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Hymns for Kids to Learn at Home

Hymns for kids can be the old hymns of the church, taught one a week. Children learn them well when the lines are short, the words are explained and the family sings the same hymn every day for a few days.

Are old hymns too hard for a child? Many are not, and they give a clear and careful account of who God is and what Christ has done. Here is how to choose easy hymns for kids, a plan for teaching one a week and a few ways to make the words clear.

Why children can learn old hymns

A hymn has a tune, a rhythm and a rhyme, and these help a child remember the words. The words themselves carry the faith. The psalmist says, “Sing to Yahweh a new song! Sing to Yahweh, all the earth” (Psalm 96:1). He asks all the earth to sing, including the children, and the old hymns have helped them do it for many years.

Choosing easy hymns for kids

Look for a short verse, a chorus or a line that repeats, and words about something a child can picture. From our library, these are good places to start.

  • “Fairest Lord Jesus,” which has a gentle tune and speaks of the beauty of Christ.
  • “’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus,” by Louisa M. R. Stead and William Kirkpatrick, which has a simple refrain.
  • “Trust and Obey,” by James H. Sammis, 1919, with a short refrain about trusting and obeying the Lord.
  • “Sweet Hour of Prayer,” by William W. Walford, 1842, about the joy of praying.
  • “All Creatures of Our God and King,” by William Henry Draper, which has a joyful refrain of alleluias.

The hymn library lets you search by title or by topic, and shows the words and the story behind each hymn.

One hymn a week

  1. On Monday, read the hymn aloud, line by line, and explain any word a child does not know.
  2. From Tuesday to Friday, sing the first verse at the end of devotions. Add a second verse when the first is known.
  3. On the weekend, sing the whole hymn, and let a child choose how many verses to sing.
  4. The next week, begin a new hymn, and come back to the old one now and then.

Explaining hard words

Old hymns have words like “Ebenezer” and “fount.” In “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” Ebenezer is the name of a stone that Samuel set up to remember that the Lord had helped Israel (1 Samuel 7:12), and a fount is a spring of water. Say what a word means in a sentence and then go on. A child who is told what a word means will often enjoy knowing it. If a verse is too hard for a young child, sing the first verse and the chorus and leave the rest for later.

Let the children choose

Once your children know a few hymns, let them choose the next one. Ask why they chose it. The answers will often tell you what they are thinking about God, and you can follow it up in prayer.

The One we sing about

We sing hymns because we are singing to Christ and about Him. In John's vision of heaven a new song is sung to Christ, “You are worthy to take the book, and to open its seals: for you were killed, and bought us for God with your blood” (Revelation 5:9). When your children sing, tell them what the hymn says about Jesus, and invite them to turn from sin and trust Him. A child who sings well and knows the words is not saved by that. We ask the Lord to give each child a heart that sings the words for itself.

Choose one hymn from the library and begin on Monday. You will meet more of them in the Sing step of each session. If you would like to help other families sing together, you can give here. May your children grow up with the Lord's praise on their lips.