Hymns in Bigger

[wisdom4us]

How do you do the hymns in Bigger? Do you just put the CD in and sing the suggested verse(s) for the day or do you do something more? We've just been doing exactly what is written in the book, singing the suggested verse(s) but thought I maybe missing something....

[Lori_in_Austin]

I am not in Bigger, but I love hymns so much I like to read them to my ds5 and ds2 as poetry. It works great and they don't know the difference !

[Kathleen]

That's what we do...just what's written. I do let my ds listen to the whole hymn though. (It doesn't take long and you can't just stop in the middle! ) I tell him which verses to sing along with and he can just listen to the others.

We're loving these hymns! I'm so glad that my ds is enjoying them and really learning and understanding them.

Kathleen

[wisdom4us]

Thanks ladies! Sometimes things in HOD are so easy to implement that it seems almost too easy and *I* must be doing something wrong.

[Jessi]

This is interesting to me because I have never gone to a church service that sang hymns. I have been in church since a child but it was all modern (for the time) praise songs even then. The church I go to now has a traditional service with combined hymns and praise songs and a truly contemporary service with no hymns which is what we go to as I lead worship. I like some hymns but I really love modern praise and worship. My husband is even further from hymnal loving than I am. He is into heavier Christian rock- that comes from being saved well into adulthood with his music preferences already established. So my kids are not used to hymns. Now there are some really good ones. One of my favorite groups is Selah and I love their renditions of some hymns. But I was curious if Carrie could tell me if there is a suggested alternative to the hymns in Bigger? Also, if we exclusively use NIV in our daily life (the CD for Preparing is all KJV) is there an alternative to that cd that's in NIV? Not saying I wouldn't use KJV but just curious about alternatives that would be more applicable to what our children are accustomed to.

[wisdom4us]

Jessi,
I grew up in a Baptist church but now we attend (when we go) an Assembly of God church that has a praise and worship service with contemporary songs. But the hymns in Bigger are beautiful and there are stories that go along with the hymns that talks about the writer of the hymn and where they were at in life. It makes them much more meaningful and actually, all of my boys are really enjoying them! I was quite surprised by that.

HOD is based off of the philosophy of Charlotte Mason who taught that hymn study should be a part of every child's education; along with the reading of only the KJV. I have a hard time with the KJV but we have not reached Preparing yet, we are in Bigger and Little Hearts and are using NIV.

[Kathleen]

Jessi,

I think if you give the Hymns for a Kids Heart in Bigger a shot, your kids may surprisingly like it (even if they don't sing them at church). In our church, we sing a mix of praise songs (new and older - depending on who we have playing piano) and hymns. I would say though that my ds didn't know any of the hymns really at all. He really loves that part of our day though...and was thrilled when "Holy, Holy, Holy" was sung in church after he knew it!! Bigger will work if you just skip that box, but if it were me I'd give it an enthusiastic shot before you skip it. (Don't let your kids know your opinion of hymns. Maybe they'll really like that part of the day. ) Obviously you could let them enjoy singing music with you around the house, too. Whenever I'm cleaning or cooking we usually crank up the music and sing away.

Kathleen

[water2wine]

We read the story that goes with the hymn each time we start a new one. Usually we just sing it and learn it but always at some point in every hymn we take some time to really talk about the meaning or use some of the words to relate it to things in our life. I am kind of like that with everything in HOD though. I always like to take it a little deeper because it is all so good. I think however works for your family is the "right" way. The main idea to me really is to learn hymns and to learn how to worship God through signing hymns.

So whatever you do enjoy it!

[Carrie]

Ladies,

I'll pop-in to let you know that my kiddos didn't know the hymns either. The words of the hymns are so powerful, and the faith of the hymn writers was amazing. If you ever want to know the power of hymns, a great movie to rent is Amazing Grace. I will never look at that hymn in the same way again. It is the story of William Wilburforce seeking to abolish the slave trade in England. I highly recommend viewing it to get a different view of hymns.

We are so grateful that our kiddos are learning the hymns and will have them in times of celebration and in times when they need comfort. My boys have surprisingly taken easily to the hymns on the CD. We found them to be easily sung and pleasing to listen to again and again. I have even caught my boys humming or quietly singing the hymns throughout their day. I'd encourage you to give Hymns for a Kids Heart a try. We feel that it is a heritage that should not be lost.

Blessings,
Carrie

[Lori_in_Austin]

Ladies,

I'll pop-in to let you know that my kiddos didn't know the hymns either. The words of the hymns are so powerful, and the faith of the hymn writers was amazing. If you ever want to know the power of hymns, a great movie to rent is Amazing Grace. I will never look at that hymn in the same way again. It is the story of William Wilburforce seeking to abolish the slave trade in England. I highly recommend viewing it to get a different view of hymns.

We are so grateful that our kiddos are learning the hymns and will have them in times of celebration and in times when they need comfort. My boys have surprisingly taken easily to the hymns on the CD. We found them to be easily sung and pleasing to listen to again and again. I have even caught my boys humming or quietly singing the hymns throughout their day. I'd encourage you to give Hymns for a Kids Heart a try. We feel that it is a heritage that should not be lost.

Blessings,
Carrie

Carrie !!!

I am so excited you have hymns in Bigger ! I did not know until this post. It is like it is just one more thing to look forward to as we progress through the guides -- and we are only in LHFHG How could HOD possibly get any better !!! I am a BIG hymn "fan" and miss the days of my youth when that is all that was sung for just the reasons you mentioned. Many crossed denominational lines and everyone used to know them.... I like to read them as poetry. My boys love to sing along with Alan Jackson's hymn cd and sometimes I just want to shed tears of joy. There they are on the floor playing with cars and trains "jammin" out on hymns and singing along! Yet another way to hide God's word in their hearts - for HIS Glory.

Lori

[netpea]

Also, if we exclusively use NIV in our daily life (the CD for Preparing is all KJV) is there an alternative to that cd that's in NIV? Not saying I wouldn't use KJV but just curious about alternatives that would be more applicable to what our children are accustomed to.

Good Question. We use the NIV at our church and my children have the NIrV bible. I like the KJV, but my husband does not. If there is an alternative CD, I'd be interested in that when we get to preparing too.

[Jessi]

Thanks for the clarification about the hymns in Bigger. The stories behind the songs sound interesting. We'll definitely do them, even if we aren't used to them. I'll just have to listen to them without my husband around because he DOES NOT like hymns. I don't want his preference to rub off on the kids. For example- I love African Tribal praise and worship music...I know I have weird taste in music. So my kids love it too because we listen to it a lot in the van, but my husband makes fun of it when he hears it or rolls his eyes. So we don't listen to it with him. I love the idea of reading the hymns as poetry. What a neat idea!

[Carrie]

For Preaparing Hearts the Psalms CD is KJV only. This is because the Psalms sound more lyrical in the KJV and are easier to memorize that way. But, you could always memorize the Psalms without the CD in order to do whatever version you wish. Some moms still have their kiddos memorize in the NIV, but listen to the songs in the KJV. It is really up to you!

Blessings,
Carrie