November 2014

This is one of my favorite times of year as a Primary chorister.  The Primary Program is over and you don't have to worry about learning any songs for next year, yet.  I get to choose which songs I want to work on, and, it is time for holiday music.  Yay!

I wanted to share some of my favorite holiday singing time ideas that I have found over the years.

Thanksgiving:

Feast of the Prophets
I found this idea on Pinterest that talks about a feast of words from the prophets tied to a song children can sing.  It looks pretty easy and the information is given to you.  Check out this blog for more information. 

Thankful Jar
I got this idea on line years ago and use it almost every year.  I make slips of paper with tasks for Primary children, like:  Name two foods you are thankful for.  Also included is a song for them to sing, like:  Sing  "For Health and Strength".  Choose children that are singing well and following directions to come and pick a task out of the jar.  Below are some samples of what you can put into the jar, depending on what songs your children already know and which songs you want them to sing.

Name a family member you are thankful for and why.   Sing, "The Family is of God".

Explain why you are grateful for the Gospel.  Sing, "The Church of Jesus Christ". 

Tell something that you are thankful for that your father/mother does for you.  Sing, "Happy Family".

Name your favorite Article of Faith.  Sing that song.

Tell why you are grateful for the Savior's sacrifice for us.  Sing, "He Sent His Son".

Explain why you are thankful for the baptismal ordinance.  Sing, "Baptism".

Make questions and songs that relate to your ward's needs.

Christmas:

I love this time of year and all the songs associated with the holiday.  I will share some ideas for a few of my favorite holiday songs.

When Joseph Went to Bethlehem

I do this song every year and always in the same way, because I love it so much.  The kiddos seem to enjoy it, too.  I start with lots of props to help the children remember words/phrases from the song.  Always sing the song to them the first time or two so they can hear the melody and words before they begin to learn it.  Next, use the props to help teach the song. Below are the words from the song and the props I use:

When Joseph went to Bethlehem              dress up clothes to put on a child to look like Joseph

To place his tools                                  tools for a child to hold (I have old fashioned ones                                                                 from my grandpa)

and close his shop                                  a sign that says 'Shop Closed'

and leave no shavings there                     a baggie with wood shavings in it

He urged the donkey forward then             I happen to have a donkey outfit I got from Deseret

with Mary on its back                              a costume for Mary

And carried bread                                   a baggie with a piece of bread in it

and goat cheese                                    a picture of a goat and a baggie with cheese in it

in a little linen sack                                 a draw string bag made of linen I had on hand

These are my cute grandkids displaying the costumes.  I wouldn't include the baby since it was before Mary delivered, but she wouldn't put down the baby, so...

You may be saying to yourself, "This is cumbersome with so many materials!", but it really isn't that difficult.  For the costumes, have a teacher get the helpers into his/her costume while you sing that part of the song over and over again.  You introduce one line of the song at a time and have children come up and hold that item or dress up while you practice that line.  As you add another prop, start from the beginning each time and by the time you're finished you have sung parts of the song 8-10 times.

If you really want to hit it hard, you can sing it and have children decide which person will sit down to see if they can remember that part without any props.  This activity takes up the entire singing time and may go into the next week.

Also, if you need a good song to perform for Sacrament or at a ward holiday event check out this arrangement from Nothin' But Blue Skies Music. It is one of my favorite songs to perform.  There is also another beautiful Christmas song with Silent Night and I Am a Child of God.  It includes a simple narration part that an older Primary child could present. Check it out here.  Over the years I have purchased every book/song that Joy has written and have used most of them.  I am a real fan!

Just a reminder that if you use any variation of a song from the Children's Songbook you need to get permission from your Bishop, through your Primary Presidency.

Christmas Bells Are Ringing

This is a fun and simple round to teach to your Primary.  An easy and effective addition is just some bells on a ribbon or yarn and as you sing the song have the children shake the bells.  It is especially good for Junior Primary because they don't have to worry about rhythm or keeping time. 

 

Pin the Bow on the Present
This is another idea I use every year.  Mostly because it is fun and it involves the teachers.  You take cardboard of various sizes (big) and cover with holiday gift wrap.  Find larger bows that match each gift.  Tape up the gift to a wall in the Primary room where you have easy access and someone blindfolded won't trip over anything.  Tell the children that whichever class sings well and follows directions will get to have their teacher tape the bow on the present. How it work is:  Call up a teacher and blindfold them.  Twirl them a couple of times, but have them face the wall where the presents are taped.  Have the children sing a song (usually holiday songs) and when the teacher is getting close to the gift that their bow goes with, they sing louder.  The farther away the teacher is from the gift, the softer they sing.  (It is a variation of the hot/cold game)  When the children are singing their loudest, the teacher pins/tapes the bow on the gift.  Have the teacher take off her/his blindfold to see how close he/she got.  I recommend not allowing teachers to touch the wall or else they find the gift pretty easily.  Also, I wrap a small piece of cardboard to hold up after the teacher is blindfolded so children know which gift goes with which bow.  You will see it on the floor of the picture below.

Punch a Treat

Another great idea to use when reviewing the songs for the program is Punch a Treat (I made up that name, but you may have a better one).  This idea was shared by Stephanie Campbell from Desert Rose Ward.  First, you call up a child to toss a beanbag to see which song to sing.  The color of paper that the beanbag lands on matches a practice song.  Stephanie told the children that if they can sing the song 'program ready' they will get to punch a hole at one of the targets (see picture).  Behind each target was an ingredient for a special treat to be made and brought once all four targets were punched.  

Behind each of these targets were:  butter, sprinkles, rice krispies, and marshmallows.  The children worked hard to get all four targets punched!

Matching Game

Sister Bunker from Black Mountain Ward used this idea to practice the songs for the upcoming program.  She printed off the names of all the songs on one side of the paper and put numbers on the other side (1-8).  Next, she printed off words from each song and placed  letters on the back of each of these (A- F), then posted on the other side of the board.  Children singing and following directions were called upon to pick a number and then a letter to see if they matched.  When they found a match, the children sang the song.  

In Senior Primary a Vanna was chosen to help turn over the pages during the activity.  A great idea to help polish up those songs!

August

The next couple of months will be busy reviewing songs for the Primary Program.  This post includes my favorite review ideas.  None of these ideas are original, but they are the ones that I continually go to when I need the children to know the songs well.

Magic Water
I've used this idea for years and the children always like this activity.  I usually don't make the CTR shield like the link does.  I will post a song to go with each color and when they stir the spoon and the water foams and changes color we review that song.  The children will sing their best to have a chance to pick the next spoon.

Bubble Gum Singing
This is a great idea that motivates the children and is easy to implement once you put it all together.  I changed some of the categories on the sheet and laminated it so I could use it over and over again.  I found the gumball machine on Amazon for a reasonable price and found the gumballs at Walmart or you can also order them from Amazon. The gumballs lasted me all year and I used it about every 6 weeks.  A tip on managing this activity:  Handing out gum can throw a kink in this activity, but if you let the children know ahead of time that they are not allowed to chew the gum until after Primary they are usually on board.  I announce this ahead of time and when they are chosen and receive their gumball I ask them where they want to put their gum.  I'll say, "Do have a place that you can keep your gum or do you want your teacher to hold on to it for you?"  (I have snack sized baggies just in case, but I have never had a child not have a place to put it.)  One of the options on your chart may be that every child gets a gumball (I think if a red gumball comes out everyone gets one on my page) and when this happens you say, "How exciting!  We all get a piece of gum after Primary!"  When you dismiss have the Primary Presidency help you hand out a gumball as they leave.  Also, never let them choose which color--they can trade on their own once they are out the door.  

Four Corners
I absolutely love this idea and have used it many times, but it is very active and has potential to become loud if you don't stay on top of management. Expectations have to be set ahead of time and they need to understand how to implement the activity.  This may be difficult for larger wards.  However, this is an excellent activity for singing a song over and over again for practice and it gets the children up and moving.

Hide and Seek
I like this idea because it is easy and takes little preparation.  Choose a song that you would like to practice with the group.  Tell children that whoever is singing their best will get to participate in the Hide and Seek activity.  Choose two children--one to hide an object and one to find the object.  Have the seeker go out into the hall while the person hiding the object finds a place to hide it.  Call in the seeker and have Primary sing softer when they are farther away from object and louder when they get closer to object until the object is found.  I've used bean bags, markers, chalkboard erasers, whatever object is on hand to hide.  You will usually sing a song a few times before the object is found.  You can use the same song the entire time or change songs each time a new pair is chosen.

Word Nerd 
This is a quick and easy way to review songs.  I haven't done it with the glasses and sticky notes like the link above, but it sounds fun.  Usually I bring a hat from home that the child wears and I have the word the audience is supposed to not sing taped to the hat.  Surprisingly, Senior Primary really loves this game.  To make it even harder I will sometimes put two words on the hat.

What's that Word?
This is another quick way to review that Senior Primary really likes, but Junior Primary can do, as well.  After you choose a song to review, have a child stand by the pianist and tell her a word to stop just before while playing the music. Most children will point at a word on the music.  The pianist plays the song and stops playing right before that word.  The child then picks someone to tell what the next word will be.  The children aren't singing when you do this, but they are going over the words in their head.  Another way to get more children involved in responding is to have them whisper to a neighbor what they think the next word is in the song.

Dress Up

This is one of my favorite easy, but fun, singing time ideas.  I got the idea from another chorister friend many years ago.  It is good when reviewing songs for the Primary Program or when learning a new song.  

First, let the children know that if they are following directions, singing their best, and paying attention they will have the opportunity of choosing something fun for their teacher to wear during singing time, but you will be looking for an entire class that is participating well.  To empower the teachers, you let them know that they will be the ones choosing which child gets to pick the item they will wear from their class.

Sing the song through once looking for an outstanding class.  Have their teacher choose a child to come and pick an item out of the basket, bucket, bag (whatever you decide to use to hold items).  

After the first time a child picks something, and the teacher puts it on, all the classes will be paying attention because they want to have a chance to 'dress up' their teacher.  

  Look at the good sports from Paradise Hills Ward.  The kids sang their little hearts out to get them to look like this.  This was Junior Primary teachers and below was Senior Primary teachers.  Talk about dedication to our calling!

A note about behavior management:

This activity has the potential to get silly and loud unless you set the stage beforehand.  Let children know that you are going to do a fun activity and they may want to giggle, but they are only allowed a three inch giggle.  Practice how loud they can giggle before you even begin.  If they giggle too loud, stop and remind them and practice a three inch giggle again.  I usually put my hand in front of my mouth about three inches away and demonstrate how loud a three inch giggle sounds.

Below is a picture of items collected that I used for this singing time activity.  I almost always do it around Halloween because it seems to lend itself to dress up and costumes, but I usually do it a couple others times throughout the year because it is soooo much fun.  Whenever you see an inexpensive and appropriate dress up item, grab it, and put it away to use with this activity.

July 2014

The song for this month is "Baptism".  There are lots of good ideas out there for this song.  On Sugar Doodle there were a couple that were effective without a lot of effort.  There were also a few that may take some time, but would have a good impact.  The second one emphasizing who, what, where, when is a good way to have the story unfold while learning the song.  The third idea on the page is a beautiful adaptation of the song  "Baptism" and "When I Am Baptized".  The sheet music is free, but remember that if you use it you need permission from your Bishopric through the Primary Presidency. You can find the music here. 

There is a lot of vocabulary in this song that will need to be addressed.  Some of the words or phrases you may just want to tell the children what it means, such as, immersion (a picture of a baptism may help here), fulfill the law, kingdom (what does it mean in the context of this song), flow (have them act out the flow of a river).  There are a few words that you may want to spend extra time on because it is an important concept relating to baptism.  One of those words is obedience.  We want them to know this word because it is important that they understand that when they are baptized they are committing to being obedient to our Father's will and trying to follow the Savior's example.  

An outline for teaching vocabulary:

1)  Say the word and have children repeat after you
2)  Provide a 'child friendly' definition (obedient - to listen to and do what you are supposed to do)
3)  Provide concrete examples using either pictures or verbal examples (I am obedient to my parents when I clean my room the first time they ask me to)
4)  Ask processing questions (Are you being obedient when you hit your little brother when he makes you mad?  Are you obedient when you do your homework without being asked?)
5)  Have children give you examples and nonexamples
6)  Post the word on the board, with a picture that relates, if possible (hold onto the word/picture and post again if this word is in found in another song you are teaching--you won't have to teach it again just review its meaning)

You will have to adapt your approach on vocabulary depending on the age of the children.  It can be simple for Junior Primary and more in depth for Senior Primary.  Examples can be adapted to meet the needs of the age you are working with.

Another important phrase for the song "Baptism" is witness faith in Jesus word because when we are baptized we become witnesses of Christ.  It would be worth the extra time spent on teaching this phrase to the children using the same outline above.  

Singing Lips

Years ago, when I was first called to be Primary chorister, I had a good friend share this idea with me.  When you are introducing a new song, especially one that the children aren't familiar with, you can use these singing lips.  The first one is Ah, the second one is hum, the third one is Ou, and the last one is la la la.  

First, I would have the pianist play the song and have the children listen so they can become familiar with the tune.  Next, I chose one of the lips (usually the hum) and have them hum the tune with the piano.  Then, I would introduce another, like la la la, and have them hum and la la la the tune.  I would pick a child who was doing well to come up and hold up the lips the third time exchanging them during the song.  I continued this until the children had repeated the tune a number of times.

The Primary children really like doing this, especially when they had a chance to be in charge of the lips.  It made it a lot easier to teach a new song once they already knew the tune.  Usually we did this the last week of the month in preparation for learning the new song next month. 

 

Singing Time Planning Checklist

Megan from South Valley Ranch ward shared this with me in an email so I thought I would pass it on.  Good advice when planning your singing time presentations.  

A lady in that fb group just posted this, and I LOOOOOVE IT!  Just HAD to share with you:

This morning I came across some notes I made at a presentation given by a former member of the Primary general board at a church music workshop. I think I should review this checklist a couple of times a month.

Do I know the songs well enough to make eye contact with the children?
Do I connect the doctrine to the words?
Do we sing more than we talk or play games?
Do my attention-getters enhance the learning experience?
Do I vary my teaching plan to target different learning styles (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, tactile)?
Do my questions encourage thinking?
Do my activities involve all of the children?
Do I bear testimony of the doctrine?

Isn't that a pretty great way to review our singing time teaching plans huh? :D

-Megan  :)

June 2014

For June you get to choose the song you would like to work on with the children.  The theme for the month is Families Are Blessed When They Follow the Prophet.  Some possible choices of songs that relate to the theme and are suggested in the outline are:  "I Love to See the Temple", "Love Is Spoken Here", and "Family History--I Am Doing It".  If you are using any of these songs I have posted the song with a link that will take you to some good ideas to use when teaching the song to children.

I Love to See the Temple
At Sugar Doodle there are lots of ideas for almost any Primary song.  I have found over the years that usually the more simple ideas are the best for me.  When I would plan a big, involved activity to teach a song it seems like I would spend more time managing the activity than actually singing.  Trust your children to love to sing and you will see good results.  Click on the song for ideas from Sugar Doodle - "I Love to See the Temple".

There is a lovely violin descant for "I Love To See the Temple" at this website.  Remember to get permission from your Primary Presidency and Bishop when doing special arrangements.

Another good idea for introducing the song is to show a picture of the Las Vegas temple and ask, "What is this building?"  "Where is it?"  "Have you ever been inside?"   "Would you like to someday?"  Next, ask the children, "What are some things we do in the temple?" and list on board next to the picture.  Sing song and see how many they noted. (Feel the Holy Spirit, listen, pray)  Continue singing the song asking questions about the words in the song and have them find the answers while you sing.  Usually the senior Primary already knows the song and will happily join in while you sing.

There is some beautiful sheet music by Janice Kapp Perry and  Steven Kapp Perry with "I Love to See the Temple" and a song called "Teach a Child" that is sung together.  You could have the Primary children sing the first song while a group of mothers sing the second.  If you want to hear the song click here.


Love Is Spoken Here
Here is an idea from the blog Primary Singing Time Ideas Singing Magic for the song "Love Is Spoken Here".  I used it a couple of years ago and it worked well.

I also liked the idea found here at Sugar Doodle.  It is the first idea on the page from the Friend Magazine. The children are moving the hearts around and thinking about something that relates to the song.  If you try it let me know how it works for you.

Welcome

Welcome to Henderson, Nevada Black Mountain's Stake Primary music blog.  My name is Jolene Mitchell and I have recently been called to serve as the Stake Primary music leader.  I have served in Primary for over 18 years and was just recently released as my ward Primary music leader after almost five years.  I love Primary music almost as much as I love working with Primary children.

As I was pondering on how to reach the primary choristers most effectively, I recalled how often I would rely on other people's experience and blogs for ideas and encouragement when preparing for the next Sunday.  I thought that providing a blog for our Stake might be a benefit to each of you.

My goal is to post at least twice a month with ideas and links for upcoming songs and the program.  Feel free to leave comments or questions and I will search out ideas for you.   If you have any great ideas or something that went well for you I hope you'll share with us.

The Stake Primary Presidency send their appreciation and love for your service.  Know that you are in our thoughts and prayers as you serve the little ones in our stake.