I forgot to post this and it has been sitting in my drafts, I thought of it today and here it is….
One of my favorite music times was when I tied quite a few Hershey candy bars with a string and note. Each note had a clue on it, as to whom it should be delivered to. I talked with the kids about how many different people and responsibilities needed to be filled to have our church run smoothly. I would then call a team of two with a member of the Primary presidency to find the person described on the card and deliver them a candy bar with the “Thanks for being so SWEET in our Ward”. While the kids delivered the treat we would keep singing the song we were working on and see how many times we could sing it. I had them deliver them to the librarian, Ward organist, Bishop, Relief Society President, Ward clerk, Nursery leader….
Song the Snake would peak out from behind the music stand to encourage the kids. I had an Eddie Spaghetti man that would slurp his long pile of noodles off the stand.
As the program approaches I would get a box and fill it with some type of treat for everyone, like suckers. Then I would tie different ribbons around the box that had different songs pinned to the ribbons. When the kids would get a song down really well, we could remove that ribbon. We did this until they were all gone and we could open up the lid for the treat.
We LOVEd this big cube box from the post office. Sometimes I would put actions on the sides, sometimes I would put different songs, and for this picture we had to learn a lot of verses to Follow the Prophet so I had a different prophet on each side. The kids would roll it down the aisle and whatever landed on the top, we would do.
Use holidays for ideas. I would hide Easter eggs around the Primary room filled with different songs to sing. Pass little American flags around the kids as we would sing, like hot potato. I was always hauling in holiday decor that I would incorporated into some type of game.
Here is a fun poster. The rocket is on a string that can be pulled up to the moon. The rocket also has a pin on the tip of it. The moon is a big balloon. As the kids sing you can move him closer and closer, sometimes maybe even back a bit. Then at the end of singing time he can reach the balloon, popping it. :)
Here is the classic spin the wheel. Just a way to sing a song over and over different ways. We would also play find the music note by singing soft and loud, as they got closer.
I had made an apron years ago for Sharing Times. I used it again for music time. I would hide different trinkets in the pockets to represent songs. I used to have a huge golden purse that was filled with objects. The kids would come up and pull things out and we would sing the song that the object represented.
Sometimes it’s fun to sing the action songs with only the actions and no singing, just to mix it up. The kids always get big grins on their faces as they are doing the “Popcorn Popping” actions and trying to not let out a peep.
Here is another block that I would have the kids roll. We call it the animal block and would have to do whatever the top side says.
I would rearrange the kids sometimes. We would push all the chairs back and sit in the middle. I then would have a lot of church items gathered in the middle, (CTR ring, picture of Jesus, ceramic temple, Friend magazine, Hymn book…) Then someone would leave and I would pick another child to hide one of the objects. We then would sing and sing as the person tries to guess what is missing.
Puppets are always fun for kids. I would also bring musical instruments and have some of the kids come to the front to play, as we would sing. Chimes are also fun to do.
I don’t know why the kids love the sombrero, but they do. It used to have a rubber chicken hanging off the side. I just FILLED it with a ton of random stuff and hot glued it on. Which ever class is singing the best gets to have the sombrero. Sometimes the teacher of the class wears it as we are singing, or they pass it quietly around their class.
One time I brought in the big TV and played a segment from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. We analyzed how they sang. What were the hands doing? Were they slouching? How far open were their mouths? … Then we tried to do the same and act as a choir would.
The kids get sick of you, so it’s fun to bring in others. I always used my pianist actively during music time. I gave him a list of how to say “Hello” in a lot of different languages. He clipped it to his music to refer to. I would always turn to him and ask how we should sing the Hello song, and he would announce it to the kids … Bon jour, Howdy, Guten Tog, Hola, Aloha….
I would also bring in energetic Ward members to help. One time we created an American Idol panel that would judge the songs and give their opinions. It was a lot of fun. I’m sure this could be done using a “Voice” set up as well.
My favorite book hands down for being a chorister is this. It has ideas for EVERY song in the songbook PLUS a lot of ideas in the front. This is the one I have. I noticed that amazon has the same book by the same authors, just a different cover.
I really did enjoy being chorister. I don’t know why I never blogged about it before, but HERE you have it! :)
