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.
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!
Did you know that Texas state law requires all students to memorize and recite the state pledge each day at school? Neither did I, until I received this email from Rene, a Listen & Learn reader from the Lonestar State:
What I have wanted, what my kids have requested for several years, is a song to help us learn the Texas Pledge (which is required of all students by state law). When I saw on your site that you wrote a song for the Pledge to the American Flag, I thought you’d be perfect for writing this song for our Texas pledge. The song we sing for the American pledge is quite long and we dance to this, I have added lots of motion crossing the midline, up/down, bending, leaning, etc. I know the reason my kids learned the U.S. pledge within the first two weeks of school is because we sing it!!! The Texas Pledge is short. I know you will know best because that is your gift.
Rene went on to include quite a bit more information about her students and her expectations for this custom song, and I was more than excited to get to work on it.
Rene’s students are young (Pre-K) and for many, English is their second language. So I kept the lyrics simple but engaging, emphasizing the most important lines — the pledge, of course. Here is what I came up with:
Stand up where you are,
Place your hand over your heart,
And look to the flag that has one star:
Honor the Texas flag,
I pledge allegiance to thee,
Texas, one state, under God,
One and indivisible.
The Texas pledge is what we say,
Each and every single day.
To show our respect for the Lonestar State,
A state so great we have to celebrate.
By waving our arms in the air, up high!
Back and forth like our flag they sway.
Now we’ll bring them down, right by our sides,
As we say the pledge today.
I also created an instrumental version without my vocals. Rene has not only been using this song with her students since receiving it, but she has also purchased downloads to pass out to her colleagues throughout the state. If you live in Texas and have students who are still learning the pledge, hopefully this song can be helpful to you, too.
I’m already hard at work on Rene’s next custom song (she has enough ideas to keep me busy for months!). If you’re in need of a song for a specific topic, skill or concept, click here to learn more about my custom song package.
I heard the original version of “The Right-Left Song” for the first time last fall when Kimberly Sena Moore presented it at AMTA National Conference. Kimberly has a great video of this song, which was actually written by another music therapist named Michelle Hardy.
I’ve used it many times as Kimberly demonstrates in her video — it’s wonderful for kiddos who need to work on crossing the midline — but I decided to change it up recently when I was in need of a new shakin’ song.
We’re going right and left,
And right and left,
We’re shaking, we shake.
We’re going right and left,
And right and left,
We’re shaking we shake.
(Repeat, getting faster each time.)
The real challenge is making sure to shake in the right direction as the tempo of the song increases! I’ve enjoyed using this song so much that I may have to adapt it for other instruments, too. I love being inspired by other music therapists — thanks Kimberly and Michelle :)
I love when the first day of the month falls on a Friday, because that gives us two reasons to celebrate! And on this particular Friday I have a third reason to celebrate…a weekend all to myself! No traveling, performances, or big commitments (unlike last weekend); just time to get caught up on some work and hang with my family.
How will you be spending the first weekend of October? Perhaps learning a song all about the 10th month of the year? I’ve been brushing up on my original October tune so that my students and I can sing it together this morning (and all month long). It goes like this:
Today it is October,
The tenth month of the year.
Summertime is over,
and autumn weather’s near.
Today it is October,
The leaves are turning brown.
The air is getting chilly,
And soon the leaves fall down.
Today it is October,
The tenth month of the year.
Summertime is over,
and autumn weather’s near.
Today it is October,
It’s time to celebrate
Fall festivals and Columbus Day
Oh, I can hardly wait!
Today it is October,
The tenth month of the year.
Summertime is over,
and autumn weather’s near.
Today it is October,
It’s time for Halloween.
Candy, spooks, and costumes,
And all those scary things.
Today it is October,
The tenth month of the year.
Summertime is over,
and autumn weather’s near.
What’s on your calendar for October? I have a relatively calm month ahead: singing at one wedding, a speaking gig, and a weekend trip to Chicago with my friend are the highlights. But it is definitely the calm before the storm; November will be a whirlwind of activity between my brother’s wedding, AMTA National Conference, and Thanksgiving.
Enjoy this beautiful first day of October, and have a great weekend. (And come back on Sunday for a new “Sunday Singalong” video — the hiatus is over!)
After four years of actively writing songs for children, I’ve lost count of the songs I’ve written about counting (no pun intended, hehe). It’s definitely not for lack of other song topics; it’s just that counting is a skill that every child needs to learn, whether it is through signing or speaking.
My latest counting song employs the use of our fingers. Not only does this give the child something visual and concrete to represent each number, but it also involves fine motor coordination and imitation – two more important areas of development.
Hold up one finger,
Hold up just one,
And wave it around
‘Cause we’re almost done.
La la la la, la la la la.
Hold up one finger,
Hold up just one,
And wave it around
‘Cause we’re almost done.
La la la la, la la la la.
Hold up two fingers,
Yes, hold up two,
I had a wonderful
Time with you.
La la la la, la la la la.
Hold up three fingers,
Yes, hold up three,
Now join right in
And sing with me.
La la la la, la la la la.
Hold up four fingers,
Yes, hold up four,
Wiggle and wiggle
And wiggle some more.
La la la la, la la la la.
Hold up five fingers,
Yes, hold up five,
Fly up to the sky,
Then take a dive.
La la la la, la la la la.
Hold up six fingers,
Yes, hold up six,
And tap them like
They’re rhythm sticks.
La la la la, la la la la.
Hold up seven fingers,
Yes, hold up seven,
Down on the ground,
Now up to heaven.
La la la la, la la la la.
Hold up eight fingers,
Yes, hold up eight,
Close them up
Just like a gate.
La la la la, la la la la.
Hold up nine fingers,
Yes, hold up nine,
Climbing up
A great big vine.
La la la la, la la la la.
Hold up ten fingers,
Yes, hold up ten,
And wave goodbye
To all your friends.
La la la la, la la la la.
Before and after singing the song, I invite the children to verbally and manually (with our hands) count to 10. I added lots of movement to this song so that it’s not just about counting. I also designed it as a cool-down song, meant to be sung near the end of the class, music therapy session, or what have you.
Like I mentioned at the beginning this post, I’ve written lots of counting songs. But it’s not all Listen & Learn, all the time, around here. I want to know: what are your favorite songs for teaching kids to count? Which have worked best for your own students and children? Let’s see how many we can round up!
Welcome! I’m Rachel Rambach, board-certified music therapist and creator of Listen & Learn Music — educational songs and musical materials for children. I love sharing my work with you, along with my behind-the-scenes creative process, adventures in business ownership, and life as a mom of two.
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