Repeat: Remote Control

I recently found this fun idea on Sugardoodle and thought I would pass it along. It works great as a repeat or choose and review activity.

Arrange "buttons" on the board to look like a remote control. Invite a child to come up and select a button to practice singing the song.

• Pause: The children "pause" on the word they are singing each time the button is held up


• Play: The children stand and sing. When the play button is pointed to the left, they lean left. When the play button is pointed to the right, they lean to the right.


• Fast Forward: Sing fast.


• Stop: The children stop singing when the button is held up. You can set a limit on how many times the child can stop the primary during the singing to help maintain reverence.


• Refresh: Sing the way they just did. For instance, if they just sang the 'fast forward', they will do that again.


• Record: If you have the ability, record the children as they sing and play it back for them to hear.


• Info: The children have to answer a question regarding the song and then sing the line the answer comes from.


• Volume: The button is lower or raised to control how loud the children sing. There is also a mute button that indicates only the piano plays while the children think of the words in their heads.

If you wanted to use this activity for a choose and review, you could just put the name of a different song on the back of each button.

Go to www.sugardoodle.net to find this idea in its entirety and download the remote control buttons to print out. You will need to look in the Primary Music Leader heading.

Happy Singing!

Repeat: What's Missing?

This idea is one I have seen in the Friend and on the Children Sing blog. I love it and think it works great for teaching,repeating, or choose and review. Today I want to focus on using for a repeating activity. Pick an item to correspond with key words or phrases from your song. Place these items on a tray or table. Begin the activity by discussing the items and then invite the children to decide which item goes with which key word or phrase. Invite the children to sing the song through either as you discuss each item or in its entirety after they have all been discussed.

For the second phase of this activity send one child out of the room and invite another child to take something off of the tray/table. The child who left has to come back in and figure out what item is missing. You can give the child time to decide by having the primary sing through the song before he/she gives their guess. You could also just give the child a set amount of time to decide and then sing through the corresponding phrase once the child has correctly guessed the missing item. It all depends on how much practice the kids need on this particular song.

Repeat: Eraser Pass

In this method of reviewing a song, the children are first challenged to erase all the words on the board that are not contained in the song. Before Primary place all the key words on the board in rows. Next to each word place two addtional words; one similar and one opposite. Be sure to switch up the order of the words so the kids don't catch onto any pattern.

Before you begin this activity you need to lay out the ground rules. The children must continue singing the song over and over until only the key words are left on the board. They are not allowed to talk. You will select two people to have an eraser and once they have erased one word, they quietly hand the eraser to the next child. This contines until the end. To create more of a challenge you can ask the kids to guess how many times it will take them singing through to complete the challenge. They could also set a goal.

If you want to add to this activity you could sing another marathon session of the song and challenge the children to begin erasing all the key words. Continue singing through the song until all the key words are gone.

I would definitely use this activity in conjunction with some other activity since it will definitely not take you the whole time.

Ramblings on Lessons Learned

I had another opportunity to step in for a chorister this last Sunday and was reminded, yet again, that there is always more to learn in this calling. I was asked to review the 2nd and 3rd verses of "If I Listen With My Heart" with the children to help solidify the words. (Anybody else noticing how difficult this song can be for some of the kids?) I won't go into exactly what I did. Instead I want to list a few things I thought of as I planned and was reminded of as I taught.

*Sometimes it is best, especially in JP, to only focus on 1 verse of a review song. This helps the kids to really solidify the words and also allows for some additional songs that add the variety those little minds can benefit from.

*KISS: Keep It Simple Silly! I am guilty of planning elaborate singing times only to discover that something much simpler could have accomplished the same goal....and most times would have done so in a better way.

*I need to work harder at giving the kids a specific goal or directive when they repeat a song we are reviewing. Instead of just telling them I couldn't completely understand the words or hear them, I should challenge them to sing one particular work a little louder than the others (ie. "prophet"), or to complete some other task that will keep their focus and limit the chance things are getting monotonous.

*It is always a good idea to invite the teachers to take a break from singing so I can hear how well the children really know the words.

*There should never be a Sunday that is devoted to just singing "fun songs". We should always have a gospel theme associated with our plans. Each and every song in Primary is inspired and can help teach these children gospel truths that will strengthen their testimonies.

*It is always a good idea to get the little bodies in JP moving. This can be as simple as having everyone use their "pointer finger" to help you find a requested picture or object. It is amazing the attention and participation that you can get when you invite all the kids to help from their chairs, instead of just one.

*SP loves to be challenged. These kids are smart and we should not underestimate their musical ability and gospel understanding.

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!!!

Repeat: Feasting on the Words

I had the privilege of visiting a ward in our stake yesterday and was really enjoyed the singing time. This particular chorister did a fabulous job of integrating the monthly scripture of "feast on the words of Christ". Here is a recap:

Introduction: Discuss with/remind the children what the word "feast" means. Liken feasting on food to feasting on the scriptures and the benefit each can be to our bodies and spirits, respectively.

The next step can be done in a couple different ways:

• Display a prepared visual with the word "FEAST" at the top and a variety of clip art food below. At the bottom of this you can attach the key phrase of January's scripture. (This chorister used a page from her children's file folder game, but you can easily find clip art online)


• Present a shopping cart or basket full of play food for the children to choose from.


• You could also do this activity with a place setting of silverware, cup, bowl, plate, etc.

Activity:

• Invite different children to come up and pick a piece of food. Write different ways to sing the song on/under each piece. Some ideas: staccato, legato, talking (like a parrot), loud (like an auctioneer), soft (like a spy), stand on the words "hear" or "listen", leave out the words "hear" or "listen", etc. Obviously this is where you can customize the plan to best fit the needs, abilities, and preferences of your primary.

Closing:

• Bear testimony of the importance of feasting on the words of Christ.

This is a great activity to use as a review of verses learned in previous weeks or you can quickly teach a new verse the first 10 minutes (fastest way to do this is usually with sign language/actions) and then play the game the last 10 minutes.

If you are introducing a new verse before playing this game, remember that it is ok to go fairly quickly through each line because the kids will get the chance to hear and sing the words at least 3 or 4 more times during the activity. Sometimes I think this method of teaching can be helpful, especially in a large junior primary, because it keeps the kids' interest and allows them to hear and practice the words numerous times. I know it worked like a charm for the primary I was visiting (both in JP and SP), and they have a good 60-80 kids in each group.

Happy Singing!!!