Families Can Be Together Forever Pencil Rhythm Sticks Pattern

What better way to jump back in to school than with this fun Families Can Be Together Forever Rhythm Sticks activity? This living music activity is an awesome way to keep primary children engaged during singing time! Grab some pencils and check out our simple pattern for this song!

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If you’ve never used rhythm sticks before in primary, you’re in for a treat! Rhythm sticks can be used in a variety of different ways. If you’re looking for some rhythm sticks to add to your primary supplies, this set of 24 colorful rhythm sticks on Amazon is great!

We have a set of 30 Rhythm Sticks Pattern Cards in our shop! We love helping primary choristers get organized, and these cards are a great item to add to your singing time toolbox! These cards are a great go-to primary activity for those days you’re in a pinch!

If you don’t have a large primary budget, you can keep things simple and use pencils or wooden dowels! Here’s my EASY budget-friendly pencil rhythm sticks activity!

Families Can Be Together Forever Pencil Rhythm Sticks Activity

I’m so excited to try this Families Can Be Together Forever activity in singing time! For this fun activity, just grab a pack of your favorite wooden pencils, and you’re ready to go for singing time! You will love singing along as you tap-tap-tap the rhythm!

The idea behind this activity is to create a physical representation of the rhythm to help the children learn the rhythm as they sing. For this activity, I started by speaking the rhythm out loud to myself.

Then, I made each rhythm a long or short “tap” with the pencil rhythm sticks. I switched off playing with my right and left hands, and played with both hands too!

I wrote out the rhythm in the printable lesson plan included later in this post. In the printable, I broke down the verse and chorus of the song into long and short taps. r this most part, the rhythm sticks pattern just follows the natural rhythm of the song and syllables. Shorter syllables get a quicker tap than long syllables.

Taps are color-coded with which hand to play with, but feel free to get creative! In the printable, the color Red indicates Right Hand. The color Green indicates Left Hand, and Blue indicates Both Hands.

To help you get a better idea of how the rhythm goes, I’ve created a video demo as well, which I share below after the activity instructions.

Activity Instructions:

1. Review the first verse and chorus of Families Can Be Together Forever (flip chart here!) at the beginning of singing time.
2. Then, introduce the activity by bringing out some drumsticks or pencils and pretending to be a drummer!
3. Pass out enough wooden pencils for each child to have 2 pencils. Have the children sit on the floor and use their chairs as drums, or just have them tap on their chair while they sit.
4. Put the rhythm stick pattern up on the board and demonstrate the pattern for the children. Explain to the children what each color means. There should be one color for right hand, left hand, and both hands together.
5. Invite the children to join in when they are ready. Try the pattern a few times before adding music.
6. Then, try singing the song while using the rhythm pattern! Continue practicing and trying out new rhythms.

Keeping Things Simple:

Although this activity is a little more geared toward Senior primary children, you can modify this activity for your Junior primary kids too! It’s always fun to have a bit of a challenge, but if your Senior primary children are struggling with it, these tips will work for them as well!

We are here to help make primary more simple for you! Please feel free to use these 3 tips below if you are wanting to simplify this activity.

1. Don’t worry about the colors. If you are nervous about trying this activity with younger kids, take out the color-codes! This will keep it simple because the kids will be able to play the taps with whichever hand feels most comfortable. For this adaptation, you’ll want to print out the pattern pages in black and white.
2. Take it Slow! If this is your first time trying a rhythm activity, feel free to slow down the tempo a bit! You’ll be able to bring the tempo back to your preferred speed as you practice.
3. Just do a verse or a chorus – Not Both. Another way to simplify this activity is to just have the children do the rhythm sticks for the verse OR the chorus, and just sing the other part. This will make it a little easier for them to process.

Extension Ideas:

• Follow the Leader! Have one child (or a group of children) come to the front and lead the group in the rhythm sticks pattern. After singing through a verse and chorus, have the children pick a new leader!
• Change up the pattern! You could easily switch left hand for right hand or change the pattern altogether.
• Switch up how you create the pattern. For example, instead of using the pencil rhythm sticks, you could clap, snap, or hum the rhythm pattern.

For another fun way to use rhythm sticks in primary, check out this Gethsemane Rhythm Sticks Pattern!

Families Can Be Together Forever Pencil Rhythm Sticks Demo Video

In this video, I explain how to use the pencil rhythm sticks printable in primary! I also provide a short demo singing through the first verse and chorus of the song while using the pattern. Just watch the video below or click on this link below!

Families Can Be Together Forever Pencil Rhythm Sticks Demo Video

Families Can Be Together Forever Pencil Rhythm Sticks Printable Lesson Plan & Pattern

As promised, here is the Families Can Be Together Pencil Rhythm Sticks printable patterns. It includes the 1st verse and chorus!

As you’ll see, the color Red indicates Right Hand. The color Green indicates Left Hand, and Blue indicates Both Hands.

You’ll find a printable lesson plan, color guide, and a black and white version to focus on just the long and short taps instead of switching hands included in the extended printables for members of INSTANT Primary Singing! They are included when Families Can Be Together Forever is the featured song of the month.

To access the free in-post printables for this post, you’ll just need to create a free account or login with the Grow.me tool. Then, confirm by email and refresh the page and ALL my free printables will automatically unlock in every post!

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Try this fun Families Can Be Together Forever Action Words activity next!

Let us know how this Families Can Be Together Forever Rhythm Sticks activity goes in your primary!