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A Guide for Activities for Sing, Little Children, Singby Becky Degan |
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Here are some fun things parents and children can do to interact with the Sing, Little Children, Sing CD.
Make instruments to play along to the songs: 
- SHAKERS
- Cut a piece of construction paper to fit around a toilet paper roll. Decorate the paper with crayons, paints, or markers. Tape the paper around an empty toilet paper roll. Staple one end of the toilet paper roll with 3-4 staples. Put several beans in the toilet paper roll. (Experiment with different sized beans, rice, or beads for the best sounds!) Holding the stapled end, staple the other end at a 90-degree angle.
- Collect several empty clear water bottles. Remove the labels from the bottles. Fill them almost to the top with water, then put a few drops of food coloring in each bottle. Make as many different colors as you want! Put several small stones or marbles in each water bottle. Put the cap on the bottle and tape to keep from opening. Shake to make music! (Experiment with putting different amounts of water and different objects in the bottles to make noise.)
- Put several beans or grains of rice in a deflated balloon. Blow up the balloon and make noise by shaking the balloon, throwing it to a friend, or tapping on the floor.
- Put several beans in a paper lunch bag. Tie the open end with yarn, and enjoy your homemade maracas!
- BELLS, DRUMS, and TAMBOURINES
- For this instrument, you will need small or medium jingle bells, available at most craft stores, and yarn. Help your child string several bells on the yarn, then tie the ends together to make a necklace, anklet, or bracelet, and make music as you move!
- You will need a clay flowerpot, a piece of string or yarn (about a foot long), a small stick (2-3 inches long), and a wooden spoon for each bell. Tie the piece of yarn or string to the stick. Pass the string through the hole in the bottom of the clay flowerpot so that the stick is inside the pot. Hold the string and gently hit the flowerpot with the wooden spoon. Try different size flowerpots to make different sounds!
- Turn different size cardboard boxes upside down and hit with a wooden spoon to make your own drum set.
- For this instrument you will need a foil pie pan and any jingly-jangly things lying around the house—extra keys, paperclips, small jingle bells… Punch holes around the outside of the pie plate and use paperclips to attach your jingly items. You can shake to make noise or make two and use them as cymbals!
Suggested activities for the songs:
“God’s Care,” “God Takes Care of Me”
- Write a prayer with your child to say each night before going to sleep, then make a poster of it and hang it next to their bed.
- God takes care of all His children. Visit your local library to find books about children of different cultures who are also in God’s care. Also, look for the book Cups Held Out being released in September 2006 by Herald Press.
“I’m So Glad for Sunday”
- Use this opportunity to talk to your child about how other people worship. Visit your local library and look for books about people of other faiths.
- It takes a lot of people doing a lot of things to keep a church going! Find something you and your child can do together to help out at your church—weeding, cleaning, helping with a missions ministry…
“Jesus Loves Me”
- Visit http://www.lifeprint.com/ to learn sign language for “Jesus loves me” and do these signs as you sing the song.
“A Child’s ‘Thank You,’” “We Thank You, God”
- Look through magazines and help your child cut out pictures of things he or she is thankful for. Use these pictures to make a “Thank You” poster, or put the pictures in an envelope and during your prayer time, take turns pulling a picture from the envelope to thank God for.
- Make a “Thank You” book out of a scrapbook or photo album, drawing pictures of things you are thankful for.
- Talk with your child about people we are thankful for (Sunday School teachers, school teachers, pastors, neighbors, doctors…). Help your child to make a thank you note to send to one of these people.
“Away in a Manger,”“Little Baby Jesus,”“Silent Night,” “Happy Christmas”
- Check out “A Simple Christmas” by Herald Press for Christmas activities and ideas. http://www.heraldpress.com/books/simplecmas.htm
“God’s Gifts”
- Use this opportunity to talk with your child about God’s greatest gift to us—his son Jesus Christ!
- Choose a toy (either from your own toy box or from the toy store) to donate to someone who has less than you.
“Spring Song,” “Summertime,” “Walking in the Sunshine,” “Little Redbird in the Tree”
- Use this opportunity to read the Creation story to your child (Genesis 1:1-2:3). Make a Creation timeline or Creation book, drawing a picture of what God created each day.
- Talk about the different “music” God’s creation makes: the rain, thunder, wind through the trees, birds singing, waves at the ocean…
“A Happy Day”
- In the Bible, God gives us things he wants us to do (pray, love one another, honor your father and mother…) and things he wants us to not do (be selfish, say mean things, lie…) Play “Simon says” taking turns being the leader and the follower.
“Counting Song,” “Let’s Love Each Other”
- *With your child, make a photo album of people who they love. One of the ways we can love people is to pray for them. Take this opportunity to pray with your child for their loved ones. God calls us to love not only our friends and families, but everyone - even our enemies! Add pictures to your book of people from different countries and cultures and pray for them with your child.
“(I Want to Be) Just Like Jesus,” “Helping Hands and Feet”
- *Talk with your child about how we can help others, then visit MCC at http://www.mcc.org/donate/ to find out more about reaching out to those in need, and how you and your child can help.