Egg Shakers and Childen… now that’s a delightful combination! And younger children love the egg shakers. How do you use them for a gentle hymn like Come Follow Me?
Here’s an idea:
Ask the children:
Can your hands follow my hands? Put your hand up, then down, then behind your back, then up again to get the children moving with you. Then go into the tap and shake pattern below as you sing.
Tap and Shake, Shake
You will be holding an egg, but the children will not (yet). Sing the song as you tap the egg on your leg, then shake it twice. (Tap, shake, shake.) Repeat that 4 times. Now tap the egg on your shoulder, and shake it twice. (Tap, shake, shake.) Repeat that 4 times. Tap the egg on your calf, and shake it twice. Repeat that 4 times. Tap the egg on your cheek, and shake it twice. Repeat that 4 times. The children will be following your movement.
Ask the children:
Would you like to hold an egg shaker as we sing the song again? Pass out the egg shakers to each child. (If you don’t have enough, give them to half of the room. Sing the song again and have them give their egg to someone who hasn’t yet had a turn with the egg.)
Repeat the actions as you sing the song with the children following you, tapping and shaking their eggs.
What the children don’t know is that they are experiencing the gentle beat of this song in a hands on way. They are focused on following you with different locations for the egg shakers. Meanwhile, the words of the song are gently making their way into the backdoor of the children’s minds. The gentleness of the shaking which you model gives the children a physical way to experience the mood of the song. And…. the children like using the eggs!
Laura Bickmore
<3 Thank you so much for your ideas, book, videos and all your posts. I feel like I have a gentle coach helping me along almost every week for singing time. <3
Zefa Schvaneveldt
Love it! I just got my egg shakers, so this came at a perfect time. Know that I appreciate you sharing your fabulous ideas to make a more meaningful Singing Time!
Emily
Your posts have been wonderful! I found your website about a month ago and it has made singing time fun and easy! Unfortunately this is my last week, that always seems to be how it goes! For DIY egg shakers if you use electrical tape (Home Depot has fun colors) to tape the eggs together, you can make kid proof egg shakers from the plastic eggs and rice! Thank you for sharing your ideas! Hopefully I can do this calling again!
Michelle
Sharla, I got a thank you letter in the mail yesterday from a Primary child. I posted it on my blog. If you have a chance, go read it, because actually, the letter should have been addressed to you, too. You taught me how to truly engage the children in Primary music, and I am NEVER going back to my old way of teaching. Thank you for helping me teach these little ones!