Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Early Learning on my YouTube Channel

This week I'm writing my blog about the work I am doing on my YouTube channel. Each week I have been releasing new learning videos. Didn't know about that? That's OK- now's your chance to go check it out, AND I'm going to tell you all about it- including what is special about this week's video. I'm putting out a few different kinds of early learning videos on my YouTube channel- sing and sign, early Spanish language learning through song, kid humor, and kid's music videos.

The sing and sign videos are the result of my work as a co-teacher for an American Sign Language class for preschool, kindergarten, and first and second grade students. My colleague taught me everything I know- she is a fluent speaker, and as a deaf person, she explained some of the subtleties of communicating through sign. Although I'm definitely still not an expert, we were able to combine our skills a bit to prepare sing and sign experiences for our students- we hope that you'll use them too!

The Spanish language learning songs are songs I learned over the years to combine language learning and music in my early childhood and elementary classes. I have worked as a music teacher in a Spanish language immersion program in a charter school, lived in places where Spanish was the predominant language spoken, and love performing the songs I'm sharing!

The kid humor videos started with my son's stuffed animals. I wrote a song about them, "Make-Believe Zoo." He helped me make a music video for that song, and performed some of the voices of the stuffed animals on the recording. As we were doing this, he started using his snake puppet to tell me jokes, and I thought they were so funny that I asked if we could record them- maybe brighten somebody else's day with a little laughter. He said yes!

The kid's music videos are of my original songs for children. I have two albums- "One and Two is Three," and "I am 4, 5, 6," which was released this year. The first album was the product of having written songs over the years for my students and my family, and the second one was an intensive project to write songs for young children about imagination, creative problem solving, and empathy. 

This week I'm releasing the music video to "From There to Here." It's a song about using your imagination as a young child, how children might experience or think about things in ways that are a bit different than adults. The urge to question and learn about themselves and their surroundings is forefront in the song, as well as rhymes from familiar children's literature.

You can find "From There to Here," as well as several of my other children's songs on my YouTube Channel- my songs, in addition to the sing and sign, Spanish song and kid joke videos, are all a taste of what I do as an educator and performer. Please check them out and share them with some little ones you may know! Here's the link to my YouTube, and here is my new video!





Sunday, October 14, 2018

Fall Songs for Early Childhood

As promised, here my favorite songs for fall. A reader also shared one! Videos (where I could find them) again are approximate to the words I provided (the way I do these songs). Enjoy, use, comment, and share!

Gray Squirrel-

Gray Squirrel, gray squirrel, swish your bushy tail
Gray squirrel, gray squirrel, swish your bushy tail
Wrinkle up your little nose, hide a nut between your toes
Gray Squirrel, gray squirrel, swish your bushy tail



Leaves are Falling- (from Music Together)

Leaves are falling softly floating tumbling to the ground
Leaves are falling softly floating tumbling to the ground
Orange, red, brown, yellow, orange, tumbling to the ground
Orange, red, brown, yellow, orange, tumbling to the ground



Way Up High in the Apple Tree-

Way up high in the apple tree
Two little apples were smiling at me
I shook that tree as hard as I could
Down cam the apples- mmmm they were good



5 Little Apples- (shared by Nancy Hershatter)- a fall fingerplay

5 little apples, juicy to the core, 1 tumbled down and then there were 4.
4 little apples, swaying on the tree, 1 tumbled down and then there were 3.
3 little apples, shiny and new, 1 tumbled down and then there were 2.
2 little apples, shining in the sun, 1 tumbled down and then there was 1.
1 little apple ready to roll, let's reach and knock it down with our apple picking pole!

Pumpkin Patch- (solfeggi syllables provided)- can be played as a circle game

Pumpkin patch, the pumpkin patch (sol-sol-mi-la-sol-sol-mi)
I'm looking for a pumpkin in the pumpkin patch (fa-sol-sol-sol-sol-la-la-la-sol-sol-mi)
And I'll find one, that's nice and fat (mi-fa-fa-re-mi-fa-fa-re)
To turn into a jack-o-lantern just like that (re-sol-sol-sol-sol-la-la-la-la-sol-sol-mi)

H-A-L-L-O-W-E-E-N- (a song from when I was little- I'm not sure who wrote it)!

(Sung to the tune from Dance Macabre by Camille Saint-Saens)

H, A, double L, O, W, double E, N spells Halloween
H, A, double L, O, W, double E, N spells Halloween

verse: (these words are made up by me)
Halloween mean ghosts and goblins
Witches and vampires and spooky bats
Trick or treating, candy eating
Pumpkins with faces and big black cats

Pumpkin BOO!- (I'm also not sure who wrote this one, but the kids LOVE it)!

To scare someone on Halloween
I'll tell you what I'll do
I'll hide behind this pumpkin mask and
Then I'll holler, "BOO!"

Not sure what I'll write about next week- I just attended the Children's Music Network Annual Conference though, so a few ideas are swirling--- stay tuned!!






Sunday, October 7, 2018

Counting- V

The leaves are starting to change color here in Maryland- creating a beautiful context in which children can learn. Seasons are a wonderful way to draw from children's awareness of their surroundings to make learning abstract concepts like numbers more relevant. Here are a couple of autumn number songs- one you'll probably know- "5 Little Pumpkins," and one maybe not- "5 Little Leaves."

"5 Little Pumpkins"
5 little pumpkins sitting on a gate
The first one said, "Oh my it's getting late!"
The second one said, "There are witches in the air!"
The third one said, "But I don't care!"
The fourth one said, "Let's run! Let's run!"
The fifth one said, "It's just Halloween fun!"
Then, "OOOooooooo," went the wind, and out went the light
And 5 little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

"5 Little Leaves"
5 little leaves, dancing in the tree
5 little leaves, happy as can be!
Along came the wind-
"OOoooooooooo!"
1 leaf came tumbling down.
4 little leaves, dancing in the tree...
(Repeat until you get to- "No little leaves," - I usually do that verse in a whisper).

In these videos, you'll find slight variations on the words above- the way I do these songs. I also do both songs as a chant, except for "'OOoooooooo!' 1 leaf came tumbling down," for which I sing a little minor-sounding melody. I like the way the videos demonstrate movements to do with the songs. I also use a felt board with 5 pumpkins and leaves so children can have a visual way to keep track of the quantity. Stay tuned for next time- I'll have more autumn songs for you- making this the last number song article (for now). Happy autumn!