The Holy Ghost: Partner Arm Swing
“Will you be my partner?” I ask a child to come and grasp hands with me. I begin to sing. “When Christ was on the earth, …” After we have sung the song half way through, I ask the … Continued
The Holy Ghost: Story Song then Beat versus Rhythm
I’m standing in front of the children. “I have a story to tell you,” I tell them. The story (I speak) “Tyler was troubled. Mom,” he asked, “how do you know if something really exists if you can’t see it?” … Continued
The Holy Ghost: Paper Cup Pop and Partner Paper Cup Pass
Ask the children “Can you do this pattern with your imaginary cups?” Demonstrate the pattern with your cup and ask them to follow. Sing the song and do the pattern, you with your real cup, and the children with their … Continued
Organizing your Primary Teaching “Stuff”
So now that you have some scarves, some wind wands, and some envelope games, what do you do with them? How do you store them? Where do you put your posters with melody maps, color codes, and missing words posters? … Continued
My 2015 Music Workshop video is finished and available for sale!
Earlier this year I gave a 2 and a half hour music workshop about teaching Primary Music. I did several examples of Singing Time, using different teaching styles, learning styles, and activities to teach each song. We also talked about the principles … Continued
How to make a windwand
When I bring the windwands into Primary, I always have a few children who want to come up and touch them. “What’s this?” they ask with sparkling eyes. As we wave the ribbons through a series of complicated patterns, the … Continued
Eraser Pass Activity for Older Children
I stand in front of the children. On the chalkboard (or whiteboard) is a list of words grouped into threes. I hold the eraser in my hand. “Here are the rules,” I say. “1. Eraser one word that is … Continued
May – 4 weeks of Primary Music Activity Ideas: Younger
YOUNGER CHILDREN (Click the name of the activity to be taken to that page) WEEK 1 – Take it in, Take it out This activity is a great way to have the song truly come into the child! Once you … Continued
Windwands
The colors of the ribbons bring excitement to the room as they flutter through the air. The children are concentrating hard to get their ribbons to follow the pattern of the teacher. You can palpably feel the enthusiastic and electrical … Continued
Concrete Word Stand In: Junior
The young child splashes in the rain with his sister. “This is fun! I like the rain and the puddles,” she says. The child begins to overcome feelings of fear and starts to splash in the water, which he now … Continued