Love One Another Ribbon Wands

I love using actions in primary! If you’re looking for a fun way to add some movement and color into your primary lesson, this easy teaching Love One Another Ribbon Wands activity is perfect for you!

Love One Another is one of our song picks for the Old Testament Come Follow Me Primary Songs this year!

*See all Love One Another Singing Time Ideas here!*

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Teaching Love One Another Ribbon Wands

I have lots of sunbeams in my primary this year, so I have been looking for ways to incorporate more movement. Little ones thrive on movement and often have lots of wiggles. I have colorful scarves, but wanted to find another fun tool for movement. Thus, the ribbon wand!

I have been looking all over to find the best ribbon wands for primary. I thought about ways to make my own with ribbon and wooden dowels. Maybe one of these days I’ll get around to making them, but not this week.

I’ll be purchasing this set of 12 colorful ribbon wands for my primary. I love instruments that have straps or handles because they are much easier for kids to hold on to.

Don’t shy away from ribbon wands, even the boys secretly enjoy them!! You can get Ribbon Wands on Amazon here. They’re super flexible and easy to use in Primary! If you want to easily make your own patterns, you’ll fall in love with my Ribbon Wand Action Cards!

If you have a larger primary, you might be interested in this set of 40 ribbon wands. These ones are great because the ribbons are a little shorter, so you don’t have to spread out so much.

Love One Another Ribbon Wands

This Love One Another Ribbon Wands activity includes 4 simple actions that children can do with their ribbon wands while singing and teaching Love One Another.

Before explaining each action, I want to strongly encourage you to check out the shop for Ribbon Wand Action Cards. This set includes 32 printable actions cards that make it super easy to teach the actions in primary!

We also have this mini bundle of movement cards for ribbon wands & dance scarves! I promise that this set will save you loads of time prepping for primary!

You can also find our printable in the Primary Singing Etsy shop, if easy for checkout.

Teaching Love One Another Ribbon Wands Actions

For this activity, I’ll be using 4 simple actions to use with the ribbon wands. I’ve outlined each of these actions below.

1.Mountain: For this movement, simply bring the ribbon wand from your left side up to a point, then down to the right side.

This action will be used for the first phrase of the song. You will do this action twice, so after you make the first mountain shape, bring the ribbon wand up and back to the left side.

As I have loved you

2. Water: This movement is exactly what is sounds like. With your ribbon wand, make small u-shapes like ocean waves. This action will be used anytime you sing “Love one another.” You can also use it for the last few words of the song.

Love one another, one to another

3. Circle: Using your ribbon wand, make a clockwise circle shape in front of your body. This action can be used for a few phrases.

This new commandment, if ye have love

4. Banana: For this action, move your ribbon wand to form a half u-shape (banana) then bring the ribbon wand back down toward your body. Repeat this action 4 times for the phrase below.

By this shall man know, ye are my disciples

The second verse of this song is very similar to the first, so all these actions will work for the second verse as well.

Head over to this post as well for another fun ribbon wands singing time idea for When I Am Baptized!

Activity Instructions:

1. Begin by reviewing the words to Love One Another (Love One Another flipchart here!).
2. Pass out one ribbon wand to each child.
3. Post the ribbon wand action cards on the board that you will be using (Ribbon wand action cards here). You can also draw the simple shapes on the whiteboard.
4. Demonstrate each of the 4 ribbon wand actions and invite the children to practice a few times.
5. Begin singing the song while doing the actions with your ribbon wands.
6. After you get the hang of the pattern, invite the children to create their own actions for some extra fun!

Extension Ideas for Teaching Love One Another:

• Have your primary kiddos create their own actions! Let them use their imaginations to make up some actions with their ribbon wands!
• Split the class into two groups. One group will sing and perform half the actions, while the other group will sing and perform the other half
• Have the children walk in a big circle around the room while using their ribbon wands.

Continue below to grab the Love One Another Ribbon Wands printables! Then head over next to this cute Love One Another Magic Crayon singing time idea!

Love One Another Ribbon Wands Demonstration Video

Try this fun ribbon wands pattern with me in this short demo video! In this video, I teach all 4 ribbon wand actions for this song and sing through the entire song using the actions. Hopefully it helps you feel more confident teaching the pattern to your primary kids!

Just watch below and have your ribbon wands handy!

–> Love One Another Ribbon Wands Demo Video <–

Love One Another Ribbon Wands Action Cards

This lesson plan uses our Ribbon Wand Action cards. There isn’t a free in-post printable for this post. You can pick up the Ribbon Wand Cards in my shop here.

You can find a printable version of this lesson plan included in the INSTANT Primary singing membership when Love One Another is a featured song! I’ve also included a bonus 1/4 sheet pattern cards with the 4 actions included in this activity.

See another fun way to teach this song with these Love One Another ASL Sign Language Cards!

For more ways to help you organize your lesson plans, check out our Primary Singing Time Binder Planner!

Did your primary kiddos love this activity? Let us know in the comments!