How to Help Shy Kids Sing at VBS - Ministry To Children

Every VBS has kids who won’t sing. They stand in the back with their arms crossed. Or they hide behind a leader.

If that worries you, I get it. I was one of the shy ones. Not as a kid. As a grown man at VBS.

How to Help Shy Kids Sing at VBS: do the motions yourself, never single a child out, don't pester, let them come out on their own

I Was the Shy One Doing the Motions

I didn’t grow up around a lot of dancing. So when the VBS music came on, it took me a while to warm up to the motions. That helped me later. I directed VBS ten times at our small church. Every year, I knew how those quiet kids felt. If you lead VBS at a small church too, I wrote a whole guide on VBS for small churches.

Why Some Kids Don’t Sing

There usually isn’t just one reason. It’s often a mix of three things.

Personality. Some kids are just quiet. That isn’t a problem to fix.
Home life. Some families sing and dance all the time. Others don’t. A child from a quiet home may never have done motions in front of anyone.
A new place. On the first day, a lot of little ones are still missing Mom. Singing is the last thing on their mind.

The Shy Kid on the Last Day

Here’s a picture I keep in my head. On the first day, a child cries for Mom at the door. On the last day, that same child cries because VBS is over. They don’t want to leave.

Nobody made that child sing. They made a friend. They felt safe. Then they joined in, a little at a time.

What I Told Our Volunteers

My advice to volunteers was simple. Model it. Don’t push it.

Do the motions yourself, all the way. Kids watch the grown-ups. If you hold back, they will too. Your motions don’t have to be graceful.
Never single a child out. Don’t call a shy kid up front. Don’t aim “I can’t hear you!” at one child.
Don’t pester. Asking a quiet child to sing again and again pushes them further back.
Let them come out of their shell on their own. Some will by the middle of the week. Some won’t all week. Both are okay.

Music Opens Kids Up

I’ve always believed the music matters just as much as the teaching in VBS.

I saw this most in Haiti. Kids there love music. It just unlocks them. When we sang a few songs together first, they listened to the Bible story better. And they looked forward to us coming back.

A child who never sings a word may still be taking it all in. The song helps them get ready to hear about Jesus.

What Helps the Shy Kids at Your VBS?

I never found a way to get every child singing. Some would, and some wouldn’t. It depended on their personality and how much singing happened at home.

So model it. Don’t push it. Then trust God with the quiet ones.

What has helped the shy kids at your VBS? Tell me in the comments. I’d love to learn from you.

Tony Kummer was a children’s pastor at a small church for ten years and directed VBS ten times. He founded Ministry-to-Children and writes the curriculum at the Sunday School Store.

New Sunday School Curriculum: Our Bible lessons are designed to keep the kids’ attention and show how God's Word makes a difference. Every series is flexible enough for a wide-age group and affordable enough for small churches. Download a free Bible lesson in pdf or view our latest Sunday School curriculum for small churches.