Divine Secrets of a Primary Chorister

Sunday Moment

2011-06-05T22:22:00.003-06:00

Just a quick note, I want to try and keep up with this blog a bit better. I know I don't update as often as many of you would wish, but life, as you know, gets in the way of perfect blogging. In the future, I will try to post something every week, even if it's nothing major.For this week, I would like to share today's "Primary Moment". Please enjoy.The Bishop came to visit Primary and talk to

Mother Tell Me the Story - 204

2011-05-15T14:50:00.004-06:00

We did this one for Mother's Day. First of all, I have to tell you that they gave us chocolates from Rocky Mountain House Chocolate Factory instead of flowers! Oh Happy Day! I mean, flowers are nice and all, but you can't eat them. Ok, back to business.I taught the first verse to the Junior Primary, and the second verse to the Senior Primary, and then we sang them together in Sacrament meeting.

On A Golden Springtime - 88

2011-05-15T14:36:00.005-06:00

I'm doing versus 1 and 3 to this song. Here's what my flip charts look like:Please note that they are not in color. My printer needs a new cartridge, so I didn't bother coloring them since I couldn't print them in color. Feel free to color them by hand or by computer if you like. You can also add words. I used these flip charts with Uno Singing.goldenspring.zip - 1.25 MB

Hosanna - 66

2011-05-15T14:24:00.006-06:00

Hosanna! Let our voices ringWith praises to our Heavn'ly KingLet ev'ry living creature singTo Him who life did bringHosanna! Hosannah!All hail triumphant king!Super awesome song, it's short, it's got a catchy melody, and it comes in two flavors. Song of my dreams. I split the kids up into two groups. One group is the 'hosannas', and the other group is the 'ding-dongs'. The kids love being the '

Copycat aka Simon Says with Sister Judd

2011-05-15T14:02:00.000-06:00

Simon Says with Sister Judd is pretty much just doing weird actions while singing, and the kids have to copycat you. It makes it fun to sing the song, it keeps the kids paying attention to you, and it is a good test of how well they really know the song since you have to really concentrate on the actions. Try calling up a good singer to lead the actions once in a while.

Singing Time Schedule 2011

2011-01-22T17:05:00.006-07:00

Happy New Year! LOL. I wasn't here the first two weeks of 2011, so I didn't get anything ready for Primary, and therefore didn't post my schedule or any of my ideas yet. If you are on top of things and have your own schedule made, awesome! If you're like me and have been alternately procrastinating and busy out of your mind, then here's the Primary Singing Time Schedule for 2011.For the 'choose

The Sacred Grove - pg 87

2010-08-08T14:59:00.003-06:00

I started teaching The Sacred Grove to my kids this week. It's a short, easy song so we did both verses today, and we'll go over both verses again next week. I created a flipchart for you to use. Both PDF and Microsoft Word versions are below.the_sacred_grove.pdf - 1.79MBthe_sacred_grove.docx - 1.79MBEnjoy!

Fathers - 209

2010-06-17T08:33:00.003-06:00

Fathers is a great song for Father's Day! Here's a flipchart to help teach the song. I only have verse one done since that is all we're singing this year. Maybe later I'll make flipchart pages for the second and third verses.The father of our home: downloadLeads our family: downloadWith wisdom's light in all that's right: downloadMy father's good to me: downloadFathers are so special with a very

The Holy Ghost - 105

2010-06-17T08:16:00.010-06:00

The Holy Ghost is a great song with a memorable tune and moderately easy words. I've created a flipchart to use.When Christ was on the earth, He promised He would send: downloadThe Holy Ghost to comfort us our true eternal friend: downloadThe holy spirit whispers, with a still small voice: downloadHe testifies of God and Christ and makes our hearts rejoice: download And when we are confirmed by

Contest at The Dress-up Drawer

2010-06-17T07:39:00.005-06:00

Hey Everyone!I've been asked to spread the word about a contest for a Picture Presenter. You can check out the Picture Presenter and the contest details at:The Dress-up Drawer Picture Presenter ContestIt looks kinda cool, check it out!

Special Needs Kids

2010-05-05T16:00:00.005-06:00

You know those few kids in Primary who have the most trouble sitting still or determining what is appropriate and what is not? You know the ones I'm talking about. We all have them. They can both bless your Primary and frustrate the heck out of you!In the last Primary leader gathering that we had, we have a teacher who just happens to be a special needs... um, specialist? Anyways, she brought up

Jenga

2010-02-24T14:15:00.002-07:00

Thanks to IWA (e-va) for this fabulous idea!Buy a Jenga set. Buy some of those transparent labels from your favorite stationary store. Print out different ways to sing and then put a label on each block.Call up a child to pull a block and sing whatever is on that. If the tower falls, they have to sing a presenation song that you chose beforehand!Ideas to put on the blocks:- verse1, verse2, chorus

Missing Words

2010-02-24T14:05:00.006-07:00

Thanks to Emily, Rogers and Ruthie for contributing this idea!This is a fun one to get the Primary kids to really learn the words to a song.Materials:- a laminated posterboard- white board markerProcess:Write the words to the song on the whiteboard. For the little kids, they can pick a letter and you delete/erase the words that start with or contain that letter.For the big kids, send a kid out

Trumpet Noodles

2010-02-24T14:01:00.003-07:00

Thankyou to Audrey for this fantastical idea!!Buy some of those swimming noodles and cut them into sections. They now become Super Duper Amazing Trumpets.With your Super Duper Amazing Trumpet you can:- hear the piano by holding it up to your ear- repeat the song tune by 'trumpeting' it back to the chorister- repeat the words through the trumpet- recieve Rainbow Treats aka Skittles as a rewardI

Smiles - 267

2010-02-24T13:50:00.002-07:00

Thankyou to Alicia for the origin of this awesome idea!!!Get the kids to go into pairs (just have them turn to the kids next to them). Tell them one will start out frowing and the other smiling. When it's time to turn that frown into a smile, the one originally smiling will turn it into a frown.I did this with the Senior Primary and it was a blast!! Even the teachers were hard-pressed not to

Stump the Chorister

2010-02-24T13:46:00.002-07:00

Thankyou to The Crazy Chorister for this great idea!!!Prep: Several funny dress-ups (ties, hats, shawls, wigs, glasses...etc)3-4 children's Hymn booksPresentation:Explain that they get to play a game called "Stump the Chorister". Pass out the children's Hymn books to a few of the teachers. Tell them to have their class look through the Hymn book and come up with a question about a song. (Rules:

Human Spin the Bottle

2010-02-24T13:39:00.004-07:00

Thankyou to Chelsea and Becky for this idea!Get a spinning chair. Arrange signs around the chair in a circle. Call up a kid to sit in the chair and then spin them around with their toes pointed out. Wherever their toes end up pointing at is what you sing. Can be used for songs or ways to sing.I think this is an awesome idea!!! I'll have to try and sneak it into my 2010 schedule somewhere and I'll

Give-Away Contest!!!

2010-02-09T16:34:00.018-07:00

New Update!!I've had an overwhelming response regarding getting a set of Do As I'm Doing Cards made and mailed to people. I'm more than happy to do so, so here's the deal. I will charge $5 to cover materials, $10 for my time, and $3.50 for shipping. I will ask for payment via a Paypal money request emailed to you. You don't need a Paypal account to pay, just a credit card. You can also make your

Making a Wheel of Fortune Wheel

2010-01-19T10:30:00.017-07:00

See Wheel of Fortune Singing for how to use this in Singing Time.I had made a previous wheel, but it was stolen by The Other Ward, so I decide to make a new one. In a way I'm kind of glad because I learned a lot from making the last one, I took pictures on how to make this one (so that I could share them with all of you) and it only cost me $11 to make. Click on the pictures to see them largerIt

Cookie Making with "I Know My Savior Loves Me"

2010-01-17T15:36:00.009-07:00

I did Cookie Making this week to teach the second verse of "I Know My Savior Loves Me". It went very well! This is the second time I've done Cookie Making, and both times were a smashing success. This time around I went pretty easy on the little kids, but they still managed to earn yogurt and Worchestershire sauce in their cookies. It smelled so bad! I tried using actions to help them learn the

Just a Note...

2010-01-13T16:03:00.006-07:00

This goes out to all those Primary Choristers who have started a new year... don't give up all hope! It will get better.I missed the very first week of this year due to visiting family. So last week was the first week in 2010 I did Singing Time. Son of a mother duck that was insane! We got 13 new Sunbeams. Maybe to some of you out there this is not a big deal (if you think this is not a big

I Know My Savior Loves Me - handout

2010-01-10T15:09:00.010-07:00

This is such a pretty song! It was medium difficulty to learn. Pretty easy words and tune.I found a flipchart of this song at: Primary Singing Ideas (great blog!). You can download it below, or go to her site to download it.Download:I Know That My Savior Loves Me: Flipchart - 8.4MB I Know That My Savior Loves Me: Sheet Music - 3.6MBI used Kerplunk with Clothesline to teach the first verse and

Snowball Throwing

2009-12-29T16:18:00.000-07:00

I had fun thinking up this one. I bought some little white styraphome balls at Michaels for about $6. I then glued on strips of velcro that I had laying around (use superglue, hot glue doesn't always make the best connection with foam balls).For the snowman part, I started out with some white posterboard and just glued quilt batting to it with a hot glue gun. Then I drew on a snowman with those

Old Testament Journey

2009-12-27T08:20:00.006-07:00

This one is pretty much the same as Book of Mormon Journey. You simply change the stories and the songs. I found some stories that I like from the Old Testament, and decided on songs that would suit them. I'll mark out on my 'map' that I made for BOM Journey, the locations for all of these cool stories.For BOM Journey, I used little liahonas. For Old Testament Journey, I will use little

Christmas Advent

2009-12-21T17:16:00.005-07:00

A simple choosing game. I bought a cute advent box for $8 at Michaels. I will be using this for my family in Christmases to come, so I count it as a free Singing Time project. I didn't get around to painting it (busy busy Christmas, no time for anything!) but I will have it all decorated awesome for next year!I bought a bag of gummy reindeer (made in a peanut free facility no less) and printed

2010 Booklets

2009-12-12T16:26:00.008-07:00

I made little song books to give out with cds for the 2010 songs I'll be teaching. I'm hoping that this will help the children learn better, as well as the parents. :)I bought a special puncher and binding machine because I couldn't find anyone that has them. If I calculate the cost of the binding machine as well as the materials, it costed me about a dollar per book. I will do books again next

Kerplunk

2009-12-12T15:08:00.005-07:00

Update January 10 - I found that I was pressed for time this week (Primary in January is CRAZY), so I changed it a little. I did this with clothesline (string out a clothesline and hang my flipchart pages on it). If marbles fell, we'd take off one of the flipchart pages and sang the song. If no marbles fell, I'd just keep calling up kids until marbles did fall.Kerplunk is a commercially sold game

Snow Song Search

2009-12-06T13:06:00.001-07:00

Fill a box with snow. Bury letters that spell CHRIST (or CHRISTMAS if you have more time). I bought these big wooden letters at the $1 store for a buck each. Have a kid come up and uncover a letter. I provided gloves for those kids that wanted. That snow was cold, but some still wanted to dig bare handed! Sing the Song on that letter (I wrote the song name and page number on the backs of the

Stars Were Gleaming - pg 37

2009-12-06T12:50:00.004-07:00

I taught this song with actions instead of pictures since the kids seem to learn songs better that way.I took a short video of the first verse with actions (I haven't thought up any actions for the second verse yet).

SINGO

2009-11-26T18:53:00.005-07:00

Just like BINGO! Get enough cards for the kids in your Primary. I only have about 20 at a time, so I'll make about 25 cards. Here is the link I used to make my own SINGO sheets: Bingo Sheet Generator. It can randomly generate your cards so that no two are the same. I used image tags < src="whatever.gif"> instead of words to make picture SINGO cards since the little kids can't read.Print out

Camp Fire Singing

2009-11-21T13:03:00.001-07:00

This one is fun! You will need someone who can play the guitar. Also plan to be there early to set up.Bring some sleeping bags, marshmallows and a fake fire. Clear the chairs and have the kids sit around your 'campfire' in a circle on the sleeping bags. I am using this to work on Article of Faith songs. We'll only be doing 4 AOF songs, and one or two fun songs that can be sung in a round.At the

Picking Can

2009-11-08T17:19:00.002-07:00

Everyone probably already knows this one, but it's handy to have. Get a can and decorate it. Get those big popcicle sticks (tongue depressors). Write a kids' name on each one. Paint one end green and the other red. Put them in the can. If the red side is up, it means they've been picked. If the green side is up, pick them! Once all red sides are up, take them out and flip them to start again!This

Walkie Talkie Singing

2009-11-08T16:36:00.005-07:00

** I haven't tried this yet, so no details or pictures **Get 4 or 5 cards, each with a song on it. Keep one set in the Primary room, and hide the others throughout the church. Give one walkie-talkie to an adult and assign code-names (ex the adult could be Sister Awesome, we could be Magic Ducks). Have a child draw a card, then I would tell the adult over the radio where the card is located in the

Singing Bee

2009-11-08T16:20:00.004-07:00

** I have not tried this one yet, so pictures and detailed explanation not available **Get two microphones (hairbrushes, rockband mics, whatever). Have two kids come up to the front. Have everyone start singing, and then cut them off. Give the first kid an attempt to sing the rest of the phrase or verse.

Name That Tune (and with ipod)

2009-11-08T16:09:00.003-07:00

Name That Tune is so versatile and easy. Make a list of all the songs that your Primary knows (I keep a spreadsheet to keep track and for games like this). Make sure the page number is included beside the song name. Print, cut into strips. Throw these into a bag/hat/giant sock, whatever.Have a kid come up and pick out a strip without looking at it. You tell the pianist the page number, and how

Mystery Objects

2009-11-08T15:58:00.005-07:00

This is is a nice simple concept. The idea is to have a bag filled with objects. A kid comes up and pulls out an object, then thinks of a Primary song related to that object. This was actually a lot of fun since the kids were intrigued by the 'mysterious' objects that could be in the bag, as well as the challenge of coming up with a song related to the objects. Here's some options:book of mormon

Musical Measles

2009-11-08T15:56:00.003-07:00

** I have not tried this one yet, so no pictures or detailed explanation **Each song, each teacher gets to pick the kid in his/her class that was singing the best. The kid gets to put a musical measle on their teacher, me (the chorister) or even on themselves.

Keep the Beat

2009-11-08T15:45:00.006-07:00

This is good for teaching a new song or for reviewing.For teaching a new song:Set out four chairs and call up as many kids as their are 'parts' to the verse you are working on. For example:I am a child of Godand so my needs are greathelp me to understand His wordsbefore it grows too lateThis would require 4 children. Most songs will need 4. Have the first child decide on what beat to do (ex clap

Colored Water

2009-11-08T15:41:00.005-07:00

** I have not done this yet, so no pictures or detailed description is available **Get a jam jar with water. Tell them that if they sing well, you'll pick a kid to come up and add a few drops of color to the water. Sing again to add a few more drops. For another verse, change the color by adding a different color. Finally, at the very end, sing the whole song to make the water magically turn

Primary Hospital

2009-11-08T13:55:00.008-07:00

This was used right before we stared doing our Presentation Practices! For emergency song care, the Primary Hospital is the place to go.I wrote on 3 separate white boards the following: Admission, Emergency Treatment and Released. I got 3 clipboards with a medical sheet of each song I wanted to work on. These I put into Admission. Call up three nurses, and put the hats on them (note, these hats

Christmas Countdown

2009-11-08T13:33:00.006-07:00

** I have not tried this one yet. More details and pictures to come! **This one is simply another choosing game. Get an advent that can hold strips of paper. I've seen cloth advents, muffin tin advents, min-drawer advents, etc. Put a song into each advent slot. Now have a child come up and choose a song. Fun! If you want, you can include a small treat in the advent slot. Make sure at the end to

Cel Phone Singing

2009-11-08T13:31:00.004-07:00

** I have not tried this one yet **Have someone stand outside the primary with a cel phone. They call you and ask to speak to a child. The person on the other line tells the child to ask me to sing a certain song. Next time it rings, ask to talk to a new kid. So on and so forth.

Bow on the Present

2009-11-08T13:23:00.005-07:00

** I have not yet tried this. Details and pictures coming soon! **This is a mix of pin the tail on the donkey and the hot/cold game. Make several pictures of presents. Each one should be a different color. Put them up on the whiteboard.Get a teacher to come up and blind fold them. Silently point out to the kids which present we want to put the bow on. Give the teacher a bow (either the store

Bean Bag Toss

2009-11-08T13:20:00.005-07:00

** I have not yet tried this. More details and pictures coming! **Put giant notes on the floor with a song name on it. Have a child throw a beanbag, sing whatever song the beanbag lands on. The fun songs should be farther away.You could also do one verse per note, and put the verse that needs the most work closest.

Can-ada Celebration

2009-11-08T13:09:00.002-07:00

** I have not done this one yet! Pictures to come. **On the weekend closest to Canada Day, I will do this one. One of the songs we sing will be Oh Canada, our national anthem. There are two ideas I have for it. I have been saving up tuna cans for a while now. I am wanting to save up until I have enough for each kid in Primary. I use that can opener that doesn't leave a sharp edge. This means

Easter Egg Hunt

2009-11-08T13:04:00.004-07:00

** I have done this but don't have pictures just yet. Pictures will be coming soon! **Put song numbers on strips of paper into plastic Easter eggs. Hide them around the room. Call up a child and have them find one egg. Nice and simple! Note: it's much cooler (and handier) to keep your eggs in an egg carton.

Wheel of Fortune Singing

2009-11-08T12:56:00.009-07:00

Just like the real game! I made a big wheel for about $11 out of scrap wood and stuff. Check out my tutorial How to Make a Wheel of Fortune Wheel. If you are not handy, just make a wheel and spinner out of posterboard, a See and Say, or whatever.I will be using my laptop and projector for this one. I made up a flash program where you can use whatever words you want. I'll include it on the website

Indianna Judd and the Temple of Eternity

2009-11-08T12:50:00.003-07:00

** I have not done this yet, so no detailed explanation or pictures yet **(coming soon however)Very much like The Case of the Invisible Holy Ghost. The idea will be to present the kids with a mixture of puzzles, clues and treasure maps to find where I have hidden the 'treasure' (my last name is Judd). I may involve a small obstacle cource as well. So for example, they sing a song (or a verse

Unwrap the Present

2009-11-08T12:49:00.003-07:00

** I have not tried this yet, so detailed explanation and pictures are not available **Fill a box with an unknown thing (treat or toy). Wrap a ribbon around it for each song to sing. Sing the song to remove a ribbon. (can get in 6 or 7 songs). Good for reviewing songs.

Bit by Bit

2009-11-08T12:46:00.005-07:00

** I have not tried this one out, so detailed explanation and pictures are not yet available **Write out small segments of the song on bits of paper. Divide the kids into small groups. They have a minute to memorize that line. The song is played and each group has to sing their part and listen to everone else singing their part. Then switch the parts around. Ex) For I Am a Child of God, the

Sing-O-Vision

2009-11-08T12:34:00.005-07:00

** I have not tried this one, so not pictures or detailed explanations are available **The basic idea is to get a box the size of a small tv. Cut a square hole into the front. On the top and the bottom, cut holes for dowling. You'll put dowling through the top hole, through the box, and through the hole in the bottom. Do this for each side. Print visual aids for a song on regular 8.5x11 pieces of

The Chocolate Kiss Game

2009-11-08T12:32:00.004-07:00

Kids are handed a set of tongs, a pair of thin winter gloves and kisses in a jar. They have to get the kisses out and unwrap them using only the tongs and gloves while everyone else sings. They have until we reach the end of the song. If you get it unwrapped, pop the kiss into your mouth, grab the tongs and try to get another out and unwrapped.This was a LOT of fun! The little kids got to put the

2010 Schedule

2009-09-13T13:55:00.034-06:00

Updated January 10 - I wasn't here for the first week of January so I had the sub do Old Testament Journey for the first week. Some other changes were made to the schedule since I was given the chance to have 40 minutes of teaching time a couple of weeks instead of 20 minutes.The 2010 Primary Theme is "I Know My Savior Lives".I have the 2010 Outline Manual. This goes above and beyond the manuals

Song Grading Chart

2009-09-12T10:58:00.003-06:00

I got this idea from someone else's blog. I can't remember where though, so I can't give proper credit, sorry.I printed out the titles to each song and verse 1, verse 2, etc. I also printed out a small picture for each song. I pasted them all on a poster and laminated it. I printed out small grading letters, and laminated them.With the Primary Presentation coming up, I wanted to know exactly

Battleship

2009-09-12T10:44:00.005-06:00

Play like regular battleship, only the kids are playing against you, you aren't playing against them.I made a posterboard and marked out 7 x 9 squares. The entire out ring of squares are for the numbering system. Up and down will be A-E, and along the top and bottom you'll label them 1 - 7. Therefore the playing area is only 5 x 7. Just enough!I painted my poster and laminated it. I also cut out

Book of Mormon Journey

2009-09-12T10:43:00.002-06:00

This was pretty fun, and didn't require much work to make it appealing to both the little kids and the big kids.You start out with a big map. I wanted to make it HUGE but since I couldn't get any paper large enough, I settled with a poster sized map. Which is just as well, since I love to laminate things (a huge one would have been impossible to laminate).I drew a map freehand (you can do it

The Case of the Invisible Holy Ghost

2009-07-26T13:33:00.013-06:00

This one was a lot of fun and really got the kids excited. I've always been interested in spy stuff and detective work. The interest started as a kid and as I got older, developed into almost a hobby. Obviously, a detective case would be ideal to use with kids. A while ago I had bought this cool book called "Spyology". It is absolutely fabulous, and I highly recommend you buy it for your kids

Year At a Glance

2009-07-05T21:48:00.006-06:00

This is my schedule for Singing Time. It's a little flexible, but for the most part I stick to it. Some of the ideas are not fully developed, and some weeks don't have any ideas yet. I'll add to them as I get closer to that date. I'm going to try and just reuse this schedule next year, modified of course for ideas that are song-specific.January 1- teach I Lived In Heaven verse 1- play hot potatoe

Cookie Making Name That Tune

2009-07-05T21:18:00.005-06:00

Like the regular name that tune, put some songs in a bag, have a kid come up and draw one. Have the pianist play two notes (or three for the Juniors).Now here's the fun part. I set up cookie making stuff, and told the kids quite seriously that we were going to make cookies, and when we were done, I'd send them to the kitchen to get baked, and they could take them home to eat. I had a bowl set up

Hair Awesome

2009-07-05T20:03:00.004-06:00

I'm planning on using this to teach "Seek the Lord Early". I will teach the words, then we'll sing it once or twice. I'm going to have lots of hair accessories laid out on a table and assign a point system. A kid will come up, and he/she will choose how hard they want their task. The task will be to continue singing or saying the words to whatever I sing at them.For example, I might sing "and he

Remote Control Singing

2009-07-05T19:54:00.005-06:00

I made a giant remote control out of that thick foam board. I rounded the corners and cut out 'buttons' from craft foam (brightly colored of course).I then hot glued the buttons onto the remote control.I made a 'power' button, which turned on Singing Time. I made a 'play' button, which meant we would sing the song or verse all the way through normally. A 'rewind' button meant that we would go

Giant Game Board

2009-07-05T19:38:00.005-06:00

This was another very fun one. Be sure to get into the Primary room a bit early so that you can set up.I made a 'game board' with masking tape. Just make a boardwalk with squares on it going across the room. I made 18 spaces. I printed out 18 songs/actions in large print and taped one to each space.I bought some big foam dice from the $store for like, $2.00. One I kept numbered, the other I

Adventures With Paper

2009-07-05T19:29:00.004-06:00

This is such a simple idea, but it turned out really, really well. I was a bit worried that it would be too simple, but it turned out perfect!I cut normal 8.5x11" paper in half. I then gave each child one of these. I handed out pencils and told them to write their favorite song on it (the little kids only had to write their name on it). Then we turned the paper into instruments.I chose a random

Sharadoke

2009-07-05T19:19:00.006-06:00

We used this one to help us learn Baptism. It's not the most reverent game, but it really makes whatever you're singing memorable!Sharadoke is a mix of sharades and karaoke. Basically, two kids will come to the front and act out something while they sing. The rest of the primary can help too, but for the ones at the front, it's their time to shine!For the little kids, I kept it very simple. They

Love One Another

2009-07-05T19:08:00.006-06:00

The kids already knew this song, but I wanted to teach them the sign language for it to do in the Primary Presentation. I decided to do something worth 'signing' for, so I bought a $4 jean skirt at my local thrift store and a plain bright yellow t-shirt from my craft store. I brought two black sharpie markers.When it came time to sing, I was already wearing these. I taught the signs and we sung

How Firm a Foundation - hm 85

2009-07-05T18:46:00.013-06:00

For this song, I was worried about teaching the kids the words since I had a hard time remembering them myself (which isn't saying much since I have the worst memory EVER). I decided to make this into an action song. It took a little bit of time, and I had to endure my husband laughing at me as I worked out all the actions, but I finally got it. I got the last laugh too, since I made hubby be the

Jeopardy

2009-07-04T12:42:00.006-06:00

This was so much fun! I have a laptop, and figured I might as well make use of it. I made up a set of questions for each category. I did a different game board for the little kids and big kids so that I could make the big kid questions harder. It worked out nicely. I have two dog bells (they ring it to go outside) and after cleaning those, used them as ringers. Again, worked well.See what they

Team Names

2009-07-04T11:51:00.004-06:00

Many of my games involve dividing into teams. I love getting names for the teams since it makes it a lot more fun. They can pick their own team names, but often I will assign them a name since they always take so long to think of one on their own. I print them out and cut them into strips, then put them in a paper bag. Each team draws a name. You can, of course, think of some of your own. Here's

Books in the Book of Mormon

2009-07-04T11:27:00.005-06:00

I really love this song. Even now, as an adult, I use it to help me remember where in the the Book of Mormon a particular reference is. I mean, lets face it, the Book of Mormon is pretty thick, and it's a pain to have to look in the index to see approximately where Enos is, for example. Is it at the beginning or the end, or in the middle somewhere. The song is also very fun to sing as fast as

Parrot Repeat

2009-07-04T11:09:00.007-06:00

I always use this when I'm teaching a song for the first time. I sing the song on my own once. Then I go line by line and get them to repeat what I sing. For example, I'll sing "How firm, a foundation..." with the arrow pointing toward me. Then I'll flip the sign so that the parrot shows, and they'll repeat back to me "How firm, a foundation...". The little kids especially like it, but the big

Uno Singing

2009-07-04T10:56:00.005-06:00

This was a favorite and I have had several requests that we play this again.I created a poster that had four parts on it, each a color corresponding to the colors of uno: red, green, blue and yellow. I made this poster two-sided so that I could put one verse on each side. I divided each verse into four parts, and created a picture for each part. I also printed out the words for each part and cut

Wiggle Worms

2009-07-04T10:55:00.007-06:00

This game involved treats. Specifically, gummy worms. A big tub of gummy worms costs $3 at Walmart. I drew a big tree on posterboard and colored with crayons (I didn't know what else to use). I cut out slots for the apples. The slots are about 1.5" by .3". I then went and got the thing laminated. The slots were laminated over, but I didn't want to completely get rid of the lamination since they

Chair Hopping

2009-07-04T10:50:00.010-06:00

Chair Hopping is a very simple yet fun game. I pretty much exclusively use it for the song Listen, Listen. Basically, you pick a word. Every time you sing that word, you move over one chair. The little kids just move directly over, even when they reach the end of their row. The big kids are a bit more coordinated and when they reach the end of their row they move to the row behind them, which

Billy Bubblegum

2009-07-04T10:10:00.005-06:00

Billy Bubblegum is an idea I got of the internet, and I really like it. I drew a boy with a small circle mouth. I didn't have time to color or laminate it when I first made it, but I have since painted it with acrylic paints and had it laminated.I then bought some pink balloons and a balloon pump at the $store. I own a bubblegum machine, so decided to use that as well. I sorted through my

Staedetler Semi-Permanent Marker

2009-01-26T14:51:00.004-07:00

This little beauty is a life-saver!I want to be able to use my visual aids over and over, but I need to write song names on the back. I can't use regular sharpie marker, because then that song is on there for good. I can't use dry-erase markers, because as soon me or a kid touches it there goes anything I wrote.The solution is this semi-permanent marker, which wipes off with water. I LOVE it! The

The Fly Swatter Game

2009-01-26T12:31:00.002-07:00

This is a great little game to help the children learn the words to each verse.Buy two fly swatters (make them matching colors or the kids WILL squabble over who gets what). Print out the entire verse in large print, then cut out each word. I left out works like 'a' and 'the'. I of course laminated them and cut them out again.It helps to set up a couple minutes before Singing Time for this one.

The Fishing Game

2009-01-26T12:16:00.006-07:00

This is another great idea from Super Singing Activities by Ross and Guymon-King. I bought the cd of this and printed out some colored fish. I glued the fish to cardstock using spray adhesive, then cut out the fish. Then I laminated them, cut them out again (lots of cutting out as you can tell) and put a paperclip on each one. My dollar store had these fun colored paperclips, which keep the fish

Rainbow Treats

2009-01-24T12:20:00.004-07:00

The big kids get Magic Water if they sing well, and I wanted to do something similar for the little kids that didn't involve a spray gun (the big kids are timid to have flavored water squirted in their mouths, so I think some of the little kids would be down right intimidated). I decided to give them Rainbow Treats, which is my Singing Time name for skittles. I got a plastic cup that has a lid,

Treasure Chest

2009-01-24T12:10:00.004-07:00

I loved this one! It's one of my favorites, and I have to say the kids really enjoyed it too (although not as much as me I think. I have a thing for 'treasure'). I found a $10 treasure chest that was already sprayed gold and decorated at Winners. You can just get a chest-looking box and decorate it yourself if you want to.I had to attached a hinge clasp to it so that I could put a padlock on it.

Stop and Go String

2009-01-24T12:07:00.004-07:00

This is a fun way to practice a song. Get a can or jar. I used a small Carnation hot chocolate can because it's sturdy and has a nice plastic lid that I can take on and off. You'll also need red yarn and green yarn.Snip different sized pieces of red yarn and green yarn. Then tie them together alternating colors. Roll this into a ball. Take off your can's lid and punch a hole in the middle. Put

Punchout!

2009-01-24T12:01:00.004-07:00

This is another one that is very popular with the kids. I got a box that is about two feet high, three feet wide, and maybe 6 inches deep. I then got plastic beer cups (they're the biggest plastic cups I could find) and traced out twelve circles on the box using a cup opening to trace. Cut just a little bit smaller than the circles you traced. This will allow you to set the cups into the holes

Hot and Cold

2009-01-24T11:52:00.005-07:00

This game is nice when you are learning a song. It gets the kids singing a song/verse over and over without getting bored of it. Basically you have a kid leave the primary room and then hide a small stuffed animal. Make sure everyone can see where you hid it.Then the kid who went out comes back in and you all start singing. Sing louder as they get nearer the stuffed animal, and quieter as they

Listen, Listen

2009-01-24T11:46:00.006-07:00

This is a great little song. Very short, pretty, and can be sung reverently or for fun. I usually sing this with a game called Chair Hopping. Every time you sing a certain word, you move over one chair (make sure all the kids are going in the same direction). For this song, we obviously chose the word listen. So it would go something like:Listen (move one chair to the left) to the still small

Balloon Popping

2009-01-24T11:36:00.006-07:00

This one is great! I keep a pin in my Singing Time Bag all the time. I just pin it into a small square sheet of foam so that it's easy to find. I normally use this to get kids quiet, by seeing if they can hear the pin dropping. It works great. I can also use the pin for balloon popping. I printed out about 12 songs and cut them into strips of paper. It helps to print it out on bright colored

Christmas Tree Ornaments

2008-11-17T17:01:00.005-07:00

A quick solution on Saturday night during the month of December. I like this one because there's lots of ornaments, which gives you lots of different song possibilities.

Weird Hat Competition

2008-11-17T16:50:00.007-07:00

The Weird Hat Competition is very fun. First, you start out with an ugly hat. It's best if you make it that way.This beauty is made from an icecream bucket and $store flowers. Oh ya, that's classy.My hat was $3 at Zellers. It's floppy straw garden hat. I strung beads and jingle bells around the brim. I glued big rhinestones to the hat as well as buttons, flowers, origami, and a sheriff's star.

Sing Like A...

2008-11-17T09:16:00.009-07:00

This one is another classic. Have a song that desperately needs to be practiced? Want a way to make singing it over and over something other than boring? Sing Like A... is the perfect way to do this. The kids sing the song(s) imitating the voice of some character. Additionally, you can add different ways to sing. Though not as characters, they're still fun to do. Here's several ways you can sing

Cut Off the Tie

2008-11-12T14:16:00.004-07:00

Yes, you do cut off a tie. :)Buy a cheap tie. It can be ugly or nice, I don't care, as long as it's cheap.Before Primary starts, arrange with a male member of the ward (a favorite teacher, the Bishop, a missionary, whoever) to wear this tie that you bought. They can wear a regular one to church, as long as they wear this tie to Singing Time.Tell the kids that if they sing a certain song extra

Nephi's Courage - 120

2008-11-12T14:07:00.004-07:00

This has been a childhood favorite for me. I'd asked my Primary kids if they knew it, and they said no. Naturally, I decided then and their it would be the next song to learn.I wanted to come up with a creative, different way to teach them other than the whole show pictures on a posterboard method. That method works great and the one I'll be using 50% of the time I teach new songs, but Nephi's

Sing a Song - 253

2008-11-12T14:03:00.002-07:00

This is the current favorite of the little kids. I am told by amused parents that they will sing it at home for hours.Basically, you substitute the 's' in 'sing' and 'song' for another letter or letters. For example:Bling bling bling, I like to blingI like to bling a blongBling bling blingAnd so on. The kids are actually pretty good about coming up with different ways to sing it. It's so silly

Popcorn Popping - 242

2008-11-12T13:59:00.003-07:00

Popcorn Popping is another classic fun song.There are a couple of ways to bring new life to this song. You can do the second verse as follows:I looked out the window and what did I see?Two Mormon missionaries smiling at meThey had brought me such a nice surpriseA Book of Mormon right before my eyesI can take an hour and read it throughFrom cover to cover a time or twoIt was really so, and it

Head and Shoulders - 275

2008-11-12T13:53:00.005-07:00

Head and Shoulders Mixup. This is a favorite of the big kids. It's a little complicated for the little kids, although they could still try I'm sure.Basically, we sing the song Head and Shoulders, but instead of doing the actions correctly, I try to mess them up by touching another body part. For example instead of touching my head on 'head', I touch my shoulders. Not so tough you think? Get the

Noah's Ark

2008-11-12T13:33:00.006-07:00

Another awesome, quick activity from Super Singing Activities by Ross and Guymon-King. This one is very colorful with cute animals and stuff. Love it.As usual, print out all pieces. Put together the arc and adhere it to posterboard with spray adhesive. Adhere the sheets of small pieces to cardstock. Cut everything out. Laminate everything. Cut everything out again. Yes, I know, a lot of cutting

Leafy Treetops Tree

2008-11-12T12:49:00.010-07:00

This is another time saver. Make the tree beforehand, and you can use it for anything, anytime.Again, this is from the Super Singing Activities by Ross and Guymon-King. The cd and the book are each $11. The cd is pretty much the whole book, but on cd. Very easy to use. I chose the cd so that I could just print off all the graphics on my computer instead of having to photocopy.Print out the tree.

Pie Baking

2008-11-12T12:40:00.006-07:00

I came across this idea on the internet and loved it. They suggested baking a pie with pictures of apples, but I wanted this to be 'real' so I went out and bought some fake apples at Micheals. I bought a bag of 5 for under $10. When you are not using them for Primary, they are great as a centerpiece during fall. I also bought two adult red aprons and a child sized red apron. They were each about

Family Tree

2008-11-12T12:13:00.008-07:00

This is one of those activities that doesn't need much preparation. Once you've made it, it's done. If you find yourself scrambling madly Saturday night trying to think of something to do for Singing Time, this works fabulously.I got this from Super Singing Activities by Ross and Guymon-King. You can buy the book or the cd. I got the cd, it makes it so much easier to print out on my printer. I

Do As I'm Doing - 276

2008-11-12T11:40:00.009-07:00

Do As I'm Doing, the classic fun song! Kids often have a hard time picking something to do for Do As I'm Doing, or they pick the same ones over and over (like spinning).I had bought the Super Singing Activities by Ross and Guymon-King cd, and love these graphics. I've used them considerably. However, their Do As I'm Doing cards are a little dry, like hopping or clapping your hands. Fine for the

Animal Singing

2008-11-12T11:03:00.003-07:00

You sing like... you guessed it, and animal. This game is to help kids, especially the little kids, get the melody of the song.I went to Zellers and bought a bunch of stuffed animals (about $3 each). These animals make distinctive sounds, such as a cow, a pig, a dog, a cat, etc.Stuff these guys in a bag. Have a child come up and pick an animal from the bag. Then you sing the song using the animal

Puppets

2008-11-12T10:19:00.008-07:00

I made these puppets to help teach Nephi's Courage to the little kids. The Senior Primary got to use costumes, but the costumes wouldn't fit 3-year-olds, so I had to come up with a different plan. I noticed that they loved the puppets the Friendly Lady used one time, so I figured that would be pretty fun for them.I made simple hand puppets. Their costumes matched the ones that I made for the big

Costumes

2008-11-12T09:17:00.012-07:00

This is one of my favorites. I tried it just last week to start learning the song for Nephi's Courage.I used almost the last of my scrap fabric to make costumes for each 'character' in the song. I also used an old set of curtains that I didn't like, as well as an old sheet set that has always been the wrong size and I didn't want any more. Things worked out perfectly.I did not use any patterns