Musical Scarf Activity

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I’m back again today to share a song that I wrote to use with my youngest children in music therapy. I like to stick with a general theme each month, so October focuses mainly on fall and Halloween-related topics. This particular song accompanies a scarf activity, in which the child is asked to listen for the color of his/her scarf and then wave it in the air. The scarves I use are from West Music and can be found here.

There are twelve different colors, and the kids absolutely adore them and are always coming up with new ways to use them. So I wasn’t completely surprised when a couple of kids draped their scarves over their heads and began floating around even before I started playing this song:

Not all ghosts are scary,
And not all ghosts are white.
Listen for the color I choose
And let your ghost take flight!

If your friendly ghost is red,
Wave him in the air.
Wave him right and wave him left,
Wave him everywhere!

Not all ghosts are scary,
And not all ghosts are white.
Listen for the color I choose
And let your ghost take flight!

I change the color of the ghost each time I sing the verse so that every child has a turn. Not only is this a super-fun activity, but my kids are working on color discrimination, listening skills, and turn-taking at the same time. It’s a beautiful thing!

Cloudy Day

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It’s Monday, but I’m not in school…because it’s Columbus Day! Thanks, Christopher Columbus, for discovering America, and creating an excuse for a day off to do all of the things I didn’t have time for this weekend.

This work-week is an especially short one for me, as my husband and I will be spending a long weekend (Friday through Sunday) with friends in West Palm Beach. We need a mini-vacation after the whirlwind of the past couple months! So please try to contain your disappointment at my absence; I will try to make up for it by posting some great stuff in the next few days :)

Today, however, is not a very exciting day here at Listen & Learn. I had a very busy, family-filled weekend, which did not allow much time for all the recording that I have yet to do. So I will leave you with a song reflecting the current weather: cloudy, with a little gloominess on the side.

Cloudy day, it’s a cloudy day
The sky is dark and the sun’s gone away.
Cloudy day, it’s a cloudy day
The only color that we see is gray.

When the clouds finally pass us by,
The sun will come back to light the sky.
But until then we’ll have to sit and wait,
for the clouds to part just like a gate.

Cloudy day, it’s a cloudy day
The sky is dark and the sun’s gone away.
Cloudy day, it’s a cloudy day
The only color that we see is gray.

Learning To Set the Table

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When I was in seventh grade, we spent an entire unit of my home economics class learning to set the table properly. Now, many years later, I still sometimes mix up which side the fork, knive, and spoon are placed (just ask my mom, who knows from experience). So if a fully capable adult can’t always keep it straight, how can we expect a child to always set the table? By singing a song about it, of course!

At breakfast lunch and dinner,
Right before we eat,
We have to set the table,
The rules are short and sweet:

First comes the plate, it’s big and round:
Take it out of the cupboard and set it down.
Next comes the fork, everyone knows:
To the left of the plate is where it goes.

After that the knife and spoon:
To the right of the plate, we’ll be using soon.
Last are napkins and a cup,
Now our table is set so let’s eat up!

At breakfast lunch and dinner,
Right before we eat,
We have to set the table,
The rules are short and sweet!

And that’s all there is too it. I’ll just have to remind myself to sing this song at our next family dinner as I set the table. Happy dining!

Time for a Haircut

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Certain situations can bring on anxiety to children, especially those with autism or any other disability. Among those situations are visiting the doctor or dentist, venturing into a large public place, and our focus today: haircuts.

The song I wrote for this occasion tells the story, step-by-step, so that children know exactly what to expect on their trip to the barber or salon. It goes like this:

My hair is getting too long,
And that’s why I’m singing this song.
So after a while, when I need a new style,
I’ll tell you what I do:

I get a haircut, haircut.
First comes the shampoo.
Then sit in the chair, where they’ll cut my hair,
And when the trimming’s through,

Time to blow dry and brush my hair,
Say thank you and goodbye.
It’s easy and fun, and now that it’s done,
I have a ‘do that looks brand new!

Your hair is getting too long,
And that’s why I’m singing this song.
It’s been a while, time for a new style,
Now you know just what to do!

Counting Pumpkins

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It’s time for the first official installment of “Counting Time” – which you can read more about here. This month we’re counting pumpkins, which I’m sure will not come as a big surprise to you all :)

Each month, the “Counting Time” tune stays the same but the items we count will change. You can listen for yourself:

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

One, two, three, four, five,
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
Again!
One, two, three, four, five,
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

How many pumpkins?
Ten little pumpkins!
All lined up in a row.

Faster is Better

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When I was a child, I loved songs that sped up as I sang them – songs like John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt and The Song That Never Ends. I found a great song in the “Learning Through Music” songbook called I Don’t Care if the Rain Comes Down, which my students absolutely love.

However, we’ve been singing it for months now, and I decided it was time for a new slow-to-fast song. I just wrote it, so it hasn’t been tested and approved yet, but I’m not too worried. I stuck with the formula, and this is what I came up with:

I know a song that starts out slow.
I like to sing it everywhere I go.
My friends join in an then we begin
To speed it up a little bit.

Keep up with me, keep up with me
Sing it loud or sing it quietly
Whatever you do, don’t fall behind,
Or else we’ll have to rewind.

So there you have it. The only problem with songs like these is that the kids always want to sing it faster, even when I’ve reached my maximum guitar-playing speed. But as long as they’re having fun, that’s what matters :)

It’s a beautiful Sunday afternoon, but I’ve been inside recording and working all day. The beginning of each month is a little busier than usual, but soon things will settle down and I’ll have a little more time for relaxing. Oh, the life of a music therapist!