Primary Singing Time: do they know what the song is telling them?

     Thankfully, I still have the job in my church of teaching singing to the children ages 3-11.  Over all of the callings I have had throughout my life in the church, this is my absolute favorite.  I love getting to know all of the children and having fun singing with them.  I love sharing my testimony with them through music.  Most of all, I love how strongly the Spirit speaks to us in Primary when the children love and understand a song and sing it beautifully.  
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     All year long, I teach the children songs that they will be singing for the whole congregation in the Fall.  It is called the Primary Sacrament Meeting Program.  For many, it is the best Sacrament Meeting of the year because of the sweet spirit the children bring when they sing and speak.  As I teach them throughout the year, it is easy to get caught up in getting them to perfect their singing, i.e. knowing the words and singing loud enough.  But, I know that the most important thing I should teach is the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ through song.  I want the children to learn and understand the doctrine taught within the music. When they do know and understand the message of the songs, they actually do sing their best because they love the simple truths that the Primary Music teaches. 
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     Recently, I came up with an idea that checks the children's understanding of the songs that we are singing this year.  It was a sort of trivia game that made the review fun as well as informative.  This idea could be adapted to any songs that your Primary is working on.  I am including printable versions of the graphics that I used for my kids and I think that you will be able to see how you could personalize your own.   You can simply click on each picture to get the pdf file to print them yourself! 

This one is for "Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah" hymn #83. My kids are so good at this one. The boys sing the alto part in the refrain. It is amazing!

This was a little tricky because I used a reference from the Book of Mormon to explain My Heavenly Father Loves Me. But the pictures are a good clue.

This one is for "I Know My Father Lives" which is page 5 in the Primary songbook. This is so beautiful when the children sing it.

This refers to the song "I Will Walk With Jesus, " introduced a couple of years ago. You can go to the church website and find the sheet music. I will put a link below.

These last 2 pictures are about verses from "Follow the Prophet."  We practiced Enoch and Moses on this particular week. 

     After you print the pictures, the prep work is easy.  I used magnets to put the pictures up on the blackboard randomly.  I asked the children as they came in to look at the pictures and if they could read, to read the questions and quietly think about which ones they could answer.  I had them whisper to their teachers and to their other classmates who all shared what they thought the answers were.   Then, one at a time I gave each class an opportunity to send up a representative to choose one of the pictures and tell us which song it was about.  Then, I would discuss the song briefly with them.  For example, for "My Heavenly Father Loves Me,"  I explained the scripture from Alma and we talked about how seeing Heavenly Father's beautiful creations remind us of his love for us.   For "Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah," we talked about what it means to be fed by the Spirit.  Then, we would sing the song.  Everyone felt involved and the children had great insights.  I was able to bear my testimony of the truths we discussed.  It was a simple and effective activity.  
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     If you want to make your own graphics for additional songs, my two favorite places to do that are on Canva or on Google Drive.  You could even make them on Word and just use stock pictures.  I hope that if you are the chorister in your Primary, you will love it as much as I do and that you find this idea helpful! Let me know if you give it a try! 

PS:  Here is the link to "I Will Walk With Jesus."
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Other Primary Ideas I've Shared

Best Singing Time Ideas So Far
The Best Brownies and How I Use Them For Primary
Singing Time Version of Don't Eat Pete