The Twelve Songs of Christmas – Day 3, Five Mince Pies

Day 3 of the Twelve Songs of Christmas is a counting song all about those very English Christmas treats, mince pies.

Here are some interesting traditions relating to mince pies:

• Eating a mince pie on each of the 12 days of Christmas is supposed to give you good luck for the following year
• Refusing a mince pie will bring you bad luck, as will cutting it with a knife
• You should make a wish when eating the first mince pie of the season
• Always eat mince pies in silence
• Mince pies should have a star on top depicting the Christmas star that led the three wise men and the shepherds to baby Jesus
• Santa loves mince pies and should be left one by the chimney on Christmas Eve (along with a carrot for his reindeer)

Five Mince Pies in a Baker’s Shop
Five mince pies in a baker’s shop
Round and fat with sugar on the top
Along came Oscar with his penny one day
He bought a mince pie and he took it away

Tune: Traditional
Lyrics: Unknown

Song for the Weekend – Teddies on the Lycra

Well, not so much Song for the Weekend, as Chant for the Weekend.  In my previous post I mentioned I’d lost my voice and couldn’t sing.  One of the activities I did manage to croak out this week was using the stretchy lycra, some soft teddies and a rhyme.  This is a good gross motor skills activity and also useful for developing co-operation between the children as they need to work as a group.  Oh and don’t forget numeracy too!

Teddies on the Lycra

One teddy on the lycra, bouncing 1,2,3
One teddy on the lycra, bouncing can you see!
Bounce him very gently [shake gently]
Watch him jump and hop
Shake him harder in the air [shake more vigorously]
Then off he’ll pop!

Add more teddies (I usually do a maximum of 5) and have lots of fun!

Stretchy Lycra Fun!

Balls! (and using them in a music class – Part 2)

In my last blog post I wrote about using balls working in pairs.  This post is about working in groups – ideal for promoting sharing and co-operation. Here are some ideas for group/circle work for each age group:

An activity for babies is to use several brightly coloured or sensory balls that you roll, bounce or throw across the circle – although the babies may not be able to roll the ball at this stage they do track the movements and enjoy watching and reaching for the balls as they pass by.  You could sing “Roll the Ball” (see previous post) or use background music.

The toddler age group is the most challenging to find group activities which work effectively and these usually require close adult supervision.  When rolling across a circle (as for babies above) rather than just using one or two balls I have a ball for each child with a few extra just in case!  Often though I will opt for using a ball on the parachute or stretchy lycra sheet (see Zoom Zoom Zoom post) which is easier to control and less likely to lead to mayhem and tears.

For older children one of the simplest activities is to pass the ball around or across the circle to a steady beat.  You could use recorded music or tap a pulse using a drum or rhythm sticks.  Once the children have mastered passing on the beat you can vary the tempo, speeding up and slowing down.

And finally, one activity which does work for all age groups is to use soft light weight balls on the parachute with this rhyme:

Popcorn!
You put the oil in the pot and you let it get hot (hold the chute still)
You put the popcorn in and you start to grin (pour on balls)
You go sizzle, sozzle, sizzle, sozzle, (begin in a whisper shaking gently)
Sizzle, sozzle, sizzle, sozzle (shake harder while getting louder)
Sizzle, sozzle, sizzle, sozzle POP! (shake all the balls off)

Balls! (and using them in a music class – Part 1)

I started using balls for movement activities about 2 years ago inspired by some reading about Dalcroze Eurhythmics.  Initially the parents were a bit skeptical – after all it’s a music class and not a sports group – but now they’re firmly established as one of our favourite activities.  As well as being a useful tool in developing musical skills, balls have a myriad of uses encompassing developmental aspects such as hand/eye co-ordination, gross and fine motor skills, and fostering co-operation and communication between pairs or groups of children. Over the next couple of blog posts I’m going pass on some of my ideas for using balls in a music setting, this week looking at working in pairs.

You can work in pairs with adult/child classes and also within early years settings.  Adult and child (or two children) face each other and then roll, bounce or throw the ball to their partner.  I have a couple of vocal songs written specifically for using balls for rolling, bouncing and throwing but I also use instrumental music which contrasts in style and tempo so that we can move the ball in different ways depending on what fits the mood of the piece.  A good example using classical music is Delibes Pizzicati from the ballet Sylvia which has a “bouncy” first section with plucked stringed instruments and then moves into a legato (smooth) middle section with a flute solo before returning to bouncy strings at the end.    Using contrasting music helps with listening skills and working with basic musical elements such as tempo and dynamics. Brahms Hungarian Dance No 6 with its marked tempo changes is good for this – you can ask the children to listen to the music and pass the ball quickly or slowly depending on the speed.

Here are my lyrics to “Roll the Ball” which is sung to the tune of “Row Row Row Your Boat”.

Roll, roll, roll the ball
Roll it round and round
Roll to me, I roll to you
We roll it on the ground

Bounce, bounce, bounce the ball
Bounce it round and round
Bounce to me, I bounce to you
We bounce it on the ground

Throw, throw, throw the ball
Throw it in the air
Throw to me, I throw to you
We throw it everywhere.

A few pointers should you decide to start using balls for musical activities:

• choose soft, lightweight balls which are not too large
• don’t fully inflate them as they can bounce very high!
• if this is a new idea for the children (and adults) be prepared for the concept to take a week or two to work effectively
• talk about using hands only – no feet allowed!  The urge to kick a ball can be irresistible but do encourage the child to use hands not feet!
• younger children may just want to hold on to the ball and not let go.  Take your time and encourage them to join in, but even if they don’t, they will be observing older children and learning from watching

Song for the Weekend – Won’t You Come and Play in my Band

I’ve not posted many songs for using percussion instruments to explore musical elements such as tempo, dynamics and timbre so this week I thought I would!

This song you can use in two ways: firstly as a song for changing between instruments which demonstrate the different timbres (or sounds) available.  For younger children I try to use 3 obviously contrasting sounds – castanets, bells and drums as an example.  For older ones you could use 3 similar, but slightly different instruments – perhaps claves, castanets and woodblocks (all wooden sounds); or bells, triangles and tambourines (all metal sounds).  In my classes I have sufficient instruments for each child to have one of each instrument but if you don’t have enough you can divide the children into 3 groups and encourage them to play only when their instrument is featured.    You could then add another verse to end with the words ‘playing altogether’ substituted in the last line so that everyone plays at the same time like in a band or orchestra.

Secondly you can use the song for demonstrating tempo (speed) or dynamic (loud/soft) changes.  For this you can have any single type of instrument you like, or a mix of lots of different ones – just change the words in the first verse to suit e.g. playing on your instruments, or playing on your castanets.  In the second and third verses change the words to ‘playing oh so softly’ and ‘playing oh so loudly!’ or ‘playing oh so slowly’ and ‘playing oh so quickly’.  Use the bridging passages between verses to play the instruments loudly, quietly, slowly or quickly depending on what you’d like to demonstrate.

Won’t You Come and Play in My Band

Won’t you come and play in my band
Won’t you come and play in my band
Won’t you come and play in my band
Banging on your drum

<bridging passage – play instruments on steady beat or pulse>

Won’t you come and play in my band
Won’t you come and play in my band
Won’t you come and play in my band
Clicking on your castanets

<bridging passage – play instruments on steady beat or pulse>

Won’t you come and play in my band
Won’t you come and play in my band
Won’t you come and play in my band
Playing on your bells

<bridging passage – play instruments on steady beat or pulse>

Won’t You Come and Play in my Band

Song for the Weekend – I Went to School One Morning

The school term restarts in England this week so I thought it only appropriate that I feature this song “I Went to School One Morning”.

It’s a gross motor movement activity and I use it as a circle dance – it’s useful for teaching pulse/steady beat and exploring different types of movement.  It’s suitable for all age groups from babies to pre-schoolers.

I Went to School One Morning

I went to school one morning and I walked like this
Walked like this, walked like this
I went to school one morning and I walked like this
All on my way to school

I saw a little rabbit and he hopped like this…

I saw a little pony and I galloped like this…

I saw a shiny puddle and I splashed like this…

I saw a tall policeman and he stood like this…

I heard the school bell ringing and I ran like this…

All on my way to school!

I Went to School One Morning

Song for the Weekend – Weather Medley

We’re coming up to a long weekend in the UK and as the weather looks like it’s set to turn a bit inclement (as it always seems to when you’ve got an extra day off work!) I thought I’d post a song about the rain.  This is a medley of Rain, Rain Go Away; It’s Raining, It’s Pouring; and I Hear Thunder.  Hopefully we’ll get to see rainbows and sunshine rather than hearing thunder!

Rain, rain go away, come again another day
Rain, rain go away, come again another day
Rain, rain go away, come again another day
Rain, rain go away

It’s raining, it’s pouring
The old man is snoring
He went to bed and bumped his head
And couldn’t get up in the morning

I hear thunder, I hear thunder
 Hark don’t you? Hark don’t you?
 Pitter patter raindrops, pitter patter raindrops
I’m wet through, so are you

I see a rainbow, I see a rainbow
In the sky, in the sky
Here comes the sunshine, here comes the sunshine
We’ll soon be dry, we’ll soon be dry

Weather Medley

Song for the Weekend – Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!

Okay, I know it’s not the weekend (it being Wednesday and all) but I haven’t done one of these for AGES and I thought it was time… let’s call it “Song for the Summer Holidays” instead!

This song is a fabulous knee bouncer or you can use the stretchy lycra or parachute with a ball or soft toy.  I usually use it with the lycra and a lightweight ball as it’s so much fun.

Zoom Zoom Zoom

Zoom, zoom, zoom, we’re going to the moon
Zoom, zoom, zoom, we’ll be there very soon
If you want to take a trip
Jump aboard my rocket ship
Zoom, zoom, zoom, we’re going to the moon
Five… Four… Three… Two… One… BLAST OFF!

Zoom Zoom Zoom

Summer Holiday Activities

We’re running summer holiday activities in Rusthall near Tunbridge Wells and Uckfield for the under fives.  These fun based music sessions include:

• Action songs and nursery rhymes, story-telling, sensory play and bubbles;
• Peepo games, listening games, dancing games and parachute games;
• Fun and funky original tunes for you to clap, tap, jump and hop to, and gentler songs to relax to as well;
• All our wonderful puppets, props and percussion instruments to see and use.

Sessions will run on Wednesday mornings in Rusthall near Tunbridge Wells from 8 August and on Friday mornings in Uckfield from 10 August.  Classes are grouped into Family Music sessions (for those with siblings) at 9:30am; Toddler Music sessions (for children under 3) at 10:30am and Baby Music sessions (for babies up to pre-walkers) at 11:30am.

Pre-booking is required as spaces are limited.  You can download our booking form here or contact us on 01892 860235 or info@rhythmexpress.org and we’ll send you a form straight back.

Details of term-time classes are also available here.

Come and join us to wiggle, jiggle, tap, clap and just have FUN!

Singing instructions to children

One of things I’ve found as a parent is that you can easily become just a nagging background noise repeating yourself all the time.  It’s easy for your children switch off and disregard what you’re saying especially when you’re competing against TV, game consoles, the internet and iPods!  One way to avoid this and without the need to raise your voice is to sing instructions – in that way you can repeat yourself without appearing to nag.  It’s particularly effective when your children are small but even now as mine approach their teenage years I still sing instructions although I have modified what I use as a tune – we currently range from Haydn piano sonatas, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony through to Eric Clapton or Queen tracks depending on the mood (I draw the line at Justin Beiber!).

So pick a song that you know well – anything will do but for younger ones choose something simple and repetitive.  Sing your instructions to help your children get dressed, clean their teeth, make their beds, get ready for school or tidy up.

Here’s a couple of examples:

To the tune of Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush

Can you help me tidy up, tidy up, tidy up,
Can you help me tidy up, your bedroom in the morning (or evening, or lunchtime).

To the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

I can clean my teeth at night
Brush, brush, brush, brush so they’re white
I can brush them up and down
Then I brush them round and round
I can clean my teeth at night
Brush, brush, brush, brush so they’re white.