OUR VOICES
Diddy Disciples celebrates our voices
No need to be quiet (Ssssssssh!) with lots of singing to well known tunes.
‘Our young children love joining in with the simple songs and actions at Diddy Disciples, and before we know it they (and I) have a real understanding of the church liturgy… I love preparing Diddy Disciples as it is all done for me – I just pick up the book and off I go. If I can’t remember a tune, I either hum it and it comes back to me or one of the children sings it for me, as they all know the nursery rhyme tunes.’
-Charlotte Chappell, Diddy Disciples leader at Christ Church Aughton, Diocese of Liverpool
OUR VOICES
Diddy Disciples includes lots of singing to well-known tunes.
Everyone can join in: Singing is something we do together: it gives the children an opportunity to feel what it’s like to be part of God’s family.
Give us a clue! Singing uses words but also provides all sorts of clues to help with meanings: tune, rhymes, rhythm, pitch and volume, movement, actions. Young children can be really good at picking up on these clues even when they’re not fluent in speaking English.
No reading required: Singing songs with repeated words gives children a chance to join in, without needing to read.
Helps with attention: Singing attracts and keeps children’s attention far more easily than words alone.
A spiritual experience: Singing encourages us to bring body and soul together. It can help us tune into our feelings before God. Singing can help to lift our focus beyond ourselves and opening us up to God.
Singing invites all children join in worshipping God in their own way: listening and swaying, moving and dancing, joining in with the actions, even singing some of the words.
Almost all Diddy Disciples songs are based on well-known tunes like nursery rhymes.
As leaders, don’t worry about whether you feel you’re a good singer or not. This kind of singing is just to get the group started: it’s like singing along with the hymns at church, or singing to your child at home, not giving a performance!
Let one of our toddlers teach you the Sorry Song!
A story from St Peter's, Walworth:
At 9 months old, Ezra loved to join in the actions for the Sorry Song, and soon began singing along with his own harmonies.
Now 18 months old, he can be heard in the main church service singing along joyfully, again with his own harmonies.
Ezra almost certainly has no grasp of any of the words in those hymns at all, but he’s grasped the most important thing: the song of the Church is his song and it’s important for him to join in.