Christmas Songs #7 : The Snowman Dance

The Snowman Dance actually started out as the Easter Bunny Dance (look out for that version in Spring) but I wrote that song after Easter. However the kids had seen it in my song folder and asked me to play it.  They loved it so much I decided to rewrite it for Winter.

Some of you may recognise the melody.   It is from a famous Elton John song so I have him to thank for the inspiration for this one :)

I am letting my kids sing and dance this one at our Christmas Concert.  The Snowman Dance has got to be the #1 hit this year and as soon as I play the last note they start shouting 'Again!'.

The moves for the Snowman Dance should be self explanatory if you check out the lyrics.  You can find the lyrics complete with the guitar chords here.   You can also listen to a recording of The Snowman Dance below.  A reminder : This is just me being recorded by a phone/computer so it is not the best quality but hopefully enough for you to hear the melody.

Oh and I recommend watching The Snowman (see pic).  One of my fondest christmas memories as a child is watching this when it played on TV for the first time.  I try and watch it every year with my kids at work.  They always enjoy it despite the sad ending.

Tweet

Fun Songs #2 : The Friendship Dance

I don't know how I came up with this song.  I must have gotten some inspiration from somewhere but to be honest I can't remember.  However it has been a big favourite with all the kids I teach including the younger three to four year olds.

If you have a project about friendship or it is just a topic that needs some time in your group, The Friendship Dance is a great action sing-a-along.  You sing a name and that child is allowed to stand up in the circle and dance.  As you follow the lyrics, the child is then asked to pick a friend to dance with them.  Those two dance together and take a bow to end their performance.

The Friendship Dance is a great action sing-a-long for Morning Circle or just a time filler.  You can also use it as a way to cross over to other activities.  For example if the kids have to go get dressed or lay the table you can always send the two kids who just took part in the dance off to do that when they are done.  This means you don't have them all rushing off at once and it also means you won't have to sing the song as often ;)

If you don't have an even amount of children for this one and are left with three children.  Just sing all of their names at the beginning and let them dance together.  I usually sing, 'They don't need a friend today because they have each other'.  Or something like that.

Oh and you may find this one to be a bit of an eye-opener!  It is amazing to see which 'friends' the children pick to dance with.  I have been surprised more than a few times and it is a great observation situation.  If you use this one to cross over to another activity you can even be a little crafty and have a certain group of kids left over so they are forced to pick someone they wouldn't usually pick.

The lyrics complete with the guitar chords can be found here.   You can listen to a recording of The Friendship Dance below.  A reminder : This is just me being recorded by a phone/computer so it is not the best quality but hopefully enough for you to hear the melody.

Tweet

Books : Halloween #3

Halloween is getting closer and it may be too late to get hold of these books but you can check your local library for copies or make sure you have copies for next year.

Actually the next three books, all from the same author, can be read/used all year around.  They just fit into the Halloween theme and because the kids love them so much I would end up reading them everyday if I didn't associate them to Halloween.  Cheeky and crafty of me but anyone who has had to read the same book over and over again will admire my trickery!

Nick Sharratt was unknown to me until I came across a copy of his funny book 'Ketchup on Your Cornflakes'.  The style of the book was new to me but a huge hit.  Turn the bottom half of the page or the top half of the page to make funny combinations that get the kids talking.

So when I saw the author had more books on offer I picked up a couple and here are the three that you can use for Halloween.

The Foggy Foggy Forest is an easy to read book where the kids have to decide what the shadows are in the foggy forest.

First you have the silhouette and then the full colour picture.  However there are some twists and it may even be an Ogre doing Yoga....

The complicated English terms are easily translated by the children due to the lovely illustrations which means this book teaches some new English words without you having to do anything but read out loud.  Not a story book but still a great book to have in your teaching library.

I mentioned before that Nick Sharratt's 'Ketchup on Your Cornflakes' is a book made up of two halves.  Well A Cheese and Tomato Spider is in the same style.

This time around the spiders legs or head are mixed up with everyday items such as an ice-cream or as the title suggests, cheese and tomato.  Hilarious combinations that will make any kid laugh are hidden inside this well thought out book.  I can only admire the idea and hope that the author thinks up many more of these combination books because they are a huge hit!

The third and last book I want to recommend is What's in the Witch's Kitchen.  While some of the content may be a little harder for younger learners of the English language, the illustrations are so well done that you will find it easy to explain.

The fun thing about this book is the 'Magic Pictures'!  Open the fridge in one direction and there is one item but open the fridge in the other direction and you are in for a spooky surprise!

This is a must have for Halloween and another fun read from Nick Sharratt.  I haven't checked out all of his books yet but this is an author who goes out of his way to make learning funny and if you are teaching English to kids then you will know that humour always works!

Do you have any book recommendations?  Feel free to comment below and let me know!

Tweet

Halloween Songs #2

There are so many great songs you can sing during the Halloween season.  These songs are not written by me but are songs I found over the years that you may have even seen somewhere else.  Of course I may have adapted them slightly by changing words around but I won't call them my own.

The Ghost in The House is sung to the tune 'The Wheels on the Bus'.  A song that is well known and easy to find guitar chords for if you want to play along.  You can make up your own verses with the children or prepare some of your own before singing the song with them.  Try and come up with some actions to make this one more fun for the kids.

If You're a Witch is a Halloween song sung to the tune of 'If you are Happy and You Know it'.  A song everyone knows.  There are so many variations of guitar chords for this one that you really need to find ones you are happy with.  Some are harder than others or just plain complicated while some don't quite sound right.

You can also make up your own verses for this song.  Ask the children what other creepy things they can be and what sounds they make.  You can also use actions or just strange noises.  Try and keep things funny.  Kids always like funny!

I'm Not Afraid is a nice chanting song.  I am pretty sure the melody I use is similar to something else I have heard but right now I can't remember what.  However this is a nice one to chant.  Maybe make up actions that involve stamping, clapping or slapping your legs in time to the chant.  Make up new verses with the children to get them involved and interested.

Lastly, my favourite and a favourite of all the kids I have taught over the years is, The Witch on Halloween.  This is sung to the melody for 'The Farmer's in the Dell'.  Feel free to swap out the characters in this one.  Maybe you are making pumpkins or vampires so use them in the song instead.

This is one is particularly good song for the kids to play along with.  Sit in a circle and pick a Witch.  As you sing her verse she goes around in the center of the circle.  When you finish singing 'wants a cat', the child/witch can then pick herself a cat to go with her.  This continues until you have five children in the middle.  At the end the five go around and scare the rest of the children.  The last person picked (in my version the spider) gets to pick the next witch.

A tip :  If you have 20 kids playing then make sure you leave this song with five rounds so nobody gets left out.  Adapt the song if you have more or less kids.  For example, if I had a full group of all 24 kids I would play the song four times and have 6 verses.  Then all the kids would get a turn.  Make sure they don't pick someone that has already played along.

Another tip : Make headbands/crowns with the characters on or have a witches hat etc.    Then the kids can dress up as they play/sing!

Are there any songs you enjoy singing for Halloween?  Feel free to share!  

Tweet

Teaching Colours #2

Teaching colours doesn't have to be boring.  Make a project out of it and spend a few weeks really making the most out of the subject.

Here are some activity ideas :

* Get some coloured cloths or paper.  Place them in different parts of the room/gym and let the kids run around.  When you blow a whistle and shout a colour they all have to run to that colour.  The last one to get there is out.  Play again and keep playing until one child is left, the winner.

* Ask the children to collect coloured items from around the classroom.  Have each child go off on the hunt for an item that is a certain colour.  Collect them in the center of your morning circle.  When you are finished you can let the children put the items away by saying their name and then a colour.  They then have to pick up an item you have in the center of that colour and tidy it away.  

Make this game more difficult by telling the children that their item must be original.  Example :  If a child has already brought a blue piece of lego/colouring pencil/book etc then no-one else is allowed to bring a piece of lego/colouring pencil/book etc.

* Make a colour laboratory!  You may be able to find a set to buy but you can also make your own using glasses or jars.  You will need food colouring and some kind of pipette or plastic syringe.  If you just use the primary colours the kids can mix some more interesting colours ;)


You can also make a worksheet for the kids to fill out while they experiement.  Just like real researchers!  Let them make notes on what colours are made when mixing other colours them.  The kids don't even have to be able to read or write.  Make your own with shapes to colour or find a Mouse Paint Worksheet using google.com

* There are so many games you can play that involve colours.   You may already have some of them or you can adapt ones you have.  Memory can be played using colours.  Have you every played Uno or Mau Mau?   Both games not only use colours but also use numbers.  You can even make your own games if you have some time to invest in the project but if you have some money to spend then the games at Orchard Toys are amazing.

* When you are finished with an activity and let the children go off to play or get dressed to go outside don't let them all leave at once.  Instead say all the children wearing pink are allowed to leave and tidy up/get dressed/wash their hands before lunch etc.  Make it harder by adding a specific item of clothing.  All children wearing orange socks etc.  This is a great way to stop all the kids rushing off to the next activity and being all wild.

* If you have access to items like balls and hula hoops you can make up some puzzles for the kids that also involve them getting some exercise.  For example tell the kids only five children are allowed in each red hula hoop.  Give them instructions like place a yellow ball inside a green hula hoop.  You can also make an obstacle course using coloured items (or mark items using coloured paper or cloths) and call out instructions.  Crawl under the green bank, walk around the yellow chair, stand on a purple cushion etc.

* Depending on how much time you have you can pick a new colour each week and pair it up to another subject.  For example :  Yellow is light for Lanternfest, Green is for Christmas trees, Blue is for the sea, Red is for fire or volcanos, and so on....

* Don't forget to make the colour project special and have a rainbow party at the end.  Also make sure you have something the kids can take home and keep.  One year we tie-dyed t-shirts to wear to our Betty Blue Party and those shirts kept being worn to Kindergarten until they were too small!

Enough ideas from me for now.  Feel free to add some of your own in the comments section.
 

Tweet

Fun Songs #1 : Grumpysaurus

A few years ago my boss encouraged me to learn how to play the guitar.  It was always something I had wanted to do since I was a teenager but courses were expensive and I didn't really have the time or money back then.

Older and wiser I decided I should at least look into it.  So I went home and looked up a few of the basics and chords.  It didn't look easy but I started simple and my partner gave me some tips.  I started practicing while in work with the kids (more about that later) and one day Grumpysaurus was born.

I was practicing three chords and changing between them when a kid had a bit of a tantrum.  A couple of days earlier I had seen the Grumposaur (see pic) somewhere and I told the kid  he was being a Grumpysaurus.  He instantly stopped having his tantrum and asked me what's a Grumpysaurus?  I improvised and started singing the simple text to the chords I was playing.

All the kids started singing along and I was surprised when they started suggesting more verses. Years later a special little boy called Ben even came up with a new verse.  I haven't added it to the text file yet but he is called Sillysaurus and I am sure there are more verses to come!

Each verse has its own sound or action.  Hungrysaurus goes Nom Nom Nom,  Iloveyousaurus makes a heart with his hands and the newest addition, Sillysaurus, makes faces.  It isn't hard to come up with actions, just ask the kids!  They came up with all the ones I use! :)

It is a simple song and a lot of fun.   The kids get to learn some words to do with actions and feelings plus the get some exercise if they move around while singing.

I hope there are other children out there who will enjoy singing it as much as the many children I have sung it with over the years.  It continues to be a favourite and is sung at least once a week in my group.

Listen to the first verse of the song below.  Also open the link for the song text and guitar chords.

Grumpysaurus Text

If you come up with some new verses then please share them in the comments!!  

Tweet