Christmas 2015 ~ A Funny Jingle Bells, The Mitten in the Snow Song

Hi Sunshine Parents!

Here is a list of all our Christmas songs this year. I don't like to teach Christmas music all through November, so if you want to help your kids learn these songs I welcome the help.

Jingle Bells

This year we are not using the "Dashing through the snow" verse,
but are singing our special Sunshine verse instead:

A day or two ago, 

I thought I'd take a ride,
And soon my Sunshine Pals 
were seated by my side. 
Our horse was running fast, 
as fast as he could go,
He tripped over a snowball and we all fell in the snow! OH!

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,
Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh, HEY! 
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,
Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh, HEY! 

The Mitten in the Snow Song

This simple song is sung to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell",
and goes through all the animals in Jan Brett's telling of "The Mitten".
If you have a copy of this book, you can sing the song as you tell the story.

The mitten in the snow
The mitten in the snow
Help us please so we won’t freeze!
The mitten in the snow.

A mole squeezes in
A mole squeezes in
Help us please so we won’t freeze!
A mole squeezes in


Then for then next SEVEN VERSES it goes through all the animals who join the mole in the mitten! (For the purpose of our program, we probably won't sing every verse!)

Rabbit
Hedgehog
Owl
Badger
Fox
Bear
Mouse

And finally:

The bear says, “A-choo!”
The bear says, “A-choo!”
All the animals fly out of
The mitten in the snow!

All the other songs...

These songs are described in last year's Christmas post (link)
Peppermint Stick
Up on the Housetop
Ring the Bells
Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer 

And...
Away in a Manger (first verse)
Ring those Bells and Turn Around
We Wish You a Merry Christmas

"Too Much Noise" and other dramatic participation stories

"The bed creaked. 

The floor squeaked."

And that is just the beginning of Peter's troubles.
I quickly go over the sounds to make: creak, squeak, swish, & hiss before launching into the story. (Hand motions are fun too)

The children won't have any trouble helping you with the animal sounds (encourage this).

And there is a lovely, quiet resolution.

"Ah. Oh,"..."How quiet my house is."

Caps For Sale


"Caps! Caps for sale! Fifty cents a cap!"

This classic story begs to be interpreted dramatically.

The children can call out the peddler's market banter.

Then when the peddler interacts with the monkeys, you can be the peddler, and the class can be the monkeys. This is so much fun.

BOTH of these stories feature an individual with a problem. As soon as it is obvious what the problem is, you can ask the kids how they would solve it.


More dramatic participation stories

I tell three from this one nearly every year.

To tell these stories, you'll want to memorize the basic idea, and then ad lib the actual telling.

Make it fun! When the prince goes riding to fight the wizard, make everyone bounce up & down as you call out silly obstacles  "He rode through the pizza forest!"

Over the years, my artsy daughters have created puppets to aid my storytelling, and the children love them, especially the beautiful Snow Queen.

I give the children a chance to pet my dragon puppet before I tell the story about the lazy dragon. See, not so scary.

The story about the Emperor invites exploration into all kinds of sounds: chimes, gongs, clocks, and all manner of bird songs. You could spend a whole class on this story.

And don't forget your favorite from summer camp: "Goin' on a Lion Hunt". Always works.

Connie Kaldor's Honey, Honey, Honey! A Song about a Bear and a Bee

This song NEVER fails to bring BIG smiles.

Honey, Honey, Honey by Connie Kaldor

Honey, Honey, Honey

A bear climbs a tree and makes a piece of toast.

He then demands ALL of the honey from a hard working bee.

What happens next?

The reason this song works so well is the simple chorus:

"HONEEEEEY! honey honey honey honey honey"

When I teach it to the kids, we learn this part first, throwing our hands wildly in the air with the first loud "HONEY!", and shaking them down with the five repeated honeys. They love it. We change the emotion of the chorus as the story progresses, and always over the top.

I also made magnets to tell the story: a bear, a piece of toast, a bee, and a jar of jam.

For copyright reasons, here is a link to the lyrics

AND, here is Connie's performance on Youtube!

Lyrics and Music by Connie Kaldor, available as a download through Amazon or other sources, but check out the whole album for other winning tunes.

Naughty Pussycat as a Game

The version of this little song I have used for years is different from the one I find all over the internet. This year I have changed mine a bit to make it even more fun. (see options below)

To use this song, (any version) as a game, choose one child to sit in the center of the circle. They will be the pussycat, and they will get to "Meeeeow" like a cat two times before they Scat! I praise them for their unique cat sounds.

Naughty Pussycat! (wag your finger)
       Child in center says "Meeeeow"
Messy kitty cat! (wag your finger)
       Child in center says "Meeeeow"
You have  (pizza, playdough, ice cream etc...) on your whiskers 
(fingers to cheeks, pull away showing whiskers)
Naughty Pussycat - SCAT! 
(toss your hands out with the word Scat)
Child in center scoots back to the circle, the next child becomes the cat.

The simple melody I use is
Sol Sol Mi Mi Sol,  
Sol Sol Mi Mi Sol, 
Sol Sol Mi Mi Sol Sol Mi Mi, 
Mi Mi Re Re Do

The kids love making suggestions for what could be on the cat's whiskers.

There is a popular version of this song all over the internet with these lyrics:

Naughty Pussycat
You are very fat
You have (butter, ice cream etc...) on your whiskers
Naughty Pussycat

... but I don't like calling anything fat, so I changed the lyrics

In past years I used a version of the song that went like this:

Naughty Pussycat
Go and catch a rat!
You have cobwebs on your whiskers
Naughty Pussycat - SCAT!

Standing Movement Songs: Dingle Dangle Scarecrow, Kye Kye Kule, and My Dog Rags

Here are three favorite songs with great movement opportunities. You can find SO many versions of the melodies and movements on the internet! I am listing some youtube versions as well as recordings I recommend.

Dingle Dangle Scarecrow

Here's a cute video!

When all the cows were sleeping (pretend to sleep)

Dingle Dangle Scarecrow
Kathy Reid Naiman
 On Itunes

Lovely Acoustic Performance

And the sun had gone to bed
Up jumped the scarecrow (jump up)
And this is what he said!

CHORUS
I'm a dingle, dangle scarecrow (arms & legs wiggle)
With a flippy floppy hat (head from side to side)
I can shake my hands like this
I can shake my feet like that.

When all the hens were roosting
And the moon behind the cloud
Up jumped the scarecrow
And shouted very loud.
(Chorus)

When all the pigs were snoring
And the stars were shining bright
Up jumped the scarecrow
And shouted with delight
(Chorus)

Kye Kye Kule 

This recording of
Kye Kye Kule
byMommyAmericana LLC
has slightly different lyrics,
but it is easy for young children.

This song from Ghana is widely used in grade school curriculum.
It's very similar to "Head and Shoulders", but with a fun call and response format and rhythm.
I LOVE the presentation and energy in this video.

Kye Kye Kule   hands on head

Kye ko-finsa    shoulders

Kofi sa langa     waist

Kaka shi langa   knees

Kum adende      ankles

Kum adende hey!  Touch ankles and jump up!

My Dog Rags

There are so many ways to interpret the motions for this song, and there are many melodies.

My Dog Rags
With Instrumental Version
To use as accompaniment!
Lynn Kleiner
Same as heard in the video clip.

I especially like the motions in this video.

I have a dog.
His name is Rags.
He eats so much that his tummy sags, (hands show big tummy)
His ears flip flop (wave hands by ears)
and his tail wig wags. (either swing hips or hands wig wag)
And when he walks, he goes zig zag. (whole body zig zags like a skiing motion OR cross arms like in video)

He goes flip flop, wig wag, zig zag.
He goes flip flop, wig wag, zig zag.
He goes flip flop, wig wag, zig zag.
I love Rags and he loves me.

My dog Rags, he loves to play.
He rolls around in the mud all day. (roll hands)
I whistle. (whistle)
He won't obey.  (shake finger)
He always runs the other way. (throw thumb over shoulder)

He goes flip flop, wig wag, zig zag.
He goes flip flop, wig wag, zig zag.
He goes flip flop, wig wag, zig zag.
I love Rags and he loves me.

Drums for a Pirate Band and The Silly Pirate Song

Pirate Drums 

I was inspired by Miss Marilee's Music post on Drumming, especially the gorgeous drums she made out of recycled buckets.  I found some wonderful buckets with rope handles at the dollar store that had a good sound quality.

One important thing about these bucket drums was that they had smooth bottoms, so they had a good surface for hand drumming. Inspect them all though -- some had a sharp point that needed filing down.

After warming up with "My Favorite Drum", we used our "Red" and "Purple" rhythms.
I started the kids by chanting:
Red, Red, Red, Red 
and we kept that steady beat. While they kept playing, I played a simple tune on the piano that had a heavy 4/4 quarter note rhythm.

Then I switched them to
Purple, Purple, Purple, Purple
And kept a steady 4/4 eighth note accompaniment using strong repeated open fifths in the left hand, a simple melody in the right hand.

One little boy got so excited he jumped up when it was over and begged to do it all again. "It was so beautiful, when we were playing the drums and you were playing the piano; I almost cried!"

For our Pirate Program I played (on the piano) 16 measures of "The Legend of the Croc" from Peter Pan for the quarter note rhythm, and "What do you do with a Drunken Sailor" (I called it a Silly Sailor) for the eighth note rhythm.

I'm hoping to use drums for every new theme Teacher Teri comes up with!

The Silly Pirate Song by Jack Hartmann

Much like the popular camp song "Once an Austrian Went Yodeling", the pirate is interrupted by a surfer, then a shark, then a helicopter, and on it goes.

This song was very exciting for the kids, and they wanted to learn ALL the verses for this sequencing song! That was a bit much for our program, so we just did a few.

Here is a fun youtube version of the song. Plenty of good motion ideas.

You can also find youtube performances by preschool and kindergarten classes if you need more teaching ideas.

And also VERY helpful, here is a link to powerpoint illustrations from Kellyskindergarten.com to use for teaching the song.

If You're a Pirate and You Know It

So easy, just make up verses and sing to the tune "If You're Happy and You Know It".

Shout "Ahoy!"
Say "Arhhhh!"
Dance a jig
Wave your hook -- swish swish
Raise the sail -- Heave Ho!
Row your boat -- or whatever else you imagine for your pirates

Need more Pirate ideas? See my "Over the Sea" post!

Old Brass Wagon and Move the Circle

These easy dance songs challenge the kids to listen and follow directions.

Old Brass Wagon by Sally's Music Circle

Old Brass Wagon 
is an old favorite of course.

I recommend this recording because it's a wonderful acoustic performance, and the directions are easy for young children to follow.

To introduce this dance, I walk the children through all the movements first, before playing the recording.

• Holding hands, we circle right. At the end of eight counts I call out "Go the other way!" to prepare the kids for the change in direction.
• Then we circle left.
• Interlude (see note)
• Jumpin' up and down! 
• When the caller sings "swing your partner" I just have the kids spin in place, but when we dance this with the Moms I encourage the Moms to swing with their child.
• Interlude (see note)
• Everybody in - this is called three times, so I teach the children by saying "one step in, one step in, LAST step in!" and on the last step we raise our hands. 
• Everybody out -- also called three times, so I teach them saying "one step back, one step back, LAST step back!
• Instrumental end (see notes)

Interlude: The two 8 bar instrumental sections are a good time to come up with your own choreography. I came up with a simple clapping rhythm. 

LAP, LAP (pat your legs two times)

CLAP, CLAP 

simply repeat this three more times. 

Some kids will find this tricky, but I encourage them by telling them it doesn't matter if they get off, just keep going, it's all good!

Instrumental end: 

LAP, LAP, CLAP -- YEE HAW!

Move the Circle by Tumble Tots

Move the Circle
is not a square dance melody, but the motions are almost exactly the same. The caller gives good, clear directions in a tempo that is perfect for young children, using the words
"Stop!  ---  Listen!"
to help them understand something new is coming up.
Teach this one first, and Old Brass Wagon will be even easier for the kids to learn.

Here are the simple movements:
Move the circle 
Stop, go the other way
Move the circle
Clap your hands
Shake your hands
Move the circle 
Stop, go the other way
Move the circle
Jump!
Bend!
Walk to the center with hands up high
Walk back out with hands down low
Take a bow