Holy Places Egg Shakers

Your primary children will love shaking along with this fun Holy Places Egg Shakers activity! This simple living music idea is a great way to get everyone involved during singing time.

In this post, I’ll share a fun rhythm pattern that incorporates just a few different actions as you teach the new hymn, Holy Places (archives) in primary this year. Let’s jump right in!

*See all Holy Places Singing Time Ideas here!*

Holy Places Egg Shakers

I’ve created a fun egg shakers pattern with rhythms for the verse and chorus of this song! This pattern will work with any verse you are teaching, but I chose to focus on the first verse for this activity.

Start by singing through Holy Places once before passing out egg shakers. Since this song is likely to be unfamiliar, I definitely recommend grabbing a copy of our Holy Places flip chart for this song with lyrics for all 3 verses.

Then, bring out your egg shaker and tap your palm on each of the words, “temple is,” and “holy place,” for a total of 4 taps. Then, shake in a big circle shape as you sing, “where heaven touches earth.” Let’s try it together!

I often like to demonstrate a little bit of the pattern before passing out egg shakers. Otherwise, I find it difficult to bring back attention to the front. This way, the kids know exactly what to do with their shakers once they have them. Let’s try it together!

The next part of the pattern repeats with 4 taps on your palm for the line, “a rev’rent place, a hallowed space.”

Next, shake your eggs fast while singing, “where we do.” Then, quickly shake once on each syllable/word of the phrase, “The Sav – ior’s”.” Do another fast shake on the word, “work.”

That’s the pattern for the verse! Can you try it with me?

By this point, I like to put the visual pattern on the board to help the children follow along. For the chorus, we’ll be using the same actions that we used for the verse, but in a different order!

First, alternate between fast shakes and double taps, as shown below. Fast shakes are indicated in blue, and double taps are italicized.

“I’ll stand in ho -ly places with a heart that’s firm and true, un – til Christ returns and makes”

Then, shake in a big circle for the phrase, “all the world.” Tap your palm for each syllable/word, “Ho – ly, clean, and new,” for a total of 5 taps. Ready to try the entire song? Let’s do it!

Egg Shaker Pattern:

I’ve included a full outline of the rhythm pattern for both the verse and chorus of this song below. Be sure to grab the printable version later in this post to follow along with as you teach this pattern in primary.

Verse Pattern:

• Tap Palm 4X – “The temple is a holy place”
• Shake in a Circle – “Where heaven touches earth”
• Tap Palm 4X – “A rev’rent place, a hallowed space”
• Fast Shake – “Where we do”
• 3 Quick Shakes – “The Sav – ior’s”
• Fast Shake – “Work”

Chorus Pattern:

• Fast Shake – “Stand,” “pla-ces,” “heart,” “true,” “Christ returns”
• Shake 2X – “Ho – ly,” “with a,” “firm and,” “un – til,” “and makes”
• Shake in a Circle – “All the world”
• Tap Palm 5X – “Ho – ly, clean, and new.”

Extension Activities:

• Split the class into 2 groups – one for the chorus and one for the verse. This is a great way to simplify the pattern so that the primary children only need to remember one pattern.
• If your primary kids are struggling with the rhythm of the song, simplify the pattern even further by shaking on all the long notes and tapping on short notes. (Ex. “The tem – ple is a ho – ly place”- shake on italicized syllables.
• Get the teachers involved! Assign the teachers the chorus and have the children do the rhythm actions for the verse. This is a great option if you want to practice all 3 verses.

For another fun activity using these egg shaker instruments, head over to see this The Oxcart Egg Shakers singing time activity!

Try This Holy Places Egg Shakers Pattern With Me!

If you’d like a quick review of the rhythm pattern before teaching it in singing time., watch this short demonstration video! In this video, I go through all the actions used in this pattern and sing through the entire first verse and chorus with egg shakers. Try it with me a few times and boost your confidence before Sunday!

–> Holy Places Egg Shakers Demonstration Video <–

Holy Places Egg Shakers Printable Song Helps

This free in-post printable includes a colorful 2-page pattern, with a page for both the verse and chorus of this hymn.

This activity has extended printables available including 1/4 page and full page egg shaker cards and a lyrics pattern guide. You’ll find these bonus files included when Holy Places is the featured song of the month.

Head over to this Holy Places Spiritual Videos idea next for a neat way to incorporate technology as you teach this song in primary!

What other fun ways will you use this egg shakers singing time activity in your Primary room?