5 Ways Improve Primary

When sacrament meeting ends, what’s the first thing most adults do? Begin chatting. Sure; adults attend church for spiritual enrichment, but they also want to do more than sit and listen. We crave socialization, interaction, and even activity. Kids feel this twice as much.

By the time sacrament ends, kids are all over sitting still, reverence, and listening to over-their-heads content. So, why are adults consistently ushering them from sacrament immediately to Primary, holding up reverence reminder signs, and encouraging them to sit silently? No wonder so many kids must be pushed into class, heels dragging. I’m internally dragging my heels on my way to Sunday School and I’m in my 40s.

So, how do we make Primary more kid-friendly, engaging, and *gasp* fun?

Here are 5 ways to improve LDS Primary:

Emphasize Fun.

In an article about kid’s ministry at Better Bible Teachers, the author, Nathan Johnson, doesn’t mince words:

Your primary goal on Sunday morning is to teach God’s Word and to see the lives of kids changed. That is wonderful. But keep this in mind. The kids are not showing up to be spiritually fed. Think about it this way…When you were in third grade did you walk into church thinking about how great the message was going to be? No! You were concerned with the amount of fun you were going to have and if your friends were going to be there.

Better Bible Teachers

I’ll never forget the day I walked into Primary at a small LDS church in Banbury, London and found a class in the hallway bowling. I’m certain they had a spiritual goal in my mind, but more importantly, they focused on engagement, activity, and variety. The Spirit can be fun too!

2. Emphasize Relationships. When my husband and I taught Sunbeams years ago, we quickly learned that kids were over it by the time they arrived in our classroom. They wanted to talk to friends they didn’t see all week, move, and talk. We didn’t feel comfortable incorporating much movement beyond coloring pages, but we did implement  “tell us one great thing about your week” at the beginning of class. This allowed each child to take a turn sharing something special about their week with the class. They loved having the floor, talking about themselves, and getting to know each other! Sure, this took teaching time, but it also helped them feel valued and part of a community. With this in mind, here are some suggestions for emphasizing relationships in Primary:

Give kids 5 minutes to “visit’ each Sunday before formal activities beginTake a 5 minute break between activitiesUse group activitiesMake each 5th Sunday “Donut You Know” in Primary. Bring donuts and match kids up with a new friend or two. Have them draw a donut with a “get to know you” question and encourage groups to answer.Match up senior primary kids with a junior primary buddy. Make this about relationships, rather than behavior.

3. Get Moving. Visit any elementary classroom and you’ll soon discover that students are regularly moving. This includes getting the wiggles out with GoNoodle videos, hands-on learning activities, sitting in groups on the floor, and utilizing learning games. Primary already does this through action-oriented singing time, but movement should be incorporated into every activity.

Ways to get moving:

SkitsPlaysGamesPuppet showsSongs with movementWiggle breaksPuzzlesScavenger huntsOutdoor activitiesWalks in nature

4. Build a Kid-Friendly Curriculum. The LDS church has all of the tools needed to build an awesome kid-friendly curriculum that is fun, active, engaging, and even teaches a spiritual lesson or two. Kids need variety, creativity, and clever repetition of ideas. To improve curriculum, the LDS Church:

Pay educators to build a kid-centered curriculumInvest significant funds into the resources needed to truly engage kids at churchRegularly evaluate and update curriculum and resourcesTrain leaders and teachers in effective teaching strategies

5. Support Primary Leaders and Teachers. Primary should not be an afterthought or last to be staffed with volunteers. If we want to create a positive, engaging church experience for our kids, me must:

Prioritize staffing PrimaryComplete thorough background checksRegularly train teachersInvest in clean, bright, well-maintained spaces for kidsProvide generous funding without so many restrictions and need for Priesthood approvalHave resources readily available each Sunday in classrooms and regularly clean and replace them

Do I think many people are striving for this on an individual and branch/ward level? Absolutely! Do I think there aren’t kids who enjoy and look forward to Primary each week? Absolutely not! But to truly make lasting changes, we need a fundamental shift in the way the LDS Church as an organization frames Primary, funds Primary, and supports primary.