Pumpkins, Wind and More October Music!

Where is Miss Carole of Macaroni Soup today?  I’m in Los Gatos, CA at the annual Children’s Music Network Conference – singing and dancing with people who make music with and for children! 

         Yes, I’m in my “Happy Place!” 

PLUS for the past two months every spare minute has been devoted to making a new recording! “WELCOME!” will be released in early December!  Look at the “Macaroni Soup Singers” for this year – they were adorable plus plus!

What does that mean for this month’s blog?  Well – I’m asking you to take a look back at some October offerings from the past 5 years that I’ve been contributing here on PreK and K Sharing!

OCTOBER 2015– “Pumpkins!”  

OCTOBER 2014- “Windy Songs from the Windy City!”

OCTOBER 2013-  “Blow the Wind!”

OCTOBER 2012 -  “Making BOO Fun!”  sorry - this one seems to have disappeared!  Talk about "BOO!"

…and one of my most-read blogs: “Creating an Obstacle Course”  Make a slightly spooky, wonderfully fun course of challenges that children will enjoy over and over!

Now – back to my own singing and dancing!  For more information about The Children’s Music Network you can email me or go to www.cmnonline.org   It’s a fantastic organization for teachers, musicians, librarians, parents – heck, anyone who makes music with kids of all ages!

 

Yours for a Fall Song!

“Miss Carole” Stephens

Macaroni Soup! Active Music for Active Learners!

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!

Happy Birthday PreK and K Sharing!!

Happy Birthday!  PreK and K Sharing is turning 3 this month.  I share a birthday this month too, but I won't tell you how old I am turning.

That may be a bit too much self promotion for me....but I am so excited to be a part of this wonderful collaborative community.  I learn new things all the time.  There are so many experts here with so much to share.

Birthdays are a great chance to go back and reflect on some of the things I have shared and some of the posts that made an impact on me and my teaching.

 When I look back at the things I have shared it is no surprise that my favorite posts are my favorite things to do in my classroom.

Raising Butterflies

Tracing Our Shadows

Counting Pumpkin Seeds

Getting Outside!

I want to mention a few (I know there are more than I can ever shout out ).  I apologize for that ahead of time.

I love everything Deb Chitwood writes.  Her latest on owls is one of my favorites.

This post on the power of asking questions really got me thinking.

Carolyn Kisloski always rounds up a ton of ideas that are easy to use.

And she makes Prezi (which I want to learn to do).

Of course there is our fearless leader Debbie Clement.  She is so talented and and sweet and kind and I learn so much from her.  She has rounded up resources from many great contributors for a Birthday Bash Giveaway.  Don't forget to enter here.

Happy Birthday PreK and K Sharing!
from
Kinder Kapers 

Pumpkin Fun!

It's Autumn time, It's Autumn time

The leaves are falling down.

It's Autumn time, It's Autumn time 

All around the town.

Oh my goodness...leaves, pumpkins, apples, corn mazes....there is so much this season has to offer our little ones.  It is time to get outside.  The temperature is perfect and even if it is not....get out anyway. 

If you are not able to get outside there are many ways to tickle the senses inside your classroom.  

This is Terri Izatt from KinderKapers, and this autumn my kinder kids are dancing their merry kinder kapers with pumpkins.  I'd like to share with you my favorite pumpkin activity....Counting the Seeds.

Begin with the question, "Does the biggest pumpkin have the most seeds?"

Now you need pumpkins....I usually use 5 (four students to a pumpkin seems to be a good number).  Measure them, weigh them, line them up and decide which is the biggest pumpkin (this can be tricky if you have tall, skinny ones and short fat heavy ones).  Don't rush the chance for discussion and comparisons. 

Next comes the fun part....cleaning out those pumpkins.  I really want this to be an interactive and sensory loaded experience, so I cut the top off and let my students clean it out by hand.  Ooey....gooey....wonderful mess.  

To keep the mess under control, and the seeds with the right pumpkin, I put each pumpkin on a large piece of different colored butcher paper.  I tear off a piece and pin it to the pumpkin and then I tear off another piece and tape it to the cookie tray where we are collecting the seeds.  Goo goes on the butcher paper and seeds go in a cookie sheet.  It makes for easier clean up.  Don't worry if some of the goo is still on the seeds, it will not matter.

Now here is the best trick I learned....wait a day before you do your counting activity.  Let me repeat that.  Wait a day.  On the first day your seeds are still slippery.  If you wait a day, they will be drier and easier to count.

Count your seeds in groups of ten.  1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10, and into a small cup they go.  Count to ten again, and again, and again, until your have 10 little cups.  Now take those ten cups and pour them in a bigger cup.  Keep going until you have counted all your seeds.  This is a great day for parents to come and help.  With a little bit of help your Kindergarteners can count all those seeds (ten seeds at a time).

I've done this activity with second grade, third grade, and with my kinder kids too....it doesn't matter the age, extra hands are a big bonus.

Once the seeds are all counted it is time for the big reveal.  Is the pumpkin with the most seeds the one that was the biggest??

I don't want to give away the answer, but you can guess.  If you have plans to keep your seeds, to roast or for an art project, dry them thoroughly.  Spread them out on the cookie sheets in a single layer.  If you keep them in the cups they WILL mold. 

If you want a book to read, here are a few of my favorites:

One last piece of advice....Go BIG or go home.  I always try to get the biggest pumpkins I can find and my pocketbook can afford.  When we float our pumpkin it is always so much more impressive to use a big one.  I love that WOW factor.

Come and visit me at KinderKapers and see what other fun things we have up our sleeve for this month.

                  

Apples and Pumpkins and Leaves - OH MY!

  Autumn has arrived here in Chicago – it’s in the 50’s and I had to get up in the night and add a blanket!  A chilly hello from Miss Carole of Macaroni Soup to those of you in the Southwest where it’s in the high 90’s and hotter, and everyone in between!  Perhaps it’s time to break out the apple songs – and you know that when that happens, the pumpkins and falling leaves can’t be far behind!  Today I give you one of each!

THE APPLE TREE

    You’ll find this song on my “HUM: Highly Usable Music!” recording or you can give it a listen on my website’s Song of the Month page for September 2004.  

    I use a flannelboard visual – a leafy tree I painted on flannel and felt apples for each child to stick on the tree before we start to sing.  For instructions on how to make an inexpensive flannelboard go to my May2014 blog.

    The only “tricky” part to this song is putting 2 smiling apples onto the board without the children seeing you do it.  I wait until all the apples are passed out and sneak my 2 apples (smiling faces down) onto the treetop as the last few children are putting their apples on the tree.  Haven’t been caught in 15 years!  You can do it, too!

    Tell the children, “Sometimes, in the Autumn, the apples get so happy that they start to smile!  Yes, SMILE!  Do you think WE have any smiling apples?”  Then we turn several over to see if any smile – of course, I finally pick one that I added.  They are amazed!

 “Is it high or low on the tree?  It’s high, so point way up high!”

Lyrics:

Way up high in the apple tree

One little apple smiled at me

I shook that tree as hard as I could –

Down came the apple – mmm it sure looked good!

MOVEMENTS:  

Line 1:  Point way up high!

Line 2:  Put pointer fingers at each side of your smiling mouth! 

LIne 3:  Clasp hands together in front of body and shake like crazy!

Line 4:  Drop one hand from overhead to floor

  Repeat again – with the other apple.  Then count how many apples are UNDER the tree – two!  Sing:

Two little apples under the tree

One for you, and one for me!

Two little apples, crunch, crunch, crunch!

Two little apples – let’s eat them for our lunch, YUM!

    Then you might do any of the wonderful apple activities in Deb Chitwood’s jam-packed blog of Montessori-Inspired AppleActivities – posted just yesterday on PreKandKSharing!

MOTHER NATURE!

BIG LEAVES

    This chant will tickle the funny-bone of your children – even if they’ve never heard of Mother Nature.  They just love the sneeze part!  

    Keep a nice steady rhythm for first two lines – we tap the beat on our legs, moving hands to the floor for “crinkled on the ground.”  Throw hands high and make big swirls of falling leaves.  For the final line turn your hands palms-up questioningly – and end with a big sneeze into your elbow!  

    Check out even more instructions on my October 2011 SOTM page.

    No tune – just speak it clearly and dramatically.  It’ll be on my new cd, “Polka Dots!”  Watch for a November release date!

Red leaves, yellow leaves, orange leaves, brown

Big leaves, little leaves, crinkled on the ground

Everywhere are falling leaves –

Mother Nature, did you sneeze?   AH-CHOO!

   You can also do this one with a flannelboard tree and felt leaves for visuals!

A VERY FINE DAY!  By Carole Stephens c.2014

    This new song celebrates both apples and pumpkins.  We put one hand to our forehead for the “looking” verse, then go walking around the room for the “come on down…” verse.  Then pantomime the action, reaching up high, then bending low to pick apples, or reaching low to snip a stem and put a heavy pumpkin in a wagon.  It’s such fun!

     The tune?  Only for PreKandKSharing followers, you get a sneak preview of this song on my new “Polka Dots” recording (scheduled for November 2014 release) for FREE!  

Click HERE!

Reach up high!

Where, oh where do apples grow?

Where, oh where do apples grow?

Where, oh where do apples grow?

Way down yonder on the apple trees.

Come on down to the apple orchard!  (3x)

It’s a very fine day!

Reach up high then put it in a basket!  (3x)

It’s a very fine day!

Where, oh where do pumpkins grow?  (3x)

Way down yonder on the pumpkin vines!

Come on down to the pumpkin patch!  (3x)

Come on down!

It’s a very fine day!

Snip the stem and put it in a wagon!  (3x)

It’s a very fine day!

It’s a very fine day for being outside

A very fine day to take a ride

To a pumpkin patch or an orchard wide

It’s just a very fine day!

    OK – you are now armed and ready for autumn songs.  Need more?  Check out the Song of the Month Archive on my Macaroni Soup website. 

Or check my posts on this blog:

September 2012 – Season Sings!  Leaves, Bats, Pumpkins!

October 2012 – Making BOO Fun!

October 2013 -  Blow the Wind!

    I would love to know some of YOUR favorite songs for Fall/Autumn!  Come on - SHARE! 

NAEYC 2014 ALERT:  I will be presenting a workshop at the NAEYC conference in Dallas in November AND sharing a booth with 2 incredibly talented children's music educators: Ellen Allard and Music With Mar's Maryann Harman!  Check out our FB page: Musicians at NAEYC!

Yours for an Autumn Song!

"Miss Carole" Stephens

Macaroni Soup! Active Music for Active Learners!