If you have an extra wiggly primary, movement activities can be a lifesaver! Dance scarves are a great way to get kids engaged and moving! This simple Away in a Manger Dance Scarves activity is a super fun way to practice your Christmas songs this year.
For more ideas, see our Away in a Manger Singing Time Ideas post!
Away in a Manger Dance Scarves
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If you’ve never used dance scarves before, they are a great way to keep kids engaged in any activity because they come in lots of fun colors! You can purchase your own set of 24 colorful dance scarves pretty cheap online.
Start by passing out a scarf to each child. You can even save some money by having kids take turns using the scarves. Use this simple pattern to demonstrate the motions before singing Away in a Manger.
I created this short video below to model the actions to the song. In this video, I sing the melody to the song while demonstrating the 4 actions of the scarf pattern for Away in a Manger.
Dance Scarves Movement Cards
You’ll be able to quickly and easily come up with fun and creative ways to use your dance scarves with our set of printable Dance Scarves Movement Cards!
Head here as well to see a helpful guide with additional ideas for using Dance Scarves in Singing Time!
Away in a Manger Scarves Pattern
The scarves pattern for this song has 4 main actions and is pretty simple. The same pattern can be repeated for additional verses. During the “Asleep” Chorus, encourage children to “freestyle” with their scarves or ask them what actions they want to try.
- Up/Down: “Away in a manger”
- Z Shape: “No crib for his bed”
- Up/Down: “The Little Lord Jesus laid”
- Z Shape: “down his sweet head”
- Circle (Above Head): “The stars in the heaven”
- Left/Right: “looked down where he lay”
- Up/Down: “The Little Lord Jesus”
- Z Shape: “Asleep on the hay.”
For the up and down pattern, raise your arm up and down while holding a corner of the scarf. This is similar to the left and right pattern, for which you move your arm back and forth horizontally.
For the Z pattern, start with the scarf high in front of you then create a big letter “z” with your scarf. This one can be a little tricky for Junior primary so you might start by asking someone to write the letter “z” on the board and have everyone practice the motion.
For the circle shape, raise your scarf high above your head and create a circle. You could encourage the children to imagine the bright star in the sky when Jesus was born.
Senior Primary Challenge:
My Senior primary always enjoys a little extra challenge. For this activity, encourage them to come up with their own actions to do with the scarves. They will love using these colorful scarves and creating their own patterns!
Extension Activities:
- Invite the children to come up with their own ideas of actions for the song! Some examples might include: toss to a friend, toss in the car, scrunch up in ball, wave “Hello,” wave down low, wave up high.
- Have each child pick a partner to switch off scarves every verse.
- Do a class dance-off! Have each class prepare a verse of the song with their dance scarves. Give out fun awards for “silliest dance, most creative dance, etc.”
Away in a Manger Dance Scarves Pattern Video
This video can be used to learn the actions of the song or to have your primary follow along with. In this video, I also include some additional ideas for actions during the chorus of the song. Watch it below or if you have issues with it loading, you can also watch it over on our YouTube channel.
For more action ideas to use with scarves, check out these Scarves Dance Movement Cards in the shop! This set contains 24 movement ideas to use with dance scarves, as well as diagrams that explain each movement clearly!
Away in a Manger Scarves Pattern Singing Time Printable
This Away in a Manger Dance Scarves Pattern Printable can be used for both verses of the song. Print out the pattern and tape it to the board for children to follow. During the chorus, invite children to “freestyle” with their scarves.
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If you loved this activity, try out this Away in a Manger Unscramble the Words activity with your primary!
Did your primary children enjoy this activity? What action was their favorite? Leave a comment below!
