For a simple, but meaningful song, I am teaching with these Keep the Commandments singing time ideas this year in Primary! I’m compiling here the lesson plans I’ve come up with and shared to help a music leader teaching or reviewing Keep the Commandments during Singing Time. I hope this helps you have meaningful personal experiences with this song, too!
Keep the Commandments was included in last year Primary songs for Old Testament Come Follow Me 2022! You can see all of the songs I am teaching for the Old Testament over on that landing page with tons of activities and printable lesson plans to help you with your planning.
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Keep the Commandments Teaching Packet
Make teaching easier than ever with this Keep the Commandments Teaching packet! It includes my 6 favorite teaching activities plus a wonderful custom art flip chart to help you easily teach this song in a variety of ways and different learning styles.
This packet includes all of the extended printables to help you make the most of teaching this song to your Primary children! You can pick it up in my shop here. It is also available in my Etsy shop here.
Keep the Commandments Flip Charts
For a great first place to start, head over to grab our Keep the Commandments Flip chart! I like to keep one on hand for each of my songs, even though I only end up using them 1-2 times throughout my time teaching the song. They’re a must have for when you need them!
I have several different flip charts styles to meet the needs of different music leaders so pick the one that you like best! Keep the Commandments is in the Children’s Songbook on page #146 if you need the sheet music it’s available on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints website here.
How do I teach Keep the Commandments Song?
A great way to teach Keep the Commandments the first time is by using the first letters of the song lyrics. The kids will have a representation of the words and a logic puzzle to solve while being introduced to the song.
Next, try adding in movement with the paper plates pattern or a purposeful sway and freeze as another great way to teach this song. Or choose from any of these fun ideas in this post!
8 Keep the Commandments Singing Time Ideas
We’ll get started first with direct links to all the singing time ideas here on my blog. I’ve shared tons of activities here on this website and you’ll be able to easily find each of those activities from this list below. Then, there are more fun ideas after that!
1. Keep the Commandments – Sway and Freeze
Let the younger children take turns being the leader and choosing when to sway and when to freeze! This is a perfect tie-in activity to the song Keep the Commandments and following directions. Lots of fun extension ideas to make this a new experience each time.
2. Keep the Commandments – First Letters
Try this mini crack the code challenge by using the first letter of each word in Keep the Commandments to create a variety of ways to sing and re-sing Keep the Commandments over and over in your Primary room.
3. Keep the Commandments – Scripture Questions
Use these Scripture Questions idea for Keep the Commandments to build a strong connection to the importance of obeying the commandments and the blessing that can be in our lives. Plus, fun extension ideas including a hand actions tie into each of the scripture references!
4. Keep the Commandments – Paper Plates
Follow this fun Keep the Commandments Paper Plates pattern for a fun singing time making music following the beat! It’s a simple enough pattern of taps and swish and that any age kids can follow along. Or up the challenge with the help of your Senior Primary or older children to adapt the sequence!
5. Keep the Commandments – Foreign Language
Add a depth to the repeating phrase, “Keep the Commandments” by adding a foreign language, or two! I have several different languages to choose from, here, with printables and some phonetics to help!
6. Keep the Commandments – Color the Commandments
Hand out fun coloring pages that talk about different ways we can learn the commandments to create a natural tie-in lesson with the song Keep the Commandments! We’ve got 6 fun Keep the Commandments coloring pages options to share. Just print a piece of paper for each child with different pictures! You could also use a large poster board print, it would provide great ways for the older kids to work on the coloring sheet together and have a great time!
7. Keep the Commandments – Group Stories Task
Put the kids in charge of the learning and teaching with this fun small group stories task! In this lesson plan, the kids will break up into groups to discuss and learn about each of the 10 commandments (you might double up with multiple commandments per group).
Then, let them teach the rest of the Primary in this Keep the Commandments Group Stories singing time. They can each teach one line of the song the first time through and point out the main messages from their discussion.
8. Keep the Commandments – Taste Test
What better way to give the kiddos concrete experiences with understanding obedience than with a fun taste test challenge! In this Keep the Commandments Taste Test the kids will be asked to sample a small sip of a variety of drinks that all look relatively similar – but definitely don’t taste so!
Keep the Commandments Sing Along Video
Looking for a wonderful way to help you teach this song or review this song? I love using a sing along video to introduce the song for the first time! Whenever you decide to use it, you’ll love this Keep the Commandments Sing Along video with a pretty and subtle guitar melody and lyrics.
17 MORE Different Ways to Teach Keep the Commandments
I’ve gathered a whole bunch of varied and fun ways to teach this song created by other Primary Music Leaders (Primary Chorister). I can’t wait to hear as well your own ideas and adaptions for how you taught this song!
1. Keep the Commandments – Hand Bells
The Primary children will absolutely love using hand bells while learning this song! You can use the Merry Bells play along video for a fast-paced way to learn this song or choose their printable bell charts. This song is included in their Primary Set #2.
Save on Merry Bells printable charts and bells with a coupon code just for my readers! Just add PrimarySinging coupon on the cart page to save 10% off your purchase.
If you’d like a little more control, and flexibility, head over to see our Hand Bell Music Note Cards that let you turn ANY song into a hand bell chart easily!
2. Keep the Commandments – Rhythms Challenge
This fun rhythms challenge was inspired by a video shared in the Primary Music Leaders Facebook group. I love how this sister adapted the idea to fit Keep the Commandments. See her video here!
I also LOVED the original video and created a set of printable fruit cards to help you easily make a mix and match pattern! Head over here to grab my Fruit Rhythm Patterns Printable Cards!
3. Keep the Commandments – Song Eraser
This cute visual aids activity created by Felicia Mathis takes ZERO prep, just some colorful chalk! Pass an eraser from child to child and when the music pauses, whoever is holding the eraser gets to come up front and erase one of the words/symbols!
Bonus idea — have the kids draw the shapes in the air while they sing! Just land on the corners of the triangles on Keep / the / command / ments, and continue on through. How far can they stretch their arrow for “He will send blessings”.
4. Keep the Commandments – Head, Shoulders…
Get out their wiggles by singing through Keep the Commandments using the actions to Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes! See a video demo in the Music Leaders FB Group.
- Keep the Commandments x2 = Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes x2
- In this there is Safety = Knees, Toes
- In this there is Peace = Knees, Toes
- He will send blessings x2 = Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes x2
- Words of the Prophet = Knees, Toes
- Keep the Commandments = Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
- In this there is safety and peace = Eyes, Ears, Mouth, Nose
5. Keep the Commandments – Sign Language
Follow along with the signs to teach Keep the Commandments! It’s a good way to reinforce the words and add in movement with meaning! I really loved watching this sweet sister’s video, you can also find it here on YouTube if the embed doesn’t work.
6. Keep the Commandments – Pool Noodles
Try out this fun and engaging pool noodle rhythm pattern! You can watch the full youtube video here.
7. Keep the Commandments – Pass the Box
See this fun and simple idea by Singing a Song is Fun to Do to add in lots of repetition while teaching this song. You’ll fill a box with symbols that represent the 10 commandments. Then, sing through the song and randomly stop the music. Let the child holding the box when the song stops pick out an item!
8. Keep the Commandments – Signs & Waves
Help the kids feel the music with the waves of the sea (demonstrated for just a few seconds at the beginning of this video), and then weave in hand actions that bring in meaning to the words with these two fun ideas by Sharla Dance! See the Keep the Commandments Signs & Waves video here
9. Commandment Match (Little LDS Ideas)
10. Action Word Actions (YouTube)
11. Lyrics Order (Facebook Group)
12. ASL Sign Language (YouTube)
13. Music Band (YouTube)
14. Keep the Commandments Wheel (Facebook Group)
15. Road Signs (YouTube)
16. Peace and Commandments Tic Tac Toe (MTC for Kids)
17. Commandment Shields (YouTube)
Head over next to see all of our Seek the Lord Early Singing Time Ideas!
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What other fun Keep the Commandments Singing Time ideas do you have? Share how you’ll be teaching Keep the Commandments in the comments to add to this list!