Janie asked Larry if he could come over to her house after school.

“I’ll ask my mom,” he said. “I’m sure it’s OK with her.”

Janie wanted Larry to see her new pet, a pretty little canary. Last week Janie had turned seven years old, and her Aunt Marge had given her the bird and its cage for a birthday present. Janie named her bird Sunshine because it was a beautiful bright yellow color.

Sunshine was a pretty bird. The thing Janie liked most was the bird’s singing. When Sunshine sang, the songs made Janie feel happy inside. There was just something about it. You couldn’t feel sad for long when that bird was making music!

When Larry got to her house, Janie took him in to see the bird. Janie’s dad had put the bird’s cage by the window in Janie’s room. That way Sunshine could see and hear the other birds in the old tree outside the window. Sunshine always noticed when anyone came into Janie’s room. It would hop around inside the cage and put its head to one side, warbling happy notes of music.

When Larry and Janie entered, the little bird saw them right away. What a merry warbling began! Larry smiled as he watched the small bird and listened to its cheerful singing. He said to Janie, “You know, even though your little bird is not free like the birds outside, it is still happy. It’s in a cage where it can’t fly around, but it sings and makes others happy too.”

Sunshine’s cheerful song made Larry and Janie very happy. Our songs of joy and praise make Jesus happy too.

The Bible teaches us to “sing unto the Lord.” It doesn’t matter how small or big we are. It doesn’t matter where we are. It doesn’t even matter if we have a very good voice or not. If we sing songs of praise to Jesus from our hearts, then Jesus and everyone around us will know how much we love Him.

Think about the words in some of your favorite Sunday school songs. We sing, “Oh, how I love Jesus, because He first loved me.” Even the very little children know the words, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” Our songs are a special way of telling Jesus we love Him and thank Him. That’s why it feels so good to sing those special songs. Jesus hears us and He blesses our hearts.

Make this a musical week for your family. Let your child choose a favorite Sunday school song, and have the whole family sing it together. For fun, tape it! Kids like to listen to themselves. As you listen together, remind your child how much God loves to hear him singing praises.

Write the words of the memory verse on music note shapes cut from heavy paper—a word or two per note. Help your child learn his verse by putting the notes in the right order.

Encourage him to compose his own song of praise to God, helping a little if he needs, or desires help.