Singing the Great Hymns: A Special Delight

Isn’t it great when a song gets stuck in your head? I suppose it depends on the song. These past couple of days I’ve had a wonderful stream of words lilting through my mind, thanks to a hymn we sang on Sunday.

As I washed dishes . . . O worship the King, all glorious above!

As I folded towels . . . Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend!

As I made the bed . . . O measureless might! Ineffable love!

Such moments as those do much to encourage a habit of praise.

I want to do all I can to provide for similar moments in my children’s lives and encourage them in developing a habit of praise.

Charlotte Mason held that habit in high regard:

“Perhaps we do not attach enough importance to the habit of praise in our children’s devotion. Praise and thanksgiving come freely from the young heart; gladness is natural and holy, and music is a delight. The singing of hymns at home and of the hymns and canticles in church should be a special delight; and the habit of soft and reverent singing, of offering our very best in praise, should be carefully formed” (Vol. 3, p. 143).

We are pleased to announce a new resource to help you cultivate the habit of praise in your home: Singing the Great Hymns.

Many years ago when I was first starting out as a homeschooler, I knew I wanted to include hymn singing as a regular part of our studies. So I grabbed a sheet of paper and started writing down the titles of hymns that held a special place in my own heart. We began with “I Sing the Mighty Power of God.”

Once or twice a week we sang that hymn together, all the stanzas. At first my 4-year-old and 6-year-old would just listen. But quicker than I expected, they were singing along—all three stanzas—and we moved on to another hymn.

With this simple technique, that we call hymn study, you can endow your children with a rich heritage of spiritual truths and beautiful thoughts of God that will continue to minister to them their entire lives.

Singing the Great Hymns is designed to make hymn study simple. Six hymns are included for each of twelve school years (plus a handful of patriotic classics), giving your children the treasure of more than 70 beautiful hymns in their hearts and minds. And an audio recording of every hymn is included, so you can hear the tune or enjoy a simple piano accompaniment to your singing.

With Singing the Great Hymns you can make the singing of hymns at home “a special delight” and encourage your children in the habit of praise!

Take a look at the free sample of the book and listen to the audio samples.

Note: We wanted to let you know about Singing the Great Hymns just as soon as it was available, because we know that many of you have been eagerly awaiting this resource. We will return to our Narration Q & A series next week.