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Monday, December 17, 2012

NATIVITY SING-A-STORY


What child
doesn't like to take part in the
Nativity Story??????

If you are looking for something to do for the Sunday before or after Christmas, try doing a
Nativity Sing-a-Story.
Last year I did a Nativity Sing-a-Story and the children loved it and what a wonderful and spiritual feeling of the Savior's birth that was felt by all. The script is compiled from Sharing Time ideas in the 1984 & 1985 December issues of the Friend magazine and from Luke 2 and Matthew 2 in the Bible.

I had the whole singing and sharing time last year, so this is great to use as a combined Singing and Sharing Time or you can shorten it for just a Singing Time. It is pretty easy to do. There are a few things you will need to prepare for ahead of time, but acting out and narrating the script is pretty much on the fly. 

Here are a few heads up things to prepare for (all speaking parts can be assigned that day):

  • You will be narrator #1 and you will need a narrator #2, preferably an adult male. Assign ahead of time or ask a male teacher in the Primary that day. You will both need a copy of the script.
  • You may want to make a couple of extra copies of the script for your helpers that will help with the children.
  • For JR, the narrators will speak the parts as denoted but for SR, have the children read their parts. Just cut out the speaking parts to give to each child.
  • Simple costumes that can be easily worn over the children's clothes. Before Primary starts as the children are coming into the room, have your presidency helpers or other helpers start helping to select and dress the children in the hallway or in the back of the room. This will save time. The children can just sit in seats on the front row until it is time.
  • Have the costumes labeled and lined up along the wall or on chairs or in separate bags.  It helps to make it quicker and easier to find the right costume and dress the child.
  • Props (Most props on the list are self-explanatory. The star I used is a big lighted treetop star that I mounted on a tall stick and plugged it in and handed to the angel to hold when the angel stood behind Mary and Joseph.) You could make a big glittery star out of poster board or cardboard and mount to a tall stick.
  • If your Primary does not know some of the songs suggested in the script, just select appropriate songs your Primary knows.
  • At the end, you may want to turn off the lights to sing the last song(s). Just make sure you have a light source for your pianist and one for the room if your room gets too dark.
  • The script is written how I presented it. Feel free to revise for the needs of your Primary.
More detailed instructions for these are in the script. The script may look daunting, but it really isn't. I just tried to be pretty detailed so it would be easy to follow and flow for everyone, which it actually was. It is really in the prep and organization that helps to keep things flowing smoothly or as smoothly as you can in Primary while doing a skit on the fly.

You could do the Nativity Story every year and the children would never tire of it. They just love being a part of the story about our Savior's birth and it is amazing how reverent they can be and the spirit that can be felt as they experience such a special event.


The Nativity Story Sing a Story

4 comments:

  1. This is truly wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing your idea!

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  2. Thank you so much! This is perfect for what I want to do. I was working on combining two articles/scripts from the Friend and then you posted this, and it is exactly what I want to do.

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  3. I'm reporting back! I used your script for both our Junior and Senior Primaries last week at it was fantastic! Of course, I needed a long winter nap when it was all over, but the kids loved it! If anyone wonders, it takes about 30 minutes once you get going. Thanks again. It was so fun.

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  4. I'm so glad this worked for you guys. And yes, it can be quite a challenge to get all the kids dressed up, so lots of help from the teachers and Prim Presidency is an absolute must. I don't think I mentioned that I did start grabbing kids during the break time between class but before ST to start getting some into their costumes.

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