Heart Week: Do You Know My Valentine?

This is what is called a piggyback song (a song that takes a tune that is familiar to everyone, but with changed lyrics to fit in with whatever theme is being presented). I don't use piggybacks often -- I think they confuse the kids, but on holidays like this it's hard not to! This song is great for quizzing the kids on knowing each others' names. If you've got a particularly brave bunch of kids, you can have them stand up after their name is sung and have them follow whatever command (spin, wave, jump, clap, etc.) you put into the second verse of this song. This song is sung to the tune of Do You Know the Muffin Man?

Do You Know My Valentine?

Do you know my valentine,
My valentine, my valentine?
Do you know my valentine?
His/her name is (Child's name)

Spin my little valentine
My valentine, my valentine!
Spin my little valentine,
(Child's name), take a bow!

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: