Animal Week!

We just celebrated two birthdays in our family. Both kids wanted a Wild Kratts party. We are so fortunate to live near a Wild Animal Rescue and Education center and they came and entertained our kids and their friends with fun animals like a Chinchilla, a fox, and Macaw, and many more. We had so much fun and I thought I'd continue the fun with songs about animals this week. One of the absolute favorites for ANY class I teach is Row, Row, Row Your Boat.

What in the world does Row Your Boat have to do with animals, you may ask! Well, I have taken ideas I've found on preschool websites, added a couple of verses of my own, and transformed this song into one of the funnest ever! Here are the verses (sung to the traditional tune):

Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream.

Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream.
If you see a dinosaur, don't forget to scream! (Have them scream)

Row, row, row your boat gently to the shore,
If you see a lion (tiger), don't forget to roar!

Row, row, row your boat gently to the bay.
If you see a turtle, let's all shout hooray!

Rock, rock, rock your boat, gently to and fro.
Wibbly, wobbly, wibbly, wobbly, OVER the side you go!!


Before the first verse, have the kids grab a partner and sit on the ground facing their partner. Have them match their feet up (soles against soles), grab hands, and move front and back in a rowing motion as they sing this song. On the second verse (still rowing), have them think of animals that might make them frightened; on the third verse, animals that roar; on the forth verse, animals that they would be happy to see. On the fifth verse, change from rowing to rocking from side to side. When you say the word "OVER" have them tip all the way to one side and spill onto the floor, just as though they tipped out of their boat. This song is useful in many ways. It gets them feeling the rhythm of the song as they row, they get to create lyrics by suggesting animals to sing about, and they improve social ties as they work with a partner. Admittedly, this song takes awhile because so many of them want to suggest lyrics and the last verse almost always has to be done two or three times! I hope you all enjoy this favorite as much as I do!

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:

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!