(my very own preschoolers pictured above)
When my husband and I had our first baby, I soon learned singing was a necessary part of a healthy parent-child relationship. Singing to (and with) your kids is a great way to sooth and comfort, have fun, and learn. I found myself brushing up on children’s nursery rhymes (you know, the ones you probably forgot about from your childhood) so I could sing them to my son. Often I would resort to singing church hymns because the majority of my singing was done in a church pew.
However, I did not grow up in church (became a Christian at the age of 19) and I had a serious lack of children’s Bible song knowledge. I knew a handful, but I knew there was so much more out there. I intend to raise my children with a healthy knowledge of God and so I set out to create a list (I’m a list-maker, what can I say?) of children’s church songs.
When I began researching, I noticed there weren’t any comprehensive lists for children’s Bible songs and they definitely weren’t categorized by age. There’s no way a 2 year old can memorize the same songs as a 12 year old could, after all. More things I noticed were that while sometimes the lyrics to the songs were given, the tune was not, and it is next to impossible to find acapella CDs for purchase, let alone acapella songs for children.
Singing is one of the best and easiest ways to teach children about God and His word, but you can’t sing anything if you don’t know the songs! So, I’ve compiled a handy list (complete with links to YouTube videos, excepting one which just has lyrics) of 25 songs to teach your preschooler. They have simple tunes, most don’t have many lyrics and several encourage movement, which in turn encourages memorization. They are in no particular order and most of them do have instrumentals (did I mention the lack of acapella songs?), so please note that I intend this list as a resource for you to learn and then sing with your children.
I hope this list helps you better teach your little ones about God, as it helps me teach mine. After all, we parents are the number one teachers in our children’s lives.
Side note: I know I have not covered all of the songs out there, so please feel free to comment with some of your favorites!
- I’m In The Lord’s Army
- This Little Light Of Mine
- Jesus Loves Me
- I Am A Sheep
- Thy Word
- The Wise Man Built His House
- He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands
- The 12 Apostles
- The B-I-B-L-E
- Father Abraham
- I’ve Got The Joy Down In My Heart
- Mary Had A Little Lamb
- Jesus Loves The Little Children
- Zacchaeus
- He Has Made Me Glad
- Seek Ye First
- My God Is So Big
- Be Careful Little Eyes
- God Is So Good
- Amazing Grace
- God Made Me And All Of You
- Fishers Of Men
- Away In A Manager
- Oh How I Love Jesus
- Jesus Is His Name-O
– Katie
Great article. Love singing with the kids! My favorite times as a child were VBS singing with my dad leading us. Now, it’s in the car with my kids singing making sweet melody in their hearts. So beautiful. Thank you.