Circle Code: A Senior Primary Activity

Cracking the Circle Code      Here's a closer look at Circle Code, the new activity I mentioned in my SingingTime post earlier this week, here.  I got the idea from Sharla over at TeachingPrimaryMusic.com, and then I changed it to meet my needs.  (You can read about her original Color Code activity here.) A New Code Needed In Sharla's Color Code, she created the code for the first verse of "Come, Follow Me" (Hymns #116).  My children already knew that verse, so I wanted to use the code for verse 4, instead.  As I sat down to apply Sharla's code to verse 4, I quickly realized it wouldn't work.  She had circles of different colors stand for words that started with a certain letter. (eg. Orange circles for words that started with "C.")  That worked well for verse 1, but in verse 4, only the letter "W" was used with any frequency higher than twice.  So I set out to develop my own code, using her basic idea of one circle per word. Interpretation of the Circle Code

My Circle Code

Here's what I developed, after looking at the song and verse I wanted to highlight.  You can use a similar process to adapt Circle Code for any song.

Dark blue circles=baseline, one syllable word
Light blue circles=one syllable word starting with the letter "W"
Shadow=add to a circle to indicate the note is longer than a quarter note
Small white circle=add to a circle to indicate the word has more than one syllable

So, the first line of the poster corresponds to this line from the song:  "Not only shall we emulate..."

Making the Poster

The pictures make it hard to see how simple the poster really is.  It's truly just poster board with paper circles glued on.  I used a plastic cup to trace the larger circles onto construction paper, and I used a depleted roll of scotch tape for the smaller circles.  The shadows are just large black circles that I aligned a little lower.  

I lined up all the circles before gluing them down, so I could double check their placement and my coding.  My favorite glue to use is a dot glue runner, as I've found that liquid glue will pucker the paper, and a glue stick doesn't have very good staying power.  

Presenting the Activity

Place the poster on the board and ask the children what they notice.  Receive their answers.  Ask them to crack the code while you sing.  Point to each circle as you sing the corresponding word, and after the first sing-through, ask what their guesses are.  Sing through a couple more times, emphasizing different words as necessary.  

Now you're all set!  Prepare to be amazed at how quickly your children rise to this new challenge. :)


Happy singing!

4 Ways to Boost Stale Wiggle Songs

He's all made of hinges!

"Popcorn Popping;" "Hinges;" "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes."  Oh, how we love our Primary wiggle songs!  The only problem is when you have smart kids. Or older kids.  They get really tired of the wiggle songs.  Wait, is that actually a problem? We love our smart, older kids!  They think they're too cool to move with the music, but they're still young enough to need to move their bodies in order to learn.  Here are 4 ways to give your wiggle songs a boost.

1.  Child-led

Sometimes it's fun to bring a child up front to lead the actions.  Sometimes I'll ask the birthday child or the visitors to come up and choose different actions for "Roll Your Hands" (p.274) such as stomp your feet, turn around, swing your arms, etc.  Reluctant children are more likely to participate if a peer is leading them.

2.  Funny voices

Why does playing pretend draw children's attention so well? I don't have a clue; I only know that it works!  Why not try singing "Hinges" (p.277) with voices such as cowboy, opera, English butler, or SCUBA diver?  You could even stylize your actions some.  One note on this style:  I only use funny voices with purely fun songs, never with doctrinal songs.  My mom corrected me on that when I was eight, and it's a lesson that obviously stuck.  Thanks, Mom. :)

3.  Animals

Children are fascinated by animals.  Sometimes I'll say, "I went to the zoo recently, and I was just thinking, let's try singing in some animal styles."  I'll ask for animal ideas, and then I'll pick one for "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" (p.275). Things like cheetah and turtle are easy--you just go fast or slow--but the kids will still like it more when you make it a pretend game instead of just announcing the song will be a different speed.  The trickiest animal suggestion I got was a sloth.  Hee!  We acted like we were lazy and tired, and the kids ate it up.

4.  Sports and Activities

Lots of older Primary children are involved in sports or other extra-curricular activities.  Participation in these activities helps form their self-image, and they are typically very eager to share what they are doing.  You could say, "Let's sing, 'Do As I'm Doing' (p.276), and for our actions, I want to hear some of the activities that you do on the weekend or after school."  Take a suggestion, and then quickly choose an action to demonstrate it.  Added bonus:  you get to learn more about the children!

These are some of my favorite ways to boost a wiggle song that's lost some of its charm.  I'd love to hear what's worked for you, as well. :)




Happy singing!

Rhythm Band: Recycle Bin Edition

    Confession:  the first time I tried this activity with my Senior Primary kids, it totally flopped.  I realized--after the fact--that I hadn't given them enough experience with a single rhythm instrument to be able to follow the more complicated instructions given with a band.  So I rolled it back, giving them symbols on the board to correspond to actions and rhythms with a single instrument.  (See examples of this in my posts on egg cartons and sand blocks.)  Once your children know how to follow this style of notation, they'll be ready and eager to try it in a band setting!

The Instruments

The makings of a rhythm band

You could use any rhythm instruments you like, really, as long as you have enough for every child.  I normally choose 4 of my recycle bin favorites:

Ice cream buckets (to use like a drum)

Egg cartons (with a rhythm stick for tapping)

Pairs of paper plates (to use like cymbals)

Paper cups (for tapping and clapping)

Sheets of paper (for both patting on your lap and shaking quickly)

I tend to shy away from my nicer instruments for this activity, since those are more interesting in their own right. Also, this is the only way paper can be interesting.  Also, buckets are only tolerable when there are less than 20 of them going at once.  (*cringe* Yes, I learned this one the hard way!) 

The Patterns

Now that you've chosen your instruments, you need to choose a short pattern for each one.  Using simple symbols, write each pattern on the board on separate lines.  The following picture shows how I write the patterns on the board, so that the symbols vertically line up for the same moment in time.  Here, each instrument's pattern takes four beats to complete.  I've added vertical lines for you (which I won't use for the children) to show where the four beats are.  

Rhythm band patterns

Here is the interpretation of my symbols.  Please note that you don't have to use mine! Use whatever symbols and rhythms make sense to you.  This is just one idea.

Paper plates:  The long arc represents a cymbal crash where they make a large circle with their arms extending up, then out.  The two diagonal slashes represent one paper plate crossing to tap the opposite shoulder.

Buckets:  The first two beats represent syncopation with flat palms hitting the drum:  eighth, quarter (hold your palms there!), eighth.  The tiny zigzags represent light finger tapping, using two alternating fingers on both hands. I have them tap sixteenth notes for the first of those beats and eighth notes for the second beat.

Paper:  The two flat lines are eighth-note taps on their laps, then they rest for one beat.  The wavy line represents holding the piece of paper in both hands, letting it hang down and shaking it very quickly.

Egg cartons:  The pointy swoops represent scraping the carton back and forth with a rhythm stick.  They then tap with the stick, two eighth notes and one quarter note.

Presenting the Activity

Demonstration:  To teach the children how to do this activity, I start with all the instruments up front.  I demonstrate each one individually, singing as I do so, and I invite them to follow my hand movements, even though they don't have instruments yet.  I let them know that we'll be trading around instruments periodically, so they should learn each part.  

Rules:  Right before I ask children to help me pass out the instruments, I remind them that in a band, all the musicians have to follow the conductor.  I try to make it a game, where they have to sit up straighter when I dramatically raise my hands, and they have to instantly freeze when I cut them off. We practice that a couple times, and then it's finally time to begin.

Distribution:  I ask children to pass out the instruments so that each item is scattered around the room.  While they're doing that, I start singing and pantomiming the actions for one instrument.  I don't hold an instrument, so that I can switch quickly between the four.  I'll point to a line of symbols then do those actions for a line or two before switching to the next. 

Breaking it down:  If I see the children are having trouble, I'll use the earlier practiced motion of cutting off the music.  Then I'll break it down, one instrument at a time, to go over the pattern. I sing as I'm demonstrating, so that even as it seems the activity is going slowly, the music learning never stops. 

Shaking things up:  Once they have it, I call out, "Switch instruments!"  Then I hold up ten fingers and begin to count down, to let them know they have a deadline for trading with their neighbor.  As soon as I reach zero, I begin the song again, and we repeat. 

This is one of my favorite Primary music activities.  The kids can tell when you're having fun, and your smile will be contagious. :)

Happy singing!

Puzzle Pictures

I nearly failed art class in both junior high and college.  My home is only sparsely decorated.  My husband has had to remind me to put photos in my blog posts.  I'm not a visual learner!  However, I've realized that many of my Primary children learn best through interacting with colors and pictures, so this activity is for them.

Preparing the Puzzles

A four-piece puzzle keeps things simple for Junior

I normally use this Puzzle Pictures activity with a song that lends itself well towards concrete representation.  This week, I'm pairing it with "Tell Me the Stories of Jesus" (p.57).  I print off 4 pictures from the Church's Gospel Art collection, here, onto card stock.  Then I cut each picture into four puzzle pieces and put the pieces for each puzzle into separate plastic baggies.  When I get to the Primary room, I put little rolls of masking tape on the back of each piece, making sure to keep each 4-piece puzzle separate from the others.

For Junior Primary

My intro to the activity is simple.  "Will you help me put together a puzzle on the board?"  Then I start singing while I walk around the room.  For Junior Primary, I hand out the pieces to the first puzzle to various children, and I motion them forward to tape their pieces in place on the board.  When the puzzle is complete, I start on the next set of pieces.  

For Senior Primary

A mixed-up challenge for Senior

For the older kids, I want to make the activity more challenging.  I deliberately mix all 16 pieces together, and I tape them up around the Primary room, making sure to place some in the back of the room.  I give two rules:  no talking, and raise your hand if you see a piece you'd like to place on the board.  I start singing, pointing to individual children or tapping them on the shoulder when they raise their hands.  Sometimes children need to rearrange a piece or two, and that's fine.

This activity is great at engaging the children.  They want to figure out what each picture is, and when they do, the applicable story of Jesus pops to the front of their minds.  Right as they're finishing the last puzzle is a wonderful time to bear a one-sentence testimony of the Savior.  The children's minds are already turned to Him, and you can echo what they're thinking and feeling.


Happy singing!

First Letter Code--a Logic Activity for Senior Primary

Mysteries.  Codes.  Thinking puzzles.  Nothing engages my older boys more.  This First Letter Code activity taps into the logical learning style, which my Senior Primary craves.

Preparation

To prepare this activity, select just one verse of a song.  I chose verse 1 of "Tell Me the Stories of Jesus" (Children's Songbook p.57).  Write out the first letters of each word in song order. 

Separate the letters into groups

So, "Tell Me The Stories Of Jesus I Love To Hear" becomes "TMTSOJILTH."

Chunk the letters into groups, similar to this:

TMTSOJ
ILTH

Continue for the entire song.  Write one group per paper strip (card stock works well), until the whole song is represented.  

Start out of order

Presentation

Present to the children with the papers out of order. Tell them the papers are a code, and the key to solving it is in the song. Sing the song through, and then hear the children's ideas for how to crack the code. If they are baffled, help them out by pointing to the first paper as you sing the first line.  Once they understand, they will be excited to place the papers in order.  

The completed activity

Instruct the children to raise their hands when they know which paper comes next.  Begin singing the song again, and silently wave children forward to correctly place a paper strip, one at a time, as you go through the song.  Periodically restart the song, pointing to each letter as you sing the matching word, to check the order.

Reusing the Activity

Credit for this First Letter Code idea goes to Sharla over at TeachingPrimaryMusic.com.  Thanks, Sharla!  This activity isn't on her blog yet; I saw her present it at a workshop.  I've added an idea of my own, so as to use this activity more than one week without it boring the children.  I brought in a stopwatch on the second week and timed how long it took them to put all the papers in order.  A couple weeks later, I brought the activity back in, and the children tried to beat their previous time. Fun all over again. :)


Happy singing!

Silence is Golden, Even In Singing Time

Rhythm Stick Roll with a partner

Kids love to make noise and move. We love to let them!  Sometimes, however, a song has a quiet, slow, more reverent feel, and you want to tone things down.  That doesn't mean that you can't incorporate instruments and movement, though.  Most children learn better if they can move their energetic bodies, so it's our task to find a quiet, slow movement to fit those types of songs.  Enter the rhythm sticks.  I talked about how to use them as traditional instruments in an earlier post, but now let's take a look at how to use them in an entirely new way.

Rhythm Stick Roll

Right palms balance the sticks.

I first participated in this activity in a Primary music workshop presented by Sharla Dance, over at TeachingPrimaryMusic.com.  It's unique, it's challenging, and I didn't want the song to end!  The movement is quiet, deliberate, and intense, so this activity should always be paired with a song that has that same tone.  For example, this week I'll use "Help Me, Dear Father" (Children's Songbook p.99), which is about repentance.

To introduce the activity, I invite a child to come be my partner. We each hold one rhythm stick in our right hand, balanced on our open palm.  Facing each other, we extend our hands so that our right fingertips barely overlap our partner's left fingertips.  Simultaneously, we carefully roll our rhythm sticks into our partners' left palms.  My left hand closes around the stick, and I bring it behind my back, passing it off to my right hand. I bring the stick around front and place both my hands in their original position, as my partner does the same.  Repeat. After a couple repetitions, I pass out the rhythm sticks and ask teachers to help make sure everyone has a partner.  I remain at the front with my partner, demonstrating the movement the entire time I'm singing.

Timing

Don't rush things!  I generally take one measure of the music to roll the stick and then a second measure to bring the stick around to starting position.  For this song, it would go like this:

"Help me, dear" (roll stick into partner's hand)
"Father to" (bring stick around to starting position)
"freely for-" (roll)
"give..." (bring around)

Extending the Activity

If you have a lot of time, ask the children to sit and watch how you're upping the difficulty.  Invite a pair of children to come up front and join you and your partner.  Stand in a circle and hold your hands out to your sides, rather than in front of you as before.  Demonstrate how you can roll the stick from your right hand into the waiting hand of the person on your right, while your left hand is receiving a stick from the person on your left.  Bring the new stick around behind your back, and repeat. Have the children all form groups of four, and sing the song again.

*Note:  I use Rhythm Stick Roll only with senior Primary, as it requires more coordination than my junior Primary can muster.  As you'll notice in my post showing my Singing Time plan for this week, I have an entirely different activity for this song for junior Primary.

So, don't shy away from using movement with the slower songs, too.  Just find a movement that matches. :)

Happy Singing!

Turning "Simple" Into a Fun Challenge

Sand blocks. I showed you how to make them. I told you I'd be using them. I even hinted that you could keep them simple for junior primary and then step it up for senior primary.  My weekly outline posts can only have brief descriptions of each activity, though, so here's a more in-depth look at how to make the magic happen.

Starting with Simple

First, let's take a look at how the activity goes for junior primary.  This week, I'm using the President Monson verse of "Follow the Prophet," found in The Friend magazine here.

Tapping the far edges

Tapping the near edges

We start with light tapping, where I touch the farthest edges of the blocks together and then quickly switch to the nearest edges touching. I make these quick (so the children don't get bored), giving two taps per beat.  I use 8 beats ( or 16 taps), for the phrase, "Heav'nly Father loves us and wants us to return. He...."

Scraping on the sandpaper side

Then I switch to 8 counts of scraping the sand blocks against each other, along the sandpaper side, on each beat. This uses the phrase "...blesses us with prophets who help us to learn."

For the rest of the song, I alternate tapping and scraping, in 8 count intervals.  About half-way through the song, when the children are following me well, I change things up slightly.  For the taps, I hold the blocks right in front of my body, but I move the scrapes to different locations.  The first time, I hold the blocks out to my right.  Taps are back in the middle, then scrapes to the left this time.  Taps in the middle, then scrapes up high, etc.  The song ended at some point during all that, but since we're now changing the movement some, the children aren't tired of the activity yet, and we just repeat the song and continue on.

Extender Activity for Junior

If I have lots of time and want to extend the activity further, I switch to only scrapes, and I change the location every 4 beats. I try to trick the children or be silly in some way (holding the blocks next to my belly button or nose, for example),  as kids love it when a lesson feels like play.

*Note: These instruments make a lot of noise.  You will have to sing a LOT more loudly than you normally sing in order to be heard. Not that I learned that the hard way or anything...

Presenting a Challenge

Symbols to match the actions

Now think about senior primary.  Your older children will groan if you present sand blocks in the way I describe above. Instead, consider how they will respond if you place papers like the ones pictured up on the board. Before I pass out the sand blocks, I demonstrate my chosen actions without any explanation.  Then I ask the children to match my actions to the coordinating symbols on the papers.  When my senior primary was new to this type of activity, I put the papers in order. Now, I place them on the board out of order, and the children have to unscramble them before they get any instruments. It normally only takes one time through the song. My kids catch on fast!

However, since you don't have the benefit of watching my actions, here's the interpretation.  One piece of paper shows the actions for 4 beats. The diagonal slash marks are for scrapes; the eighth and sixteenth note flags are for taps at the designated speed; the long flat line is a clap-and-hold; and the apple-ish shape shows them to hold their sand blocks together and circle them around their heads.  If my code doesn't float your boat, then make your own! The important thing is just to have some visual identifier for each action. 

Extender Activity for Senior

Again, if I have more time for this activity, I extend it by changing it up slightly.  I invite a child to reorder the papers any way he likes, and then we all do the pattern again. The children love the movement and mental challenge so much that they don't notice we've sung the song something like 10 times. :)


Happy Singing!

The Pealing of the Bells

Hand bells

Last Sunday, I experienced Primary music bliss.  I walked into the room carrying some black cloth cases, and the children's eyes got wide. They grinned, whispering excitedly to their neighbors as they pointed at what I was carrying. Yes!--I confirmed with a grin and a nod. It was hand bells day. 

I don't blame them at all! I feel the same way. The bells are colorful, the tones are clear, and the feeling of everyone working together to make beautiful music is just impossible to beat.

Choosing Bells

The bells that I use are a basic 8-bell diatonic set for the key of C, from middle C to the C one octave above, (meaning no sharps or flats). Mine are Schylling brand, from amazon.com, here, but there are different brands on sale all over. Each color is a different note.  There are also add-on packs with accidentals, higher notes, and lower notes. I mostly just have multiples of this basic set, in order to get more children playing at the same time. My senior Primary has 50+ children there every Sunday, so mass involvement is crucial to me!

The full set of hand bells

I also got carrying cases, since the initial packaging isn't really made for long-term use. 

Hand bells in their carrying case

How to Chart the Songs

I searched long and hard on Pinterest to get ideas for charts to go with the bells, and I settled on one from a blog called Imagine Our Life.  I don't know anything else about the blog, but this felt pattern and I fell in love at first sight!

Movable hand bells chart

I opted to go with this chart because it's movable. I don't have to make a new chart for each new song I teach with bells; I can just move the colored notes--which adorably match the colors of the bells--as needed, since felt adheres to itself pretty well.  I also love that it utilizes a music staff. I don't teach the musical notation at all, but the children who can read music find it helpful, and I feel that I'm helping to establish a foundation for all the rest.

I found all the needed supplies at my local craft store. I got a yard of white felt for the base, and the small colored felt squares were something like $.35 each. Nice.

Supplies for making a movable bells chart.

Here's a close-up of the ribbon, felt circles, and magnet clips that I use to hold up the chart on the chalkboard.  Well, the circles are basically circular. I used a toilet paper roll as my stencil.  If you're interested, hop over to the other blog for the tutorial.

A close-up of the chart components

In my picture of the chart above, you can see that I use the notes from the guitar chords listed in The Children's Songbook.  The song shown is "Did Jesus Really Live Again?"  I use a drop down menu on the Church's interactive music player to change the key of the song to C to match my bells, and the listed chords are transposed, as well. What a dream come true!  While in Primary, the children play the chords like an accompaniment, and we sing the melody over the top. I make sure to print out a copy of the transposed song for my pianist, so she can play the melody line with us.  Next time I bring in the bells, I plan on having the children play the melody line, to change things up. On my very favorite Primary music site, To Teach a Child a Song, there is an example of how to mix in harmony notes, too.

Introducing the Hand Bells

I've found I have to go over the ground rules each time I bring in my hand bells. When you get your bell, you immediately bring it to "resting position," sitting lightly on your shoulder.  You keep the bell there until your turn to play, and afterwards you return the bell promptly.  This ensures you can actually hear the desired notes. :)

Resting position is no joke.

Before I pass out the bells, I have the children practice the motion with me: hand on shoulder, straighten arm to play, hand returns to shoulder.  We practice again in unison, pretending to ring our bells at the exact moment I reach up and touch a chord on the chart.

Then we pass out the bells. I have roughly half as many bells as children, so I have them trade off with a neighbor after each time singing through the song. If you're new to using complex activities in your singing time, be aware that you might be singing the song completely by yourself.  Even children who know the song well may be so focused on their playing that they forget to sing. That's okay!  They are hearing the song over and over again, in a new and interesting way.

One final note:  be sure to bring in hand bells for songs with a slower tempo.  If the notes move too quickly, the children will find it difficult to keep up, and they will become easily frustrated. And after all, singing time is all about finding joy in music as well as in truth from Our Father in Heaven. :)

Happy Singing!