You’ll love teaching this Tell Me Dear Lord Hand Claps pattern in primary this month! Review Tell Me Dear Lord with this fun purposeful movement activity! This simple pattern repeats each line of the song and can even be adapted to be a partner pattern!
Just grab the printable pattern later in this post and have some fun with this hand claps singing time idea!
Tell Me Dear Lord Hand Claps
I’m so excited to share this hand claps pattern with you! This repeated pattern is a super fun way to add some movement into singing time while getting in lots of practice!
Review the first verse of Tell Me Dear Lord (flipchart here) with your primary children at the beginning of singing time. I typically recommend starting with a refresher for children who may have been gone the week prior. This can help everyone feel included in singing time!
Then, post the hand clap pattern on the board. See if the kids can guess what each symbol means. How many did they guess correctly?
This pattern goes pretty fast, so I recommend starting a little bit slower. The awesome part about this pattern is that once you learn it, you just repeat it for all 4 lines!
Demonstrate the pattern with just the first line as an example. Have the children listen and watch quietly. Then, slowly teach 1-2 actions at a time while speaking the words.
Continue until you get to “You Choose!” What action should we do here? Does anyone have an idea? Try out some of the suggestions. Use the same wildcard action or switch each time you repeat the pattern!
Choose a different action for each line and continue singing until the end of the verse! Hopefully, the kids will start to feel comfortable with the pattern by the second or third time. Continue singing through the song while you try out this fun pattern!
Hand Clap Pattern:
I love the simplicity of this pattern! Once you learn the pattern, just repeat it for all 4 lines! For this pattern, each note or syllable has a different action. I’ll outline the pattern below, but I definitely recommend grabbing the printable and checking out the demonstration video below!
Pat Both Hands on Knees –> Clap Clap –> Spin –> Snap Fingers –> Pat Left, Pat, Right, Pat Left, Pat Right, –> Random Action!
That’s it! That’s the entire pattern! To further explain, I’ll outline how the pattern fits with the first line below:
Tell (Pat knees both hands)
Me Dear (Clap Clap)
Lord (Spin)
In (Snap)
Thine own way I (left, right, left, right pats)
Pray (Random action!)
10 Wild Card Action Ideas:
The “Wild Card” action part of this pattern is meant to be a fun twist to keep the pattern exciting throughout the song! Choose any one of these wild card actions to use at the end of each line.
There are so many ways to adapt this to make it easier or more challenging depending on your primary. If you want to keep it simple, choose one wild card action for the entire song. If the kids are up for a challenge, choose a new action for each line of the song! What other “wild card” actions can you think of?
- Jump
- Roll Arms
- Dab
- Thumbs Up
- Spin
- Stomp
- Stand up/Sit down
- Head-Shoulders-Knees
- Snap fingers
- Wave arms
Extension Activities:
- Make it a partner pattern! To make this pattern adaptable for partners, simply have partners clap with their partner! Clap both hands the first time, then clap across the body for left-right-left-right.
- Use the wildcard action cards to randomly choose the action at the end of each line! There are a few different ways to do this. You can put all the cards in a jar and draw them each time, or post them on the board and have someone point to the action.
- Follow the leader! Choose someone to come up to the front of the room to lead the class in the pattern. Let them choose the wildcard action each time. Then, pick a new leader!
For another fun similar activity, head over to see this When I Am Baptized Hand Clap Patterns singing time activity!
Tell Me Dear Lord Hand Claps Demo Video
Check out this hand claps demo video to better prepare you to use this activity in singing time! In this video, I’ll explain how to use this pattern for each line of the song and demonstrate the entire hand claps pattern for the first verse!
–> Tell Me Dear Lord Hand Claps Demo Video <–
Tell Me Dear Lord Hand Claps Printable Song Helps
This free in-post printable includes a 1-page guide for this hand clap pattern! I’ve also included 6 free printable “wild card” action cards!
Join INSTANT Primary Singing for extended printables including a large 3-page pattern guide and 12 you choose cards in 2 sizes. You’ll find these bonus files included when Tell Me Dear Lord is the featured song of the month.
To access the free in-post printables for this post, you’ll just need to create a free account or login with the Grow.me tool. Then, confirm by email and refresh the page and ALL my free printables will automatically unlock in every post!
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You might also enjoy this fun Tell Me Dear Lord Action Words activity!
What other fun ways will you use this Hand Claps singing time activity in your Primary room?
