Video Dance Party for Preschoolers

Hello!

Can you swim like a little fish?  Let's all try it now!

I hope everyone is staying safe during this unsettling time. Here is a fun activity that you can do at home, and you can also invite people to dance and sing with you, each using your own computers.  

I recently wrote a guest blog post for Redleaf Press entitled Video Call Dance Party:  Dancing, Singing and Learning Together! Stay connected with friends and family with a virtual dance party, and have a fun learning experience at the same time. There are lots of opportunities for children to practice large motor skills, contribute ideas, and use their imaginations.

Here is the link to the Redleaf Press blog: Video Call Dance Party: Dancing, Singing, and Learning Together!

The kids go jumping all around, let's go, let's go!

The kids go marching all around let's go, let's go!

And they all fall slowly down, to the ground, it's the end, 1 ... 2 ... 3!

Be safe, and keep on dancin'!

Connie

MOVING IS LEARNING!

Singing and Dancing Back To School!

Everybody clap your hands!

It feels good to be back to school:  familiar routines, new little friends AND the joy of introducing them to my musical world!  I’m Miss Carole of Macaroni Soup –Active Music for Active Learners!

The start of a new school year is exciting for some children, scary for others.  It takes all our best teaching techniques, patience and empathy to get everyone moving forward positively.  Moving – that’s the operative word for this month’s blog!

Stamp your feet!

Music & Movement can be the perfect distraction for children to forget their worries and join in.  Or not – some may watch at first.  It’s been my experience that if I wait, give them an encouraging nod and smile, wait some more – they DO get the confidence to get up and move.

I start with a Welcome/Hello song.  Then do a zipper song with sitting movements (“Sticky Bubble Gum” is always a big hit!)  Then – LET’S GET DANCING!

Jump up high!

Here’s one of my favorites: “Everybody Clap Your Hands!”  I learned it from the legendry Ella Jenkins.  She doesn’t claim to have written it – “It’s just an old, old song,” she told me.  But it’s transformative – no child can resist it!  There’s nothing really to teach – just follow the instructions built into the song.

 

NOTE:  Be sure you do the song, too!  Model participatory behavior.  Hear the song clip HERE.  It's track #4.

LYRICS:     Everybody clap your hands

                 Everybody clap your hand

                 Everybody, come on and clap your hands!

Turn real slow!

V.2   Stamp your feet!

V.3   Jump up high!

V.4   Turn real slow.

V.5   Wiggle around!

V.6   Clap and stamp! (2 things at the        same time!)

V.7   Clap, stamp & turn (3 things!)

V.8   Sing – with your tongue sticking out (4 things!):

        "Everybody sing along!"

Sing...with your tongue sticking out like this!

Put your tongue back in!

Yup – it gets really silly at the end with tongues wagging as you sing, clap, stamp and turn around!  That’s the fun of it – and school should be FUN!

NOTE:  Take a second to have everyone put their tongues back in – tap your fingers to your lips.  It’ll make everyone smile!

Need a Welcome/Hello song?  More starter movement songs?  

Check out my blogs:

December 2016:  Welcome/Bienvenidos!

August 2013:  Sing Your Way Through the First Week of School

August 2014:  Start School Singing: Week 2!

August 2016:  Back to School Singing!

March 2016:  Thumbs up for “Singing in the Rain!”

OR go to the archive on my website’s
Song Of The Month page for:

August 2011:  “Hello Everybody, How Do You Do?”

January 2011:  “We Like to Say Hello!”

August 2007:   "Sticky Bubble Gum"

November 2006:  “The Wiggle Song!”

And finally – I am sorry to have been absent from PreK and K Sharing for so many months.  The surgical repair of my hip’s labrum meant changing priorities in order to meet classroom, concert and professional development commitments.  But I’m back – almost 100%!  Please contact me if you’d like me to come to your school, library, church or conference.  I’m in Chicago, but I travel all over the world to bring developmentally appropriate music & movement to those who work with young children!

Yours for a Song!

“Miss Carole” Stephens

Macaroni Soup – Active Music forActive Learners!
 carole@macaronisoup.com

Winter Warm-Up Song: "Hat & Jacket, Pants & Boots!"

                  Hello from balmy Chicago!  

Miss Carole of Macaroni Soup here, anticipating tomorrow’s predicted 60 degree temps in FEBRUARY and persisting on singing WINTER songs!  I know the East Coast has had 3 blizzard-y storms in the last few weeks.  I know the West Coast has seen some truly chilly weather.  

So – this one is for all of you experiencing cold AND those like myself who actually like cold and snowy weather!  Even if you don’t, what better than to sing about it from indoors!

I’m guessing most of my readers know the tune for “Head & Shoulders, Knees & Toes”.  This will be simple if you do – the lyrics fit perfectly!  

Then make sure you make a visual to show.  I drew these simple pictures, slipped them into page protectors and taped them together.  I can show just one picture at a time, then pull it out to show all the pictures.

LYRICS:

Hat & jacket, pants & boots, pants and boots!

Hat & jacket, pants & boots, pants and boots!

When it’s cold and we go outside to play, we wear

Hat & jacket, pants & boots, pants and boots!

WHAT TO DO:

1. Walk through the motions, touching hands the part of the body covered by each piece of clothing.

2.  Sing the song slowly to start.  Children should be able to follow along easily.

3.  It’s going well?  Increase your tempo JUST A LITTLE.  Your students will be very excited by even the smallest speed change, so keep the increments of going faster small.  Repeat at least 3 times for maximum fun!

Most of you do not know that on December 14 I had surgery to repair the tear in my right hip’s labrum.  I couldn’t work for 6 weeks, wearing a brace from hip to knee round the clock during that time.  Crutches were not easy for this first-timer.  BUT, I’m recovering (9 months to 100%) little by little, and am happy to be back in classes, concerts and workshops.  What really lit up my weeks at home were thoughtful gestures by friends and fans. 

Watch this video – “Hat & Jacket, Pants & Boots” sung enthusiastically by the children at the Fox Valley Park District Preschool in Aurora, IL.  Thanks to all involved in making and sending the video. 

                                       ENJOY!

Now it’s your turn!  It’s easy – go for it!  Guaranteed to warm up any room and bring on the smiles and giggles!

If you’d like to own my cd with this and many other wonderful songs for all four seasons, it’s on “Season Sings!”  It’s available HERE.

Yours for a WINTER-Y Song!

“Miss Carole” Stephens

Macaroni Soup! Active Music for Active Learners!

Go Back To School SINGING!

Hi there!  I'm Miss Carole of Macaroni Soup, and it’s that time again!  Many students are already back in classrooms, and those that aren’t will be there soon.  Preschoolers and Kindergarteners look forward with anticipation, excitement and sometimes a little anxiety.  How do we make the first weeks less stressful and more engaging? 

                               MAKE MUSIC!

Children of all abilities enjoy the experience of making music – singing, dancing, and playing rhythm instruments.  It’s never wasted time!  

• Healthy social interaction and emotional connections made in those first weeks will last all year long.  
• Plus active participation in music is a great platform on which to build early literacy skills such as rhyme, pattern, sequence, vocabulary, and phonological awareness (that's the short list!)
• Children need to connect the neural pathways in their brains in multiple ways - Active Music provides yet another access point.

I love to put a simple little ditty such as “Back To School” into their heads.  It’s a positive message about school, and takes less than 15 seconds to sing!  It's also a steady beat - you can clap it joyfully as you're singing!

  

BACK TO SCHOOL!                           By C. Stephens c.2016

Back to school, back to school            

I’m so glad we’re back to school!

Learning something every day

School is where we learn and play!

Now what’s next?  Add something with motions that are easy to follow and repetitive.  A “zipper song” is perfect – the song repeats itself verse after verse, changing the motion each time.  Think “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” – the animal and animal’s sound changes but the song is basically the same.  

Here’s one of my favorites:

THE WIGGLE SONG

Tune:  “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow”

My hands are starting to wiggle

My hands are starting to wiggle

My hands are starting to wig-gle

Around and around and around!

Easy, right?  Do what the song tells you to do, turning around in place on the last line.  Now sing it again with “foot”.  Next?  “Hips!”  Yup, it’s Elvis Time!  “Head” – sing it softer so that they do a gentler shaking of their heads.  It’s safer!  If you have space to really get the wiggles going, end with:

Now all of me is a-wiggle

Now all of me is a-wiggle

Now all of me is a-wig-gle

Around and around and around,

Sit down!

Need more help? You can hear a clip of this song on my "Sticky Bubble Gum" cd or on its' Song Of The Month page - HERE, where you'll find even more instructions.  

Next?  What could be more fun than singing the alphabet in different languages?  Um, I mean animal languages!  “There’s a Dog in School” by Bill Wellington is such fun, AND it’s also a zipper song.  Children will get the hang of it quickly.

What are we going to do?

THERE’S A DOG IN SCHOOL

(on my “H.U.M.” cd – listen to it HERE)

There’s a dog in school – OH NO!

What are we going to do?

As long as there’s a dog in school

He’ll have to learn his alphabet, too!

(woof the traditional ABC song – the whole thing!)

For motions – I put hands to cheeks, a la “Home Alone” face for “oh no!”  Questioning hands to sides for second line.  Waggle pointer finger for third line, and hands on hips for fourth line.  But you can make up your own motions, too!

    What other kind of animal could be in school?  Let the children make suggestions.  Be prepared for ALL kinds of animals beyond cats, ducks, etc.  Rabbits?  Let’s all HOP the alphabet!  Giraffes?  Well, I had to do a little research on this one!  The zoo docent told me that giraffes have a very long neck, but no vocal chords, so they can’t make a sound.  What do they do?  They nibble leaves off tall trees – one hand in the air making a mouth opening and closing, and sing the words “nibble nibble, nibble nibble, etc!

    Remember to change the gender of the animal, too – “She’ll have to learn her alphabet, too!” I’ve found that there are lots of male pronouns in music for children – cows, cats and more can be females!

B-I-N-G-O!

Now let’s get dancing!  A simple circle or partner dance will be just the thing.  Try “B-I-N-G-O!” for a great circle dance.  Hear it on my “H.U.M. – Highly UsableMusic”  recording, and check out the complete directions on the Song Of The Month page on my website HERE.  Be sure to do the "surprise ending!"

"Jump Jim Joe" - tap your toe!

OR teach “Jump Jim Joe” – a favorite partner dance for 4’s and older – or start with “The Muffin Man Dance” – for 3’s and younger.  Both were featured in my JANUARY 2015 blog – check it out!

Call it what you want – a brain break, energizer, arts exploration – music and movement are a must for developing healthy brains and bodies! 

              Have you had some music today?

Check out my AUGUST 2015 post for more Back-To-School musical ideas!

Yours for a Back-To-School Song!

"Miss Carole" Stephens

Macaroni Soup!  Active Music for Active Learners!

For information about professional development workshops, concerts and classroom visits contact Carole at 847-384-1404 or carole@macaronisoup.com.

Singing and Dancing - OUTDOORS!

  The sun’s in the sky, the breeze is gentle and what could be better than singing and dancing outdoors!  It’s Miss Carole of MacaroniSoup here, and I’ll keep this blog short and sweet.

  Are you still teaching this summer?  Day camp, year-round school, park district program, youth librarian, daycare provider – get outdoors and lift your voices to the sky!

Children love to sing outdoors – it’s freeing!  Plus there’s often more space for movement and dancing.  

SO, what can you do?  Find a performance venue presenting local professionals – libraries, park districts, or city cultural events.  Perhaps you could meet at the venue that day, or if you’re lucky it’s walk-able!  (I’ll be touring in the Denver area in a few weeks – check my website calendar for specifics – as well as performing around Illinois.)

B-I-N-G-O!

Take your students outside your own location – a small patch of grass can be a great place for a circle dance such as “B-I-N-G-O!” or "Here We Go Looby Loo!"  Need a refresher on that one? It was the topic of my February 2016 blog!

The Shaker Hop!

Bring instruments outdoors and get “The Shaker Hop” going (check it out on my April2016 blog)  – or just shake your sillies out, or have a Marching Band or Parade!

Everyone knows “The Hokey Pokey” – put your hand in, put your hand out…children of all ages love it!  Go on - it's in your head!  "You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around

  That's what it's all about!"

You can use my version - no lefts/rights and not too fast - on my "Sticky Bubble Gum" cd.

Singing in the Rain - "tongue out

Oh Oh!  There’s “Singing in the Rain”, too!  I wrote all about that in my MARCH 2016 blog.  

   “Children” of all ages love this one!

"Singing in the Rain" - bottoms up!

Jump Jim Joe - round you'll go!

Go on – swing your partner in “Jump Jim Joe!”  Find out more about this one in my January 2015 blog!  It's the second song I highlighted in my topic of songs that promote friendship/good social behavior!

ENJOY THE SUMMER WITH A SONG!

 

...AND TAKE IT OUTDOORS!

Yours for an OUTDOOR Song!

“Miss Carole” Stephens

MacaroniSoup! Active Music for Active Learners!

847-384-1404

For staff development workshops, keynotes, family concerts or school events - call or email Carole - she travels!

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!