I know October has only just begun, but I’m making a concerted effort to get into the Halloween spirit this year. Those of you that have read this blog for awhile or who know me in real life are aware that I am not a fan of this particular “holiday”. But almost every child is, including my own students, so my efforts are for their sake :) We’ll see how this goes…
“Halloween Stew” is a good way to ease into the Halloween season, because it brings back so many great memories of music class with Mrs. Goodhart in the basement of Butler Elementary. Every October, we’d look forward to listening to the recording of “Witches’ Brew” by Hap Palmer; I’d sing it so frequently at home that even my little brother knew all the words!
One way to make this an interactive activity with my students is to have them help me write new verses to the song. What kinds of things would they put in their own Halloween Stew? I might even have them draw their own pictures, and add them to the “pot” as they are mentioned in the song. The greatest part is that there is no wrong answer (unless they suggest inappropriate items, which, if you work with older children especially, you know that happens from time to time).
There are probably about a hundred other ways to incorporate this song into a lesson, music therapy session, or just for fun. Got any others? Let’s hear them!
I love when the first day of the month falls on a Friday, because that gives us two reasons to celebrate! And on this particular Friday I have a third reason to celebrate…a weekend all to myself! No traveling, performances, or big commitments (unlike last weekend); just time to get caught up on some work and hang with my family.
How will you be spending the first weekend of October? Perhaps learning a song all about the 10th month of the year? I’ve been brushing up on my original October tune so that my students and I can sing it together this morning (and all month long). It goes like this:
Today it is October,
The tenth month of the year.
Summertime is over,
and autumn weather’s near.
Today it is October,
The leaves are turning brown.
The air is getting chilly,
And soon the leaves fall down.
Today it is October,
The tenth month of the year.
Summertime is over,
and autumn weather’s near.
Today it is October,
It’s time to celebrate
Fall festivals and Columbus Day
Oh, I can hardly wait!
Today it is October,
The tenth month of the year.
Summertime is over,
and autumn weather’s near.
Today it is October,
It’s time for Halloween.
Candy, spooks, and costumes,
And all those scary things.
Today it is October,
The tenth month of the year.
Summertime is over,
and autumn weather’s near.
What’s on your calendar for October? I have a relatively calm month ahead: singing at one wedding, a speaking gig, and a weekend trip to Chicago with my friend are the highlights. But it is definitely the calm before the storm; November will be a whirlwind of activity between my brother’s wedding, AMTA National Conference, and Thanksgiving.
Enjoy this beautiful first day of October, and have a great weekend. (And come back on Sunday for a new “Sunday Singalong” video — the hiatus is over!)
After four years of actively writing songs for children, I’ve lost count of the songs I’ve written about counting (no pun intended, hehe). It’s definitely not for lack of other song topics; it’s just that counting is a skill that every child needs to learn, whether it is through signing or speaking.
My latest counting song employs the use of our fingers. Not only does this give the child something visual and concrete to represent each number, but it also involves fine motor coordination and imitation – two more important areas of development.
Hold up one finger,
Hold up just one,
And wave it around
‘Cause we’re almost done.
La la la la, la la la la.
Hold up one finger,
Hold up just one,
And wave it around
‘Cause we’re almost done.
La la la la, la la la la.
Hold up two fingers,
Yes, hold up two,
I had a wonderful
Time with you.
La la la la, la la la la.
Hold up three fingers,
Yes, hold up three,
Now join right in
And sing with me.
La la la la, la la la la.
Hold up four fingers,
Yes, hold up four,
Wiggle and wiggle
And wiggle some more.
La la la la, la la la la.
Hold up five fingers,
Yes, hold up five,
Fly up to the sky,
Then take a dive.
La la la la, la la la la.
Hold up six fingers,
Yes, hold up six,
And tap them like
They’re rhythm sticks.
La la la la, la la la la.
Hold up seven fingers,
Yes, hold up seven,
Down on the ground,
Now up to heaven.
La la la la, la la la la.
Hold up eight fingers,
Yes, hold up eight,
Close them up
Just like a gate.
La la la la, la la la la.
Hold up nine fingers,
Yes, hold up nine,
Climbing up
A great big vine.
La la la la, la la la la.
Hold up ten fingers,
Yes, hold up ten,
And wave goodbye
To all your friends.
La la la la, la la la la.
Before and after singing the song, I invite the children to verbally and manually (with our hands) count to 10. I added lots of movement to this song so that it’s not just about counting. I also designed it as a cool-down song, meant to be sung near the end of the class, music therapy session, or what have you.
Like I mentioned at the beginning this post, I’ve written lots of counting songs. But it’s not all Listen & Learn, all the time, around here. I want to know: what are your favorite songs for teaching kids to count? Which have worked best for your own students and children? Let’s see how many we can round up!
It’s officially here, even though the Midwest is experiencing temperatures in the high 80s to low 90s. We’re also experiencing quite a downpour this morning, which makes me glad to be safe and sound in my little music therapy office :)
As sad as I always am to see the summer end, there is so much to look forward to in the fall. I love watching the trees change color, and the cool, crisp air is refreshing after months of heat and humidity. I’m excited about getting out my pumpkin-scented candles, wearing sweaters, and making plans for Thanksgiving (I don’t give much thought to Halloween aside from writing songs about it, because it is my least favorite “holiday”).
I’ve written quite a few fall-themed songs, and I’ll share two of those with you today. “Fall into Fall” is one of the first songs I ever recorded (back when I had an extremely primitive recording set-up) so please disregard the not-so-amazing sound quality.
Fall into fall,
the most colorful season of all.
Orange and gold, red, yellow, and brown,
Leaves are swirling all around.
September, October, November, fall is here.
At the end of December, we know that winter’s near.
Fall into fall,
the most colorful season of all.
Orange and gold, red, yellow, and brown,
Leaves are swirling all around.
Football, and pumpkins, and hayrack rides abound.
Most of the leaves that were once on trees, are now upon the ground.
Fall into fall,
the most colorful season of all.
Orange and gold, red, yellow, and brown,
Leaves are swirling all around.
The air is getting colder, the wind is getting strong.
The days are getting shorter, but we keep on singing this song.
Fall into fall,
the most colorful season of all.
Orange and gold, red, yellow, and brown,
Leaves are swirling all around.
I want to tell you all about autumn,
That’s another name for fall.
It begins at the end of September,
When the days are short and the trees are tall.
Autumn is a time to change the clocks,
We fall an hour behind.
We get an extra hour to sleep at night,
‘Cause that’s what happens when we rewind.
CHORUS
Autumn is a time for Halloween,
Wearing costumes while we trick-or-treat.
Walking around our neighborhood,
Collecting so much candy to eat.
CHORUS
Autumn is a time for Thanksgiving,
Let’s be thankful for the food on our plate.
And all of the good things in our lives,
With our family, we celebrate.
CHORUS
So there you go: two songs for a brand-new season! Since I sing about the season every day with my students, it’s nice to have two to alternate so that they don’t get too stale. What are your favorite fall-ish songs?
Handbells, jingle bells, sleigh bells, and resonator bells are all a part of my instrument collection, which is probably why I have so many songsaboutbells! (Each word links to a different song.) But last week I decided that I needed a fresh one to accompany my little bell players, so I adapted a traditional folk tune to get the job done.
Ring to the music, la la la.
Ring to the music, la la la.
Ring to the music, la la la.
Ring to the music, la la la.
The blank spaces in the song are there so that if being used in a group, I can go around the room and address each student: “Ring to the music, Jessica; ring to the music, Jackson” and so on. I can also add these verses to make the activity a little more interesting and challenging:
Ring to the music, slowly…
Ring to the music, quickly…
Ring to the music, softly…
Ring to the music, loudly…
I tried this song out yesterday with my Church Mice group using tone blocks, and I’m happy to report that it was a success :) But really, anytime you ask a child to play an instrument quickly and/or loudly, it will most likely go over well! What are your favorite “bell” songs?
Mr. Alligator here is part of a set of animal puppets I received as a Christmas present a few years ago. (I owe my family members big time for helping me grow my music therapy instrument and prop collection when I first started my career!) They are quite an eclectic bunch (the puppets, not my family members) and don’t have a whole lot in common, so I’ve struggled in the past with coming up for good uses with them.
Here they are in their little drawer: a lamb, parrot, rabbit, bear, mouse, and alligator. See what I mean when I said eclectic? They all live in different environments, so I couldn’t do a “forest” or “jungle” song…or could I?
That’s when I got the idea to combine all of those different environments into 1 song, using one of my personal favorites as a template. Here’s my animal puppet version of “In the Jungle” — which can easily be adapted to include any puppets or stuffed animals you have lying around!
In the jungle, the mighty jungle
The parrot sings tonight,
In the jungle, the mighty jungle
The parrot sings tonight.
In the jungle, the mighty jungle
The parrot sings tonight,
In the jungle, the mighty jungle
The parrot sings tonight.
In the swamp, the mighty swamp
The alligator sings tonight,
In the swamp, the mighty swamp
The alligator sings tonight.
In the forest, the might forest
The bear sings tonight,
In the forest, the might forest
The bear sings tonight.
In the farm, the mighty farm
The lamb sings tonight,
In the farm, the mighty farm
The lamb sings tonight.
In the backyard, the mighty backyard
The rabbit sings tonight,
In the backyard, the mighty backyard
The rabbit sings tonight.
In the house, the mighty house
The cat sings tonight,
In the house, the mighty house
The cat sings tonight.
My students get such a kick out of making their puppet “sing” when it’s his or her turn during the song…but probably not as the kick my pup Sadie got out of Mr. Bear:
I can get away with a gratuitous picture of my dog because this post is animal-related, right? Ha! I’m curious: how do you get musical with puppets and animals? I’m looking for more ways to incorporate them, just because they are always such a hit. Do share!
Welcome! I’m Rachel Rambach, board-certified music therapist and creator of Listen & Learn Music — educational songs and musical materials for children. I love sharing my work with you, along with my behind-the-scenes creative process, adventures in business ownership, and life as a mom of two.
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