“Bodies 1-2-3” by Peter and Ellen Allard
from the CD “Sing It! Say It! Stamp It! Sway It!”
Vol. 2
available on iTunes

Sometimes you want a very simple, very easy
movement song that children can follow easily
and doesn’t require a lot of explanation. And one
that children will have fun with! That’s “Bodies 1-2-3,”
which is one of my standbys.

Is there any young child out there who doesn’t 
like to wiggle? The minute I say, “This is a song
about wiggling,” I can see them getting excited. In
the song’s verses, we wiggle our fingers, bend
our knees, sway our arms, blink our eyes, march our
legs, shrug our shoulders, and make up our own dances!
That’s a lot of movement for one relatively short
song!

And what else is a guaranteed child-pleaser? How
about stopping and freezing? Each verse ends with
the clear auditory signal, “Stop!” They’re listening
carefully because they love to freeze in a silly 
position!

I love to notice and compliment children on the
dances they invent at the end of the song. It’s a
great opportunity to reinforce their creative thinking
skills.

“Bodies 1-2-3” is one of those songs that brings
everything you want in a movement song together.
Try it and it’ll soon be one of your standbys too!