Free Download: “Little Red Apples”
This is one of many counting songs I’ve written, which focuses on counting both up to 5 and down from 5. I created simple apple visual aides (using red construction paper and then laminating) which my students can then manipulate as we count.
Click here to download the mp3 and lyrics/chords.
P.S. If you want access to my entire collection of over 200 songs (mp3, lead sheet, and instrumental track), videos, tutorials, and visual aides, plus ALL new releases from Listen & Learn Music, consider joining me over at Listen & Learn Plus!
Custom Song: Help Me, Rhombus!
I’ve written songs on many unique and interesting topics, but when I received a request for a custom song about a certain parallelogram, I knew I was in for a bit of a challenge. At the suggestion of my clever customer, I turned to the Beach Boys for help.
I also turned to the knowledge I gained in my 9th grade geometry class (thanks, Mr. Nuding!) — I now admit that I was wrong when I said I’d never need to know that stuff as an adult :) Shapes can be fun…whether you’re just learning the basics or venturing into more exotic territory as we are today.
I wanna sing about a shape
That I can’t get outta my head.
It has four sides, yes four, that’s what I said.
Rhombus, you’re one of a kind,
So tell me would you mind,
Oh could you, help me Rhombus,
Help me learn what you are.
Help me Rhombus, help help me, Rhombus. (5x)
Help me Rhombus, yea, I wanna learn what you are.
Well a rhombus and a diamond,
They look the very same.
One single shape that goes by two different names.
We use the word Rhombus at school,
Diamond is a nickname that’s cool,
Oh could you, help me Rhombus,
Help me learn what you are.
CHORUS
A rhombus has 4 pointy angles that connect its sides.
Just like a kite, in the air up high it flies.
Rhombus, I can illustrate,
Your shape, and I’d appreciate,
If you could, help me Rhombus,
Help me learn who you are.
CHORUS
This song was written for pre-kindergarteners, but I think the recognizable melody and peppy beat will appeal to older students as well. The key to teaching just about any concept is to make it enjoyable, as I have learned and been reminded time after time.
Thanksgiving Goodies: Song + Visual Aide
There’s a certain song I look forward to singing as soon as the leaves start turning colors, but I always hold out until November. The first line goes like this:
“On the first day of Thanksgiving, this is what I ate: some turkey on my plate.”
There are 9 more verses where that came from, all of which many of my students know by heart. Not surprising, considering this is the 3rd year in a row I’ve sung this song with them during the month of November. Even my fellow coworkers were asking about the 10 Days of Thanksgiving song way back in September.
My original recording is flying off the virtual shelves of Songs For Teaching, but I decided to give both the song and the visual aide (a 10-page PDF with pictures and lyrics for each day) that goes with it a facelift. I was so happy with the results that I wanted to make both available to you, as well as the instrumental version of the song. All three of these downloads, plus the full lyrics and chords, are available in a single album: 10 Days of Thanksgiving.
I use the visual aide two ways: 1) as a flip-book while I sing the song with one student or a small group, and 2) as individual pages that I pass out to a larger group for students to take turns holding up as their verse is sung. The song is great fun either way! Download it today for $6.00 and start using it with your own students in these next few weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.
Click here to listen, learn more, and get your copy!
What Are You Thankful For?
Happy November! I woke up this morning with a huge smile on my face, knowing that I could tuck the Halloween songs away for another year and start the new month out right with a new Thanksgiving tune. Not only am I sharing it with you here today, but I’ll be introducing this song to my students later this morning.
The idea is to kick off this holiday season with an attitude of thankfulness; I want to get my students thinking about the things and people for which they are thankful. Some of them will be able to respond verbally and some will not, and that is perfectly fine. I have plenty to be thankful for, as you will hear:
What are you thankful for?
What are the things that make you smile?
The things in your life you appreciate,
People who go the extra mile.
What are you grateful for?
Who would you like to say thank you to?
I will start: speaking from my heart,
I am thankful for you.
What are you thankful for?
What are the things that make you smile?
The things in your life you appreciate,
People who go the extra mile.
What are you grateful for?
Who would you like to say thank you to?
I will start: speaking from my heart,
I am thankful for you.
Your family and friends at school,
And the teachers who help you learn
Are all people to be thankful for.
Now it’s your turn:
CHORUS
Your bed at night, and where you live,
And the clothes and shoes you wear
Are all things to be thankful for.
Now it’s time for you to share:
CHORUS
The food you eat at every meal,
And the table where you sit
Are all things to be thankful for.
Can you think of more:
CHORUS
A few more things I’m thankful for this month: my brother’s wedding next Saturday, the opportunity to participate in this year’s Children’s Miracle Network radiothon, and my upcoming trip to Cleveland, where I’ll be presenting at the AMTA national conference. Happy November, indeed!
Sunday Singalong: 20 Slides, 20 Seconds
For those of you who were hoping for one last Halloween video today…sorry to disappoint! The truth is that after an entire month of Halloween songs, I’m ready for a change. Today’s video is quite a departure from my usual “Sunday Singalong” fare; I gave this presentation earlier in the week at Springfield’s Pecha Kucha Night.
Enjoy your Halloween! I’m spending it with my best friend in Chicago, where we’ve been shopping, eating and having a blast all weekend. Come back tomorrow for a brand-new song to kick off a month of giving thanks and the start of the holiday season.
Friday Fave: Pecha Kucha
Pecha whatcha? That’s what I said when I was first told about this event, which was held for the second time around last night in my city. Pecha Kucha originated in Toyko back in 2003 and is the Japanese term for “chit chat” — which is basically what the event is all about.
The idea is that each presenter shows and discusses 20 slides for 20 seconds each on any creative topic. Last night’s presenters included an archaeologist, a “Legomaniac” (my personal favorite), an art gallery employee, a Zumba instructor, and several others…including me!
I had the opportunity to talk about my work as a music therapist, teacher, and singer/songwriter in front of about 200 people. I was a little intimidated at first by the huge crowd, but it is a very casual and laid-back atmosphere (there was a “beer break” in the middle of the event). My husband snapped the picture above on his iPhone.
If you are interested in seeing my presentation, come back on Sunday — it will be this week’s “Sunday Singalong” video! In the meantime, have a wonderful weekend. I know I will…I’m off to Chicago this afternoon, where I’m meeting up with my best friend for a girls’ weekend :)
Sway Like a Tree
As much as I enjoy fall — the changing leaves, the cooler temperatures, and the beginning of the holiday season — it always makes me a little nostalgic for summer (my one true love when it comes to seasons).
This song came about as the result of a brainstorming session for new movement activities. I have these cool ribbon rings that remind me a little bit of palm fronds, so that was the visual I had in mind as I wrote and recorded the song.
Come on and sway like a tree,
So tall and free.
Sway with me, oh sway with me.
Sway like a tree, so tall and free,
Sway, sway along with me.
Come on and sway like a tree,
So tall and free.
Sway with me, oh sway with me.
Sway like a tree, so tall and free,
Sway, sway along with me.
Come on and flutter like a leaf,
Falling from the tree,
Flutter with me, oh flutter with me.
Flutter like a leaf falling from the tree,
Flutter along with me.
Come on and fly like a bird,
Landing in the tree.
Fly with me, oh fly with me.
Fly like a bird landing in the tree,
Fly, fly along with me.
Come on and wave like a kid,
Sitting under the tree,
Wave with me, oh wave with me.
Wave like a kid sitting under the tree,
Wave, wave along with me.
I really got into the breezy island spirit of this song — as you can tell by my voice! I must have been channeling the St. Lucian friends my husband and I made on our honeymoon a couple years ago :)
Singing a duet at our resort's piano bar in St. Lucia
Now that I’ve gotten this song out of my system, I think I’m ready to leave summer behind completely. We’ve got lots of Thanksgiving songs to get to next week, but if you still need a last minute Halloween song, browse my collection here!
Orange & Black Are All Around
During this last week leading up to the 31st, I’m squeezing in as many Halloween songs as possible — both here and with my students. “Orange and Black” is one I wrote recently and have been singing all month.
Since so many of the classrooms are decorated to the nines for Halloween, we play our own version of “I Spy” and add all kinds of orange and black items to the list I’ve got going in each verse.
O-R-A-N-G-E is the color that you see
On Halloween, on Halloween.
Orange is all around,
Left and right and up and down,
On Halloween, on Halloween.
Candy corn, and pumpkins,
Decorations too,
Orange is everywhere on Halloween,
It’s true.
O-R-A-N-G-E is the color that you see
On Halloween, Halloween.
B-L-A-C-K is the color here to stay
On Halloween, on Halloween.
Black is all around,
Left and right and up and down,
On Halloween, on Halloween.
Witches’ hats, cats and bats,
Spiders too,
Black is everywhere on Halloween,
It’s true.
B-L-A-C-K is the color here to stay
On Halloween, Halloween.
O-R-A-N-G-E spells orange.
B-L-A-C-K spells black.
Orange and black are the colors that you see
On Halloween.
We also look for orange and black in some of my favorite Halloween books for kids, including Ten Timid Ghosts, Skeleton Hiccups, Dem Bones, and There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat. (I’m a huge fan of the “Old Lady” books, and already looking forward to pulling out this one next month!)
What kinds of Halloween songs, books, and activities do you have up your sleeve this week? I’m already working on my list for next year, so please share!
Sunday Singalong: I Like Halloween
The title of this post is a bit deceiving, because as I’ve stated — oh, a thousand times or so — I don’t really like Halloween at all! But I put on a happy face for my students this time of year, and sing “I Like Halloween” with plenty of (believable) enthusiasm.
Lisa Casciola, MT-BC (owner of Kids Sing Studio) is my former internship supervisor who turned me on to this song and Cathy Bollinger’s music in general. Cathy was a huge inspiration to me as I began songwriting, and even responded to an email I sent her a couple of years ago asking for some advice. Her words of encouragement went a long way, and now my music is listed right alongside hers on Songs For Teaching. Pretty amazing!
Anyway, getting back to this song. I love its versatility, not to mention that it’s short, memorable, and catchy. A nice one to have in your bag of tricks, for sure. I’ve learned all kinds of new things about my students through this song, and I now know what each of them are planning to dress up as for Halloween and what kind of candy they are hoping to receive. So much Halloween fun, so little time…only one more week until we move on to Thanksgiving. Thank goodness!
Friday Fave: Sticky Productivity
My favorite method of staying organized and on top of my life is making lists. But sometimes it’s just so much more convenient to scribble a note on a sticky pad and stick it somewhere I know I’ll see it later…like on my computer. I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that my computer screen at work looked nearly identical to the one pictured above, with just a little more visible screen space, until I discovered the online resource I’m going to share with you today.
Lino It provides a virtual blank canvas to which you stick post-it type notes — simple as that. You can color code the notes, like I do for different areas of my life:
That’s a snapshot of part of my current to-do canvas. When I complete a task, I simply click the little checkmark and the sticky is “peeled” off. It’s much more satisfying to see a sticky disappear than it is to cross an item off of a paper list :) I set Lino It as my homepage so that each time I open my browser, the first thing I see is my to-do canvas. Let me tell you…it is quite effective!
Another cool thing about Lino It? Not only can you post sticky notes, but you can also post pictures, videos, and documents right to your canvas. I have another canvas that I use as an inspiration board; I post my goals, pictures that motivate me, and anything else that boosts my happiness level just by glancing at it. I look at my inspiration board throughout the day and add new items all the time.
This “Friday Fave” isn’t music-related, but hey, everyone needs to stay organized! Have you tried Lino It or another online tool to boost your productivity?
Peanuts Pumpkin Carols
I have a Halloween tradition with one of my classrooms at school, and that is singing Peanuts Pumpkin Carols the week leading up to the big day. What are Peanuts Pumpkin Carols, you ask? They are a group of cleverly penned Halloween songs set to the tune of traditional Christmas carols.
So “Deck the Halls” becomes “Deck the Patch”, “Silver Bells” becomes “Pumpkin Bells”, “The 12 Days of Christmas” becomes “The 12 Days of Halloween” and so on. The teacher of that classroom found these songs online, and you can get them for yourself right here.
I absolutely LOVE Christmas music, but I usually try to hold off until November 1st to start listening to it. Preparing and singing these pumpkin carols is an excuse to start dusting off the familiar melodies I’ll soon be singing and listening to throughout the holiday season :)
In addition to the Peanuts Pumpkin Carols, you can check out my own original Listen & Learn Halloween songs.