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Home Archive by category "Finger Plays"

Category: Finger Plays

Stand Up to the Bully

Liz Buchanan May 14, 2020 May 15, 2020Finger Plays, Music Education, Reflections, Story Songs 0

I got inspired to write a song about the Three Billy Goats Gruff by a classroom of preschoolers, especially the boys in the class. The classroom copy of the book featured the language that’s in my song, spoken by the third Billy Goat to the troll: “Well, come along, I’ve…

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Moving and Shaking!

Liz Buchanan March 18, 2020 August 27, 2020Finger Plays, Music Education, Phonological Awareness children, education, music 0

Have fun creating and decorating shakers using a variety of things you can find around your house, especially the recycling bin. I like this video about making a maraca out of a small plastic water bottle and an empty toilet paper roll. Experiment with different fillings, from beans to rice…

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Start School with Songs for Literacy

Liz Buchanan August 11, 2019 August 11, 2019Finger Plays, Phonological Awareness 1

The days are ticking down to the beginning of school. I hope all teachers of young children are excited to get everyone learning right away with … SONGS! If anyone needs a reminder about the value of music in early learning, here’s why music is an ideal tool, especially for…

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Sing a Song of Spring

Liz Buchanan March 20, 2019 March 20, 2019Finger Plays, Music Education, Phonological Awareness, Science Songs 3

What better way to celebrate spring than with singing? Well, frolicking in the great outdoors, of course, but singing is great fun, too! I wrote my “Song of Spring” with four-year-old children at a Boston area school. We talked about things we like to do in the spring and used…

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Counting on Spring!

Liz Buchanan February 27, 2019 March 5, 2019Finger Plays, Music Education 0

Counting is often one of my themes for early childhood music in early March because … I’m counting on spring! Here are a few of my favorite counting rhymes. The first one features snow, because here in New England, the snow is still coming down in March 🙁 Five Little…

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Singing Traditional Songs & Rhymes for Literacy

Liz Buchanan August 18, 2018 August 18, 2018Finger Plays, Phonological Awareness 2

As September draws closer, early education teachers everywhere are gathering their strategies to meet academic goals for our youngest kids. To prepare children for reading, traditional nursery rhymes remain a terrific tool. Sure, there are some you wouldn’t want to recite in today’s world, but many nursery songs and chants…

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Making Musical Links with Literacy

Liz Buchanan August 3, 2017 September 15, 2017Finger Plays, Music Education, Phonological Awareness, Reflections 0

I love making music with kids aged 3-6, especially pairing music with early literacy learning, which is a natural fit. I once taught at a preschool where the director told me: “Just have fun singing with the kids,” implying that they’d pick up the literacy learning elsewhere in their day….

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Exploring Musical Opposites: High & Low

Liz Buchanan October 30, 2016 October 30, 2016Finger Plays, Music Education 1

I’ve been teaching my students in kindergarten and first grade about musical opposites. Right now, we’re especially focused on how pitches can move up and down, high and low. I learned the following finger play from a friend; the author is unknown. I adapted the words to teach more clearly…

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Two Fun Songs for Pre-Reading!

Liz Buchanan July 18, 2015 July 19, 2015Finger Plays, Phonological Awareness 1

This past week, I have had the chance to visit some of the children and families from the school where I’ll be working as a music teacher this fall. Many of the parents are so excited and eager for their children to learn, especially for them to learn to read….

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Parents & Children Can Sing Into Reading

Liz Buchanan June 19, 2015 July 19, 2015Finger Plays, Music Education, Phonological Awareness 0

This morning, I offered a toddler version of my “Do-Re-Mi ABC” program that I’ve been enjoying with kindergarten students this year. At our local store that sells tots’ clothing and other fun kids’ stuff, I did a sing-along workshop for parents and children about how to have fun singing while…

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