Resources to Kick Off Your Children’s Choir

August is here! This means the return of children’s choirs is right around the corner. Our music ministry staff is so excited about welcoming back young singers we can hardly sit still! Children’s choirs are a wonderful vehicle to help youngsters develop a love of God through music and explore opportunities to express their natural sense of awe and wonder through song.

Here are ways to kick off your children’s choir year and keep singers engaged throughout rehearsals:

1. Kick off the year with a bang! Set up welcoming and inviting rehearsal spaces. Utilize visuals that will teach, inspire, and pique the interest of young singers. Start off with a fun opening song so your children begin singing and using their voices right away. This is a great opportunity to share your theme for the year and explore how that theme will weave its way through music and scripture. Invite children to speak to their understanding and possibilities for what’s to come. Have schedules for the year ready to distribute physically and digitally. Many choirs like to start off the first rehearsal with refreshments that mirror the festive theme.
2. Include worship music in rehearsals. Coordinate with clergy and worship pastors to help children’s choir rehearsals reflect your congregational worship. Set aside time to teach a call to worship, opening chorus, closing hymn, or benediction that is part of your corporate worship each week. This gives children the opportunity to learn notes and words in a safe space. Children can then participate more fully and heartily in worship, lending their voices and spirits to corporate song. Further, if your worship leaders are interested in introducing a new congregational song, why not teach it to children’s choirs first and allow them to introduce it to the congregation? Children will beam with pride at being the teachers of adults and will always sing confidently whenever “their song” is used in worship.
3. Employ a variety of activities for children to express themselves musically. Our church has two children’s choirs, and we utilize team teaching. Leader 1 teaches the music and vocal production, and Leader 2 develops activities around the choral repertoire, Bible verses, and Hymns for a Lifetime Program (a hymn memorization program that our children participate in throughout the year). Children move back and forth between two rooms with a variety of singing, musical, and movement activities. Dividing our time this way gives children opportunities to work with two excellent teachers. Additionally, the shift of focus from singing to music literacy to playing instruments helps children stay actively engaged throughout our 45-minute rehearsal. This focus leads to deeper understanding and synthesizing of musical and spiritual concepts. Together it all adds up to help young singers to make a more joyful noise!
4. Close rehearsal each week with something familiar. We bring our two choirs together and join forces to pray and sing a closing benediction. We use Benediction (May the Peace of Christ Go with You) from Mark Patterson’s Worship Leaders (Choristers Guild). It’s beautiful, simple, has an optional handbell part, and allows children to focus on words that are encouraging and will sustain them in the weeks (and years) to come. What better way is there to close a rehearsal than to send children out with a song of blessing in their hearts?

Thoughtful rehearsal planning will empower children to develop their voices and gives them many and varied opportunities to learn and apply their musical and spiritual knowledge, both in choral rehearsal and worship—and the larger life of faith. There are many resources available to help develop beautiful tone, music literacy, love of church hymnody, and worship readiness throughout the year. Here are a few we have found helpful in our work with children. Check them out and see what might work for you:

• Rote to Note Series from Choristers Guild – Great for young singers!
• Growing in Grace curriculum from Celebrating Grace – Terrific music with additional resources, including hymn studies, posters, and recordings for at-home practice. These are available for preschool, elementary, and older children. Available as digital downloads.
• Joyfully Sing! 360° Series from Jubilate Music Group – Includes a separate singer’s edition, recordings, and director’s score with resources. Also available as digital downloads.
• Houston Children’s Chorus Series from Fred Bock Publishing – These texts and tunes are beautifully written with fun and expressive accompaniments.
• Boom-a-Tunes from Whacky Music – A great collection of five volumes using Boomwhackers with accompaniment.
• All Hands In: Drumming the Biblical Narrative from Choristers Guild – Two volumes provide an exciting and engaging way to teach scripture – memorable for kids and adults!

Your love of children through your focus on children’s music ministry this year will impact many young lives. It will enrich their worship experience, broaden their biblical knowledge, and deepen their spiritual understanding. Singers will carry the songs they learn in their hearts for life—I can still sing most of the songs I learned in my children’s choir 45 years ago! Children can sing with a beautiful tone. Children can make wonderful worship leaders. Children have much to teach us about faith, hope, and love. Incorporate them into worship often and give them the opportunity to share their gifts with your congregants. As children develop their worship leadership skills, they will make a beautiful, thoughtful, and joyful noise through music!