Seems like the chilly fall weather is settling in, and that means children are eating more soup. I love to use songs that reflect what children are actually doing in their daily life – not that I have anything against tuffets or four-and-twenty blackbirds, but it’s nice not to have to explain what the song […]
Category Archives: Songs
“The Drum Song” The Drum Song A few weeks ago, I was in a store when I overheard a wonderful mother-with-young-child conversation. The child was a girl who was perhaps five or six years old. She kept asking, “When are we going to go, Mom? I want to go.” And her mom said patiently, “Be […]
Did you know that American Sign Language, or ASL, is the fourth most-used language in the United States? More and more preschools are including some ASL in their curriculum, and research indicates it may even help hearing children with oral language and reading! This song, and other songs using ASL, are included in my book […]
Kangaroos! A Fun Name-Learning Song This is a great activity for the beginning of the year, when you and the children are learning each other’s names. This gives you a fun and very bouncy way to do it! Choose two children to be kangaroos. They’ll jump around in the middle of the circle while the […]
A year or two ago I discovered the music of Bari Koral. I’m always so excited when I hear children’s music that I know my students will love! I couldn’t wait to bring Koral’s music to my music classes, and my students loved her songs right away. I’ve mentioned at least one of Koral’s songs […]
Hard to believe, but in a couple of weeks it’ll be Memorial Day, the unofficial kickoff to summer. Many young children will be seeing parades, and getting very excited about it. I sometimes do rhythm instrument parades with my students, marching around the room, but if you teach pre-K you know that there’s rarely enough […]
A Very Fun and Easy Spanish Song So you’re looking for a super-easy, SHORT, song in Spanish that will make your 3-6 year old students laugh their heads off? And did I mention it’s easy and short? It’s “El pato Renato.” (Renato the Duck): (Translation, approximately: “Renato the duck doesn’t know how to sing, but […]
An Easy, Improvisational Song Using Signing (This song appears in my book “Shake, Rattle, and Roll: Rhythm Instruments for More for Active Learning.”) Did you know that ASL is the fourth most widely used language in the United States, after English, Spanish, and Chinese? Many early childhood centers are introducing ASL words in their classroom. […]
Hoppin’ Fresh Bunny Songs! Hope you’ve been brushing up on your hopping skills! I’ve gathered some of my favorite bunny songs and activities – classics, new ones, and even a Latina coneja. Young children love to hop almost as much as bunnies do, so these activities are always guaranteed to be 24 carrot gold. (And […]
Tap-a-Doodle-Doo! Can a rooster play the drums? As it turns out, Yes! Children love this very silly activity to play with their coffee can drums: Children love the word “tap-a-doodle-doo” and the other “-a-doodle-doo” words! At any rate, they always enjoy singing along with the silly words to this activity, from my book “Shake, Rattle, and Roll: […]
Music (and Science) For Young Children 