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.
I know that 'We Wish You A Merry Christmas' is the go to song at this time of year but after all these years it is getting a little boring. I wanted to show the kids there is more to Christmas than the old traditional song they have sung for the last four years and give them something new to add to their song collection. After all I am with the pre-schoolers and this is their last Christmas in Kindergarten.
This is becoming a bit of a habit. I just hope that other people like my songs too. The songs are loved by my kids and this new one is no exception.
Christmas Time is Here Again! is simple, it's peppy and you can teach your kids some Christmas words. I add a sniff at the end of the first verse, a yum yum at the end of the second verse and a Hooray! at the end of the third verse. I also added an extra chorus at the end so the song could replace 'We Wish You A Merry Christmas'!
The lyrics complete with the guitar chords can be found here. You can listen to a recording of Christmas Time is Here Again! 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.
In my last couple of posts about Christmas Songs, I mentioned I had found this great site (with guitar chords) that had a load of Christmas songs that I hadn't even heard of. However there were also a couple of those songs that I know and love. I wanted to get the kids interested in the 'original' Christmas songs and decided to rewrite Let it Snow so it would be easier for the kids to learn. There are only three verses but it is much easier for them to sing and they really love it. I can't wait to play them the original version over the next few weeks. Another great thing about the song Let it Snow is that the kids want to sing it all the time because they think it will actually snow if we sing it often enough. Cute and funny! I hope someone finds this song as much fun to sing with their kids as I do.
The lyrics can be found here. I don't have an audio file for this one because the melody is very well known. You can find guitar chords on many a website if you want to play along.
In my last post about Christmas Songs, I mentioned I had found this great site (with guitar chords) that had a load of Christmas songs that I hadn't even heard of. One of those songs was Christmas Cookies. Once again the song was a lot longer that I needed for my kids and it was difficult. However their was that great catchy first verse. So I just used that one and came up with two other verses of my own! This is a great song for the kids because after all, who doesn't like Christmas Cookies? I have already sung this one with my kids and they love it! It is nice and repetitive so they don't need to learn too much. I am sure it is going to be a favourite for years to come because I love playing it on the guitar too ;)
The lyrics can be found here. I don't have an audio file for this one but if anyone wants to hear my take on the song/my version then please feel free to post in the comments and let me know.
Christmas is coming and it will get here faster than you think! I feel silly posting about Christmas songs in November but anyone who works in education will know that it is never too early to start singing and practicing. After all there are Christmas parties/concerts/events that need to be prepared well before Christmas even gets going. This year I went back to the Internet to look for some new songs/inspiration and came across this great site (with guitar chords), There were so many Christmas songs that I hadn't even heard of and quickly realised why. The site is dedicated to Country Music. Anyway, I started to check out some of the songs and Barefoot Santa Claus caught my eye. It was a long song but fun so I adapted it to fit my needs. It is a nice up beat and catchy song although I will admit I haven't listened to the original version but just play it the way I want ;) Barefoot Santa Claus is also a great song for a Morning Circle Game or Performance. Let the kids dress up as Santa and dance around. You just need something red, a black belt and a Christmas hat. I am sure they will love jumping around with barefeet! Or you can perform this at your Christmas event. Get a couple of kids to dress up as reindeer and stars to make this one all cute to watch!
I already sang this one with my kids and they love it. I hope to do the dressing up part with them too. The lyrics can be found here. I don't have an audio file for this one but if anyone wants to hear my take on the song/my version then please feel free to post in the comments and let me know.
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.
Nikolaus is really Father Christmas...or Santa if you wish. However here in Austria he arrives on the 6th of December and on Christmas Eve the Christkind (Christmas Child) brings the presents.
If you have been teaching English to young children in a German speaking country then you have to know the typical Nikolaus songs. The old favourite is 'Lass Uns Froh und Munter Sein' and it can get quite annoying over the years ;) I have seen many a translation for this traditional song but never found one that was actually nice enough to sing with the children in English. Most of the translations were direct word for word copies of the song that made no sense or they were poor attempts to make the song make sense but imho failed. So last year I set myself the challenge of making a better English version and I think the end product is something I can be proud. My version is called Nicholas is Coming Soon and is sung to the melody of 'Lass Uns Froh and Munter Sein'. It misses out a couple of the many verses of the German version but incorporates the general gist of the song.
Nicholas is Coming Soon is easy to sing and you will find a lot of different guitar chords out there if you need them. Just pick the ones you like the best. If you haven't heard the song before then a simple google search of the German version will definitely find a video you can listen to ;)
The lyrics can be found here. I hope you find a place in your St Nicholas Fest for this one!
Sorry for the radio silence! I got hit with a cold/cough and with Lantern Fest and everything there wasn't much energy and time left to come and post anything here! Anyway, the next fest is nearly upon us and here in Austria it is Nikolaus. Celebrated on the 6th of December it is when the children get their 'stocking' or in this case 'boot' filled with goodies. I see it as a Christmas warm up ;) Seeing as Nikolaus isn't an English celebration it is really hard to contribute anything in English. Over the years I have come to accept this and just offered up some Christmas or Winter songs. However I came across the song Jolly Old Saint Nicholas last year. I am sure it must be a well known song but I had never heard of it before (not that I can remember anyway). So I decided this song could be useful in Kindergarten but didn't like all of the text. So I used some of the original lyrics and revised it a bit to suit my needs.
My version of Jolly Old St Nicholas can be sung to the same melody as the original so I haven't added a sound file because I hope it will be easy enough to sing. I am also sure a google search will help you find the guitar chords or various renditions of the song if you don't know it already.
The lyrics can be found here. I hope you enjoy singing this one!
This next song is suitable for both Lantern Fest and for Christmas. All about stars this is one of my favourites and is adapted/translated from a German song.
You can make up some actions for The Star Children or just let the kids dance around as stars during the chorus....use your imagination! This song could be the highlight of a Christmas concert or just a nice song to sing with your star shaped lanterns.
The lyrics complete with the guitar chords can be found here. The chords are not too difficult but you can listen to a recording of The Star Children below to hear how the melody goes. A reminder : This is just me being recorded by a phone/computer so it is not the best quality but hopefully enough to get an idea how it should sound.
Yet another Lantern Fest / St Martin's Song that I wrote a couple of years ago! This time the melody is Have You Ever Seen A Lassie? Another song known by many and easy to find music for.
I Have A Little Lantern nice and repetitive so this is a good one for younger children. One again I haven't added the guitar chords to this song text because it is easy enough to find ones you like on the Internet. I also haven't added a sound file because I hope it will be easy enough to sing.
The lyrics can be found here. I hope you enjoy singing this one as much as my kids enjoy it!
This is another Lantern Fest / St Martin's Song that I kind of wrote a couple of years ago called How Many Candles. I came across a song about candles to the tune of Frere Jaques. So I didn't have the idea for this one all on my own but this definitely isn't the same song I found online. The melody is very easy and one that every child knows and a song that is sung in many languages. You can even sing this one with younger children and have them repeat the words after you. Making it a lot easier for them to learn. Also if you have older children you can split them into groups, boy vs girl, for instance and have them since each part after each other.
If you want to play an instrument with this one then I am pretty sure you already have the music or can find it very easily on the Internet. The lyrics can be found here.
Here is another Lantern Fest / St Martin's Song that I wrote a couple of years ago. There are only so many times you can sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star for Lantern Fest but I do really like the song. While learning to play the guitar this was one of the tunes I used to practice and one day this song came to me.
Twinkle, Twinkle, Kids So Bright is sung to the traditional song Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I haven't added the guitar chords to this song text because it is easy enough to find ones you like on the Internet. I also haven't added a sound file because I hope it will be easy enough to sing.
The lyrics can be found here. I hope this song gets some good use! So far my kids haven't been too enthusiastic about singing it ;)
For anyone teaching English in Austria and Germany the Laternenfest (Lantern Festival) is a bit of a pain. We don't have anything like this festival so there is a huge lack of songs you can sing. Which means you can't really join in with this really pretty event.
There are only so many times you can sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star before you and the kids get bored. Also the parents will think you are lazy. However over the years I have pieced together some songs for the fest and also written some of my own.
Here is one I wrote this year especially for Lantern Fest. Today is St Martin's Night can be sung with actions. The children (maybe better with the older ones) can raise their lanterns high, low, to the left, right etc. You will have to practice this before hand but it may be worth it!
The lyrics complete with the guitar chords can be found here. The chords are pretty easy with only G C and D7. You can listen to a recording of Today is St Martin's Night 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.
Happy Birthday To You is your typical Birthday song no matter how young or old the person celebrating is on their special day. However it gets boring and it seems strange that there aren't more Birthday songs. More ways to sing your wishes. This is one of the reasons I decided to come up with my own birthday song.
The Pirate Birthday Song is a great way to sing something different and add the age of the child. It is also a little longer than the traditional song and has a little more bounce to it. If you have a pirate theme going on then it is a great way to strengthen it and if you don't then maybe you want to use it as a base for your Birthday celebrations with the kids.
The lyrics complete with the guitar chords can be found here. The chords are pretty easy with only G Am D and D7. You can listen to a recording of The Pirate Birthday Song 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.
Sorry it has been quiet around here this week but if you work with kids you will know that when one of the adults gets ill, all the kids are suddenly healthly. Which is what happened to me this week. My work colleague was ill and I had a nice full group of healthy kids!
So my evenings were spent catching up on things work wise or just relaxing. Hopefully I will get back on track now. Seeing as there are so many songs I have to share for the upcoming fests!
However keeping to the theme of being sick. Here is my song I Feel So Ill. The song is a little sarcastic and actually is more about the way kids (and even adults) will say anything to get out doing something or going somewhere. You know those kids? Moaning all morning then you finally give in and phone the parents and when they arrive the kid is dancing around? Just wanted to go home? ;)
Anyway, see if the children get the hidden meaning in this song while they learn their ailments in English. I have only sung this one in a small group so far but the kids enjoyed it and thought it was catchy. They also liked the song because it was a little faster than usual. Challenging.
The lyrics complete with the guitar chords can be found here. There is also a recording of I Feel So Ill to listen to below. A reminder : This is just me being recorded by a phone so it is not the best quality but hopefully enough for you to hear the melody.
Do you remember that song by Boney M? Brown Girl in the Ring? Well this next Good Morning song uses that melodie. I actually got the idea from a book I looked through and then wrote the song to fit my needs.
The song is called 'Hello Everyone' and it is a nice easy one that is repetitive and therefore very good for younger children. Feel free to change things around. For instance I usually sing 'Hello to the Purple Group' instead of the 'whole group'. Of course changing that around depends on your group/class name.
Here is another Halloween song for your collection. It is actually about rain but see if the kids figure that out for themselves ;)
Lots of Little Ghosts came to me on a rainy day while looking through a German songbook. There was a song about a hundred ghosts and something about rain then I started writing.
This is a lovely moody song for Halloween but also a great song for those rainy days when you just want to curl up and hide. Make sure you sing quietly when the ghosts aren't making a sound and get a little louder when they give you a fright! Also let the kids hide around the room during the chorus or just hide behind their hands. Be creative and make the song even more fun to sing!
The lyrics complete with the guitar chords can be found here. There is also a recording of Lots of Little Ghosts to listen to below. A reminder : This is just me being recorded by a phone so it is not the best quality but hopefully enough for you to hear the melody.
For a lot of kids (and adults) Halloween is all about dressing up. The chance to be something else for a day, to put on a costume, make-up or maybe even a wig! It is always fun to decide and make/buy an outfit and be different.
The Halloween Song is just about that. Wanting to be something else and being able to finally dress up. All about the various choices and having a chance to celebrate Halloween.
I wrote this one myself and hope you enjoy the song. Feel free to change the Halloween items to fit your needs. I am sure I have missed some monster or creature! This is a great song to learn all the possible creepy scary beings you can be for Halloween.
The lyrics complete with the guitar chords can be found here. There is also a recording of The Halloween Song to listen to below. A reminder : This is just me being recorded by a phone so it is not the best quality but hopefully enough for you to hear the melody.
As I previously posted, I like to start my Morning circles with a Good Morning song. I have managed to build up a little collection over the last couple of years and this next one I am sharing is one I wrote myself.
Every Morning When I Wake Up was one of those songs that just happened. I can't remember why I thought of it but most likely I was playing the guitar chords and the words just came along.
There are a few nice things about this Every Morning When I Wake Up . Firstly it is easy to play if you play the guitar. It is only two chords D & G and it can be played as fast or slow as you want. A great song for beginners and for people who aren't used to using the guitar when singing with children.
The other good thing about Every Morning When I Wake Up is that it is all about your morning routine. So you are teaching the kids a variety of new words to do with getting up in the morning. You can add a new verse each week and talk about each one individually. How brushing your teeth is important, eating breakfast is healthy or even learning how to tie your own shoelaces!
Every Morning When I Wake Up is also a great song for younger children because it is repetitive with only a couple of words changing each verse. Feel free to add your own verses if your daily routine is different. Maybe you walk to Nursery? Maybe you shower each morning? I am always adapting songs to suit my needs and encourage others too as well.
Add actions to the song to make it more fun. It isn't hard to come up with some for this song and the actions practically jump out of the song. Oh and the 'It goes lala' Part...try mixing it up a little each verse. When you are brushing your teeth you can sing it like your mouth is full. Maybe sing it higher, lower, slower or faster. Go with the flow and after all your know what your kids like. Maybe just clapping and stamping is more their thing.
I have had a lot of success with this song and hope other will too. The text and guitar chords for Every Morning When I Wake Up can be found here! There is also a sound file below so you can have a listen to what the song sounds like. Sorry for the bad quality...it is just me recording via my phone! ;)
If you come up with some new verses then please share them in the comments!!
There doesn't seem to be many English song books out there. At least not original ones. I can find a hundred different books with the typical 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' lyrics and even more with 'Head Shoulders Knees and Toes'. So when I find something new it usually inspires me to write more songs of my own.
Detlev Jöcker is a well known German song writer/singer and has quite a lot of CDs under his belt. He also compliments his CDs with books that contain the lyrics and guitar chords to his music.
I was given a copy of Start English With a Song many years ago but never thought of looking for a book. It was only this last year that I came across his books and even found that there was a second English CD/Book from the same artist.
Some of the songs are big hits with my kids. They love Mini Monsters and all the songs seem to be translations of the German versions so you can sing in both languages. I have found some small mistakes in the language now and again but then again nobody is perfect. The book also contains some great ideas for teaching the language (in German) so this is also a great book for teachers who don't speak English as a first language.
I can highly recommend both books just for the songs alone. The guitar chords and ideas are just a nice bonus. If you aren't very musical there are CDs that compliment the books but to be honest you really need both to enjoy them properly.
Learning English by Singing is supposed to be for older children but I have used some of the songs with my Kindergarten kids. So don't be put off by the 'Ab 7 Jahren'.
You can check out Detlev Jöcker's website for more information about his books but I advise buying your copies from Amazon.de or Medimops. Both have cheaper options for buying the books & CDs.
Do you have any song book recommendations? Something different or something new? Please feel free to share your discoveries in the comments section of this post. They may even be new for me! ;)
