Singing Time Ideas (almost 200 ideas)

Blindfold Pick a Song:  On a big sheet of butcher paper write down titles to primary songs.  Tape it to a wall.  Blindfold a child and let them pin a cutout of a musical note on the poster, whatever song they stick it on is the song you sing.

Dice:  Take a cube shaped box and cover it in white butcher paper and then write a way to sing a song on each side, on another cube write a number on each side.  The number will coincide with a list of songs you have prepared for that singing time – this way you can use the dice over and over.  J.C. Penney’s has the perfect box – if you’re in there shopping they will give you them for free when you show a receipt.

Word for the Day:  You tell the kids that anytime you sing a particular word today they should stand-up.  For instance when it’s Valentine’s time the word could be love.

Heads or Tails:  Write down words from a song you’re working onto index cards, let the kids come up and pick a card and then flip a coin – if it’s heads they have to sing the phrase that came before the word on the card – if it’s tails they have to sing the phrase that comes next.

Pioneer Trails:  Around July 24, take a piece of butcher paper and map out the Mormon trail.  Then place wagon graphics along the trail – the kids can pick a wagon and sing the song that is on it.  Surprise them and have it say story on a wagon – then be prepared to share a quick pioneer story – maybe one that involves a song.

Find the lost sheep:  Make about 8 or 9 paper sheep – there was a good graphic in the Friend two years ago.  Write a song on the back and then hide the sheep in the room.  Tell the kids we need to be good shepherds and find the sheep and bring them home – you can talk about how Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  Another way to do this is to only have one sheep and have a child leave the room while the kids hide the sheep, then have the child come back in and sing a song while the child looks for the sheep.  The kids will sing louder when the child gets close to the sheep and softer when the child is far away from the sheep.

Six B’s:  Make 6 beehives and 6 or more bees.  On the back of the bees have a song that fits with one of President Hinckley’s B’s.  Label the beehives one of the b’s.  Then the kids can put the bee on the right beehive.

T.N.T.:  President Benson gave a talk about prophets and he said that a living prophet has TNT – today’s news today.  So this is a fun singing time after conference.  Take an empty Pringles potato chip can and cover it with red paper and write TNT on it, then stick a piece of string through the lid so that it looks like a fuse.  On slips of paper put things the prophet has asked us to do then pick a song that goes with that direction.  While the kids sing the song have them pass the TNT when the song ends whoever is holding the TNT opens it up and picks the next quote and song.

Rocket Songs:  On black or dark blue poster board glue circles of bright construction paper – so that they look like planets label the planets the songs you want to sing or the programs songs.  Then take a rocket graphic and print those out and glue them to construction paper to help reinforce them.  Then on the back of the rocket write a line from the song – the kids have to figure out what song the line comes from and then make the rocket land on the planet.  This is also a good way to monitor your primary’s progress in learning the program songs – when they’ve mastered the song the rocket can land on the planet – when all the planets have been conquered then they’ve learned all the songs.

Bishop Singing Time:  Draw a man that looks like a bishop from the waist up on a poster board  – you could then wonder under a pocket where his shirt pocket should go.  In the pocket you place questions the bishop asks when we want to be baptized or when we turn 12 and want to go do baptisms for the dead.  Then have a song that fits in with that question – like do you love your family? -Happy Family, Do you believe Joseph Smith was a prophet? – This is My Beloved Son; Do you believe Gordon B. Hinckley is a prophet?  – Follow the Prophet or Latter-day Prophets.   Do you keep the commandments?  – Keep the Commandments.

Choosing Helpers: Write the kids names on Popsicle sticks – when you’ve picked them all put them back in the basket or can and start over.  You can also write their birthdays on a stick and instead of calling names say – this person’s b-day is March 16.

Die-cut hands and write the names of the kids on the hands – Make a poster board say – My Helping Hands.  When you call on them put their hand on the poster and when you’ve put them all up take them down and start again.

Music box:  You can buy at the dollar store or Big Lots fancy looking boxes or make your own.  Fill it with slips of paper that have songs on them.  Pass the box while the kids are singing – when the music stops whoever is holding the box picks the next song.

Snowball attack:  This is fun with the senior primary.  Give them a sheet of paper and let them write their favorite song down on the paper – then let them crumple it up and throw it at you – then you bend over and pick one up and sing whatever is on it.  I have found that kids minds go blank on song titles so a good thing to do is to write down a list of songs to help them remember the names of their favorite songs.  Maybe you have a poster board where you write down songs they know and then you could just pull that out for a reference.

Musical chairs:  Set the chairs up in a circle – have the kids walk around while they sing – when the song ends they sit down and whoever is sitting on the chair with the star on the back picks the next song.

musical chairs (have a select number of kids come up to walk around chairs, sing song, when piano stops playing, the kid who doesn't get a chair has to sing/say the next line of the song.  If they can't, they keep walking,  if they can, they can pick a new friend to take their spot walking around the chairs--or vice versa--I tend to have them keep waking until they can do it, so they go out on a positive.) 

Motivators:Chocolate Chip Cookies:  make graphics to represent the ingredients used in making the cookies.  Make a poster board look like a recipe card (not necessary but it would be cute) You could title the recipe – Super Singer Sweets.  If the kids sing super good you add an ingredient, when they’ve earned all the ingredients you bring them a cookie next week (now this was done in my sister’s ward in Utah – where the entire ward is within a few
blocks and the chorister took the cookies during the week).  If your primary is anti -treat then you could deliver them during the week or maybe you could wrap it up and staple it in a brown lunch bag and tell them they can’t open it until they get home.  I personally think this is a good one because it’s a reward that takes about 2 months to earn – longer if they’re not always good.  You could say that they’ll get the cookie at the next quarterly activity.

Thermometer:  Take a white foam core poster board and draw a thermometer on it.  Sew a piece of red ribbon to a piece of white ribbon – then you pull on the ribbon when they’re singing super good so that the temperature rises.  I have made a big thermometer on a poster board that said, “We’re having a heat wave, a musical heat wave, the temperature is rising, it isn’t surprising, we’re learning our songs!”  Then when we learned one of the program songs I had a child color our thermometer in to the next degree and on the side we wrote the name of the song and the date- this was fun to see the progress.

Present:  Fill a box with a treat – one treat for every child, wrap the box really pretty and put a ribbon around it for every program song.   This is a good thing to do about a month before the program.  When the kids have mastered the song – cut the ribbon off, when they’ve mastered all the program songs the ribbons will be gone and then they can open up the present and find their treat.  You can buy little prizes at Oriental Trading Company.

Post Performance:  A fun thing to give the kids is a little card that says, “I didn’t hear a single sour note!” and then attach a sour warhead candy or some kind of sour candy.

Weekly Super Singer Award:  I give out a super singer award each week.  I have found cute little die-cuts that look like award ribbons at Bennetts.  I keep track in a notebook who’s won so that I can spread the joy..ha-ha-ha.

*I’ve also found stickers at Bennetts that say ‘Ask Me What I Learned Today’ I have given these to the kids to wear on a day when we’ve learned a new song in the hopes that their parents will ask and they’ll get a chance to practice at home.

Sometimes I will make up a bookmark on the computer that has a line from the song or maybe the whole song.  The kids like bookmarks and maybe it will help them remember the song when they get home.

ENCORE:  This is based on a board game put out by Parker Brothers.  The game is no longer made.  It’s a really fun one for youth to play.  I’ve looked all over at garage sales hoping to find it.  Anyway, for Primary choose key words such as family or temple.  Divide into teams.  Choose a word for a “round”.  The play goes back and forth between the teams with each team singing a complete line from a song with that word in it.  Score one point for each song a team can come up with.  After a “round”, sing the songs you
want as a group and maybe pull the theme together with a scripture.

 

 

 

65. “You’ve got Mail!”  with the kids.  I used my daughter’s plastic mailbox and decorated envelopes with the song titles inside.  The child who chose the song got to help lead
    with one of the primary’s fun wands.

 

 

 

66. Review game:Have all the kids stand up and pass a bean bag while singing.  When the music stops who ever is holding the bean bag has to tell the next word.  If they answer right they get a reward (candy)  That child then sits down and we keep singing.

 

 

 

67. 5 star songs to review. I made a poster with all the songs on it and then I made stars and laminated them. I talked to the kids about what it means to be 5 star. Then we try and sing our songs like 5 star songs. The kids love it. They love to see how many stars they can get each week. I made a separate poster for jr. and sr. so that they each had to work on it. I have had parents ask me about our five star songs because their kids are talking about them at home.

 

 

 

68. Bean bag Reviewkids get in a circle and having them toss a
    bean bag to each other.  When the child is thrown the beanbag then they have
    to say the next word in the song. So each toss is the next word in the song.
    Or you could also toss the bag while singing the song and when the music
    stops who ever has the bag has to say the next word. 

 

 

 

69. Song hospital Items needed:
    --"Patients"--CSMP songs typed out (can scan the top part from song book where the picture is with the song title), put into sheet protectors, and hung by ribbons
    --signs that say: "The Doctor is In/Out", "Song Hospital", Waiting Room", "Admitting/Check-in", "Therapy", "Check-out", "words", "melody", "spirit", "volume", "watching/following"
    --gift box with ribbons tied around it that match ribbons on CSMP songs and a surprise inside for the kids
    --scissors
    --doctor/nurse gear (hats, stethoscope, etc.)

    The room will be set up as a "Song Hospital." On the bulletin board (the waiting room) will be the names of all the CSMP songs, hung up by ribbons (which they can put around their necks).  I will set up 5 chairs, where the "specialists" (word doctor, melody doctor, etc.) will sit with cards numbered 0-5.  One of the children will come and pick a song to be checked-in to the hospital while 5 children will be picked as doctors/nurses. Each doctor/nurse will have a special area they focus on (words, melody, spirit, volume, and watching/following). We will sing the song, and the "specialists" will evaluate our song's condition, on a scale of 0-5. If our song receives a 4/5 average from all the doctors, then it goes straight to check-out, where a gift will be sitting with lots of ribbons wrapped around it. The child then finds the matching ribbon that is on the song and cuts it off the box. If the song doesn't receive a 4/5 average, then it is admitted to song therapy, where we will work on whatever specialty felt help was needed. If our "words doctor" felt that the words needed help, we will do a bean bag activity (pass around a bean bag--kids say one word of the song and pass it on--so the song is sung by all kids, one word at a time. If they mess up the word, we sing that line of the song as a group and start the song over with that child) or "hot potato" (pass the bean bag around until you stop playing, then whoever is holding the bean bag guesses what words come next). If the melody needed help, we will play with the string in the can, with a string that tells us to sing or hum the song. If the spirit needs some help, we will share our testimonies about the song. If volume needs help, I will hold up soft/loud signs that they need to follow. If watching/following me needs help, I will practice leading them in "fun" ways, and maybe use the boy/girl or stop/go signs. I think I will have a specialist come up for sign language on our two sign language songs as well, which will probably need some reviewing. After some song therapy, we will have the doctors check the song out again, in hopes it can be "checked out." If it can't, we will admit it to the hospital--which means the song will wait until a following Sunday, when we will work quite a while with the song. Eventually, all songs should make it to the check out point, where matching ribbons will be cut off the box. There will be one "big, fancy" ribbon on the box though, that does not match any of the CSMP song ribbons--this is the program ribbon. In order to cut through the biggest ribbon, they will have to sing at the 4/5 level the whole program, the day of the CSMP. (They will be able to track their progress as we do the program, since I will show them by my hand what level they are singing at--last year I wore a black glove with the numbers on it to show them...maybe I will wear it again). Inside the box will be their "surprise" I have promised them. I may also throw in some stuff like "medicine" for our singers (lemonade in a squirt bottle that I squirt into their mouths) or a "contagious singing pox" (red sticker dots) if we need some variety during the weeks.

 

 

 

70.Walkie-Talkie I had 8 cards - each card listing one program song and a location somewhere in theI brought my two-way radios and gave one to another adult, and let the kids give her a code name (midwest mama), then let the adult give us a code name (Billy Bob Joe).  I let a child draw a card, then using CB lingo, I would tell the adult over the radio where to go (library, gym, etc.).  We would sing the song on the card, and then radio to Midwest Mama to see if she could hear us from where she was.  (Emphasizing to the kids the difference between singing and yelling.)  The children absolutely love doing this, and gladly sing their hearts out.

 

 

 

71.The Choice is Right

            Play a spin-off of the TV show “The Price is Right” to teach and review theYou could really use your creativity for this idea and make it fun.  Make a sign the says “BING” for the right answer and one that says “BUZZ” for the wrong answer.  Here are a few  examples of “games”  :

1)      Race game-Place pictures or word strips from the song in the wrong order.  Choose a child (be dramatic) to “come on down” and compete against the clock to put them in the right order. After they’ve put them in the right order, they come back and put on a gold CTR crown (burger king) to see if they have it right.  If not, take the crown off, and try again.

2)      Match game-Cut those word strips in half and put them all over the board.  Have a child or children race to match up the phrases as you sing them

 3) PLINKO–if you’ve made a plinko board, at the bottom you could put different ways to sing the song, i.e., staccato, whisper, boys sing, girls sing, etc. 

4)  Punch board–some of you have made punch boards for use in your primaries.  In the slots, you could have ways to sing the song, or different rhythm actions (stomp, clap, pat, snap).  As them pull them out, put them in order and then have them repeat that action pattern as they sing the song.

 

 

 

72.Flower windmills at Michaels (it's about 2 feet tall and I
just stuck it in a flower pot with Styrofoam), the kind that look like a flower then on each petal she wrote a way toThe kids spin the flower and when it stops they sing the way the petal pointing to the stem says.  and it worked great. I always have western as a choice for how to sing and the kids love it.  I just make sure that we sing western style with fun upbeat songs.

 

 

 

73.Boulders & Blessings I drew it on a large piece of posterThe bottom row has 7 spaces.  The game starts, here, on the bottom left side.  So, you have the 7 spaces, left to right, on the bottom.  On the last, left space, draw 1 space above it and then another 1 space on top of that 1.  From that 1, draw 6 more spaces (7 in all) right to left.  Draw another 1 above that and (you guessed it) another 1 above that 1.  Draw six more, 7 in all, left to right.  Draw another 2 above your last one on the right.  Draw 3 more over, 4 in all, left to right.  2 more above that 4th space.  That last space is the FINAL one.   Her WC stands for Wrong Choice.  I changed the CTR to Blessings and the WC to a Boulder.  I cut out gray construction paper for the boulders.  I also placed a picture of the Savior at the finished area.

I also made 21 card, 3 different colors.  Yellow cards are one space, red cards two spaces, blue cards 3 spaces.  If they can't answer the question, we will sing the song and ask it again! http://primaryetc.com/BlessingsBoulders.html (picture of it)

 

 

 

74.Crack the Code code concept, a)put the letters in reverse order.

 

 

 

75.Reverence Jr primary when it gets out of hand I have a favorite poem I do that really seems to quiet things down.

Touch your nose,touch your chin,
that’s the way this game begins.
Touch your eyes, touch your knees,
Now pretend your going to sneeze. (Achoo)
Touch your hair, touch one ear,
Touch your two red lips right here. (like your saying Shh)
Touch your elbows where they bend,(if you do this at the same time
they should be folding their arms)
That’s the way this touch game ends.

 

 

 

76.I also to Tommy Thumbs
Tommy Thumbs up and Tommy Thumbs down, Tommy Thumbs dancing all
around the town. Dancing on your sholders, dancing on your head,
dancing on your nose now tuck them into bed.(fold arms)I’m sure you
can figure out the actions. We also do, pointy finger and pinky
finger.
Open them Shut them is a good one to.

77.Open shut them, open shut them
give a little clap, clap, clap

open shut them, open shut them,
put them in your lap. Open shut them, open shut them
give a little clap, clap, clap

open shut them, open shut them,
put them in your lap.

78.For senior primary I just start singing the song We Are Reverent CSB
pageThen I ask them to try to be as quiet as a shadow or
something like that.  If I point out that they are out of control and
that they are acting in appropriate in Heavenly Father’s House they
will quiet down.

 

 

 

79.Musical Chairs but a more reverentI had taken words from the song (I think I had 24 words–it ended up being more words than kids, but that was fine, since I just wanted to be sure there was at least one word per kid.)  I took the words and made one set to lay on the floor in a circle, the other set in a brown paper bag.  The kids got on the circle of words on the floor, facing clockwise, and when the piano played, they sang and walked.  When the music stopped, they walked quietly to the closest word (reminding them that it was okay–there was a word for everyone).  Then I pulled a word out of the bag–whoever was on that word picked their word up from the ground and came to me to get a sticker (the sticker said “Behind this sticker is a very special kid”–this worked because we have been talking about how special they are since they all chose to follow Heavenly Father’s plan, and I reminded them of that as I placed the 1st sticker on the 1st kid).  Then the child who was now sitting would still help sing, and as they sang, they
listened for their word in the song, then would stand up whenever they heard it.  This worked even for the non-readers because the teacher walked with her class in the circle to help them learn their word, and then once they had their word called, they remembered what that word was because it was their “winning” word.  They all walked out of primary feeling like winners and they sang the song through for the whole entire 20 minutes we had today (we must have sung all three verses at least 5 times each today).