Primary

I enjoy being in Primary but sometimes I want to ring those childrens' necks. I know they are only children, but still. I also I was no sunshine in the park when I was in my later years of primary. But I do know all of my 5 and 6 year olds are in either Kindergarten or First Grade so they should be able to sit quiet, not even still, for 10 minutes. Regardless of all of this, I love the "Come Listen to a Prophet’s Voice" in the March 2010 Friend, the equivalent to the First Presidency Message for the kids. Anyone who has ever taught Primary or anyone who will ever teach primary should read it, its short. Here it is, once again hopefully the copyright police don't get made at me, I sourced it.

A Lesson in Reverence, by President Thomas S. Monson
I was a boy during the Great Depression. I remember children wearing galoshes because they had no shoes and going hungry because they had no food. These were difficult times. A bright light of hope shining amidst the gloom was Primary. I was 10 years old. I had a marvelous teacher. I look back upon that year as my finest in Primary, and I must say it was because of my wonderful teacher. It wasn’t because the boys in the class were particularly enlightened or unusually well behaved; on the contrary. The laughter of the boys and the chatter of the girls at times must have been most disconcerting to our Primary leaders. One day as we left the chapel
for our classrooms, I noted that our Primary president remained behind. I paused and observed her. She sat all alone on the front row of the benches, took out her handkerchief, and began to weep. I walked up to her and said, “Sister Georgell, don’t cry.” She said, “I’m sad.” I responded, “What’s the matter?” She said, “I can’t control the Trail Builders.* Will you help me?” Of course I answered, “Yes.” She said, “Oh, that would be wonderful, Tommy, if you would.” What I didn’t know then is that I was one of those responsible for her tears. She had effectively enlisted me to aid in achieving reverence in our Primary. And we did. ◆
*When President Monson was young, 9- to 11-year-old boys in Primary were known as Trail Builders. The girls were called Home Builders.
From “Primary Days,” Ensign, Apr. 1994, 65–68.

Its nice to know that even the prophet behaved like my primary kids do most sundays. Although after a lot of stern lectures my kids are starting to behave. We might have to do a seating chart, there is just a little too much love to share around. Yeah, I probably also made some Primary teachers want to cry, so I guess life has come full circle. But who really wants to be the Primary teacher that is crying.