November is Here

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I hope you all had a fun and happy Halloween! Now that it’s over, it’s time to dive into November and all the fun things this month brings. I love Thanksgiving, and I’m excited about the songs I’ll be posting in relation to it in the coming weeks. But before we get to those, first things first. Below is the November song…I hope you like it!

For thirty days November’s here
Let’s give thanks and show good cheer.
The days are short and the wind will blow
It’s the eleventh month I know.

For thirty days November’s here
And Election Day will come.
Grown-ups will go to cast their votes
There will be a celebration for some.

For thirty days November’s here
Let’s give thanks and show good cheer.
The days are short and the wind will blow
It’s the eleventh month I know.

For thirty days November’s here
And next comes Veteran’s Day
We’ll remember those who served
And home from school we’ll stay.

For thirty days November’s here
Let’s give thanks and show good cheer.
The days are short and the wind will blow
It’s the eleventh month I know.

For thirty days November’s here
And then comes Thanksgiving Day.
While we eat turkey and pumpkin pie
We’ll be thankful in our own way.

For thirty days November’s here
Let’s give thanks and show good cheer.
The days are short and the wind will blow
It’s the eleventh month I know.

Elections, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving…what a busy month! I hope it’s off to a good start for you – see you tomorrow for some rockin’ with maracas :)

A Song for Halloween Day

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Greetings, and happy Halloween! Because it is a special day, Friday Faves has been postponed until next week (sorry!). You probably know by now that this isn’t exactly my favorite “holiday,” but that hasn’t stopped me yet from writing and sharing my collection of sometimes spooky but mostly silly Halloween songs. Today’s song leans a little bit more towards the spooky side, but don’t worry – it is appropriate for all ages and stages of development.

Do you know about a day
That’s not so very far away
Everywhere there’s orange and black
And chills are running up your back.

Jack-o-lanterns and ghosts and bats,
Witches and goblins and big black cats
Spooky spooks come out to play
On the thirty-first, Halloween Day.

Let’s pick a costume we can wear
And all the neighbors, we will scare
When at their door we trick or treat
And they will give us something sweet.

Jack-o-lanterns and ghosts and bats,
Witches and goblins and big black cats
Spooky spooks come out to play
On the thirty-first, Halloween Day.

Today is a super busy day at school, but in between trick-or-treating throughout the building, visiting the “haunted hallway” complete with a “graveyard”, and celebrating at a huge party in the gym this afternoon, we’ll find some time to squeeze in music therapy.

Though my feelings toward Halloween are lukewarm at best, I am trying my best to get into the spirit for the sake of those who enjoy this spooktacular day. Tonight, Zach (my husband) and I are going to attend a Halloween party dressed as a certain singing duo…any guesses?? (Hint: if only I had an autoharp, my costume would be perfect.)

I hope you enjoyed today’s installment of Listen & Learn Music. Have a great day, and I’ll see you this weekend as we kick off November in style.

Ugga Bugga Boo!

by | Listen & Learn Music

Halloween is on Friday, so I have just a few days to share a couple last minute songs with you. Today’s song can actually be used year-round, but it’s great at Halloween because of it’s title and lyrics – Ugga Bugga Boo! The phrase is silly and fun, and so is the song itself. It addresses simple movement and following directions such as clapping hands, tapping feet, and clicking the tongue (a sound that kids love to make once they learn how).

Ugga. Ugga Bugga. Ugga Bugga Boo boo boo!
Ugga. Ugga Bugga. Ugga Bugga me and you!
Get into the beat and clap your hands, out loud, out loud.
Get into the beat and clap your hands out loud!

Ugga. Ugga Bugga. Ugga Bugga Boo boo boo!
Ugga. Ugga Bugga. Ugga Bugga me and you!
Get into the beat and tap your feet, out loud, out loud.
Get into the beat and tap your feet out loud!

Ugga. Ugga Bugga. Ugga Bugga Boo boo boo!
Ugga. Ugga Bugga. Ugga Bugga me and you!
Get into the beat and click your tongue, out loud, out loud.
Get into the beat and click your tongue out loud!

Ugga. Ugga Bugga. Ugga Bugga Boo boo boo!
Ugga. Ugga Bugga. Ugga Bugga me and you!
Ugga Bugga Bugga Bugga Bugga Bugga boo boo boo –
And we’re through!

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!

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.