In February, I’ll be teaching He Sent His Son in primary. I love this song because it teaches the Plan of Salvation in such a simple, beautiful way. This simple He Sent His Son What’s in the Bag activity is a fun way to review this song.
** See 30 He Sent His Son Singing Time Ideas here! **
Since “He Sent His Son” can be a challenging song for children to learn, I definitely recommend using this He Sent His Song Flip chart to introduce or teach this song.
He Sent His Son What’s in the Bag?
I have used “What’s in the Bag” activities with my primary and they never get tired of it! What I love most about this activity is how simple it can be.
I usually start by gathering some items that represent different elements of the song. Then, I can wrap the items up or hide them around the primary room and I’m all set for singing time.
This time, I’m putting a little twist on “What’s in the Bag.” Start by gathering 3-4 small items that can fit into a brown paper bag. I usually just stop by Walmart to grab a pack of paper bags, but you can also purchase a set of 40 brown paper bags on Amazon.
I chose items based on the topics of each verse of the song. For example, the first verse talks about “love and tenderness.” For this item, I printed out a simple picture of a heart. The second verse talks about the “pathway we should go,” for which I grabbed a pair of shoes from my closet!
The next stanza discusses the sacrifice of the Savior, so I found a small stone to represent the tomb that Christ was laid in. Another stanza talks about the scriptures, so I used my scriptures for this one. Lastly, I put a picture of Christ in a picture frame.
Ideas for Items to Include:
- Picture frame with a picture of Christ – This page on the church website has a wide variety of beautiful artwork of Christ to choose from.
- Small pair of children’s shoes – If you have young children, snag a pair of their shoes to represent the “pathway” in the song.
- Flat Stone – take a walk around your local park and find a small stone to represent the tomb that Christ was laid in.
- Scriptures – Since we are studying the Old Testament, it would be great to bring a copy of the Bible or a quad with all 4 volumes of scripture.
- A drawing of a heart – print out a simple copy of a heart
How to Play He Sent His Son What’s in the Bag? Singing Time Game
Label each brown paper bag with a number and place one item in each bag, stapling them closed. At the beginning of primary place the paper bags on the table and ask the children what items might be in the bags.
After singing the song through once, begin passing one of the bags around the room. While you sing the sing, invite the children to pass the bag and try to guess what is inside. Children may shake the bag, but don’t let them open the seal!
During the song, have the pianist pause the music randomly. Whoever is holding the bag gets to guess what they think is inside the bag. After they guess, continue passing the bag around until you complete the song.
After finishing the song, open the bag and show the kids what is inside. Pass around another bag and sing the song through again. Do this until you have opened all the bags!
Extension Ideas:
- After opening one of the bags, discuss the item and how it fits with the song. You may ask questions like, “What does it mean to walk in the pathway of Christ?”
- Instead of having the children guess what is in the bag when the music stops, challenge them to say the next line of the song.
- Hide each of the brown paper bags around the room and have the children look for them while singing the song.
Head over to our Away in a Manger Gifts of Christmas idea for another fun idea with the what’s in the bag style activity for singing time!
He Sent His Son
What’s in the Bag Printables
You won’t really need any printable helps for this activity, since you’ll mostly be gathering items around your home.
However, to simplify the activity for those that might not have the items on hand, I’ve created printable song helps with images you can put inside your bag and a printable lesson plan exclusively for members of INSTANT Primary Singing for He Sent His Son when it is suggested monthly song.
For another fun activity to review He Sent His Son, check out this He Sent His Son Singing Cupid game!
