Hymn Study with Little Guys

One of our favorite times of the day is when we sing our hymn together. My children are ds6.5 and dd5, and they have really amazed me at how well they catch on to the words and tune of each hymn. We spend approximately three to four weeks, learning and singing each hymn, using the lyrics as copywork to reinforce and copy beautiful thoughts. 

I don’t think my children really care, but I care about this: What do you do about words in hymns that are unknown or difficult to put into context and define for your younger children?

Example: We just began Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing this morning. It is one of my absolute favorite worship songs, and I hope to instill a love for it in my children as well. I just don’t know if it’s necessary to explain to them what words like “Ebenezer”, “fetter”, “interposed”, and “prone” mean. Now, to be clear, they haven’t actually asked what the meanings of those words are; and if they did, I would tell them, of course. 

For me, understanding what I’m singing about is partly why the song is so special to me, but I’m not sure this is the case for a 5yo. It’s not that I don’t think they can understand the meanings of the words; I just don’t want to complicate what is supposed to be a time of praise each day. I don’t want to turn it into a lesson, if that makes sense. 

What do you do?

Blessings,

Lindsey