Today Is…

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Good morning! Like many of you, this is my first day back to school after a nice break, and I’m ready to dive head-first into the month. Today I’ll be introducing several new songs to my students, which is always exciting. And while new songs are great, it’s the songs that are familiar to the kids (and staff) that keep them engaged and eager to participate.

The hello song, weather songs, and a couple of the calendar songs are standards throughout the year, and I’m going to share one of those with you.

Each day after singing about the month, we sing the “Today Is” song. I chose to set the lyrics to the tune of “You Are My Sunshine” because it is familiar, and it just happened to fit the words perfectly.

Today is Monday, today is Monday.
Today is Monday, January 5th.
Yesterday was Sunday, tomorrow’s Tuesday.
But today is Monday, January 5th.

The song changes with the day, which definitely keeps me on my toes :) Some of the classes have even started doing sign language while singing the song, which is a great option if your students use that form of communication.

I hope your first day back is a great one! See you again soon.

January

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Ahh, January. A month that seems to stretch on and on, after all of the excitement of the holidays has passed. Luckily for me, January is filled with birthdays – my husband’s, sister-in-law’s, and brother’s – so that makes it just a little more festive. And of course, Dr. Martin Luther King Junior’s birthday is coming up in just a few weeks, which means a day off :)

It’s a month of fresh starts, so without further ado, here is a fresh new song:

January brings a brand new year
The holidays are over and winter’s here.
Thirty-one days of snow and cold,
We’ll find out what this year will hold.

January brings a brand new year
Which starts on New Years Day
Celebrations and parties too
“Happy New Year,” we all say.

January brings a brand new year
The holidays are over and winter’s here.
Thirty-one days of snow and cold,
We’ll find out what this year will hold.

January brings a brand new year
Let’s make a resolution.
To try our best, be nice to friends,
And help to stop pollution.

January brings a brand new year
The holidays are over and winter’s here.
Thirty-one days of snow and cold,
We’ll find out what this year will hold.

January brings a brand new year
And special days to plan.
Martin Luther King Junior’s birthday
Remember this great man.

January brings a brand new year
The holidays are over and winter’s here.
Thirty-one days of snow and cold,
We’ll find out what this year will hold.

The Other Eight Reindeer

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Good Wednesday morning! I hope you’re all surviving the elements out there…mine include ice, snow, and more ice, not to mention freezing cold temperatures. ‘Tis the season for snow days, shoveling, and lots and lots of lesson cancellations :(

Today’s topic is reindeer. We all know and love Rudolph, because after all, he is the most famous reindeer of all. I sang “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” with my students last year more times than I care to count, so this year I decided to change things up a bit.

The result was “The Other Eight Reindeer”, an ode to Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen. This song confuses everyone upon first listen, because I purposely wrote the first line to sound like the original “Rudolph” song. Most people get a kick out of it, though!

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer lights the way,
Rudolph leads the pack when Santa flies his sleigh,
But Rudolph’s not the only one, he needs a little help to get the big job done,
What I’m talking about is clear: the other eight reindeer.

Next in line is Dasher, Dasher, fly away,
Now there are seven more, helping guide the sleigh.
Next in line is Dancer, Dancer, fly away,
Now there are six more, helping guide the sleigh.
Next in line is Prancer, Prancer, fly away,
Now there are five more, helping guide the sleigh.
Next in line is Vixen, Vixen, fly away,
Now there are four more, helping guide the sleigh.
Next in line is Comet, Comet, fly away,
Now there are three more, helping guide the sleigh.
Next in line is Cupid, Cupid, fly away,
Now there are two more, helping guide the sleigh.
Next in line is Donner, Donner, fly away,
Now there is one more, helping guide the sleigh.
Last in line is Blitzen, Blizten, fly away,
Now there are no more, helping guide the sleigh.

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer lights the way,
Rudolph leads the pack when Santa flies his sleigh,
But Rudolph’s not the only one, he needs a little help to get this big job done,
What I’m talking about is clear: the other eight reindeer.

Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen,
Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen,
Reindeer. The other eight reindeer.
The other eight reindeer.
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer needs some help.

I hope you and your students enjoy this tune just as much as we have. Oh, and it’s ok to sing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” every once in a while, too!

Do You Hear the Reindeer on the Roof?

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I wrote this song specifically as a rhythm sticks activity, but it’s so darn catchy that it works perfectly fine all on its own. This is the first of two reindeer songs that I’ve written this month, so stay tuned for the other one in the next couple of weeks.

Do you hear the reindeer tapping on the roof?
Tap tap tap tap tapping on the roof.
Do you hear the reindeer tapping on the roof?
Tap tap tap tap tap.

Dasher and Dancer are tapping on the roof,
Tap tap tippy tippy tap.
Prancer and Vixen are tapping on the roof,
Tap tap tap tap tap.

Comet and Cupid are tapping on the roof,
Tap tap tippy tippy tap.
Donner and Blitzen are tapping on the roof,
Tap tap tap tap tap.

Here comes Rudolph tapping on the roof,
Tap tap tap tap tap.
Good old Rudolph is tapping on the roof,
Tap tap tap tap tap.

Do you hear the reindeer tapping on the roof?
Tap tap tap tap tapping on the roof.
Do you hear the reindeer tapping on the roof?
Tap tap tap tap tap.

Another idea for this song is that instead of naming the reindeer during the verses, you can sing:

I hear “Susie” tapping on her sticks,
Tap tap tippy tippy tap,
I hear “Bobby” tapping on his sticks,
Tap tap tap tap tap.

And name each child in the group. I do this with my younger kids, and they love hearing their names sung.

Well, back to work. I’m working on January songs, and for some reason it’s just not as fun of a month as November and December. This is where my creativity really needs to kick in…I don’t have the convenience of major holidays to inspire me :)

Ten Little Candy Canes

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It’s counting time again! You probably have lots of these peppermint treats around the house or in your classroom, so go ahead and use them as a teaching tool while you sing this counting song with your students.

Counting time, it’s counting time,
So let’s all sing this simple rhyme.
Ten little candy canes in a row,
Now let’s count them nice and slow.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
Again!
1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

How many candy canes?
Ten little candy canes,
All lined up in a row.

Before I sign off, I’d like to ask for some feedback from you: what are your favorite Christmas songs to sing with your child or students? I’m especially interested in hearing about unique and original songs, even if they are simple as can be. Sometimes keeping it simple is best, especially when it comes to kids!

The Colors of the Season

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I love this time of year. Everyone is in a good mood, and there’s a sense of excitement and anticipation in the air, which makes even the extremely cold temperatures tolerable. When I was younger, my family used to drive around different neighborhoods and admire the Christmas lights and decorations, and I still enjoy doing so to this day.

There’s no doubt an abundance of red and green in your home, at the mall, in your workplace, and all around your city, and that is what today’s song is about.

Red and green are the colors of the season,
Red and green are the colors all around,
Red and green are the colors of the things we see,
All over the town.

We’ll start with red, R-E-D,
Red is the color of the things we see.
Like candy canes and berries and Santa’s clothes,
Poinsettias and drums and big red bows.

Red and green are the colors of the season,
Red and green are the colors all around,
Red and green are the colors of the things we see,
All over the town.

Next is green, G-R-E-E-N,
We see this color again and again.
Like Christmas trees and wreaths and mistletoe,
Wrapping paper, ornaments, and lights aglow.

Red and green are the colors of the season,
Red and green are the colors all around,
Red and green are the colors of the things we see,
All over the town.

You can make this song interactive by asking your students to identify objects in the classroom that are red and green, which – I can tell you from experience – kids love. Another idea: make pictures of each item in the song and have the children name them during the verses. Or insert your own red and green items to make the song unique.