I just adore our Prophet, beloved President Russell M. Nelson. He has been preparing us through changes to the way we operate with updates to Ministering and a Home-centered learning.
During these crazy times we are currently in, with all the fears and worries and unknown facing us with the daily newsfeed, it’s more important than ever to make sure our children have a source of strength to rely on. Primary music can be one of those sources of strengths!
This is certainly not going to be the last time church is cancelled, whether for upcoming disasters or severe storms, local emergencies or needs, or even simply individual needs to stay at home will certainly happen during the years to come.
I’ve been thinking a lot this week with all the talks of how to use the calling of Primary Music Leader to help enrich families while they may be instructed to have church in their own homes. What is your role in their efforts? How can you continue influencing those children, when you can’t be in their homes?
I thought I’d share some of my ideas and thoughts on easy ways to share Primary Music with those children you have a stewardship over that won’t be obtrusive or take an elaborate amount of time and prep.
6 Fun Ways to Share
Primary Music in Homes
1. Share Primary Music YouTube Playlists – There are lots of resources already readily available on YouTube. You can find your monthly or yearly Primary songs setup in a Karaoke style video with the lyrics easy to read and sing along. You can even find some fun activity ideas for Singing Time!
I have a YouTube channel with some of my ideas. They are geared towards Primary Music Leaders, but can absolutely be used by parents to prepare themselves to teach a fun song or activity in the home.
If that’s a helpful resource for you, you can find my YouTube videos playlist here!
- When I Am Baptized Paper Plates Pattern
- Tell Me the Stories of Jesus Rhythm Sticks Pattern (Use butter knives in a pinch!)
- Love is Spoken Here Simple Actions
2. Primary Song Printable Activities – What other ways can you engage children with the lyrics of the song? There are some fun individual activities that you could certainly do, like word searches, crossword puzzles, illustrate the verse challenges and more! Here’s a few that I have created that you can look to for inspiration!
- When I Am Baptized Comic Strip
- Search, Ponder, and Pray Crossword Puzzle
- Keep the Commandments Color the Commandments
- I Know My Father Lives Color Puzzle
- Search, Ponder and Pray Word Search
This category page for Visual Learning Ideas is a great starting point to see more activities in this learning style!
3. Give Ideas for Singing Time in the Home – Encourage your families to hold a short (5 minutes) singing time lesson in their homes as part of their Sunday service. It’s a perfect way to get the kids engaged and active with the lesson!
Send a weekly or monthly email or post something on your ward Facebook page with a fun way to engage with a song! I highly recommend Movement Activities or some of these fun Logic Activities that can easily be done at home with no experience needed! Here are a few that would be easy for families to jump in and try with no prep!
- The Holy Ghost Finger Lights (use flashlights!)
- Keep the Commandments Sway and Freeze
- Baptism Body Rhythm Pattern
- Tell Me the Stories of Jesus Crack the Code
4. Host a “Sing-Along” – There’s a popular trend just getting under way, inspired by the Italians! Post a song of the day or jump on one of the many online options to have a live sing-along karaoke style! This is a fun time to pull out those flip charts or your poster boards and let families sing along!
5. Create a Singing Time Challenge – Create a simple BINGO challenge sheet or email out a weekly challenge with a fun task or activity families can do together. This is a great way to keep the kids involved with the Primary songs AND help be an uplifting influence during this crazy time.
I’ve created a Singing Time Bingo free printable that can be customized. You could also just include some of these challenge ideas in a weekly (or daily) newsletter or Facebook post to keep your families thinking positive!
6. Go LIVE! If you are brave enough, it’s really not that difficult to plan your Singing Time lessons like normal and hit record! Let the families watch you live or from a pre-recorded video.
Some of our children need socialization for their mental health, and this is a great way for them to see a loving familiar face and have some fun with the Primary songs!
There are lots of additional resources and activities on this blog that can be adapted for home use! This certainly isn’t an extensive list. How are you encouraging and supporting families in ways they can be using Primary songs in the home?