The Music for Singing time 2021 for Come Follow Me Doctrine and Covenants is available and all ready to go! There’s never a better time than the present to get yourself armed and ready for the upcoming year! Regardless of what the new year may look like!
Find the most current year’s curriculum HERE.
You can find the direct link to Music For Singing Time 2021 HERE at the church’s website. These are all the Come Follow Me – Primary song suggestions for singing time this year.
How it Works
There are 3 suggested songs for each month of the year. If you want to teach all 3, you can. If you want to focus on 1, you can! You get to decide what works best for you and your primary and go from there.
Here are a few of my personal thoughts in order to try and fit it all in while keeping my sanity!
Plan your 2021 singing time schedule with your primary presidency!
After discussing it with the primary presidency, I’ve chosen one of the suggested songs for the months January – August that will be sung during the primary program (the program is suggested to be at the end of the year with my preference being the last Sunday in September – right before October General Conference!). I made my song choices for each month based on what our primary knows LEAST, (or that I’ve never taught before) in order to bring in more variety to singing time (my choices are below). I noticed this year there are LOTS of hymns! That will really broaden the teaching options!
Because I always try to choose the most unknown songs, I frequently post words in singing time. Make sure to check out how I do that HERE.
With only 1 song to teach each month, I am able to keep up my current rotation:
- 2 weeks working on that month’s program song
- 1 week singing something seasonal or holiday (which a lot of times we need to prepare something to sing in sacrament meeting like on Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Easter, Christmas, etc.)
- 1 week to review the songs we’ve learned for the year for the program
You can find more information on my monthly scheduling HERE if that helps.
Get 2021 Music for Singing Time home with a CD or Digital Playlist
For our primary’s Christmas gift each year, I like to create a CD with ALL of the suggested songs. See how I do that HERE. This way I’ll be able to get all the songs to the kids, helping them to sing them at home during the upcoming year.
I know that CD’s are being phased out but I still think that most cars have a CD player (at least our family’s van does!). But there are multiple ways of getting primary music home. You can create YouTube playlists, email music files, etc.
UPDATE: Check out my NEW Digital Playlist HERE. I will be phasing out CD’s most likely next year.
September/October is typically program review time for most primaries so the suggested songs during those months are usually treated as opening songs to singing time each week. Then November and December I can teach as many of the suggested songs that I like while rotating in seasonal singing time lesson plans (like Thanksgiving and Christmas).
Stay organized in singing time!
To help you stay organized throughout the year, I have a 2021 Planner HERE. Each Sunday is blank so you can fill in whatever you need to in order to plan your singing time. Plan one week, month or the entire year at a time!
Want to take planning your singing time one step further? I have a Singing Time Schedule To-Go utilizing my Singing Time Planner! The current month’s planner is all filled in, complete with to-go lesson plans, visuals, words to post and more! Better yet, it’s in one spot to easily download and print. To access it, subscribe to my Singing Time Schedule Membership! Lots more details can be found here if you are interested:
Browse all my lesson plans that relate to 2021 Music for Singing Time Curriculum
I’ve linked all my lesson plans throughout my website below. I’ve bolded the songs that I’m tentatively planning to teach for the 2021 program.
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
- I Know That My Redeemer Lives Hymns #136 – find my lesson plan HERE
- Have I Done Any Good? Hymns #223 – find my lesson plan HERE
- I Feel My Savior’s Love p. 74 – find my lesson plan HERE
(July is a repeat of May – due to Covid my plan is to focus on it again)
August
- The Priesthood is Restored p. 89 – find my lesson plan HERE
- The Holy Ghost p. 105 – find my lesson plan HERE
- I Am a Child of God p. 2 – find my lesson plan HERE
(August is also a repeat of February – again, due to Covid)
September
October
November
December
Choose what you want to teach
I LOVE that I get a choice as to what to teach in singing time with the Come Follow Me! I really try to teach anything that I’ve never taught or that I haven’t taught in a while. I’m on a mission to sing most of the Children’s Songbook before it gets changed!! And this helps SO SO much!!
I’ll also be working on lesson plans for ALL the songs listed above this year so if you’ve picked a song that I don’t have a lesson plan yet, don’t worry! I’ll have it by the time you need to teach it :).
If you have become familiar with Come Follow Me-Primary Doctrine and Covenants, you’ll notice that there are song suggestions with most of the weekly primary lesson plans. If you want a complete list of all the songs found in the Come Follow Me-Primary Doctrine and Covenants curriculum I’m hoping someone will share that!! I haven’t quite figured out a way to implement these extra songs in singing time. If you have suggestions on how you implement these extra songs in singing time, I’d love to hear!
Okay, on to more suggestions found in the Instructions for Singing Time…there are activities suggested to help you teach doctrine as well as the music. I’ve gone through my blog and found a few activities where I’ve demonstrated those suggestions (or similar ones). For a complete list of my entire blog, check out my Song Index tab HERE and Review Activities tab HERE.
Using Music to Teach Doctrine
Read related scriptures: For many of the songs in the Children’s Songbook and the hymnbook, references to related scriptures are listed. Help the children read some of these passages, and talk about how the scriptures are related to the song. You could also list a few scripture references on the board and invite the children to match each reference to a song or a verse from a song.
Fill in the blank: Write a verse of the song on the board with several key words missing. Then ask the children to sing the song, listening for the words that fill in the blanks. As they fill in each blank, discuss what gospel principles you learn from the missing words.
Quotations from Church leaders: Invite the children to listen to a quotation from a Church leader that teaches the same gospel principle as the Primary song. Ask them to raise their hand when they hear something that helps them understand the truth they are singing about. Ask them to share what they heard.
Testify: Bear brief testimony to the children of gospel truths found in the Primary song. Help the children understand that singing is one way they can bear testimony and feel the Spirit.
[I try to conclude every singing time with a BRIEF testimony of what I’ve been teaching]
Stand as a witness: Invite children to take turns standing and sharing what they learn from the song they are singing or how they feel about the truths taught in the song. Ask them how they feel as they sing the song, and help them identify the influence of the Holy Ghost.
Use pictures: Ask the children to help you find or create pictures that go with important words or phrases in the song. Invite them to share how the pictures relate to the song and what the song teaches. For example, if you are teaching the song “I Will Follow God’s Plan” (Children’s Songbook, 164–65), you could put pictures throughout the room depicting important words from the song (such as gift, heaven, home, earth, and birth). Ask the children to gather the pictures and hold them up in the correct order as you sing the song together.
Share an object lesson: You could use an object to inspire discussion about a song. For example, the song “Faith” (Children’s Songbook, 96–97) mentions a little seed. You could show the children a seed and talk about how we show faith when we plant a seed; this could lead to a discussion about ways we show faith in Jesus Christ, as described in the song.
Invite sharing of personal experiences: Help the children connect the principles taught in the song with experiences they have had with those principles. For example, before singing “I Love to See the Temple” (Children’s Songbook, 95), you could ask the children to raise their hands if they have seen a temple. Invite them to think as they sing about how they feel when they see a temple.
Ask questions: Ask the children to listen for answers to questions in song lyrics. This can lead to a discussion about the truths taught in the song. There are many questions you can ask as you sing songs. For example, you can ask the children what they learn from each verse in the song. You can also ask them to think of questions that the song answers.
Listen for answers: Ask the children to listen for answers to questions such as “who?” “what?” “where?” “when?” or “why?” For example, in the song “Baptism” (Children’s Songbook, 100–101), they could listen for who baptized Jesus and where, when, how, and why He was baptized. You could also ask the children to listen for key words or to count on their fingers how many times they sing a certain word.
Helping Children Learn and Remember Primary Songs
Children learn a song by hearing and singing it over and over again. Always sing the words of a new song to the children—don’t just read or recite them. This helps the children connect the melody to the words. After a song is taught, review it in a variety of fun ways throughout the year. Below are some ideas to help children learn and review songs:
Create posters: Display posters with the words from each verse or pictures that represent the words. As the children sing, cover up some of the words or pictures until they can sing the entire verse without the poster. You can also invite the children to help you create the posters.
Demonstrate the pitch: To help children learn the melody of a song, hold your hand in a horizontal position, and as you sing the words, move your hand up to indicate higher pitches and down to indicate lower pitches.
Echo: Invite the children to be your echo by repeating what you sing. Sing to the children a short phrase or a line, and then have them sing it back to you.
Use variation: Sing songs in a variety of ways, such as whispering, humming, clapping the beat, varying the tempo, or singing while sitting or standing. You could also make a cube out of paper and, on each side of the cube, write a different way to sing. Invite a child to roll the cube to decide how the children will sing the song.
Using Handbells in Primary (my FAVORITE!!)
Sing in groups: Give each class or individual one phrase to sing while standing, and then have them exchange phrases until each class or individual has had a turn singing each phrase.
Use hand actions: Invite the children to think of simple hand actions to help them remember the words and messages of a song. For example, when you sing the second verse of “My Heavenly Father Loves Me” (Children’s Songbook, 228–29), you could invite the children to point to their eyes, act like butterflies, and cup their hands behind their ears. Ask them to place their hands on their hearts as they sing “Yes, I know Heavenly Father loves me.”
Girls sing, boys sing: Draw a picture of a boy and a picture of a girl, and glue or tape the pictures onto separate sticks. While reviewing a song, hold up one of the pictures to indicate who should sing that part of the song.
Basket toss: Place numbered baskets or other containers at the front of the room—as many containers as there are verses of a particular song. Invite one of the children to toss a beanbag or crumpled piece of paper into or near a numbered container. Have the children sing the verse with the same number as the container.
Match a picture to a phrase: Write each line of a song on a different piece of paper, and find a picture that represents each line. Place the pictures on one side of the room and the papers on the other side. Sing the song, and ask the children to match the pictures to the words.
15 thoughts on “Music for Singing Time 2021”
Hello! This is so amazing. I’m so excited to get started. You are an inspiration and I’ve used many of your ideas in primary. Where did you find your primary song list for 2021? I tried searching for it on the church tools and online but couldn’t find one.
Hi Nancy!
If you go under Primary > Doctrine and Covenants 2021 > then scroll down to the Appendix, it’s all there. I hope that answers your question. If not, let me know :).
~Camille
I had the same question and it was a miracle I found it. Now I’ve book marked it because I’m still not sure how I got to the list on my computer
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/come-follow-me-for-primary-doctrine-and-covenants-2021/singing?lang=eng
It’s definitely hard to find!
ugh! I can not figure out how to download the 2021 songs with QRcode!
I just cant see the link to download it.
Peggy
Hi Peggy!
I’ve emailed the link to you. I hope that helps.
~Camille
I want to download the whole year so I can print out and make a packet for my Counselors can you please let me know how I do that I could only download January
Thank you
Hi Anne,
I’ve sent you an email with the link for my 2021 Singing Time Planner. Hopefully that is what you are looking for. If not, let me know and I can hopefully help you further.
~Camille
Hi Camille
Im trying to find the entire 2021 year singing time planner and I can’t seem to find it. Could you help me out.
Thanks,
Michelle
I would like your planning sheets for 2021 and I cant seem to find them! Or the resource page it tells me to enter my email in! Could you tell me where to print these out
Hi Camille!
Sorry you are having trouble! I’ll email you the link to the 2021 planner.
~Camille
Sorry, I too was trying to print the planner template, would you mind e-mailing it to me…
Thanks so much!
Hi DeEsta!
It’s filed on my resource Library under Category Title > Planner > 2021. I’ll email you the file :).
~Camille
By chance do you have the 2021 planner in word format.. I can only find it in PDF in your resource library.
Hi Cecilee!
I didn’t create this in Word so I can’t share an editable document. But you can add text boxes to the pdf document to add information. Details are in the posts on the planner. I hope that helps.
~Camille