I love to bring in egg shakers to primary a few times a year! Try out this fun Families Can Be Together Forever Egg Shakers activity for a fun way to review this song! With so many ways to use egg shakers, your primary children will love shaking along with this activity!
*See all Families Can Be Together Forever Singing Time Ideas*
*Affiliate links are used in this post*
This activity falls in our living music learning style. I love bringing manipulatives into primary because it’s a great way to keep the children engaged! I also enjoy bringing instruments when I can. Egg Shakers are awesome instruments to bring because they are so cheap and easy to transport!
If you are looking to purchase some egg shakers, I have this set of 40 egg shakers from Amazon! This set comes with a variety of bright colors. I bought mine for under $25, which is definitely reasonable for 40 instruments!
Families Can Be Together Forever Egg Shakers
I love the primary song Families Can Be Together Forever. This song is a sweet reminder of the eternal nature of families sealed in the temple. It can also be a sensitive song for children whose families may look a little different.
For this activity, we’ll be incorporating some fun ways to follow the rhythm of the song! This is a great way for children to become more familiar with a tune and have it stick. I’ve come up with 3 different ways you can use egg shakers for this song. It’s up to you to decide which ones you want to try in primary!
I recommend reviewing the song before bringing out the egg shakers. This way, you can get an idea of how well the kids know the song. Feel free to use our cute Families Can Be Together Forever flip chart as you practice!
Then, introduce the activity by passing out egg shakers and letting the kids shake them a bit. Demonstrate the egg shaker patterns a few times, then let the children try them with you before adding music! When you think they’ve got the hang of it, try it with music!
3 Different Egg Shaker Ideas:
1. Once per syllable: For this pattern, just shake on every syllable! This pattern is a good way to start because it lets them get all the shakes out! They’ll have to really pay attention to the syllables and follow the rhythm of the song.
Ex. “I have a fam-ily here on earth.”
2. Every Other Word: This one will be a challenge! You’ll end up shaking on the off beat sometimes, which can be tricky for kids to grasp the first time. For this pattern, only shake on every other word you sing. In the example below, you only shake on the bolded words.
Ex. “Families can be together forever, through Heavenly Father’s plan.”
3. Key Word Shake: Choose a few key words for the kids to pay close attention to. These are usually words that come up pretty frequently in the song. When they sing these words, have them shake their egg shakers!
Ex. “Family”
How to Play:
- Sing throught the first verse of Families Can Be Together Forever at the beginning of primary.
- Prepare enough egg shakers for each child to have one and pass out the shakers. You could also put enough shakers in a bag for each class and hand out the shakers to the teachers.
- Demonstrate the egg shaker pattern, and invite the children to try the pattern along with you after watching a few times.
- Practice the egg shaker patterns a few times without music to get comfortable with the rhythm.
- Then, add in the music! Start with the first verse and try one of the patterns while you sing.
- Choose a new pattern and keep practicing this sweet primary song!
Extension Ideas:
- Split the class into small groups or teams to represent families. Have each team prepare an egg shaker pattern to teach the class.
- Have the children come up with their own egg shaker patterns! Kids come up with great ideas and are so creative!
- Draw a bunch of egg shaker patterns on pieces of paper. Have the children draw one pattern from a jar and use that pattern for a verse. Continue choosing patterns and singing together!
For some more fun ways to use egg shakers in primary, check out these 6 Egg Shakers Patterns for A Child’s Prayer! These ideas are definitely adaptable for any primary song!
Exclusive: Families Can Be Together Forever Egg Shakers Pattern Cards
You’ll find a printable lesson plan and pattern cards and posters for this activity. Print out this page to help you demonstrate the pattern for the children! This printable is included in the INSTANT Primary Singing Membership when Families Can Be Together Forever is the featured song of the month!
Head on over to this Families Can Be Together Melody Chart for another engaging and fun way to teach this song.
