25 minutes and NO helpers

Today in primary singing time we did a lot. We sang the Pioneer Children Sang As They Walked, then we learned (went over, many kids know this song) "Families Can Be Together Forever." After that we sang a wiggle song.

The kids were involved, and yet after I sat down I realized that I didn't use any kids as helpers at ALL.
I kind of liked that since then no kids felt like they were dying for a turn. I'll tell you a bit about what I did.
For "Pioneer Children" I introduced it with the theme of pioneers, who they were, etc. I asked the kids what they knew about pioneers, and then we sang the song with a flip chart that I found in the closet which had all the words.

Just a side note, I usually don't like flip charts to have all the words. This makes kids rely on them too much. On the other hand, since I don't actually care if the kids get this one memorized, and the chart was already made up that way, I went with it. But normally, no way. Or I detach the words after the first few weeks.
We sang it through while walking in place. I had the boys and girls switch off singing every other line. We sang it twice.

Families Can Be Together Forever p. 188
 
After this I got out this month's July 2013 Ensign and showed them the picture of the Nauvoo saints leaving, heading West, and tragically leaving the temple behind. I got close to them,walking around, asking kids to tell me what they saw. It let all the kids participate a little. Then I asked about the building in the background. One boy identified it as the temple. I explained how the Saints worked to build it. I told them about how the saints were almost done when the Lord told them they needed to leave because people were being mean to them. I asked them why they finished the temple, when they knew they would have to leave it behind. (This got some really good answers. I love how thoughtful kids can be.) Then I asked what covenants and ordinances occur in the temple. We discussed how you can be with your family forever.
Yes, this was a lead in for Families Can Be Together Forever.
This song we just sang twice because they really seemed to know it. I'll show you the flip chart I made.

example of the pages when colored

And then I colored them with colored pencils and put them in page protectors. At first I put clear contact paper over all my flip books, but that takes a long time. Then I found a pack of 15 page protectors at the dollar store. Also, I know lots of people print them off in color. I dislike this because ink can be expensive and coloring isn't hard.

I sometimes wonder if flip charts or these other methods are as necessary for the songs the kids are already familiar with, but then I realize that the younger kids really do need the confidence of being taught every word. It's the first time really learning these songs for them. Also, the very young sometimes don't sing in church, but their parents report that at home they know a lot of the words.

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes p. 275
After this we did Head Shoulders, Knees and Toes, but with a twist. I had body part cards in a bag and picked 4 new body parts to sing instead of H, S, K, T. Then we sang it. Because we were a little in a hurry because my time was running short, I just picked them and posted them on the board. The kids were excited and one boy said we should do 8 new body parts (instead of doing the traditional eyes ears mouth and nose) I promised that for next week.

I realized after making the below pictures that no one could read them, so I wrote the body parts big on the back and used a magnet to attach to the board. Yes, that's a fail on my part.

I got the great page to color here.

That was my singing time with no special volunteers, and it really worked well. Perhaps I would choose special volunteers to help me do the actions for the new Head Shoulders Knees and Toes song. But I think today's plans worked well because I got the kids up for the first song, told them a story for the lead in to the second, and then really got them moving and thinking for the third. It seems like the more involved I can get the entire group, the better.
No, I'm not against ever choosing volunteers. But it was a relief from last week. I had 2 volunteers each time we sang a song through last week and everyone wanted a turn.