Penguins on Parade

The last week of the month is a great time to review songs that you have learned.  This is when I like to use seasonal activities.  Copy, color and cut out several penguins.  I've included a penguin (my daughter is an artist) that you can use or you can look for one on "Google" under "penguin clip art.  If you want to review one song, make word strips of the phrases from the song and tape them to the back of the penguin.  Place the penguins on the floor or in a basket.  Let the children take turns choosing a penguin.  Read the phrase and sing the song or verse.  The child holds the penguin until he or she hears the phrase. He then tapes the penguin on the board in the penguin parade.  By the end of singing time there should be a parade of penguins on the board.  You can cut out white or silver pieces of paper to look like ice for the penguins to stand on.  If you are reviewing several songs, tape the title on the backs of the penguins instead of phrases.  The child can then tape his penguin on the board.

"I Will Follow God's Plan"

A rebus is a picture or symbol that represents a word, part of a word or phrase.  These are fun for all ages but especially helpful for non-readers -- junior primary specifically.  With free clip art available on the internet, finding pictures for songs has become much easier.  I use "Google" to find pictures.  An example is: type in the Google space "flashlight free clip art."  Up comes many examples of flashlights or web sites to go to and find more examples.  In the February "Friend," p. 11, "I Will Follow God's Plan," there is a perfect example of teaching a song using rebus.  It was fun to watch the children figure out what the pictures stood for.  I displayed all the pictures in random order on either side of the black board.  I sang the first phrase, then the children chose the pictures that best fit the phrase and we put them in order in the middle of the board.  We all sang the phrase twice.  We did the same process for each phrase always singing the new phrase then the whole song.