Synonyms

Another Senior only game--they need to have a good grasp on language in order to make this one work! I usually pair this one with Missing Halves for Junior. 

Supplies needed:

• list of 8-10 songs you want to sing
• synonym "titles" for each of the songs on your list, written/printed on small slips of paper. Here are some I've used in the past:
• When I Am Immersed (I Enjoy Searching For Color Spectrums) = When I Am Baptized (I like to look for rainbows) p. 103
• Cherish Your Fellow Men = Love One Another (p. 136)
• A Little One's Supplication = A Child's Prayer (p. 12)
• I Am a Member of the Congregation of Jehovah = I Belong to the Church of Jesus Christ (p. 77)
• I Am the Offspring of Deity = I Am a Child of God (p. 2)
• The Sage Constructed His Dwelling Upon The Stone = The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock (p. 281)
• Obey the Seer = Follow the Prophet (p. 110)
• The Troops of Alma's Son = Army of Helaman (p. 172)
• The Tome of Nephite Tales = Book of Mormon Stories (p. 118)
• Word of God Strength = Scripture Power (sheet music)
• He Commissioned His Son = He Sent His Son (p. 34)
• Hope For Things Which Are Not Seen, But Which Are True = Faith (p. 96)
• If You Are Exhilarated and Aware of It = If You're Happy And You Know It (p. 266)
• small bag/container to put the slips in

Set up:

1. Put your slips in your bag/container. That's it!

Game play:

1. Explain to the children how to play. 
• This is usually best done through an example, so use one of the examples above that you DON'T have in your plans that day.
2. Have a child draw a slip and read it to the Primary.
• Usually after they read it once, I read it again for clarity. 
• If necessary, use some definitions as hints ("What is a seer? Oh, like a PROPHET?") 
3. Once they've guessed correctly, sing the song, then play again!

Mad Gab

I love the game Mad Gab and had seen some versions others had made for their singing times. I borrowed a few titles from them and then had a great time with my husband coming up with some of our own!

This is definitely a Senior only game! 

Supplies needed:

• list of 8-10 songs you want to sing
• small slips of paper with the Mad Gab titles for each song written/printed on them. Here are ones we've used over the years:
• Poppy Core Paw Pink = Popcorn Popping (p. 242)
• Low Of His Poke In Ear = Love is Spoken Here (p. 190)
• Gigs Add They'll It Ills Trim = "Give," Said the Little Stream (p. 236)
• Bug Have More Men Store Rice = Book of Mormon Stories (p. 118)
• Knee Vice Core Rage = Nephi's Courage (p. 120)
• Won Stare Us As Gnome An = Once There Was a Snowman (p. 249)
• Rev In Tall Leak White Alley = Reverently, Quietly (p. 26)
• Lad Heard Yea Prop Hits = Latter-day Prophets (p. 134)
• Fall Loathe Heap Raw Fit = Follow the Prophet (p. 110)
• Key Up Duck Amen Mints = Keep the Commandments (p. 146)
• Dews Aimed Owing = Do As I'm Doing (p. 276)
• I'll Hike Duel Hook Foreign Boas = I like to look for rainbows (When I Am Baptized, p. 103--they don't usually know the title of this one so I use the first line)
• small bag/container to put the slips in

Set up:

1. Put your slips in your bag/container--easy, easy!

Game play:

1. Explain to the children how to play Mad Gab. 
• This is usually best done through an example, so use one of the examples above that you DON'T have in your plans that day.
• read them the Mad Gab title and see if they can guess what it really says. Repeat it several times, accenting different parts of the sentence. 
• Usually you'll have a child or two catch on pretty quickly. If not, repeat the sentence with almost the correct pronunciation/accent until they can "hear" what you're really saying
2. Have a child draw a slip and read it to the Primary.
• Usually after they read it once, I read it again for clarity. 
• I'll also repeat it several times with different parts accented until someone "gets" it.
3. Sing the song, then do it again!

Dispersed Titles

A fun one I found while searching for ideas! This one is a Senior only game (unless you happen to have a very advanced Junior Primary where all the kids are able to read). 

Supplies needed:

• list of 7-9 songs you want to sing
• blank white notecards (and lots of them)
• markers

Set up:

1. Using your list of songs, write each word of each title on a separate notecard. For example, if you were singing "Called to Serve", you would end up with three notecards: called, to, serve. 
1. I like to use all different colors to mix things up, but you could color coordinate titles if you wanted to give the kids a bit of a hint.
2. Another fun hint--try to pick at least one song that has a single word title, like "Faith" or "Baptism". Makes it more of a challenge. 

Game play:

1. At the beginning of singing time, disperse your notecards through the Primary. 
1. Try to make sure each child has at least one card, if possible. 
2. Tell the Primary that each of them have a single word from a title of a Primary song they know. Have them raise their hands if they think they know what song their notecard belongs to.
3. Pick a child and have them announce their guess. If they are correct, that child and all the others who have notecards that match that title come to the front and put themselves in the correct order. For example: if the child with "temple" guesses "I Love to See the Temple" correctly, the children with "I", "love", "to", "see", and "the" should join him up front. 
1. You're likely to get multiple "the"s, "to"s, "and"s, etc. Just pick the first one and send the others down until the next title. 
4. Sing the song, then collect all the cards and start again.

Numbers Game

This was a fun way to help the kids understand the numbers involved in the Church (specifically the leap from ward to stake to members). And a great way to bring up missionary work since the numbers continue to increase every year!

This one is for Senior only since Junior Primary doesn't really have a good number sense yet. I usually pair this one with Build a Snowman for Junior. 

(Yes, we really did have 146 Primary kids that year. I am not kidding about our large Primary). 

Supplies needed:

• 8 pieces of paper with the following labels:
• Primary Kids in Our Ward
• Members of Our Ward
• Wards in the Church
• Stakes in the Church
• Members of the Church
• Missionaries Serving
• Operating Temples
• Presidents of the Church
• 8 pieces of paper with the numbers that correspond to the categories above
• Good contacts for ward numbers: Primary President, ward membership clerk, Bishop
• Search lds.org for the most up-to-date numbers for the other categories. They're always announced in the April session of General Conference (although they're a year old by that point).
• list of songs you want to sing (one song per category)
• I like to try to match my songs with the categories: missionary songs for missionaries, I Love To See the Temple for temples, etc. 
• tape/pins to hang the papers

Set up:

1. On your board, pin or tape up each category label, making sure to leave enough room for the children to place the numbers next to/underneath it.
2. Have the numbers either face up (easier) or face down (more of a challenge) on a table.

Game play:

1. Explain that the object of the game is to correctly match the numbers with the categories on your board. Also a good time to explain the relationship between wards and stakes.
2. Have a child pick a number and choose which category it belongs to. 
1. You have some discretion here: you can either guide the child to make the correct choice, or you can let them put the number wherever they want, with the understanding that the next child(ren) have the option to move numbers around if they feel it's justified.
1. If you do decide to let them choose for themselves, make sure the songs on your list are linked to the NUMBER, not the CATEGORY. Otherwise it gets confusing about which song you should sing. You'll always sing the song attached to the number the child picked up at the beginning. (This can be a good hint--if they place their number under "Missionaries Serving" and the song is "I Love to See the Temple", most of the Primary will catch on pretty quickly and will make the correct change the next turn). 
3. Make sure to end with your testimony of missionary work and how even Primary children can help make these numbers grow bigger every year.