Happy First Day of Fall!

by | Listen & Learn Music, Uncategorized

fall-girl-leaf

It’s officially here, even though the Midwest is experiencing temperatures in the high 80s to low 90s. We’re also experiencing quite a downpour this morning, which makes me glad to be safe and sound in my little music therapy office :)

As sad as I always am to see the summer end, there is so much to look forward to in the fall. I love watching the trees change color, and the cool, crisp air is refreshing after months of heat and humidity. I’m excited about getting out my pumpkin-scented candles, wearing sweaters, and making plans for Thanksgiving (I don’t give much thought to Halloween aside from writing songs about it, because it is my least favorite “holiday”).

I’ve written quite a few fall-themed songs, and I’ll share two of those with you today. “Fall into Fall” is one of the first songs I ever recorded (back when I had an extremely primitive recording set-up) so please disregard the not-so-amazing sound quality.

Fall into fall,
the most colorful season of all.
Orange and gold, red, yellow, and brown,
Leaves are swirling all around.

September, October, November, fall is here.
At the end of December, we know that winter’s near.

Fall into fall,
the most colorful season of all.
Orange and gold, red, yellow, and brown,
Leaves are swirling all around.

Football, and pumpkins, and hayrack rides abound.
Most of the leaves that were once on trees, are now upon the ground.

Fall into fall,
the most colorful season of all.
Orange and gold, red, yellow, and brown,
Leaves are swirling all around.

The air is getting colder, the wind is getting strong.
The days are getting shorter, but we keep on singing this song.

Fall into fall,
the most colorful season of all.
Orange and gold, red, yellow, and brown,
Leaves are swirling all around.

I want to tell you all about autumn,
That’s another name for fall.
It begins at the end of September,
When the days are short and the trees are tall.

Autumn is a time to change the clocks,
We fall an hour behind.
We get an extra hour to sleep at night,
‘Cause that’s what happens when we rewind.

CHORUS

Autumn is a time for Halloween,
Wearing costumes while we trick-or-treat.
Walking around our neighborhood,
Collecting so much candy to eat.

CHORUS

Autumn is a time for Thanksgiving,
Let’s be thankful for the food on our plate.
And all of the good things in our lives,
With our family, we celebrate.

CHORUS

So there you go: two songs for a brand-new season! Since I sing about the season every day with my students, it’s nice to have two to alternate so that they don’t get too stale. What are your favorite fall-ish songs?

That’s How We Ring & Sing

by | Listen & Learn Music, Uncategorized

Handbells, jingle bells, sleigh bells, and resonator bells are all a part of my instrument collection, which is probably why I have so many songs about bells!  (Each word links to a different song.)  But last week I decided that I needed a fresh one to accompany my little bell players, so I adapted a traditional folk tune to get the job done.

Ring to the music, la la la.
Ring to the music, la la la.
Ring to the music, la la la.
Ring to the music, la la la.

The blank spaces in the song are there so that if being used in a group, I can go around the room and address each student: “Ring to the music, Jessica; ring to the music, Jackson” and so on. I can also add these verses to make the activity a little more interesting and challenging:

  • Ring to the music, slowly…
  • Ring to the music, quickly…
  • Ring to the music, softly…
  • Ring to the music, loudly…

I tried this song out yesterday with my Church Mice group using tone blocks, and I’m happy to report that it was a success :) But really, anytime you ask a child to play an instrument quickly and/or loudly, it will most likely go over well! What are your favorite “bell” songs?

“Wimoweh” {Animal Puppet Edition}

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Alligator Puppet

Mr. Alligator here is part of a set of animal puppets I received as a Christmas present a few years ago. (I owe my family members big time for helping me grow my music therapy instrument and prop collection when I first started my career!)  They are quite an eclectic bunch (the puppets, not my family members) and don’t have a whole lot in common, so I’ve struggled in the past with coming up for good uses with them.

Animal Puppets

Here they are in their little drawer: a lamb, parrot, rabbit, bear, mouse, and alligator.   See what I mean when I said eclectic?  They all live in different environments, so I couldn’t do a “forest” or “jungle” song…or could I?

That’s when I got the idea to combine all of those different environments into 1 song, using one of my personal favorites as a template.  Here’s my animal puppet version of “In the Jungle” — which can easily be adapted to include any puppets or stuffed animals you have lying around!

In the jungle, the mighty jungle
The parrot sings tonight,
In the jungle, the mighty jungle
The parrot sings tonight.

In the jungle, the mighty jungle
The parrot sings tonight,
In the jungle, the mighty jungle
The parrot sings tonight.

In the swamp, the mighty swamp
The alligator sings tonight,
In the swamp, the mighty swamp
The alligator sings tonight.

In the forest, the might forest
The bear sings tonight,
In the forest, the might forest
The bear sings tonight.

In the farm, the mighty farm
The lamb sings tonight,
In the farm, the mighty farm
The lamb sings tonight.

In the backyard, the mighty backyard
The rabbit sings tonight,
In the backyard, the mighty backyard
The rabbit sings tonight.

In the house, the mighty house
The cat sings tonight,
In the house, the mighty house
The cat sings tonight.

My students get such a kick out of making their puppet “sing” when it’s his or her turn during the song…but probably not as the kick my pup Sadie got out of Mr. Bear:

Sadie and the Bear

I can get away with a gratuitous picture of my dog because this post is animal-related, right? Ha! I’m curious: how do you get musical with puppets and animals? I’m looking for more ways to incorporate them, just because they are always such a hit. Do share!

The Green Grass Grew All Around

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Green Grass Grows All Around

Admittedly, I didn’t know this song when I first started my career as a music therapist.  I quickly learned it, though, after realizing that I might very well be the only person on earth (or at least at The Hope Institute) that didn’t.  Because my students requested it so often, I decided to turn a “fun” song into a “fun-ctional” one.

There are three general goal areas I can target this song.  They are 1) Color Identification; 2) Memory; and 3) Working as a Group (which falls under the umbrella of social skills).  I’ll explain how I address each goal below.

Phew! That is a LOT of words. I’m impressed that I can sing the entire thing from memory, let alone my students :) Here’s a way to make it a little easier while also targeting the goals that I listed above.

Take a piece of light blue posterboard or foamboard. Cover the width of the bottom 6 inches or so with green construction paper, and then you’ve got your grass on the ground and sky above. Color a hole in the middle of the grass section (I just use a brown marker for this). Then comes the fun part: create each item listed in the song — a tree, limb, branch, twig, nest, egg, and bird — using cardstock, markers, construction paper, and whatever else you want. In fact, this makes for a great art project for your students. You may want to laminate the items so that they hold up. Attach a small piece of velcro to the back of each, and the other side of velcro to the posterboard so that they can be easily attached to the correct spot.

Let each student take his or her turn placing an item on the posterboard and identifying the color of that item. With the visual aide, it’s much easier to remember what logically comes next in the song (for you and the students!). At the end of the song, your students have worked as a group to create an entire scene.

If I’m just singing this song for fun with a group and don’t have the resources for the full activity, I’ll pass out green egg shakers and ask the children to shake them only when the “green grass” is mentioned. Talk about impulse control!

Singable Story: Miss Mary Mack

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Miss Mary Mack - Children's Book

Hand clapping games were all the rage on the playground when I was growing up.  “Miss Mary Mack” was one of the first I ever learned, so when I came across this book on Amazon, I couldn’t pass it up.  I’m glad I didn’t, because Miss Mary Mack ranks right up there with Down by the Station, Going on a Bear Hunt, and Goodnight Sweet Butterflies as one of my favorite singable stories.

There are a few ingredients that make for a good children’s book in an educational setting.  Repetition, alliteration, and rhyme are key, and Miss Mary Mack is chock full of all three.  I found a fun little groove in Garageband to serve as accompaniment for the melody:

I know this isn’t the traditional “Miss Mary Mack” tune, but I found it to be a little more melodic (especially important since it’s sung over and over again) than the hand clapping version. No matter how you sing it, this is a great story for kids whether you’re targeting specific learning objectives or just reading it for fun.