Back to School

Kids are back to school (halleluja!) so we went back to school for Primary as well.  I dressed up in a teacher outfit, white shirt, black skirt, glasses, hair in a bun with pencils sticking out, etc.

I started out by telling them I would start filling out report cards for the Primary Program songs, and give them grades on each song/verse.  I had the "report card" on a clipboard that I displayed, and made sure to have a big red pen when I marked their grades.  I hemmed and hawed and tried to make it seem like I was really debating what grade to give them.  (in later weeks I brought the report card back out so they could see that they were getting better):

Then I brought out my backpack that had school supplies in it, which they took turns picking so we could review our program songs:

Ruler:  Slide your finger up and down to have them get quieter or louder.  This was so fun because I tried to do it really quick and surprise them, made us all laugh.

Glue:  Have the kids "glue" themselves in a position and hold it the whole song if possible.  I pretended to squeeze the glue all over them quickly before we started.

Markers (8-10):  Split the markers into two hands, raise hands back and forth and whoever is wearing those colors has to sing.

Eraser:  Erase words from the song.  I wrote the words directly on the erasers so they could pick.

Paper: Quickly pass out a piece of paper to everyone and show them how to pull it in and apart to make a snapping sound.  Then have them keep the beat of the song while snapping the paper.  They seemed to enjoy this, even if their rhythm wasn't always quite on time.

Dry Erase Board: Have a kid come up and give them the board and marker, then sing the song and when you cut the kids off, the volunteer has to write down the next word.  This is always fun because I love to catch the kids that aren't paying attention and keep singing, and we all get a good laugh and do the word AFTER the one they said.  You can switch it up with other kids every so often, or if you have a bunch of boards you can have them all try and see what the majority of guesses are.

Pencil Sharpener:  Have the kids practice "sharpening" their words but practicing their enunciation.  This is key for me (the leader) to get into and make it obvious and very silly, but it helps them get the idea.

RECESS!  This involves a bell which, when rung during a song, means that the kids take a "recess break" from singing while the piano keeps playing.