5 Easy NO Effort Singing Time Ideas for Kids
I’m in charge of singing time for approximately 40 kids ages 3-8 in my church every Sunday. And, because I’m a procrastinator, every Saturday night I’m always looking for easy games to play with the kids to keep them entertained and interested for 20 minutes.
I just had to share some of my favorites, go to, singing time ideas that require little to NO EFFORT at all. The kids love these games and I think they would work great for anyone trying to entertain small children, either in school or just at home during the summer.
5 Easy NO Effort Singing Time Ideas for Kids
- Name that tune– Bring some dice. Give the pianist a list of songs in advance in the order you want to sing them. Let a child come to the front and roll the dice. Whatever number the dice lands on is the amount of notes the pianist plays of the song. Let the kids guess what song it is. If they don’t get it right away, add one or two notes. Whoever guesses the song gets to help lead the music.
- Spin a Kid– Bring an office chair that spins. Write the songs you want to sing on sheets of paper. Place a child in the chair and SLOWLY spin them. Whatever song they land in front of is the song you sing. (If you spin the kids too fast, they might tip over, so be careful!)
- Decision Maker– Download the Decision Maker App on your phone or tablet. Make a list of songs you want to sing on the app and let the kids spin the wheel to choose a song.
- Hot and Cold– Bring a small item to hide in the classroom. One child goes into the hall while another hides the item somewhere in the classroom. Bring the child from the hall back into the room. You choose the songs, and as the child looks for the item have the other children sing quietly if he/she is far away from the object, and louder if he/she is getting closer. Once they find the object they can help you lead the rest of the song. I also let them hide the object for the next person.
- Duck Duck Goose Singing– Great for review! Have one child quietly go around, touching each child on the head while singing a song you’re trying to learn. When they stop, everyone stops singing, and the person they land on has to finish the rest of the line or the next word in the song. If they get it right, it’s their turn to move around the room, if they get it wrong the first child keeps going until they find someone to get it right.
Are you in charge of singing time too? Please share your best ideas in the comments, so we can all continue to procrastinate!
5 Easy NO Effort Singing Time Ideas for Kids
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What a fun time your singing ideas are. Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop! I hope you’ll join us again next week!
Cheers,
Kathy Shea Mormino
The Chicken Chick
http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com
I'm a primary chorister too! Thanks for these awesome ideas. I always need another one.
Great list!!Thanks for linking up! #bloggersbrag
Ooo yay, someone else who leaves things until the last minute! That is totally me! Great ideas here! Thanks so much for linking up with #TwinklyTuesday
Oh my goodness, thank you for sharing! I was recently called to be the primary chorister in my ward and this Sunday is my "first day" by myself. I have been racking my brain on what to do without stressing out. Thank you, thank you, thank you! 🙂
Thanks for your ideas! You asked for ideas, so here's one for you. One of my Senior Primary's favorite singing time activities is for me to choose a word from a song (one that is repeated frequently such as the word "love" in "Love One Another"), and every time we sing that word in the song, the children move one chair over so that they're sitting in a different seat. They continue moving throughout the song and usually end up sitting on a different row by the time the song is over. They think it is so much fun, and the only preparation is to just find a word that is repeated several times in a song!
My kids will LOVE this! Thank you for sharing!
Oooh! What a great idea!!
Choose the “RIGHT” (move to the right?)
Perfect for this year’s theme!
Great ideas! Thank you, this is exactly what I needed.
I’m glad I could help, good luck with singing time!
yaaay. thanks , i’m loving the duck duck goose game. The hot and cold game we have used to review bible verses.
1) game STOP and Go – i printed the signs “STOP”” and “GO”. When each stapled back to each other. One child can volunteer to hold and flip the sign as he/she wishes. when they show “GO” they sing/ recite bible verse. When they flip it , the “GO” faces the volunteer/ and teachers – so they have to sing/ recite the verse. Kids love it when teachers plays along too. It suits preschoolers i guess. Every child would love to volunteer, so this game can be played till all gets chance to hold if time permits. This game is versatile to be used to singing or recite important terms to be learnt.
2) Bean bag toss – The teacher starts the song with the bean bag on her hand then she tosses the bean bag to another child and they sing and toss it to the next. Continue as time permits and everyone gets a chance. This is versatile as well. it could be song or any. Let the creative juices flow. it could be a ball or a bean bag, anything harmless.
Love these ideas! Thanks Lydia!
we only have 3 children in our primary, ages 2 1/2, 5 and 8, it’s always a challenge on how to teach the songs. Any ideas?
Hello Cathy, I have a similar situation… I find it’s all about repetition and actions! The first time singing a song is always not going to go great, but they’ll get it eventually, especially if you sing it every week and find some simple actions to go along with it 🙂
Jess, I just Googled “primary singing time ideas” and found this! I was just called to be the primary chorister, and after many, many years of being with just the adults in the choir, RS, or sacrament, the kids are a little intimidating! 😉 Thanks for sharing these ideas! I’ll definitely be using them!