Repetition Leads to Competence

What a great time we had at Achievement Day Girls Camp this week! Thank you so much for your support and encouragement to the girls in your ward. Music touches our lives in so many ways. As we saw at camp, music can help focus attention, release energy, produce laughs, and invite the Spirit. As I have settled into this calling, my testimony of music as a teaching tool has been strengthened. As the children learn the songs that we teach in Primary, they learn gospel principles, and they learn one way they can share what is in their hearts. "The song of the righteous is a prayer unto me..." (D&C 25:12)
Teaching lyrics and melodies during singing time takes flexibility and patience. Anybody who has stood to teach, alone in front of more than one child, has had to adapt to multiple ages, reading abilities, learning styles, and varying levels of gospel knowledge. But some techniques for teaching are almost universal. Remember that the children need to HEAR the words. When you speak, speak slowly and clearly. The younger the children, the more they need the clarity. As they hear the words and music together, the information will begin to imprint to their brain.
We know that truth is established by the mouths of two or three witnesses (Deut. 17:6, Matt. 18:16, 2 Cor. 13:1, D&C 6:28, D&C 128:3). We can apply this principle when we teach, especially when we are teaching specific words that need to be repeated exactly. Repeating the same line, phrase, or verse of a song three times will settle those words and melody into the brain. Often, after one or two times, it can feel like the children might get bored with the repetition. But it is easy to overlook that one child who needs a little extra. Offer encouragement to those who pick up the new words quickly to sing clearly and with confidence. Their confidence will help by allowing the other children to hear the words repeated. I know that as we teach these inspired words, the children will feel the Spirit and be able to draw from this knowledge as they grow.
Sara Hammond
Arlington Stake Primary Counselor over Music and Nursery