Here We Go Looby Loo!

Here we go Looby Loo!

February chill have you stuck indoors more often? Need an easy circle dance that anyone from toddlers who walk to K’s who need a brain break can do? “Looby Loo” may fit the bill perfectly! Miss Carole of Macaroni Soup here in chilly, finally snowy Chicago where outdoors won’t be happening until the temperature/wind chill creeps above 0!

Though “Looby Loo” is over 100 years old and from English folk tradition, it’s still a favorite in my classes. And btw – if you learned it at Loopty Loo or Loop de Loop – try the original lyric - it’s easier for kids to sing.

"I give my foot a shake shake shake!"

“Looby Loo” is a good first circle dance to teach.  No one falls down at the end (…I’m just sayin’…)  It can be done appropriately slowly with toddlers, or with bounce for older children.  It can be done holding hands, or not. You decide what works best for your group.

Hear it on my Tiny Tunes recording, or watch a bouncy version with my buddy Patty Shukla on YouTube.  Either way you do it, please learn the song (it’s really easy) and sing it – without a recording.  That encourages the children to sing, too.  That’s important!

Lyrics:

Here we go Looby Loo - again!

Chorus:

Here we go looby loo

Here we go looby lie

Here we go looby loo 

All on a Saturday night

Verse:

I put my hand in

I put my hand out

I give my hand a shake shake shake

And turn myself about, Ohhhhh….

Additional verses: foot, head, backside, whole self!

NOTE:  I don’t use “right” and “left” hands/feet because most of the children I work with have not mastered that concept.  Same for “The Hokey Pokey”.

We're leaning in to shake our heads!

The Dance:  Form a circle - I have the children hold hands.  Walk in the circle for the chorus.  Let go of your neighbor's hands for the verses - doing what it tells you to do in the song!  I extend the "Ohhh" at the end of each verse until everyone is holding hands again.  The kids love that part!

Whole self?  Shake Everything!

I’ve been singing this song since I was a child – I actually remember my sister, Mom and I singing it in my living room!  Sometimes the simplest things are the best.  Look at the smiles on the kids’ faces – they don’t (looby) lie!

Put your whole self in!

Summer Looby Loo!

Teacher Looby Loo!

Thanks to the students and Mrs. Frey at St David's Nursery School in Glenview, IL for Looby Loo-ing with me!

Yours for a Looby Loo Song!

“Miss Carole” Stephens

MacaroniSoup! Active Music for Active Learners!

Be my FB friend: Macaroni Soup with Miss Carole

Check out my new YouTube Channel!

PSST: Miss Carole is coming to Colorado in July - want a Family Concert at your library or camp? Then she's in Tennessee for the ETSU Early Childhood Conference, then on to the SDE "I Teach K" and "I Teach 1st" in Las Vegas, baby! Hope to see you somewhere along the way!

PUMPKINS - Let's Sing About Them!

Have you heard?  There may be a shortage of pumpkins for Fall 2015!  
OH NO! 

Miss Carole here, of Macaroni Soup –Active Music for Active Learners!  We grow a lot of pumpkins here in Illinois, and I LOVE PUMPKINS! 

Pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin soup, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin custard – if it’s got the yummy squash – I’m all over it!

There’s no shortage of pumpkin songs in my music classes!  I’ll share three of my favorites today.

PUMPKIN, PUMPKIN!   Lyrics by C.Peterson  ©2001

Tune:  “10 Little Indians”

Hear it HERE, or on my “SeasonSings!” cd.

LYRICS:

Pumpkin, pumpkin, orange pumpkin

Pumpkin, pumpkin, orange pumpkin

Pumpkin, pumpkin, orange pumpkin

Hi Ho!  Autumn is here!

V.1  Give him eyes like two triangles

V.2  Give him a nose that’s round, like a circle

V.3  Give him a mouth to make him smile!

V.4  Give him eyebrows – very scary! (optional - see below!)
V.5    Original Pumpkin Pumpkin verse!

My favorite way to do this song is with a flannelboard.  Cut a big orange felt circle with a “stem.”  Cut black or felt shapes for eyes, nose and mouth.  We recently added eyebrows – very scary!  Be sure to change the feature shapes occasionally – it keeps it interesting.  One of my students suggested the features should be yellow, as if the jack o’lantern is lit from within – good thinking!

In concert!

You might make a book, as my Massachusetts teacher buddy Carol Hartery did above and below.  The children can "read" along while they 
sing the song!


When I'm doing this with a concert crowd, I use a large pumpkin board with funfoam pieces that children in the audience can come up and place on the pumpkin.

Children enjoy making their own pumpkin faces afterward - either on paper, with shape blocks or on a smartboard!

PUMPKIN BALL PASS!       Lyrics by C.Stephens  ©2015

Tune:  “Great Big Ball” 

Hear it on my “Season Sings” cd, or HERE.

LYRICS:

Who’s gonna get that pumpkin 
               as it goes around the room?

Who’s gonna get that pumpkin 
               as it goes around the room?

Who’s gonna get that pumpkin 
               as it goes around the room?

Who’s gonna get that pumpkin?

We’re gonna find out now!

This musical game is pretty self-explanatory.  During the chorus, pass the pumpkin from one child to the next as they sit in a circle.  Wherever it lands on “we’re gonna find out NOW – that child gets to demonstrate a motion/movement that everyone else can copy.  Get ready to pass the pumpkin again!  

   I just love using my Bear Paw Creek Pumpkin Balloon Ball – but any ball can be used.  Passing is a skill that must be learned and practiced.  Demonstrate placing the ball carefully in the hands of the person next to you – not pitching it at them.  With repetitions, children will find the process fun and exciting.

PASS THAT PUMPKIN ‘ROUND      Lyrics by C. Stephens   ©2015

Tune:  “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”

Pass the pumpkin ‘round

Pass it very slow-ly.

Pass!  Pass! Pass! Pass!

Now it’s time to STOP!

Another passing game – this time varying the tempo and volume.  Pass (and sing) it slowly, quickly, quietly, or loudly.  Dynamics make a big difference.  When it’s quiet, it can also be slow, when it’s loud, it can also be fast!  Children need practice in cooperative behavior in a group setting, as well as with how to follow musical cues.  Again, for this song I use my Bear Paw Creek Pumpkin Balloon Ball – but a beanbag, a small artificial pumpkin (softer is better) or ball will work, too.

Add one of these songs to an art or cooking project, or explore the taste and texture of a pumpkin – inside and out!  Pumpkins are a delightful subject – they are all different, kind of like the children we teach!

Giant pumpkins? I found them at The Chicago Botanic Garden!  Amazing – and they might be tasty, too!

Yours for a Pumpkin Song!

Carole Stephens

Macaroni Soup! Active Music for Active Learners!

Start School Singing!

Hi from Miss Carole at Macaroni Soup!

    Last August I blogged about how to “Sing Your Way Through the First Week of School!”  Read it – it’s a great companion for this post, with 5 great songs to start your year.

                             WHAT’S NEXT???

    It’s Week 2!  Let’s keep the music moving forward to “Start School Singing!”  Active Music improves fitness, stimulates neural connections and is accessible to children of all abilities.

    Here are 5 more songs to get through Week 2.  Listen to them at the links provided to the Song of the Month pages on my Macaroni Soup website.  They’re all easy-to-learn, kid-tested and Teacher Approved!  (AND they’re all on my “BALONEY!” cd!)

    As you add a song each day, be sure to repeat the previous day’s song.  By the end of the week. You’ll have a 15-20 minute Music Time – great for growing brains and bodies!  Mix in some of the Week 1 songs, too!  Yippee!

WEEK TWO – KEEP SINGING!

DAY 1:  We Like to Say Hello

     Song of the Month1/11

We like to say hello 

In another way

We say Hola!  

That’s the Spanish way!

    Yes – this is a “zipper song” – just replace the underlined words with another language and sing it again.  I write the words on posterboard and tack it to my table or wall so that my students can see the words – many call out the choices by the color of the card!  Ask your students if they know how to say hello in another language – and add their suggestions to the list.  It’s a wonderful way for children to share their knowledge and backgrounds.

Jambo….Swahili                          Bon Jour….French

Guten Tag….German                  Aloha….Hawaiian

Ni hao….Chinese                        Konichiwa….Japanese

Shalom....Hebrew                       Ciao....Italian

DAY 2:  It’s a Beautiful Day!  by Kathy Ried-Naiman 

                                                           c.2004SOCAN

A beautiful day for JUMPING!

          Song of the Month 9/10

It’s a beautiful day, it’s a beautiful day

It’s a beautiful day for singing!

It’s a beautiful day, it’s a beautiful day

It’s a beautiful day for singing!

Singing, singing, it’s a beautiful day for singing!

Verses:  Dancing, jumping, twirling – or add your own idea!

This great song is a no-brainer – just do what the lyric tells you to do.  I teach my students the sign language for “singing”, and that’s what they do during the first and final verses.  Go to the ASL browser to see it demonstrated, or stretch out your left arm in front of you, move your right hand back and forth over it, as if playing a harp!

DAY 3:  Wishy Washy Washerwoman

          Song of the Month 7/10

Waay down in the valley where nobody goes

There’s a wishy washy washerwoman washing her clothes

She goes wishy washy UP, she goes wishy washy DOWN

She goes wishy washy UP, she goes wishy washy DOWN

That’s how the wishy washy washerworman washes her clothes!

Additional verses:

V.2: drying her clothes, she goes whoo-eee! 
V.3: folding her clothes, she goes side, side 
V.4: eating Oreos, she goes dunk, mmm 
V.5: saying adios, she goes bye bye, ta ta, au revoir, ciao baby!

Movements:

On "Waaay" – put both hands overhead and shake them! 
For lines 1, 2 and 5, pat hands on thighs to the beat 
For lines 3/4: 
    V.1 Zigzag hands (L/R/L) from lap to overhead and back down (R/L/R) 
    V.2 Sweep a side-by-side circle with hands in front, first counter clockwise, then clockwise
    V.3 Clap hands to the right, then left (repeat) 
    V.4 Hold imaginary cookie in one hand, pretend to dunk in glass of milk! 
    V.5 Wave hand goodbye, then blow a kiss at the end!

For the whole story on this one, you really should read the SOTM page!  

BOOK BUDDIES:  Check out the Mrs. Wishy Washy books by Joy Cowley - they are an wonderful way to pair literature with music!

DAY 4:  Blow the Balloon!  (a fingerplay – learned from Hugh Hanley)

               Audio link - Song #16

Start with hands together in front of chest.  Widen the space between them with each “blow” – until you “pop” the balloon at the end.

Blow the balloon.

Blow the balloon.

Blow, blow, blow, blow, blow!

POP!

Where did my balloon go?

DAY 5:  Down I Flop!

        Song of theMonth 4/11

Clapping, clapping, see me clapping 
Clapping, clapping, all day long! 
Nobody knows I can clap so well 
Nobody knows I can stand / so / still. (big pause) 
Clapping, clapping, see me clapping 
When I am tired, down... I .... FLOP!

Verses: 
2. stamping 
3. jumping 
4. walking 
5. running 
6. Tiptoe

Flopping en masse!

   Once again, do what the song tells you to do!  Flopping?  Demonstrate falling to the floor while in control of your body.  We don’t flop onto another child, or into walls or furniture!  You’ll need open floor space for this one – great for outdoors, too!  Be sure children learn to run going in the same direction with respect for others’ space.

  

 Now you’re cookin’!  If you have questions, concerns or want to tell me how YOU do one of these songs, PLEASE write a comment at the end of this blog.  Or you can email me – but it’s better to share with everyone!

   If your school or district needs an in-service to re-charge your music curriculum, call or email me!  This Fall I’ll be in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, and Washington DC doing workshops and concerts.  Check out my EventsCalendar!  I’ll also be presenting at the NAEYC Conference in Dallas in early November.  I will have time to skip out and do a local workshop just for your TX group!  Let’s talk!

Yours for a Back-To-School Song!

“Miss Carole” Stephens

MacaroniSoup! Active Music for Active Learners!
847-384-1404
carole@macaronisoup.com

Ducks Like Rain - and I do, too!

A MacSoup Parent/Child class quacking it up!

What do you do when the weather’s wet and you can’t go out?

   “Miss Carole” Stephens  of Macaroni Soup Music here with a musical solution.

  

            BE DUCKS! 

    In “Ducks Like Rain” children pretend to be ducks that quack and waddle – and like the rainy weather – water runs off their feathers!

    I first heard this song on my daughter’s favorite cassette (yes – it’s that long ago!) by Raffi.  As I began my own recording career, I knew I’d want to sing that song with the current generation of children, some whose parents knew Raffi’s work from their childhood. Sadly, the kids I taught did not. 

Father/Son ducks!

   “Ducks Like Rain” was a perfect fit for my second cd – “H.U.M. – Highly Usable Music, All Year Long!”  What better choice for one of April’s songs?!? I scoured the internet to find out who wrote it – Raffi did not - and I found no credit on his recordings.  So, long story short – when I came up empty-handed, I went ahead and recorded it.   It's been a favorite with the under-6 set once again!

    Fast forward 7 years.  In 2010 I received an email from one Franciscus Henri of Australia, saying he was the author and I did not have the necessary paperwork filed (it’s called a mechanical license) to have recorded his song!  I quickly rectified the situation with payment and the required papers, and well, things are just ducky (sorry, had to do it!)  Franciscus is a well-known TV personality Down Under as “Mr. Whiskers!”

    So, let’s get you and your students quacking and waddling, too!  You can use my “H.U.M.” recording, or Raffi’s.  You can “super-size” this song easily by adding books, art projects and other rain songs (see below for ideas.)

First you might want to make Duck Sticks.  Yes, that’s a duck on a stick!  I use yellow poster board with the duck pattern here.  You can get 9 ducks out of one board!  The pattern is on my website’s Song of the Month page for April 2007.  I use packing tape to attach the duck to a 12” dowel.  

Got music?  Got duck sticks?  You’re ready to go!

Lyrics:
Ducks like rain! Ducks like rain!
Ducks like splishy splashing in the rain.
Ducks like rain! Ducks like rain!
Ducks llike the rainy weather
Water running off their feathers
Ducks like splishy splashing in the rain

Quack quack quack quack quack
Quack quack quack quack quack
Quack quack quack quack quack
Quack! Quack! Quack!

(repeat quack series, then do verse again.)

   

    I end with this spoken “DUCKIE COUNTDOWN”.  Stop waddling and face the middle of your circle.  We wave our sticks up and down on each “quack”.  

    As we say the final line, the children quack their way to me and lay their Duck Stick carefully on my hands.  I make eye contact and quack back “thank you!”

I quack "thank you" - they quack back!

One little duck says Quack! Quack! Quack!
Two little ducks say Quack! Quack! Quack!
THREE little ducks say Quack! Quack! Quack! 
And they Quack-Quack all the way home!

    Yes, I sometimes get whacked in the face with a duck - but it's worth it.  I get one-on-one time with each child as they bring in their duck!

    There you go!  If you’re in a drought, at least sing about rain!  If you’re being deluged (it’s been quite wet here in Chicago this Spring/early Summer), sing about rain!  It’s really a three-season subject where I live.

Some of the books I like to read before or after this song include:

Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

Five Little Ducks (big book) by Penny Ives

The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack & Kurt Wiese

What’s Up, Duck? By Tad Hills

Another song about ducks:

“Little Duckie Duddle” on my “Tiny Tunes”cd – great song for motions!  MAY2008 Song of the Month on my website!

More songs about rain on my “Season Sings” cd:

“Rain, Rain Go Away” – great steady beat activity

“The Raindrops Are Falling” – fast, slow and intermediate rhythms

“Jump in the Puddles” – SOOO much fun!

“It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More!” – super-silly, gets everyone clapping!

Teachers can be ducks, too!

    

    There you go!  If you’re in a drought, at least sing about rain!  If you’re being deluged (it’s been quite wet here in Chicago this Spring/early Summer), sing about rain!  It’s really a year-round subject where I live.

Do you have suggestions for more rain songs or books?  SHARE!

Yours for a Quacky Song!

“Miss Carole” Stephens

Macaroni Soup! Active Music for Active Learners!