Working the Bugs out of the Songs/Name that Tune Song Review

Working the Bugs out of the Songs

  Supplies:

*a list of the primary program songs for the pianist so she knows which song the bugs tell her to play.

*plastic bugs (You can order plastic bugs off of Amazon. I have also found some at Michaels)

*bug catching net (Amazon or Dollar Store)

*a bug home. (Amazon or Dollar Store)

Here is the simplest version to play "Working the Bugs out of the Songs":

Place bugs around the Primary room. Have a child catch a bug in the net. Then have the bug “whisper” the song the bug wants to hear the children sing into the primary pianist’s ear. The children are always surprised that the bug can whisper into the primary pianist's ear and that she knows what the bug said. The primary pianist starts out with one note, then goes to two notes, and then three and so on until someone guesses the song. Then the children sing the song. The bug then whispers in your ear how the song went and what the children need to work on.

For a more dramatic way to present it to the children, here is how I present it:

“My bug collection escaped, and they are all over the room! I need help catching them to put them back in their home. The easiest way to get them to comply is to sing songs. My bugs love to hear beautiful voices and songs! So, if we promise them that we will sing them a song, then they will let us catch them and put them back in their home. The bugs love games also. So, the bug that is caught is going to tell Sister _________ which song he/she want you to sing. Sister __________ is going to have us guess the song by only playing one note. If we can’t guess the song, then she will play two notes and so on until the song is guessed. After we guess the song and then sing the song, the bug will whisper in my ear what he thinks about our song.” The bug always tells me what we need to work on. Then the children try to work the bugs out of the song. The bug is then ready to go into his home.

I have also played "Work The Bugs out of the Songs" by having them sing the song as many times as they had guesses. So, if the pianist had to play 4 notes then they have to sing it 4 times or until the "bugs" are worked out of the song.

Silly Singing Signs

I have some activities where the kids are singing the song over and over.  Usually that would be very boring.  With the Silly Signs, the children are never bored!  They love the Silly Signs.  I am always thinking up new ideas for the silly signs.  

The time it took me to put these signs together was worth it!  It is really self explanatory how the signs work, but I always try to put as many details into my posts because I know how it is to be stumped when everyone else gets something.  It happens all the time to me.  

*The PDF files are shared at the end of the blog*

Click on video below for directions on how to sing with the Silly Signs:

Pictures of Silly Signs: 

I am holding a Silly Sign in the above two photos.  The two signs are back-to-back.  The tongue on one side and the elephant on the other.  As we sing the song, I will flip it back-and-forth.  The children have to pay attention to when I flip the sign to the other side.  The four pictures below are examples of the PDF versions of the Silly Signs. As you can see the size and color of the signs that go together have matching background colors.  I have a TON of Silly Signs!

Supplies needed to make Silly Signs:

1.  Painter sticks from Home Depot or Lowes

2.  Paper to print out signs

3.  Packing tape

4.  Box or basket to hold the signs

How to make:

I think it is self explanatory.  I printed the signs out on cardstock and then laminated them.  Then I cut around each of the signs with a paper cutter.  You can use scissors if you do not have a paper cutter.  I used the packing tape to tape the signs to the painter sticks.  You can watch the videos below to see how I tape the Silly Signs to the painter sticks.  All together the three videos take up one minute and thirty-three seconds.  For some reason I had to break the video up to be able to post it.

I got a cardboard box to hold the signs.  I put white contact paper around the box and then decorated it.  You don't have to decorate it!  The children will love the activity even if the signs are in a beat up old box or plastic grocery bag.

How to Use During Singing Time:

I have used the signs for multiple songs or for just one song.  I have passed the box around as we have sung and when the song is done then the child who has the box gets to pick the next sign.  Usually I pick a child who is being reverent to come up and pick the sign.  I ask the child if he/she would like to be the one that flips the sign or if the child would like me to flip the sign.  Sometimes I don't give them an option and I am the one that flips the signs.

*Just a suggestion so things do not get out-of-control!:  Every time I bring my Silly Signs I go over some ground rules.  The only way we can use the silly signs is if the children are reverent between singing the songs.  For some of the signs, like sitting and standing, the song should be sung normally, not silly at all.  If there is rowdiness between singing songs then I put my signs away and tell them that we will just be singing the song normally.  After singing the song normal a few times then I ask them if they think they can behave so we can sing with the Silly Signs again.  

Click on the PDF files below to print out your own copies of the Silly Signs!

(There are multiple PDF files.  Some files only have one or two silly signs.  I have made the Silly Signs over the course of a few year.  I did not make all of them at the same exact time.  That is why there are six different PDFs.  I have already thought of a few more signs that I want to make.  One will be the griddy and dabbing since mothers across the nation have not gotten enough of their kids constantly doing them. haha.)

First PDF Contains:

*wiggle like a dog/march like an ant

*sway like an elephant/hop like a kangaroo

*flap your wings like a butterfly/clap your hands like a seal

*scratch like a monkey/peck like a woodpecker

Second PDF Contains:

*stand up/sit down

*children sing/teachers sing

*slow like a turtle/fast like a rabbit

*sing like a baby/sing like a grandma

*sing like a cowboy/sing like an opera singer

Third PDF Contains:

*sing with your tongue out/sing with your nose plugged

*girls sing/boys sing

 

Fourth PDF Contains:

*light hair/dark hair

*this side (arrow pointing left)/this side (arrow pointing right)

*summer/winter

*brown eyes/green & blue eyes

*basketball/football

*birthday/Christmas

 

Fifth PDF Contains:

*hotel/tent

chocolate/vanilla

hamburger/pizza

 

Sixth PDF Contains:

*stop/go

  

Seventh PDF Contains:

*Stand like a Flamingo/Dance like a Chicken

*Sing like a rock star (air guitar or head bang)/Dance like a robot

*Whisper like a librarian/Sing like a British Gentleman (British accent)

*Sing like a snorkeler  (sing like you're underwater by moving your fingers up and down across your lips)/Sing with a smile (lips can't touch while smiling)

*Dance like a ballerina/Drum like a drummer

The next two signs are single signs with no backs.  There is just one sign for one painter's stick:

*Echo each line (There is a picture of a duck on the sign.  There is a belief that a duck's quacks do not echo, which has been debunked depending on which scientist one listens.  For the fun of primary, one side of the room will sing a line of the song and the other side will repeat the line throughout the entire song.)

*Each side sings every other word (There is a picture of a tennis player serving a ball.  One side of the room will sing the first word of the song and the other side will sing the second word of the song and so forth throughout the song.)

The next two PDF files are for Wintertime & Christmastime:

 

Eighth PDF Contains:

*Stand like a Christmas tree/Melt like a snowman

*Sip hot cocoa/Make a snow angle

*Hee-Haw like Mary's donkey/Baaaa like the shepherd's sheep

*Dance like a Nutcracker ballerina/Sing ho-ho-ho like Santa

*Shine like the Christmas star/Sing baby Jesus to sleep

 

Ninth PDF Contains:

*Sing with a hunchback/Waddle like a penguin

*Grow antlers like a reindeer/Sing with tusks like a walrus

(I looked up animals that live in the North Pole and I added animals that remind people of winter.)

I hope you enjoy the silly signs as much as I have enjoyed them!

Ward Primary Chorister Calling

I have once again been called to be the primary chorister in my ward. The first time I was called to be Primary Chorister was when I had only been married for six months. I was sooo nervous. I would not look at anyone in the eyes, and I had pit sweat stains by the time primary was over. It is now my very favorite calling! I have been called as Primary Chorister on-and-off for the past 23 years. I was just Primary Chorister in my last ward which we moved from in 2021. Elliot Groves Ward primary was amazing and they did fabulous in the primary programs. I miss those sweet children! We moved one mile away and are now in a different stake and ward. There is always an adjustment when I first start out with a new primary. I look forward to getting to know the children in our new ward!

Primary Chorister is my favorite calling. However, I seem to always be called to be the chorister right before a primary program. I was once called to be the primary chorister two weeks before the primary program. It was quite embarrassing standing up in front of everyone as the children mumbled through the songs. I am looking forward to starting fresh after the primary program. Since I am just trying to cram the songs down the children's throats at this point, I will be posting past activities that I have done on my primary chorister Facebook page, Kate's Primary Page . I will start a primary chorister blog again to keep track of the ideas I come up with or activities that the children have enjoyed. Wish me luck!