Showing posts with label younger kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label younger kids. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

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.

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Remembering General Conference with "If I Listen With My Heart"


Choosing word strips
Hooray for a living prophet!  I love teaching the children songs about the blessing of having a prophet today.  Even more, I love helping the children see how that teaching comes to life.  I present this Singing Time activity after every General Conference, choosing one prophet-focused song.  The second verse of "If I Listen With My Heart" is a natural choice this time, since we're already learning it for the program this fall.


Prep


Listen to General Conference!  Take special note of the commandments, challenges, and invitations that we are given, especially by President Monson.  After Conference, get the exact quotes for several invitations from lds.org and type them up.  Print them and cut into strips of paper, placing them in a jar.


Presentation


Remind the children that the reason we're so happy to have a living prophet is because we can hear what Jesus wants us to know.  Sing the first line or two of the second verse of "If I Listen With My Heart," while offering the jar to a child to choose one paper strip.  Let the children know that these are things the Lord just asked us to do, through his servants. Either you or the child can read the quote. Then sing the next line or two of the song, while offering the jar to another child. Repeat until you've sung the whole song a couple times, or until your kiddos start getting restless. ;)


This activity works for both older and younger kids.  I find the younger children can listen best when I purposefully choose short, understandable quotes to share with them, and when I read the quotes with an animated voice and face.  Throughout the whole activity, you will have opportunities to bear testimony that this is the Lord's prophet and the Lord's church. And who doesn't love that? 



Happy singing!


Looking for more?  To see what types of activities pair well with this one, see a Singing Time plan that incorporates this idea, here.


Wednesday, March 23, 2016

"Did Jesus Really Live Again?"--Child-led Actions


"Did Jesus Really Live Again?" is one of my favorite Easter songs.  It tells the story of the resurrection in a simple way.  This activity helps the children, both younger and older, interact with the story and think about what happened.


Preparation


Learn the song really, really well. All three verses.  Then, think about the size of your Primary.  How could you best divide the song, so that each row or class could be assigned a line or two of the song?


Presentation


Ask the children, with their teachers' help, to come up with an action or two for a line of the song, which you will assign them.  Start singing the song, walking by each row and pointing to them when you sing their line. When you finish the song, repeat--again walking by each row and emphasizing their line, so they can hear the words again.  

When each group has had enough time to create an action, ask them to show the whole Primary. Sing just one line, and then copy their action. Sing that one line again, asking the whole Primary to perform the action with you. Repeat for each group, and then put the whole thing together!


Benefits


This activity taps into several different learning styles:

  Movement:  The obvious. They get to do each action.

  Visual:  The children get to see each group perform each action.

  Words:  The children have to listen carefully to the words in order to create their actions. Also, for younger children, having something concrete to represent the lyrics is especially helpful.

  Cooperation:  Each class/row has to work together to choose an action, and then the entire Primary has to work together to fit the actions to the entire song.

Happy Easter, and happy singing!


Looking for more?    I'm pairing this activity with a silent video. I'll play one of the Bible videos with the sound off, and I'll sing "Easter Hosanna" while it plays, pausing my song at times to comment on the video.

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

"Stand for the Right" with Ribbon Wands


Let them stand for the right!

3/4 time.  Upbeat tempo. Lilting, swaying, rocking. These descriptions come to my mind for the song, "Stand for the Right."  I love to get my kids up and moving with doctrinal songs, too, not just with the fun wiggle songs. This song gave me the perfect opportunity to bring in my ribbon wands.


Demonstrate First


Even my youngest Sunbeam kiddos can catch the feel of this song when they use ribbon wands.   The little ones feel more comfortable participating in an activity when they've had a chance to see it first, so without preamble, I take out one ribbon and start singing, waving my ribbon side to side in time with the beat.  Each time I sing, "Be true," I bring the ribbon straight up in the air (on "Be") and then down sharply to rest on the ground (on "true").  When the next note starts, I pick back up with the side to side motion.

Below is a video showing this movement.



Immediate Participation


After singing the song through once, I remind the children of the rules ("Please treat my special ribbons gently, and please don't touch your neighbors with them!") and ask a couple older children to pass them out.  As soon as they start to pass out the ribbons, I start singing and moving my ribbon, so the children can follow me right away.


Repetition That's Fun


I don't know about your kiddos, but my Sunbeams could do this for ten minutes straight, no problem.  My 6- and 7-year olds, however, get bored if something doesn't change.  So after each sing-through, I change up something slightly.  One time, I'll challenge them to move their ribbons exactly with the beat.  Another time, I'll ask how high they can get their ribbons on each side. Or, I might say, "Freeze!" at a couple points in the song, and then comment on the words (like, "Isn't it amazing that we have a living prophet? We'll get to listen to him at General Conference!"), and then I'll pick back up with the song where I left off.  *Note:  it's especially important to work well with your pianist for starting and stopping activities like this. I have been blessed with the most helpful and patient pianists ever!


For the Older Crowd


My older kids love ribbon wands, too.  I just have to take the difficulty up a notch.  Or two. ;)  I come up with a more complicated pattern (I normally just sing the song by myself at home and play with a ribbon until I come up with something I like), and then I invent simple symbols to write on the board (squiggles, circles, waves...) to denote each action.  See the video below for one example.  




Whereas in Junior Primary I only have two actions, for Senior I choose at least four, and sometimes more.  The symbols on the board can be a code for them to decipher when you first demonstrate the activity, and they're also useful in helping them remember which action in the long sequence comes next.  The "Freeze!" add-on also works well with this age.


Happy singing!


Looking for more?   To see how I've incorporated ribbons into a full Singing Time, read my post here on what activities pair well with this.  Interested in how better to work with your pianist?  Check out the guest post my pianist wrote for me. :)

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

"I Often Go Walking"--Let Your Little Ones Gather Blossoms in the Primary Room


Gathering blossoms of blue
Is it time to start thinking about Mother's Day? If you want your children to perform a song in two months, then yes!  "I Often Go Walking" hasn't been sung in our ward in several years, so that's what I'm planning on doing.  I have a lot of young Sunbeams, and I thought up this Junior Primary activity with them in mind. 


 Preparation


Gather a ton of tiny flowers.  You could do real or silk, if you have a lot available, but I opted for paper.  I have a paper punch that spits out flower-shaped pieces, so I punched out about 150 flowers from different shades of blue paper.  The song specifically mentions "blossoms of blue," so I thought I was being clever. ;)  You could definitely cut out simple flower shapes using scissors and any colors of paper you like.
Paper flowers

Right before Singing Time, scatter your flowers in the back of the Primary room in a more-or-less line, along a path the children will be walking.  


Presentation


Tell the children you'd like their help to act out a song about gathering flowers.  Ask the teachers to help the children follow you row by row, walking in a big circle around the edge of the Primary room.  Instruct the children to take only one flower, and then to keep walking.  Start walking and singing, motioning for the first row to stand and follow you.  When you reach the scattered flowers, take one and keep moving, pausing your singing if necessary to repeat instructions.  

Loop around to pass the flowers again, this time asking the children to take two flowers, since it's their second time around.  Sing over and over as you walk. If your children are continuing to enjoy the activity, you can collect 3 flowers the third time around, then 4.  

Lead the children back to their seats, and then instruct them to put away their flowers.  I gathered mine back up to use again, but if you want your children to take them home, then I recommend giving them baggies or envelopes, so the flowers won't cause a distraction during the rest of Primary. 


Happy singing!

Looking for more?  Here's a good reminder for teaching Sunbeams, 4 Ways to Help Your New Sunbeams Shine.  Or, try pairing this walking activity with a sitting one that requires concentration, like ASL.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Odd One Out: Teaching Younger Kids "The Books in the Book of Mormon"


Inspecting pictures to find the odd one out
This simple activity was a definite hit in my Junior Primary last week. We're learning "The Books in the Book of Mormon," and over the past few weeks I've already used several physical activities. This time, I wanted to tap into the visual learning style, but I needed to find something simple enough for my brand-new Sunbeams.  Odd One Out is the result.


Prep Work


Prep work consists only of gathering pictures.  I used pictures from the old Gospel Art Kit, the Primary 1 manual, and some I ordered from the lds.org store.  The Gospel Art Book would also be a good source, as well as your meetinghouse library.  I chose 16 pictures total:  12 of Book of Mormon scenes and 4 of NOT Book of Mormon scenes.  The 4 NOT Book of Mormon pictures that I chose were some birds, a fish, President Monson, and Noah's ark.  I separated the pictures into sets:  3 Book of Mormon pictures with 1 NOT picture. I made sure the Noah's ark picture would be in the last set I used.


Presentation


Place one set of 4 pictures (3 Book of Mormon scenes with 1 NOT) on the board for the children to see. Ask the children not to say anything yet, but to see if they can figure out which picture is not from The Book of Mormon before you finish singing the song.  Start right into singing "The Books in the Book of Mormon."  

When you're done singing the song once, remind them again not to say anything (you have new Sunbeams in your ward, too, right?!), but ask them to give you a sign if they know which picture is the odd one out.  Raising hands gets boring, so I had them give a different sign each time through, which related to the odd picture in some way. For the birds, for example, we used a thumb and forefinger to mimic a bird beak.  

Ask for one child to point out the odd picture.  If you like, you can briefly describe the stories from each of the Book of Mormon scenes.  Then take down this set of pictures and put up the next set.  Repeat for this set and the next.  Before the last set, tell your older children that you'll be trickier on this last one, as all the pictures will be scripture stories, but one will be from a different book of scripture than The Book of Mormon.  If the children were starting to lose interest, this added challenge will bring them back in.  


This activity went over so well that I'll be bringing it into my Senior Primary, as well, but using tricky pictures for the odd one out every time. :)

Happy singing!


Looking for more?  This would be an excellent activity to use when taking music into a less active child's home.  Or, check out Puzzle Pictures for another engaging visual activity.  

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

5 Tips for Teaching ASL in Primary



  When I was in Primary, I learned "As I Have Loved You" with ASL (American Sign Language).  I can still sing and sign the whole thing!  Something about combining music with representative actions really helped me retain what I learned.  Now, every year I choose a song to teach in ASL to both my younger and older Primary children, so they can have a similar experience. Here are some tips to consider, if you'd like to teach ASL in your Primary, too.

1.  Choosing a Song


Take a look at the list of songs you want to teach your children this year.  (For tips on how to plan your year, look here.)  Cross off any songs that are very fast, as it would be difficult for the children to sign that quickly.  

For the slower tempo songs that remain, think of the following questions:  Do I want to teach ASL for more than one verse? Do I want to include ASL in a song where I already have a small group or solo planned for the Primary program? (Again, see my previous post on yearly planning and deciding verse assignments early.) Which songs might be harder for the children to learn, so ASL could be a help? Are ASL videos available for these songs? (Find the Church's ASL videos on lds.org, here.) 


2. Simplify


Since I'm a music teacher, not an ASL teacher, I've decided to focus on teaching my children the song, rather than on teaching them precise ASL.  I don't change the signs themselves, but I cut out some signs and reorder others, focusing on key words, in order to make it easier to sign in the time the song allows. The result is more like signed English, distinctly different from ASL.  Young children are very literal, and this style of teaching helps them better relate to the signs I present. At the right is a video of me, showing the version of "I Will Follow God's Plan" that I simplified for teaching my Primary this year.  


3.  Teaching Yourself the Signs


Although with any song it's important to know it yourself before attempting to teach it, this principle is especially true with teaching ASL.  The handy part is that you only have to be one step ahead of the kids. When I'm learning a new song in ASL, I teach myself one or two lines at a time--just the portion that I'll be teaching the following Sunday.  That way, I'm not overwhelmed by how much I have to learn. 

To learn the signs, you can either watch a video over and over, signing as you go, or you can work with your stake's ASL interpreter. I've done both. :)


4.  Teaching the Children the Signs


The best idea I ever had about teaching ASL in Primary (inspiration, perhaps?) was to start in the middle.  The main idea is to help the children feel confident in their signing.  Start with a section that has a lot of repetition (the chorus, or a phrase with repetitive words, like "I will work, and I will pray. I will always walk...")  The repetitive signs will help the children feel successful right away. As you add on bits of the song and it's harder for the children to remember everything, the most familiar part will come later on in the song, when they most need help remembering. 

When teaching individual signs, I try to think of ways to explain the motions. For example, I say, "This is the sign for God. Notice how we point up to heaven, where He lives!"  Teaching signs in this way helps the children match their movements to the words.


5.  The Big Picture

I take several weeks to teach a song in ASL, reviewing each small section from the previous week before moving on. After the children know the entire song well, I'll challenge them to close their eyes as they sign, only opening them when they need to check on a sign or two.  Throughout the rest of the year, we'll periodically sing and sign this song for the opening song for Primary, to make sure we--both the children and myself!--don't forget what we've learned. 


I can't say enough good things about using ASL to teach children songs. My younger kids, my older kids, my special needs kids, my inactive kids, even my nursery kids! can learn these signs and the song that goes with them.  If you've never given ASL a try in Primary, then, you know...consider giving it a try. :)


Happy singing!


Looking for more?   ASL is a perfect activity for combined-age Primaries (see my post on combined Primaries, here) or for taking Primary music into the home of children who don't often come on Sundays (read more about this here).  Simple ASL signs can also be a powerful way to teach nursery-aged children (read more about their musical needs here).

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Marching with Scripture Power

Directional Marching

Sometimes, less is more. In the 2016 Outline for Sharing Time, Primary music leaders are encouraged, "Keep visuals simple. This allows the children to focus on the message of the song, and it allows the Spirit to testify that what they are singing is true."  I'm reviewing the song, "Scripture Power," with my Primary kids this month, and I'm using scriptures as a simple visual.  (You can find the song on lds.org, here.) My Primary presidency has an incentive program for the children to bring their scriptures to church every week, so when I presented this activity, over half the children had their own scriptures to hold.

Directional Marching


I took an activity idea from Sharla, over at TeachingPrimaryMusic.com, and paired it with "Scripture Power."   Sharla calls this activity "directional marching."  It's simple, involves full body movement, and incorporates a strong, steady beat.  Really, it's a perfect activity for younger kids!  (But don't try this with your older kids unless you want to see some eye rolls...)

The idea is straightforward:  you march in place with the beat of the song, sometimes changing the direction you're facing, and you hold your scriptures in various places relative to your body.  The children follow along. Below is the video that Sharla made, demonstrating how it works. 

One note:  unlike in the video, when you're leading this activity, you sing while you march.  In my experience, most of the children won't sing with you, but they're still hearing the song over and over, so it's all good. :)


Variations for Specific Ages


I have a lot of new Sunbeams, so I don't change directions (either of my body or of the scriptures) nearly as often as the video shows. I start by staying in one position for 8 counts ("Because I want to be like the Savior and I can/"), so that the youngest kiddos have enough time to look at me, absorb what I'm doing, and then copy me.  I've found that 8 counts is barely enough time for them to do that. When I sing the song the second time through, I add a couple different placements with my scriptures (like using a circle motion for the first time), to keep the children interested.

By this point, it's time for a change-up, so that the 6 and 7 year-olds can stay engaged.  I let them know that I'm going to switch directions faster, to see if they can follow me. The older children in this group love the challenge!  The little ones are lost pretty quickly, but I only do this for the last repetition, so they won't have long to be confused. :)


Here's to a wonderful year, teaching our little ones about the power the scriptures bring!


Happy singing,

Looking for more action-oriented activities? Try one with egg shakers--Beat vs. Rhythm--or sand blocks--Turning "Simple" Into a Fun Challenge.

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

"If I Listen With My Heart"--an Intro Activity for Junior Primary


The song, "If I Listen With My Heart," shares a powerfully important lesson for our children to learn:  in the scriptures, we hear the voice of the Savior.  With shifting morals all around us in society, it's vital that our children learn where to go to hear God's word. This song can help us accomplish that, but the complicated melody can be especially hard for the younger children to learn.  With new Sunbeams in my Junior primary, I decided to do an intro activity for this song aimed at the youngest children, reminiscent of how I do music in nursery (see my example nursery agenda here).


Dive Right In


Scripture accounts of the Savior
I hold up a stack of pictures portraying the Savior in various scripture accounts.  "I brought some pictures to share today.  Raise your hand if you can share a picture with the friends sitting next to you."  I start singing "If I Listen With My Heart" and then start passing out the pictures as I sing, one picture for every two or three children.


Connect the Pictures to the Song


"Now, don't say it out loud, but raise your hand if you know--who do you see in your picture?"  Once I receive the answer of Jesus, I continue, "That's right! We can't hear Him talking to us like the children who lived by Him, can we? But we can hear His words when we read the scriptures! I'm going to hum my song again, and I want you to whisper with your teacher to find out which scripture story you have in your picture."  I immediately start humming the song along with the piano (having previously asked my pianist to play only the melody line, so the children can hear it better).  When I get to the last line, I sing instead of hum, "If I listen with my heart, I hear the Savior's voice."


Focus on a Phrase and Repeat


I hold up a picture of Christ that I kept back, and pointing to Him, say, "Did you know that 'Savior' is another name for Jesus? Can you all say, 'Savior,' with me?"  I encourage them to repeat the word with me.  Then I ask one little group, "What scripture story do you have?"  After they answer, I take back their picture and hold it up for everyone to see.  I immediately launch into singing the final line of the song, "If I listen with my heart, I hear the Savior's voice."  This time, I add simple actions as I sing.  I cup my ear with my hand on "listen," I put my hand on my heart on "heart," and I point to Christ in the picture on "Savior."

Now I repeat the exchange for each tiny group.  After two or three repetitions of asking and singing, I encourage the children to do the actions along with me.


I'm hoping this activity has helped my little ones 1) understand the main gospel principle in the song and 2) hear the last line enough times so that they'll recognize it as a comforting, familiar song next week.

Happy singing!

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Beat vs. Rhythm--a Movin' and Shakin' Activity


Beat vs. Rhythm--which one will it be?
   Sometimes it's fun to prepare nice pictures, word puzzles or codes for Singing Time, and sometimes it's nice to have an activity that requires no preparation at all!  Beat vs. Rhythm is a simple activity with zero preparation that still engages the children while they sing.  This activity is full of movement, so I use it for a change of pace between activities that tap into the visual or word learning styles, as in my Singing Plan, here.  I find that Beat vs. Rhythm works best with quick songs with a strong beat, such as "The Church of Jesus Christ" (p. 77) or "Follow the Prophet" (p. 110).  I have done this activity with egg shakers or just with hand tapping, and both work well.


The Basics


"Let's pretend we're drummers, and we have to step on the pedal for a bass drum with our foot, once for every beat."  Immediately start singing, and tap one foot on the beat.  If children in the back can't see your feet, you could nod your head or pat your lap to help them stay with the beat.  

Once they have that down (perhaps after one time through the song), switch to only hand tapping, and tap on your lap the rhythm of the melody, one tap per syllable sung.  

Challenging Junior Primary


For Junior Primary, here are a couple ways to add a challenge, and thus make repeating the song fun.  Challenge One:  Choose a couple confident, older children to lead half the room in tapping their feet on the beat. At the same time, you lead the other half of the room in tapping their hands with the rhythm of the words.  Switch halves of the room and repeat. 

Challenge Two:  Ask one child to stand by the light switch and prepare to turn it off and on while you sing .  Have all the children start tapping the beat with you as you start the song.  When the lights go off, switch to tapping the rhythm.  When the lights come back on, switch back to tapping the beat.  

Challenging Senior Primary


Challenge One above will likely bore your Senior children to tears, but Challenge Two is still fun for them.  Here is the real challenge, though:  tap both the beat and the rhythm at the same time. Crazy hard! I normally mess up a couple times, but that's okay.  The older children love doing something that is actually difficult to master.  Just have fun with it!

Happy singing,

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Follow the Prophet Review Activity--Inside Camera



I love the many verses of "Follow the Prophet."  Last week I used a review activity that can be used for as few or as many of the verses as you choose.  I call it Inside Camera.  I first learned about this activity from Sharla Dance, over at TeachingPrimaryMusic.com.  The presentation is simple, the prep is virtually nil, and the children ask to keep doing it over and over.

A picture for each verse
First, choose a picture which corresponds to each verse you'd like to review.  I use pictures from the Gospel Art Picture kit, but the Church has an online Media Library that you could use, as well.  In the photo on the left, I have pictures for Abraham, Enoch, President Monson, Moses, Adam, Noah, and Daniel.

In Primary, tell the children you're going to show them a picture, and you want them to take a picture of it with their inside camera, the camera inside their mind, in order to memorize the details.  They can look at the picture while you're singing the song, but when the verse is done, you'll hide the picture and ask questions to see how much they memorized.


Show this picture and sing, "Adam was a prophet..."
Immediately show one of the pictures, and sing the verse that matches it.  Turn the picture around to hide it from the children while you ask your questions, and then let the children see the picture again to confirm each answer.  For example, last Sunday I showed the picture you see on the right while I sang the verse about Adam.  Here are some of the questions I asked:

"How many people are in this picture?"

"What are their names?"

"Are they outside or inside?"

"Are they by a forest, an ocean, or a desert?"

"Name one animal you saw in this picture."

I ask 3-5 questions per picture, typically, and then I go straight into the next verse with the next picture.  The children, both junior and senior, enjoy having a challenge to go with their pictures.  


Happy singing!