Stop and Go!

This is another simple way to involve the primary children and make singing time fun. I like to have different things to do while singing so that we can sing a song multiple times without the children getting bored of the song. I think i read this idea on the internet somewhere but i'm not sure where (so sorry!) Anyway, make a stoplight with colored cellophane in between. Give a child a flashlight. When they shine it through green, the primary sings normal; red, stop singing (and hum if you want), and for yellow, choose before hand what yellow will mean. For example, yellow could mean stand and sing, or twirl while singing, or sing slooowwllyy (of course this will be hard for the pianist to see so you'll have to tell her when it's yellow), or snap fingers or anything you choose! It'd be fun to turn some of the lights off in the primary room while you use this stoplight. That'll definitely catch their attention! You could even test their "watching" abilities and assign a different action to each color. Red=snap and sing; green=sing fast while clapping; yellow=stand and sing. If you do this, for reference purposes, you might want to write a code on the chalkboard indicating what each color means. I'm sure there are hundreds of ways to use this stoplight. If you find a method that works in your primary, i'd love to hear it! (don't you love how the stoplight is upside down? sorry about that, i wasn't thinking)