Last week as I was putting together the fall curriculum for Church Mice — the music and movement class for young children I’ve led for the past 6 years — I realized I was in need of some new “rhythm sticks” songs.

We play several instruments during the 45 minute class, and rhythm sticks are one of them. But nothing in my song collection was jumping out at me, so I decided to write a new one. That particular day it had been storming on and off all morning, which inspired Thunder & Raindrops.

When I introduced this song at Church Mice for the first time yesterday, I had the children practice making both thunder and raindrop sounds by playing their sticks on the floor. Thunder was loud, slow and steady, while raindrops were quick and a little softer (or as soft as three-year-olds will play).

I arranged the recording to reflect the difference in sound from thunder to raindrops, but it’s so much more fun to play in person with a big group of kids! I highly recommend giving it a try if you have the opportunity.