You’ll love to teach your Primary children this fun He Cares for Me Body Rhythm which easily builds in tons of singing repetition with lots of movement that follows the beat! It’s easy to learn the pattern, but increasing the frequency ups the challenge which is perfect for engaging your older Primary children!
You can help the kids learn He Cares for Me (archives) as part of the New Testament songs for Primary this year with all of our fun lesson plans and ideas to help!
He Cares for Me Body Rhythm
Sing through He Cares for Me with this flip chart once, before introducing this body rhythm pattern.
Sing and show the pattern for the first line of the song, clapping once per note as you sing through the line “He knows the stars that shine at night.”
Have the children follow along and repeat the line of the song, again clapping following the notes. This is really great for memory and practice as they are modeling the rhythm and listening and repeating to help with memory.
Continue by modeling the next line of the song with the next body rhythm sequence. This time, you’ll rub both hands together back and forth as you sing “He made the burning sun.” Now sing that line of the song all together with the action.
Follow this pattern of demonstrating the action and singing a line of the song, then having all of the children follow along as you sing the line again another time through the entire song.
If you’re already spent some time working on this song, you can instead model and then repeat for just the first 4 lines and then post the rhythm pattern poster on the board for the kids to follow in sequence.
The 3rd action is to pat your lap on each note. Alternatively, you can pat your right hand and then your left hand alternating if you prefer. Use this action as you sing “And every creature great or small.”
The final action is to stomp on the notes as you sing “He numbers every one.”
Repeat these 4 actions one more time each through the second half of the song.
He Cares for Me Body Rhythm Pattern:
- Clap – Claps once per note “He knows the stars that shine at night”
- Rub Hands – Swish hands back and forth together “He made the burning sun”
- Pat Lap – Pat your palms against your lap “And every creature great or small”
- Stomp – Stomp on each note “He numbers every one”
- Repeat! Continue from the beginning of the pattern and run through it one more time with each of the 4 actions.
Extension Activities:
- Repeat the pattern 3 more times with a faster pacing each time! Instead of following the patterns for 2 measures, follow the pattern for 1 measure, then 2 beats, than for just ONE beat! Can you keep up with that fun challenge the last time through? My senior Primary always loves a fun rhythm challenge!
- Mix up the rhythm pattern with your own choice of actions! Use the cards to mix and match the sequence and pattern.
For another fun similar activity, head over to see this Holding Hands Around the World Body Rhythm Partners singing time activity!
He Cares for Me Body Rhythm Printable Song Helps
This free in-post printable includes an easy to use 1-page printable body rhythm chart that shows you all 4 actions in order to follow!
This activity has extended printables available including a color coded lyrics rhythm chart for all 4 beat rhythm sequences, plus 4 bonus action cards to mix and match the rhythm pattern! You’ll find these bonus printables included in the INSTANT Primary Singing membership when He Cares for Me is the featured song of the month.
Get more out of singing time with the INSTANT Primary Singing membership that includes printable lesson plans, tons of extended printables and an ad-free experience for each featured song of the month, or get immediate access to the entire song list for the year!
Learn more about INSTANT Primary Singing membership options here!
Have questions or need more help, see this FAQ page here.
To help you get started teaching this song, head over to grab this He Cares for Me Flip Chart!
What other fun ways will you use this body rhythm singing time activity in your Primary room?
