1. Nursery Music

2. Teaching the Toddler/Preschooler

3. What is the purpose of Nursery Music?
What are musical skills that this age of child is needing to learn developmentally?

4. Starting and Stopping
Teaching a child to learn to initiate, to stop his or her actions, and to wait for good things.

5. Starting and Stopping
Quickly I’ll Obey, CS 197 with shakers using starts and stops
Are You Sleeping? with bells
Choo, Choo the Big Train
Oh, We walk and we walk and we walk and we stop

6. Loud and Soft
Teaching a child how to differentiate between loud and soft, and eventually learn when those two opposites are appropriate.

7. Loud and Soft God Has Made Them All with ladybugs and a grow ball
I Am Like a Star, CS 163 with stars,
regular then whispering

8. High and Low
Teaching a child how to make his or her voice go up or down in pitch – and to match pitch so they can sing.

9. High and Low
My Hands, CS 273 Here is the Beehive with the bee flying high then low

10. Fast and Slow
Teaching a child the difference between fast and slow so that they can eventually learn when those two opposites are appropriate.

11. Fast and Slow
Happy Family, CS 198 with a hummingbird family, then with a whale family
God Made Them I Know with an animal (squirrel, mouse, etc.)
Choo, Choo the Big Train

12. Moving My Body to Music
Teaching a child where their body is in space using appropriate movement to music.
Teaching a child to be able to keep a steady beat in their body.
Teaching a child the difference in the feel of different pieces of music through their body, thus learning and recognizing nuance.

13. Moving My Body to Music
Once There Was a Snowman, CS 249 using not only the body, but a felt snowman for variety. Using the words Once there was a green tree,... In the shade I rested… and actions to go with it
I Have a Body Like Heavenly Father moving as the song says and perhaps using a stuffed animal to demonstrate movements
Book of Mormon Stories, CS 118 with play hammers, shakers, etc. to keep the steady beat

14. What is the purpose of Nursery music?
How do we do those things and yet use songs that have a small range, few words, and concrete (touchable, seeable, tasteable) concepts? Focus in on the musical and development tasks.

15. What is the purpose of Nursery music?
The Nursery manual lists these purposes: To teach a child…
Reality and love of Heavenly Father and Jesus
Love of family
Strength of prayer
Truth of the First Vision
Beauty of God’s creations
Positive Experiences in a Church setting
Grow in feelings of self worth
How do we do those things and yet use songs that have a small range, few words, and concrete (touchable, seeable, tasteable) concepts? Focus in on the musical and development tasks.

16. Are there songs that meet those purposes?
Reality and love of Heavenly Father
Heavenly Father, I Love You using hand actions and hands on blessing props
Love of Family
In My Family using pictures and hand actions
Strength of Prayer
Every Day I Pray, Pray, Pray using hand actions or stuffed animals

17. Truth of the First Vision
The Sacred Grove using trees on sticks or Joseph Smith puppets from the manual
Beauty of God’s Creations
God Made the Earth using hand actions or pictures
God Made Them I Know using stuffed animals or puppets on sticks
God Has Made Them All using stuffed animals or puppets on sticks

18. Are there songs that meet those purposes?
Positive Experiences in a Church Setting
Signal Songs and Music Time!!!!! Come, oh come and sit with me,
Oh It’s Time to Put the Toys Away, Happy Family (Nursery)
Grow in feelings of self worth
Mary Wore Her Red Dress… Who is wearing yellow socks?
We Are a Happy Family, CS 198 using the words, naming the children
and changing the words to We are a happy Nursery
I Am a Child of God, CS 2, using scarves

19. Why do we do all this?

20. For the Children.

21. Start and Stop Songs Practice control which aids in start/stop of other actions
Tambourine and Windwands
Christmas Bells, CS 54, and bells (shh “in Bethlehem”)
Primary 1 CD
My Hands, CS 273, (stopping to do actions)
Quickly I’ll Obey, CS 197 and shakers, or woodblocks (tap, tap, tap)
Are You Sleeping? and bells (wait to ring)
A Happy Family, CS 198, and stick puppets (fermata over “see” then breath)
Choo, Choo, The Big Train and woodblocks
Happy Song, CS 2, (stopping to make noises)
Eensy Weensy Spider and puffball spiders

22. Songs with High and Low Increase ability to hear nuance, stretch vocal abilities
What do the animals say? (sheep, horse, duck, dog, cat… experiment with your voice)
Quickly I’ll Obey (How would an elephant sing it? a ladybug? How would a wolf sing it? + howl, How would an owl sing it? + hooting)
My Hands (“I’ll raise my hands up to the sky…”)
Here Is the Beehive and bees (buzzing high, buzzing low)

23. Songs with Loud and Soft Increase ability for nuance, quality
I Am Like a Star, CS 163, with stars (regular then whisper voice)
Rain Is Falling, CS 241, with raindrops
Roll Your Hands, CS 274, with movement
Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (with the words “This is the way I brush my hair…” use teddy bear getting ready for church – quiet when he goes to sleep)
Quickly I’ll Obey (how would a butterfly sing it? a lion?)

24. Songs with fast and slow Increase self control of pace
Quickly I’ll Obey (How would an elephant sing it? How would a squirrel sing it? Finger puppets)
Primary 1 CD and shakers or scarves
I Am Like a Star (big, huge star and their bodies spread out like the big star/ tiny baby star)
A Happy Family (whale family sings slowly, hummingbird family sings fast)

25. Songs with Movement Practicing steady beat, activating thinking cells
I Like to Sing, CS 253, (Clap, clap, clap) (Stomp, stomp, stomp) (Hop, hop, hop)
Roll Your Hands (touch your nose, pat your tummy)
Primary 1 CD
Do As I’m Doing, CS 27
My Hands (sing it very slowly at first)
Once There Was a Snowman, CS 249 and felt snowman (Once there was a green tree…. In the shade I rested….) (Once there was a brown seed… In the sun it stretched out…)

26. Songs with Movement, cont.
Smiles, CS 267, and felt face/smile (then movement with arms like a smile) Book of Mormon Stories, CS 118, and hammers or shakers (build the boat) Who will come and walk with me? (crawl with me, jump with me, twirl with me)

27. Songs with Story Increase capacity to sequence a small story
Baptism, CS 100, with scarves and picture
The Sacred Grove, with hand signs, finger puppets from the manual, and picture
Eensy Weensy Spider with puff ball spiders
Here Is the Beehive with bees
Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree, CS 242
Happy Family, CS 198 (using cardboard houses and little people)

28. Greeting Songs Sing and greet each child by name in the song
Signal that it is singing time by using the same song again and again.

29. Greeting Songs Here We Are Together, CS 261
Hello friends, CS 254 (with hand signs)
If You’re Happy, CS 266 (If you’re happy and you know it, say hello)
We’re All Together Again, CS 259
We Welcome You, CS 256 (first page only)
Come With Me, CS 255 (to Nursery)
A Happy Family, CS 198, (“I see Susie; she sees me…”)

30. Signal Songs and Gathering Songs
Do As I’m Doing (Gather for singing, follow, follow me, gather for singing, follow, follow me…) (first two lines over and over)
Come With Me (O, come sit down for music time…)
It’s Time to put the Toys Away
Who Will Come and Sit With Me?
Go Round and Round the Village (Come sit down on the carpet….)

31. Prayer Songs We Bow Our Heads, CS 25 I Love to Pray, CS 25
A Prayer Song, CS 22
A Song of Thanks, CS 20
Thanks to Our Father, CS 20

32. Summary Use songs and activities that start and stop.
Use songs that have much needed movement to a steady beat.
Use songs to practice fast/slow, loud/soft.
Use sounds from nature to stretch high and low.
Use songs to signal where to go and what to do.
Use songs to tell a story.
Use songs to give positive experiences in Church settings.