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Easy tips and tricks to help keep Sunbeams engaged and calm during Primary Singing Time and Primary Program practices...
(which you may also find useful for Nursery Kid)
Hello and welcome to LDS Primary Printables. I'm so excited you are here! LDS Primary Printables provides Come Follow Me, Gospel Topics, Primary Events, and Primary Singing Time Resources for Families, Primary Teachers and Primary Music Leaders.
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Children acquire knowledge by acting and then reflecting on their experiences. This kind of experiential learning, in which children acquire knowledge by doing and via reflection on their experiences, is full of movement, imagination, and self-directed play.(1)
Memory and movement are linked, and the body is a tool of learning. Active play provides important opportunities for learning and development. Don't be afraid to let your Sunbeams move, even if during an activity that isn't movement-based (like just move your hands back and forth to the beat).
SING TO THEM
Smile and sing directly to them a lot. Look them right in the eye. They love it!
NURSERY/SUNBEAM IDEA EGG/TOY IDEA
One of our sunbeams teacher used to put a small cardboard egg on the chair with an animal sticker on it (owl, dinosaur, whatever she though would be of interest to them) she would tell them that they needed to sit on the egg add keep it warm for the mum so that the baby could hatch. She'd then pick a small corresponding toy animal to the sticker and it would 'hatch' after a week of good sitting and the sunbeam got to keep the toy. She'd then extend this over two weeks and then three, etc. to help them earn how to sit on their chair. (Check out REVERENCE CHICKS here, a cute little pom pomp chick you can give the sunbeams when they are reverent).
When I was a sunbeam teacher, I gave them laminated sunshine’s with their names on them. They had to put the sunshine on their chair and keep it warm by sitting on it. If it was still a warm sunshine at the end of class- they got a sunshine sticker. Works like a charm.
MY LITTLE PONY VARIATION
I also keep a bag of my little ponies. Hear me out. I let them hold the pony as long as they help pony stay reverent. Or they don’t cry. Or whatever you need them to do. The trick is selling the magic. I love sunbeams.
[Sun & Pony idea credit: Tiffany Freeman]
GET SOMETHING IN THEIR HANDS
Whether it's a stick “baton” to direct, a Jesus figure on a stick, or something else, giving the little ones something to hold while singing can help them stay engaged and attentive.
PETE & REPEAT
Fun printable parrot puppets the kids can hold and "echo."
Let the kids use a pipe cleaner to bend around as singing. (Even though they won't be able to, you can encourage them to make something relating to the song.) - Put tape around the ends so it's not pokey.
PAIR UP
Sometimes I'll pair them up with a big kid. The Sunbeams get a kick out of having a big kid friend sitting next to them and the big kids love being "in charge".
I especially do this when the activity I'm doing might be too difficult for them. For example, we played Heads Up and I paired up a big kid with a Sunbeam. The big kid whispered the word to the Sunbeam since the Sunbeam can't read and helped them not sing the word. If they were chosen to be in front with the word, they worked together to figure out the missing word.
[Idea credit: Sarah B. Adams]
REVERENT BUG
Give them a reverent bug. A little plastic fake bug to hold. Tell them it is to remind them to be as quiet as a bug. If they are quiet...They can give you the bug back for a treat after primary.
[Idea credit: Jennifer D. Lefler]
OR
BUTTERFLY CLIP
Butterflies land on reverent kids because in real life they need a calm and peaceful place to land. At the end of singing time they can exchange their butterfly for a sticker or a small treat. It works wonders!
[Idea credit: Jennifer D. Lefler]
FILL IT UP INCENTIVE POSTERS
Giving the kids a visual for how they are doing helps a lot because it provides a visual goal the kids can work towards.
Tell the kids their goal is to fill up the poster by the time singing time ends.
This is perfect for Primary Singing Time. Setting expectations and boundaries and following-through will do a great deal to ward off bad behavior.
References these 3 rules briefly at the beginning of singing time each week. (They come from years of trial and error by a life coach named Kirk Duncan).
Camille at Camille's Primary Ideas has a cute printable for the 3 rules here.
CANDY JAR
WHAT YOU NEED:
Jar
Candy in a Bowl
Get a really tall jar and tell the kids once the jar is full the primary gets a treat.
Let kids that are behaving well put candy in the jar throughout each primary class.
Once the jar is full (should take at least a month), give the kids a small treat.
MAKE IT INDIVIDUAL
If you really have an issue with one or two little ones, talk to them after primary music.
Tell them how much you love them and are glad they are part of the primary.
Tell them you and the other kids need their help to sing the best they can by...
Ask them what some of their favorite things are (my nieces and nephews LOVE Paw Patrol and things like that), then make some of the items-paper- they like to hold/use during singing time (see Egg/Toy idea above).
SHOW LOVE
Whatever you do and however you choose to handle things, always be consistent and show love. And remember to give yourself a break and pat on the back, no matter how things go.
The kids are learning, even when they seem like they aren't!
