Back-to-School Review

You will need the following items or a picture of the items:

• pencil
• box of crayons
• eraser
• notebook
• backpack
• lunch box or sack
• apple or orange (healthy snack)
• a picture of a happy face (my happy face should always go to school)

Tape the title of each song that you need to review on each object. (There are 8 songs in the Primary Sacrament Meeting Program.) Place all of the items in the backpack, then put the backpack into a large bag.

Tell the children that all students need to be prepared for school each year. And, each year we need to be prepared for the Primary Sacrament Meeting Program. In this bag are things that we might need to be ready for school and a song is taped on each item to help us be prepared for our program.

Ask one child to pull out what is in the bag. Sing the song taped onto the backpack. Now ask on child to pick an item out of the backpack.  Sing that song.  Continue until all the songs have been sung.

Optional:

• pillow - we need plenty of sleep
• pencil box
• box of markers
• hand sanitizer
• box tissue
• picture of a healthy breakfast - gives us energy to start the day
• Scriptures - read them every day so we can hear the whispering of the Holy Ghost
• umberella
• rain boots/coat
• jacket
• gym shoes or weights - to get plenty of exercise

If you would like to reward the children, a new pencil for each of them is a great reward.

Stump the Class

Reviewing songs can become a little boring, so it is our job to liven it up.  Choose one sentence or phrase from each song to be reviewed and write it on a slip of paper.  Fold them up and put them into a container.  Choose a child to pick a paper from the container.  You and the child (and of course the pianist) will know the phrase.  On the board, draw a short line for each letter in the phrase.  Choose 5 children, one at a time, to guess a letter.  If it is in the phrase, write the letter wherever it appears in the phrase.  Hopefully, by the time the 5th child chooses a letter they can guess the phrase.

_ _  _ _ _  _ _ _ _  _ _  _ _ _ _
   e               e            e     e    e
             s   s
h      h                            h
                           t
                                m

he h_s se_ t   me  he_e
he has sent me here

With the help of teachers, this should be a fun review.  Sing the song once the children have guessed the phrase.

Word Test

One of the best ways to check to see how well children (and adults) know a song is to use 4 signs while you sing a song.

• Sing
• Hum
• Mouth Words
• No Singing (silent)

1. Cut 4 large circles out of card stock - about 8 to 10 inches in diameter. (Different colors)
2. In large letters, write each word or phrase on each circle.
3. Tape or glue two circles together (words on outside) with a large craft stick or paint stirring stick taped or glued in the middle of the two circles.
4. Now you have two two-sided signs that you can use or have a child turn them.  Obviously, only one sign should be up at a time

Great for reviewing any song!

Review in a Cup

Choose how many songs you would like to review, for instance:  I will be reviewing 6 songs.  I will need 6 paper cups plus 3 more, 9 in all.  Place cups on a table in the front of the room.  Make strips of paper with a review song on each.  On three extra strips write "Fun to Do."  Place one strip of paper  under each cup .  Choose on child to pick a cup and read the song.  Sing the song.  If they choose "Fun to Do," they must do something that would have been done during the Book of Mormon times.  Everyone sings and does the action. 
Example:

• Building a ship is fun to do
• Writing on plates is fun to do
• Hunting for food is fun to do

The children will have some great ideas.
Continue until all the cups have been chosen.

Judge that Song!

Add some fun to your reviewing by having a panel of judges.  Number 10 half sheets of paper - one number on each, 1 through 10.  Make three sets.  Make two "tally" sheets and put them on clip boards so it's easy to write.  List all the songs you wish to review on the chalk board and on the tally sheets.  Choose 3 "judges" for the first song.  Choose two older children to be "score keepers."  Explain to the children that the judges will hold up a number after we sing a song.  A score of "10" will be the very best and "1" will mean that we really need to work on that song.

You can change judges and score keepers after every song in order to give more people a chance.  It's fun to add a teacher to the mix, too.

Tally up the scores at the end of singing time and see which songs need work and which ones are awesome.

Pioneer Trek

Pioneer history helps all of us to understand hardships and sacrifice.  This is a great activity for choosing/reviewing songs, as well as sharing a little pioneer history.

You will need:

• a cutout of a covered wagon or handcart that you can move across the board
• a long piece of string or yarn to represent the trail from Nauvoo to Salt Lake  (you can draw a path on the board with chalk instead)
• 10 - 12 campfire cutouts (pattern below) to tape on the path along the way

Prepare the board with the trail (draw the trail or tape the yarn up and down on the board to represent the trail the pioneers traveled - much like what you see on a map - preferably not a straight line.)  Write the names of the songs you would like to review on stripes of paper and tape them to the back of the campfires.  On the remaining fires write the word "sacrifice."   Tape the campfires along the trail spaced out from beginning to end. 

Explain to the children that pioneers sacrificed many things to come to the Salt Lake Valley.  Ask a child to move the wagon or handcart to the first campfire.  Ask another child to read what is on the back of the fire.  Sing the song.  If it says "sacrifice," ask the child to tell one thing that the pioneers may have had to sacrifice to walk across the plains.  Answers could include: homes, clothes, certain foods, toys, friends, sleep, etc. Continue in this pattern until you reach the Salt Lake Valley.

Integrating Ages

Integrating all ages in Primary is not an easy feat!  Whether it be in sharing time or singing time, a nine-year age span is a challenge.  There is the difference in attention span, readers and non-readers, back row/front row, not to mention tired and sometimes disinterested teachers.  What to do as a music leader?!?!

Enthusiasm and genuine happiness is contagious.  And, as I have stated in previous posts, be prepared, then be prepared for a little more.  Here are a few ideas on how to help the young children learn songs and the older ones to maintain attention.

• Ask some of the older children to sit among the younger ones.  They become examples to those 4, 5 and 6 year-olds.  
• When using word charts, try to have a few pictures that go along with the song and have the younger children hold them.
• Write words on the board and have an older child help a younger one erase a word or phrase while teaching or memorizing a song.
• Divide the room in half and half sing a phrase or verse and the other half sing the next phrase or verse.  Make sure that ages on each side are equal.
• Mix things up and have the boys sit on one side and the girls on the other for singing time.
• Ask a younger child to hold a sign up with "soft" on one side and "loud" on the other.  Let them turn it as the primary sings.  (other signs could be: hum/words, smile/frown, mouth words/sing words, etc.)

These are just a few ideas.  Remember to be positive and happy!