Take the Lead! Learning to Lead the Music

Developing Talents #2- Learn to lead a song and discuss how developing talents prepares us to serve Heavenly Father and others.

To begin, I wanted them to get a sense of listening for the beat so we sang several children's songs and clapped, snapped, or marched out the beat.  It was a lot of fun and it released some energy.

Learning to lead the music is a great skill to learn!  It is easy to teach as well.  Instructions are found in the back of the hymnal.  I chose the song "I Am A Child of God" because it is the theme for Primary this year.  It is found in the Children's Songbook #2 and also in they Hymnal #301.

We looked at the hymn and I taught them how to understand how many beats are in a measure...just a simple explanation of measures and beats.  There is an excellent resource here.

We sang and sang and took turns leading each other.  They were awesome!  So smart!

We had a discussion about how this is an important talent to have.  This is a talent that can be used at home as well as at church.  It is a talent that you can use throughout your lifetime and it is a great service.  We talked about Mosiah 2:17- And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

We turned to Hymns #29 and #128.  Both of these reference Mosiah 2:17  at the end of the hymn.  We talked about the meaning of the lyrics in relation to the scripture.  ("Our Primary Colors" and "A Happy Helper" from the Children's Songbook also reference Mosiah 2:17)

When I showed them the scripture references after each hymn, they were very interested.  As we were reading the lyrics, one of the children said, "Hey!  This is a poem!"  We talked about how hymns really are poems and usually rhyme.  If you use the scripture, the words to the song, and maybe a personal story, you have a talk all ready to give.

Today one of the children celebrated a birthday!  We played Pin the Nose on the Clown and ate cupcakes to celebrate!

See you next time!