JUMP JIM JOE - a perfect partner dance!

...and tap your toe!

Now that cooler/wetter weather is moving in to stay, it’s a good time to get movement and dance options going to keep those little brains and bodies tuned up and ready to learn!  Miss Carole of Macaroni Soup here, and I’m sharing a terrific partner dance that my older 3’s through 7’s love: “Jump Jim Joe!”  This dance is very popular at my Family Concerts, as it’s fun for ALL ages!

Usually I introduce dancing in this order:

1. Dancing as an individual in a group

2. Dancing in a circle

3. Partner dancing

4. Dancing with props/manipulatives

Hopefully you’ve done some dancing that is in the first two styles** so that your students have a sense of group dynamic, cooperation and personal space.  Now let’s up the ante on cooperation – to do a partner dance you must work together with another person, touch them appropriately and stay in time with the music.  It also means that the teacher must learn the dance so that he/she can teach and demonstrate it to the students effectively.

THE SONG:

listen, echo!

Jump, jump, jump Jim Joe

Nod your head and shake your head

And tap your toe!

‘Round and ‘round and ‘round you’ll go

Then you find another partner

And you jump Jim Joe!

I use the echo technique to teach the song – I sing a line, students sing it back to me.  Then I demonstrate with a student as my partner what the song looks like.  Hear a clip HERE!

I picked a great volunteer - he could JUMP!

THE DANCE:

Line 1: Face your partner and hold hands. Jump 5 times (on the beat).

Line 2: Partners nod, then shake their heads

Line 3: Tap toe to the side.

Line 4: 2-hand circle around

Line 5: Leave your partner and go find a new partner!

Line 6: Hold hands with your new partner.

Once you have demonstrated the dance, invite your students to stand and pick a partner.  Some classes struggle to pick partners quickly – help them out.  I explain that “you’re not going to keep that partner, so don’t worry about who you start with – you’ll be moving on quickly!  Walk through the dance slowly, singing enthusiastically and clearly.

When your students understand the pattern of the dance, and that the pattern just keeps repeating to make a sequence, you can pick up the tempo a smidgen.  When they’re really secure, maybe add the recording – but it’s lively, so don’t rush into it!  It’s on my “Dancing Feet!” cd – check it out HERE!

Here’s a video at a library show in Colorado – kids of all ages and adults really enjoying themselves!  You can do it, too!  Let me know how it goes!  And remember – this one’s great outdoors, too!

** If you haven't done dancing in the first two styles, check out my blog from MARCH 2016 for "Singing in the Rain" (Style #1) and FEBRUARY 2016 for "Looby Loo" (style #2)

BIG NEWS!  My new recording, “WELCOME!” will be released shortly!  There are 29 songs, dances, poems and fingerplays to engage and invite your children to sing and move!  It will be available for purchase soon at www.cdbaby.com.  Keep checking back – definitely by December 1!

Need a workshop or keynote for a conference? Want educational content that also accesses early literacy skills, physical control and is FUN?  Contact me – I’m now booking for 2017-18!

Yours for a Partner Dance!

“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!

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!

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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!