Our Primary only knows a couple of birthday songs really well. We could certainly improve. I've decided we are going to practice them (and perhaps learn one) and have an unbirthday party in Primary. I'm excited!
Prep: I'm giving each child a birthday sticker to begin with. I decided that I won't do birthday hats because I can already imagine them snapping the elastic and either getting hurt and crying or breaking it and crying that it's broken. I'm going to avoid the tears. I'm also going to wrap up a present that is addressed to the Junior Primary, and another for Senior Primary. At the end of Singing Time we'll open the present. Inside will be individually wrapped cookies or small party favors for each child. I thought about cupcakes but we really don't need frosting or cake crumbs all over the church. I'll put some streamers up and a couple of balloons just so it looks like a party. We are the first ward in the building so it would be easy to get the decorations up before church begins.
We will pretend it's all our birthdays in Primary. We will take turns singing birthday songs to a group of kids for each song we review or each time we run through the song as if it is their "birthday". We will make sure everyone has a chance to get sung to.
Here are the songs that I'd like to review:
Feliz Cumpleanos CS #282 (this one needs some teaching)
Your Happy Birthday CS #283
Happy, Happy Birthday CS #284a
You've Had a Birthday #285
If you don't already follow LDS Primary Choristers Facebook page, join! So many great ideas out there. Since I've been planning this "unbirthday party" I have found some really great ideas to make these birthday songs more fun.
One chorister posted an idea for "Your Happy Birthday" (CS #283) that I love!! For "zip-a-dee-ay" and "heigh-dee-ho" she substitutes nonsensical funny words. She has a cute jar with 2 sets of different words- one set to substitute "zip-a-dee-ay" and the other set to substitute "heigh-dee-ho". She has come up with some pretty awesome words. Click HERE to see her original post. She was so kind to write up all her fun words for others to print and use. Click HERE to access her post with the document of fun words. This will be a hit for sure!
For "You've Had a Birthday" the same talented chorister posted another idea. Click HERE to see her post. She created different "personalities" for singing the song. When the song says, "You've had a birthday, shout hooray" she substitutes "hooray" for a word that one of the "personalities" might say. For example, if the personality is a cowboy, he shouts "yee-haw!" I just love this idea! The children will have so much fun choosing the different personalities.
For "Happy, Happy Birthday" all the primary kids that are singing to the children in the front will act as "birthday candle flames" where they sway and move. At the end of the song, the children being sung to get to blow out the "candles" and all the "candles" fall into their seats.
"Feliz Cumpleanos" needs some real teaching. The pronunciation of the foreign words deters the Primary from really learning it, I think. So we will practice the pronunciation really well so they will feel comfortable with it.
This would be a great Singing Time to hold in August when the first Primary was held on August 25, 1878. Then it would be a real Primary birthday party.
I hope this goes well because I really want to do a "Visitors Day" too where we practice welcome songs.
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