Fishing

I think every chorister has this in their arsenal, but if not--you should! I like to pull it out during the summer months when a lot of the kids are on vacation so our numbers are smaller. But it's also an easy one to grab if you haven't had time to plan something else.

Supplies needed:

• wooden dowel rod
• magnet
• string/yarn
• hot glue
• paper clips
• scissors
• heavy colored paper
• marker/pen
• list of songs you want to sing

Set up:

1. Glue the magnet to the end of the string, then measure out how much string you want and glue the other end to the dowel rod. Now you have a fishing rod!
2. Draw some fish (I also threw in some sharks, dolphins, squid and seaweed--since that's all I ever manage to catch) on the colored paper. Cut the fish out and attach a paperclip to each mouth.
3. On the back of each fish, write a number. This will correspond to the songs on your list.
4. Before playing, scatter the fish on the floor and have the rod and list of songs ready.

Game play:

1. Very simple--have a child come up and use the fishing pole to 'catch' one of the fish. Then sing the song # on its back. Repeat until all the fish are gone.

Mother's Day

(please excuse the foot--my son refused to move)

This game is one of the kids' very favorites--Mother's Day Who Am I? I used to try to do it for Junior and Senior, but Junior didn't understand the clues enough to know when their mom was being described, nor did they usually know the songs the moms picked. So I save this for Senior!

This takes quite a bit of research, so be prepared. Also be sensitive to the fact that some children may not have a mother in their home for whatever reason. I've used grandmas or aunts as substitutes--I try to ask the family who they think would be appropriate.

Supplies needed:

• Mother's Day Survey! You can either try to get one from every mother, or just pick a few. I really try to do every single mother to make sure every kid gets to be excited. The questions I use are listed below.
• Mom patterns (one for each mother). I just drew six different stick figure women on a piece of paper and made copies. I'll try to find one to scan. 
• lots of pins

Mother's Day Survey Questions:

1. Where did you grow up?
2. What was/is your nickname?
3. What did you want to be when you were little?
4. What is your job and/or favorite hobby now? 
5. If you served a mission, where did you serve?
6. What is your favorite Primary song?

Mom Patterns:

(coming soon--hopefully!)

Set up:

1. Usually about a month before Mother's Day, I send out an email with the survey questions listed above to all the Senior Primary moms. Then I pester them until I get the responses back.
2. Compile the results from the surveys onto a list, with each mom numbered.
3. Print out, cut out, and decorate one mom figure for each mom (I tried to make it look like the mom, but you don't have to). Number them so that each figure corresponds to one of the moms on the list (Figure #1 will be the first mom on your list, Figure #2 will be the second mom, etc.)
4. Before Primary starts, pin all the figures up on the board. (When the kids arrive, I keep tabs on who's absent and remove their mothers' figures. No fun in guessing moms of kids who aren't there!)

Game play:

1. Explain that you emailed each of their moms and asked them some questions. Now you're going to read the clues and see if they can guess which one is their mom.
2. You pick the first figure off the board and read the clues. Once the child(ren) knows it's their mom, have them raise their hands. Have them come up front and help you lead while you sing their mom's favorite song.
3. Have them pick another figure before they sit down, read the clues and repeat.

***Depending on the size of your Primary, this can take up more than one (or two) Sundays. You can either call it good after one week, or continue until all of the moms have been revealed.

***This is a great way to introduce the children to songs they may not sing very often. Just be prepared with posters if you think they'll need them.

***Save the surveys from year to year. That way you don't have to pester the moms every year!

Father's Day

This game is one of my very favorites--so much fun for Father's Day. I used to try to do it for Junior and Senior, but Junior didn't understand the clues enough to know when their dad was being described, nor did they usually know the songs the dads picked. So I save this for Senior!

This takes quite a bit of research, so be prepared. Also be sensitive to the fact that some children may not have a father in their home for whatever reason. I've used uncles or grandpa's as substitutes--I try to ask the mother who they think would be appropriate.

Supplies needed:

• Father's Day Survey! You can either try to get one from every father, or just pick a few. I really try to do every single father to make sure every kid gets to be excited. The questions I use are listed below.
• Tie patterns (one for each father). The ones I use are posted below.
• lots of pins

Father's Day Survey Questions:

1. Where did you grow up?
2. What was/is your nickname?
3. What did you want to be when you were little?
4. What is your job now?
5. If you served a mission, where did you serve?
6. What is your favorite Primary song?

Tie Patterns:

(I made this myself because I couldn't find a good tie picture to use.)

Set up:

1. Usually about a month before Father's Day, I send out an email with the survey questions listed above to all the Senior Primary dads. (Actually, I've usually found that I get a better response when I email their wives, but it's up to you). Believe it or not, you'll have a few men that will take the entire month to get back to you.
2. Compile the results from the surveys onto a list, with each dad numbered.
3. Print out, cut out, and decorate one tie for each dad. Number them so that each tie corresponds to one of the dads on the list (Tie #1 will be the first dad on your list, Tie #2 will be the second dad, etc.)
4. Before Primary starts, pin all the ties up on the board. (When the kids arrive, I keep tabs on who's absent and remove their fathers' ties. No fun in guessing dads of kids who aren't there!)

Game play:

1. Explain that you emailed each of their dads and asked them some questions. Now you're going to read the clues and see if they can guess which one is their dad.
2. You pick the first tie off the board and read the clues. Once the child(ren) knows it's their dad, have them raise their hands. Have them come up front and help you lead while you sing their dad's favorite song.
3. Have them pick another tie before they sit down, read the clues and repeat.

***Depending on the size of your Primary, this can take up more than one (or two) Sundays. You can either call it good after one week, or continue until all of the dads have been revealed.

***This is a great way to introduce the children to songs they may not sing very often. Just be prepared with posters if you think they'll need them.

***Save the surveys from year to year. That way you don't have to pester the dads every year!

Missing Pieces

 This is a simple game I do for Junior Primary when I have something too complicated planned for Senior (like Mad Gab or the Synonym Game). You can use whatever pictures you'd like that correspond with the songs you'd like to sing.


Supplies needed:

• 8-10 pictures that correspond to songs you'd like to sing. For example, the smiley face above could go with "Smiles" and the light bulb could go with "Teach Me to Walk in the Light." The ones I used are listed below.
• List of 8-10 songs that correspond to your pictures, with some "missing pieces" to the songs (parts where the child will fill-in-the-blank). The list I used is below.
• Push pins and/or tape

Ten Matching Pictures & Corresponding Songs:

1.      (arrow pointing right) Choose the Right (hymn 239)

a.       “______  ____   _______  when a choice is placed before you”

2.      (light bulb) As a Child of God (sheet music)

a.       “As a child of God I receive _________   _______”

3.      (person standing) Stand for the Right (159)

a.       “Our prophet has some words for you, and these are the words: ___ _____”

4.      (church building) I Belong to the Church of Jesus Christ (77)

a.       “I belong to ___  ________ __ ______   ______”

5.      (smiley face) If You’re Happy (266)

a.       “If you’re ______  ____  ____  _____ ___ clap your hands”

6.      (scriptures) Scripture Power (sheet music)

a.       “___________   ______  keeps me safe from sin”

7.      (stream) Give, Little Stream (236)

a.       “Singing, singing all the day, ____  _____  __  _____  ____”

8.      (question mark) your choice

a.       “My favorite Primary song is___________________”

Set up:

1. Cut all the pictures in half (use some crazy cutting to make it more interesting).
2. Put one half of each picture on the board and place all the other halves somewhere in the Primary room.

Game play:

1. Call a child up. Have them look around the room and find a missing piece of one of the pictures on the board. Once they find one, have them bring it up and pin it next to its match.
2. Now tell the child they get to help fill in the missing pieces of the song. Read them the first part of the clue and see if they can fill in the next part of the lyrics. Obviously they can ask for help if needed.
3. Sing the song, then repeat until all the matches have been made.

Your Turn to Lead!

I like this game gives the kids a  chance to lead the music, as well as teaching them how to follow a chorister. Don't pull this one out until your kids are familiar with tempo (allegro-andante-adagio) and dynamics (forte--mezzo-forte-piano). 

This is also one of the few games that can be used as is for Junior and Senior Primary!

Supplies needed:

• 3 pictures representing the three tempos (allegro, andante, adagio). You can see mine above.
• 3 pictures of the dynamic marks (forte, mezzo-forte, piano). I found mine using Google.
• 6 pieces of heavy paper, 3 of one color, 3 of another (make them identical sizes and big enough to glue the pictures listed above on).
• glue stick
• List of songs you want the Primary to sing (you can have one list, or separate lists for Junior and Senior)

Set up:

1. Glue the 3 tempo pictures onto 3 pieces of heavy paper (same color).
2. Glue the 3 dynamic pictures onto the other 3 pieces of heavy paper.

Game play:

1. Show the Primary each of the cards and review what they mean (allegro means fast, etc.)
2. Explain that the way you know the tempo of a song is by how fast the chorister waves his/her arm
1. Show them how you'd lead an allegro song, an andante song, and an adagio song.
3. Explain that you can figure out the dynamics of a song by how BIG the chorister makes his/her leading.
1. Show how you would lead a forte song (big waving), mezzo-forte song (regular), and piano song (very small motions).
4. Explain that now some of THEM are going to get to lead the music! Choose one child to come lead the music.
1. Take the 6 tempo/dynamic cards to the pianist. Put them face down and have the child pick one of each color (so one tempo card, one dynamic card). Don't let the Primary see!
1. Whisper in the child's ear to make sure they understand how to lead that combination (forte+adagio=big, slow movements, piano+allegro=tiny, fast movements).
2. Explain to the Primary that the child is going to lead the music, but they (the audience) have to figure out the tempo and dynamics by watching how the music is lead.
3. Sing the first song on your list with the child leading (you can help lead if you'd like).
4. When the song is over, have the Primary try to guess which dynamic/tempo the child drew. See if they're right!
5. Repeat with another child, sing song #2, etc.

12 Apostles Song

An amazing woman in my ward suggested coming up with a song to help the kids learn the Twelve Apostles in order. Here's what my husband and I came up with.

(to the tune of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat")

Pack-er, Perr-y, Nel-son, Oaks,

Ba-llard, Scott and Hales,

Hol-land, Bed-nar, Cook, Chris-toff-er-son,

An-der-sen makes twelve.

Here are the words set to music:

I like to teach them this song just before General Conference so they recognize the names they'll be listening to. Then I pull  it out randomly through the year just to review. We also have pictures of the First Presidency and Twelve Apostles hanging in our Primary room so the kids can recognize their faces. If you don't, it might be a good idea to get some. 

Allegro, Andante, Adagio Animals

(Just realized the elephant is pictured here under 'allegro animals'. Not sure how that happened!)

I use this as my very first lesson in tempo. My Primary President suggested that I incorporate some music theory into my singing time lessons and this was one of the games I came up with. It really helps the kids visualize the tempos and what they mean.

I do this activity slightly differently for Junior and Senior Primary. Instructions for both versions are below.

Supplies needed:

• Tempo sign with tempo names & speeds (Allegro=fast, Andante=medium, Adagio=slow). Mine is at the top of the picture above.
• 3 strips of paper--one that says "Allegro", one "Andante", one "Adagio."
• 12 different pictures of animals--4 that are fast/allegro animals, 4 that are walking speed/andante animals, and 4 that are slow/adagio animals. The animals I used are listed below.
• 12 envelopes labeled 1-12
• pins
• FOR SENIOR: Find the Latin name for each of the 12 animals you picked (the Latin names for the ones I picked are listed below). Print off the list of names and cut into individual strips.

List of Animals (according to tempo):

Allegro Animals--cheetah, lion, horse, deer
Andante Animals--man walking, elephant, pig, bear
Adagio Animals--snail, tortoise, starfish, sloth

List of Latin Names for Animals:
(I am in no way an expert on the nomenclature for animals. This was all done using Google and Wikipedia, so I'm not 100% positive that this is the 'correct' nomenclature. But the kids don't care).

Bradypus tridactylus (sloth)

Homo sapien (man)

Helix aspersa (snail)

Elephas maximus (elephant)

Sus scrofa domesticus (pig)

Asterias rubens (starfish)

Ursus maritimus (bear)

Panthera leo (lion)

Acinonyx jubatus (cheetah)

Odocoileus virginianus (deer)

Geochelone gigantean (tortoise)

Equus caballus (horse)

Set up:

1. Select 12 songs that you would like the Primary to sing. You can have one list for both Junior or Senior, or two separate lists.

1. JUNIOR:
1. Pin the Tempo sign at the top of the board, with the Allegro, Andante, and Adagio signs below (see the set up in the picture at top).
2. Put one animal inside each of the 12 envelopes.

1. SENIOR:
1. Pin the Tempo sign at the top of the board, with the Allegro, Andante, and Adagio signs below (see the set up in the picture at top).
2. Pin the 12 animals up underneath the tempo group they belong to.
3. Put one Latin name inside each of the 12 envelopes.
1. ***(If your Senior singing time is after Junior, the set-up is really easy--just leave the Tempo sign and Allegro, Andante, Adagio signs where they were, along with any of the animals that Junior placed in the correct tempo group).

Game play:

1. BOTH (before playing)
1. Explain what "tempo" means (how fast we sing/play a song). 
1. Give them an example of a piece of a song played fast, medium, and slow.
2. Teach them the proper names for fast (allegro), medium (andante), and slow (adagio)
1. Have them repeat the names with you.

1. JUNIOR:
1. Choose a child to come up and open one of the envelopes. Have them show the animal to the Primary, then decide if it's an allegro animal, andante animal, or adagio animal (note that their definition might be different than yours--is a pig 'andante' or 'adagio'? You can either correct them or just go with what they say).
2. Pin the animal under the selected tempo, then sing the first song on your list AT THAT TEMPO
3. Repeat, but with animal #2 sing song #2, etc.

1. SENIOR:
1. Choose a child to come up and open one of the envelopes. Have them read the Latin name (if they can!) to the Primary, then try to decide which animal it is. They can ask for help if they need it.
2. Pin the Latin name under the correct animal, then sing the first song on your list AT THE TEMPO that animal is placed underneath.
3. Repeat, but with animal #2 sing song #2, etc.

***Just a brief note--I warn the kids up front that I can never make it through an entire song at adagio tempo. I tell them to watch me carefully because at some point I will speed it back up to normal. This keeps them on their toes (and keeps you from singing the entire song at a snail's pace).