Being called as a Primary Music Leader is super overwhelming at first. I know for me, I felt completely weighed down by where to start, what do do, sorting through resources and ideas. It was easy to get lost in it all and feel overwhelmed.
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After getting a few Singing Time’s under your belt, you start to settle into the calling, some, and realize how much potential for fun this calling offers! I absolutely love having this calling and making Singing Time engaging for the kids.
Here’s a list of Primary Music Leader supplies, and a dream wishlist too!
Prefer to shop with someone OTHER than Amazon? I love Oriental Trading for singing time supplies! They have lots of instruments and fun props to use in Primary. Some of my favorite things they offer are:
Rhythm sticks, finger lights, egg shakers, jingle bell bracelets, buzzers, and I get all my Christmas nativity costumes through them!
Essential Primary Music Leader Supplies
Basic Essentials for Primary Music Leaders:
- Laminator Machine
- Laminating Pouches
- Paper Cutter
- Printable resources
- File Organizer or Organizer with Lid
- File Folders and Hanging Folders
- Printer Paper
- Printer Ink — more details below!
- White Cardstock
- Colored Cardstock
- Binder — See how I use a Singing Time Binder
- Sticker Divider Tabs — I stick these onto sheet protectors for custom tabs! They are amazing!
- Sheet Protectors
- Scissors
- Tape
- Thumbtacks
- Plasti-Tak – Reusable tack for holding up your printables!
Printer Ink Subscription:
One of my VERY favorite singing time supplies is my HP Instant Ink subscription. They send me replacement ink cartridges before I ever run out so I’m always ready to print and it cost the same to print black and white or a full page of color!
That means, I can print out all the pretty printables in full color and it’s a bargain at the subscription rate! Most music leaders will need the 100 pages/month plan which is $6/month.
If you don’t use all your monthly print limits, they roll over so you can use those up on heavier printing months. I absolutely love, love, love my Ink subscription! New subscribers get a $10 HP Instant Ink credit with my link which covers the first 1-2 months of service!
- Pocket Dividers
- Poster Board
- Magnets (push pin magnets)
- Magnets (clip magnets for the whiteboard)
- and MORE magnets (hook magnets)!!
- Dry erase markers
- Chalk and Eraser
- 24-ct box of crayons per class
- Sheet music
Music Leaders Dream Wishlist
These are ordered by category, in order of my personal favorites / top priority!
Instruments for Primary:
- Rhythm Sticks (You’ll need a set of 2 per person)
- Egg Shakers (See How to make Egg Shakers homemade here)
- Jingle Bell Bracelets (See How to make Jingle Bell Bracelets homemade here)
- Paper Plates (You’ll need 2 plates per person)
- Handbells (Use PrimarySinging to get 10% off Merry Bells!)
- Sand Blocks (See How to make homemade Sand Blocks here)
- Maori Sticks (See How to make Maori Sticks homemade here)
- Egg Cartons
- Drum
- Grab a set of Canvas Tote bags to make passing out instruments easier!
Merry Bells Handbells Coupon:
If you’re looking for high quality handbells, you’ll love Merry Bells! They come in a protective case and with bell covers so they stay in wonderful condition.
Plus, they include a free starter DVD with Christmas Song Bell Charts for a super fun way to use the handbells. Take 10% off with the promo code PrimarySinging!
Manipulatives and Creative Supplies:
- Dance Scarves
- Ribbon Wands / OR / Ribbon Wands on a Stick (See how to make homemade ribbon wands here)
- Plastic Cups
- Big box of Markers for art projects
- Playdoh
- Finger Lights
- Yoga Cards
- Game Show Buzzers
- Desk Bells – For competition games
- Cash Register Tape – Use it to create long word strips!
- Tracing Paper
- Colorful Circle Stickers – Perfect for Singing Goosebumps
- Happy Face Stickers – Great for filling in a progress chart or rewarding kiddos!
- Fun conducting wands like: Glitter Tube, Hand Pointers, and Princess Wand
- Shadow Box Theater (See How to Make a Shadow Puppet Theater here)
Tips for Buying Supplies for the
Primary Music Leader Calling
1. Ask for a budget – As soon as you get called as the Music Leader, don’t hesitate to ask if you have a budget to work with and if not for the Presidency to work one in for you. There can be a lot of expenses with your lesson plans from paper and printing to ink and poster boards and everything else in between.
2. Check end of the year budget – Make a special effort to check if the Primary has any remaining budget that can be used at the end of the year. I was the Young Women’s secretary once and did a great job budgeting and making things as frugal as possible. But then I was told at the end of the year if we didn’t use up our budget, we’d get a smaller budget next year!
Don’t be afraid to use those funds. If there is leftover money at the end of the year, this is the perfect time to stock up on some of the supplies you might need going into the next year or to pickup something from the wishlist!
3. Personal versus Primary supplies – I didn’t even ask about a budget my first two years in this calling, so anything I purchased I did so simply knowing I’d keep it whenever I would be released.
There are some things I didn’t mind one bit to purchase for my own personal use after Primary was over. I love having my own supplies of egg shakers, rhythm sticks, scarves, and more. I use them for FHE, with my toddler, for a home preschool swap, etc!
Now, starting into my 3rd year as the music leader, I’ve used the extra year-end budget to start to supply the Primary closet! This serves two different purposes. First, I’m not lugging my own supplies back and forth each week, which is really nice! The second reason is so that the Primary kids have access to these amazing resources whenever I am released.
While I was able to upfront some of the supplies early in my calling, not every music leader would be able to. I love that all those resources will be readily available for the music leader, teachers, and the Primary kids for years and years to come!
Go read this post on how to stay organized and what’s in my singing time music bag for tons of ideas to help you decide on purchasing your own supplies or stocking the Primary closet!
4. Buy for half the Primary – A great way to cut back on expenses is to purchase only enough supplies for half the kids in your Primary. So, for example, if you have 20 kids in Junior Primary and 15 kids in Senior Primary, start by buying a single set of 12.
Most of the supplies will come in a set of 12 and while that’s not enough for the entire Primary, you’ll be able to buy a larger variety of supplies by purchasing less of each item.
Having only enough for half your Primary builds in a natural way to do more repetition, too! So there are some great perks to this approach. Hand out any extras to the sunbeam row, as they have the hardest time sharing.
Everyone else will take turns with someone else in their class or in the Primary room. One will get a turn, then switch, then repeat and you’ve just done the song 4 times through without any complaints!
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What tips or supplies would you add to this list? Do you have a favorite music leader supply that I forgot to mention on this list above?
