Teach these 2023 Primary songs in singing time this year! This list is what the Church suggests that Primary music leaders teach in singing time throughout 2023.
Follow my recommendations and you’ll focus on the suggested songs that your Primary knows least! Then teach these songs to include in the Primary program.
My LDS Come Follow Me 2023 Lesson Plans
Linked below are singing time lesson plans relating to 2023’s suggested Primary songs. Bolded songs are what I will include in the 2023 Primary program presentation at the end of the year.
NOTE: a few months I branch out from the 3 suggested songs. The only purpose is to provide a little more variety.
January
My favorite individual lesson plans for teaching January’s suggested Primary songs are:
- Come, Follow Me Primary Singing Time Lesson Plan
- A Child’s Prayer Singing Time Lesson Plan
- Jesus Once Was a Little Child Primary Singing Time Lesson Plan
**The Miracle Singing Time Lesson Plan – not a suggested song for January but I am including it in the program
More singing time lesson plan ideas for teaching January’s suggested Primary songs:
February
My favorite individual lesson plans for teaching February’s suggested Primary songs:
- Baptism Primary Singing Time Lesson Plan
- I Will Follow God’s Plan Primary Singing Time Lesson Plan
- He Sent His Son Primary Singing Time Lesson Plan
More singing time lesson plan ideas for teaching February’s suggested Primary songs:
March
My favorite individual lesson plans for teaching March’s suggested Primary songs:
- I’m Trying to Be like Jesus Primary Singing Time Lesson Plan
- Did You Think to Pray? Primary Singing Time Lesson Plan
- Tell Me the Stories of Jesus Primary Singing Time Lesson Plan
More singing time lesson plan ideas for teaching March’s suggested Primary songs:
April
My favorite individual lesson plans for teaching April’s suggested Primary songs:
- Faith Primary Singing Time Lesson Plan
- I Feel My Savior’s Love Primary Singing Time Lesson Plan
- Jesus Has Risen Primary Singing Time Lesson Plan
More singing time lesson plan ideas for teaching April’s suggested Primary songs:
May
My favorite individual lesson plans for teaching May’s suggested Primary songs:
**Called to Serve Primary Singing Time Lesson Plan– not not a suggested song for May but including it in the program (a suggested song in Come Follow Me – Primary during May 22-28)
More singing time lesson plan ideas for teaching May’s suggested Primary songs:
June
My favorite individual lesson plans for teaching June’s suggested Primary songs:
More singing time lesson plan ideas for teaching June’s suggested Primary songs:
July
My favorite individual lesson plans for teaching July’s suggested Primary songs:
More singing time lesson plan ideas for teaching July’s suggested Primary songs:
August
My favorite individual lesson plans for teaching August’s suggested Primary songs:
More singing time lesson plan ideas for teaching August’s suggested Primary songs:
September
My favorite individual lesson plans for teaching September’s suggested Primary songs:
- When We’re Helping Primary Singing Time Lesson Plan
- A Child’s Prayer Primary Singing Time Lesson Plan*
- I Know That My Redeemer Lives Primary Singing Time Lesson Plan
*This is a repeat of January’s song
More singing time lesson plan ideas for teaching September’s suggested Primary songs:
- When We’re Helping Primary Singing Time Ideas
- I’ll Walk with You Primary Singing Time Ideas
- I Know That My Redeemer Lives Primary Singing Time Ideas**
**Coming soon
October
My favorite individual lesson plans for teaching October’s suggested Primary songs:
- When He Comes Again Primary Singing Time Lesson Plan
- The Church of Jesus Christ Primary Singing Time Lesson Plan
- I Love to See the Temple Primary Singing Time Lesson Plan
More singing time lesson plan ideas for teaching October’s suggested Primary songs:
- When He Comes Again Primary Singing Time Ideas**
- The Church of Jesus Christ Primary Singing Time Ideas
- I Love to See the Temple Primary Singing Time Ideas
**Coming soon
November
My favorite individual lesson plans for teaching November’s suggested Primary songs:
- Search, Ponder, and Pray Primary Singing Time Lesson Plan
- Tell Me, Dear Lord Primary Singing Time Lesson Plan
- Kindness Begins with Me Primary Singing Time Lesson Plan
More singing time lesson plan ideas for teaching November’s suggested Primary songs:
- Search, Ponder, and Pray Primary Singing Time Ideas
- Tell Me, Dear Lord Primary Singing Time Ideas**
- Kindness Begins with Me Primary Singing Time Ideas
**Coming soon
December
My favorite individual lesson plans for teaching December’s suggested Primary songs:
*This is a repeat of August’s song
More singing time lesson plan ideas for teaching December’s suggested Primary songs:
- My Heavenly Father Loves Me Primary Singing Time Ideas**
- Choose the Right Way Primary Singing Time Ideas**
- When I Am Baptized Primary Singing Time Ideas
**Coming soon
Come Follow Me Primary Songs
Check out this list to every year’s (past and present) Come Follow Me Primary Songs.
Singing Time To-Go
Do you need singing time planned out for you? Then you need Singing Time To-Go! Receive a filled in singing time monthly planner, complete with to-go lesson plans, visuals, words to post and more! Better yet, it’s in one spot to easily download and print.
Find more details about Singing Time To-Go here:
Planning Singing Time using the LDS Come Follow Me 2023 Schedule
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.
These are activities where I’ve demonstrated those activitites (or similar ones). For a comprehensive list, check out Lesson Plans and Review Activities pages.
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.
8 thoughts on “Come Follow Me LDS Primary Songs 2023 Singing Time Planner”
Thank you for this post! It was so detailed and inspired so many ideas for me as I go about planning for next year! Thank you for taking the time to put this altogether!
Hi Elisabeth!
I’m so glad you think so! Thank you for taking the time to comment and letting me know!
~Camille
Great ideas and creativity thank you
Thanks Anne!
Hi Camille!! You’re are AMAZING!! Thanks so much for all you
share!!
Could you tell me how to edit the blank primary incentive document that you did for 2022?
Thank you ❤️❤️❤️
Hi Helen!
To edit the document, you need Adobe Reader or Preview (on a Mac). You then insert text boxes from toolbar to add your songs. Then you need to create a YouTube song playlist and link that to a QR code and insert the QR code as an image. It can be a little tricky if you aren’t familiar with how to do it but I hope that helps.
~Camille
I’m new at this and have a question… where can I find the list that the church suggests that Primary music leaders teach in singing time?
Hi Stacey!
Welcome to singing time! I’ve got the link above in the post but I’ve also linked it here for your convenience:
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/come-follow-me-for-primary-new-testament-2023/singing?lang=eng
I hope that helps.
~Camille