Teach and Repeat: Eat and Sing

I know most choristers are part of the yahoo group, but just in case you are not I wanted to share this fabulous idea I recently saw submitted. It goes along with the idea of setting a table as you reveiw the songs. This chorister came up with some great rhymes to go with each piece:

Fork: Stick a fork in it, give a little prick, and sing with some staccato kick: Sing vs. ____. (It can help, especially the little ones, to have them pound their fist on their hands as they sing each words staccato. This helps them to understand the method)

Spoon: Serve it up nice and smooth, legato is the way to move. Sing vs. ____. (You can have a scarf to demonstrate what it means to sing smooth. Just wave it around. You can also let them use their imaginary scarves as they sing legato. I would only encourage them to do this if they have mastered the words since it can be a distraction.)

Knife: Take a knife and slice the group in two. Sing out strong when I point to you. Sing vs. ___. (You can split the group down the middle, do boys/girls, or teachers/kids.)

Glass: Raise your glass, get ready to gulp it down. Take a deep breath, then sing till there's no more sound. Sing vs. ___.

Napkin: When the napkin covers my mouth, no singing we will hear. When the napkin's down, we'll all sing nice and clear. Sing vs. ____.

Plate: Let's fill our plates and have a big meal. Let's sing all 3 verses with some zeal.

You could then conclude with your "feast" of the scriptures and your testimony.
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I did think of two ways to tweak this idea for learning verse 3 or just reviewing.

To learn verse 3: For SP I would have all the words, or the key words written on the board or a posterboard. Sing through the song once for the kids, displaying sign language where appropriate. Invite the kids to sing and sign with you as you sing it again. You could then start erasing or covering major words and challenge the kids to memorize quickly. You could do this a couple times, eliminating as many words as possible.

For JP, I would run through the 3 phrases of vs. 3 with sign language by singing it first and then having them sing it back. This would be a quick learning experience, but the goal would be to just get the words going in their heads since the game would allow them to sing the words over and over for more mastery.

After this quick learning session (about 5-7 min), I would use the remaining time to play the review game listed above. I would probably already have the plate on the table along with one or two other items since there will only be 10-12 min. left of singing time. I would also make most of the practice verses vs. 3 since this is what they just learned.

To conclude, I would have the scriptures wrapped in a box (like a gift), and then challenge the kids to sing all 3 verses their very best. You can unwrap it as they sing (based on their singing) or after they are done. Bear testimony at the end.

Review: I think it would be fun to add in a few extra songs for the kids if they have already learned all 3 verses. They are probably ready to sing something else if they have been working on this song all month. To add the songs I would just include some play food in the box/bag that all the pieces are in. I would make sure that this food is something that would be considered a side dish. If a child chooses a piece of food, they can sing a fun song that is relevant to the scriptures. This would definitely add to the time it takes to complete this game so I would only include a couple songs, and maybe already have one or two items on the table.

To conclude I would use the same method as I just described above.

Here are some songs to use for the "side dishes": Scripture Power (stand/sit), Book of Mormon Stories (actions, stop/go), Follow the Prophet (use a slinky or balloon to gauge their singing), or even Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam (we learn how to be a good example, aka "a sunbeam", when we read the scriptures).

Happy Singing!!!