Pre-K
September Activities
Pitch Exploration
Slide whistle glissandos and shape sounds (following our hands high and low)
Song Fragments
Singing Roll Call "Where is...?" "I'm right here!"
Jump frog, jump! - a fun way to activate our singing voices and play a little catch
Singing a Simple Song
"Frog in the Meadow"
Do this as many times as you like while stirring the pond (floor or table) as many different ways as you can. Stir with 1 finger or more. Stir with 1 hand or 2. Can you stir with your...elbow? How about your foot? Or, our class favorite, your head!
Movement Exploration
"We All Stand Up"/"We Raise Our Twisting Hands" ME p. 22
"The End is Near!" ME p. 12
"Shake and Freeze" ME p. 12 - tambourine, wood shaker, maraca, eggs
Movement for Form and Expression
Fingerplay - Five Little Mice
Action Song - Sleepy Bunnies
Five Little MiceSleepy Bunnies Apr 27, 2020 .webmSongtale
"Barnyard Dance"
October Activities
Pitch Exploration -
Spooky ghost and owl sounds!
Movement with Classical Music -
"Pizzicato Polka" from Sylvia by Léo Delibes
Movement Exploration -
Bubbles - creating our own bubbles of space around us
Exploring dynamics and tempo with "In the Hall of the Moutain King"
Singing a Simple Song ~
"Halloween Looby Loo"
When we get good at this one we'll add a parachute!
Roll, Pumpkin!
I roll my pumpkin to each child and sing "Roll, pumpkin!" They roll it back and sing the phrase as a response
Keeping a Steady Beat ~
"Bling, Blang"
Show us how you hammer! How do you saw wood?
Movement for Form and Expression
Fingerplay - Five Little Ladies
Action Song - Sleepy Bunnies
Movement with Classical Music -
Waltz in Ab by Johannes Brahms
Copy of Move-It-1_2_3.mp4Songtale
The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything!
November Activities
This month we begin learning songs for our Celebration of Winter Holidays program!
PreK focuses on "Snowflake" and a little poem about a chubby snowman but I try to introduce them to all of the songs we sing all together as a school.
I don't think we'll be able to gather as a school community for a regular performance but you can check out everything that goes into this program in the slides to the right. There are links to all of the recordings/videos I could find.
Simple Song
We'll read the story "Time to Sleep" and incorporate a short lullaby with each animal.
We explore tempos, timbres, and dynamics
"Roll, Pumpkin!"
I roll my pumpkin to each child and sing "Roll, pumpkin!" They roll it back and sing the phrase as a response
Movement for Form and Expression
Action Song - "Bear Is Sleeping..."
Fingerplays - "Where is Thumbkin?" and "5 Little Ladies"
Moving to a Steady Beat
"Over the River and Through the Woods" - We'll learn it first as a poem that tells a story then as a song, and finally we'll accompany ourselves with jingle bells
The Pumpkin Chant
PUMPKIN CHANTKeeping a Steady Beat ~
"Bling, Blang"
Show us how you hammer! How do you saw wood?
Songtale
"Kitty Alone"
December Activities
Pitch Exploration -
Toss Across - We know reindeer can fly and we'll use our voices to follow their flights
Song Fragments -
Che Che Kole
Simple Songs -
Angel Band
Arioso
Speaking voice and singing voice
Songtale
"Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" - We'll share the book in class and ring our jingle bells then we'll enjoy the song
Movement Exploration
"Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" from The Nutcracker
Movement for Form and Expression
Fingerplay - Three Little Christmas Trees
"Little Snowflake" with ribbons
Movement with the Beat
Jingle Bells - with jingle bells!
January Activities
Pitch Exploration
Follow the shape of the lines on neutral syllables
Song Fragments
No More Pie
Simple Songs
Hop Old Squirrel
Arioso
Speaking voice and singing voice. We'll try singing our names too.
Movement Exploration
Now Small, Now Tall
Movement for Form and Expression
Grandpa's Glasses
Chubby Little Snowman
Beat Motions with Classical Music
Seven Jumps Dance
SongTales
Over in the Meadow
Now Small, Now Tall
Seven Jump DanceFebruary Activities
Singing a Simple Song ~
"Johnny Had One Friend"
Vocal Exploration
Talking in owl language
Moving to the Beat
"Joanie Works with 1 Hammer""
Moving Expressively
We'll be building snow people as we listen to this wintery music
(start about :50)
Beat Motions - Child/Teacher Initiated
Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves
Movement Exploration
Chubby Little Snowman
Now Tall, Now Small
March Activities
Arioso
Taking Attendance
Students will sing back their responses to me "I'm right here!"
Vocal Exploration
Silly Strings
Can we follow the shape of the strings with our voices?
Singing a Simple Song ~ Call and Response
"John, the Rabbit"
We like to pop up every time we sing "Yes, ma'am"
Moving Expressively
"Cousin Peter"
These two versions of the song are not exactly the same. I wonder if we can come up with some other things for Cousin Peter to do when he comes to our house?
Moving to the Beat
"I've Been Working on the Railroad"
Before we learn the song we'll use shaker eggs to make the sounds for our choo-choo as we snake around the room. When the whistle blows we'll freeze!
Keeping the Beat
"Hickory, Dickory, Dock"
We'll use our rhythm sticks to keep a steady beat to this nursery rhyme at various tempos
"Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves"
Songtale
"Brown Bear"
We'll explore the Eric Carl classic and then use finger puppets to create our own version of the song. Later we'll use the song to sing to our friends around the circle.
April Activities
Singing a Simple Song
"Pitter, Patter" - A simple song with only 3 notes, we'll explore rainy sounds with a hand drum, a big rain stick, and a thunder drum!
Moving to the Beat
"21 Hungarian Dances: No. 18 in D Major" by Johannes Brahms
Just getting our bodies moving...
Moving Expressively
"One Elephant Went Out to Play" - moving and balancing on our string-y spider web. How many elephant friends can we add before the web gives out and we all fall down?
Rhyming...
"Willoughby, Wallaby, Woo"
Songtale
"The Tailor and the Mouse"
May Activities
Beat Motion
"The Milkshake Song"
Singing a Simple Song ~
"Charlie Over the Ocean" - What ocean creatures will we discover?
June Activities
A Fingerplay ~
"5 Little Ladies"
Songtale
"Kitty Alone" is a lullabye with a lovely melody that is quite mesmerizing...
October Activities
Singing a Simple Song ~ Welcome and Say Hello
Welcome and Say Hello!Singing a Simple Song ~
"No More Pie"
Echo each line of the song and have fun with your face and voice!
No More PieMoving to the Beat ~
"Chop, Chop, Chippedy Chop"
What can we put in our soup today? Well, today we are making vegetable soup but once you learn the chant and the motions, you can make any kind of silly soup you want! Fruit soup? Pizza soup? Outside soup? (the ingredients for this can be dirt, rocks, sticks...). Have fun chopping!
Chop, Chop, Chippedy Chop.webm