You’ll have all eyes on you with this engaging and no-prep Help Me Dear Father Magic Crayon singing time idea! The kids will use a little imagination as they color with you up in the air following these fun printable charts as a guide that perfectly fit the melody of Help Me Dear Father (archives).
**See all Help Me Dear Father Singing Time Ideas**
Help Me Dear Father Magic Crayon
How to Play:
Sing through Help Me Dear Father once (flip chart for Help Me Dear Father can help!), then introduce this Magic Crayon activity!
You can use it for the 1st or 2nd verse or both, just repeat the sequence. It fits great with either verse.
Tell the kids to picture their favorite thing to color with. Is it a marker, a crayon, a paint brush? What color is it? You can take a few answers or describe your crayon to the kids.
Now explain that we are going to draw in the air just like if we were drawing a picture with our imaginary crayon. Can you follow along?
Sing through the song and introduce the patterns. Stop at the end of the 1st verse, before the chorus. That was so good! I think you’ve got it! Let’s try it again and add the chorus.
Magic Crayon Actions:
- Help me dear father – Start at the top and gently move down and up, back down and then up again
- To truly repent – Swirl inward starting at the top
- All who may seem – Make four hard dots in the air almost like you’re pushing down on an imaginary button
- Unkind to me – Create a zig zag line starting at the top and making sharp lines right and left with each note.
- Help me each day – Start on the left and make a big low swoop to the right, then back to the starting point.
- Father, I pray – Now make a similar swoop but creating a rainbow up in the air to the right, then back to the starting point.
- Help me live nearer – Repeat the first action, creating gentle curves from top to bottom.
- Nearer to thee – Finish with a spiral that like action #2.
Extension Activities:
- Let the kids help you come up with new actions to draw in the air together.
They can draw them up front on the whiteboard or just have everyone mirror the leader! - Let the kids come up and help lead the actions. You can have a couple of volunteers
or let the kids come up by class and show off the moves. - Can they do the moves WITHOUT singing! Sing silently in your head this time while
we try to keep up with the music. Can we do the song with drawing fast instead?
I’ve used a magic crayon before over in our Baptism Finger Drawing singing time idea. It was a huge hit then and I know it will be perfect for this song, too!
Help Me Dear Father Magic Crayon Demo Video
Need a visual for this visual intrigue activity? I created this short demo video to help clarify any questions you might have about this magic crayon activity! In this video, I explain how to create these magic crayon shapes and sing through the first verse and chorus to provide an example!
–> Help Me Dear Father Magic Crayon Demo Video <–
Help Me Dear Father Magic Crayon Singing Time Printable Lesson Plan
This lesson couldn’t be easier with this printable action sheets to help! This free printable includes a 2-page magic crayon pattern that can be used with either verse.
You’ll also find all the actions explained an a little key to help you stay on track!
You’ll find additional 1/4 page and full page action cards so you can mix and match and make your own pattern sequences. These are included in the membership when Help Me Dear Father is a 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.
If you loved this singing time idea, you’ll also really appreciate our Help Me Dear Father First Letters lesson plan! It is a simple no-prep activity that has the kids repeating the words over and over with a clue of the first letter to help and a code to crack!
What other fun ways could you extend this Help Me Dear Father Magic Crayon singing time idea? Did you try it out in your Primary? Let us know how it went in the comments!
