How to Plan Your Singing Time

Today I'm sharing with you my blank agenda, which I use every week to plan my Sunday.  Here's the link to my downloadable and printable file, blank Primary music agenda, in case you'd like to use it in your own planning. Below, I'll show you my agenda and insert explanations for each item. ********************************

Date:

Junior Primary

Prelude:  I give specific requests to my pianist each week. They are always songs we're either learning or getting ready to learn, so that the children can become familiar with the melody.

            -if time, sing a wiggle song:  If I have my supplies ready with time to spare, then I'll sing a song or two with the children, just to let them stretch and move.

Opening Song:  I almost always choose a program song from the current year. I prefer not to teach by hammering lyrics, so instead, I have to use crazy amounts of repetition. :)

           

Birthday Song:  My Primary knows four birthday songs from The Children's Songbook. I just rotate through them.

Wiggle Songs:  I always start with a high energy song that has the children stand up. I repeat a few times, with variations. My second wiggle song is a calmer one, which ends with the children sitting. 

Singing Time Songs:  I select songs from the current year's program, as well as from topics that support the Sharing Time theme for that week.  I choose 4 songs every week, each with a different activity, as children need a change of pace every 3 to 5 minutes, and they learn best in a variety of styles. (See my page here on different learning styles.)  In Singing Time, we never just sit there and sing. The children are always engaged in the song in some sort of purposeful way.

            Song with a high concentration activity:  Examples are a matching game while we sing or a simple pattern with an instrument.

            Song with movement:  I try to have the children standing for this activity.

            Song with interactive visuals:  Young children are especially keyed in to color, so I try to tap into that most weeks.

            Song with either movement or high concentration:  I like to give the children a change of pace several times.  I shy away from having any manipulatives to pass back in after this last song, to help with a smooth transition to Sharing Time.

Senior Primary

Prelude:  Same as for Junior.

            -Primary pianist:  We have several Primary children who are learning piano, and I have a rotation for them to play prelude. They normally finish before the time is up, so our adult pianist takes over.

                                                  

Opening Song:  Same as for Junior.

Article of Faith:  We cover one each month. As part of opening exercises, one child holds the poster of that Article of Faith and reads it aloud. Then she asks everyone to stand, and I lead them in singing. I lead using my hand to show the rise and fall in pitch along with the rhythm, since we don't spend any other time learning these songs.

Birthday Song:  Same as for Junior.  I add in the round for the one applicable song.

Singing Time Songs:

            Song with movement:  The older children think they're too cool for traditional wiggle songs (though I still sing them occasionally, using methods described in my post "4 Ways to Boost Stale Wiggle Songs"), so I typically involve some sort of physical movement early on in Singing Time.  Instruments, hand rhythms, ribbon wands...my Senior Primary kids love them all, as long as they're being challenged.

            Song with a high concentration activity (often a logic or words activity):  My older children love thinking games.  I choose codes, word puzzles, etc. that they can do silently, so I can sing in the background.  I sing the song over and over, often 8 or 10 times, so I know the children are still learning it. :)

            Song with a low concentration activity (often with interactive visuals):  I change from the previous intense activity to a more relaxed one, where the children are still interested and involved.  I have a number of children who notice colors and visual patterns to the point of distraction, so I attempt to harness their interest by having visuals frequently.  In my ward, we have closing prayer immediately after my last Singing Time song, so I keep that in mind when choosing this final activity.


What other factors do you take into account when you plan your Singing Times?  I find that when I take the time to purposefully plan my Singing Time, the 20 minutes fly by, and the children, teachers, and I are all having fun as we learn. :)  

Happy singing!

Singing Time Plan: September #2

I'm trying two completely new activities in my Singing Time this week, and I can't wait to see how the children like them. :)  My husband came up with the idea of Flashlight Spotlight, super simple yet powerful in helping children think through the lyrics. I learned about the other activity, White Board Colors, from the Primary Chorister Facebook group.  A big thanks to Elise for her awesome idea! It taps into four different learning styles. That's got to be a record....

Junior Primary
Flashlight spotlight singing	"The Holy Ghost"  (p. 105)  Paper cup patterns.  Using a paper cup as an instrument, alternate clapping with tapping knees or shoulders in a simple pattern.
	"Tell Me the Stories of Jesus"  (p. 57)    Singing thermometer.  A previous music leader in my ward made a singing thermometer poster, to measure how strongly the children are singing. When they sing out more, you can pull the red bar higher.  This is a good tool for assessing how much the children know, after you've already taught them the song.
	"The Church of Jesus Christ"  (p. 77)  Hops and sways.  This idea is straight from Sharla Dance's blog, TeachingPrimaryMusic.com.  It's a simple series of hops then swaying arms, to help the children move while they're learning.
	"He Sent His Son"  (p. 34)  Flashlight spotlight.  Turn off the lights and turn on a flashlight. Only the group of children where you're shining the light should sing. Try moving the light slowly around the room, quickly switching between halves, or trading off between you and all the children.

Senior Primary White Board Colors activity from Elise

"I Feel My Savior's Love"  (p. 74)    White board colors.  See Elise's picture above. (She shared this on the Facebook group, but she also has a blog for some of her amazing artwork at HolyHandouts.com.)  While you're singing, have a child draw a marker from a bag and do the task that matches the color drawn. Red=erase a word, blue=underline words to hum, green=erase a word and draw a picture in its place, orange=underline a phrase to sing with eyes closed, brown=underline a word or phrase and create a sign/action for it, purple=pause the singing to share a way the child feels the Savior's love.

"The Holy Ghost"  (p. 105)  Paper cup patterns.  Choose a more complicated rhythm than for Junior Primary.

"He Sent His Son"  (p. 34)  Flashlight spotlight.  Same as for Junior Primary.  In addition, since our Primary program will have soloists from Senior Primary singing the questions in this song, after one sing-through I'll alter the activity to spotlight the soloists for their assigned lines.

Happy singing!

Singing Time Plan: September #1

Did you know there's a Facebook group for Primary Music Leaders?  9,600 members strong!  I discovered it this past week, and I love it.  It's not run by the Church at all, but it's a great place to share ideas with others.  My new activity this week, Solo or So Many, I found on this group.  Credit goes to Rachel! :)

Junior Primary
Mixed Puzzle Pictures	"Tell Me the Stories of Jesus"  (p. 57)  Puzzle pictures.  Make copies of three or four pictures depicting scenes from the Savior's life.  Cut each into four puzzles pieces.  Hand out pieces for just one picture to individual children as you sing, and have them put the puzzle together on the board. After they've finished, bear simple testimony of the importance of the scene portrayed, and then repeat with the next puzzle.
	"He Sent His Son"  (p. 34)  Ribbon wands. Have the children follow your smooth, flowing actions with a ribbon wand.
	"The Holy Ghost"  (p. 105)  Take it in, take it out; Solo or So Many.  Challenge the children to sing with you and then stop at a signal (tambourine or the like).  The piano will continue, so they'll have to follow along inside their heads. (This is called audiation, and it's a powerful way to cement lyrics.)  After going through once, ask for a volunteer to sing a solo, and you'll change the activity slightly.  Instead of taking the song inside, the group will take turns with the soloist at your signal.  If they're still with you, repeat!
	"Follow the Prophet"  (p. 110)  Hot or cold.  The classic game where you hide an item, and the children sing louder or softer to direct the child seeking it.  We'll be singing the verse about President Monson, so I'll hide a picture of him.

Senior Primary
"Tell Me the Stories of Jesus"  (p. 57)  Puzzle pictures.  See description in Junior Primary.  We'll be working on verse 3 with Senior Primary, so I'll make sure to choose pictures that coordinate well.  To change it up for the older children, I'll mix up all the puzzle pieces and pass them out from one huge pile, as in the picture above.
"He Sent His Son"  (p. 34)  Ribbon wands.  See description in Junior Primary.  To challenge my Senior kids a little more, I'll use written symbols to designate the different movements, using the technique I outline in my post here.
"The Holy Ghost"  (p. 105)  Take it in, take it out; Solo or So Many.  See description in Junior Primary.  I'm expecting to repeat this several times with different soloists.

Happy singing!

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!