Home >> Games & Cards >> Games

Preschool Choir Games

Preschool choirs can be both rewarding and challenging. Preschool children often have a hard time carrying a tune or keeping to a rhythm, which can be difficult to manage. Most preschool children also have difficulty keeping still for long periods of time. The easiest way to control this and to make singing more fun for preschoolers is to add fun singing and rhythm games as a daily part of choir practice.

Rhythm Game
- One of the hardest things to do for preschool choirs is to get the children to keep correct time and beat. An easy game the children can play helps them identify the rhythm of any song. Give each child a shaker or rattle of some kind. Demonstrate the game to the children first. Take the shaker and shake along to the following rhyme: "Jump with my toes, jump with my feet. Jump with my knees, jump with my bones. Jump with my feet, jump with my heart--beat, beat, beat." Start slowly and get faster as the children learn to identify the rhythm. You can move on to other chants or songs as well.
Tempo Game
- This game is a fun and silly way to help children understand the different tempos that songs have. This game can be particularly effective for children who try to sing songs too fast. Have children sit together in a circle. Place one child on your lap. Recite the song that the choir will sing in the correct tempo but as a poem. Bounce the child on your lap to the beat of the song. If lap sitting is discouraged at your school then the game can be modified. Have the children clap the beat onto their laps as you recite the song.
Round Singing
- Round singing is a great game to play with preschool choirs. You will need one adult for each section of the round to lead the children. Otherwise the children will not be able to continue their own section and will try to sing what the leader is singing. "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and "Three Blind Mice" make excellent round songs.
Rhythm Chants
- Rhythm chants can be made into fun games to combine singing and games. A lot of these chants have hand motions to go along with them that make the songs more interactive. "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush," "The Wheels on the Bus," "I'm a Little Teapot," "Ring-A-Ring-o'Rosies" and "I'm a Little Popcorn" (which is a variation of "I'm a Little Teapot") make fun rhythm chants for preschool children.

Games