Week of September 26, 2023
Sailor Song – continuing on the boat theme!
I brought out a big length of rope on Thursday and we sat in a circle on the floor in the meeting area, holding it, pulling and lifting and so forth. There had just been a lot of play on the playground involving loud voices/animal sounds, etc. I wanted to bring an awareness to the children of how to regulate their voices, so I thought it might help to do Row Row Row, the crocodile verse. To learn this, we first practice screaming quietly. Then we sing it as we row with the rope. (We also sang the traditional Row Row Row Your Boat). We followed that with Shake It All Over Town. (We repeated this on Friday.)
We’ve been thinking about the children’s interest in wind, moving air – the huffing and puffing of the wolf, and the wind that makes sailboats go; My Favorite Flower, above, also connects with this: “…then let it out with one long blow.” So on Tuesday I read a couple of books at our before-lunch meeting: Huff and Puff, a new take on the Three Little Pigs (the pigs, it turns out, make a birthday cake for the wolf, who blows out the candles), and The Searcher and Old Tree, about a raccoon (Searcher) who sleeps in Old Tree, which grows by the shore. While Searcher is asleep, the wind grows stronger and stronger, as a storm blows in, making big waves and lightening. Searcher wakes once the storm has passed to find the ground wet and littered with branches. This book also ties in with our Nature/Sanctuary umbrella topic.
Week of September 19, 2023
We sang some traditional songs again: Twinkle Twinkle, Itsy Bitsy Spider, This Old Man, Old MacDonald. Sometimes I do “name that tune,” in which I play the melody on the guitar and see if someone recognizes the song.
We’ve started doing some yoga this week:
Mountain: simply standing tall and strong with hands out just a bit and feet about a shoulder width apart.
Moon: from mountain, put arms overhead with palms together, curve to one side as far as is comfortable. Then curve the other way.
Elephant: from moon, arm together overhead are now your trunk; reach down and suck some water from a puddle, then put them back overhead and swallow the water. Repeat.
Star: arms out to sides, feet further apart. (See photo below)
A note about my music & movement practice. I never pressure children to participate. Some children I’ve taught over the years have chosen not to participate, and that is fine. Sometimes it takes a child years before they choose to participate, and sometimes they participate whole hog for a few months and then stop and just watch for the rest of the year. It’s all good. Often children who choose to just observe will go home and sing everything we do – they just don’t feel comfortable doing it in a group setting, or maybe they are scientists, closely watching everything I do, so that they can then process it outside of class.
Week of September 12, 2023
We passed around the red ball and sang Magic Penny
In response to many children’s interest in building houses and tools, I introduced my adaptation of a Woody Guthrie song Bling Blang (adapted).
Wheels On the Bus
On Thursday after we sang Bling Blang, I showed them a real saw that I keep in the classroom. I explained that it was sharp, and that we could touch it, but we had to be careful. I offered each child a turn to touch it. Some children chose to touch the blade, and some chose not to. I believe it’s important for them to experience real tools (etc.) that are “dangerous” so that they can develop self-regulation. They see that they are able to touch the blade in a way that it does not hurt them. I also showed them the cover I put on it so that I don’t hurt myself.
On Friday, I taught them a song about the sounds one might hear when on a sailboat: Come Sail With Me.
I’ve been reading very large sized books with them before lunch, and on Thursday and Friday we were reading Look Look Look, by Tana Hoban. We come to a page with a rectangle cut out of the middle, so you can see a little bit of the photo underneath. You try to guess what it is, and then we turn the page to find out. On the next page is another image of that thing.
We saw this, and made some guesses…
When we turned the page it turned out to be a flower.
And on the following page was this photo.
Which inspired me to teach them: My Favorite Flower
Week of September 6, 2023
We’ve had so much play with the frogs and turtles, so I did: There Was a Little Turtle
We sang some traditional songs for which I don’t have links: Wheels On the Bus, ABC, Twinkle Twinkle, Itsy Bitsy Spider.
We’ve been passing a red ball around the circle at meeting – actually it’s a mini-medicine ball, so it has some heft to it and a little bit of squishiness. On Thursday I sang this as we passed it around: Magic Penny
Week of August 28, 2023
Repertoire
(a running list of songs that we’ve sung this year)
Bling Blang (adapted)
Come Sail With Me
Little Mr. Robin
Magic Penny
My Favorite Flower
Old Oak Tree
Paw Paw Patch/When I See You
Row Row Row (crocodile verse)
Sailor Song
Shake It All Over Town
There Was a Little Turtle
