Time is very precious in Primary Singing Time. Twenty minutes goes by in the blink of an eye. So, it seems obvious to me that the primary activity in Singing Time should be SINGING. And although explanations may be necessary, talking and doing other activities such as games, coloring, puzzles, visual aids, dressing in costumes, etc., should really be kept to a minimum.
Occasionally I get the chance to visit Singing Times in different places across the country. So, I speak from years of my own teaching experience and also years of observing. I wish I could say that all Primary Singing Times were run by talented music leaders, but alas, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Sadly, many Singing Times are run like the old Sharing Times. More attention is paid to teaching a lesson than teaching the children the Gospel through Music —- more especially by SINGING. I have actually timed how long the Song Leader spent TALKING compared to the amount of time the children spent SINGING. Sometimes the leader spent 15 minutes or more talking and the kids sang for just 5 minutes or less. The children should be able to sing for at least 50% of the time, better to aim for 75% of the time.
REMEMBER THE RULE OF 7 — children need to hear the song up to seven times before they even feel comfortable participating in singing. And learning a song means MEMORIZING. THAT ONLY HAPPENS THROUGH a lot of REPETITION.
REMEMBER THE RULE OF 7 — children need to hear the song up to seven times before they even feel comfortable participating in singing. And learning a song means MEMORIZING. THAT ONLY HAPPENS THROUGH a lot of REPETITION.
Time wasting seems to be more consistent across the country than actual singing. Let me point out some of the most popular TIME WASTERS:
1. OPENER: Asking this particular question: “Who knows what song we sang last week?” Then the Song Leader gazes around the room into blank stares from the few children who are paying attention. (Most are not.) Let’s face it, nobody remembers, not even the adults. And it wastes a lot of time when the Song Leader waits for an answer. (Besides, you should be singing more than one song each week!)
Better to open by saying something like: “We were working on _________ last week and I wonder if I sang part of a line, could you sing the rest?” Then proceed to jog their memories right away with a quick lyric and melody review by singing back and forth.
1. OPENER: Asking this particular question: “Who knows what song we sang last week?” Then the Song Leader gazes around the room into blank stares from the few children who are paying attention. (Most are not.) Let’s face it, nobody remembers, not even the adults. And it wastes a lot of time when the Song Leader waits for an answer. (Besides, you should be singing more than one song each week!)
Better to open by saying something like: “We were working on _________ last week and I wonder if I sang part of a line, could you sing the rest?” Then proceed to jog their memories right away with a quick lyric and melody review by singing back and forth.
2. CONNECTIONS to "Come Follow Me” - The Song Leader takes up a lot of time arranging Visual Aids and explaining the directions for the Activity. She retells the story from the scriptures and shows many pictures or something even more spectacular. She may give out reading or writing instructions or pass out papers and pencils. Then she explains how this relates to the song they will be learning. Suddenly she realizes that time is running out and the children barely get to sing (or more likely just listen to) the song through once.
Better to limit the pictures and storytelling to small doses that can be told quickly in between singing the song phrases or verses. Point out how these lyrics point back to the Old Testament story of ______. Briefly mention a few things to help focus attention on the meaning of the lyrics, guide the children's listening to how to sing properly, or challenge them to commit to memory a portion of the song. But never go more than a FEW SECONDS before singing again. The goal should be to SING each song several times through.
Better to limit the pictures and storytelling to small doses that can be told quickly in between singing the song phrases or verses. Point out how these lyrics point back to the Old Testament story of ______. Briefly mention a few things to help focus attention on the meaning of the lyrics, guide the children's listening to how to sing properly, or challenge them to commit to memory a portion of the song. But never go more than a FEW SECONDS before singing again. The goal should be to SING each song several times through.
3. CHOOSING HELPERS - Using a choosing strategy like pulling names out of a hat consumes so much time. First off, more often than not, a few names are drawn of kids that aren’t in attendance that day. It also shows that the leaders are not really paying attention to connecting personally with each child each week.
Better to have many activities for helpers that give opportunities for everyone present that day. Limit the solo helpers to just a few. Then have activities that small groups can do such as waving scarves then passing them on to another group quickly until everyone gets a turn. This kind of activity is useful to hit the goal of singing a song through several times towards memorization.
Better to have many activities for helpers that give opportunities for everyone present that day. Limit the solo helpers to just a few. Then have activities that small groups can do such as waving scarves then passing them on to another group quickly until everyone gets a turn. This kind of activity is useful to hit the goal of singing a song through several times towards memorization.
SINGING TIME is for singing, reviewing and memorizing. Twenty minutes is plenty of time to sing several songs several times through. When challenged, kids can be smart. They are QUITE CAPABLE of learning more than just five songs per year!!!!!
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