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.

Singing Cookies

I wore an apron and had my largest mixing bowl, a wooden spoon and a variety of ingredients. When they sang well, I put in a little sugar or flour (or any of several normal ingredients for cookies). If they didn't do quite so well, I put in ingredients from the "other" side of the table. Mustard, Hot Sauce, egg shells, sand, grass and dirt. Junior Primary was a bit distracted by the idea of dirt in their cookies, but Senior Primary sang their little hearts out. At the end of singing time, I gave the bowl to the secretary and asked her to go "bake" them in the kitchen. We gave each of the children a cookie (that I had made previously) at the end of primary. I even took a taste of the senior's cookie dough and grossed them out a bit. We practiced singing Scripture Power for both Junior and Senior. The Senior Primary did the Apostle's and First Presidency sung to tune of Ten Little Indians. We talked about how important it is to KNOW that these men are called of God so when they talk to us in Conference we will have faith to follow their teachings. I put their pictures up and gradually took down the names. The children did better than I did! We sang more fun songs with the Junior's. Still trying to get those little Sunbeams feeling comfy, so I sang a lot of the songs we had done in Nursery. The time flew!

Singing Bee

I have a big plastic microphone. I have two children come up. I pick the song - or you could have a helper do it. We as a primary start singing. When I cut the primary off - one of the children standing up front need to sing the next line or finish the line of the song. If they can't the other child gets a chance. It is a ton of fun. I also take commercial breaks....we sing fun action songs, name that tune etc....

Seashell Pick

This is fun one to do in the summertime. Fill a beach bucket with some sand and then place shells in the bucket. Write or tape a song to each shell. Let the children take turns digging for a shell.

Snowball Fight

I will have the children each write their favorite song title on a piece of paper.. and then have them crumple them up and throw them at me. Then I'll have a child choose one "snowball" and we'll sing that song. It's just a way to let them "let loose" a little and have some fun....

Primary Hospital

One thing I did last year that was really fun was primary hospital. When music time came I put up a big sing that said, "The doctor is in" dressed in my scrubs (I'm not really in the medical profession, but they are very comfortable to lounge around in) I had all the song for the program printed out on notes that I put on the back of the wall in the primary room. They were the patients that were coming in for a checkup. I had 3 nurses hats that I made up for my assistants. One "nurse" would bring a patient in (they went to the back and picked one of the notes). One would "assist" me in doing the check up (they helped lead the song) and one would observe the patient and pronounce whether it was healthy or sick.. If it was sick, then I would give the note an ambulance driver who would rush it to the "primary hospital". The children all made the sound of a siren as the "patient" was taken and taped to the back of the piano at the front of the room. Once it was in the hospital, we would sing the song again so that a "specialist" could diagnose what was wrong and what we needed to do to release the patient. I had another set of scrubs that I put on one of the children to be the specialist. That child would consult with his "team" (the rest of the primary) and ask what they thought was wrong, such as they don't know the words well enough, etc.. Some songs were put on the critical list because they needed a lot of work, some were in fair condition because they just needed a little polish etc.. The next few weeks, our goal was to get every song out of the hospital and the kids worked really hard to accomplish the goal. Both Senior Primary and Junior Primary loved this activity. It got everyone involved. I changed hospital positions with every song, so every child had an opportunity to do something fun. (Even the older boys wanted to wear the nurses hats) It was so successful in reviewing the songs that in September, I will bring out the primary hospital again. ADDITIONAL IDEAS:We used this for our singing on Sunday. I had both junior and senior together while the teachers had teacher development. I borrowed scrubs from a nurse in the ward and used a thermometer to check their singing. It was the first time I'd used the thermometer so it definitely got their attention. They sang their little hearts out. After the songs were "discharged" from the hospital, we sent each song on vacation to spots around the world. Only one song didn't make it out of the hospital. We decided that it would have to stay in the emergency room until we had time for the doctor to work on it a little more completely. I was only the triage nurse after all. (Melanie Zimmerman)The way I did it was to take poster board and draw a hospital and color it in. You can Google 'hospital clip art' and use an image as a pattern, but it can be as simple as a building with windows and the red cross symbol. Then I put the words "Emergency Room", "Immediate Release", and "Day Clinic" on to strips of poster board (or card stock, or paper...whatever you have around the house.) I also put each of the program songs on strips. I put all of these things on the magnetic chalk board (Hospital on top, 3 different areas underneath, program songs along the side.) Then I explained what triage was (when doctors/nurses determine where a patient should go.) I told the children that we were going to triage the songs. For each song we would determine if it were ready for immediate release (sung perfectly), needed to visit the day clinic (no emergency, no need to check in, but needs a little help (song needs a little more practice)), or emergency room (patient (song) needs lots of help immediately.) After song has been sung, discuss where it needs to be and place it under that area. Extra time=singing the songs that need the most help again. I use the name sticks (colored popsicle sticks with all Primary children's names on them) to choose who can come select the next song. However, if that person did not sing, or was not reverent I simply say "This person did not sing/was not reverent so I will put their name back in the jar to try again...and choose another name. (Idea by Jen)Last Sunday I opened the Song Hospital in our building! I posted signs on the outside of the Primary Room that said "Welcome to Primary Children's Song Hospital". I created a "medical chart" for each of our songs for the program. I listed each song's "symptoms" inside a manila folder, as well as five characteristics that each song had to meet in order to be discharged. (volume, melody, words, spirit, watching)So I have 3 blackboards - On one I wrote "waiting room" the middle one was "Admitting" and the other was "Discharge". When the children arrived, I had the manila folders taped to the first board, or "waiting to be treated". I asked a member of the Bishopric to be our "Song Doctor." I used my choosing sticks and asked a child to be my patient. The patient selected a medical folder from the board and that became their "file". We sang the song listed in the folder, and then asked our "doctor" if he would rate us a 4-5 or better (on a scale of 1-5) in each category (volume, melody, words, spirit, watching). If the song got 4 or 5 points in every category, it was discharged. If it failed in any area, it was "admitted" and we worked on it more later.About half way through our practice, I threw in the "miracle sing" ploy - I had filled spray bottles with Crystal Light lemonade, and when the children were a little "low", I told the "doctor" that we needed to "help them sing better", so we gave each of them a "dose" of Miracle Sing (sprayed into their mouths) - It helped keep their attention long enough to get through the rest of our songs. Some of the boys complained that they needed more and more and more Miracle sing, and I told them as long as they'd sing, they could have all they wanted.... What's the harm? (Ideas by Jennifer Dancy / ga10102006)
Wear scrubs and surgical mask, gather assorted medical stuff to use, bandaids, stethoscope, etc...Great to do weeks before the program. Give each song an exam. Have a team of volunteers (Dr. Singalong, Nurse Goodvoice, etc....) have clipboards and decide if the song is well enough to be released from the hospital or if it needs an ambulance. Have an ambulance driver volunteer (ball cap with a red cross on it) drive the song around the room, if it needs work and it gets reviewed again and sung next week. The children loved this, and it really gave me a chance to assess what we needed to work on.

Name That Tune

Use laundry basket and five mated pairs of socks. Have them toss them into the basket. Each pair of socks that makes it into the basket was worth one note played on the piano. They had to guess the tune with only the notes they "earned".

In a nutshell....

Carefully crack walnuts open. Put a paper with a song title inside and glue the shell back together. The children can crack the shell open and discover the song you want to review.

Dusty songs on a washday

Write the names of songs being reviewed on a different piece of wallpaper (or scrapbook paper or fabric) cut in the shape of little dresses, shirts, shorts, socks, etc. Place these items in a laundry basket. Tie a small rope clothesline at the front of Primary and be sure to include some clothespins for hanging the items on the line. Explain that we've waited so long to practice some of our songs they have become dusty and dingy. We've got a whole batch of songs that we will need to wash up and hang out to dry. Have children take turns selecting an item out of the basket on the clothesline to determine which songs will be practiced.

Hot Potato

Write the names of the songs you want to review on separate pieces of paper. Then take a potato and wrap it in one layer of foil. Then take the first song and place the piece of paper on the inside the next layer of foil. The number of foil layers should equal the number of papers/songs you want to review. You could add a few blank layers to throw them off. Then during singing time, play hot potato. Have the children pass the potato while you sing the first song (your choice). When the music stops, the child who was left holding the potato unwraps the first layer of foil. When they find the paper, they announce which song will be next. Then sing that song while passed the potato. You could sing one verse or all depending on time.

Green Light, Red Light Review

To review a Primary song: Take red and green yarn and cut into varying pieces (make sure to make the red ones shorter). After cutting tie ends together in a continuous strand alternating colors. Roll into a ball and place in a small container (i.e. frosting can, peanuts can, baby formula can, etc.) with a hole in the top of the lid. As the children sing slowly pull out the yarn. They sing on green; stop on red; as the piano keeps playing.

Get the bugs out....

VERSION #1: I went to a "Party store/dollar store" and bought real looking plastic bugs.... I think they cost me 8 for a $1. The children got a real kick out of it... I put them in a paper bag and had attached a small piece of tape to the bottom of each bug. I had a number written on each so I could control which songs we sang. They pulled one bug out or "caught one" and then had to hold it while we sang the song. We then decided if the bugs had been caught so we could put it in the BUG JAR (a big miracle whip plastic jug) that I had decorated with bug stickers. If not, the bug went back into the bag. Great for reviewing the CSMP songs! The bugs symbolize the problems with the songs.
VERSION #2: This is a cute technique to polish program songs. I made a tree on a poster board and then I cut out apples that had the titles of the program songs on them and three Gummi worms on the inside - if they sang the song and got the words right they got one worm out and if they sang it strong they got another worm out and if they sang it while sitting up or standing up straight and tall and facing me they got the third worm out - We tried to fill our bug jar with the worms. When the jar was full the children got a worm.

Empty Chair Game

Try some things where EVERYONE has to pay attention. Without their even knowing they will participate. One really good way is to have an empty chair at the end of every row. Then when you sing a song you look for a word that is repeated a few times and everyone in the room bumps over one chair when you sing it, then when you sing it again you bump back the other way. If you aren't listening and participating you will end up with someone in your lap! It is fun. The funny hat idea works well there too. You get any kind of hat and write words from the song on cards that stick to the front of the hat, then when you get to that word you skip it in the song. The child wearing the hat is the only one in the room who doesn't know what the word is, and after you sing they have to tell you what word you skipped. If he doesn't know, you just sing it again!Every year we get a new batch of boys who are the oldest in primary, and every year they are too old, or "cool" for Primary. We just love them and endure them, and make them do the baby stuff anyway!

Erase two words....sort of!

I was reviewing I Believe in Christ with our Senior Primary on Sunday and had written the words out on the board and we started the standard "erase 2 words at a time" review. They were doing fine, but then I had an inspiration on how we could do it differently. Instead of singing all the words, and trying to remember the ones we had erased, I had them sing ONLY the words that had been erased. It was tricky, but they did AWESOME. It went something like "___ ____ _ Christ, ___ __ my King! ___ all ___ heart" etc. It was the best when there were only a few scattered words here and there. When I erased the last few words and the whole board was empty they went back to their half-hearted singing. My Primary President even commented to me afterwards how well they did. We will definitely be reviewing this way again!

Cleaning Up Our Songs

Last year, I did a really fun singing time to review the songs we had learned up to that point for our program. I came into the room with a great big feather duster, a handkerchief tied in my hair, wearing an apron and rubber gloves. I was carrying a basket of cleaning supplies. I told the children that today we would clean up our songs. I had a mirror and I took a tube of toothpaste and wiped the toothpaste on the mirror. I asked some of the children to look at it and tell me what they could see. It was difficult to see, obviously. I told them that that was what it was like when people couldn't understand what they were singing. So we practiced the songs we had learned. The title of each song was attached to some bottle of cleaner in my basket. The children took turns picking them out of the basket. Each time we improved a line, I would wipe off some more of the toothpaste on the mirror, showing them how singing more clearly improves our ability to understand what they said. The children really had fun with it, and I think the leaders did too.
One suggestion - Don't use too much toothpaste. It can be a little difficult to remove.