Thumbs Up for "Singing in the Rain!"

Teachers "Singing in the Rain" at a conference!

Yup – it’s raining today in Chicago!  Miss Carole of Macaroni Soup here, and though the weather is still blustery, we can still get moving indoors!  My adaptation of the classic “Singing in the Rain” is the perfect combination of movement plus play!

    The National Association for Family Child Care recommends that children be moving for one hour of every five hours in care.  The Australian Department of Health breaks it down even further:  1-5 year-olds should be physically active every day for at least three hours, spread throughout the day.  Our US Health Department Guidelines recommend 60 minutes of “vigorous intensity aerobic, bone and muscle-strengthening activities” per day.

Preschoolers "Singing in the Rain" in a school concert

     Does all that movement have to be hard work? Should it be a chore to be checked off – whew, that’s done?  No!  It doesn’t have to be done all at once – actually it should be broken up in to segments for our youngest children. Let’s start with 20 minutes of music and movement – it’s fun, it’s enjoyable, and so many other skills can be included in the workout!  Vocabulary, memory, cross-lateral movement, early literacy skills, dexterity, balance, appropriate social and emotional interaction – need I go on?

Thumbs up!

   

 Let’s get moving!  This month I’ve chosen one of my favorites – a re-working of the title song of the movie “Singing in the Rain!”  The original song, written in 1929 by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown, forms the base for this movement piece.  I couple it with some choo-choo cha-cha’s, and it becomes a hysterical add-on song.  It’s similar to “Tooty Ta” – but different!  It’s also been around longer!  I recorded it on my “Dancing Feet” cd – hear it HERE, or purchase the cd or download it HERE.

LYRICS: 

          I’m singing in the rain

           Just singing in the rain

           What a glo-ri-ous feeling,

           I’m happy again!

Choo-choo, cha-cha!

 (spoken)  Repeat after me – Thumbs up!

Kids echo:  Thumbs up!

ALL:       Choo-choo, cha-cha, choo-choo, cha-cha, choo-choo, cha-cha!

Add-ons:    Shoulders back

                 Knees together

                 Bottom up

                 Tongue out

                 Eyes closed

 

Knees together!

MOVEMENTS:  For the verse, stretch arms overhead and sway them side to side.  As sung, put both thumbs up in front of your chest.  Then turn around in place to the beat as you “choo-choo, cha-cha”.  Sing the verse again with arms up.  This time after “thumbs up” add “shoulders back!”  Be sure you keep that position as you choo-choo around in place.

NOTE:  Knees together is probably the hardest movement.  Demonstrate it with your feet slightly apart, knees knocked together!

More choo-choo, cha-cha!

    So much fun for Springtime...

                              and all year long!

Tongue out, eyes closed!

Looking for a musical visit to your school?  I’ll be in Denver, Las Vegas and Tennessee in July! 

Need a Keynote Speaker to get your conference joyously on its feet? 

Want a professional development workshop for your association? 

Contact me!

Tongue out at a library show!

Yours for a Song!

“Miss Carole” Stephens

Macaroni Soup! Active Music forActive Learners!

YouTube: Macaroni Soup with Miss Carole

"Singing in the Rain" from behind!

An Unforgettable Experience With Leprechauns: With a Little Luck Can It Align to the CCS?

I know the Common Core Standards are big time, but does it drive your entire curriculum?  If there are no ties to the CCS, do you forgo the lesson or activity? It frightens me a bit to think this is the direction our educational providers may be heading.  I got a comment on my blog in reference to my all-time favorite activity to do with my kindergarten students that stated that it "looks fun, but has no ties to the Common Core Standards" and it really saddened me.  I think, if we tried REALLY hard, we could quite possibly create some "ties to the CCS", but do we REALLY need to? Does everything we do in our classrooms REALLY need to be driven by the Common Core Standards?  If so, there needs to be a huge revamping taking place because there are huge gaps that won't allow for student experiences and creating memories if we stick to the basics.  I think you know where I stand on this, but I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas on this as well.  Am I alone?  Until then, I will leave you with the directions to my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE activity that I do year after year with students who NEVER forget during leprechaun season:  

 

I love St. Patrick's Day! I can't even tell you exactly what the entire premise of the holiday is (is that bad?), but I love the whole tricky leprechaun theme (and all things rainbow and gold, of course). I've done all of the fun activities that you hear everyone talking about like messing up the room, putting green food coloring in the toilet and making traps. But, I don't do those things anymore- I haven't done any of it since I came acrossed the shrinking hat activity and now THAT is how we celebrate the leprechauns in kindergarten! It is such a fun and memorable activity, that is truly all you need to have a little fun with your itty bitties (or children of any age for that matter). It is one of those activities that I am just so excited to share with my students, as well as my own children, year after year. It never seems to lose its magical appeal.

Of course, before we begin, I really talk up the "legend" (I totally make it up year after year--but it so makes the project all that more fun!). You, too, can make it up or I do have it available in my Lucky Leprechaun Activity Kit (with all of the materials you need for this project along with activities to follow up with the next day).

Here are the directions so you can celebrate the holiday and rev up your student's imagination without making a disaster of your classroom:
Materials:
*styrofoam hot/cold beverage cups
*permanent markers (I prefer to just give "Irish"-like colors- yellow, black, green and orange)

When you bring the tiny little hats back to school, I recommend putting gold coins and other "booty" in and around each child's hat. Leave a letter (written by you from Lucky or printed from my kit) for the children. Be sure to use an Irish dialect in the letter since it is from a wee leprechaun!

Lucky always leaves us a secret message hung all over the room that the children need to decode (also included in the kit) and it is so much fun. It is also fun to take pictures of the kiddos with their hats on and do a writing piece about the experience. The students NEVER forget this activity...it really is quite amazing how cups are turned into an actual miniature hat by those sneaky leprechauns (even though I know it is science, I prefer to continue to view it as magic as I watch cups turn into tiny hats !

Click here to get this follow up freebie for this project.

Click here for more information about the  Lucky the Leprechaun project!