Children's Bible Crafts About Singing

Praise Instruments

If kids sing often in class, it's only natural to make instruments they can use as they worship. Shakers and tambourines are easy instruments for kids to make. For a shaker, fold a paper plate in half and put a handful of dry beans or rice inside. Staple the edges closed and let kids decorate the outside. A paper plate also makes a sturdy base for a tambourine. Simply punch holes around the rim and use ribbon to tie small jingle bells to each hole.

One of the most famous stories about singing in the Bible is the account of how Paul and Silas sang praises to the Lord inside a prison, as told in "Acts 16:23-40." As they sang, there was an earthquake, and Paul and Silas were released from their bonds. Make a class prayer chain to reinforce the idea that you can praise God in troubled times. Let each child write a prayer request on a strip of paper. Loop the strips into a chain of interlocking rings. Add a musical quality to the chain by punching a hole in each strip of paper and tying a jingle bell to it with ribbon. Let kids hold and shake the chain together when they sing.

A well-known Bible story with singing is found in "2 Chronicles 20," wherein King Jehoshaphat faced imminent attack from foreign armies. Jehoshaphat fasted and prayed, and then the Lord told him that he would win the battle. Jehoshaphat was so confident in God that he put singers at the front of his army. Give each child a paper towel tube to decorate. Let kids use the tube as both a scope and a trumpet. When kids look through the tube as a scope, remind them that Jehoshaphat knew where to look when he needed help. As children sing into the tube as a trumpet, remind them that after Jehoshaphat's prayers were answered, he praised God.

As a young man, the future King David was summoned to play the harp to soothe King Saul's troubled mind, as described in "1 Samuel 16:14-23." Talk to kids about how music can have a calming effect, especially when the lyrics talk about God's love. Make harp crafts to help kids remember that David was a musician before he was a mighty warrior and king. Give each child a lidless shoebox or another paper or plastic container. Let kids decorate the outside of their containers and then wrap several rubber bands, spaced at 1-inch intervals, around the outside. Children can then pluck the rubber bands at the container's open end.