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 […]
Tag Archives: music
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: […]
Drinking coffee can be very beneficial for the young children you teach. No, I don’t mean they should drink coffee! But if you do, you can get a free set of fantastic musical instruments for your whole class. Coffee cans! If you’re not saving them and repurposing them to be children’s drums, you should. Here’s why: […]
The popularity of Karma Wilson’s “Bear” series of picture books is richly deserved. Charming characters, rhythmic text, and easy-to-follow, often repetitive storylines make these books perfect for reading aloud to young children. As a music teacher, I’m always on the lookout for stories which are easily “musicalized” – either with sound effects like stomping or […]
“The Owl Chicken Bunny Song” Young children really enjoy this funny activity, which gets them moving in some very silly ways! It’s from my most recent book, “Shake, Rattle and Roll: Rhythm Instruments and More for Active Learning” (Gryphon House, 2015). Children should be standing in a circle. Make circles around your eyes with your […]
I’m planning to use this in a class soon and thought I’d give a shout-out…there are a lot of versions of “La Bamba” out there, but Daria’s is my go-to version to use with young children. First, it’s the most authentically Latin-sounding, in rhythm and in instrumentation. Daria’s vocal performance is lovely and has an […]
Noisy Science If necessity is the mother of invention, I’d have to say that one of my best teaching “inventions” was inspired by the necessity of my not going completely deaf. You see, I’m an early-childhood music teacher. You know how noisy a typical preschool classroom is? Well, I’ll see you that noisiness and raise […]
