With just 6 simple actions, this I Will Follow God’s Plan Body Rhythm activity is such a great purposeful movement activity to use in singing time this month! Your primary kids will have so much fun with these actions as they sing I Will Follow God’s Plan!
** See 30 I Will Follow God’s Plan Singing Time Ideas **
I Will Follow God’s Plan Body Rhythm
Begin by reviewing I Will Follow God’s Plan (flipchart here) with your primary. This flipchart includes cute pictures and lyrics with important words in color!
Introduce the activity by having all the kids stand up and try each of the 6 actions. Have them stomp their feet, clap their hands, pat their knees, spin around in place, sit on the ground, and stand back up!
Hang the posters for the verse on the board. I recommend only trying a page or two at a time. Try the actions together once without the music.
Then, add in the music! The music definitely helps make the actions easier to follow. Try singing through the verse with the actions slowly.
After singing through the verse a few more times with the actions, introduce the actions for the chorus. This will likely go quicker since the kids will be more familiar with the actions.
Try the entire song with all the actions! Sing through the verse and chorus will using the body rhythm pattern.
Body Rhythm Actions:
I’m excited to share these fun body rhythm actions! This pattern uses just 6 simple actions. Try each of these actions before introducing the pattern.
- PAT: For this action, just pat your knees! This action is used mainly in the verse, but is also used in the chorus a few times.
- CLAP: Clap your hands together for this actions! Each time this action comes up in the song, you clap your hands 3 times. This action always comes after “pat” in the in the pattern.
- STAND: For this action, stand up out of your chair as quickly as you can.
- SPIN: Spin around in a circle! This action is usually paired with another action, such as patting your knees or standing up.
- STOMP: Stomp your feet loudly on the floor. This action is always done two or three times in a row.
- SIT: For this action, quickly sit down in your seat. This action comes up a few times in the song, and is the last action in the pattern!
VERSE PATTERN:
This pattern is meant to be simple and repetitive so that it can be used with both Junior and Senior primary! The verse is very repetitive, with just two sequences that are repeated.
The chorus is a little bit more challenging, so I definitely recommend trying the verse a few times before adding the chorus. You can also do the chorus in chunks to help the kids remember it a little easier.
PAT – PAT CLAP – CLAP – CLAP (*Repeat 4X*)
“My-Life / is-a-gift”
STAND / SPIN / STOMP – STOMP / SIT (*Repeat 2X*)
“My Choice / Was to come to this lovely / Home on / Earth
CHORUS PATTERN:
SPIN PAT – PAT CLAP – CLAP – CLAP (*Repeat 2X*)
“I will fol- / low – God’s / Plan – for – me”
STOMP – STOMP – STOMP (*Repeat 2X*)
“I – will – work”
STAND SPIN STOMP – STOMP SIT
“I will / always walk in / his / way”
PAT – PAT CLAP – CLAP – CLAP
“I – will / happy – on – earth”
STAND – SIT – STAND
” And in / my home / above”
I Will Follow God’s Plan Body Rhythm Demonstration Video
Since this rhythm can get a little tricky, I’ve created a demo video to help you practice the rhythm a few times before bringing it to primary! It takes some practice, so try it out with me while looking at your printable pattern sheet.
You might not get it perfect the first time, or the second, or the third! And that’s OKAY! The goal is to add some movement to singing time and help the kids have fun while learning a new song! Grab the link below to watch the demo video.
–> I Will Follow God’s Plan Body Rhythm Demonstration Video <–
Extension Activities:
- Choose a few “leaders” to hold up the pattern posters as you practice the song! Pick 3 kids to hold up the pattern posters for the verse. Then, switch off leaders when you move to the chorus!
- Replace some of the actions with sounds! For example, you could replace “clapping” with making the “shh” sound. You could also hum, whistle, or make silly animal noises! Try swapping out one of your actions for a silly sound!
- Have each child choose a partner. During the song, have one partner do the actions while the other partner just sings. Then, have them switch!
For another fun activity using body rhythm, head over to this Baptism Body Rhythm Pattern!
I Will Follow God’s Plan Body Rhythm Printable Pattern Sheets
I created these body rhythm pattern sheets to keep singing time simple for you! There’s a pattern for both the verse and the chorus with just a simple 1-page for each with how many times to repeat each pattern. This sheet is a great guide to help you remember the pattern as you teach it to the kids!
Feel free to post one page at a time while you are first introducing the pattern. Then, keep the entire pattern up for the children to follow along with the actions during the entire song!
You can also find a fun color version of this pattern to post on the board so that the kids can see the entire pattern all at once! Each action has a different color to help the kids keep track of which action to play. It’s included in the INSTANT Primary Singing Membership for I Will Follow God’s Plan when a featured song!
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.
Try out this fun I Will Follow God’s Plan of Salvation for a great way to teach some gospel doctrine and build up the song line by line!
Try having your primary kids come up with additional body rhythm actions to add! What did they come up with?
