Star Light, Star Bright

Someday I'd like to write a song that is more specific to Christmas. This song can apply to more than just Christmas, but it's a fun one to sing. It allows kids to respond and learn to take turns doing so. We learn more than just musical concepts here! :) Here are the lyrics:

Star Light, Star Bright, first star I see tonight.
Wish I may, wish I might have the wish I wish tonight.

This is sung in a Mi-Sol-La style (examples of Mi-Sol-La songs: It's raining, It's Pouring; a-Tisket-a-Tasket; and the ever popular taunt of "Na-na-na-na-na!"). Here's the piano audio file for it:
I have a star-tipped magic wand I wave around during this song and I make it wander until it lands on the child I want to highlight next. I speak the words, "What do you want for Christmas?" after singing the song, and then let the child respond before singing the song again and moving on to the next child. If you would like to make this a musical experience instead of just doing it for fun, you can ask the questions "What do you want for Christmas" in a mi-sol-la style, and then help kids learn to express their answer in the same way. Example: "I want a Fire Truck" sung in Mi-Sol-Fa style. The kids love expressing their Christmas desires!

I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas

This is sheerly for the fun of it! If you haven't heard this song before, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RBZz730ibU and hear the original version. It is silly and the kids LOVE it! There are enough Christmas sing-a-long picture books that I love that I will sometimes do two books, one at the start of the lesson and one at the end. After this book I sing a song that allows the kids to vocalize what they want for Christmas. I'll post that song on Monday! 

The Nativity Song

This is one of the most beautiful Christmas songs I know! It is a song that is sung by the children at my church, and all the music (lyrics, sheet music and audio files) can be found here: http://www.lds.org/music/library/childrens-songbook/the-nativity-song?lang=eng

The song tells the story of the Nativity and starts out: "This is the season, beloved of the year. Sing a rhyme, Christmas time soon will be here. Tell the true story of Jesus' birth, when, as a baby, he came to the earth." The verses that follow tell about each part of the Nativity: the new star, the angel proclaiming the birth, the stable, the animals, the manger, the shepherds, the wise men, Mary, Joseph and finally the baby Jesus. I just now discovered that this is in book form. I'm not posting it in my Friday book review because I haven't looked through it yet, but Simon Dewey is an amazing artist. I imagine the pictures in this book are wonderful!

Here is what I suggest doing with this song: Before you sing the book to them, bring a nativity set for the kids to touch and play with. Give each child a part of the nativity and have them hold it up during their part of the song. With older kids, you can have them solo the part of the song that their nativity piece represents. When everyone is taking a turn singing it's a great opportunity to get kids comfortable with singing alone!

5 Little Christmas Trees

This is a poem that the kids act out. It is geared more towards smaller children. Poems work well for working on memorization with children without having to learn a melody on top of the words. They can also be helpful with learning rhythms and recognizing rhymes. Here are the words:

5 Little Christmas Trees standing all alone
Their hearts were sad 'cause they didn't have a home.
Then CHOP went the ax and DOWN went a tree
And off it went with a happy family.

I have a flannel board I use to teach this rhyme. I use five different-looking pine trees and I have an ax I made out of laminated cardstock. Not the sturdiest--someday soon I need to find a toy ax! I have 5 children come up and take turns "chopping down" the Christmas trees. If you're teaching children in the 4+ age range you can have them tap sticks to the rhythm of the poem. You can also point out the rhyming words and have them tap only on the words that rhyme. If you wanted to put this to a melody, this youtube video has a fairly good tune: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZxfGSqGQ.

The First Noel

Beautiful images and a beautiful song! What more can you ask? Also, if you get it with the CD you get to listen to a classic rendition by the king. (We are Elvis fans in this house!) I love books that show the nativity in picture form so my kids can better understand the birth of our Savior. And it's even sweeter that I get to sing to it!

Hear Those Jingle Bells

This simple Christmas song gives kids a chance to learn about musical dynamics. Music can be fast or slow, loud or soft, and they will explore these option in this song. For older kids, use the real words: andante, allegro, forte, piano. Give them each a jingle bell and let them move around while they sing. You'll need to call out the next dynamic before you start singing each verse, because the only words that change from verse to verse is the 2nd line. Here are the words:

Hear those jingle, jingle, jangle
Hear those jingle bells.
Ringing loudly, Ringing loudly, (change to ringing softly, quickly, slowly)
Hear those jingle bells!

Here's the piano audio file (let me know if you need a vocal audio file):

Pat-a-Pan

Kids love to hear their own names! This is a song that lends itself to name customization and allows you to teach kids the basics of rhythm while marching around the room. You can march like soldiers in a quicker quarter-note march, or like wooden nutcrackers (straight-legged) in a slower half-note march. I'll indicate the quarter note rhythm with an q and the half-note rhythm with a h. You can also have them sit and play the rhythm with drums or wooden sticks that they can tap together. It's best not to march and tap the rhythm at first because their feet and hands rarely want to be in sync at this stage in their lives. If you do this enough times, you can get them used to one and then add the other. I hope your kids have fun with this song!

 

Here's the piano audio file of this song:

Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire

I love the coziness of a fireplace at Christmas time. It is perfection to me to be cuddled up in front of the fireplace with my hubby or my kids watching the fire flicker and feeling so content. The melody of this song captures that feeling and this is a fabulous book to sing out loud as you experience the beauty of that moment!

Jingle Bells

This song comes alive by the addition of a simple musical instrument: a bell! Use the little bells you hang as ornaments, or any type of bell you can find and equip each child. The bells on the wristband are what we use at the library. After singing the first verse traditionally, you can start teaching musical concepts by having them shake quickly, slowly, loudly, softly, etc. If they are older, teach them the musical terms for each concept (quickly: allegretto; slowly: andante; loudly: forte; softly: piano). You can do this using the traditional verse, or teach them the additional verse I wrote. Here are the lyrics:

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way.
Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh.
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way.
Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh.

Jingle Bell, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way.
Oh what fun it is to play my jingle bells today!
Shake them fast, shake them slow, shake them loud and clear.
Oh what fun it is to play when Christmas time is near!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

I love Christmas! And I love all the fun songs we get to sing during this month. I thought I'd kick off the season with a song that is a favorite of all the kids I've taught. In normal life, I find this song fairly boring, but see how a tweak in lyrics can make a song come alive! This song incorporates movements as well as creating music by changing lyrics.

We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas
And a Happy New Year

Let's all do a little clapping
Let's all do a little clapping
Let's all do a little clapping
And spread Christmas cheer!
(Do this verse MANY times and change clapping to dancing, twirling, marching, walking, or whatever the kids can come up with!)

End with this:
Let's all do a little boogie
Let's all do a little boogie
Let's all do a little boogie
And spread Christmas cheer!