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Valentine’s Day Song and Worksheets

As we say here in Japan, “Hisashiburi!”, which means “Long time, no see!”  We had a very busy Fall and Winter with lots of travel, lots of presentations, and the release of Super Simple Halloween Songs and Super Simple Christmas Songs.  The next big holiday we are looking forward to is Valentine’s Day!

Our favorite song for Valentine’s Day is Skidamarink.  It is, of course, super simple and super fun. We usually play the song in the background as we make Valentine’s Day cards or explore some Valentine’s Day worksheets.  By the time we are finished with the cards or worksheets, all of the kids are familiar with the melody and most of the words and are ready to learn the gestures and sing.

Many people ask us what “Skidamarink” means.  The answer is… nothing.  It’s just a fun word kids really enjoy playing with.

Check out the song, lyrics, gestures, video, and FREE Valentine’s Day worksheets on our Skidamarink page.

We’d love to know what you do for Valentine’s Day.  Let us know by leaving a comment or joining the discussion.

Skidamarink a dinky dink.  Skidamarink a doo.  We love you!

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Beatlemania for the Babes

Did you sing any Beatles songs when you were a kid?

National Public Radio recently did a report on why toddlers like the Beatles so much. (Funniest line: “Beatlemania returns to America this week.” What? It left?)

According to Dr. Deforia Lane,

The Beatles have repetition, predictability and rhythm. And in certain cases, it literally paints a picture for children. And quite frankly, the beat makes you want to move.

Heeeeey…sounds like Super Simple Songs characteristics to me! (And we thought of all that first, right?)

The Super Simple Songs have loads of repetition (Uh-huh), predictability (Rain Rain Go Away – Play With It), and rhythm (Knock Knock, Trick or Treat). The Bath Song paints a picture for the children, and you can’t sit still during The Pinocchio. (Links for the rest of the songs.)

Yes, much of me suspects that these kids are singing the Beatles mainly because their parents and teachers like the Beatles, but it’s true: many Beatles songs are easy for kids to sing and relate to. I like Bob Dylan, but I don’t have my kids sing his songs. (Another terrifically helpful Beatles/Super Simple Songs characteristic: articulation.)

I didn’t realize the Beatles’ higher voice range is also an appealing characteristic for toddlers. I would have thought lower registers were preferred, but I haven’t heard many toddlers squealing for Barry White or the Righteous Brothers.

The short report is well worth a listen. If you prefer reading, there’s a hastily-written not-yet-corrected transcript on the same page (ooh, I love those misheard lyrics at the end: I get high! I get high! I get high! not exactly what you want your toddlers singing at top of their lungs, eh?).

To answer my first question above, I don’t remember singing the Beatles as a kid. Not a single one. I don’t know why!

Oh, who is Dr. Lane? She’s a music therapist and the coordinator of the Toddler Rock program at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. Toddler Rock? I didn’t know this program existed. How cool is that? We should organize a field trip, yes?

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Super Simple Workshops in Korea

안녕하세요!

Troy and Devon will be in Korea for some workshops from Aug 28 – August 31. If you are in Korea, we hope you can make it! You can get the details here: http://www.milkenglish.com/news/ or at our Facebook page: http://bit.ly/10I0iJ.

We’ll be talking about how to increase student confidence, enjoyment, and performance in the EFL classroom through the use of songs, games, and creative drama.  Our co-presenter will be Ms. Sujeong Kim of Soongsil University and MILK English.  It will be super active and super fun.

Hope to see you there!

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Moe!

Your 5th and 6th graders are going to love this.

There’s some exciting unpredictability, there’s some strategic planning, and there’s a whole bunch of laughter.

Devon and I recently presented this activity as part of a workshop at PEN (Primary English Teachers of Niigata), and my 5th and 6th graders have decided this is their new favorite game.

There are several variations. Start with this version.

*****

1) Divide your class into 2 teams and assign team captains. Play Eeney Meeney Miney Moe, and the team captains point to each student in turn.

2) At the end of the rhyme, “moe” will land on one student from each team.

3) These 2 students do Rock Scissors Paper with each other.

4) The winner returns to the team, and the loser sits down.

5) Repeat until all the students from one team are sitting down.

******

Tip: You don’t need to spend much time teaching Eeney Meeney Miney Moe. You will play it so many times during this activity that the students will learn most of it automatically. Happy warning: you and the students will continue humming it for the rest of the week.

Stay tuned for variations on this activity!

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Kids English Education Project Summary

A big thank you to everyone who came out to our first KEEP workshop.  We had a great time and we hope you did too!

You can find some photos and a summary of everything covered in the workshop here.
Some space is still available for the next workshop on June 19th.  It’s almost full so register soon!

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Top 10 story books for kindergarten EFL

Troy has started a fun discussion over on the SSL community forum.  What are your top 10 story books for kindergarten ESL?

Here is Troy’s list:

10. Good Night Gorilla

9. Big Bugs! (a popup book with amazing…big bugs!)

8. Five Little Monkeys (the version where mommy jumps on the bed at the end)

7. The Farmer and the Beet

6. Go Away Big Green Monster

5. No David! (the first one, not the others)

4. Ten Little Ladybugs

3.

2.

1.

To see his top 3, you have stop by the forum! While you are at the forum, please take some time to read the posts from EFLJoelle.  She’s got a TON of very helpful ideas.  I love her idea for making a “Feely Box” in this discussion.

Hey Joelle, you’re cake!

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Featured Video: Seven Steps

Oh Lucky Day!  We’ve become friends with a really passionate and generous teacher in Hong Kong named Ms. Lucky.  It has been so cool to get ideas from teachers all over, and Lucky sure has a lot of ideas to share.  Check out her playlist of Super Simple Songs videos from her classes.

Thanks, Lucky.  You’re cake.

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楽しみ！

Our first KEEP workshop at Anaheim University is full.  Thanks to all who registered. We’re really looking forward to seeing everyone.

Some space may become available, so please feel free to register and we’ll put you on the waiting list.  You can also subscribe to the KEEP newsletter.  Then, you’ll be the first to know about upcoming workshops and hopefully won’t miss out on the next one!

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Order form for Japan

The new school year has started in Japan and we’ve had some requests for a downloadable Japanese brochure/order form that schools can use to order.

So, here they are.  If you’ve been looking for some new music for your classes, give these to your school and hopefully you’ll have some just in time the new school year! Click to download and print.

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Kids English Education Project

We’ve been hard at work for the past few weeks getting ready for a new project called KEEP.

KEEP is a collaboration between Super Simple Learning and Yuco Kikuchi created to help teachers and parents increase their competence and confidence in teaching English to young learners. In KEEP workshops, we share ideas for using songs, games, picture books, and other activities to make learning English engaging and confidence-boosting.

Our first series of workshops will be presented in Tokyo at Anaheim University’s Omotesando campus.  The workshops are free but space is limited so sign up early!  You can learn more about KEEP and register online at our new website.

Attendees should be prepared to learn a lot and participate!!!!