April Greetings –

Now that Easter services have been completed for the spring,  I’m sure some of you are winding down your youth choir for the year.  For those of you who tour with your group during the summer, your attention has now turned to finalizing music, housing, itinerary, bussing, etc.  Don’t forget to be intentional about planning team building for the tour or for the end of the year as well.  Now, are you asking yourself why do team building when they have been singing together all year? Don’t they know each other by know?  Well, as someone who works with teen singers on a regular basis, I’m sure you’ve already realized that your singers have a comfortable group of people they hang out with each week.  Do they move outside this circle of friend on a regular basis? Not unless they are forced to do so.  Would it be good for your group if your singers felt comfortable interacting with all members of their choir and not just the clique they have developed?  Absolutely!  When your singers get to know more about their peers outside their core group, the better your singers can empathize with the struggles and/or celebrate the successes of their fellow choir members.  This, in turn, helps your kiddos have more patience and understanding with each other allowing your choir to work together better as a team towards a common goal.

I’m going to give you two completely different activities you can do with your singers either on tour, preparing for tour or the last couple months of choir before summer takes over.

This first activity is good for small groups of not more than 8 singers. It is called HIGHS AND LOWS.  The focus is getting personal & developing empathy.  It is a great activity for the end of the year and requires trust among the group.

  • Hand out pipe cleaners to each singer and begin by doing the activity yourself.
  • Start by tying a knot on one end and saying where you were born, when, and to whom.
  • Go though the past year and identify the highs and lows you’ve experienced, while moving the pipe cleaner to display the ups and downs.  If you’d like you can vary this to allow seniors to describe their entire high school career.

This is an excellent way for everyone in the small group to learn how each member’s highs and lows are different for each singer.  What was a big deal for one singer might not be for another, etc.

The second activity is a fun “let’s get up and move” activity if you’ve been on a bus or spent several hours in rehearsals. It’s an INDOOR SCAVENGER HUNT.  Break the choir into small groups of 6 – 8 people, keeping in mind you want to put together singers who haven’t spent much time together. Each group has 10 minutes to gather as many of these items as they can.  The singers need to be back at the designated meeting place within 10 minutes and let them know you will dock points for every minute they are late.

Here’s a fun list of items to begin with.Please feel free to adapt…

1 a necklace

2. An empty soda can

3. a comb

4. An apple watch

5.a quarter

6. A stick of gum

7.a shoestring

8. Any picture

9.a hat

10. Three socks tied together

11. sun glasses

12. A credit card

13. Black Hills Gold ring

14. Something green

15. a rock

16. A white t-shirt

17. a five-dollar bill

18. A watch

19. two shoes hooked together

20. A barrette

21. a red sock

22.  Forty-six cents exactly

23. a toenail clipper

24. An eyelash curler

25. a picture of your mom

26. A reading book (no kindle)

27. something brown

28. A person not associated with the choir

29.something that supports

30. A full unopened can of soda