Hearing and feeling the natural rhythm of a language is an important part of learning to speak and read fluently. The Spelling City website points out that “syllables play an important role in spoken English, in that they greatly influence the rhythm of the language, its poetic meter and its…
A couple of years ago, some kindergarten teachers asked me to write a song about word families, and I was happy to oblige. The result was a simple song that keeps being rewritten again and again, by children in PreK through First Grade. Making up verses for this song is…
During studies for my master’s degree at Lesley University, I had an opportunity to take a class on early literacy learning with Professor Jean Ciborowsky Fahey. Jean works closely with a group called Reach Out and Read, a non-profit organization that partners with pediatricians’ offices to encourage reading-related activities for…
Little Boy/Girl Is Going to Bed Author unknown – rhyming poem adapted by Liz Buchanan. Make your pointer finger play the part of the child and do the motions for the rhyme with the other hand. Act out a little boy and a little girl. Little boy is going to…
There is a great body of research showing the importance of music in children’s lives. But even if there were no research at all, it’s simply a fact that most kids love music and it’s good for them. For those reasons alone, music should be an essential component of preschool…
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…
Here are Ten Favorite Moments in my Music/Literacy Life, 2014. But actually, I couldn’t stop at 10, so there are 12! 1. The Condon School Grade 1 concert in June. At an annual concert at this large elementary school in South Boston, we share the songs the students write with…
2014 was another super year for my work singing with kids and focusing on early literacy learning. Among the highlights were my new songs for learning about rhyming words: Animal Rhymes and Halloween Rhymes. I hope these songs will soon become part of the music/literacy recordings that I sell through…
Here’s a fun song for early winter, when small animals are out gathering their provisions. I use a stuffed squirrel named “Chipper,” and explain that Chipper needs to hide his store of nuts so he’ll know where they are all winter long. This interactive song is also fun for counting…
Here are two rhyming songs that I’ve recently shared in the classroom. I pair a classic nursery song and book, “Oh, A-Hunting We Will Go,” with a song I wrote, “Animal Rhyming Words.” This video shows how I work with the first song. I recommend getting John Langstaff’s book,”Oh, A-Hunting…
