Sunday Singalong: Wave Goodbye to Winter

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It’s here!  It’s here!  Hellooooo, SPRING!  My students and I have been singing Wave Goodbye to Winter all month long in anticipation of the new season, and though I had planned to feature this song in last week’s video, laryngitis got in the way.

As you can tell by listening, the song was written to be sung before spring actually begins.  But I’ll continue singing it for the rest of March with just two minor lyric changes:

Sing because spring is finally here.
Sing because the sky is blue and clear.
Sing with the birds, up in the tree,
Sing and clap your hands with me.

When I started writing this song last year, I didn’t intend for it to be a movement song.  But it’s hard not to move and dance around when you’re singing about something as happy as waving goodbye to winter…am I right?

Sunday Singalong: Red, Yellow & Green

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Happy Sunday! I had a bit of a hard time trying to decide which song to feature in this week’s video. There was the option of another Valentine-related tune since this is the last Sunday in February, but truth be told, I’m ready to move past this month and get to March (specifically Spring). There was also the option of talking about the cold, snowy weather, but I’m over that, too.

So I took the path less traveled: a song about the traffic lights. I’m going to introduce Red, Yellow & Green to my students at school this week, so this gave me a chance to practice and re-memorize it :)

Another great song I use in conjunction with this one is Red Means Stop by Mr. Heath.  It really deserves its own blog post…my students love it because it lets them flex their creative muscles while still learning traffic safety.  Any other songs you recommend on this topic?  Share them in the comments!

Sunday Singalong: The Rhythm Of Love

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I heard this song for the first time as I was driving home from work a couple of weeks ago, and I was immediately hooked.  It was simple, beautiful, and happy…my three favorite ingredients when it comes to music.  I knew then and there that I just had to add it to my Sunday Singalong playlist.

My adapted version is less a love song about another person and more a love song about life.  I can’t wait to introduce it to my students next month — I envision creating all kinds of rhythms of our own using drums, shakers and whatever else I decide to throw into the mix.  Did you notice that my Rhythm Ring made another guest appearance in the video?  I can’t get enough of it!

Earlier in the week, I asked my Facebook and Twitter friends to guess which current, love-themed pop song I would be covering today.  Props to Kristen Bozard for nailing it, and an honorable mention to Jess Kaps for lots of awesome guesses.  Jess, you gave me some great ideas for future videos!  If the rest of you have additional suggestions, please leave them in the comments…because I am a total sucker for overplayed radio hits.

Sunday Singalong: Winter All Around Us

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I know what you’re thinking…not another song about winter!  Trust me, I don’t like winter any more than you do, but my students (and yours as well, most likely) need to hear about and understand it as it’s happening.

As I mentioned in the video, this is an older song that I don’t use very often these days.  (Here’s my latest song about winter.)  But it’s still fun to sing, and I like that it’s so short.  It’s also a great one for use during songwriting activities — it’s easy to come up with additional verses.

Who else is counting the days until spring is here?  As the midwest prepares for yet another winter storm, I’m assuming I’m not alone in my countdown.  Stay warm, stay safe, and I’ll see you back here tomorrow.

Sunday Singalong: I’m Gonna Catch You

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At school one day last week, one of my coworkers told me that she had watched every one of my videos (there are almost 50 now!) and was sharing them with all of her friends.  Before I left for the weekend, she told me she was looking forward to today’s video…and the pressure was on.

Well, not really, but I wanted to make sure this week’s video was a song she would enjoy.  That’s why I picked Laurie Berkner’s “I’m Gonna Catch You”, which my students and I have been working on throughout the month.

There’s a little guy in one of my classes who came up with full choreography, which includes spins, jumping, and some unique moves that I don’t think have names.  I actually thought for a split second about doing the choreography in the video (reminiscent of the Turkey Dinner Dance) but decided I wasn’t quite brave enough…maybe next time :)