Dress-Ups and Costumes for Teaching Primary Songs
Another great idea for teaching some songs is to offer opportunities for the children to don costumes pieces and hold props or dress up like the characters in the songs. The dress-up pieces or costumes do not need to be complete by any means. Just colorful and fun and enough to suggest the lyrics. For example, in the the song "When We're Helping" the first verse is about how we can help Mother. A little girl can be chosen to wear a frilly apron or a bead necklace and earrings or hold a feather duster or little broom. The motions can be improvised to show all the many ways we can help Mother do the chores such as dusting, washing dishes, sweeping the floor, folding laundry or even vacuuming. For the second verse about helping Father, a little boy can wear a baseball cap, hold a tool (hammer, screw driver, wrench, saw (I like to use plastic toy tools) or don a tool belt, or even wear and adult-sized pre-tied tie. Once again, the actions can be improvised to show the many ways we can help Father do chores such as fixing things using tools, or mowing the lawn, or working in the garden. You can use costume pieces and improvise verses about Grandmother and Grandfather. In order to allow a few repeats, you may decide to allow a few different children to take turns being the leader and wearing the dress-ups. It is best, though, not to take up much time changing the costumes. Keep the pieces very simple and the pace moving along.
Children love portraying characters especially if they get to wear a costume. "Follow the Prophet" is a fun song to sing using costumes for the different prophets. Using "Biblical" robes and some kind of prop that is unique to the verse about each prophet really helps bring the "prophet" to life. For example, Adam helped things to grow (flowers, trees, fruit), Moses lead the people (staff, Ten Commandments tablets), Daniel (lion stuffed animal or lions den picture), Jonah spent time in the belly of a fish (whale stuffed animal or picture of whale), etc. For the verse about the Modern Day Prophet, dress the child in modern-day suit coat and tie and hold scriptures, or just hold a picture of prophet on television). Nine verses or more is too much of a good thing for any one session of singing time, but choosing a couple of verses to learn or review occasionally can be great fun.
"To Be a Pioneer" is another song that lends itself to teaching using costumes. After the first introduction of the song -- both parts --- have a few good singers come up front to help be the leaders. Choose 3 girls and 3 boys to wear sunbonnets and aprons or straw hats and vests to help lead the contrasting parts. Have the boys sing the "We are marching, ever marching" part while the girls sing the verses. This is a good opportunity to help the children practice holding their parts and singing HARMONY. Challenge other singers to step up to be the leaders and wear the costumes.
One of my favorite "dress-up" teaching songs is "My Dad". I like to use one of the boys as the visual aid. First, I choose a boy to come up to be my helper. I ask him what he likes to do with his daddy. If he says something like "he lets me help him fix things," I will put a tool belt on him. If he says, "he lets me help him mow the lawn" or "work in the yard," I put a baseball hat and work gloves on him. If he says "he reads me stories," I put glasses on him and hand him a storybook, or if he says, "we go fishing," I hand him a toy fishing rod and put on a floppy fishing hat. (I get to know the kids so that I can guess what the boys like to do with their dads and pick boys according to what I have in my bag.) We then sing the first line of the song. The next line says, "it's plain to see I want to be like him in every way." For that line I have the boy wear a picture of a dad that looks similar to him. (the picture is laced with a ribbon so that I can easily slip it over the boy's head.) I have some generic pictures of dads handy (the blond dad with dimples, the dark-haired dad with facial hair, the sporty dad with the baseball cap, the business suit dad with glasses, etc.). The next line is about how dad teaches about honesty, so I pin or tape an HONESTY badge on the boy. The last line mentions the concepts "glad" and "love." I have the boy himself smile gladly on the word "glad." And I have the boy use his thumb to point to himself at his heart for the phrase "I know he loves me too." So, as we sing the song through, the boy gets props handed to him or stuck on him while he demonstrates the concepts in the lyrics. It works very well and the children will sing it repeatedly giving other boys opportunities to be the visual aid helper.
Although the dressing up and holding props provide the "fun" factor, real musical concepts can also be taught. I always have an ulterior motive when using visual aids. That is to teach real musical skills and gospel concepts for each song. The art or costumes or props or actions or activities are just tools to use to do real teaching that can last a lifetime. The object is to help the children learn the song so well that they can sing it without any aid at all. Only then will you know you have done your job!
Other Songs with Dress-up Possibilities
"We'll Bring the World His Truth" - suit jackets, ties or scarves, name tags - "Future Missionary"
"I Hope They Call Me on a Mission" - suit jackets, ties or scarves, name tags - "Future Missionary"
"Pioneer Children Sang as They Walked" - sun bonnets, straw hats, aprons, bandanas, suspenders, vests, etc.
"Holding Hands Around the World" - hats or costume pieces from countries around the world
"The Nativity Song" - Biblical costumes and props depicting the Christmas Pageant
Children love portraying characters especially if they get to wear a costume. "Follow the Prophet" is a fun song to sing using costumes for the different prophets. Using "Biblical" robes and some kind of prop that is unique to the verse about each prophet really helps bring the "prophet" to life. For example, Adam helped things to grow (flowers, trees, fruit), Moses lead the people (staff, Ten Commandments tablets), Daniel (lion stuffed animal or lions den picture), Jonah spent time in the belly of a fish (whale stuffed animal or picture of whale), etc. For the verse about the Modern Day Prophet, dress the child in modern-day suit coat and tie and hold scriptures, or just hold a picture of prophet on television). Nine verses or more is too much of a good thing for any one session of singing time, but choosing a couple of verses to learn or review occasionally can be great fun.
"To Be a Pioneer" is another song that lends itself to teaching using costumes. After the first introduction of the song -- both parts --- have a few good singers come up front to help be the leaders. Choose 3 girls and 3 boys to wear sunbonnets and aprons or straw hats and vests to help lead the contrasting parts. Have the boys sing the "We are marching, ever marching" part while the girls sing the verses. This is a good opportunity to help the children practice holding their parts and singing HARMONY. Challenge other singers to step up to be the leaders and wear the costumes.
One of my favorite "dress-up" teaching songs is "My Dad". I like to use one of the boys as the visual aid. First, I choose a boy to come up to be my helper. I ask him what he likes to do with his daddy. If he says something like "he lets me help him fix things," I will put a tool belt on him. If he says, "he lets me help him mow the lawn" or "work in the yard," I put a baseball hat and work gloves on him. If he says "he reads me stories," I put glasses on him and hand him a storybook, or if he says, "we go fishing," I hand him a toy fishing rod and put on a floppy fishing hat. (I get to know the kids so that I can guess what the boys like to do with their dads and pick boys according to what I have in my bag.) We then sing the first line of the song. The next line says, "it's plain to see I want to be like him in every way." For that line I have the boy wear a picture of a dad that looks similar to him. (the picture is laced with a ribbon so that I can easily slip it over the boy's head.) I have some generic pictures of dads handy (the blond dad with dimples, the dark-haired dad with facial hair, the sporty dad with the baseball cap, the business suit dad with glasses, etc.). The next line is about how dad teaches about honesty, so I pin or tape an HONESTY badge on the boy. The last line mentions the concepts "glad" and "love." I have the boy himself smile gladly on the word "glad." And I have the boy use his thumb to point to himself at his heart for the phrase "I know he loves me too." So, as we sing the song through, the boy gets props handed to him or stuck on him while he demonstrates the concepts in the lyrics. It works very well and the children will sing it repeatedly giving other boys opportunities to be the visual aid helper.
Although the dressing up and holding props provide the "fun" factor, real musical concepts can also be taught. I always have an ulterior motive when using visual aids. That is to teach real musical skills and gospel concepts for each song. The art or costumes or props or actions or activities are just tools to use to do real teaching that can last a lifetime. The object is to help the children learn the song so well that they can sing it without any aid at all. Only then will you know you have done your job!
Other Songs with Dress-up Possibilities
"We'll Bring the World His Truth" - suit jackets, ties or scarves, name tags - "Future Missionary"
"I Hope They Call Me on a Mission" - suit jackets, ties or scarves, name tags - "Future Missionary"
"Pioneer Children Sang as They Walked" - sun bonnets, straw hats, aprons, bandanas, suspenders, vests, etc.
"Holding Hands Around the World" - hats or costume pieces from countries around the world
"The Nativity Song" - Biblical costumes and props depicting the Christmas Pageant