For Such a Time as This Color Code

Have you heard the new primary song, For Such a Time as This (archives)? Shawna Edwards really touched my heart with these lyrics that tell of Queen Esther and how we each have unique purposes to fulfill during our time on earth.

As you teach this darling primary song, consider using this For Such a Time as This Color Code idea! Crack this puzzle with colors representing different keywords throughout the song!

For Such a Time as This Color Code

Older primary children will especially gravitate toward this neat logical conclusions activity. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that your Junior primary children won’t be able to participate. You can definitely stick to one singing time plan and adapt it to fit the ages and needs of your individual primary children.

For this activity, I created a word puzzle with 5 different colors that each represent a type of word in the song.

For example, any references to Esther will be in one color and any references to God will be in another color. As you practice this song, figure out what each color stands for to solve the code!

The only prep work you’ll need to do for this activity is to print out a copy of the color code and key for this song. It may also be helpful to keep a marker handy in case you’d like to fill in the lyrics as you go.

At the beginning of singing time, refresh the song by singing through For Such a Time as This (flip chart) once.

Then, tape up the color code and keep the key tucked away. Hmm, what do all these colors mean? Does anyone have a guess? That’s right – the colors stand for words in the song. Let’s see if we can figure out the pattern.

Let’s look for all the “pink” words in the song. What might pink represent? Sing through the song again and see if there are any guesses. Yes! The color pink represents Esther.

Pick one color at a time as you work together to solve this puzzle. You may find it easiest to focus on all the people in the story first, and then figure out the verbs/adjectives. Another strategy might be to write in all the missing lyrics first, then see how each set of words is similar.

Sing through the song several times to give hints along the way. This is a great way to get in lots of repetition. However, you don’t necessarily need to start at the beginning every time. You can even just choose to sing a few lines at a time!

Did you figure out all 5 colors? Way to go! Let’s sing through the song one more time now that we have solved the code.

Color Code:

Here’s a quick outline of the code for this activity with a few examples. I chose to focus specifically on the first two sections of the song for this activity, but you can definitely expand this code to work for the entire song!

• Pink – References to Esther
• Green – References to the king
• Blue – References to God
• Yellow – Verbs
• Purple – Descriptive Words

Ex. “Long ago, there ____ a deeply _____ soul, a _____ who was ____ and _____”

Ex. “____ ____ a plan _____ by a _______ ____”

Extension Activities:

• Assign one color to each class and have each class figure out what their color stands for. Then, have them sing out their keywords.
• Write out all the missing lyrics in their assigned color and create word strips. Tape the word strips throughout the room and fill in missing lyrics as you go.
• Pick a fun action to pair with each color. Ex. Pink = Clap, Green = Tap Head, Blue = Heart Hands, Yellow = Jump, Purple = Slide to the side
• Create a word bank with all the missing lyrics. Then, create a chart with 5 columns, one for each color. Organize the words into the chart as you review.

For another fun similar activity, head over to see this I Need Thee Every Hour Number Problems singing time activity!

For Such a Time as This Color Code Printable Song Helps

This free in-post printable includes a 4-page color code puzzle with a key.

Join INSTANT Primary Singing for extended printables including…. You’ll find these bonus files included when XXX song is the featured song of the month.

Looking for more Old Testament Singing Time Ideas? Follow along for SO many ideas as you teach these lovely primary songs this year!

What other fun ways will you use this color code singing time activity in your Primary room?