Motions

Kids love motions to songs!  Incorporate them in your worship time.  When choreographing a song, We like to use a combination of sign language, motions, and dance moves.  It’s helpful if you have choreography help from those who are familiar with sign language, have a dance background, or other youth that are current with some of the latest dance moves.

If it’s a one time event where kids are coming from different places, choose popular songs and keep the motions simple.  Engage them with more with clapping and raised arms.  If it’s an ongoing or repeated event, you have the opportunity to incorporate more motions and dance moves.  Don’t shy away from choreography that you think is too difficult.  Today’s kids like the challenge and can pick it quickly.

Those leading the motions, should exaggerate the movements.  If those that lead have fully raised arms, you can expect most of the crowd to have arms half raised.  Sign language needs to be deliberate and concise.  Even facial expressions need to communicate energy and joy.  Smile!

It’s also very important that the adults in the same room are also participating in the worship.  It’s so tempting for adults to stand in the back and chat.  This is distracting to the kids and worship leaders and also communicates to the kids that they don’t need to participate.  If the adult can’t do the motions fully, encourage them to do what they can do or simply to stay engaged by clapping or raising their arms.  Again, we need to model what we expect from the kids.