Primary Singing Time...Stop and Go

So I just checked my email, and learned that ideas are needed. I seriously think we need a Primary Chorister Boot Camp! Give us the ideas that have worked and good tips for keeping the "troops" entertained! I haven't put one of those Primary posts in for a while, so I'm going to do what we did today! Seriously, I haven't had such a good response for WEEKS!

And for a special bonus...I've put the posts with Primary hints on my sidebar...hope that helps with getting the ideas too! :)

I've actually done this before, but it worked SO well today! Today we were working on Search, Ponder, and Pray. We sang through the first verse and chorus one time to review, and then I pulled out my "game." I've bought a book that has WONDERFUL hints and games for teaching songs and it had a stop and go sign. I took those signs, and taped them to a paint stirring stick (cheap...like $1 at Walmart) and they can flip the sign from one to the other to sing the song. Now here's the fun part of this game. We only sang ONE song today...but we sang it 10 or 12 times....and the kids were sad we had to stop. I make sure I watch them for who is singing and pick those who have been singing. They LOVE that I watch for them, and that they get rewarded for their efforts...and the sound is MARVELOUS!! (The Stop and Go sign is also REALLY fun for nursery!! Those kids just love catching their teachers singing when they're supposed to be quiet! And it makes the time last a lot longer...you can pause for a while and see how quiet they get! SO fun!)

Another tip that I do is I always have my schedules made up for the entire month! It's so much easier for me to know what's going on. I just love having it all put together at the beginning and not worrying about "what am I going to do today!?" It makes it SO easy for finding subs too! If you want a copy of my schedules, email me and I'll send them to you.

I LOVE wiggle songs. I always have one on hand for each Sunday...the kids LOVE Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes. We start out at a regular speed, then we get going faster, and faster, until we race the piano! (Did it today, and the kids LOVED it!) My "super speedy trick" is when you do the: "eyes, ears, mouth and nose" part...you point to your eyes and make small circles going toward the outside of your face...circling back to your nose...then you have...eyes...ears...mouth...and nose! So fun!

Anyway, my plan for the next few months is REVIEW for the sacrament meeting program! I've got a laminated tree on a poster board and every season I trade out the leaves...with fall we do yellow and orange leaves. I put the songs on the back...laminate the leaves for more permanence, and then we have the kids pull the songs off. I'm thinking about having a Singing Time Olympics though....(stealing from my friend!) and have competitions between Junior and Senior Primaries! Ought to be LOADS of fun! And keep them motivated with singing! YAY!