Primary music leaders are experts in making singing time a place where a child’s testimony of the gospel can begin to grow. With a commitment to faith-centered fun, they have a special ability to engage both the children and the teachers in the room. LDS Living recently spoke with two Primary music leaders about some of their favorite activities that do just this.
Singing Time with Granny
As her ward’s Primary music leader, Natashia McLean came up with a clever way to help the Primary kids sing louder in preparation for their annual Primary program. She ordered a gray wig, borrowed a cane, donned a shawl—becoming “Granny” for singing time.
“I had this idea that Granny is a little hard of hearing and needs [the kids] to sing really loud,” she says. “I had a lot of fun with it.”
She slowly hobbled around the room with her hand to one ear and told the kids that she couldn’t hear them. After each song, one of the kids would pour a teacup of water into Granny’s teapot. By the end of singing time, the teapot was full.
“I’ve found that kids really like when there’s some sort of benchmark to show that we’re working towards something,” Natashia explains.
She said that the activity was very engaging and brought a lot of laughter and joy—things she believes God wants us to experience.
“We’re supposed to have fun,” she says. “I also believe God meets us where we’re at. … He wants us to learn in the way that our brains can comprehend. And for kids, they need engagement. They need joy.”
At the end of singing time, Natashia pauses until the room becomes still. Then she bears her testimony about whatever they’ve been singing about.
“It’s not very long, but I do that every single Sunday, … [and I] thank the children for bringing their spirits and sharing their spirit as we sing,” she says.
Dads As Masked Singers
Another Primary music leader, Megan Ellertson, had a fun idea for celebrating Father’s Day in her ward. Inspired by the TV show The Masked Singer, she invited dads to come sing—in disguise.
Prior to Father’s Day, Megan reached out to the bishop and several fathers in the ward and asked them to participate. Each brother filled out a questionnaire about some of their favorite things, including their favorite Primary song and scripture story. Then at church on Sunday, they took turns dressing up in blow-up costumes Megan already owned and singing Primary songs for the kids. The kids then had to guess the identity of each person in costume.
“It was a huge hit,” Megan says. “The dads loved it. The kids loved it.” After the kids guessed the identity of each masked singer, Megan would share his answers to the questionnaire, and the dad would bear his testimony.
While serving in Primary, Megan has experienced firsthand what it means to learn “out of the mouth of babes.”
“[The kids] say such wonderful and hilarious but such true, pure things,” she shares. “It’s helped me look at myself and other people and try to not just picture them as a child of God but as children of God.”
For Megan, this means that she’s better able to recognize the inner child within each adult and to remember that everyone is trying their best and still learning.
“That’s the goal in Christ,” Megan says, “to just be that inner child learning the gospel and loving everyone.”
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