Countdown to Thanksgiving

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The Ten Days of Thanksgiving

November is one of my very favorite months as far as music therapy goes, because I have all sorts of fun Thanksgiving-related songs to use with my students. And as excited as I am about the holiday, I’m a little bummed that it is here so soon — because that means I’ll have to stop singing about it.

This month has honestly been a whirlwind, between my trip to Minnesota, preparing for conference, and spending the last 5 days in Atlanta (more on that soon). I feel like I barely had an opportunity to do the Turkey Dinner Dance or break out my favorite Thanksgiving tune of all: The Ten Days of Thanksgiving.

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I only have two days with students this week before the holiday break, so I’ll be getting as much use out of it as possible in between today and tomorrow. By Thursday I’ll be more than ready for turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and all the yummy foods I’ve been singing about! Yum. What songs and activities are you using in the last few days before Thanksgiving?

Sunday Singalong: Ten Little Turkeys

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The other day while singing this song during a music therapy session, I completely blanked out when it came to singing about that 7th little turkey…oops! Isn’t it funny how the brain can fail you like that, even after singing a song year after year? Luckily I remembered that he “hid with the chicks” while recording the video.

When I sing this with my students, I like to pause before the number at the end of each verse and let them fill it in if they can. Another option is to have visual number cards available for pointing and counting down. Either way, “Ten Little Turkeys” is a November staple!

Thanksgiving Blessings

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Thanksgiving-Blessings-Gratitude

Happy Thanksgiving!  I’m grateful all year long to everyone who visits Listen & Learn, especially to those of you who make it a regular habit.  Writing a Thanksgiving gratitude post has become a yearly tradition for me: my first was back in 2008, followed by 2009, and now here I am today with a much longer list.  My life has been blessed with so many amazing people, opportunities, and experiences that I could never cover them all…but I’ll make a good effort, anyway!

I’m thankful for my husband, Zach, who is the most patient, forgiving, driven, and kindhearted person I’ve ever met.

I’m thankful for my parents, who still fix meals for me from time to time (including today’s!) and make me feel like the most loved daughter in the world.

I’m thankful for my entire family, including my nieces and nephews who make me genuinely excited to have children of my own in the future.

I’m thankful for my puppy, Sadie — who will always be my “baby” even once I have children.

I’m thankful for my friends, who remind me that it doesn’t matter how often we talk on the phone or see each other in person…we’re in it for life.

I’m thankful for my beautiful house and all of the memories we’re making here.

I’m thankful for my music studio, which allows me to do much of my work without even getting in my car.

I’m thankful for my education, not only in the classroom but the fact that I continue to learn new things all the time.

I’m thankful for my career, which allows me to create, perform, and share music on a daily basis.

I’m thankful for my students, who inspire me every day.

I’m thankful for my little corner of the internet, which has connected me to countless wonderful people and given me another outlet for my creativity.

I’m thankful for the chance to reflect on all of the good things in my life, and for the fact that you’ve taken the time to read this!  I would like to know: what are YOU thankful for this year?

Sunday Singalong: Turkey Dinner Dance

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In all honestly, the process of recording and editing my videos is usually quick and dirty — I fit it in on Sunday mornings between church, laundry, and doggie duty with loud football games on TV in the next room. So what happens when I have Veteran’s Day off and a house to myself? A more fancy “Sunday Singalong” video than usual!

The Turkey Dinner Dance wouldn’t be complete without the moves, which is why I was so excited to figure out how to use picture-in-picture so that I could dance, sing and play…all at the same time.

I’ll be turkey dinner dancin’ my way to Chicago tomorrow, where I’m presenting at a school administrators’ conference, and then right on to Cleveland for the AMTA national conference.  I’ll also be sharing my slides, handouts, and experiences with you throughout the week!

Thanksgiving Goodies: Song + Visual Aide

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There’s a certain song I look forward to singing as soon as the leaves start turning colors, but I always hold out until November. The first line goes like this:

“On the first day of Thanksgiving, this is what I ate: some turkey on my plate.”

There are 9 more verses where that came from, all of which many of my students know by heart.  Not surprising, considering this is the 3rd year in a row I’ve sung this song with them during the month of November.  Even my fellow coworkers were asking about the 10 Days of Thanksgiving song way back in September.

10-days-thanksgiving-song-visual-aideMy original recording is flying off the virtual shelves of Songs For Teaching, but I decided to give both the song and the visual aide (a 10-page PDF with pictures and lyrics for each day) that goes with it a facelift.  I was so happy with the results that I wanted to make both available to you, as well as the instrumental version of the song.  All three of these downloads, plus the full lyrics and chords, are available in a single album: 10 Days of Thanksgiving.

I use the visual aide two ways: 1) as a flip-book while I sing the song with one student or a small group, and 2) as individual pages that I pass out to a larger group for students to take turns holding up as their verse is sung.  The song is great fun either way!  Download it today for $6.00 and start using it with your own students in these next few weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.

Click here to listen, learn more, and get your copy!