Blow Up Dice No Prop or Prep Primary Song Review Activity

 INTRODUCTION:

I love simple activities that I can just grab-and-go, especially when life seems extra hectic.  My favorite grab-and-go activity is the Silly Signs.  If you do not know what I am talking about, then look at my blog post here.  The Silly Signs do take much more prep than this activity, even though the prep is worth it.  You can have the signs forever and even add on to the Silly Signs when you have ideas.  The dice Singing Activity is so simple and takes a ton less prep than the Silly Signs!

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

1.  I ordered two of these blowup dice from Amazon:

2.  I created visuals and then printed them out on cardstock for the No-Prep/No Prop singing activities.  I got the singing activity ideas from  here on camillesprimaryideas.com.  Here are two samples of the activity visuals:

VISUAL PDF'S:

Here are the PDF's that you can print.                  

Move your mouse in the left right hand corner and you will see a little arrow inside a small box.  Click on it to open the PDF's.                     🠟

After I printed the pictures I had to trim them so they would fit in the dice plastic inserts.  I think I cut them to be 8"x8".  Maybe a little smaller.  I cut one of them the size it should be and then used that to measure all of the other papers.

**There are 12 inserts on the dice and only 9 No Prep/Prop activities on Camille's website that I used.  I made a sign for "Body Rhythm" and I put one "Silly Sign" on each of the dice.  The kids love the silly signs.  In fact some of the children just wanted to do the Silly Signs.  If you do not have Silly Signs, then you can make your own sign for the remaining two plastic inserts on the dice.  You could have a sign that says "your choice" or "teachers sing" or any other idea you come up with. 

HOW TO USE:

There are two different ways I have used the Silly Signs and the Dice Signs.

1.  You can use the dice to review one song.  This way every time you sing the same song there is a different activity to go along with the song so the children do not get bored singing the same song over and over.

2.  You can use the dice to review multiple songs.  This way you would choose out of the songs you are teaching for the program and have someone role the dice to see which activity to do while singing the song chosen.  It is a great way to review the songs for the program.

DESCRIPTION OF EACH ACTIVITY:

I don't know about you, but my mind goes blank sometimes when I am up in front of the children.  I made a Word document with the description of each activity.  I had it sitting on the little table in front of the primary room so that I could easily reach for it and read the description.  Don't read it out loud.  I learned the hard way that there are some activities where the children have to guess the song or the word.  Also, for the Body Rhythm activity, I just asked four children to come up.  I gave each child a rhythm (snap fingers, clap, pat lap, stomp foot).  Then when I touched a child's head the child would do the rhythm assigned to him/her.  Then I would put my hand on the next child's head and that child would do the rhythm assigned to him/her, and so on.  Here are the activity descriptions (rules/definitions):

Silent Singer:

A child is called out into the hallway. The Primary chooses another child to be the silent singer.  They are to only mouth the words but make no sound (in essence, pretending to sing). The child in the hallway is called back in and must figure out who is the silent singer.

 

Body Pitch Leading:

As you sing a song, have the children stand and move their bodies up or down relating to how the notes move in the song.  If the notes move up, the bodies move up and as the notes move down, bodies move down.

 

Endure to the End:

Children hold up their arms (like a “T”) as they sing.  The last child to put their arms down is the winner.  It doesn’t get any easier than that!

 

Charades:

Pick keywords, phrases or song titles to have the children act out.  Once guessed, sing the song!  If guessing words, a fun variation is to omit that word (or sing it loudly) when singing the song.

 

Lights Off:

Sing when the lights are on and listen (don’t sing) when the lights are off as the piano continues playing.  Choose good singers to switch the lights on and off as the rest of the children sing. 

 

Duck, Duck, Sing!:

Put chairs in a circle or sit on the floor in a circle. A child walks around the room tapping heads. The pianist plays the song and stops randomly. The person who was tapped on the head last has to say what the next word or line of the song is. If they get it correctly, they get to be the next one to go around the room.

 

Jack in the Box:

All the kids are in a pretend box. Think of a word in your song (preferably one that repeats a lot) and don’t share it.  When the secret word is sung, give two thumbs up to the kids. The kids jump up when they see your thumbs. At the end of the song, the kids have to tell you what your secret word was.

 

Who’s Missing:

Send a child into the hall and pick 2-4 kids to hide together behind the piano (or bring a blanket or sheet). The child from the hall returns and has until the end of song to figure out who is missing from their seat.

 

Freeze Tag:

The pianist stops randomly and the kids freeze.  Choose a child.  The child must complete the phrase by saying it correctly in order to unfreeze the Primary.  If incorrect, the Primary must remain frozen for the remainder of the song.  If correct, the Primary unfreezes and continues on with a new child and phrase to freeze

Scripture Power Verse 2 Lesson, Visuals, and Combat Sword Song Actions

ITEMS NEEDED FOR THE LESSON & ACTIVITY:

*Cardstock or Printing Paper

*Printer

*Scissors 

*Tape

PREPARATION BEFORE SUNDAY:

1.  Make the soldier and the Armor of God by printing the parts and cutting them out.  I laminated the soldier and the armor.  Here is what the soldier will look like with and without The Armor of God on:

My mom gave me the soldier and Armor of God.  I scanned them so I can share it with you.  There are also Soldiers and Armor of God parts that you can find on the internet.  Here are the PDF soldier and Armor of God parts for you to make your own soldier and Armor of God:

  

2.  Make a "sword" for each child in primary.  The "sword" is made by rolling a piece of paper.  I used cardstock.  You can either put a piece of paper under each chair in primary before primary starts and have the children roll the paper themselves, or roll them yourself and use a piece of tape to keep it in place.  I made all of the "swords" before church so that we did not have to take time having the children try and roll the paper and it possibly coming apart.  I put all the "swords" in grocery bags so it was easy to bring them to church.  Here is a sample of the "swords" I made:

3.  Learn the combat actions to the second verse of "Scripture Power".  This is where the paper swords will be used.  I got the combat actions here:

4.  Print off the PDF of the combat action reminder pictures.  The pictures are not great, but they helped me to remember the combat actions as I was teaching them to the primary. 

 

  

5.  Print off the visuals for "Scripture Power" verse two.  Here are the PDF visuals for "Scripture Power" verse two:

If you would like the visuals to the first verse and chorus of "Scripture Power" then you can find them here, along with a lesson and song actions.

PREPARATION AT CHURCH BEFORE PRIMARY STARTS:

I leave before Sacrament Meeting is over to go to the Primary room to set up.  There is another ward that is in their second hour of church when our ward starts Sacrament Meeting.  The other ward gets out about a half hour before our Sacrament Meeting is over.  I leave Sacrament Meeting in time to set anything up that I am using that day.  I am grateful for a Primary Presidency that helps me set up also!

Setup Before Primary:

1.  Tape the soldier to the board in front of the Primary room.  You will also need tape to put the armor on the soldier during primary.  Put the armor somewhere that is easy to grab.  Make sure there is enough room at the top of the board for the visuals to the song.

2.  Put the copy of the lesson and the combat moves reminder paper on the music stand so you can easily see them.

3.  Put a paper "sword" under each chair.

LESSON:

Here is the lesson plan for teaching the second verse of "Scripture Power".  The children loved it!

Lesson:

1. Point to the soldier taped on the board.

Is the soldier protected from an attack?  (no)

What does the soldier need to protect himself?  (armor)

We can have armor to protect us against Satan.  It is called the Armor of God. 

A.      Put the sword in the soldier’s hand. 

B.      A sword is an item that was used for defense against attack. When we are spiritually attacked, we need what is called “THE SWORD OF TRUTH”. 

C.       The SWORD OF TRUTH represents the word of God.  The words of truth found in the scriptures help us have a defense against Satan’s attack because knowing truth helps us recognize Satan’s deceptions.   

D.     The first line of the second verse is – “I’ll find the sword of truth in each scripture that I learn.”  (Put the visual on the board and sing the line) 

2.      The next line of the verse is – “I’ll take the shield of faith from these pages that I turn.”  (Put the visual on the board and the shield in the soldier’s hand.) 

A.     This is the SHIELD OF FAITH.  As we obey the words found in the scriptures, we see the good results, and we gain faith and trust in God’s words.  Our faith is like a shield that protects us against temptation.  (Sing the line)  

3.       The next line of the verse is – “I’ll wear each vital part of the armor of the Lord.” (Tell the children about each of the rest of the armor parts that are left and put them on the soldier.  Put the rest of the visuals to the song up.) 

         A.  With the armor of God, we are prepared to fight against the temptations of Satan and win!                                    

        B. (Sing “I’ll wear each vital part of the armor of the Lord, and fight my daily battles and win a great reward.”) 

4.      Sing through the entire song. 

5.      Teach the children the combat moves. 

6.      Make sure you give the children direction on behavior before they are able to get their paper sword from under their chairs.  I told my primary, “I brought a paper sword for each of you.  Do not get it out from under your chair until I say to get it.  We first need to go over expectations.  The expectations are that you may not touch anyone with your own body or your sword.  You may only do the combat moves when we are singing the songs.  You may only do the combat moves with me.  There will be no other combat moves allowed.  When we are not singing, you may sit reverently in your chair with your paper sword placed nicely in your lap.” 

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Here are the definitions of the Armor of God if you need a refresher or if you want to tape the definitions on the back of each armor piece:

Here is an example of what I did on the back of each piece of the Armor of God to make it easy to remember what each piece of armor represents:

My mind is known to go blank suddenly during primary so it is always helpful for me to have extra help!

Don't Eat Nephi! (or any other prophet)

I came up with a version of the game "Don't Eat Pete" the last time we studied the Book of Mormon for Come Follow Me in 2020.  It does not have to be Nephi.  It can be any prophet.  It is a super easy and fun game that the children enjoyed.  Instead of saying, "Don't eat Pete", we say, "Don't eat Nephi!"

Supplies Needed: 

*Nine 8X10 pictures of Nephi (I printed pictures from the Book of Mormon movie.)

*Round magnets (I used these 1-inch round magnets.)

*Glue

*m&m logo for magnets (I searched on google for the m&m's logo)

*Snack-sized m&m's for each child in primary (optional)

Preparation:

1.  Print out the m&m logo on cardstock.  I looked up images of the m&m logo on google.  I had to figure out how large to make the image so that each m&m was the right size for the 1" magnets.

2.  Cut out the m&m logos and then glue them to the magnets

3.  Write names of songs or verses on the back of each picture.  We are learning "Nephi's Courage".  These are the song I wrote on the backs of the nine pictures:

Nephi's Courage verse 1, Nephi's Courage verse 2, Nephi's Courage verse 3, Nephi's Courage all verses, Book of Mormon Stories, Books in the Book of Mormon, chorus of We'll Bring the World His Truth, We'll Bring the World His Truth verse 1, I Will Be Valiant

Game Rules:

If you do not know the rules to "Don't Eat Pete", then you can see the rules here.

Singing Time:

1.  Tape the pictures to the chalkboard in this formation:

(I do not know why I put numbers on each picture back in 2020.  My only guess is that I assigned the song on the backs of the pictures with a number on the front of the pictures and gave the list to the piano player.  If anyone has any other guesses then please let me know.)

2.  Put one m&m magnet on each picture.

3.  Choose a child that is being reverent to go out of the primary room.  Then have another reverent child come up to the front and point to the picture (or number) that is going to be "Nephi".

4.  Have the child that went out of the room come back into the room.  Have the child take one magnet off at a time.  When the child takes the magnet off the picture that is "Nephi" then everyone will say, "Don't eat Nephi!"  

5.  Take the "Don't Eat Nephi" picture off the board and see which song is on the back.  Then sing that song.

6.  You can choose to play the way I played the game or not.  I did not tape the pictures back up after they were chosen as "Don't eat Nephi" so that we could get to all of the songs.

7.  I handed out snack-sized m&m packets to all the children as they left primary since the game is usually played with real m&m's.    

Around the World Singing Time

Supplies Needed:

*Two white poster boards

*Permanent marker or marker

*Scissors

*Nephi Costume (mine is extremely homemade and wonky!  You can use a Christmas nativity costume.)

*Someone to play the role of Nephi 

*Nephi Script below (PDF): 

*You can find my visuals for Nephi's Courage here.

Preparation:  

1.  It was 2020 last time we studied the Book of Mormon for Come Follow Me.  I gave him a very homemade Nephi costume and a short script that I told him does not need to be memorized or perfect.  The script is to introduce Nephi and goes along with the song "Nephi's Courage". 

(The children recognized "Nephi" because he was in my ward at the time.  I asked him because everyone talked about how he looked like the guy that played Nephi on the Book of Mormon movies.  He really did look like him!  This time around I have had a harder time following someone that looks like the Nephi from the Book of Mormon movies.  I did find someone to play Nephi this coming week that the children will not know, so it might go even better than last time.)

2.  I cut two white posters in half.  Then I put one line of the first verse onto each of the poster boards.  I printed out a visual to go along with each line.  In the picture below I used a paper plate.  I like to use visuals that make it easy for the children to remember the words.

Before Primary Starts:

Tape one poster and the visual that goes along with it on each wall of the primary room.  One poster and visual per wall. 

Nephi's Courage Song and Activity:

After "Nephi" introduces himself and tells the children a little about himself, have him open the floor to the children to ask him questions.  Then introduce the song "Nephi's Courage":

1.  Ask the children what makes Nephi a hero.  We are going to be introducing a Book of Mormon hero every month.  This month's hero is Nephi.

2.  Teach the children the chorus and the actions that go along with the chorus.  You can watch this video to learn the actions to the chorus.  I only want to teach the children actions to the chorus and not to the verses.

3.  Go to each wall one at a time and teach the lines to the song.

4.  Start singing the song facing the poster with the first line of the song on it.  Jump or turn to the wall with the poster with the second line on it.  The last line should be facing the front of the primary room so that the children will be facing the front when they do the actions to the chorus.

The Singing Hospital

 

Introduction:  

It is that time of the year when primaries are getting ready for their programs.  Some primaries have already had their programs.  My ward's primary program is in November, thank goodness!  If it were up to me, I would be having the program in December.  I got called right before summer break.  Most families where I live go on vacation for every break throughout the year, including three day weekend, so they are missing each of those Sundays.  During the summer, our ward numbers go down by 3/4's.  School started up which was great because everyone was in town.  I tried to cram as many of the program songs down the kid's throats (figuratively, or course!).  I was able to teach the songs, but most of them are still not down pat.  Then we have had General Conference which led right into a two week Fall Break.  Then we will have Stake Conference.  I am picky about the children knowing the words to the songs and projecting their voices.  I do not feel that any of the songs are ready for the program.  I have had to take a step back and realize that the most important aspect of the calling is helping the children learn gospel truths and to love coming to primary.  I have no idea how the primary program will turn out, but it is what it is.  I need to have some fun or I will start getting grouchy and taking my calling too seriously.  

Since most of the primary will be gone on Sunday, I have decided to do the activity, Singing Hospital.  We won't be passing off any of the songs to earn an ice cream sundae party, but we will be working on getting the songs ready for the Singing Pass off Test which will earn the children an ice cream sundae party.

Singing Hospital Activity:

This is a simple and great way to review the songs.  The children do not want to send a song to the ER!  

I first ordered a cheap doctors coat costume and stethoscope off off of Amazon.  The last time I did this activity I was able to borrow an actual doctor's coat and stethoscope from a doctor in my ward.  If you know any doctors you might want to ask them.  

I printed off the title of each song that we are going to be singing in the program.  I only made them a little over 1/2" X 4-5" so the song titles can fit inside the hospital bed.  More on that below. 

(There will be two other songs in the program, but they will be sung by smaller groups.  The Sunbeams will be singing "Jesus Once was a Little Child" and the Senior Primary girls will be singing "I'm Learning the Ways of Jesus".)

I put each title in a little can.  I will pick one of the songs or have a child pick one of the songs out of the can.  We will then sing the song.  After the song is sung we will go over the medical song checkup list.  If the song that is sung does not pass the doctor checkup list then the song must go to the hospital.  If the song is put in the hospital then we try to help heal the song so that the song can be discharged from the hospital.  Example:  If the song did not pass the hearing test, then the children need to work on projecting their voices to help the song be discharged from the hospital.  

I have done this activity without the hospital poster.  I think the hospital part is fun, but if you do not have time then the activity will still work great!  Here are the PDF's that I tape on the board at the front of the primary.  It has each part of the medical checkup that the song needs to pass off in order to have a healthy diagnosis. 

Making the Hospital: 

Supplies Needed:

*Paper for printing

*Scissors

*Poster Board

*Glue or Tape

*Black marker

I pieced together the hospital in the picture at the beginning of this post.  I used a paper cutter and scissors to cut out the hospital. The pieces are not perfectly aligned, but it works for the activity!  I wanted to glue the pieces of the hospital together onto a poster board and then laminate the entire board, but for right now, I just taped it on.  I used a razor paper slicer to cut a space in the bed for the song to "lay" down.  You can use scissors if you do not have a razor cutter.  You can also tape the song onto the bed and not cut out a space in the bed to slip the song title.  I outlined the hospital with black permanent marker because the pictures are blurry.  Once I outlined the pictures, it no longer looked blurry.

Here is a video of the completed Singing Hospital and how the "song" lays in the hospital bed:

(I meant to say, "Doctor Checkup", not "checkoff"

There are two beds to lay the songs.  I tried to make it look like the viewer is looking through the window of the hospital.  Just go with it!  haha.   Here are the PDF pieces to the hospital:

  

I hope this activity is fun for your primary!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ykXT3isndhID1Ha_Lcx7MLqMizKospjn/preview?

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!