Shark Week! Charlie Over the Ocean

There are a few different versions of this folk song, and true to my nature I've tweaked it a little and made it mine. :) Here are the words I use:

Charlie Over the Ocean (have kids echo "Charlie over the ocean")
Charlie over the sea (echo)
Charlie caught a big fish/dolphin/shark/octopus...etc. (echo)
Can't catch me! (echo)

I have the kids take turns naming all the different ocean animals they can think of, and they enjoy changing the lyrics slightly. I do hand signs as well to keep them involved. On the first line I make a wave with my right hand. On the second line I make a wave with my left hand. On "Charlie caught a big fish" we pretend to cast a fishing line, and on the last line we shake our heads left to right. There are lots of things you can do with this song. You could bring finger puppets of sea animals. You could show them pictures of sea animals and have them guess what they are. You could even have mini-lessons between each verse to teach them about the animals they are naming. If the kids are slightly older you can have them take the lead on the song and have everyone, including you, echo their lead. This is fantastic practice for helping them learn to sing confidently on their own!

Here's an audio file of my daughter and I singing this song:

Animal Week (Again!): I Went to Visit a Farm One Day

The number of verses to this song is limited only to the number of farm animals the kids can think of! I love two things about this song: Kids are eager to suggest animals and to tell you what the animals say, which gets them creating their own verses, and the kids sing the animal noises back to you, which gets them started on solo singing. I usually have them sing the proper pitches for the animal sounds (they're MUSICAL animals!), and the kids then begin to learn pitch memory. Here are the lyrics for the first verse:

I went to visit a farm one day,
I saw a cow along the way.
And what do you think that cow did say?
MOO, MOO, MOO. MOO, MOO, MOO!

There are many YouTube videos where you can hear the melody of this song, and see verses that others have come up with. This is the one I see most referenced: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeO3WxV35GE.

Often I will bring in pictures of farm animals, and if the kids get stumped but really want to be involved, I have them pick a picture. You could also bring in animal puppets and have them pick one out of a bag to sing along. There are a lot of fun things you can do with this song!

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!