Thanksgiving is just a week away. How about a song about pie? For the past couple of years, I’ve enjoyed a song I learned from my pal Tina Stone in The Children’s Music Network. It engenders a special community spirit in many classrooms. Scroll down for a link to a…
I’m writing today to ask you to consider contributing to an organization that’s making a difference every day in the lives of children. It’s probably made a difference in the lives of children you know. I’m talking about The Children’s Music Network. This year, I completed seven years of service…
It’s November! Time to sing about turkey and more. Today, I feature a few songs that I’ve learned from my colleagues. The first is an all-time fave by my Chicago-based pal, “Miss Carole” Stephens. It’s a turkey dance that kids and teachers love. Some love it so much they ask…
I had a chance to present my first music and literacy workshop for children’s librarians yesterday and it was a lot of fun! One thing we discussed was pairing books with songs. I love including books and references to books in my music & literacy sessions with young children. I’ve…
The traditional song “Today is Monday” has become very popular, thanks in part to Eric Carle’s engaging book by the same name, which has a new food for each day of the week. You can help children learn initial consonant sounds by changing the song to name a food that…
As our next governor, you could make Massachusetts a leader in early education, as we already are in other aspects of education. The problem is, it’s not going to be simple, or cheap. That might be why you’ve backed off giving universal Pre-K full support. This is a mistake. The…
The song below is a perennial Halloween favorite for me, based one of my favorite oldies, “Rockin’ Robin.” When I sing it, I ask the audience to join in right away on several important lyrics. I tell them in advance: I’ll hold up one finger for people to say “Trick…
I’m currently having fun singing songs that require children to guess a rhyming word at the end of a line, such as my version of “Hey, Dr. Knickerbocker” and Icky Sticky & Ooey Gooey. For Halloween, I suggest making as many scary-creature rhymes as possible in order to keep from…
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,…
