Weather Songs, Songs for Holiday Shows, Snow and Winter Songs are all topics in the Music Box Forum. Go to www.lynnkleinersmusicbox.com. The book and CD, In All Kinds of Weather, Kids Make Music is available at www.musicrhapsody.com. Use your Music Box Teacher’s Discount Code when ordering online. These are especially appropriate for ages 2-8. Ideas for Orff instruments are included.
Dear Music Box Friends,
Since I am teaching in Southern California, I might not see the changes of the seasons like many of you but I still get excited to bring out my favorite books, puppets and songs for autumn, including Halloween and Thanksgiving fun.I’ll highlight a few of my favorites and then if you have questions, go to the Forum at www.lynnkleinersmusicbox.com and I’ll be happy to answer.
It is amazing that I still turn to my old In All Kinds of Weather, Kids Make Music book and CD for all my seasonal favorites. That would be Five Little Leaves this time of year.Whether its toddlers throwing scarves, 6 year olds under the parachute or a beautiful Orff orchestration, this song is a hit year after year!How can I still love this song?Must be the repetition with variety!
I came across a book called When Autumn Falls by Kelli Nidey.This lists things that “fall” during this season.I have the children play from high to low on the Orff instruments, which are already set up in C pentatonic (remove the Fs and Bs) from working on Five Little Leaves.I say “leaves on the trees fall” as I drop different colored silk leaves and encourage the children to gently play from their highest note all the way to the lowest or biggest note.When the leaves are no longer falling, the playing must stop. Have them play from high to low again after you say each line of fall things that “fall.”Examples: football players fall, the temperature falls, children fall into piles of leaves, sunlight falls, rain falls!
I have several favorite fall books.At the top of my list is The Very Busy Spider.Get this free Music Box download to have the song and lesson plan. I love using all my animal puppets for this one. I have a full set of hand puppets for every animal in the story, including our adorable new goat and the amazing rooster. However, if you are not as crazy with your puppet collection as I am, you can easily make the finger puppets which are included in the lesson plan.
Speaking of puppets, the duck and turkey puppets are my favorite for teaching simple rhythms. The activity is in Four Fall Songs for Halloween and Thanksgiving in Downloads under Songs at www.lynnkleinersmusicbox.com. ATTENTION! If you purchased Rhythm Readers Lessons 5-10, you already have these songs so no need to download! The four songs include solo singing for pitch matching, creating lyrics, playing instruments, movement, a passing game and music vocabulary. These are long time annual favorites of mine for ages 3-8. Titles of songs: I have a little Pumpkin, Halloween is in October (the improved version), Turkeys and Ducks, November. The set of songs is $3.99. As always, if you have any questions about any of the activities, go to Ask Lynn Questions in the Forum.
“The Little Old Lady Who was not Afraid of Anything” is always a hit for sound effects and percussion. For puppets, books and other resources, use your Music Box discount coupon code when ordering from www.musicrhapsody.com.
Music Box members who have recently renewed their membership, thank you!Please remember your $20 download coupon certificate can only be used once so shop around and get your downloads all at once.
See you in the Box!
Lynn
A teacher asked for easy Orff activities. Here’s one we’ve been enjoying lately since we are planning a Farm theme for all our preschool-grade 1 concerts this year. This is from the book/CD Farm Songs and the Sounds of Moo-sic, “I Plant a Little Seed.”
The Children should learn the poem with movement first. For solo singing (so the teacher can assess their singing and assist), they can each sing what kind of plant they grew – flower, plant, fruit or vegetable.
Preset the instruments in C pentatonic. Everyone plays all parts together (that makes it easy!).
Tremelo on lowest bars for line one: I plant a little seed….”
Slowly play one note at a time from low to high for “Up comes the yellow sun….”
Slowly play one note at a time from high to low for “Down comes the cool rain….”
Play two hands together, two notes at a time low to high on “Grow, grow, grow…..”
Once the plant has grown, do a little free play dancing music for the plant, playing on any notes they’d like while the teacher plays the sopranino in C pentatonic.
Here’s a Baby Birdie is another one in this collection thats fun for playing the octave low to high, a note for each phrase of the song.
From the same book, All Around the Gardener’s Bench can also be played in C pentatonic. Play the beat on big C and G while singing the song. On “POP!”, play any two notes. Great opportunity to introduce the vocabulary word “accent!”
See www.lynnkleinersmusicbox.com for “The Young at the Bars” and more ideas for an introduction to Orff that is musical but gives the opportunity for lots of playing time from all players and makes music FUN!
Highlights of our “Farm Songs and the Sounds of Moo-sic” Concerts.
I am fortunate to have many talented teachers on my staff. We discuss possibilities for our theme with more than enough options for them to use one of my concert plans or design one of their own. The results are many variations of a themed concert. No two concerts are the same. Here are highlights of the Farm theme choices. These are not songs from one concert, but my favorite moments from many concerts we have presented around a Farm theme. Music Box also has detailed concert plans for a Farm Theme program for several different age groups.
That’s the Life of a Farmer – One class has tone blocks dig (scratch) and hoe (scrape), the triangle class played on the “seeds” and our youngest played shaker eggs on “hippity hop” for the rabbits. Amazing how the preschoolers waited for their special verse, keeping their instrument quiet. Everyone plays on “OUT!” on the last verse. Farm Songs and the Sounds of Moo-sic, page 51
A mouse lives in a little hole – Hiding behind the hand drums and peeking as indicated in the instrumental accompaniment, then playing the running music with “dancing fingers” on the drum head as our youngest act out the drama of the mouse, running in place, then crouching down as they were at the start of the song, covering their eyes to be back in the hole, then peeking! Precious and they love it.
Farm Songs and the Sounds of Moo-sic, page 10
Lots of Worms – generally, just a ton of wiggles, giggles, bringing great joy to all!
Farm Songs and the Sounds of Moo-sic, page 25
My Dog Rags – This is one of the kid’s favorites. The audience loves the whistle and all the motions of course, and the uncontrolled barking and howling at the end. We enjoyed using the instrumental accompaniment on the CD.
Farm Songs and the Sounds of Moo-sic, page 12
Hunt the Cows – Hilarious snoring! We start by all the children pretending they are asleep. The teacher wakes up everyone by ringing the triangle. The wood instruments play the beat for “Wake up you sleepy heads and go and get the cattle….” The wonderful soft, adagio part is improvised on the metallophones and glockenspiels as everyone is back to sleep by the end of the B section. We did ABABA and ended with lots of “moo-ing” since we found the cattle. Farm Songs and the Sounds of Moo-sic, page 8
En la Granja de mi Tio This was a huge hit! Even the preschoolers did a beautiful job with solos, echos and learning the Spanish names of animals, colors and numbers. The pictures and music for this are in a new category called Spanish Music Rhapsody in the store.
(this is from the new Spanish Music Rhapsody CD, track 4)
Who’s That Hatching – In our 3 -5 year old concerts, we had them design a “barn box” to hold their instruments. (We asked for a decorated shoe box but the parents got quite involved and we had elaborate barns made from boxes and cardboard.) After accompanying the song with their rhythm sticks, a group of children were the soloists and had a “hatching” finger puppet in their box. When the mic came to them, they sang “I’m a baby ____.” The children responded “Hello baby ____.”
In All Kinds of Weather, Kids Make Music page 44
I Plant a Little Seed – A group of children were the soloists and did the movement of the poem. After “down comes the cool rain,” they picked up their “play food” or real food item (carrot, apple, lemon, etc) and gradually rose on “Grow, grow, grow!” One at a time, they sang their solos in the microphone “I grew a ________.” Farm Songs and the Sounds of Moo-sic, page 18
Turkey Feathers – Lynn pretends she is the turkey! (When I asked the children who wanted to play the part of the turkey who lost his feathers, they all said “You!”) 6 colors of scarves were passed out to soloists. The kids sing “Turkey, turkey, where’s your hair…” as the turkey looks surprised that the feathers are missing. We used a microphone for the soloists. You have to watch the video!
Farm Songs and the Sounds of Moo-sic, page 49.
Farm Puppets and the Farm Songs book can be found in the store at www.musicrhapsody.com