Singing Time Plan: August #4

I have a new Singing Time activity this week, which I found on a friend's blog.  I'm excited to give Circle Code a try. :)

Junior Primary
Filling a Q&A chart	"He Sent His Son"  (p. 34)    Q&A chart.  In my Primary Program this fall, I'll have different groups of children sing either the questions or the answers in this song.  So, I'm starting now to draw the children's attention to structure of the song.  I'll draw a chalk outline of a chart on the board with one column for questions and one column for answers.  Then I'll have scrambled pictures to represent each line of the song, and the children will have to match up the questions and answers in order, as shown in the picture on the left.
	"The Church of Jesus Christ"  (p. 77)    Beat vs. rhythm with shakers.  With egg shakers, demonstrate how to keep the beat as you sing.  The next time through the song, show how to shake with the rhythm of the melody.  If the children have really got the hang of it, divide the room so you can have both parts going at once.
	"Come, Follow Me"  (Hymns #116)  Maze.  Print out a maze from the Friend magazine, such as this one here.  Sing verse 4 while the children solve the maze, and then point out how the word "course" applies for both a maze and the song.
	"I Know That My Savior Loves Me"   ASL quiz.  Now that my Junior children have learned all the sign language, I'll give them a quiz.  I'll sing the song and freeze at certain points, asking the children to fill in the next sign.

Senior Primary	Cracking the Circle Code
"Come, Follow Me"  (Hymns #116)    Circle code.  I got this idea from Sharla Dance over at TeachingPrimaryMusic.com. She calls it Color Code, but I changed it around some for my Singing Time, so I renamed it.  You can find Sharla's description here.  My code is for verse 4. One circle=one word. Can you crack it? ;)
"The Church of Jesus Christ"  (p. 77)  Beat vs. rhythm with shakers.  Same as for Junior Primary, above. For an added challenge, ask each child to simultaneously tap the beat with her toes and the rhythm with her shaker.  This is hard for most adults (including myself!), and the children will love it. :)
"He Sent His Son"  (p. 34)  Q&A chart.  Same as for Junior Primary, above.

Happy singing!

Singing Time Plan: August #3

I was out of town last week, and I missed teaching in Primary so much!  I'll be happy to be back singing with my kiddos this Sunday.

Junior Primary
Follow the taps	"Follow the Prophet"  (p. 110)  Sand blocks.  Use a simple pattern of taps and scrapes, repeating one motion 8 times before switching, so that the little ones can keep up.
	"Help Me, Dear Father"  (p. 99)  Cutaway picture.  Choose a picture about repentance (for verse 2) such as Enos praying, and cover it with opaque paper.  Cut away chunks of the paper as you sing.  The children love to guess what the picture is!
	"The Holy Ghost"  (p. 105)  Follow the taps.  Have the children stand and follow your actions as you tap your fingertips on your shoulder, head, knee, etc. with the music.
	"I Know That My Savior Loves Me"    ASL

Senior Primary	Partner sand blocks
"Follow the Prophet"  (p. 110)  Sand blocks.  Devise a more complicated pattern, such as working with a partner, and draw a symbol for each part of the pattern on a separate piece of paper.  Place the papers on the board out of order, and challenge the children to unscramble them as they watch you play and sing it through once.  After they've played through the pattern with you, have a child rearrange the pattern, and then play it again, as I describe in my post here.
"Help Me, Dear Father"  (p. 99)  Cutaway picture.  Same as for Junior Primary, above.
"The Holy Ghost"  (p. 105)  Make your own word search.  You can find a blank word search grid online.  At the bottom of that page, type words from the verse you'll be singing.  Pass out one page to each child, and have them create their own word search as you sing over and over.  Caution:  I chose 12 words last time, and that was way too many!  No one was able to finish.  I'll try 6 this time. :)

Happy singing!

Singing Time Plan: August #2

Hooray for energetic substitutes!  I'll be out of town this coming Sunday, so I'm giving the below plan to my substitutes.  I know they'll have a blast.  The challenge is to see how I'll survive a week without Primary!  Maybe I'll sneak into the back of Singing Time at the ward we're visiting... :D

Junior Primary
Take the song in, and take the song out!	"Tell Me the Stories of Jesus"  (p. 57)  Partner scarves.  Have partners hold opposite ends of a long scarf. Have them move them up and down while you sing v. 3, and point out how the movement looks like waves of the sea.  I have pictures in my previous blog post, here.
	"He Sent His Son"  (p. 34)  Order to pictures.  I have one picture for each line of the song, mostly from the Gospel Art set that the Church publishes, here.  I put the pictures up on the board, all out of order, and I motion one child up at a time to place a picture in order as I sing.
	"The Church of Jesus Christ"  (p. 77)  Directional marching.  Have the children stand and march in place, turning to face different directions as you demonstrate and sing.
	"Come, Follow Me"  (Hymns #116)  Take it in, take it out. This is a great review activity, once your children know a song.  You and the children begin singing the song, and then at the signal (my favorite is a tambourine), you all take the song "in," so that only the piano is playing, and you're following along inside your head. At the signal again, you take the song back "out," and pick up singing wherever the piano is.

Senior Primary	Giving order to pictures
"Tell Me the Stories of Jesus"  (p. 57)    Partner scarves.  See description in Junior, above.  To add a challenge, ask them to see how full of air they can get their scarves and how long they can make it float before it falls.
"Come, Follow Me"  (Hymns #116)  Take it in, take it out. See description in Junior, above.
"He Sent His Son"  (p. 34)  Order to pictures.  See description in Junior, above.
"The Church of Jesus Christ"  (p. 77)    Leading music.  Teach the children how to lead music as you sing and conduct the song together.  Consider drawing the conducting pattern on the board before you start.

Happy singing!