Around the time the leaves begin to fall here in New England, I start thinking about waltzing around the room with brightly-colored scarves. Dancing and singing with a 3/4 beat gives young listeners a distinct sense of a rhythm that differs from the 4/4 pattern. Songs in 3/4 and 6/8…
In a recent post, I discussed how finger plays make a body-mind connection and help children act out simple narratives with their hands. Finger plays are also simply great fun, and very engaging for young children. I love to add a prop such as a glove with faces on it,…
It’s apple-picking season! New England’s many apple orchards are a favorite field trip for school and preschool groups, combined with units on healthy eating and making recipes for applesauce, apple pie and more. You can only pick and eat so many apples, so take some time to sing about them!…
Why are finger plays great learning tools for young children? Finger plays make a body-mind connection. Most utilize music and rhythm, which helps build literacy. Most utilize rhymes, which help with phonological awareness. Many tell a story, and help children learn to organize their thoughts to tell a simple story/narrative…
In my last blog piece, I talked about getting the creative process going with children through brainstorming – essentially making lists of ideas. Brainstorming is the time for broad-brushing and “all over the map” thinking. But how do all those the brainstorm ideas become a song? The short answer is…
This article first appeared on The Children’s Music Network blog as part of an ongoing series about songwriting with students. There’s a blank white board in front of you. Name your idea – any idea is great. Let’s see how many we can assemble! What a tantalizing invitation, a welcome…
On our family’s lake house vacations when I was growing up, I’d direct musical plays starring my younger sister and three cousins. I made up the script and even wrote songs for a silly Sherlock Holmes drama one year. Years later, I get to revisit our lakeside theater experience by…
During my ten-week songwriting residency with first graders, I start by introducing students to songs to engage them with different musical styles and subject matter. In the first week this year, we sang songs celebrating nature, including my song “If I Were a Butterfly.” The next week, I told the…
Parts of this piece were originally published on The Children’s Music Network Blog. One of my early inspirations for songwriting with kids was hearing about a residency that Steve Roslonek (SteveSongs) did at an elementary school years ago. After spending a week gathering ideas and brainstorming with the students, he…
If you’re helping kids learn letter sounds, there are no better teaching tools than simple songs and rhymes. I’ve already written in this blog about how nursery rhymes help children learn about rhyming words and vowel sounds; they can help teach about consonant sounds, too. Many nursery rhymes and songs…
