What’s in my Backpack? Review Game

If you’re looking for a darling Back to School Singing Time Idea, you’ll adore this What’s in my Backpack Review game! Just fill up a kids back to school backpack with a variety of school supplies. Each will add a fun action or way to sing that will mix up singing time.

Best of all, you can use this activity with one song, a couple songs, or add all of your Primary Program songs to the rotation!

**12 Fun Back to School Singing Time Ideas Here!**

What’s in my Backpack? Review Game

*Downloads are available at the bottom of the post when signed in!*

How to Play:

Gather a variety of school supplies. Label each one with your activity cards, if desired, or just have those ready for matching.

You can sign through a mix of songs and match them to the objects or roll a dice to pick your song to sing! You can sing just a single song over and over, but I think this activity would work best with at least 2-3 songs since a lot of the activities rely on picking a single keyword.

Prepare a list of one keyword to use for each song, so you can align the actions with the specific keywords!

Load up a backpack with all your supplies and then pull out one object at a time. Read out the fun action to use while singing.

Continue picking out objects from the backpack and singing through your songs!

School Supplies Action List and Ideas:

• Markers – Draw the Song
  • Use printer paper and draw each line of the song
• Eraser – “Erase” one word from the song
  • Pick one word to NOT sing like it has been erased from the song entirely!
• Pencil – Change one word to a silly word
  • Pick a word that repeats or a strong keyword to switch it up to a new word! Like change “I” and “me” references to their own name!

• Crayons – Draw shapes in the air
  • Use your finger like holding a crayon and draw a variety of shapes to match the song. Like circles, heart, rainbow, stars, etc.
• Stapler – Pat on keywords
  • Pat on your lap on the main keywords. Try a double syllable with two pats!
• Scissors – Switch singing from side-to-side
  • “Cut” the room in half into two equal groups. Then point to which side sings, switching back and forth from the right, to the left, and back again throughout the song.
• Paper – Wave a sheet of paper like a flag
  • Hold two corners of a piece of paper and wave it up high, then down low, left and right, shake it quickly right in front of you – have fun with different patterns.
• Ruler – Hold out long notes extra-long
  • Use the ruler to help direct and raise it up (or out to one side) more and more until you’re ready to drop the long note and let the ruler droop low to help transition.
• Dry Erase – Sing fast and slow
  • Draw with the dry erase marker on the board a pattern of up and down hills. Point along through the song and sing slow on the uphill and fast on the downhills! Or draw as you sing and have the kids match your speed.
• Glue Stick – Sing with your lips stuck together
  • Try not to move those lips! Keep them glued together while you sing.

• Binder – Clap on keywords
  • Pick out a few repeating keywords and clap every time you sing them!
• Highlighter – Sing one word extra loud
  • Pick out a specific word or phrase. Sing out the keyword as loud (not yelling!) as you can!
• New Shoes – Stomp on keyword
  • Pick out a strong keyword and stomp one foot each time you sing the keyword.
• Lunch Box – Sing without your lips touching
  • Open your mouth wide and try not to let your lips touch while you sing!
• Tissues – Use like a dance scarf
  • Hand out a dance scarf and let the kids help “paint” the movement of the notes as they move up and down through the song.
• Pencil Box – Hide and seek during the song
  • Have one child step out of the Primary room and hide the pencil box. Then, everyone sings and sing louder the closer they get to the hidden pencil box.
• Laptop – Pretend to type out the song lyrics.
  • Hold your hands out on your lap like you’re holding a laptop and click-click-click out the keys on the keyboard as you sing the song.

Extension Ideas:

Have the kids reach into the backpack (without peeking) and pick out one of the objects! You can have all the item cards listed on the board so they can try to pick a specific one. Have them try to guess what they’re holding, then reveal it!

Randomly place a variety of school supplies under each child’s chair so everyone has one school item with a variety underneath each seat. When their object is drawn, they get to come up front to help lead! You might have 2-3 or more leaders, that’s totally fine!

Let the kids lead the music with the revealed object!

Just for fun, I had to share this other themed What’s in my Singing Time Music Bag post with you! You could totally play a twist on the backpack theme and pull out random fun things from your singing time music bag! Head over to this post to see a detailed explanation and tips of everything I carry with me to Primary and how I stay organized!

What’s in my Backpack Review Game
Singing Time Printable Song Helps

I’m really excited about this activity and how flexible it is that you can use for whatever mix of songs you’d like and still fit in a theme while getting in tons of repeat singing! Picking an object doesn’t take long at all.

This printable lesson plan includes a 1-page overview with fun extension ideas to help you match this activity to best fit your Primary.

Then, you can print the small cards (6 per page) or the large cards (full page) in either black and white or color. I’ve included 18 different school supplies so you can pick an choose your favorites or simply pick from what supplies you have on hand to make it so easy!

For another fun Back to school themed activity, head over to see our Build a Pencil Song Scramble Review Game!

What other fun actions could you add to What’s in my Backpack list?

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