During Covid lockdown, we could finally meet together with a lot of restrictions. One of those restrictions was no singing. How could we do Singing Time in Primary but not sing?
I came up with these cards and sent them to my Primary Music Leaders in the Stake. The cards still work today even though we can sing now because it’s about getting the songs into the memory. Here are the instructions for each card:
Clap the Rhythm – clap the rhythm of the song (not the beat, clap the rhythm of the tune).
Whisper the Words – whisper the words of the song. We can whisper sing now which brings instant reverence to a song such as “I am a Child of God” or “Heavenly Father Loves Me”.
Stand when you hear this – choose a word for the children to stand up when they hear it.
Think Sing – the children need to think the words in their head while they listen. We were able to have one person sing, so the children could hear the song many times over and get it in their head. Having that repetition now still helps for rote learning.
Conduct the Beat – have the children conduct the beat to the time signature of the song.
Hold Nose and Say Words – plug your nose and sing – or just say the words if you’re not able to sing.
Cover Ears and Say Words – (or sing them). Such a fun way to revise a song, because it means you can only hear yourself sing. It’s aurally different.
Stomp Feet to the Beat – stand up and stomp your feet to the beat. This works for songs in a strong C time or 4/4 time. Not recommended for 3/4 time songs.
Sticky Arms and Feet and Think Sing – Pretend to glue your arms to your side, your feet to the floor and think the words of the song in your head.
Dab to This Word – choose a word to dab to. Choose a couple of words, or a theme or words. We did this to the hymn “Choose the Right”, because sneezing “A-CHOO” into your elbow was highly recommended by our medical experts in our daily 11am Covid reports. The children found it amusing to dab to “choose”.
Here are the Ways to Sing cards pdf: Ways to sing when you can’t sing cards
The image of the girl whispering is from Susan Fitch Designs. The other images were from free sources on the Internet.
