Flower, Stand Tall!

by | Listen & Learn Music, Uncategorized

Flowers are popping up all over the place, and they are a great topic for a song around this time of year. Flower songs are good opportunities to address color identification, which is what I had in mind when I wrote the song below.

Red, orange, yellow, green,
White, purple, pink and blue.
Flowers are so colorful and smell good too.
There are many different kinds Mother Nature grows,
In a pot or in a field or garden rows.

Red flower, stand tall,
Red flower, stand tall,
Can you choose your favorite red flower of all?
(You just might be the fairest flower of all!)

Repeat, using each color.

My initial idea was to give each child a scarf and ask him/her to stand up as that color is mentioned in the song. I made visuals for each color flower, and to practice making choices, the child can choose which of three flowers of that color he/she likes best. For children who don’t have that ability, there are alternate lyrics in parentheses.

The Colors of the Season

by | Uncategorized

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.

More Color Songs

by | Resources & Tips

Recently, a staff member at my school shared with me the color songs that her son was learning in kindergarten. They were so cute and easy to sing that I just had to pass them along to you – they are perfect for preschool and primary grades, and the best part is that anyone can sing them!

I wish I could give credit to the author of these simple but effective tunes…if anyone has this info, please let me know!

BLUE

tune: “The Farmer in the Dell”
B-l-u-e spells blue,
B-l-u-e spells blue.
Hi! Ho! Did you know?
B-l-u-e spells blue.
The big sky is blue.
The ocean is too.
Hi! Ho! Did you know?
B-l-u-e spells blue.

BROWN

tune: “Bingo”

There is a color we all know.
Can you guess what it is?
B-r-o-w-n, b-r-o-w-n, b-r-o-w-n,
That’s how you spell brown.
Teddy bears and squirrels are brown.
Autumn leaves are too.
Chocolate candy’s always brown.
Chocolate cake is always brown.
Chocolate milk is always brown.
I like brown, don’t you?

GREEN

tune: “Row Your Boat”

G-r-e-e-n, g-r-e-e-n,
I know how to spell green,
G-r-e-e-n!
Caterpillars are green,
And grasshoppers too.
I know how to spell green,
G-r-e-e-n!

ORANGE

tune: “Ten Little Indians”

O-r-a-n-g-e, o-r-a-n-g-e,
O-r-a-n-g-e, orange is what that spells.
Jack-o-lanterns are always orange,
Carrots are always orange,
Oranges are always orange.
O-r-a-n-g-e.

PURPLE
tune: “Camptown Races”

P-u-r-p-l-e
Purple, Purple
P-u-r-p-l-e
Purple’s what that spells.
Purple grapes on the vine,
Purple Kool-Aid’s fine.
P-u-r-p-l-e
Purple’s what that spells.

RED

tune: “Are You Sleeping?”

R-e-d, red
R-e-d, red
I can spell red.
I can spell red.
Firetrucks are red.
Stop signs are red, too.
R-e-d, r-e-d.

YELLOW

tune: “If You’re Happy and you Know It”

Y-e-l-l-o-w spells yellow,
Y-e-l-l-o-w spells yellow.
Like the early morning sun,
When the day has just begun,
Y-e-l-l-o-w spells yellow.
Daffodils and baby ducks are yellow,
Lemonade and scrambled eggs are yellow.
I like the smiley face that’s yellow,
He is such a happy fellow.
Y-e-l-l-o-w spells yellow.