Blown Out of the Water Primary Program Progress Tracker

We’re coming up on that time of the year — it’s time to review all of your Primary Program songs! You can mix it up each week with a new fresh game each time or pick a theme and let the kids see their progress across a couple of weeks.

Today, I’m sharing a fun review game that was inspired by (but adapted) from a review game a fellow music leader shared on the Primary Facebook Group, such a good resource! I loved her idea (here) but I wanted something a little simpler for setup (and a little more printable!!).

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Blown Out of the Water
Primary Program Progess Tracker

This is a simple review game designed to fit this year’s theme of Come, Follow Me when Christ calls on us to follow Him and be fishers of men. To tie in the theme, I’ll ask the children what stories they have learned this year about Jesus that talked about fish or water.

Stories of Jesus About Fish / Water:

• Calling the apostles to be “Fishers of Men”
• Blessing the bread and fish
• Telling the apostles where to cast their nets to catch a boat load of fish
• The apostles gave Jesus fish to eat when he was resurrected!
• Jesus walking on water
• Jesus calming the waves
• Being baptized in the Jordan river
• Christ talking to the Woman at the Well about living water

I’ll then say yes, Jesus used parables and stories to teach us and show us how things might relate to us. I thought it would be fun to be our own fishers as we get ready for the Program.

We’ll use some fun common sayings to rate how well you know these songs. If you can “Blow these songs out of the water” with fantastic singing and knowing the words, you won’t have to sing it when we finish up this review game next week!”

The Water-themed Idioms I’m using:

• 1: Blown Out of the Water — Fantastic!!
• 2: Smooth Sailing — Sounding Good
• 3: Something’s Fishy — Not Quiet Right
• 4: A Drop in the Ocean — Still a Ways to Go
• 5: Deep Water — Not at all Ready for the Program

Alternate Water/Ocean/Fish Idioms:

• Hot Water
• Keep Your Head Above Water
• Like a Fish Out of Water
• Water Under the Bridge
• As a Duck Takes to Water
• Fresh off the Boat
• Happy as a Clam
• You’re Walking on Thin Ice
• There’s Trouble in the Water
• Big Fish in a Small Pond

How to Make the Blown Out of the Water Primary Program Tracker

I originally made this activity using a poster board! You can follow these steps here or pickup up the printable program review game packet with ready to go printables in my shop.

Supplies:

• Printer
• Cardstock
• Poster Board
• Markers
• Scissors
• Magnets or Tacky Putty

I made the fish first using Word. I have printable versions below (and directions!)

Then, I worked on my post. I picked out my phrases. I divided the poster into 5 sections (the top section doesn’t need to be very big). I wrote in my titles and did just a little extra accents for each water depth.

Then, just cut out your fish and you can stick to your whiteboard/chalkboard or right to the poster. You can use magnet clips and have the fish just move right to their level. Or, I love using that blue tacky putty stuff as it doesn’t mess up posters! The fish don’t have to be right on top of the poster – feel free to use the extra side space.

Then, just write on the back of the fish what # they should start at next week or snap a quick picture to make it super easy to reassemble the following week.

For the printable fish, I recommend attaching a paper clip to the back of the fish and then you can just clip your fish to the edge of the poster board and easily move its as needed!

Adding Variety
Extension Review Ideas

I’m planning to use this review game across 2 weeks (with a Program run-through one of the weeks in-between). Because I will only be dragging this game across two weeks, I won’t be using many of these extra ideas. But you certainly can to help it feel fresh and different week after week!

• Find-and-Seek Fish – Hide the fish around the room. Let the kids find them and sing the song for the fish that was found. Then add it to the board at the singing level.
• Fishing for Songs – Put a paper clip on the fish nose and “fish” for the songs with a magnetic fishing pole. As a simpler alternative, you can just place the fish upside down on the table and let the children pick a fish!
• Fishy Helpers – Hide the fish under certain chairs around the Primary room. Ask one row at a time to reverently and quietly look under their chair for a fish. Asks the rest of the Primary to be super patient for their turn! The child with a fish under their chair will bring it up and help you lead, hold a flip chart, or be the judge (whatever you need help with!).
• Competition Fish – Let the JR and SR compete against each other trying to perfect the songs first! Leave up the other groups progress and see if they can out perform the other kids! This always highly motivates my Senior Primary, so I will be doing this just by leaving JR Primary’s fish up after their turn!
• Name the Fishy Tune – Have one or two children go out in the hall (maybe one at each door). Then have the children pick the song. Their goal is to see good enough that their classmates can name the song!

While you’re getting prepped for your Primary program, head over to this post with our Old Testament Primary Program Bulletin & Invites printables or do a quick search of this blog for the year you’re working on.

Printable Primary Song Fish

I didn’t create every fish possible, but there are the 10 songs I’m using with titles plus a full page of blank fish (3 per page) so you can write in your own Program song titles.

This free in-post printable includes the original set of fish with titles and a set of blank fish plus the black and white set of 4-to-a-page fish in the new style ready to add your own song titles.

You’ll find a bonus set of colorful fish in 15 different colors and 3 sizes – 4 to a page, 1/2 page, and full page fish. Plus, a set of water level posters to use. These bonus printables are included in the New Testament September INSTANT Primary Singing membership.

Or, you can pick up the full Blown Out of the Program Review Game packet in my shop.

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!

For more information on why I use a content lock or how to create your account, you can see the FAQ page here.

What other fun ways could you use these little fish cutouts to have fun reviewing your Program songs?