I love incorporating seasonal themes into my music therapy sessions and music classes, and autumn is a special time of year where there are so many choices for themes to bring into my work! A few of my favorites are back to school, foliage, apples, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and of course, pumpkins!
With the incredible number of songs about pumpkins in the Listen & Learn Music catalog, it’s about time I wrote about all the ways we can bring the theme of pumpkins into music therapy sessions and music classes. Below, I’m highlighting my favorite pumpkin-themed songs!
Some of the goals addressed in these songs:
- Improve sequencing skills
- Increase understanding of feeling wanted and loved
- Improve gross and fine motor skills
- Increase creative expression
- Increase directional awareness
- Increase socialization through peer interaction
“Patrick & Polly Pumpkin” is a sweet story about two pumpkins growing up in a pumpkin patch together. I like to encourage children to listen to the song, and then identify the elements of the story.
I create visual aides to help tell the story, and if children have a difficult time recalling information, I encourage my clients and students to put the visual aides in the correct order to strengthen sequencing skills.
“Patrick & Polly Pumpkin” is also a great song to open up discussions with children about what it feels like to be loved, to grow up with siblings, or even waiting! There are so many discussion opportunities with this song!
“Pick A Pumpkin” is a fun movement song that describes the steps of choosing a pumpkin and turning it into a jack-o-lantern. My clients and students love simple movement songs that include just a few basic hand motions and a memorable melody, and this one is a crowd favorite during the fall!
I always brainstorm with my kiddos about the movements we should do for each verse. They usually come up with something similar to what I would suggest, but because they got to make the choice, they have a greater sense of ownership over the movements and are so much more engaged!
There are many other wonderful and goal-oriented pumpkin themed songs in the Listen & Learn catalog, but these are two of my favorites! I hope you can put them to use in your music therapy sessions and music classes this fall!
Tell me in the comments below: what’s your favorite pumpkin-themed song?
You can listen to all of these songs in their entirety right here. Lyrics, chords, mp3, and instrumental track for these original songs are available for download. As is the case for all Listen & Learn Music creations, we invite you to adapt these songs as needed to best serve your students and/or clients.