My Gospel ABCs

This is really cool! Click on the picture to take you to a blog with pages to print to make a Gospel ABC book. Not all of the pages on on yet because they aren't finished, but new ones will be posted on the 1st and 15th of each month.

The "Guess What" Box

Take a box and fill it with something (see above). Tie the box with many different kinds of ribbon. On each ribbon you put the title of a song. As the children master that song, that individual ribbon is cut. Once all of the songs are done well, they are able to see what's inside. What to put in the box: If you have a theme, you can place an object inside the box that will tie everything together, or you can put a treat or small toy for each child. This can be done over and over again as you place different objects or treats inside the box.

The Endless Scarf

I like to use a ribbon box to review. I have a box about the size of a tissue box that has a slit cut in the lid, like the slot in a piggy bank. Inside is one very long ribbon. It is made of 2"wide pink, blue, and white ribbon cut into various lengths and stitched together. I start by slowly pulling the ribbon out of the box. When pink shows the girls sing, when blue shows the boys sing, when white shows everyone sings. Hope this makes sense. Imagine a magician pulling his never-ending string of scarves out of his black magic hat. Oh there's an idea. If you were planning on using the magic water already, you could add the magic box of ribbon, and maybe some other things? Like letting a child lead with a magic wand, or as someone else suggested letting the magic wand choose who sings the next line of the song. You know that game where you turn three cups upside down on the table and put a ball under one, then move the cups all around until your volunteer has lost track of where it is and then they have to guess the location of the ball? There is a object lesson about the Holy Ghost it uses three boxes and a mouse trap. You bring a child up front. Set the mouse trap and place it in one of the boxes and put a piece of candy or a toy in the other two boxes. Blind fold the child and tell them you are now going to switch the boxes around. Tell the blind folded child to go ahead and try and find the candy/toy. Most children won't try because they are afraid of getting the mouse trap instead. Tell the child to ask a friend or their teacher to come up and help. That person directs the child's hand to the candy/toy. You then compare the voice of the friend or teacher to the Holy Ghost. Maybe you could use this to introduce the "The Holy Ghost" song.

Teachers Judge

Take five pieces of posterboard or card stock and number them one through five. Make about three sets of these. Get three teachers or leaders and give them each a set of numbered cards. Tell the children that they are going to be rated on how well they sing each of the songs with five being a top score. Tell them that the judges will take points off if they see anyone talking, not singing or wiggling. Then have the children sing the song and when they are finished, the judges rate the song on how well they think the children sang. It is a lot of fun and the children will try extra hard because they want to see the "five's" held up by the judges.

Straw Blowin'

Print the question or names of songs in small print and cut into strips, one question per strip. Roll each strip tightly and stuff it into a drinking straw. Put lines with masking tape on the floor at various distances. Label the sections with different challenges (like singing on one foot, eyes closed, singing acapella or staccato, etc.). Do the challenge depending upon where it lands.

SINGO!

Choose 24 songs that the children are familiar with and draw a bingo card on the chalk board something like this:

S I N G O
1 5 8 24 2
3 18 23 16 4
9 13 Free 6 10
20 7 11 22 12
19 21 15 14 17

Assign a song for each number (don't put this on the board, it's just a master list that you and the pianist need). Make 24 slips of paper numbered 1-24 and put them in a basket/bag/hat etc. Have a child come up and pull out a number. They erase that number from the board and then sing the corresponding song. The object is for them to make a SINGO (BINGO).

Singing Hat

I just received the position of the music leader in our ward. But the idea I'm giving you isn't mine, it's from the one who had the position before me. She would bring a hat to Primary. (different ones for different holidays/occasions) etc. She would watch for which class sang the best and their teacher would have to wear the hat during the next song. She would continue doing this during all of singing time. The children loved this because they would laugh when they saw their teacher in the hat. It made them want to sing their very best.