Games for Primary Singing Time Concentration You will need index cards to complete each of these activities.

1. Think of an object that corresponds with the key word of each song you want to sing and find a picture to go with it. For example, a “bee” for “Stand for the Right” or “earth” for “My Heavenly Father Loves Me.” Make a card pair for each song: one with the picture on it and the other with the song written on it. Place the cards in the slots on the Concentration board. When a match is made, sing the song!

2. Think of a key word that corresponds with each song you want to sing. For

example, “eternal family” for “Families Can Be Together Forever” or “example” for “I’m Trying to Be like Jesus.” Make a card pair for each song: one with the key word written on it and the other with the song title. Place the cards in the slots on the Concentration board. When a match is made, sing the song!

3. Play fill-in-the-blank with lyrics from the song(s) you want sing and make card pairs. For example, “I like to look for rainbows, _____” on one card

and “whenever there is rain” on the other. This can be done with all the lyrics of one song you want to focus on…simply practice that song interspersed with game play. Multiple songs can also be used. When a match is made, sing the song!

4. Play classic memory. Make card pairs with song titles written on them (for

example, two cards that say “I am a Child of God”). Pictures can also be used as in variation 1. When a match is made, sing that song.

Spinner I bought my spinner from Oriental Trading. It is a great investment and can be used in countless ways. I also made one using foam board and vinyl lettering. Cut the spinner from wood and attach it with a washer on each side of the foam board and a bolt on the back

1. Assign songs to each of the numbers on the spinner. Call a child to come up and spin. Sing the song for the number it lands on.

2. Use “Sing Like A…” discs. These visuals can be found at

http://divinesecretsofaprimarychorister.blogspot.com/2008/11/sing-like.html. Assign a disc to each number on the spinner. Have a child spin. Sing the song you want to practice in the voice of the character it lands on.

3. Make labels describing who will sing: boys only, girls only, teachers,

children with green eyes, children with black shoes, etc. Call a child up to spin. Those fitting the description the spinner lands on sing the song you want to practice.

4. Make labels that say who will pick the song you’re going to sing: chorister’s pick, teacher’s pick, primary president’s pick, the child’s favorite primary song, etc. Have a child spin. Whomever it lands on picks the song. It’s fun to include one that says “no song”…when this happens, the child sits down and someone else comes up to try their luck. The children love this!

5. Put various activities on the spinner. For example, I have done this with

Olympic events, circus/carnival games, etc. Use the spinner to determine which event the child will perform. Once the event is completed, sing a song.

6. Make visuals that say “loud/quiet”, “fast/slow”, “hum/sing”, etc. Assign

these visuals to a number on the spinner. Call a child up to spin. Have them hold up the visuals as the other children sing a song of your choice.

*I recommend using sticky tack when taping things to the board to prevent it from getting damaged.

Say What??? This is a variation of the board game "Mad Gab" & is a fun way to review songs. "Say What?" was published in The Friend Magazine originally in July 2010 & then again in January and July of 2011. Each activity contains words that don’t seem to make sense, but if said out loud, are actually the titles of Primary songs. For example, “chill drain olive earth he whirled” is “Children All Over the World” and “thick old in play its” is “The Golden Plates”. Print and cut out the sayings and place them in a container. Choose a child to draw one and say the words out loud...It works best if the child says each word one time slowly and then connected as fast as he or she can. Have the rest of the children try to figure out what is being said. Sing the song that corresponds. The children love the craziness of this activity. If you feel extra creative, try making up your own to target specific songs for practice. Have fun!!! *”Say What?” in The Friend July 2010 is Primary Songs. However, in the January and July 2011 issues, the nonsense words are phrases about things the children should do throughout their lives. For example, “cane attest he mow knee” is “Gain a Testimony” and “sir fathers” is “serve others”. These will still work for singing time… just sing a song that corresponds with the topic of each of the nonsensical phrases. Primary Plinko Again this board was purchased from Oriental Trading and it has been worth every penny. The children really love this one. It can be used in a variety of ways…all of the ideas listed for a “spinner” will work for this game as well.

Singing Cube You can make your own singing cube by wrapping a cardboard box in butcher paper and covering it with contact paper. Adhere 8 ½ x 11 page protectors to each side of the cube with double-sided tape. Attach Velcro strips to the insides of the page protectors to prevent items placed inside from falling out.

1. Print off numbers and place them in the plastic sleeves. Assign a song for practice to each number. Have a child roll the cube. Sing the corresponding song.

2. Again, all of the activities listed for a “spinner” will also work for a singing cube. Simply make visuals for the activity of your choice and place them inside the plastic sleeves. Have a child roll the cube…whatever it lands on is what you do. Complete the activity while singing a song of your choice

Dice These are another Oriental Trading find! However, regular dice would also work.

1. Doubles – This game is courtesy of www.camillesprimaryideas.com. To play, divide the room into two teams. Choose a child from each team to come up and give them each a set of dice. Have the rest of the children start singing the first song you want to work on. The children from each team will start rolling the dice. As soon as one of them gets doubles, he or she will shout out “DOUBLES”. The singing will immediately stop and that team has to quickly come up with the rest of the phrase of the song. If they get it right, their team receives a point. If they don’t, continue with the song and no points are given. Once a child rolls doubles, the dice are passed to another teammate. Continue until all verses of all the songs you want to practice are sung.

2. What’s Your Number? – Pick the songs you would like to practice and assign them each a number. Divide the room into two teams. Have a child from one team roll 2 dice. Add the numbers rolled together…this number represents what song to sing and the points given to the team. For example, if a 2 and a 3 were rolled, you would sing song #5 and assign the team 5 points. Repeat play with the other team. Whichever team has the most points at the end of singing time, wins.

3. Beat That – Divide the room into two teams. Have a child from one team roll two dice. Put the numbers rolled in order to make the highest number possible. For example, if a 4 and a 6 were rolled, the best number would be 64. Assign the team the points rolled and sing a song of your choice. The next team then tries to “beat” what the first team rolled.

4. Primary Yahtzee – Assign a song(s) to each Yahtzee roll. Make a large visual displaying them or write them on the chalkboard. For example, if a

“Full House” is rolled, sing, “If the Savior Stood Beside Me”. Choose a child to roll 5 dice in a row. It is also fun to put all 5 dice into a large garbage sack. Have the child shake them in the sack and then dump them out on the floor. Sing the corresponding song. Yahtzee rolls are as follows: 3 of a kind, 4 of a kind, full house (3 of a kind and 2 of a kind), small straight (sequence of 4), large straight (sequence of 5), and Yahtzee (5 of a kind).

5. Zap – Divide the room into two teams. The object of this game is to get to 25. Whichever team does first, wins. If doubles are rolled, the team is “zapped” and their score goes back to zero. Have a child from the first team roll two dice. Assign the points rolled to his or her team. Sing a song you would like to practice. Repeat game play with the second team and continue the rotation until one team achieves 25 points.

3-in-a-Row Yup, you guessed it…Oriental Trading! This is really just plain old tic-tac-toe but the inflatable board makes it much more fun for the children.

1. Divide the group into two teams and assign them each a color (red or yellow). Have a member of one of the teams come forward and toss their ball into one of the slots. If the ball goes in, the child gets to choose what song to sing. If it doesn’t, the chorister gets to pick. Repeat play with the opposite team. Continue doing so until one team gets 3-in-a-row.

2. Number each of the holes in the game board (I just print off numbers, cut them out, and tape them to the inside of the hole). Place the same numbers in a sack or container. Have a member from one team draw a number…the number represents a certain song to be sung and the hole in which he or she will try to toss the ball into. Repeat play with the other team and continue until one team gets 3-in-a-row.