Have you listened to the new Christmas song, Little Lord Jesus (archives) yet? It’s such a cute song filled with tender descriptions of the manger scene. Your younger primary children will especially love the counting component of this song!
As you teach this song in primary, try this fun Little Lord Jesus Jingle Bells activity! This living music idea is a great way to help the kids get familiar with the rhythm of this song and get in lots of practice!
Little Lord Jesus Jingle Bells
Jingle bells are a perfect instrument to bring in any time of the year, but especially during Christmas time! I’ve created a simple jingle bells pattern that will keep your primary kiddos engaged from start to finish!
Start by singing through the first verse and chorus of Little Lord Jesus at the beginning of singing time. Be sure to grab a copy of our Little Lord Jesus flip chart that includes lyrics for the entire song!
Then, demonstrate the jingle bells pattern for the first line of the song by shaking hard on the #1 and shaking twice for words with two syllables (sim – ple) and shaking once for words with one syllable or beat (lambs). I recommend doing this before passing out the jingle bells. This way, you can be sure that you have everyone’s attention.
Then, after you’ve shown just a little bit of the pattern, pass out the jingle bells. Post the first page of the jingle bells pattern on the board. Can anyone guess what the different colors mean?
See if the kids can figure out what each of the colors represent. Don’t worry about using any musical language. If they can correctly shake with the rhythm, they’ve got it!
Introduce one page at a time, following the jingle bells pattern. Simply give each word the number of shakes as it has syllables or notes in the song. Be careful! Some words with only one syllable are broken into two notes, like the word, “God” at the end of the song. Words like these will still get two shakes.
Have some fun using this jingle bells pattern to help the rhythm really sink in as you learn this song! At the end of singing time, collect all the jingle bells. This is sometimes the hardest part!
Jingle Bells Pattern:
The jingle bells pattern for this song is oh, so simple! For the most part, you’ll just be following the natural rhythm of the song, shaking on each note. I’ve included a special type of shake for those fun numbers included in the song!
See my outline below for the jingle bells pattern for the first verse of this song, along with the printable guide later in this post. You’ll definitely want to print out a copy for singing time to help the kids visualize the pattern.
Number Words (#1-4) = Loud, Hard Shake
One Syllable = Single Shake
Ex. Words like “lambs,” “soft, “cries”
Two Syllables = Double Shake
Ex. Words like “sim – ple,” “man – ger,” “search – ing, ” “Je – sus”
Extension Activities:
- Split the class into 2 groups. Have one group shake on all the single-shake words and have the other group shake on all the double-shake words. Have each group sing along with their words and stay silent while the other group shakes.
- Make it a mixed-instrument activity! Choose 3 different types of rhythmic instruments, like egg shakers, maori /rhythm sticks, or jingle bells. Pass out instruments and assign each instrument to either numbers, single shakes, or double shakes. After each repetition of the song, pass your instrument to the right and try a new instrument!
- Start by picking one of the three colors in the pattern. Shake and sing only words in that color. Or, do the opposite! Sing all the words EXCEPT the color you picked. Then, choose a new color and sing through the song again.
- For a simple version of this activity, start by shaking on each word of the song. Then, switch and shake on each note of the song. Then, try the jingle bells pattern to incorporate the rhythm.
For another fun similar activity, head over to see this I Believe in Christ Jingle Bells singing time activity!
Little Lord Jesus Jingle Bells Printable Song Helps
This free in-post printable includes a 4-page jingle bells pattern with color-coded lyrics to indicate different types of shakes in the song. I’ve also included a single page key that breaks down the color code.
Join INSTANT Primary Singing for extended printables including additional bell patterns for the 2nd and 3rd verse plus a two additional patterns and pattern key! You’ll find these bonus files included when Little Lord Jesus 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!
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We have so many fun Christmas ideas to choose from! Head over to this post and explore over 100 Christmas Singing Time Ideas!
What other fun ways will you use this jingle bells singing time activity in your Primary room?
