We recently, last few months, have introduced microphones into our microconcerts. What a head ache but in the end it pays off. But it is a trade off. Firstly kids love microphones. KIds LOVE microphones. As soon as the mics arrive they are excited.
The mics we use are the shure beta 58s, that's the chordless We have a few chorded mics too which we have used for the last couple of concerts.
We looked into an amp for a long time. I asked a few of my opera australia mates until I asked my friend Shanul who said "You've got to get an L1, man..."
By L1 he meant the Bose L1 which is basically a wooofer with a tall speaker. It comes apart and one person can easily carry it to and from a car.
What a godsend that was. It throws the sound around the room because it is comprised of small speakers at different angles. It s amazing. We use it for our corporate and private party gigs. see www.extraordinaryacts.com.au
THere's alot of management involved of course with kids and microphones. They have to be worded up on how expensive the equipment is and they love to tap them which is undesirable but uderstandable. But when they hear themselves they love it. You have to imagine a dot in the center of the top of the microphone and you need to sing into that. I'm always correcting the angle for kids. The mic needs to be at around a 45 degree angle to the body. the temptation is to hold it parallel and sing at the side of it. You often see the CEO do that too after a corporate gig. The other temptation is to shy away when your voice is suddenly the voice of god. I said to the kids " this is designed to make you louder. If you sing less on the mics or if you don't sing on the mic then it defeats the purpose.:)