The Teaching Primary Music Podcast

Learning Styles Part 3: Purposeful Movement to a Steady Beat

Purposeful movement - the opposite of chaotic movement - lays an important foundation not only for the words and message of the song, but also for a surprising number of life skills that children are developing. 

Learning Styles Part 2: Concrete Representation of Words

In this episode, we dive in to how help children internalize the words of a primary song. 

Learning Styles Part 1: Visual Intrigue

There are children in the world who notice colors, shapes, and patterns much more than they notice other things. In this episode, we elaborate on teaching music with visual intrigue and talk about how to reach these children. 

Tips for New Music Leaders + Combined Primaries with Guest Joshua Dance

Sharla's oldest son, Joshua Dance, talks about what it has been like to teach primary music - "doing the thing" for the first time - after years of "knowing the thing."

Wisdom Earned By Experience: Special Guest Michelle Crawford

Michelle Crawford talks about her experience with leading primary music for five years - her favorite go-to activities, what she would teach new music leaders in order to set them up for success, and what her benchmarks for effectiveness would be. 

Choosing Activities Wisely

How do you match activities to the song you are teaching? Selecting appropriate activities that convey the feel and the meaning of the song can be an art form; in this episode, Sharla breaks down how she would choose activities for several songs from the 2023 Come Follow Me Suggested Song List. 

Reaching Every Child with Special Guest Emily Pitts

In this episode, Emily Pitts tenderly describes how using these teaching methods help her reach struggling children in her primary (her stories are told with the permission of those involved). 

Planning Activities for the Year

In this short bonus episode we talk about how to plan out the year and introduce our Song Experience Worksheet and 2023 Singing Time Calendar. 

Adapting Activities for Combined Primaries with Special Guest Lacy Richards

Lacy Richards gives us some great ideas for activities that can be used to teach older and younger children together in a combined primary; she especially focuses on things that can make all ages feel successful and loved in primary. 

Engaging Older Children in Singing Time

Between the ages of 7 and 8 years old, children are learning to prioritize - they are trying to figure out what is important/cool, and what isn't, and this process takes time. In this episode, we talk about ways to engage 8-11 year olds in ways that are developmentally appropriate and that meet their specific needs.