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Saturday, July 28, 2012

Olympics Singing Time


There are lots of ideas floating around for Olympics Singing Time. I think this could be such a fun theme, but could easily get out of hand. So here's my simplified take on it.

EVENTS: Here's a list of events I've chosen and simple activities to incorporate into singing. These can be done to any song and make it possible for all children to participate.

Weightlifting: Bring a dumbbell for someone to raise and lower during the song. The louder the kids sing, the higher the dumbbell is raised. 
Cycling: Everyone 'hops on their bike' and rides while we sing; you know, hands on the handlebars and feet pedaling. When we go up a hill we sing slower, when we go down a hill we sing faster. Lean back slightly and raise your arms up to signal up-hill and lean forward and down to signal down-hill.
Archery: Everyone loads their bow and arrow. Everyone follows me as I pull back more on my bow we sing  louder and as I let go we get suddenly loud and then immediately soft. ('fp' in music notation)
Tennis: Bring a tennis racket and pass the 'song' back and forth. Point to one side of the room to signal them to sing and then point the racket to the other side of the room to signal them to sing. This is an adaptation on Song Ping Pong.
Swimming: Everyone swims with their arms and watches me. When my head is up, we sing the words. When my head drops down we hum.
Equestrian: Pick a word to "jump" over. When you get to that word in the song, don't sing it.
Fencing: Bring a conductor's baton (or something similar) to have a child conduct. The bigger the conductor's movements, the louder the children sing, the smaller their movements, the softer they sing. Have them do a few fermatas, too, where they hold out their arms and the children hold out that note.
Running: Run to the rhythm of the melody. Quick steps for quick notes, slow steps for long notes. For example: "The Lord commanded Nephi to go and get the plates" would be quick-quick-quick-quick-quick-slow-quick-quick-quick-quick-quick-quick-slow.
Basketball: Staccato and legato (detached and smooth) We all dribble basketballs while we sing. The children watch and follow me. When I dribble, we sing staccato, when I shoot we sing legato.
Gymnastics:  Use your body to get higher and lower with the melody, it's pitch leading with your body. This is really my Rollercoaster idea.
Synchronized Swimming: Sing a Round!  Here's a list of rounds in the Children's Song Book. 


  • Come with Me to Primary (Round) - #255
  • For Health and Strength (Round) - #21a
  • For Thy Bounteous Blessings (Round) - #21b
  • Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise (Round) - #280
  • Listen, Listen (Round) - #107
  • Little Pioneer Children (Round) - #216
  • Our Door Is Always Open (Round) - #254b
  • Sing a Song (Round) - #253a
  • The Shepherd's Carol (Round) - #40b
  • You've Had a Birthday (Round) - #285

  • PICTOGRAMS: I love the crisp and clean look of pictograms and found several to use. I've made a file of them for all of the above events you can download and print. You can cut them out and hang them on the board or let a child choose one from a container.
    Click to download
    Let the Games Begin!

    3 comments:

    1. Perfect! I was looking for an idea that included all the kids and incorporated the Olympic theme. Thank you for sharing all your wonderful ideas, I would be lost with out you.

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    2. This was a blast today! I was surprised at how well they were able to do Archery and Basketball. I did a quick demonstration of the more complicated activities, just the first line and they caught on fast. They definitely were ready for this challenge!
      I noticed that my swimming pictogram wasn't in the file to print out, so it's updated now. We made it through all but three or four of the activities, so I'll use them next week after we learn our new song, "I'm Trying to be Like Jesus."
      Kellogg, I'm glad you liked this idea. Any feedback? Thanks, Cami.

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    3. This. Is. Awesome. Thank you for putting all the work into this! I love your ideas and I love the images too.

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