A Child’s Prayer LDS Singing Time Ideas
Ever wondered how to make “A Child’s Prayer” come to life in singing time? This beautiful and tender song is one that children love, but teaching it in a way that truly helps them connect with the message takes some creativity. Keep reading for fun, engaging, and meaningful ways to teach this Primary favorite!
Teaching “A Child’s Prayer” during singing time is a special opportunity to help children feel the love of their Heavenly Father.
This beloved song resonates with both children and adults, reminding us that no prayer goes unheard. With its gentle melody and heartfelt message, it’s a wonderful way to invite the Spirit into Primary.
Whether you’re looking for interactive activities, visual aids, or movement-based ideas, this post will provide engaging ways to teach “A Child’s Prayer” and help children truly connect with its meaning.
“A Child’s Prayer,” Children’s Songbook, 12–13
Singing Time Help Ideas
Call and Response (Split the Room)
Since this song has two parts, split the Primary into two groups—one group sings the child’s part, and the other sings the Heavenly Father’s response. Have the teachers or older kids help with the second part if needed. This helps children hear and feel the conversation within the song.
Hand Motions for Key Words
Teach simple actions for words like pray, hear, heaven, answer, love, and speak. This keeps little ones engaged and helps them internalize the words and meaning of the song.
Flip Chart
Using a Flip Chart is an easy and effective way to teach the Primary songs. Here is Flip Chart idea shared by Virginia from Facebook.
Here is another Flip Chart to give your more options to choose from. Thank you Cody from Facebook for sharing how uses them: “I try to make the photos so my non-readers can “read” the pictures to know the words. I put my flip charts in page protectors in a 3 ring binder. If I hold the binder I can flip through several songs. Hope this helps someone. We do mostly actions for learning but I hear it helps to have prompts for the big day.“
Echo Sing
Use this YouTube video for inspiration. Virginia insrtucts:
The first verse up on the board (leaving spaces for the second verse to go under each section, I am taping mine together, 4 pages at a time accordian style and labeling which part they are). Then I will sing each page of the first verse with them echoing me. Then I will add the second verse underneath each part of the first verse. So I will put the first four pages of the second verse right underneath the first four pages of the first verse. Then I will repeat that pattern so they can see all of the second verse under each section of the first verse. We will sing through just the first page of the first verse which says,”Heavenly Father, are you really there?” Then I will have the adults sing the first page of the second verse “Pray, he is there;” Then we have the children sing “And do you hear and answer every child’s prayer?” Adults will follow with “Speak, he is listening.”
Scarves
Scarves are always fun for the Primary Children. Use this tutorial on how to use it to teach this song.
President Porter’s Talk
This might be a better idea for the older children- and you can use the slides as you wish- but it is a great way to teach the song and help the children really learn what they are singing about.
Thank you to Melanie from Facebook for compiling these. She says:
“I prepared several quotes or stories with pictures to share with the children as we sing and learn A Child’s Prayer. I’m not sure how many I’ll use … probably more with the senior primary and I’ll be careful to spend most the time singing, and just use a quote or story to help the children apply the doctrine.“
Word Puzzles
Download these prints for a fun and engaging way to teach the children the words. Combining pictures to make the words is always a hit!
Here is another word puzzle to choose from:
Whisper Phones
Camille’s Primary Ideas has a fun and interactive idea using plastic phones or pop tubes.
Sing the entire song using the phones. Afterward ask if they could hear their voices clearly.
Divide the children into 2 groups, having each group sing both verses together. Then combine having one group sing the first verse and the other group sing the second verse.
You can find out how to use them along with a demonstration video them here.
Telephone
Robyn from Facebook passed on this easy and no prep activity for learning the song.
Thank you to whoever thought of playing Telephone with the song “A Child’s Prayer.” It was zero prep and I was honestly shocked at how much the kids liked it. We only had 10 kids today, so we split up into 2 groups. One group would come up and I’d whisper one line of the song to the first kid. When they started whispering it to the next, I went to the white board and wrote the line. All the kids were so quiet, just waiting to see what would be said. Then I’d do the next line with the other group.
Rythm Posters
Teaching Primary Music shares how to use rythm posters for learning the song.
Hand Motions and Learn the Meaning
Thank you to Chelsea from Facebook for sharing this fun idea:
We taught this last week and I put slips of paper hidden around the room with a line of the song on each one and would choose kids to find them and we would talk about the line when we put it on the board and then afterwards I assigned each line to a different class and they had to come up with the motions for that part of the song and teach the rest of the primary. It went SO well! The kids were incredibly engaged and participated so enthusiastically because THEY invited the motions for the song! They turned out so cute and sometimes a bit funny, but everyone loved it! Even the sunbeams.
Headbandz
Find the files to use this resource here
Thank you to Katie for sharing how she incorporates Headbandz.
I am printing these on cardstock and laminating them. 8 will come up front (that’s how many pictures I have for the song) and we’ll sing the song while they have them on their head. After we sing a child will try to guess what picture is on their head based on the phrase we sang for that picture. Here is the document with the pictures to include the phrase and an explanation for the ones that are not clear. Enjoy!
Cross Word Clues
Pictures
Using pictures for the younger children who can’t read is a great way to help them learn the words and memorize what comes next.
As you guide them through learning and feeling the spirit of the lyrics, you’re not just teaching a song—you’re helping them build a lifelong habit of sincere and personal prayer. Keep it simple, keep it fun, and most importantly, keep the focus on helping children feel God’s love. 💛
