Sway and Freeze with "I Lived in Heaven"

After prayer and much flipping through the Children's Songbook, our ward chose "I Lived in Heaven" for our song of choice this month.  This Sunday, I'll introduce the song to the Junior Primary in a super simple way, with an activity called Sway and Freeze, which I learned from Sharla over at TeachingPrimaryMusic.com. Presentation "Everyone stand up, and see if you can make your body match what mine is doing!"  I immediately start singing the song, having prearranged with the pianist to only play the melody line.  As I sing, I sway right and left and swing my arms side-down-side, side-down-side, as shown in the video below. Variations The first time through, I sway with no pauses, unlike in the video. My video shows how I would change for the second sing-through.  The first, repetitive time gives my tiny Sunbeams a chance to get the movement down pat.  The next variation is to call, "Freeze!" at different times, and then check to see if the children's arms are pointing the same way as yours before continuing.  You can also sing again and have your pianist surprise you and choose when the music will stop, and you can all freeze then.  The children love this playful interaction with the pianist. Why It's So Great It gets the children up out of their seats. They get to move to a reverent song in a reverent way. Movement across the midline of the body and being called on to freeze are developmentally fantastic for young children. The children become familiar with the melody of the song without being asked to sing right away.

Happy singing!

Looking for more?  See my post, "How to Plan Your Singing Time," for tips on how to pair this activity with contrasting ones.  Also, find ideas in my post, "4 Steps for Planning a Year of Songs," for choosing a song for this month, if you haven't already.