Singing Your Way Through the Christmas Story

Let them help with kid-friendly nativity sets There are more beautiful Christmas songs than we have time to teach in our Primaries. And let's face it, we don't have time during the holidays to think of the perfect way to teach all of those songs, anyway! Here is a super simple idea to get your kiddos some exposure to a song they may not know. Bonus: it takes almost zero prep time. ;) What You Need -Several kid-friendly nativity sets with separate pieces (ideally one per class) -A song that lists several of the figures in the story of Christ's birth. "The Shepherds' Carol", "Picture a Christmas", and "The Nativity Song" all work well. Modeling the Activity First, model the activity yourself (or with one of your own children, if that works for you). Have your pianist play just the melody line while you start singing the song by yourself (or some kids can join in if they know the song). When you reach the point in the song where a figure is mentioned, take that piece out of a bag and set it up on a table in the front of the room. For example, here's "Picture a Christmas." Add each piece when the bolded word is reached. "Picture a stable in Judea. Picture a sacred, silent night. And can you hear the angels near, and see the star so bright. Picture a little baby Jesus, think of His life and works so dear..." etc. Ask if anyone would like to help you this time, and then repeat with a few responsible children in front of the Primary. Involving the Entire Primary Ask if anyone else would like a turn, and then go over your rules briefly. Have teachers supervise their classes at stations around the room with tables and nativity sets, and tell the children they have 30 seconds to decide which classmate gets to hold which piece. If there are not enough to go around, tell them you'll repeat it so everyone gets a turn. Then start singing again!

This activity will not fill a whole Singing Time, but that's okay. It gets the children out of their seats, and it gives everyone a turn to participate. 

Happy singing!

Looking for more?           For some other posts about Christmas ideas, try chimes or a full Singing Time plan with a sampling of Christmas songs.