Hello to 2015!

Happy New Year! I thought I’d focus my first post of the year on two of my favorite greeting songs. One of my favorites is “Come into the Circle.” You can find it on my CD, Once Upon a Tune.

I enjoy singing this song with groups of young children because it immediately encourages the children to join the circle and participate in music. The version on my CD is a little different from what I normally sing in groups. On the CD, I wanted to introduce the fact that the album is about stories, and highlight some of the instruments that play on the CD. But when I use it in the classroom, I just want kids to join in right away. Check it out on the CD, then consider this version for classroom use. You might already know the song – Dan Zanes has recorded a somewhat different version, “All Around the Kitchen, Cocka-doodle.” My song is closer to one written and recorded by Ellen Allard.

Come into the Circle (Classroom Lyrics)

By Liz Buchanan, adapted from “All Around the Circle” by Ellen Allard, and similar folk versions of the same song

(Chorus)

Come into the circle, cockadoodle cockadoodle

Come into the circle, cockadoodle-doo

Repeat

Oh clap your hands, everybody, clap your hands, clap, clap, clap.

And tap your legs, everybody, tap your legs, tap, tap, tap.

Now tap your shoulders – and now your nose – and tap your chest – and your elbows.

And wave your hands, everybody

Wave your hands, and say hello!   (spoken)  Hola! Bonjour! Namaste! Konichiwah!

Oh, we’re all in the circle, cockadoodle cockadoodle

We’re all in the circle, cockadoodle-doo. Cockadoodle-doo

Spoken: Cocka-doodle-doo!

A second “Hello” song that’s become a favorite is my song “Nihao, Jambo, Hola.” It’s the first song on my album Singing All the Way Home. The idea of stringing together lots of hellos from different languages is hardly original to me, but I like my song because it invites children to echo the lyrics. I wrote this song several years ago with kindergarten students at the Gardner Pilot Academy in Allston, MA. You can find the lyrics by clicking on this link. In fact, you can find all the lyrics for my three CDs by clicking the lyrics link on this web page.