary.  After the kids have it down, I change one motion to include a partner, such as clapping hands with each other or crossing forearms.
"Come, Follow Me"  (Hymns #116)  Hand bells.  For my Senior kids, I'll have four different charts, one for each line of the song, and I'll present them out of order.  Without bells, I'll first sing the song and ask the children to unscramble the charts.  Then, we'll bring out the bells and play.
"Help Me, Dear Father"  (p. 99)  Nature daydream.  Ask the children to daydream themselves into their favorite place in nature during the song, and see if the feel of the song fits.  Sing the song, then ask whether the song fits and why or why not.  Find a more detailed description of this activity here.

Happy singing!