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.

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.

Ideas for May Week 3 LDS Primary Sharing Time, 2018 Sharing Time Outline Theme: I am a Child of God May 2018 Sharing Time Topic: Prophets Teach Us to Live the Restored Gospel May 2018 Song: Song of your choice from the Children’s Songbook May 2018 Scripture: “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). May Week 3 Topic: Prophets teach me to pay tithing Preparation: Prayerfully study and think about what the specific needs of your primary are and how you can teach them this doctrine. The most important thing is to love those you teach and to teach them by the Spirit!! Focus on building their testimonies and helping them come unto Christ! (All printables for this sharing time can be found and printed by clicking the "Free Printable Download" button. They are free and can be printed and used for personal and church purposes) Sharing Time Instruction: Under some of the primary children's chairs place the letters, "TITHING" (see printable below). Invite the primary children to look under their chairs. Invite the children with the letters to come to the front of the room. Invite the rest of the primary to help them unscramble to word. When it is unscrambled invite the primary children to say the word, "Tithing" Show the primary children the week's theme poster and invite them to repeat, "Prophets teach me to pay tithing" Explain to the primary children that prophets anciently taught about tithing. Read the scripture from Malachi, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10) What does the prophet Malachi teach will happen as we pay tithing? ("pour you out a bless, that there shall not be room enough to receive it") Our Latter-day prophets continue to teach us about tithing, Dallin H. Oaks stated, "Here we see that the law of tithing is not a remote Old Testament practice, but a commandment directly from the Savior to the people of our day. The Lord reaffirmed that law in modern revelation, commanding his people to pay “one-tenth of all their interest annually” and declaring that “this shall be a standing law unto them forever” (D&C 119:4)." How much has the Lord asked us to give to tithing? (one-tenth) For the activity, I liked the analogy in the Sharing time Outline, Invite 10 children to come to the front of the room, give each of them an apple. You could use real apples or I have provided a printable with apples (see printable below). Invite the primary children to count the apples, there are 10 apples right? Invite another primary child to come up and pick the 10 apples and place them in a basket. Ask the primary children how many of the 10 apples they would give to the bishop in tithing? How much is one-tenth of the apples? One, right? Of the ten apples they would give one apple to tithing. Let's try this again, place the 10 coins on the board (see printable). Of the 10 coins how many would they give the bishop in tithing? 1 of the coins right? Let's talk a little bit about the blessings that will come to us as we pay tithing. President Henry B. Eyring said, "There are at least three ways that paying a full tithe in this life prepares us to feel what we need to feel to receive the gift of eternal life. First, when we pay our tithes to the Church, our Heavenly Father pours out blessings upon us. Anyone who has consistently paid a full tithe knows that is true. The blessings are sometimes spiritual and sometimes temporal. They are given in the Lord’s time and according to what He knows is best for us... Second, all of us who have paid a consistent full tithe feel greater confidence in asking God for what we and our families need... Third, those who pay tithing feel an increase in their love of God and of all God’s children. That increase of love comes from understanding how the Father uses the tithes we offer to bless people in this world and for eternity." President Eyring continues to explain some ways our tithes are used, "Through His authorized servants, He expends the tithes with great care. The tithe payer helps the Lord build temples, where families can be sealed forever. The tithe payer helps Him send the gospel to people everywhere. The tithe payer helps Him relieve hunger and suffering in His own way through His servants. Any of those servants can tell you how love increased because tithing was used to bless people. And so can the faithful tithe payer." Show the primary children a tithing slip and envelope, explain how to fill it out and then explain that after they fill it out they would give it to the bishop. Close by sharing your testimony of tithing. *************************** Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope that these ideas were helpful. Below are the other topics for the months as well as more ideas and resources. I'd love for you to check out my Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest pages and see if there's anything on there you like! What else have the primary children learned this month? Here are links to this month's past sharing times: ULTIMATE LIST OF SHARING TIME IDEAS 2018 Primary Sharing Time Ideas for May Week 1: The living prophet leads the Church under the direction of Jesus Christ. 2018 Primary Sharing Time Ideas for May Week 2: The living prophet leads the Church under the direction of Jesus Christ. Want more ideas: 2017 LDS Sharing Time Ideas for June Week 2: When I pay my tithing, Heavenly Father will bless me. Family Home Evening- 1st Article of Faith and Wk 2 of Budgeting & Paying Tithing - Helping Children earn Money. Tithing Tithing teaching resources for children Click this link for past Sharing Time post: LDS Primary Sharing Time Ideas ***Basic ideas for this sharing time came from the 2018 Outline for Sharing Time, you can find a link here: 2018 Outline for Sharing Time

Principles and Ordinances of the Gospel Lead Me to Jesus Christ. This idea comes from my sister, Merrilee, who is planning Sharing Time fo...

We split up our Junior and Senior Primary. Below is the agenda we use so that whoever is conducting knows the schedule and what announcements to make. We do talks on the 2nd and 4th Sundays, scripture on the 1st and 5th Sundays and on the 3rd Sunday, one of the Bishopric comes in to do Sharing Time, so we don't have a talk or scripture so they have more time to speak. It is uploaded as a .doc so that you can change it to however you like. I'd love to hear how others do their sharing times, so comment below! Click HERE to download!

Every month, there are 3 suggested songs to teach the Primary children. Discuss with your Primary President, and other chorister(s), which songs you’d like to focus on for each month. I try to pick one that THEY KNOW pretty well and one that they DON’T KNOW from the suggested songs. Teaching 3 new songs from scratch a month would be a lot for them to learn! So for the 3rd song, I will either sing it during a pick-and-choose Sunday, or as one of the opening songs that month. On the first Sunday of the month, I introduce the NEW SONG (the suggested song that they are unfamiliar with). To make Primary Singing Time interesting and fun and also bring the Spirit, I like to introduce the songs in different ways. I think introducing a song can be the most daunting of Sunday’s! I LOVE repeating songs, doing pick-and-choose activities, and incorporating holiday’s (if you follow our Instagram, it’s packed with those ideas!) But introducing a NEW song seems… I don’t know… boring? I don’t want to lose focus with their short attention spans by just telling them the words and then singing it over and over. So we’ve compiled some ideas as a resource on how to first introduce and help the children learn a BRAND NEW song. One they’ve NEVER heard before. ***With any and every new song, make sure you have the right attitude and prayer in your heart about the message the song will bring. Be enthusiastic, saying something like, “Today we are going to be learning a wonderful song”. You can also explain the words, message and story it conveys. Alright, you’ve waited long enough! Here are the ideas!!!!!! 1-Flipchart or Posters. I pretty much ALWAYS use a poster or flipchart for every song. I feel most children are visual learners and this helps Junior and Senior learn the words through pictures and words. Poster (my preference) Flipchart: (this flipchart is from Finch Family games found HERE) 2-Compound Learning. First, have them LISTEN to the song. This can be played on the piano, your phone through the Sacred Music app, CD, cassette, or Youtube video, etc. Second, let them HUM along to the melody. Third, have them SWAY their bodies (or sway scarves/wands) and hum to the music. Fourth, after showing and explaining the poster board/flipchart, SING the words to them (holding up the Poster or Flipchart). Fifth, have THEM SING along. Sixth, have them use shakers, paper plate drum, or clap/snap the rhythm as they sing along. 3-I sing, You Sing. After explaining the meaning of the song and showing the visual, play the music to the song all the way through. Sing the first line of the song with the piano, have the children repeat. Sing the second line of the song, have them repeat. Put the first and second line together and sing together. Continue on for the whole song. Make sure that before Primary you let your pianist know what you’re planning to do. You could also start with learning the chorus of the song. 4-Guess the Visual. Have the flipchart papers up on the board – all scrambled up and out of their correct order. Sing the first line of the song and have them guess which flipchart paper matches the first line. Continue this for each line of the song and put the flipchart in order. For Senior Primary, you could have word strips of each line of the song (out of order). Sing the first line and have them pick our which word strip is the correct one and have the children put the strips in order as you continue singing the rest of the song. For Senior Primary, you could have word strips of each line of the song (out of order). Sing the first line and have them pick our which word strip is the correct one and have the children put the strips in order as you continue singing the rest of the song. 5-Vanishing Flipchart Papers. For this one, call up as many children as papers you have in the flipchart. Each child holding one paper. Sing the song with children, one flipchart paper at a time. After the whole song has been sung, take away 1 paper and have that child stay standing. Sing the song and point to child as they sing that missing flipchart paper. Continue taking away papers and having them sing the song again until they’re all gone! Keep them up to the challenge using reverse psychology saying things like “Oh no! Can we do it now? (Yes!) Ok, here we go!” or “I don’t know, do you think you can remember this one????” 6-Bubblegum Blobs. For this idea, you’ll need a flipchart or poster hung up on the chalkboard. Sing the song with children (with idea number 2 or 3 on our list above). Tell the children you stepped on some sticky bubble gum on your way to church and thought the gum could help with singing time. Use one pink “gum blob” (pink paper or poster board cut into blob shape) to cover up a part of the song at a time. Sing after each blob is added. 7-Fill in the Blank. Write the words to the song on the chalkboard leaving out a word on each line. So intentionally NOT write some of the words to the song but draw a blank _______ so it can be added in. Sing the first line of the song. Have the children listen and see what the blank word is and fill it in. Continue on for each line of the song. This is a great one to get the children really listening! 8-Disappearing Words (eraser pass). Write the words to the song on the chalkboard. Have the children listen to the song as you point to the words. Next, sing the song with the piano. After, have the Primary sing along. Sing it one more time all together and tell the children to try to remember the words because they are going to start to disappear! As they sing the song, have them pass around the eraser. Whoever ends up with it at the end of the song, gets to erase 2-3 words!!! Sing again and pass the eraser! 9-Use Hand-Actions (or sign language). Sing the first line of the song. Ask the children to think of a hand action to be used for the meaning of the words. Sing the second line and again, ask them to think of a hand-action that would represent the words. Continue on for the whole song and combine all the hand-actions. This is another great idea for getting them to really listen to the words! (You could also sing the whole song together and only do sign language for KEY words). 10- Find It’s Home. Have the words to the song on the board - cut into separate word-strips and in the correct song order. Call up a child and give them a picture that matches up to one of the wordstrips. Have them match that picture to the word strip as you sing each line of the song. Have children sing along as they learn. 11-Picture to Lyric Match. (This one is the harder version of #10 "Find It's Home") Have pictures and song lyrics for each line of the song on the board (like a flipchart, but cut the words out separate from the picture so they’re not together). Sing the first line of the song and have the children try to match the picture to the words. Sing the song over and over until they’re all put in the correct place! 12-Listening Detective. Start by explaining we have a new song case. Listen up detectives!!! We need to find out: Who is it about? What do we learn? How many times does it read “He” or “Love”, etc.? You may want to read the scripture reference at the bottom of the song in the Songbook. 13-Visual Object Lesson. Show a quick visual lesson on what the song is about. Just a quick object lesson before you have them listen to the melody. In the Primary Music Instructions it say’s: For example, the song “Faith” (Children’s Songbook, 96–97) mentions a little seed. You could show the children a seed and talk about how we show faith when we plant a seed; this could lead to a discussion about ways we show faith in Jesus Christ, as described in the song. I also did this for “How Firm a Foundation” years ago. This helps them understand the meaning behind the song. Remember, it’s not just about learning the song and words, but learning and feeling the Spirit. AND now 2 last small tips: 14- Have the Pianist play the song as the interlude so that the children can hear the melody and be familiar with the tune. 15- Find the song in A Children’s Songbook Companion and read what’s suggested! This is a great resource for teaching the songs in the Primary Children’s Songbook. I refer to this book often. Find one HERE. It's seriously been a lifesaver on some Sunday's when I need an idea on how to introduce a specific song! and it also includes visuals on some songs! **Remember! This is the children's FIRST time hearing and learning this song! So don’t feel like a failure if they don’t pick it up right away! As you repeat and repeat this song, they will catch on! Also, remember the purpose is to help draw in the Spirit and let them feel the words and the meaning of the song. Good luck with your introducing your new song! Pray and listen the Spirit as you prepare! You can do this! -iheartprimarymusic

how to teach the primary song Daddy's Homecoming in singing time, Daddy's Homecoming singing time lesson plan ideas using a dad puzzle

A blog with ideas to aid us on our life's journey to perfecting ourselves and our families. Crafts, Printable Pages, LDS lesson helps and more.

I took the time this week to sit down and plan out all my lesson plans for January through September.

Liahona singing time review activity, review primary songs using a Liahona printable or make a printable to create a scavenger hunt

Camille's Primary Ideas: 2016 Scripture Prompts

Every 5th Sunday I have the opportunity to use the full 35-40 minutes. This time I am using a category game to review the doctrine they hav...

I've had a request for a flip chart for Scripture Power. Here is one for both verses. Click HERE to download.

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

Teach the primary song Search, Ponder and Pray in singing time virtually, home centered or live using these printables

Start class out by having a clear jar full of clean clear water. Explain that it represents the beginning of someones testimony. Show them the food coloring. Explain that this represents the strengthening of the testimony. Explain that each time we share the gospel with others our testimony is strengthened, just like every time a drop of food coloring is put into the water the color gets darker and stronger. (this idea comes from the 2013 Primary Sharing Time Outline) What is the Gospel? " ...the gospel includes all the doctrines, principles, laws, ordinances, and covenants necessary for us to be exalted in the celestial kingdom." (http://www.lds.org/topics/gospel) How can we share the Gospel? Ask children for ways they can share the gospel. Each time a child says a way then add a drop of food coloring to the water. Pointing out how stronger the color gets each time. What is a Testimony? "A testimony is a spiritual witness given by the Holy Ghost." (http://www.lds.org/topics/testimony) Tell the story of this young girl: “A young girl was afraid to bear her testimony because she felt unsure of her feelings. But she knew it was important, so one day she bravely stood and bore her testimony, listing five things she believed in. When she was through, she had a good feeling and knew that her testimony had grown stronger.” Explain that we can all have a testimony of these five fundamental things that we can build our testimony on. Have the following pictures around the room. (Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith, Book of Mormon, President Monson) Cover each square on the above printable with a piece of paper. Have a child come and remove one. Have them read it or you read it if they need help. Then have them go and find the picture that matches it. You could go into explaining in larger detail, your testimony on that particular thing. Add a drop of food coloring into the jar. Continue until all squares are uncovered and all pictures have been matched. Add a drop of food coloring each time. Bear your testimony and challenge each child to find ways throughout the week to share the gospel and strengthen their testimonies.

Singing time yoga also known as position cards, singing time review activity providing tons of movement as you sing Primary songs.

Have you just been called as the Primary President in your LDS congregation? Are you looking for advice on how to serve your children most effectively? We went right to the source and asked women who have served in Primary what they would want a newly called Primary President to know. Here are the very […]

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

I don’t know what it is, but every once in a while, the Primary kids get a little ….WILD! All the possible reasons run through my head, “Is it a full moon? Is it the last week of school? A holiday coming up??? Murphy’s Law???!??!?” No matter the reason (or no reason at all!), it can be intimidating to stand in front of ALLLLLL the children and gain order!!!! So we thought it would be helpful to share some of the secrets we use to help get the sweet kiddos to calm down, focus, and bring the energy down to a level that can invite the Spirit. If the Spirit is felt, the love of Jesus Christ can be felt through the Primary Song words, and their faith can increase. And that, my friends, is a win! HERE THEY ARE!!!!! (shhhhh) 1 - Go up the microphone and start WHISSSSPERING. The microphone is my best friend when I need to regain order. But whispering into it, makes it hard for the children to hear – so they quiet down to be able to listen. That’s what we want people! 2 - Just going up to the microphone and folding your arms, and say “SHHHHHHH”, “SHHHHHHHHH” (pointer finger to mouth), and then walking around the room by the noisy side of children and flapping your folded arms (hinting for them to fold their arms) and “eyeing” to individual children (in a kindly stern way). Always give them a thumbs up, wink or nod and thank the Primary Children for being reverent. 3 - Start naming/pointing out the children who are being reverent. “Oh! I see ______ is being reverent, and _______ is sitting nicely in their sit, and yep, ___________ is listening etc. Walk around the room with your arms folded and dramatically “squint look” (SEE who's being reverent). 4 - If the children need a good focus back to me as the chorister, I go up to the microphone and say, “If you can hear me, touch your nose. If you can hear me, touch your head. If you can hear me, pull your ears. If you can hear me, fold your arms.” I start with “touch your nose” in a loud (er) voice and end with, “fold your arms” in a quieter voice (like a whisper). I like to switch it up and say, "If you can hear me, show me your: Book of Mormon hands (put hands together like a book) Prayer hands (put hands palm to palm) Steeple hands (touch tips of fingers together to make a steeple) Lamanite hands (like BOM Stories put feathers on back of head with one hand in front of you) Reverence arms (fold arms) You can make up as many as you'd like. The children not paying attention will wonder why others are doing these actions and will follow. 5 - Use Repeating Clapping Patterns. Tell them to repeat your clapping patterns. Mix different amounts of time you clap, rhythms and timing and then have them repeat. You could end with, “Now, get your listening ears on and please fold your arms”. 6 - “I want to you pretend like you’re going to blow a REEEEEALLY big balloon with me. So you’re going to need a big breath. (Breath in deep together – fill your lungs all the way and blow out), do it again. And one more time to make the balloon HUUUUUGE! Good, now fold your arms. Zip your lips." 7 - Keep the piano playing the WHOLE Singing Time! (so there's no time for chatting in between songs). Introduce the next song to sing and softly explain the words/meaning (show song visual on poster or flip chart or even just displaying a picture of Christ). In between singing songs, have the pianist play some music softly. Ask the children what they learn from each song after it is sung. 8 - Hold up a Reverence O Meter. It’s like a Singing Meter – but measures their volume the opposite way! The quieter, the better! 9 - This one I personally don’t use but I saw another chorister use and thought it was cute: “Everyone make a bubble in your mouth (hold breath and puff cheeks out) and don’t pop it until the start of our next song”. As song starts, use pointer finger to “pop” balloon so they can sing. This prevents chatting in between songs. 10 - Play Simon says or Sister/Brother __________ (your last name) says. I like to play the sky says when they are really wiggly or at the beginning of singing time: The sky says: Twirl like a tornado Clap like Thunder Fingers fall like rain Float up on toes like a cloud Sway like the wind 11 - Have a Rainstorm! Turn off lights. Rub palms together Snap fingers Pat legs Tap toes Stomp feet and pat legs and then do this in reverse order. 12 - When I pick a choosing stick (popsicle sticks with each having a Primary kids names on it) I say, "Let me see if this person is being reverent..." And I look all around the room and wait until everyone is quiet. If the child is not being reverent I go stand right in front of them and shuffle the sticks in the choosing-stick-can loudly. 13 - Start singing an Action/Wiggle Song where they mimic your actions. For example, Do as I’m Doing, Book of Mormon Stories, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, If You’re Happy and You’re Know it, etc. At the end of the song, fold your arms so they mimic you and start speaking softly to give directions. 14 - In the microphone, start counting down slowly, “5…4…3…2...1 aaand reverence”. Fold your arms to show the example. 15 - Bring some hand bells, a rain stick, fun leading wand (tap it on the music stand), anything that makes a noise or grabs their attention. Not too big of a noise, but noise. I once said, “I have a challenge for you. Let’s see if we can hear this push pin drop on the floor. Shhhhhhhh. Listen for it. Are you ready???? Here is goes!” It was probably to most quiet they've EVER been! 16 - Before our closing song, I usually end with something like this, “Now everyone stand UP! Jump three times, turn around in a circle. Now reach way up high and take a deep deep breath in. Bring your arms down as you breathe out. And do it one more time.” Do the actions with the kids. Then fold your arms so they are ready for the closing prayer. 17 – Recite a quick reverence poem. Here is an example: (author unknown) I wiggle my fingers. I wiggle my nose. I wiggle my shoulders. I wiggle my nose. No more wiggles are left in me. So I will be still, as still as can be. Or the Butterfly poem CLICK HERE. You can recite this poem in the microphone before the closing prayer, at the very beginning of Singing Time or at any time you’d like them to settle down. 18 – Show a picture of Christ. Say, “Stand up if you know who this is. Clap twice because He is the Christ. Jump three times because He is your Brother. Sit down, He is your Redeemer. Take a deep breath for He is The Life. Fold your arms in reverence, He is your Savior and the way back to our Father in Heaven”. "Now, let's sing a song from our hearts for Heavenly Father and Jesus so they can feel our love for Them". Now, trust me, I’ve had some train wreck Sunday’s. Some Sunday’s just don’t come together for some reason or another. But hopefully you can feel prepared and armed (ha!) and not feel helpless when you can feel the energy in the room going crazy and out the roof! Hopefully one or two of these ideas can help you with restoring and keeping REVERENCE during your Primary Singing Time. Have confidence in yourself! If YOU have confidence in YOU, the children will have confidence in YOU. You can do this!!!!! (*Last side note: If you feel your children are extra irreverent every week, speak with your Primary President and make sure to enlist the Presidency’s help, the teachers, the Bishopric, or even the Stake Primary’s. Make sure ALL are on board with the reverence expectancies and that they model and are examples themselves. Communication is key so that you don’t feel alone. All leaders and teachers in the Primary room should be your advocate for respect and reverence!) -iheartprimarymusic

I found a fun idea on the LDS Choristers Facebook page and tweaked it a bit for this Sunday. I wish I knew who to thank for the original id...

I know this is going to sound odd, but I really couldn't find a picture for this month's post. So, I decided to post this random good loo...

I'm in an awesome LDS Singing Time Facebook group and found this idea and download there. We had so much fun playing and singing, and wil...

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.

EASY Primary Singing Time! Print out multiple targets on different colors of paper. Then write the song names on the Target Practice...

I’ve been pondering on how I can teach all nine verses of “Follow the Prophet” song from the LDS Children Song Book which is the theme song for March 2015 in the current 2015 Shar…

Primary Spotlight Questions My name is__________________ I am _____ years old. I have ___ sisters and ___ brothers The thing I like best about Primary is _________________ I have a pet named (what …

25 fun We'll Bring the World His Truth singing Time to teach the song with printable song helps, cup actions, and activities for LDS Primary music leaders.

A blog with ideas to aid us on our life's journey to perfecting ourselves and our families. Crafts, Printable Pages, LDS lesson helps and more.

It's Primary time again! This week's lesson in the Primary 2 Manual is Lesson 21: I Can Be Reverent . Now, I don't know about Y...

Ideas for September Week 3 LDS Primary Sharing Time, 2017 Sharing Time Outline Theme: Choose the Right September 2017 Sharing Time Topic: The Ten Commandments Teach Me to Love God and His Children September 2017 Scripture: “If thou lovest me thou shalt serve me and keep all my commandments” (D&C 42:29). September 2017 Song: Your Choice September Week 3 Topic: I should honor my parents. Preparation: Prayerfully study and think about what the specific needs of your primary are and how you can teach them this doctrine. The most important thing is to love those you teach and to teach them by the Spirit!! Focus on building their testimonies and helping them come unto Christ! Sharing Time Instruction: Begin sharing time, by bringing a picture of your parents. Share your positive feelings about your parents and your desire and ways you honored them. Show the primary children the week's them poster and invite them to repeat, "I should honor my parents". Show the primary children a picture or print out of "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" and explain that it is given to us from our Heavenly Father through Latter-day prophets. Read the following quotes, "Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live." and "Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities." Explain to the primary children that their parents have been given the sacred responsibility to be their parents and that as their children they have the responsibility to honor their parents. Ask the primary children what it means to honor their parents? Explain that when we honor someone then we respect them. So if we honor our parents, then we will have respect for them. Explain that we are given a promise, if we honor our parents. Read the commandment: " Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." (Exodus 20:12) Discuss that the commandment is to honor our parents and that the blessing or promise if we keep that commandment will be that "thy days may be long upon the land" Give each of the primary children a piece of paper (see printable below), have them each think of ways they can honor their parents. Give the primary children time to draw pictures and write on their pieces of paper. While they are doing this have some music playing such as, "Families Can Be Together Forever", "Love at Home", "Love One Another", "Love is Spoken Here", "Quickly, I'll Obey", etc. When the children are done. Invite some of them one at a time to come up and share their picture with the primary children and explain how they can honor their parents. Discuss each one with the primary children. Continue as time allows. Some things that could be pointed out is showing love for our parents, helping our parents with house work, getting along with our siblings, listening to our parents council, obeying our parents, talking to our parents respectfully, serving our parents, etc. Close by sharing testimony of this commandment. *************************** Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope that these ideas were helpful. Below are the other topics for the months as well as more ideas and resources. I'd love for you to check out my Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest pages and see if there's anything on there you like! What else have the primary children learned this month? Here are links to this month's past sharing times: ULTIMATE LIST OF SHARING TIME IDEAS 2017 LDS Sharing Time Ideas for September Week 1: We are blessed when we keep the commandments. 2017 LDS Sharing Time Ideas for September Week 2: I should respect and worship God. Want more ideas: Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother (Watkins) Honor Your Father and Mother—Lee Yen Chung Tien of Tubuai, French Polynesia Family Home Evening- Faith in God Book: Developing Talents (honor and obey parents and learning how to work hard) Family Home evening - My Gospel Standards: I Will Honor My Parents and Do My Part to Strengthen my Family Honor Parents (A ton of resources for teaching children) Click this link for past Sharing Time post: LDS Primary Sharing Time Ideas ***Basic ideas for this sharing time came from the 2017 Outline for Sharing Time, you can find a link here: 2017 Outline for Sharing Time

I found this idea online somewhere, but can't find it again now. But here's my version: I made this poster the week we were reviewing Baptism that said "Sing or Dare." The "Sing" cards had a fun way to sing a certain verse of the song we were reviewing. The "Dare" cards had a question or just something silly for the child to do. We ended up singing each verse of the song twice, with lots of fun mixed in! Here's what the cards said: For Junior Primary Dare: Stand on your chair and shout "I love primary!" Name your favorite thing about Primary** Name 2 latter day prophets Switch seats with someone else Give your teacher a hug Give the primary presidency a high five Sing: Clap the rhythm while you sing the 3rd verse of Baptism March in place while you sing the 1st verse of Baptism Play Stop/Go while you sing the 3rd verse of Baptism Stand on one foot and sing the 1st verse of Baptism Tiptoe in a circle while you sing the 2nd verse of Baptism Whisper sing the 2nd verse of Baptism For Senior Primary Dare: Tell the names of everyone in your class Stand on your chair and shout "I love Primary!" Give everyone a high-five Name 3 latter day prophets Hop on one foot around the podium 3 times Draw a picture of your favorite food Sing: Stand on 1 foot while you sing the 3rd verse. If the other foot touches the ground, sit down. Rub your belly and pat your head while you sing the 2nd verse. Play stop/go while you sing the 1st verse. Leave out the names of people and places in the 1st verse. Girls face left, boys face right as you sing the 3rd verse. "Buzz" instead of singing the word "the" **On a side note, the 4-year-old little boy who got this dare, name your favorite thing about primary, thought about it long and hard and then said..."leaving!" We all got a chuckle out of that!

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

Teaching questioning to primary readers can be challenging. I recently released a new edition of Concrete Comprehension for Primary Readers:

Here are the 5 truths I learned about being primary president.

Lesson and helps for LDS Primary 2 Lesson 33: I Can Pay Tithing

This book contains a diverse selection of practical, user-friendly ideas for the primary classroom. It is written for the busy teacher and contains a wealth of tried and tested ideas for all ages. Extensive teachers' notes are included as well as lesson ideas, games and student activity sheets across all subject areas. Most of the activities require little preparation and are also ideal for relief teachers and last minute time-fillers. There are even activities for the whole school to take on board.

Free printable Primary 2019 assignment cards. Easily assign talks, scriptures, articles of faith, and prayers by printing these on labels as stickers!