The People I See

by | Listen & Learn Music

Meeting new people can be difficult, whether you are a young child or a full-fledged adult. I’ve been a shy person all my life, so I still struggle with this at times. But for a child with a disability, especially autism, a new person can be very overwhelming and even a little scary.

Today’s song introduces a few of the people who are important in a child’s life, and explains a little about what each person does. I made sure to include individuals who can be intimidating, and hopefully this tune can help ease any fears a child may have about seeing them. The key is for youngsters to see these people as friendly, helpful adults that they can trust.

I see all kinds of people, everywhere I go.
Some of them are new, and some of them I know.
I’ve learned about the kinds of things each person does for me,
So let me tell you all about the people that I see.

Police officers keep me safe, they usually dress in blue.
Firefighters wear red, and they protect me too.
When I am in trouble, they are the ones to call.
These are the people who help me, they look out for us all.

CHORUS

Teachers help me learn things, like how to read a book,
Math and science, spelling too, and even how to cook.
My principal and friends are other people at my school,
Where I have fun and work hard, ’cause being smart is cool.

CHORUS

Doctors are the people who keep my body strong,
I see them for my check-up, and when something is wrong.
The dentist cleans my teeth, and keeps cavities away,
By showing me how to brush and floss them everyday.

CHORUS

Speaking of meeting new people, I have had the pleasure of getting to know (albeit through email) Sandie and her son Matthew, who was born with born with agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC). You can read more about ACC and Matthew here. Thank you, Sandie, for sharing Listen & Learn with Matthew, and for making my job all the more worthwhile!

What Do You Do?

by | Listen & Learn Music

Teaching social skills is high priority in the land of special education, especially when it comes to children with autism. Though many of the students with whom I work can be very social at times, it is a goal to teach the appropriate actions and responses in various situations. I was brainstorming this topic one day a few weeks ago and came up with this song, which I called “What Do You Do?”.

What do you do when you see a friend?
You wave, you wave.
What do you do when you see a friend?
You wave, you wave.

Waving’s what you do when you see a friend,
You wave using your hand,
So what do you do when you see a friend,
You wave, you wave.

What do you do when you’re feeling blue?
You cry, you cry.
What do you do when you’re feeling blue?
You cry, you cry.

Crying’s what you do when you’re feeling blue,
You cry, using your eyes.
So what do you do when you’re feeling blue,
You cry, you cry.

What do you do when you’re feeling glad?
You smile, you smile.
What do you do when you’re feeling glad?
You smile, you smile.

Smiling’s what you do when you’re feeling glad,
You smile using your mouth.
So what do you do when you’re feeling glad,
You smile, you smile.

What do you do when you hear a joke?
You laugh, you laugh.
What do you do when you hear a joke?
You laugh, you laugh.

Laughing’s what you do when you hear a joke,
You laugh using your voice.
So what do you do when you hear a joke?
You laugh, you laugh.

What do you do say right before you leave?
Goodbye, Goodbye.
What do you say right before you leave?
Goodbye, goodbye.

Goodbye is what you say right before you leave,
Goodbye only ‘til next time.
So what do you say right before you leave?
Goodbye, goodbye.

The staff and I encourage the students to act out each action (waving, “crying”, smiling, laughing, and waving/saying goodbye) as the song is sung, and they have such a fun time with this. There are many other situations you could sing about, so use your creativity. Those I included are pretty broad, but feel free to be more specific as you tailor the song to your own students. And don’t forget to share your ideas with me!

Everybody Has a Name

by | Uncategorized

Last month, one of the teachers at my school asked if I could work on names and spelling this semester. Of course, I gladly agreed and came up with a cute little tune to do just that. Many of the students here are nonverbal or cannot spell, but that hasn’t stopped them from enjoying the song. It’s so much fun to see a child light up when they hear their name being sung and spelled by me and the staff.

Everybody has a name, you know,
You hear people say it everywhere you go.
Some names are short, some names are long,
We’ll sing about your name in this song.

I see a boy named Nathan;
Nathan is sitting right there,
So please join in and sing with me,
As we spell his name with care:
N-A-T-H-A-N. Nathan!

I see a girl named Brooke;
Brooke is sitting right there,
So please join in and sing with me,
As we spell her name with care:
B-R-O-O-K-E. Brooke!

I see a boy/girl named _________;
________ is sitting right there,
So please join in and sing with me,
As we spell his/her name with care:
_-_-_-_-_-_-_. _________!

I used two of my own students’ names as examples, though obviously you’d replace these with your students. I go around the room and look directly at each child as I sing about him/her so that he/she knows that it is his/her turn. Many of the teachers or staff use sign language to spell out the names as I sing them.

Where Are Your Manners?

by | Uncategorized

Yesterday it was all about appropriate language…today we’ll continue in that vein with a song about using good manners. Children receive constant reminders to say “hello”, “please”, “thank you”, and “you’re welcome”, so after a while, they can start to tune them out. What better way to teach manners than with a song?

Manners, manners, what are they?
It’s the way you talk, act, and play.
Using friendly words and being nice
Is having good manners, take my advice.

Is crying and screaming the right thing to do?
No, that’s bad manners for me and you.
But smiling and having nice hands and feet
Is having great manners, and being sweet.

Saying please and thank you is great,
So is being patient while you wait.
Following directions and taking your turn
Is having nice manners, you will learn.

So always remember to do these things,
And you will see the smiles it brings.
Use friendly words and be polite,
And your manner will be just right!

Friendly Words

by | Uncategorized

An issue that comes up frequently when working with children is the use of appropriate language. I wrote this song for a student who had a habit of saying “pee-yew, you stink!” whether the person did or not (and most of the time, luckily, it was the latter). Now we sing this song together, and afterwards, I quiz her on which phrases are appropriate and which are not. After months and months of singing this song together, she has ceased holding her nose and uttering this phrase, and “Friendly Words” is her favorite song. Go figure!

Let’s sing a little song about the words we say
To make people smile every single day.
Friendly words are what we use
So think about the words you choose.

Hi and Hello and How Are You?
Are friendly greeting words through and through
Another friendly thing that you can say
Is “You look very pretty today.”

But if you say “pee-yew, you stink”,
That’s just not so nice, don’t you think.
Gross and yuck and disgusting
Are not friendly words for you and me.

So use nice words and then you’ll see,
It’s so cool to be friendly.
So use nice words and then you’ll see,
It’s so cool to be friendly.