Flower Songs

Spring has sprung!   I've decided to post a generic "Here are some songs about flowers" blog and deviate a bit from my normal posts.  Here goes:

                  

This is video from Thane, India.  Food is an important part of life; therefore, no matter where you travel, children will sing songs about plants.  This was adorable to watch.  Although, the American in me (and Debby Mitchell) both wondered about how we would never be able to let children climb from chair to table without being told "Someone may get hurt.  Find another way."   When that child stood on the table and no one flinched, we both were pleased (and worried) at the same time.  Yet, these children TOTALLY understood the concept and were VERY proud of their performance.

Connecting children to nature, having them understand where their food comes from is important for their understanding of how life is all interconnected.

The brain understands things more easily and retains things longer when we use movement because movement involves the motor cortex.

Moving large and small muscles through singing and movement may lead to longer-term recall Flohr & Trevarthen, 2008

"From Seed to Flower"    is a fun song to do with children (ages 4+).  Follow the words and have the children pretend to be the seed growing into the flower.

Sit all curled up in a chair.  Pretend you’re a seed, under dirt, in a cup

Push your roots way down.  Stand your stem straight up

Put your hands on your hips.   Like leaves on a stem; One on each side

Your head has the petals for the flower.   What kind?  You decide.

Stand tall, pretty flower.   Where you stand, you will stay

Your roots down in the ground will hold you as you sway

Start children seated in a chair as the song directs.  Ask them what type of flower they've decided to be.  At the end, have them sway from side to side while singing "seed to flower, seed to flower. That is how a flower grows."

Another fun song to act out is Relaxing Flowers.  For this you can use fingerpuppets of five flowers OR you can have the children BE the flowers.  

Five little flowers, standing in the sun.  See there heads nodding, one by one? 

Down, down, down comes the gentle rain and 

The five little flowers lift up their heads again. 

Build your gardens.  Go outside and pick flowers.  

Read books and sing songs.

Enjoy Spring!
Maryann "Mar." Harman 
Music with Mar.
Music with Mar., Inc Brain Facts on Facebook