Showing posts with label choosing songs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label choosing songs. Show all posts

Saturday, February 25, 2012

The Classic Shell Game

One chorister calls it the pom pom game. It sounds perfect for what i need tomorrow. Quick, effective, easy prep, yet engaging....here's what I'll do:
I have 3 plastic cups and an object to go under one cup. I'll bring a different object to go with each song i want to sing. This way, they not only have to guess what cup the object is under but then they have to decide what song that object represents.
-place the object under the cup and be sure to show which cup you put it under.
-make a big show about mixing up the cups. (The kids will try to follow the right cup)
-call on a reverent child to choose which cup has the object. If they're right, they get to guess what song it represents. If they guess the wrong cup, show what cup the object is under again, mix the cups and call on someone else.
-I plan on singing songs from the past 2-3 years just to get a break from learning a new song.
-I will also probably use a "wild" object occasionally and when they guess the cup it's under, they get to choose the song we sing.
After a crazy week-this seems like just the thing i need!
*update: yesterday, we played this game and it was LOTS of fun! It always amazes me how the kids LOVE the simple things i do. I can work all week on a poster or game and they still seem to love the simple things more. Good to know.... :)
Anyway, i ended up using cotton balls under the cups, not a diff. object for each song. (i was going for simple remember?) :) It worked great, they watched intently while i shuffled the cups and afterwards, they all nearly exploded out of their seats to tell me where the cotton ball was. (both junior and senior guessed it without problems except for once or twice)
-In senior, i let the kids take turns mixing up the cups and calling on someone to guess where the cotton ball was. At one point i gave them a cotton ball to put under 2 cups and they had to guess which cup didn't have the cotton and another time, which 2 cups did have the cotton under them.
-Also, i have big die that i got at the $1 store, I ended up using it to determine what song we'd sing. I called on someone to guess where the cotton ball was, if they were right, they rolled the die and whatever they rolled corresponded with a numbered list of songs i had. If they guessed wrong, we mixed the cups again and another child got to choose. Also, if they rolled a number for a song that we'd already sung, then we did a wiggle song like "give said the little stream" (a senior primary favorite) If you are using this activity to practice program songs, then you could sing the same song no matter how many times they rolled a certain number.
They seemed to really enjoy it and the lesson of the day is, simple is best! :)

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Musical Scripture Chase

Remember the good ole days of seminary when we had scripture chases? Where i grew up, we had them every Friday and I loved those days...so a couple weeks ago, while watching senior primary get completely engaged in a scripture activity for sharing time, I decided there had to be a way to utilize that interest for singing time. So here it is:

Pick the songs you want to sing and look them up in the songbook. Most songs have at least one scripture listed and sometimes several-located at the bottom right had corner.

Once you have your songs and scriptures, determine how you want your scripture chase to go, here's a few ideas:
1-write the reference on the board and have them raise their hand when they find it. (Either wait several minutes for more kids to locate the scripture or choose the first hand you see). Have the child read the scripture and guess what song it applies to. Whoever guesses correctly gets to come lead the song or hold visuals or whatever.
*only write one scripture reference at a time to keep the over zealous ones from jumping ahead :)

2-Tell the primary the song you want to sing and write 2-3 different scriptures on the board (with only 1 of those relating to the song). Have them look up the scriptures and guess which one relates to your chosen song. The correct guesser can lead or pick a "how to sing" card.

3-for a really ambitious activity, tell them what song you want to sing and ask them if they know a scripture that might relate...(i have a feeling those with songbooks may catch on quick and notice the scripture references which would be great too)

4-Can you think of other ways to do a scripture chase? I'd love to hear your ideas too!

*these ideas might work best if you have a lot of time, maybe for a 5th sunday if you're given the whole time for singing on those days...

Monday, August 29, 2011

Picture Taboo

Sometimes, it's fun to have a cute way to pick the songs you want to sing for the day.

materials needed: a picture to represent each song (i.e. Scripture power=scriptures; praise to the man=Joseph Smith; Search, Ponder and Pray=magnifying glass

Call a child up to the front and then hang a picture up behind them so that only the children sitting down can see it. Call on 6 kids to give clues about the picture and then let the child up front guess what it is. To go the extra mile, they can try to guess what song it represents. (for senior primary, write "Taboo" words on the chalkboard-these words cannot be used by the children giving clues) I was impressed by what good clue givers the children were! Especially junior primary!

Friday, July 1, 2011

Primary Fireworks!

I saw this idea on sugardoodle.net and knew i had to try it. It's a great idea for revealing what songs will be sung that day. I'll "light the firework" which will pop the balloon and reveal the song title inside. Here's how i made it: First, i bought a box of push-pops and told my kids to eat up but save the sticks. Then, i covered toilet paper rolls with shiny paper and attached 4th of july decorations on the ends. I put a push pin through the bottom of the push pop stick as shown here:
I attached a balloon to the top end of the roll, tied a string on the end of the balloon and pulled it through the toilet paper roll, stapling it at the end to hold the balloon in place. I'll push the stick up through the toilet paper roll until the pin punctures the balloon and it pops. I'm sure it'll keep the primary on the edge of their seat, not knowing exactly when it'll pop. I plan to sing the patriotic songs in the primary book as well as 1 or 2 from the hymn book. I made mini songbooks with the words since i don't expect the kids to know all these songs and there's not enough time to teach them. For junior primary, i am only doing 1 patriotic song and the rest are songs they know. Happy 4th of July!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Songs from dads

Since this sunday is Father's Day, i decided to include some dad's in singing time. (without them actually having to be there) Using my smartphone, i recorded several dads singing primary songs. A couple dads chose to sing in different voices to try and throw the children off. (we'll see if it worked!) Anyway, i told the dads they could pick any song to sing (provided the primary knows it) or i would assign them a song to sing if they preferred. Each dad sang for about 20 seconds. I will play each recording on sunday and have the children guess who is singing and what song it is. In order to limit the pool of dads the children choose from, I will have a paper "bust" of each dad for them to choose from and a bunch of paper ties with the songs written on them. I will choose a reverent child to try and place the correct tie on the bust of the dad who sang the song. (I think i'll give them 3 chances to get it right-if they need it) When they get it correct, we will sing that song all together. Anyway, that's it. Pretty simple. It just takes some time getting the dad's recordings but i think the primary will enjoy guessing. I used dad's who have children in primary, male teachers, and i had the bishopric sing together for one song (challenge question) Have fun!
Update: This was sooo much fun today! I ended up not listing the names of the singing dads like i thought i would. I just played the recording and let the kids guess who it was. They did great and only had trouble guessing one dad. (I gave them some clues to help and then they got it) Lots of fun. Rather than making paper ties, I pre-tied several of my husbands ties and had those hanging on the board. When they guessed the singing dad correctly, they got to put a tie on our "dad". (I used a bust from a game I found in our game closet). Most the dads sang in their normal voices but one dad sang "In the Leafy Treetops" with a very heavy Texas twang and the kids couldn't stop laughing. Very fun day!

Monday, March 28, 2011

Potato Head Play


So, i can't even begin to give credit for this idea since I've seen it on numerous websites, but just know that the idea isn't my own, just the adaptation. Anyway, i used this for junior primary. I wanted to do something light and fun, thus the potato head. I took off the face pieces and had a child pick one. He then got to place the piece anywhere on the potato head and we sang the corresponding song. I figured that junior primary would like this but i didn't count on how much! They laughed and giggled so hard when the pieces were placed and already want it back. It was so fun to listen to their giggles. Here are the songs I used:
EYES: Popcorn Popping (i looked out the window...) or I love so see the temple.
NOSE: Head, shoulders, knees and toes (sing it several times, omitting the nose, touching the nose without saying the word, backwards, etc.)
MOUTH: Smiles
EAR: Listen, Listen
EAR: If I listen with my Heart
Another way to use the potato head would be for "head, shoulders, knees and toes". Just arrange the pieces on the face in the order that you'll sing the last 4 body parts of the song. (starting top to bottom) Very silly and sure to bring giggles.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Quick Draw!

I asked my sister for ideas on how to let the kids choose what songs to sing on a given sunday. I wanted something quick and easy that wouldn't require much preparation because lets face it, some weeks, we just don't have time. Also, some weeks we plan something that doesn't work quite how we envisioned so we need a plan B. Anyway, her idea is super simple so of course it will go on my favorites list. Here is her idea:

Everyone puts their hands on their knees. You say, "one, two, three!, then everyone raises their hands really fast. You will probably need a member of the presidency or your pianist to help you judge who's hand goes up first (especially if you have a large primary). The first hand up gets to pick their favorite song to sing. (see?? simple, but fun) Before you start, tell them they have a minute to think of their favorite primary song (or have them choose one from a list you've prepared). This way they will be ready with one in their head. (besides, can't you just hear the peaceful stillness of that moment while they are thinking of a song and waiting for you to begin counting??) Anticipation is everything!