I was in charge of our Primary Singing time at church a few weeks ago and decided to play a simple game of tic-tac-toe to help us practice a song. It was so easy to put together, the kids had fun, and we got a good practice on one of my favorite songs! Supplies: Construction paper in Red and Blue Scissors Tape Chalk Prep Work: Draw an X on a piece of red construction paper. Cut it out and trace 5 more onto more red paper. Draw an O on a piece of blue construction paper and do the same thing. After they're all cut out, put them in a bag with some tape and chalk and you're all ready to go! Singing Time! I wanted to practice the song, "My Heavenly Father Loves Me" (Children's Songbook, pg. ). I think kids learn songs well when they sing them over and over. This game was a way to sing the song over and over and not get bored because we had a fun game going on at the same time! First, I drew a tic-tac-toe grid on the chalkboard, and taped up the X's on one side of it, and the O's on the other side. I split the kids into 2 groups: Team X and Team O. Here's how it worked with the younger kids (Jr. Primary, ages 3-8). The younger kids don't know this song very well, and the song is kind of long, so I chose to break it up into parts. I sang the first 1-2 lines of the song, and then had Team X repeat those lines. Then I did the same thing with Team O. So the kids got to hear and/or sing the same line 4 times. Repetition is key. :) After both teams heard and sang that line, then I chose 1 person from each team to come up and place an X and O on the board. Then we went onto the next line, and so on. It took about 4-6 turns before one of the teams had won. At the end we sang the song all the way through. We even had enough time to play another round! *Note: A few of the younger kids are a little bit more sensitive to winning and losing, so I made sure to have each team turn to the other and say "good job" to show how to be a good sport. :) Luckily for us, both teams each won a round so everyone was happy. Here's how it worked with the older kids (Sr. Primary, ages 8-11) The older kids know this song pretty well. They even know the second verse! So instead of the repetition, I played a fill in the blank game with each team. I went through the song in order and said a line to the song. Wherever I stopped the line, they had to tell me what the next word was. For example, "Whenever I hear the song of a _______," (the answer is BIRD) After each team got a chance to fill in a blank, I chose 1 person from each team to come put an X and O on the board. Then I did it all again. When the game ended, we sang the whole song all the way through. :) Again, we had enough time to play another round, and AGAIN, both teams each won one round. Hooray for Singing Time! ♫ We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

Nurture your child's love for singing! Discover 8 free & easy activities to help them sing tunefully at home or in school. Watch a 2.5-year-old master Solfege with Minuet in G sheet music!

I'm sharing this Spotify playlist of folksy and sweet kid songs that Mom and Dad won't mind humming along to. My son doesn't seem to mind those kiddy sing-along songs that have 50 kids singing all at the same time, but I do. One is OK, but after that it's sort of like fingernails on… Read More Best everyday kid songs (that won’t drive Mom and Dad nuts)

This fun Balloon Bounce singing time idea will be an absolute hit! In this Primary song review game kids will try to keep the balloon afloat!

Help Buster save the Theatre and feel the music. With voices like Reese Witherspoon, Matthew McConaughey, Seth MacFarlane, and Scarlett Johansson it’s sure to be a hit show! If you and your kids are music fans, this is the movie. With over 60 songs, including and original by Stevie Wonder and Ariana Grande, it’s sure […]

Here are some songs to get your kids singing and moving while learning about shapes. This is a curated list of songs from YouTube. Shapes, by Jack

Help Buster save the Theatre and feel the music. With voices like Reese Witherspoon, Matthew McConaughey, Seth MacFarlane, and Scarlett Johansson it’s sure to be a hit show! If you and your kids are music fans, this is the movie. With over 60 songs, including and original by Stevie Wonder and Ariana Grande, it’s sure […]

Help Buster save the Theatre and feel the music. With voices like Reese Witherspoon, Matthew McConaughey, Seth MacFarlane, and Scarlett Johansson it’s sure to be a hit show! If you and your kids are music fans, this is the movie. With over 60 songs, including and original by Stevie Wonder and Ariana Grande, it’s sure […]

5 Easy NO Effort Singing Time Ideas for Kids I’m in charge of singing time for approximately 40 kids ages 3-8 in my church every Sunday. And, because I’m a procrastinator, every Saturday night I’m always looking for easy games to play with the kids to keep them entertained and interested for 20 … Continue reading "5 Easy NO Effort Singing Time Ideas for Kids"

I needed an idea for after program singing time, but I wanted to give the kids a break from the same old songs/learning a new song. I saw the mustache on a plate idea somewhere(the song was hidden under the mustache) but I wanted to change things up a bit. Cue TRIVIA GAME!! I titled the game "I Mustache You A Question". I put together a bunch of questions about primary songs (I have the document of questions I used. I'll add them at the end). A few children at a time came forward (I did 3 for lack of time) and answered their question. If they got the answer correct they pulled a mustache off any plate and got to wear it while they helped lead the next song. It was a hit! It brought lots of laughter and smiles to the room, but they were quick to be reverent again because they all wanted a turn. (For making the Mustache Men) I cut lots of different looking mustaches out of felt. Laminated a piece of card stock(helped a ton for durability) and hot glued the mustaches to it. Cut the mustaches out and taped them on the plates that I had drawn silly faces on. (I stuck a few pieces of tape on the area of the plate I would be removing the mustache from over and over again so it wouldn't rip my plates.) After junior primary was over and put a new piece of tape on each mustache and stuck them back on the plates for sr. primary. The kids had a wonderful time playing and I was happily surprised how well they answered some of the questions. Hopefully this can help someone out. Let me know if you have any questions. Enjoy!! -Brooke I googled primary singing time trivia games and a whole bunch came up. I picked through them, came up with a few of my own and compiled this list of questions. It was the perfect amount. 1. Complete the title of this song: My Heavenly Father Loves ___________ A. Me pg. 228 2. T/F Book of Mormon Stories has 8 verses. A. True pg. 118 3. If on occasion you have found your language is in question...what should you do? A. Hum your Favorite Hymn pg.152 5. Does Daniel have his own verse in the Follow the Prophet song? A. Yes pg. 110 6. God gave us families to help us what? A. Become what He wants us to be. Song: The Family Is Of God 7. What is the rainbow song actually titled? A. When I am Baptized pg.103 8. Scripture power is the power to? A. Win song: Scripture Power 9. What do the chapel doors say? A. Sh, be still. pg.156 10.Complete the line: My life is a gift; my life has a __________ A. Plan pg.164 11. How much taller do you have to grow to go on a mission? A. A foot or two pg.169 12. Why is Saturday a special day? A. It’s the day we get ready for Sunday pg.196 13. What does the little stream do? A. Give pg.236 14. In the song Popcorn Popping is the line 1. Blossoms popping right before my eyes or 2. Popcorn popping right before my eyes A. Blossoms pg.242 15. In the song Our Primary Colors what does red stand for? A. courage to do what is right pg.258 16. If I had one wish what would it be? A. To wish a happy birthday to you from me pg.284 17. What is the first song in the Songbook? A. I am a child of God pg.2 18. True/False The following songs appear in the Songbook and the Hymn Book. I am a child of God Teach me to walk in the light Families can be together forever Called to Serve I know my Father lives A. True 19. Is the Songbook called: A. Children’s Songbook B. Primary Songbook C. Sing with Me D. The Friend A. Children’s Songbook 20. True/False Feliz Cumpleanos is an Easter song? A. False pg.282 21. What are we when we are helping? A. Happy pg.198 22. What does the Snowman do at the end of his song? A. Melts pg.249 23. Where did you live before you came to Earth? A. Heaven pg.4 24. Complete the phrase: I will follow God’s plan ___ ___ A. For Me pg.164 25. Who is our living prophet today? A. Thomas S. Monson pg.134 26. Who Baptized Jesus Christ? A. John The Baptist pg.100 27. What is your favorite thing to do during Primary? A. (any answer) 28. How old must you be to be baptized? A. 8 pg.104 29. What are the missing words to this primary song? “I looked out the window and what did I see? _______ ________ on the apricot tree!” A. Popcorn Popping pg.242 30. To what song is this the chorus? “ Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way. Teach me all that I must do to live with him someday.” A. I Am A Child Of God pg.2 31. Finish the phrase of this song. “Book of Mormon stories that __ __ __ __ __ A. My Teacher tells to me. pg.118

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A fun singing time activity for your primary! This LARGE Mr Potato Head will grab your primary’s full attention.

Free campfire coloring pages are the perfect activity for homeschooling, classrooms, teachers, kids' activities, and educational activities.

For teaching the Father's day song, I made these shirts by folding a piece of 8.5 x 11 paper and the ties out of construction paper. Click here to find the directions. On the back of each shirt was written a phrase of the song. The shirts were taped on the walls/chairs/piano/podium all around the room. I called on a child to choose a shirt (we went in the order of the rainbow) and read the line of the song. I had the visual aids for the song up on the board, all mixed up. Then another child would take a fly swatter and swat the picture that matched that line of the song. After we matched the words and the picture, we sang that line. We went through all the shirts in the same manner until we had all the pictures put in order and had sung the song through!

Here’s 10 ways to use a parachute in the music classroom. Activities will help students learn and practice music concepts. Parachutes can be used for so many fun activities in the music room. I’ve discovered that they are especially helpful during the latter part of the school year when students are more “squiggly” than ever! […]

Tons of Primary Chorister ideas for teaching music to children in Primary. Singing time for junior and senior primary and even nursery. For teaching in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Are you a fan of 'Baby Shark'? Of course, who isn't? It's the most popular children's song on the planet right now - it even has its own dance! Originally a campfire song, "Baby Shark" became...

23 Primary Program review ideas and themes to practice your presentation songs before your program! Fun singing time song practice ideas for LDS music leaders.

A collection of simple Christian songs with timeless Biblical truths. These songs are easy to sing and have excellent actions to get kids moving. Many of these classic kids songs have been songs for generations. Use them at home, or church in the nursery, toddler, preschool, or kindergarten class.

Apple themed songs and fingerplays for toddlers and preschoolers! Simple apple rhymes and songs you can sing with young children this fall!

Here are 10 super fun movement songs for kids to get them up and moving! These are great brain breaks as well.

Gah! I got the musical MEASLES!!!!!! This one is SOOOO fun, keeps the kids’ attention and keeps them singing well! Win, win, win. Tell the kids that singing can be contagious (songs can spread joy, peace, and feel the Spirit) just like the Measles!!!! Pass out red stickers to all teachers. Pick a song to sing. After the song, each teacher pick 2 kids from their class to get a stickers. Aaand the stickers get stuck on YOU (or the Pianist!) It’s so fun to see how many stickers “measles” you end up with at the end! Have fun with this one, but make sure to tell them, they only get a sticker if they’re singing their best!

Structuring your 20 minutes each Sunday to maximize effectiveness. Enthusiastic Greeting 1 minute or less You need to get their attention. Their minds will be all over the place. Greet them with enthusiasm, hook their attention so you can sing! Sing! SING! Wiggle Song (or two!) 3 minutes Maybe they just came from class and are feeling wiggly. Maybe they just came from Sacrament meeting and they just can't sit still. Sing a fun song, or two or three and get the wiggles out. Don't be afraid to sing it in a silly style to make it even more fun! Practice Song 9 minutes Review Songs 5 minutes This is the time to sing one or two practice songs for the program, or throw in more favorites so the kids continue to pay attention. Everyone needs a break from singing the same verse of the practice song over and over again! Practice Song 1 minute After a short break of review/fun songs sing this weeks practice song one more time. It lets you know how well they learned what you taught earlier and the parts of the song where the kids are struggling. This way you know what to focus on next week. Reverent Song 1 minute Whether the kids are about to go into sharing time, class or home always end with a reverent song. The reverent song lets the kids know it's time to settle down and be prepared to pay attention to what is next. A well organized singing time will have time for 8 to ten songs, even if you are spending ten minutes teaching a song. Reviewing songs is very important! It helps reinforce gospel principles, it's fun and it's what singing time is all about! SINGING! What if sharing time goes long and I don't have the full 20 minutes? Not a problem! You can know exactly what to do by looking at your kids. Are they super wiggly? Wiggle Songs 4 minutes Practice Song 4 minutes Review Songs 2 minutes (probably one song or two short ones) Reverent Song 1 minute Are they being reverent? Practice song 5 minutes Review/fun songs 5 minutes Reverent song 2 minutes What if it's important to explain a gospel principle so that teaching the song is more effective? Where is the time for that? Sharing time! If the song of the month (or any song) needs extra time to be explained get with the person doing sharing time that week. Have sharing time be first. Talk about the song. Explain the gospel principles and have the children participate while learning. Then when it's time to sing, you have time to sing and there was plenty of time to learn about the song as well. I don't see time for games or activities in your schedule. Keep the games simple. If they take too much time, you lose valuable practice and singing time. Don't let the game be so involved that you don't sing any songs! When we have a singing time where I will be calling on the children to pick what we sing I usually ask right at the beginning for them to each think of a song, that way they already have a song they want to sing if they are called on. You don't have to spend all 9 minutes working on the practice song. Sometimes you only need 5. Sometimes the kids just need to review the practice songs, and you don't need that time for learning a new song. That's a great time to throw in a fun game that needs a little extra time. Well begun is half done! This is definitely the Mary Poppins in me! Be organized. Know what songs you plan to sing for opening song, closing, wiggle songs, birthday songs, and review songs. It's very helpful to give that list to the pianist so that they can get to the next song quickly. Take the extra step and write down the page number for them! You don't want the kids to get restless and stop paying attention because they are waiting for the pianist find the page. Make everything go smoother by being prepared! Know the songs! Practice all week, or for several weeks so you know the song you are teaching. As soon as you pick up your phone to look at the words you've lost the kids and it's really hard to get their attention back. Watch the kids! Pay Attention! Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you just lose them. It's sad. It's heartbreaking. But you have to continue on. It's time to abandon the schedule and get them back on track before you can continue with the regularly scheduled activities. What to do when you have lost control and the primary kids aren't paying attention: Action songs - kids can't help but join in. They love to move around. Sing it silly - The kids need singing time to be fun. Pick a wiggle or action song and sing it like a pirate. You will have their full attention. Do something drastic. Have an emergency visual aid handy. I have reverent glasses. When I put them on the kids are magically reverent. Have something that lights up! Change your location. Move to the back of the room! Use your pianist!!! Fall asleep if they sing too quiet and have the pianist wake you up. Have the pianist play a fanfare if they do a great job, or play some minor chords when they don't sing well. Send me an email! I would love to answer any questions you have and help in any way I can. All primaries are different! [email protected]

Welcome to Singing Time!!!! Our Primary songs to sing are on the board! What? ... You can't see them??? In Thessalonians chapters 1,4 and 5 it talks about "If I am faithful and WATCHFUL, I will be prepared or the Savior's Second Coming". Ask/tell the children what it means to be WATCHFUL for Jesus's Second Coming. Simply discuss what we should do to be prepared to meet Jesus again. Now, if you're WATCHFUL, you will be able to see the Primary Songs: Before Primary, write the names of the songs you'd like to sing on white pieces of paper - with a special pen of course! I bought mine HERE from Amazon. Call up a child to pick a paper and use the SPECIAL LIGHT to reveal the song title. Sing that song. (This may help to have the lights off, but it works just fine with them on) and (sorry, it's really hard to get a good picture of this, I tried my best, I promise!) At the end, remind the children to be WATCHFUL and prepared for the Lord's Second Coming. -iheartprimarymusic

Let me set the scene. It’s late Saturday night. You’ve had a busy and packed day full of soccer games, bridal showers, whiney kids, family get-to-gether, making dinner, put (forced) kids to bed. Then you think, “Oh man! I have to plan my singing time lesson for tomorrow!!!” What can I do that really quick and easy???? We’ve all been there. We get it. So, here you go: Pick one. We got your back J (((***KEEP IN MIND, THESE ALSO WORK FOR REVIEWING YOUR PROGRAM SONGS!!!!!))) 1- Target Practice Write the number 1-9 on the chalkboard (or however many songs you’d like to review) like this: 123 456 789 Draw a circle around each number. Like a Target. Now you’re ready! All you need is something for the kids to throw/hit/shoot at the board. The number they hit, is the corresponding song to sing! Ideas to throw/hit/shoot with: Nerf gun, ball, crumbled up piece of paper, bean bag, etc. Whatever you have on hand! This is a Saturday late night idea people!!! 2 – Who’s Missing? All you need for this one is a blanket or sheet! Put the blanket or sheet over a classroom table or over the chalkboard. Ask for a “hider” and a “guesser”. The “guesser” goes out into the hall. The “hider” hides under the classroom table or behind the chalkboard. The “guesser” comes back in the room, music plays, children sing song. The “guesser” tries to figure out Who’s Missing before the end of the song. If they guess before the end of the song, keep singing until the end!!!! 3 – Hot and Cold It’s not a new idea, but we’re talking easy Saturday night ideas here. Hide an object, like a paper note (I use a figurine of Captain Moroni). But this object could be aaaanything. Have a pen? Perfect. A CTR ring borrowed from a child? That works too J Have one child go out of the room, hide the object, have the child come back in as the children sing start singing. Have the children sing loud when the seeker is close to the object. Have them sing quieter as the seeker is farther away. This is a classic and NEVER gets old! 4 – Secret Word Pick a couple words out of the song(s) you’d like to review. Write them on a note card size paper. Send one child out of the room (guesser), show everyone the word from the song. Tell them to NOT sing this word as they sing. Have the guesser come back in and put the word piece of paper on their forehead. Children sing song, skipping that secret word. At the end of the song, have guesser guess the Secret Word. 5 – Voice Changer Have a song you need to sing over and over to practice? Write these different ways to sing on the chalkboard. Choose a child being reverent and let them choose. Change singing voice to that style for the song. -Computer Robot (staccato) -Baby Voice (sweet and lispy) -Underwater (plug nose, or move pointer finger up and down in lips) -Grandma Voice (pinch a small piece of your neck and move away and then back toward your neck really fast) -Opera (self explanatory - use hand actions too! -Feather Voice (whisper) -Bee Voice (Hum) -Chipmunk Voice (sing high, tighten neck and show teeth) -Ninja Movie Voice (move mouth in between words and pauses) -Giant Voice (sing deep and low) -Cowboy Voice (like a country singer) For our ULTIMATE LIST of DIFFERENT WAYS to sing, Click HERE . (There's over 50 ways listed!!!) 6 – Name that Tune All you need for this one is a pair of dice! Nice! (hey, that rhymed!) Let your pianist know what songs you’d like to practice ahead of time. During singing time, let a child come to the front of the Primary room and roll the dice. Whatever number they land on is how many notes the pianist plays. Let them guess the song. Make sure to tell them to raise their hand when they recognize it. Otherwise, you’ll hear them out shouting it out! Then sing the song. Another fun classic that is always a winner singing time! 7 – Teacher Dress Up Items needed: Crazy, fun dress up items (yes, go look in your husband and kids closets, and the Halloween bin!) Think scarves, hats, glasses, gloves, apron Tell the kids you’re going to have a singing competition between classes. Whichever class sings the best for each song, their teacher has to come pick up a dress up item. If there is a tie between classes, have each teacher come up. Sometimes it’s hard to choose, so I have judgement help from the Primary Presidency. 8 – Visual Pick Bring the visuals/poster boards of the songs you’d like to sing. Display the around the room, or in front on the table/podium. Choose a reverent child to come pick which song they’d like to sing. Sing that song. 9 – Memory Match All you need is paper, pen, and tape (or sticky tack) Make a scratch list of the songs you’d like to review. Write each Song title on 2 pieces of paper. Put those on the chalkboard. Let children try to match a match (one pick at a time). When they get a match, sing that song! Let the match finder help lead the song! 10 – Ready, Set, ACTION Write these different ways to ACT on the board (or popsicle sticks, paper, etc ) as you sing the review songs. -Stand on One foot -Close one Eye -Close both eyes (no peeking!) -Face Backwards -Pat Head, Rub Belly -March -Stand on Chair -Ears Forward (bend ears forward with hands, as to hear yourself better) -Clap Or add your own idea! We still have more ideas, is that ok????? Good. Here's some more!!! :) 11 - Silent Singer. Ask one child to go into the hall. Next, choose a child from the Primary that wants to be the "Silent Singer". Have the child in the hall come back in as the children sing a song. The child who is the "Silent Singer" lip sings and the child that was in the hall tries to guess which child is the "Silnet Singer" before the song is over! 12- Switch Seats - Call one child to come up to the front of the Primary room and have them turn around. Point at 2 hildren sitting down to switch seats. Start singing a song and have the child in front turn around and try to guess who switched seats by the end of the song! It's harder than you think! Do you have any other great EASY SATURDAY NIGHT APPROVED Singing time ideas? We’d love to hear! -iheartprimarymusic

Sarasponda

Last week I started exploring a new exercise with a few of my students who have a tendency to carry tension in their upper mid-range and into the lower high-range. This is such a common

Teaching hymns in your homeschool is a fantastic way of praising the Lord together. This list of hymns for kids will help give you ideas for your homeschool hymn studies.

The Yellow Brick Road Blog is a website dedicated to providing music teachers with fun education resources for serious music literacy.