A Child's Prayer: Magic Crayon for Younger Children

Magic Crayon

Show the Children:

Draw the shapes on the chalkboard or whiteboard. Lift up your hand and hold an imaginary crayon. 

Tell the Children:

"I have a magic crayon.  It can change colors.  Right now it is ____________ (choose a color). I'm going to draw this design." (point to the drawing behind you)

Begin Singing and Drawing an imaginary shape like the one you have on the chalkboard or whiteboard:

"Heavenly Father," (sing only that phrase)

Lift up your hand with the imaginary crayon and Ask the children:

"Can you hold your imaginary crayon and choose a color? Draw with me!" (Sing the phrase again and draw the imaginary shape in the air as the children draw with you.)

Stop and ask the children:

"What color is your crayon?" (Receive their answers.)

Tell the children:

"I'm going to choose a new color for my crayon.  Poof!" (Begin singing and drawing the shape in the air once again, this time going on in the song and drawing the other shape, also.)  "Heavenly Father, are you really there?"

Again, stop and ask the children:

"What color is your crayon now?" (Receive their answers.)  Announce that you are going to choose a new color for your crayon.  "Poof!" (Begin singing at the words "And do you hear and answer every child's prayer?" Draw the shapes in the air.

Continue

Sing, Draw shapes in the air, and occasionally stop and ask the children what color their crayon is.  Change the color of your crayon and sing again until you have sung every phrase in the song (only the first song of the two verses).

Benefits for the Children

This activity activates imagination, helps the children move to the beat in a smooth way (like the feel of the song), and stopping occasionally insures that the children are focusing in on the activity and thus the song.  By moving to the music as the music leader sings, the words of the song enter gently into the back door of the children's minds in a natural way. This song is in a three meter and the strong beat of each measure has a large movement either up or down in this activity to help the children feel that strong beat in their bodies. The pitches of this song have some big jumps for little voices, but the large movement of the arm and wrist help to unconsciously activate the body core which helps the children give the energy needed to their breath in order to sing the jumps. And it's fun!