I survived the first evening with kids

I came out of children's choir this evening mostly intact. I ended up with a familiar feeling -- one that I used to get after giving a sermon -- tense shoulders, sore neck, and a back ache -- symptoms of stress. At least it is only a very mild one this time.

We had eight kids, ranging from about four all the way up to the teens. Having to make sure there is something for everyone in such a wide range of ages is to say the least, a challenge. We did some rhythm exercises, talked about and demonstrated how different pitches look and sound different in music, did some follow-the-leader movements to music, and also started to learn one song.

Now that the first session is done and out of the way, I'm critiquing myself. Being probably my harshest critic, I feel like I could have and should have been better prepared. There was one boy who just didn't seem to engage very well, though outside of the instruction period itself, he was certainly interested in sharing things about himself to me. I realize that this being the absolutely first time I've done anything quite like this, and only self-taught from a few videos that I've watched recently on music instruction, I shouldn't expect myself to do everything as smoothly and well as the instructor on the video who's had decades of experience. But even so, there's that tinge of questioning -- Could it have gone better? Did the kids deserve better?

One of the girls certainly got into what happened tonight. As my instructional video said to expect, there are kids who just get into music, and there are ones who don't. One of the reasons for children's choir is to develop people with lifelong appreciation and participation in music. That may not necessarily be singing. It could be in some other aspects of music such as percussion, movement or dance, or other things. The secret is to find ways to engage everone.

Another important point made by the instructional video is to set goals. So what are my goals?

For the kids:

1. Teach kids that music is fun (have fun!)
2. Through music, help the kids get to know God
3. Help the kids to make music a lifelong part of their lives
4. Help the kids to become proficient enough in reading music

For myself:

1. Work towards accomplishing above goals
2. Gain experience in dealing with groups of kids
3. Learn how to teach music
4. Learn how to handle energetic young boys (perhaps this should be #1....)

Since I've not had any real experience (except say, with Danny) with active young boys, #4 is going to be a real challenge. My personality tends greatly towards the quiet, sedate, and contemplative, and boys apparently are often on the opposite side of the spectrum.

I can see that this is going to be a huge learning experience for me. It's yet another one of those things that will shove my way outside my tiny, litttle comfort zone and expand my boundaries. It's an experience I get go through only because we are in such a small and closed town. In most any other place, including where we came from, a church would consider starting a children's choir only if the church itself had a sufficient number of children. And it would be an internal ministry to the church family. On the other hand, we started this with no guarantee of attracting kids beyond our two, and not for ourselves, but to provide a place for some of the younger children in town to have a place to sing and learn music.

I'll continue to need all the support I can get. Your words of encouragement and prayers are greatly appreciated.