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!

Counting- III

This week I'm ahead of the game time-wise (yay!), and I'd like to share my favorite number song for children with you. It's called "Bye-m, Bye." I learned about it from a compilation called "American Folk Songs for Children," by Ruth Crawford Seeger.

As a music composition student at Oberlin Conservatory, being a "woman" composer was still a "thing." While I surely hope it isn't a "thing" anymore, I bring it up now because Ruth Crawford Seeger was a visionary composer- not just as a woman but in general. I learned about her there, and I admired her. You see, the question was, "Why are there so few women composers (that we know about)?" An answer was, (I kid you not) "Men have more time to focus on music because childcare is less of a concern/expectation for them."

Missing from that conversation was the importance of music for a young child's development, and the role woman have played as innovators and conveyors of that music over time. I think Ruth Crawford Seeger recognized this, and although the way to be "established" as a composer at the time was to produce avant-garde orchestral music (which she also did), she produced her truly one of a kind collections of folk songs for children anyway- all the while raising her own family and most definitely singing the songs from her books to her own children (one of whom was Pete Seeger).

If you are reading this article, you are probably someone who might sing for children- whether as a parent, grandparent, caretaker or teacher. If you are someone who does this, you might know what it feels like when you find a song that just "works." It feels great to sing- it "speaks to you." "Bye-m, Bye" is one of those songs for me, and while I sing it differently than the recording below (as appropriate to the folk tradition), when I sing it, I know I pass that feeling on to young children, comfortably nestling those numbers into their minds and fingers. (One of these days I'll record my version)!

Play the video below to hear what the song sounds like, and stay tuned next week for more number song fun!

Learn more about Ruth Crawford Seeger!