Learn what to teach, how to teach it, and how to lead with clarity and confidence (even if you don’t have a teaching background).
From finding the right teaching resources to choosing developmentally appropriate songs and anthems, sequencing musical concepts to simply keeping their attention for 30 minutes... it’s a lot to manage.
And most weeks, it can feel a little overwhelming.
You’re planning everything from scratch, making adjustments on the fly, and wondering if you have the teaching skills required to do this job well.
Where do you find music and teaching materials?
How do you build musicianship skills?
What makes a rehearsal fun and productive?
You look up from your music stand as choir members arrive. One is twirling, another is humming loudly, one is pouting with crossed arms, and another wants to tell you allll about their brother’s new pet.
You’ve got 30 minutes to make music happen… do you have what it takes?
Because the truth is—like many children’s choir directors—you probably weren’t trained to do this.
And the fact that you’re asking these questions, seeking out better strategies, and wanting to grow shows that you’re a thoughtful, intentional leader.
But what if you didn’t have to figure it all out on your own?
Pinterest ideas, old lesson plans, coloring pages, memory games, and classroom management strategies you've borrowed from other directors.
There’s nothing wrong with these things, but taken together, they can feel a bit... disjointed. They may not reflect intentional planning, thoughtful sequencing, or music education strategies grounded in how children learn best.
And without these things, it’s hard to see real musical growth.
Introducing
A practical, self-paced course that helps you develop essential music teaching skills, tailored specifically to the realities of directing a K-6 choir.
You'll learn how to:
📅 Choose a theme and create a yearly plan
🎶 Develop children’s singing voices through vocal exploration, breath and movement, and age-appropriate warm-ups
✔️ Evaluate anthems and choose music at an appropriate level for your group
✏️ Plan thoughtful, engaging rehearsals with suggestions for pacing, sequencing, and musical games and activities
🧱 Build your teaching skillset with strategies for score study, developing musicianship (“rote-to-note” and music-reading, phrasing, dynamics, form, rhythm), teaching choral methods (breath, vowels, consonants, tone, blend, posture), and vocal modeling
✨ Lead your choir with confidence
All taught through the lens of early childhood education and music learning theory, packed with real-world strategies, templates, and tools, and informed by over 20 years of teaching experience.
Module 1
Resources to support your mission & values as a choir
Printable year-at-a-glance planning charts
Module 2
Echo patterns & call-and-response songs
Breath- and diction-focused warm-ups
A simple movement sequence to do in every rehearsal
Top 10 vocal warm-ups for children's voices
Printable music rating scale checklist
Module 3
5-step song-teaching template
Score-study checklist
Change-of-pace activities to keep rehearsals engaging
3 printable rehearsal plan templates
Module 4
7 core aspects of musicianship
5 steps to teach a song by rote
Resources to make your own song-teaching visuals
Mind if I throw in a few extras?
Digital magazine
Practical strategies and advice for building, marketing, and sustaining your choir program
Audio Trainings
Tools for teaching solfege, starting a children's handbell choir, and celebrating the church year
The reviews are in
"An awesome resource that will help you have an awesome year!"
"It reaffirmed what I had started last year and gave me the tools to develop a curriculum that can be used year after year."
Take a closer look
Expert training. Real-world strategies. Practical tools you can use again and again. You’ll walk away with a clearer plan, more confidence, and teaching strategies & ideas you can actually use in rehearsal next week.
✅ 31 short video & audio lessons across four modules
✅ 46-page PDF workbook with charts, templates, and worksheets
✅ Hands-on projects to put your new skills into practice
✅ Downloadable rehearsal templates and tools
✅ Comments section so you can ask questions, get feedback, and interact with peers
✅ Email support: answers to your questions and feedback on your ideas are only an email away!
✅ Lifetime 24/7 access on any device
Access Anywhere
Self-Paced
Lifetime Access
Start today and feel more prepared and capable in your next rehearsal.
Course Reviews
"Valuable info and resources I can use both in church and at school."
"Practical, well-organized, and helpful."
"Very insightful, helpful, and full of awesome and excellent resources!"
"This course was above and beyond what I needed to start a successful children's choir at my church."
"Super easy to follow and great ideas!"
"I enjoyed the examples and ideas and found the systems (organization) offered to be helpful. A wealth of information but the presentation is done in a way that it's not overwhelming."
"This course gave me the tools to start a 20+ member children's choir at my church."
"Very helpful, confirming much of my own thinking and providing excellent resources. This course is a great use of a few hours of listening, as well as excellent, useful resources and ideas."
"[I've] been coming back to this course time and time again for helpful resources, advice, and tips. This has been very useful in helping me help the kids develop their musicianship skills bit by bit, without being overwhelming."
Musician & educator based in Rochester, NY
I share creative and pedagogically sound teaching ideas and resources for church musicians and music educators to help you discover (and rediscover) the creative side of music teaching and learning.
I have a Ph.D. in Music Education from the Eastman School of Music and bring over 20 years of teaching experience across church, community, studio, and college settings. I’ve helped musicians at every stage of their careers develop the skills and strategies they need to lead, teach, and be successful—especially when stepping into new roles, launching something innovative, or balancing multiple part-time positions.
I created this course to help you plan, direct, and teach children on a weekly basis and grow your choir ministry.
Excited to meet you inside!
→ Feel overwhelmed by the teaching side of directing
→ Want your rehearsals to be more creative and productive
→ Need real-life strategies you can actually use
FAQs
While the course was created with church children’s choirs in mind, many of the strategies, resources, and lesson planning advice can be adapted for school or community settings. If you’re working with K-6 singers in a group setting, you’ll find plenty here that’s useful.
The content is geared toward directors working with elementary-aged singers (roughly grades K–6). That said, many strategies and resources can be adapted for slightly younger or older singers depending on your context.
Yes! Think of this as the training and framework to support whatever materials you’re already using. It’s full of teaching strategies, rehearsal planning tools, sequencing tips, and leadership insights you won’t typically find in curriculum packages.
You’re in the right place. Whether you’re a volunteer who said “yes” when no one else would or you’re stepping into this role for the first time, you’ll walk away with renewed confidence, clarity, and a strong foundation to build on.
All you need is an Internet connection. All course content and materials will be available to you in digital format: video lessons, PDF downloads, and web links. Nothing physical will be shipped to you.
Each module is about 45 minutes of video plus a hands-on project. The course is completely self-paced: You can complete the whole thing in 3-4 hours, or space it out across a few weeks. You’ll also have lifetime access, so there’s no rush.
Yes. Each lesson includes a comments section where you can ask questions, share your ideas, and connect with other directors. You can also email me directly—I’m happy to answer any questions.
There’s teaching, planning, and navigating different skill levels, learning styles, and attention spans. But you don’t have to figure it all out on your own.
Spend more time enjoying your rehearsals and watching your singers grow and less time second-guessing yourself or wondering if you covered everything.
Take a closer look
✅ 31 short video & audio lessons across four modules
✅ 46-page PDF workbook with charts, templates, and worksheets
✅ Hands-on projects to put your new skills into practice
✅ Downloadable rehearsal templates and tools
✅ Comments section so you can ask questions, get feedback, and interact with peers
✅ Email support: answers to your questions and feedback on your ideas are only an email away!
✅ Lifetime 24/7 access on any device
By the end of this course, you’ll have a well-organized plan, time-saving tools, effective teaching strategies, and a toolkit you can return to all year long.