Find folk singing and guitar tutorials on video websites. Various YouTube users such as FlynnersFolkSongs teach songs, lyrics, and guitar chords through family-friendly videos. Other folk video tutorials are available for free.
Listen to online folk songs at sites like 8notes, which provide free folk songs from artists around the world. Another choice is through a compilation of sing-along folk music with sheet music online. The website provides 190 songs with guitar chords and lyrics. Mama Lisa's World includes several children's folk songs from around the world. Additionally, iTunes U sets up tools for teaching folk music through Smithsonian Folkways (see Resources).
Visit your church or local community group to inquire about free singing lessons in folk music. Church vocal groups have a variety of singers, young and old, as well as instruments. Use an instrument to help teach the vocal notes of each song. A piano key can define the C major scale and help locate the note in the singer's tone as they sing.
Visit your local library. Ask the front desk or librarian for the music section, specifically folk songs and sheet music. Many how-to books, CDs, and DVDs on singing exist in libraries, and American folk music is a wide category of music with plenty of references. Books include "Introducing American Folk Music," "My First Book of American Folk Songs," "American Folksongs for Children," "The Peter Yarrow Songbook," and "The Great Family Songbook."
Sing folk songs with your child. "Songlists from Children's Folk Song Study" has a complete children's folk song list. Search for the songs on a video website to see how each song is sung and teach your children to sing along with you. The resources section includes multiple links to hundreds of folk songs around the world.