I printed off all sorts of words from the song that we were learning . For instance, if we were singing “I Feel My Savoir’s Love” I’d print off a lot of those words, and cut them out separately.

Then I chose a child to come up to the front. I stuck the word on his/her forehead without him/her seeing what the word was. I instructed all the other children to sing the song, but to hum, when that certain word came up.

So if I stuck the word “LOVE” on their forehead, the children would sing, “I feel my Savior’s (HUM).”  And the child would then have to guess the word on their forehead. The kids thought it was so much fun. When they guessed the word, I would then replace it with a star on their forehead.

This is like the game you’ve seen on the Price is Right.  I got a big piece of cardboard and cut out several holes the size of paper cups.  I glued the paper cups into the holes of the cardboard.

In each cup, I put a piece of paper on “how” to sing the song.

Then I put tissue paper over the cup, held by a rubber band.

I called a child to come up and choose a cup. They had to punch through the tissue paper and pull out the slip of paper that would tell the class how to sing the song. Here are some ideas on “how to sing”

Hum – Whistle – Clap to the beat – Eyes closed – Standing on one foot – Whisper- Boys – Girls – standing backwards – on “aah” – fast – slow

I made a silly hat out of an ice cream bucket. I decorated it with ribbons, pompoms, sequins, etc.  I told the kids that I’d watch and see which class had everyone singing and that class’s teacher would have to wear the silly hat.  They thought it was so funny and they sang the song over and over about 10 times so they could get to see their teacher wear the funny hat.

Put three cups on a table. Put a small item under one of the cups. It could be a piece of candy, a sticker, a CTR ring, etc. Make sure all the children see which cup you put the item under. Tell the children to watch the cups as they sing. As they sing, switch the cups around (without picking them up). Tell the children if they sing nice and strong that you will choose someone to come up (who is singing especially well) and choose the cup they think the item is under. You could give them the small item. Or you could use an item such as a CTR ring that they don’t get but that you just use over and over.

I brought a spray bottle with some flavored water inside. After learning the lines to the song, I told them that sometimes when they sing so much, their throat gets a little dry. I brought my magic water along with me to help them out.  With just a few sprays, it would help their throats and help them to sing better.  The kids loved it.  I would look and see who was singing well and give them a couple of sprays.  It was absolutely amazing how “well” it worked!

I brought a large vase with me, and had drawn on it sever lines.  I also brought some colored water.  If the children sand the song well, I’d pour some of the colored water in the vase, up to one of the lines. The goal was to be able to fill it all the way to the top. They were very interested in this.

Easy and fun.

I brought a lot of hair things to Primary – clips, bows, headbands, etc.  Every time the children sang the song, I would call on one of them to come up and put something in my hair. They got pretty creative  and thought it was pretty fun. They were willing to sing the song several times so that they could do funny things to my hair.

I had a large box, with a lock on it, and several keys.  Each time we’d sing the song, a child would be able to come up and pick a key. They would then try to open the lock. I had about 8 keys up front with me. After none of the keys worked, I told them to look under their chairs. Someone had a key under their chair and they got to bring it up and unlock the box.  Inside we had some treats, but you could put anything inside. Prizes, or an object lesson, etc.

I tied an old tissue box to a large ribbon that could then be tied around a child’s waist. Inside the box, I put several jingle bells with songs attached to them.  When the child was called up, I’d tie the box around their waist with the box in the back. They would have to jump up and down until a large jingle bell fell out of the tissue box. It was fun.

For one of the songs we learned, I brought a white shirt, a tie, a belt, and some shoes.  Each child who came up, had to dress like a missionary and walk to the back of the room and knock on the door, by the time the other children were done singing the song.

Senior Primary: Divide the children into groups of 2 or 3. Hand each group a baggie containing all the words to a song. The words will be cut into strips by sentence or phrase. Then play that song on a CD player repeatedly as they sort them out in order! (Purchase a CD or CD download on www.jennyphillips.com that contains recordings of all the current year’s primary theme songs.)

Junior Primary: Divide the children into groups of 2 or 3. Hand each group a baggie containing pictures of items. The words will be cut into strips by sentence or phrase. Then play that song on a CD player repeatedly as they sort them out in order! (Purchase a CD or CD download on www.jennyphillips.com that contains recordings of all the current year’s primary theme songs.)

Consider having the children take turns leading the music. Teach them a few things about how to lead a choir without saying any words. Show them how to tell the choir to sit down or stand up. Ask the kids what they would do if they wanted their choir to do such things as be: louder, softer, faster, slower, etc. (If the songs are somewhat light-hearted perhaps the kids could choose their own baton from a few options you provide. Possible choices: magic wand, pencil, unopened umbrella, hands only, scarf or ribbon, spatula, stick, twirling baton, etc. This part can be taken out if you feel it is irreverent.)

Preparation: Trace a few shapes using cookie cutters on different colors of paper. (Only use each shape once.) Then cut them out. Write the name of a song you’d like to have them sing on the back of each and tape them to a cookie sheet.
Implementation: Pass a cookie cutter down the rows while the pianist plays some music. When the music stops, whoever is holding the cookie cutter will go up to the (propped up) cookie sheet and find the shape that matches the one they are holding. Have them look at the back of the “cookie” to find the song.
Optional: While everyone sings it, have your little baker watch and listen carefully to see if the children are doing their best. If they are, the child can “decorate” the cookies using stickers you provide. If the group does an okay job, the cookie gets one sticker. If they do a good job the cookie gets two stickers and if they do a GREAT job, the cookie gets three. Start at a new place with the next shape. When you are wrapping up singing time point out how great all the cookies look because of all their hard work.

Preparation:
To make a traffic light: Take a sheet of black foam board or heavy black paper and cut three big holes in a vertical row. To make the holes uniform consider using a bowl to trace. Cut a square of red, yellow and green cellophane or thin paper and glue them on the back of each hole, making sure each hole is completely filled with color. Red on top, then yellow, then green.
A child will stand just behind the visual aid with a flashlight. Have someone else hold the traffic light. A song will play and the child will alternately shine the light from behind, giving the impression that it is actually glowing. When green lights up everyone starts singing. When red glows, everyone stops. Yellow means stand up or sit down- whichever is the opposite of what you are currently doing.

This idea works great when reviewing and practicing a song that has already been presented.
Sr. Primary-
Preparation:
Print up and cut out the words of the song (you can exclude pronouns). You want to words to be fairly large, so that the children can see it from across the room. Put the words into a bucket. Get a hat and put Velcro on it, or make sure that tape will stick.
During Singing time:
Have one of the children come up, put the hat on, and pick a word out of the bucket. Without looking at it, have them hand it to you, you will show the children and the pianist the word. Using Velcro or tape, stick the word onto the hat and have the child wear the hat. Sing the song until you reach the word that is on the hat. When everyone stops singing, the child must tell what word is next.
Jr. Primary-
Preparation:
Print up and cut out the words of the song (you can exclude pronouns). Put the words into a bucket.
During Singing time:
Have one child step into the hall for 5 seconds while you pull out a word from the bucket and read it to everyone in the room. When the child comes back in, sing the song until you reach that word. The child who stepped into the hall must tell what word is next.