You lead the spiritual and organizational care of every child in the ward, ages 3–11. You're responsible for the teachers who teach them, the music that moves them, and the environment that makes Sunday feel safe. Start with their names.
Day One
Do These Things First
Meet with the outgoing Primary president if possible. Ask her: "What's in flight? Who do I need to know about? What's the hardest part?" Even one conversation can save you weeks of discovery.
Get introduced to your counselors and the Primary secretary.
These three people are your core team. You'll rely on them every single week. Know who they are before Sunday.
Get the teacher roster: which classes exist, who teaches them, and how many kids are in each. If no one has this written down anywhere, that's your first administrative project.
Find the Primary materials: lesson manuals, attendance sheets, music binders, any supplies or budget records. Find out where they're kept and who currently has them.
Ask the bishop:↗ text him
"What do you want me to know about Primary right now?" Let him answer fully. He may have been watching something you don't know about yet.
Get on any existing Primary or presidency group text or chat. If one doesn't exist, create one with your counselors and secretary this week.
Your Role
What the Primary President Actually Does
Primary President is one of the most complex leadership callings in a ward. You're responsible for the spiritual and organizational care of every child ages 3–11 in the ward. Nursery is typically separate — usually under the bishopric's direction — but you'll coordinate with it. Everything older than nursery is yours.
In practice, your work falls into four core areas:
Teaching and teachers — supporting the people in the classroom every week
Children and families — knowing who's there, who's not, and why
Music — singing time is not filler; it's often the most spiritually significant moment of Primary
Administration — budget, attendance, records, Ward Council representation
Lead with the children, not the program. Know their names. Know which ones are struggling. Know who hasn't come in a while. Everything else — the logistics, the lesson plans, the budget — serves that. If you know the kids, you know what Primary actually needs.
Your Presidency
Your Team and What They Do
You have a presidency and a full support structure around you. Here's how the roles typically break down — adapt it to your people and what your bishop has in mind.
You (President)
Vision, direction, and accountability for all of Primary. You support teachers, represent Primary at Ward Council, maintain the relationship with the bishop, and make the final call when something needs one.
First Counselor
Typically oversees the older children — CTR classes, ages 8–11. She knows those teachers personally, checks in on her classes, and is your backup when you can't be present.
Second Counselor
Typically oversees the younger children — Sunbeams and ages 4–7. These classes often need the most hands-on support. She's the one watching that room.
Secretary
Attendance, records, budget tracking, and meeting minutes. A good secretary frees you to focus on people. Invest in her role — it pays off every week.
Music Leader
Leads singing time in both junior and senior Primary. This is a critical, visible, and often undervalued role. Support her publicly. The children's experience of Primary often hinges on how singing time goes.
Teachers
The front line. Their relationship with the children is everything. Your job is to make sure they have what they need and that they feel seen in what they're doing.
Assignments vary by ward and by what your counselors bring to the table. This is a starting framework — adapt it to your people. The goal is clear ownership, not rigid titles.
Every Sunday
The Weekly Rhythm
Before church
Check in with your counselors and secretary. Anyone absent today? Any teacher missing who needs a substitute? Handle coverage before the kids arrive. A gap discovered after the opening song is much harder to solve than one you caught in the parking lot.
Opening exercises
Whole Primary together — welcome, song, prayer, scripture, any brief announcements. The presidency takes turns leading this; make sure someone knows who's doing what each week. Don't leave it to chance Sunday morning.
Class time
Teachers lead their classes. You are circulating — not supervising from a seat, but present and moving. A quick visit to each class shows teachers they're supported and lets you see how things are actually going. You'll learn more in those two minutes than in any report.
Singing time
The music leader leads the children in songs. This is often the most powerful spiritual moment of Primary — don't let it get disrupted by side conversations or administrative business bleeding into the time. Protect it. Support the music leader visibly.
After church
Touch base with teachers before everyone scatters. Anything to flag from their class today? Any child who seemed off or needs follow-up? Five minutes now prevents a lot from slipping through the cracks.
Teachers and Substitutes
The People in the Classroom
Your teachers are volunteers doing something genuinely hard — managing a room full of children, preparing lessons, and showing up every single week. Treat them accordingly. Show up for them, not just to them.
Onboarding a New Teacher
Don't just hand someone the lesson manual and wish them well. Introduce them personally to their class and their co-teacher if there is one. Walk them through what a normal Sunday looks like in that room. Make sure they have the manual or know how to access it in the Gospel Library app. Then check in after their first couple of weeks — not to evaluate, but to ask how it went and whether they need anything.
Substitutes
Keep a running list of willing substitutes. Every teacher will eventually be sick, out of town, or dealing with something unexpected. Don't wait until Saturday night to solve this. Maintain the list, keep it current, and when a teacher reaches out about a conflict, call early. A substitute with two days to prepare is in a completely different situation than one who gets a text at 7 AM Sunday.
Supporting Teachers Week to Week
Visit classrooms not to inspect but to be present. Ask "What do you need?" and actually listen. Teachers are often your best early-warning system when a child is struggling — they see things in class that don't make it into any report. Build that relationship so they know to tell you.
A teacher who feels unseen will eventually burn out quietly. They won't usually complain — they'll just stop giving everything they have. A quick "You're doing great with those kids" costs you nothing and matters more than you'd think.
Knowing Your Children
Names Before Everything Else
Names first. Know every child by name. It doesn't happen overnight, but make it a goal and work at it deliberately. Use a roster with photos if your ward has them in LCR. Ask teachers to introduce you when you visit their classroom. Get down at eye level, use the name, and remember it next week.
Attendance is a pastoral tool, not a metric. Track it — not to police, but to notice. A child who's been absent three weeks in a row is a child who may need someone to reach out. Absence is information. Your secretary tracks weekly; you should be looking at it.
New children deserve a personal welcome. When a child new to the ward shows up — or a family joins — make the introduction personal. Walk them into Primary yourself. Introduce them to their teacher and to a classmate by name. Don't hand them off at the door and hope for the best. That first Sunday is the one they'll remember.
Inactive families are still your families. Work with the EQ and RS presidencies when you know of a family that has drifted. Primary can sometimes be the bridge back — a child who loves Primary, who asks to go on Sunday, is a real reason for a family to come. You're not responsible for outcomes, but you can plant something.
No program is more important than any person. If something in Primary is running smoothly but a child is falling through the cracks, you haven't done your job. Start with names. The rest builds from there.
Ward Council and Bishop
Representing Primary Beyond Primary
Ward Council
You or a counselor represents Primary at Ward Council each month. Come prepared with three things: attendance trend, any children or families who need attention from the broader ward, and anything Primary needs from other organizations. Keep it focused — Ward Council is a coordination meeting, not a reporting session.
Bishop
He has stewardship over Primary. Meet with him regularly — even a brief check-in after church counts. Let him know what's going well and what's genuinely hard. He wants to know both.
Annual program
The Primary sacrament meeting presentation happens once a year, typically in October or November. Children speak, recite, and sing for the whole congregation. Start planning by August at the latest. Coordinate closely with the music leader on song selection and rehearsals. Don't wait until September to think about it — that's when the panic sets in.
Budget and Records
The Administrative Side
Budget. Your ward allocates a budget for Primary supplies, activities, and curriculum materials. Your secretary tracks expenditures against that budget. Know your budget number before you spend anything. Submit receipts promptly — don't let them pile up.
Attendance records. Your secretary records weekly attendance. You should be able to look at any given month and see who's been coming and who hasn't. If you can't, the records aren't serving their purpose. This data also informs what you bring to Ward Council.
Teacher callings in LCR. Make sure your teacher callings are accurately reflected in the system. The ward clerk or executive secretary can help with official records and settings apart. Don't let the records drift from reality — an inaccurate roster makes everything harder.
Key Contacts
Who You Work With Regularly
Counselors
↗ text
Your right hand for coverage, follow-through, and carrying the load. Delegate clearly — give each counselor a defined area of ownership — and check in weekly. You can't be everywhere at once. They are how you are.
Secretary
↗ text
Attendance, budget tracking, and meeting prep. A good secretary frees you to focus on people instead of paperwork. Invest time in setting her up with what she needs — access, context, and a clear sense of what you expect her to own.
Music Leader
↗ text
Protect her role publicly. Support her when singing time is going well and shore her up when it's not. The children's experience of Primary often depends on how singing time goes — which means her experience of feeling supported matters directly to the kids.
Ward Clerk / Exec Sec
↗ text
For official callings, settings apart, and records in LCR. Build that relationship early so you're not figuring it out for the first time when a teacher needs to be released or a new calling extended.
RS & EQ Presidents
↗ text
Coordinate on families — especially families with children in Primary. You'll share information more than you'd expect. An RS President who knows a family is struggling while Primary is in the dark is a gap none of you can afford.
Bishop
↗ text
Your reporting relationship and the person with ultimate stewardship over Primary. He cares about these kids. Keep him in the loop — not just when things are hard, but when something is going well too.
Quick Notes
Operational Notes
Log your meeting schedule, room numbers, key dates, or anything worth handing off when you're released.