About Us

Welcome! The mission of Hosanna Homeschool Choir is to provide a Christ-centered choral music experience for home-schooled students ages 5-18 from the greater Peoria area.

We meet at Woodland Baptist Church in Peoria, IL, on Thursdays during the school year. You can register for Fall or Spring semesters, or both.

Hosanna Homeschool Choir provides a choral music experience for home-schooled children. Students participate in public performances and gain confidence in their own growing musical competence. In our four choirs, students learn musical terms and concepts, as well as how to participate in a vocal group.

Sonshine Choir (ages 5-6) 1:30-2:15 PM

Celebration Choir (ages 7-9) 1:30-2:30 PM

Jubilee Choir (ages 10-12) 1:30-2:30 PM

Hallelujah Chorus (ages 13+) 2:30-4:00 PM

The choir is organized and directed as a Christian group, although all home-schooled students are welcome to join. Each year, the directors focus on a particular musical thread.

Each of our four choirs is headed by a qualified music director. Accompanists provide piano support to our students’ singing. Both directors and accompanists receive a stipend.

Every other aspect of Hosanna Homeschool Choir management is overseen by one or more members of a volunteer board. Please note that every parent is welcome to attend any board meeting. New board members are needed at this time. Please prayerfully consider joining our board.

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Charity Barker

My name is Charity Barker. I live in Wyoming with my husband and three children, soon to be four. I have a God-given passion for children and have spent the last decade of my life building a career in child care and child education. I have eleven child care certifications and have been a professional child care provider for the last five years with a specialty in infant sleep training and children with Autism. We love homeschooling and the closeness it brings to our family as second generation homeschoolers. Outside of my family, my hobbies are simple and include volunteer work as well as acting in murder mysteries for charity events and the Penguin Project of Champaign, a program which allows children with any type of disabilities to perform plays on stage with the help of a paired partner. Music is a huge part of mine and my children's lives, and I feel blessed beyond measure for the opportunity to be a part of Hosanna Homeschool Choir, a choir I myself attended as a child.

Megan McGuire

Megan McGuire is our new Jubilee Choir director this year. She cherished her time singing in choirs during high school and college, and feels honored and humbled to lead Jubilee this year! Her kids have been involved in Hosanna Homeschool Choir for seven years.

Megan grew up in Metamora, Illinois and graduated from the University of Wisconsin- Madison in 2002. After college, she taught at the middle school, high school, and undergraduate levels for several years before getting married and starting her family. Megan and her husband live in Washington where they homeschool their five children.

Emily Mungons

Emily Mungons is our Hallelujah (teen choir) director. Emily has always enjoyed learning new choral music, both as a singer and a director. Her love for the choir atmosphere began when she was 11 years old and joined the Hosanna Homeschool Choir (then, the Apache Homeschool Choir).

Emily was homeschooled all the way through high school and decided to go on to college to pursue a music education degree. She graduated from Faith Baptist Bible College in 2016, earning their Excellence in Music award. During her time at college, she toured with their chorale, orchestra, and handbell choir, while also being a member of a string quartet.

After graduating college, Emily taught K-12 music in a Christian SChool for 3 years, gaining experience working with children of all ages. She directed children’s, middle school, and high school choir concerts in addition to teaching classroom music everyday.

Mrs. Mungons, her husband, and daugher live in the small town of Wyoming where she teaches private voice, piano, and violin lessons. She enjoys gardening, knitting, and reading. Emily feels immensely blessed to be able to contribute back into the homeschooling community that fostered her love of music.

General Policies

GENERAL POLICIES

ARRIVAL: Children in the Sonshine, Celebration, and Jubilee Choirs are allowed to arrive no earlier than 1:15. Drinks and restroom breaks need to be taken care of before Choir time. Sonshine and Celebration Choirs will meet in the gym at 1:30. Jubilee and Hallelujah Choirs will go directly to their classrooms. Please be lined up or in your seats ready to sing at 1:30 (2:30 for the Hallelujah Chorus).

RELEASE PROCEDURES: Sonshine and Celebration parents need to sign out their children in person or arrange for a friend to do so in the designated hallway. Sonshine students will be released at 2:15, and Celebration students will be released at 2:30. Children will NOT be released to the gym to play without being signed out. We love our students, and for safety reasons, we ask that you be on time. Jubilee students will be released at 2:30, and Hallelujah students will be released at 4:00. All Choir families are expected to leave the building by 4:15.

TREATS: Many of our children have various food allergies that range from a mild sensitivity to severe reactions to certain ingredients. In order to provide a safe environment for our children, as well as maintain a clean facility for Woodland Baptist Church, we ask that families DO NOT provide treats/food items for their child's choir.

ATTENDANCE POLICY: Faithful choir attendance is of the utmost importance. Each choir member is vital to the success of the entire group. We strive to form the best blending of voices possible by carefully planning student placement. Regular attendance is also the best way possible for students to thoroughly know the music for performance. Choir members who attend faithfully are more likely to form lasting friendships with others in the group. This time also allows parents to network and form friendships with other homeschoolers.

Attendance is required at all rehearsals. If an absence occurs, the parent must provide an email or phone call giving each student’s name, date of absence, and reason for the absence. This information is to be provided to each choir director affected before the date of the rehearsal, when possible. If, because of sudden illness, this is impossible, the parent should contact the child’s choir director as soon as possible.

The choir year is divided into two semesters with a concert at the end of each semester. A child who misses three (3) or more rehearsals must receive special permission from the choir director to be allowed to perform.

In some cases, students wish to participate in choir but may be unable to perform at the concert. This is allowable but should be discussed with the director very early in the semester, so the director has ample time to adjust student placement and part assignments. For example, a student who will not be at the concert should not volunteer for a solo.

Please carefully consider your commitment to faithful choir attendance.

CONCERT ATTIRE: Sonshine Choir - Sunday best; Celebration, Jubilee, and Hallelujah – all children in these choirs wear a white shirt/blouse, black pants/skirt, and black socks and shoes for performance.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE SCHOLARSHIP: Because the choir exists to allow home-schooled children to experience choir participation, a financial assistance scholarship was created for those families who could not participate otherwise. The assistance scholarship is available as funds allow and covers up to one-half of a student’s tuition. In order to pursue this assistance, a family should contact Donna Nenadov, Hosannahomeschoolchoir@gmail.com.

Fundraisers are initiated, as needed, to rebuild this fund. Tax-deductible donations made to this financial assistance scholarship are greatly appreciated.

About Us

Meet Our Directors

Charity Barker

Anna Synnott

Megan McGuire

Emily Mungons

Board Members

General Policies